West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(WSB photos)
Tết, the Vietnamese New Year, is officially here, as of this afternoon’s celebration at the Vietnamese Cultural Center in West Seattle. The rain lifted in time for more than 50 people to gather on the VCC’s plaza of temples and statues, with the Lion Dance Team from the Van Hanh Temple Buddhist Youth Group.
Firecrackers and drums provided the soundtrack for the dance:
The celebration began with flag salutes and anthems, as Viet Tran raised the Vietnam Heritage and Freedom Flag alongside the Stars and Stripes:
The event was emceed by Bao Van Nguyen (below right) with participants including Col. Yen Len Hua (below left) offering the Tết greeting and New Year’s wishes, as well as the colonel’s fellow VCC board elders Hung Manh Dinh and Khai Dinh Tran presenting the history of King Quang Trung and a traditional New Year’s Wish reading.
The celebration continued inside one of the VCC temples, with a commemorative photo first:
Though last Monday marked the official arrival of the New Year, Tết is a multi-day celebration, and today was the conclusion.
By the way, you don’t have to wait for a holiday to visit the Vietnamese Cultural Center, led by director Lee Bui – it’s open to the public most Saturdays, noon-3 pm, at 2236 SW Orchard, on Metro Route 128, with parking out front.
A memorial gathering for Lorraine Mary DeTonancour Hope is planned on February 27th. Here’s the remembrance that her family is sharing:
Our beloved mother, mother-in-law, grandma and great grandma passed away peacefully at home on February 4th at the age of 87. She is survived by her daughter Judy Maus-Carson (Matt), sons Robert Hope (Lori) and Curtis Hope (Stephanie) and by 7 grandchildren (Jessica & Jon, Andy & Katey, and Kim, Kelli, & Christopher) and 7 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Norman Hope.
Lorraine grew up in Montana, where she was the belle of the ball – Anaconda High’s cheer queen, a softball player, and a National Thespian. After moving to Seattle with her best friend, she met and married the love of her life. “No and Lo” settled in Alki/West Seattle, where they raised their family and remained the rest of their lives.
Mom/Grandma/Lorraine went through life at full speed – she loved singing & dancing, entertaining & cooking, vacationing & sun-tanning, gambling, playing cards & bingo, spoiling her kids & grandkids, cheering for her sports teams, reading & making up words, painting & beach walking… She was happiest when loving on and laughing with family and friends and was fortunate to live much of her life that way.
A short service and reception will be held at Salty’s on Alki on Saturday, February 27th, at 11 am.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(Gina and Ryan, working at the site recently – photo courtesy Janice Nyman)
Looking for something to do on Presidents Day tomorrow? 12 fruit trees are awaiting helping hands during an all-day planting party planned at the Chilberg Link community project, says Janice Nyman. We reported on the project three weeks ago. Just stop by 10 am-4 pm; here’s a map. (They’re also collecting online as part of the ongoing matching-funds drive for art to include in the “link” they’re creating to Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook Park.)
5:22 PM: Thanks to “Diver Laura” James for sharing her newest work – results of a dive in the “Alki Junkyard” area on Saturday. She says, “It is spring underwater with clusters of eggs everywhere.” Take three minutes to see for yourself!
P.S. The “Junkyard” area is off the west end of the public beach/promenade – approximately 64th SW.
ADDED 9:04 PM: More from Diver Laura:
Yesterday on our dive, Lamont pointed out a sea star to me and was surprised at how excited I got.
The sea star may be a large Leptasterias specimen, one that i have not seen previously in 25 years of diving at the site (that doesn’t mean they were not there, just that I didn’t see them). It is unclear how this might relate to the Sea Star Wasting Syndrome other than they may have been in hiding or always eaten by the bigger predatory stars. A cool thing about Leptasterias is that they are brooding sea stars, and if this one is female we may get to see her babies!
You can learn more about this special sea star here, at Chris Mah’s amazing echinoblog!
Two incidents to report in West Seattle Crime Watch, plus a reminder:
RITE-AID CASH-MACHINE THEFT ATTEMPT: Thanks to everybody who tipped us about the broken doors at the Rite-Aid store south of The Junction. One person reported a big police presence investigating around 6:30 am. A store employee confirmed to us that it was an attempt to steal the cash machine – which was reportedly found with a chain around it. The machine and the store were both in full operation when we stopped in.
CAR WINDOW SMASHED: Megan reports this happened overnight:
FYI- car window smashed out sometime between 9 pm (2/13) and 12:30 am (2/14) on 20th/Kenyon. Hoping nobody else in the neighborhood had to deal with a similar mess.
REMINDER: The West Seattle Crime Prevention Council‘s next meeting is 7 pm Tuesday (February 16th) at the Southwest Precinct (2300 SW Webster). Bring your neighborhood concerns/questions for police. Spotlight guest will be from the city to talk about its new alert.seattle.gov system.
It’s a misty Valentine’s Day, but don’t let that get in the way:
(WSB photo)
FARMERS’ MARKET POETRY: That’s Douglas from Jet City Improv. Yes, he’s at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. But no, he said, he’s not performing Shakespearean love sonnets as promoted – he’s improvising poems, just for you. With flowers.
LOVE IS IN THE AIR, AND ON THE DOOR: Two photos from Ann Anderson – first, crows at Hamilton Viewpoint:
Ann says the couple are residents there, and that crows, in general, are “courting January – March and trying to secure nesting sites by February. That means they will also begin defending them more so it’ll get noisier in the mornings soon. I love how tender they are with each other.”
Also from Ann:
She spotted the decorations on the door of a family she says is new to her neighborhood.
LOVE ON THE TRAIL: From Kim P, a sighting on the bluff trail at Lincoln Park:
We appreciate your photos! editor@westseattleblog.com is the best way to share them – or via the WSB Flickr group.
Girl Scout Cookie season is approaching, and two West Seattle Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 44282 have a head start. Above, L-R, are Eloise and Anya; Eloise’s proud mom Sybil shares the photo and explains why:
(They) submitted essays (written essay for Anya, video essay for Eloise) to a contest hosted by Molly Moon’s ice cream parlor. The “Cookies to Camp” contest asked the question “Why do you want to go to Girl Scout Camp for the first time?” and had a short list of criteria the girls had to meet, such as never having been to a Girl Scout camp before and living in Western Washington.
I’m excited to report that both Anya and Eloise won! Their essays were two of six selected out of 165 entries. Molly Moon’s will purchase over 1,100 boxes of Thin Mints from each winner, which will pay for a week away at Girl Scout camp. The Thin Mints are for Molly Moon’s ‘Scout Mint’ flavor.
The Thin Mints are separate from the girls’ individual and troop sales, so Anya and Eloise will still be out in the community selling their Girl Scout cookies to fund other adventures!
P.S. In case this gets you wondering about cookie-selling season – the community “booths” start March 4th.
(Male varied thrush, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Happy Valentine’s Day! Whatever you do today, we hope it’s full of love and joy. Here’s what we have in the calendar highlights:
FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, local food you’ll love. And something special for Valentine’s Day:
Actors from Jet City Improv will be reciting Shakespearean love sonnets and passing out FREE Valentine’s Day tulips from 10:30-1:30pm. We will also be providing crafts for kids to make their own Valentine’s Day cards and love letters to our farmers.
(California SW between SW Alaska and SW Oregon)
CANDY TASTING: 11 am-2 pm at Admiral Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) – details in our calendar listing. (41st SW/SW Admiral Way)
NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION: Noon-3 pm at the Vietnamese Cultural Center in West Seattle. Tết celebration with lion dance and fireworks, followed by refreshments and karaoke – community invited. (2236 SW Orchard)
VALENTINE’S AT LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Noon-4 pm, stop by the Log House Museum and, in addition to exploring the exhibits, make Valentines! (61st SW/SW Stevens)
POKEMON TRAINING CAMP: Noon-3 pm – love Pokémon? Or think you might? Free Pokémon training camp on Sunday afternoons at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor). Check it out here. (3727 California SW)
‘SALMON IS LIFE’ CELEBRATION: 1-5 pm at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse in West Seattle. Art, stories, song, conversation. Details in our calendar listing. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
LADIES’ MUSICAL CLUB: 3 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, get classical for Valentine’s Day – a concert of music for oboe, soprano, and piano. See the program here. (2306 42nd SW)
VALENTINE’S DAY AT ADMIRAL BIRD: 3-4:30 pm, music, poetry, and coloring at Admiral Bird. (California SW & SW Admiral Way)
TAKE YOUR VALENTINE TO THE THEATER: Final performance today for ArtsWest‘s “Really Really,” 3 pm (4711 California SW); third performance today for Twelfth Night Productions‘ “Company,” 3 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW).
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