(Today’s first report is here; Friday coverage is here and here)

4:09 PM: The biggest day of West Seattle Summer Fest has REALLY been big. Lots and lots of people. And dogs! We couldn’t resist snapping the ones above, who were just outside the fence at the temporary outdoor seating at Talarico’s, one of many Junction venues that have outdoor seating – temp AND permanent – during the festival. If you’re just getting here, the basics, again:

FESTIVAL HOURS
Until 6 pm for vendors (some might choose to stay open longer, especially food)
Until 8 pm for kids’ rides (ticket purchase required; free kids’ activities end earlier)
9:30 pm, last band (The Cave Singers) – full schedule here
Until 9 pm, events on the GreenLife stage

TRANSPORTATION REMINDERS
Bus-reroute info here
Road closures – California from Oregon to Edmunds, plus south half of the block between Genesee and Oregon (which remains open west-east); Alaska between 44th and 42nd
Parking – Look for The Junction’s three free lots, plus the Seattle Lutheran lot at 41st/Genesee
More info on the festival website’s “Getting Here” page

4:58 PM: The Gray Sky Farms critters are still at GreenLife – don’t miss it at the south end of the festival zone:

Sheep too:

GreenLife is presented by Sustainable West Seattle; the people you’ll meet there include Stu Hennessey of Alki Bike and Board, who’ll be talking at 4 pm Sunday about “The Future of Cycling in Seattle.”

Also tomorrow at GreenLife, visit The Whale Trail, which will have an exhibit there. Donna Sandstrom of TWT says, “At 3 (Sunday) I’ll be talking about orcas on the GreenLife stage, followed by a game of Orca Bingo. Everyone is welcome to play! This is a special edition of a game we invented, customized especially for West Seattle Summer Fest.”

As we’ve been mentioning, the festival is a great chance to check out the always-here merchants as well as visiting vendors. Brian Presser runs Touch Tech Systems, inside the breezeway between Oregon and Alaska on the west side of California, but he’s on the sidewalk for Summer Fest:

The team from Emerald Water Anglers, usually found in their 42nd/Oregon shop, are in booth #156 for Summer Fest:

Outside CAPERS, you’ll find the famous “As Worn by Eddie Vedder” West Seattle T-shirts:

You can get mugs with the logo, too. Also keeping it mega-local: Maps of Puget Sound are are the Mountain to Sound Outfitters booth, along with kayaks and gear:

And back on the T-shirt front, Summer Fest tees are still on sale in the Info Booth – about another half-hour tonight, then during the festival’s final day (already?) 11 am-5 pm tomorrow.

5:49 PM: Up at the stage, Black Whales are wrapping up their set.

Next up at 6 pm, it’s S. The music schedule is this hour’s top topic at the Information Booth – we have it taped to the tablecloth, so you can just walk up and take a peek. It’s right next to our schedule cards for West Seattle Outdoor Movies – now a week away – one guy who just stopped by was stoked to see that “Zoolander” is kicking off this year’s slate.

Back to the booths – another of the upcoming events you can learn about here is the Alki Beach 5K, a fundraiser on August 23rd to help breast-cancer patients via Northwest Hope and Healing, whose Shari Sewell was at the booth when we stopped by:

More candidates today – we’re still catching up on photos. Just saw Port Commissioner candidate Norman Sigler walk by – remember, candidates who stop by the booth and say hi will get a picture – School Board candidate Nick Esparza just did:

Another School Board candidate, Leslie Harris, has stopped by too:

And earlier, we photographed City Council District 1 candidate Phil Tavel and family:

6:43 PM: Some vendors are still open – not a bad strategy, since lots of people are still roaming, all ages. Music ahead – Fame Riot at 7 pm, Kithkin at 8 pm, Voxmod at 9 pm, and the much-awaited The Cave Singers at 9:30 pm. Some are looking ahead to tomorrow already, and again asking the question: What happens to the Farmers’ Market tomorrow? 10 am-2 pm, usual hours, in its old location, the lot at 44th/Alaska, and then next Sunday (July 19th) and beyond, it’s back here on California SW between Alaska and Oregon.

7:06 PM: We’re wrapping up the info booth – back tomorrow by 11 (remember the festival opens an hour later on Sunday morning) – but first, a few more scenes:

The sidewalk drumming team got props from a fan. And minutes ago – another round of bubbling:

The youngest festivalgoers are still out in full force, strollers to teens.