VIDEO: New emcee Dolly Madison delights West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting crowd

That’s how tonight’s West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Tree Lighting ended – with the countdown and the switch-on. That’s how it ends pretty much every year. But the celebration preceding it is not always the same-old, same-old. This year brought a first-time emcee who lit up the stage more brightly than the tree – self-described “7-foot-4 drag queen” Dolly Madison:

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Dolly debuted with a show-stopping lip-synch of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which you’ll see in our next clip, after a short introduction by West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Swift, followed by the Endolyne Children’s Choir and featured speaker Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby:

You can help WS Baby assist local families by being part of this holiday season’s JOY campaign. Meanwhile, the tree-lighting celebration featured even more music – the West Seattle High School Marching Band took the stage at the start:

The WSHS musicians also performed a lively streetcorner set as the crowd dispersed. Also featured, cast members from “Peter and the Starcatcher,” the current production at ArtsWest:

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Aside from a few waves of light rain, the weather was reasonable (anyone remember the sub-freezing chill in 2013?), and the hundreds of tree-lighting-goers were still enthused by the time local entrepreneur Jack Menashe and his grandchildren ceremonially lit the tree around 5:30. That’s at the end of this next clip, which begins with jazzy duo Sundae + Mr. Goessl, and includes more of Dolly too:

Also new this year, along with emcee Dolly – who performs weekly at OutWest Bar – was a Night Market featuring local vendors in the street next to Junction Plaza Park (here’s our report on that). More photos to come. Meantime, this is just the start of Hometown Holidays (co-sponsored by WSB), with a long lineup of events you can see here (and in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide).

31 Replies to "VIDEO: New emcee Dolly Madison delights West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting crowd"

  • Ring it in!!! December 4, 2016 (6:50 am)

    A wonderful tradition!  Thank you for welcoming the holidays to this amazing hometown!!!

  • mom of 3 December 4, 2016 (8:03 am)

     I might want to see “her” show at a bar, but the new emcee for the Christmas tree lighting is a drag queen?  Wow…not what I would consider a good choice for West Seattle, a nice family oriented community. This is not Key West or Capitol Hill!!I will bring my kids next year if its a more wholesome emcee.

    • WSB December 4, 2016 (9:13 am)

      Hi! West Seattle DOES have a lot of families … including people of all orientations. Were you at the event? Dolly’s humor was G-rated and gentle. But certainly, any feedback on this or any other Junction event – concerns, compliments, whatever – can be sent to info (at) wsjunction (dot) org – Tracy

    • Alki Resident December 4, 2016 (12:37 pm)

      I agree. There’s a place and time for this but not during our community Christmas celebration. 

      • Keith December 4, 2016 (2:51 pm)

        “Thereā€™s a place and time for this but not during our community Christmas celebration. “


        As a frequent performer at OutWest and Skylark (and apparently a WS resident!) Dolly *is* part of our community. She did a great job and was appropriate for all. I observed a few families with kids who actually came *because* of Dolly. What would not be welcome at our community Christmas celebration is homophobia, transphobia, or uneighborly attitudes. Thankfully there was none in sight last night!

        • Rose December 6, 2016 (1:13 pm)

          What would not be welcome at our community Christmas celebration is homophobia, transphobia, or uneighborly attitudes.”

          Yes! Exactly what I wanted to say. Thank you! My daughter and I, along with our family and friends absolutely loved seeing Dolly and the other performers at the Christmas tree lighting. It was a fabulous event! Our first time going and I’ve lived here 10 years. I won’t miss another! Merry Christmas everyone and thank you!

    • Heather December 4, 2016 (7:36 pm)

      There is a long theatrical history of people portraying opposite gender characters – even in different cultures, i.e. Japan, etc. Drag is character theater in all its colorful, glittery and swashbuckling mimicry / performance. Performances are usually venue / audience appropriate – drag is fun, silly and really about making the crowd engage. Really, how many adults do we see running around in elf and reindeer costumes at this time of year?

    • JanS December 5, 2016 (12:57 am)

      Dear Neighbor….exactly what wasn’t wholesome about the MC? Wasn’t in a barely there bikini, not dressed provocatively, family oriented humor, no swearing, was great at lipsyncing. So what exactly made it unwholesome, the fact that it was a man pretending to be a woman?  Sort of like Hallowe’en, but with a live show. You don’t mind Hallowe’en, do you? I guess  I don’t get the unwholesomeness of the act.

    • Chris December 6, 2016 (6:02 pm)

      Amen. I went into the WSJA office to convey the same sentiment yesterday.

  • sc December 4, 2016 (8:10 am)

    How did the “Campout for Food” drive do?

    • WSB December 4, 2016 (8:23 am)

      Wish I knew! We had hoped to get back and check but did not, in a day that took us from Southcenter pre-dawn (Rotary) to Bitter Lake in the afternoon (upcoming preview of the city “open house” – we went up there to see what format the “Northwest neighborhoods” version took). Asking via e-mail – TR

  • Michelle December 4, 2016 (8:21 am)

    This was so festive and fun, great job to the organizers. A special thanks to Dolly, who was delightful. Let the holiday season begin!

  • Wsite December 4, 2016 (9:08 am)

    Well done, so fun! Dolly needs to do this every year!

  • Dahlfinn December 4, 2016 (9:30 am)

    Great event, loved Dolly and Santa!! Hope to see a bigger night market next year!

  • dhg December 4, 2016 (9:44 am)

    Video of Dolly singing has been blocked by SME due to alleged copyright infringement.

  • e December 4, 2016 (10:05 am)

    Getting an error when trying to watch one of the videos: 

    “This video contains content prtected by blah blah SME…”

    Bummer. 

    • WSB December 4, 2016 (10:06 am)

      Not again. Thanks for the flag, I will see which one and reupload to Vimeo or someplace that doesn’t have YT’s ridiculous policies. In the short run, I do have a :40 Twitter clip I’ll add.

      • WSB December 4, 2016 (10:17 am)

        … Followup: Just checked, it plays just fine for us and we don’t have a message from YT, which is their usual SOP if they do something like this (happens sometimes when we shoot the start of 5K runs and there’s some song on the PA in the background, have had to spend lawyer money in the past to challenge such things … I’m all for copyright protection but enforcing it in a fair-use recording of a public event is somewhat onerous) … please try again? I’m still going to go get the clip onto our Vimeo account in the meantime, but that’ll take a while. – Tracy

        • WSB December 4, 2016 (10:58 am)

          UPDATE: At 10:57 am, just substituted Vimeo upload of the clip with Lora, Dolly, Endolyne Choir, and Nancy. Same one that apparently wouldn’t play for some on YouTube. Please advise if any other difficulties are encountered – you can always text us this kind of thing too on the 24/7 hotline (206-293-6302) – thanks!

  • justme December 4, 2016 (10:51 am)

    Local merchants were encouraged to stay open late to offer more options for the festivity goers. With all the people focused on the night market, it was not beneficial to extend hours at all. Perhaps the tents/vendors can be moved to California Ave next year.

  • Lola December 4, 2016 (1:42 pm)

    I just watched the video.  Dolly Madison is my neighbor and we just love him.  I have also been to his show at the Outwest Bar, a real treat if you have not been.  The Tree lighting video was wonderful with Dolly and all of the other singers.  Just because he is a drag queen it was a very family friendly show.  Maybe we could get him to come up for the Street Fair in the summer?

  • Ann L. Avery December 4, 2016 (4:39 pm)

    I planned to attend, but was ill, so thanks for setting it all out here for me to enjoy,  Everyone was great and it’s wonderful to have Dolly as part of our community event.

  • West Seattle Hipster December 4, 2016 (4:59 pm)

    Love that Dolly Madison was at this event.  if you have not seen her show at Outwest on Saturday nights, go check it out.                        

  • Al December 4, 2016 (9:36 pm)

    Hello Neighbors,

    I am Derik/Dolly’s husband and on behalf of us both I want to thank you for your support and kind words.  We love West Seattle and have lived here for almost 7 years.  Derik is a local business owner running his our personal training business in addition to the fun he has performing as Dolly.  As many of you pointed out we are a part of your community.  We truly felt the love and acceptance from you all on Saturday and Dolly was happy to host and bring some laughter and fun to those in attendance.  We loved being a part of the event and intend to do whatever we can to support our community and local businesses in the future.  Thanks again!

  • Ring it in!!! December 4, 2016 (11:06 pm)

    Wow, can’t believe how this conversation devolved.  We are all welcome here, this is all our hometown. Whether you’re in a bar or not.  Just sad. I so appreciate the efforts of the many good West Seattle-ites who bring Chrimas here, every year.  Thank you.  

  • Ring it in!!! December 4, 2016 (11:16 pm)

    And by the way, Dolly, your rocked!  Along with our lovely jazzy Sundae, Mr. G, and WS merchants and blog.  We are blessed. 

  • BJ December 5, 2016 (7:33 am)

    Absolutely agree with all the positive comments on here – and positive reactions of all the attendees – for Dolly Madison’s, Endolyne’s Children’s Choir, WSHS’s Marching Band, ArtsWest’s and Sundae + Mr. Goessl’s participation in this lovely event for ALL to enjoy. Well done!

  • LOVED IT December 5, 2016 (9:55 am)

     Mom of 3 & Alki Resident sorry your kids (if you didn’t take them) missed a fabulous show in their diverse community.

    • LT December 6, 2016 (12:38 pm)

      I second that!!! We loved Dolly and our kids loved her as well. Fantastic show. 

  • RCS December 6, 2016 (12:09 am)

    What a wonderful night! Seeing our diverse community come together for the spirit of Christmas is a warm reminder of the goodness that is all around us. And it’s a reminder that all are welcome. To all the organizers, sponsors, performers and the emcee, Dolly Madison, thank you and Merry Christmas. 

  • Kathleen December 6, 2016 (10:13 pm)

    We loved Dolly!  My kids thought she was way more fun than Santa (and definitely more sparkly!)  We all hope she’ll be back to emcee next year.  Thank you to the WS Junction for putting on this terrific community event once again. 

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