(See the festival schedule here)

11:17 AM: We’re seeing breaks in the clouds here – even a bit of sun! – in the second hour of today’s Morgan Junction Community Festival. Above, the Endolyne Children’s Choir is performing in the park right now; at 11:30 am, it’s the legendary Bubbleman, who has arrived and is getting ready for his show.

The festival layout is a little different this year – it’s all on the west side of California, as this map shows:

North to south, it stretches from SW Eddy north of Morgan Junction Park and south of the former commercial building that will soon be demolished to expand the park … to the park itself … to the food zone in the lot on the north side of Beveridge Place Pub … to the rows of vendors and nonprofits north of and behind the Zeeks Pizza (WSB sponsor)/Whisky West building, including the Authors Realm:

The north side is where you’ll find the plant exchange right next to Second Gear Sports (WSB sponsor):

11:37 AM: The Seattle Police Mobile Precinct is here right now, parked on California, behind the purple van driven by Bubbleman

He’s just started his performance in the park. Here’s a bit of video:

And if you’re feeling like it’s lunchtime, along with the festival food zone and the Morgan Junction restaurants, you also have the option of wandering over to West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor):

Today’s burger barbecue goes to the fund that keeps this festival – presented by the all-volunteer Morgan Community Association – free!

12:09 PM: Hour three already! If you share your life with one or more dogs, you want to get here for the Bark of Morgan at 1:30 pm – parading around the festival grounds, and then contests here on the north side. But that aside, the festival is about people. The three-dozen plus vendors and nonprofits here include local independent businesspeople, like Anne Higuera of Ventana Construction and Parie Hines of LD Arch Design:

They are in a booth behind Zeeks/WW, ready to talk with you about construction and design of home projects including backyard cottages. (Both are WSB sponsors.) Then if you check out the row of booths here on SW Eddy north of the park, where we are, the people you can meet include Clay Eals of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. You can congratulate him for just being announced as recipient of the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community! Also here in the north row – east of the Kids’ Activities zone – are Seal Sitters, West Seattle Timebank, West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network, and the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs.

Plus – just arrived, you can meet the firefighters of Seattle Fire Department Engine 37 (headquartered in Sunrise Heights):

12:21 PM: Bubbleman just wrapped up, and live music resumes in the park, with jazz by West Seattle’s own family act The Ellis Brothers:

Then, just after 1 pm, it’ll be Comfort Food!

1:34 PM: And that’s who’s onstage now, sounding great. The weather has progressed to partly sunny. Thanks to all the folks who’ve come to the festival already – and to those who have stopped by to say hi. Be sure you make it all the way through the festival grounds to see the local businesses and groups that are behind Zeeks/Whisky West (which opens at 3, per a sign on its door), too! Meantime, the Bark of Morgan dog parade is about to pass our booth … en route to the contest zone by the ex-Short Stop:

The mellow sounds of Comfort Food continue.

At 2 pm, the musicians and dancers of the Tongan Choir will perform in the park – an annual tradition. (photo added)

And then at 3 – ever painted a building during a festival?

Between 3 and 4, be at the ex-Short Stop to take your turn “spattering” it with (water-based) paint. It’s due for demolition soon but festival organizers thought this might be a fun way to bid it farewell.

2:50 PM: Haven’t been here yet? Perfect time. Come down, get ice cream from Sweet Bumpas in the food zone, no line for face-painting. The Mobile Precinct and Engine 37 have departed but the SPD Mounted Patrol is reported to be on the way, and the “Spatter” is just about to get going. Two more musical performances, too – Broken Horses at 3, Gary Benson at 4.

3 PM: And here they are:

More to come … the festival’s on until 5.\\

4 PM: Shortly after that photo, the rain returned, briefly, and the Mounted Patrol took refuge under an overhang:

But now – sunshine!

The kids’ activities zone in that photo, however, is closing up. Other vendors and nonprofits are here, and we’ll be here until the final moments. A few more scenes:

That’s Jennifer Young from My Three Little Birds (WSB sponsor), the kids’ resale shop in south Morgan Junction, and her family. Hers is one of the dozens of businesses (including ours) that sponsored today’s festival – the kids’ zone, in this case, which was very popular, with lines almost every time we looked over!

Also done for the day – the “Spatter of Morgan” paint-splashing on the soon-to-be-torn-down Short Stop building:

4:43 PM: Festival is in its final moments. Accompanying the winding-down vibe, mellow acoustic rock by Gary Benson:

Congratulations to the Morgan Community Association for another fun festival – a heroic task for an all-volunteer community council to make happen. MoCA meets quarterly – you’re invited to the next meeting, 7 pm July 20th at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW).

One more reminder – 10 am-5 pm Saturday, whatever the weather (might be a little showery), the Morgan Junction Community Festival is on!

Live music all day, the legendary Bubbleman @ 11:30 am, local authors’ reading/meeting/greeting all day, Bark of Morgan dog parade and contests at 1:30 pm, food and ice-cream carts, dozens of community groups/businesses/vendors to see and meet, even a chance to “paint” the building at the future park-expansion site, 3-4 pm … You’ll find it all in and around Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW) and around/behind the Beveridge Place Pub and Zeeks Pizza (WSB sponsor)/Whisky West buildings next door.

One week from tomorrow, it’s the next big neighborhood celebration of summer, the Morgan Junction Community Festival, presented by the Morgan Community Association, in and around Morgan Junction Park, 10 am-5 pm Saturday, June 18th.

One fun feature you’ll find again – the “Bark of Morgan” dog parade and canine contests. First, at 1:30 pm, parade your pooch around the festival grounds (on leash – and costumes are encouraged); then, at 1:45 pm, compete in one of the seven contest categories, with judging by audience applause:

* Highest Jump
*Smallest Dog
*Best Urban Village Dog
*Best Trick
*Best Costume
*Longest Tail
*Best Owner/Dog Lookalike

Other festival fun includes kids’ activities starting at 10:30, Bubbleman‘s performance starting at 11:30, live music, food trucks, local authors, vendor booths, more; the park is on California north of Fauntleroy.

Take the time to wander the surrounding Morgan Junction business district, too – lots of great local businesses are co-sponsoring the festival, as are we. See you there!

Now that June’s here, the big events are rolling in like the tide.

Two weeks from today – on Saturday, June 18th – we are proud to again be co-sponsoring the Morgan Junction Community Festival, in and around Morgan Junction Park, 10 am-5 pm. It’ll bring the first West Seattle summertime sighting of The Bubbleman, at 11:30 am; the Bark of Morgan Pooch Parade is back too, welcoming you and your canine companion(s) at 1:30 pm; and throughout the day, you’ll enjoy live music, food trucks, kids’ activities, and a treat for reading fans – a chance to meet and hear from more than a dozen local authors. We’ll be there to cover the festival live all day – hope to see you there!

(WSB photo – future Morgan Junction Park Addition)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Though it was close to the end of the meeting, an update on the nine-years-in-the-making Morgan Junction Park expansion site was the major news at last night’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting, held online and facilitated by president Deb Barker.

MORGAN JUNCTION PARK ADDITION: Kelly Goold from Seattle Parks said they got a lot of good comments at last month’s Morgan Junction Community Festival regarding the park addition. “The funding has returned for the project,” he reminded MoCA, so Parks dusted off the shelved original design and added possible new features such as active recreation (like skating). Money for the site cleanup – it formerly held a dry cleaner – is still available and they are still hoping to get that done within a few months. “Some kind of landscaping” will follow. including potentially “a big sentinel tree.” Then they’ll bring down the fence and open the site to some kind of public use until full development. About 400 people have responded to the survey – still open online – in addition to the hundreds they talked with at the festival. So what’s been holding up the cleanup? Getting the shoring designed, planning the digging of “a big hole,” etc., Goold said. As for the timeline for the park development itself, “that’s at least a year and a half out.” Spring 2025 is the current estimate. No further public meetings planned any time soon – once the survey closes, a new schematic design will be assembled. MoCA plans to invite Goold to the next meeting (October 19th). The city bought the site in 2014 for $1.9 million; within the ensuing two years, the businesses that had been in a building on the site both closed, and the building was demolished.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES: All eight were invited. The five who showed up got to speak. Each got a 10-minute spot, primarily spent on self-introduction, with time for a question or two after that. Here are our summaries of what they said:

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Live, work, shop, and/or play in the Morgan Junction area? Check out what the Morgan Community Association talked about on Wednesday night:

FIGHTING CRIME: Though package-deiivery lockers are a potential solution to porch thefts, Cindi Barker discovered they are in short supply in West Seattle. So they’re asking Amazon for one in the Morgan area, for starters.

MORGAN JUNCTION PARK EXPANSION: A Parks rep for this project will be at the April MoCA meeting. A focus right now is the soil-remediation plan for the site, which should be ready by month’s end.

(Bubbleman at 2019 Morgan Junction Community Festival)

MORGAN JUNCTION COMMUNITY FESTIVAL: “It’s a go!” This year’s festival is set for June 20, 2020, and MoCA’s looking for volunteers to help make it happen.

WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: Like Admiral, Morgan Junction is joining the WS Art Walk. MoCA’s Tamsen Spengler announced that a coordinator’s been found and they’re signing up businesses to participate, starting in the second quarter.

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(FESTIVAL SCHEDULE HERE … VENDOR LIST HERE … ‘BARK OF MORGAN’ INFO HERE)

Music and more will greet you as soon as you get to the Morgan Junction Community Festival, happening until 4 pm in and around Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW):

As a sponsor, we’re on site for the duration, and right next to us on the north side of the park, you have the chance to talk with Seattle Parks about the future park addition:

They’re seeking opinions on proposed concept for the park, as planning/design continues. Also here on the north side, kids’ art activities. Entertainment is in the park; vendors and community organizations are just to the south, including the lot behind Zeeks Pizza and Whisky West.

More coverage to come!

11:40 AM: Bubbleman has wrapped up after delighting a park full of delighted kids:

Spotted in the crowd: One child who brought a baseball mitt to try to catch bubbles. Right after Bubbleman said bye-bye, the families streamed out here to the north side, many for the face-painting and art activities (balloon artist, too!) … some to check out the park-feedback table next door … and others are talking with Yun Pitre from the Department of Neighborhoods, who has joined their space. Also here, the SPD Mobile Precinct.

On the sidewalk nearby: Chalk art!

And in the park, the next performance is about to begin – world-beat music with Soyaya. Then in about an hour, be here with your dog(s) for the Bark of Morgan!

12:20 PM: All three City Council District 1 candidates are here, with tables between the park and Beveridge Place Pub. Phil Tavel would be here anyway, as he’s helped coordinate the festival and serves as vice president of the Morgan Community Association, which presents it:

Also here, Brendan Kolding and Lisa Herbold:

No speeches scheduled – just a chance to talk with them if you have a question, comment, etc. Two of these three will advance to the general election, depending on how the August 6th primary turns out.

Meantime, Soyaya continues to perform in the park:

And it’s lunchtime! You have multiple options. But if you go over to West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), the fresh-grilled burger/hot dog lunch proceeds all go to support keeping the festival free!

Bark of Morgan coming up at 12:45! Bring your dog(s) to the north side of the park – look for the signs on the fence of the future park addition.

1:30 PM: Above, our Twitter video of the parade as it concluded, followed by contests. Cash, for example, won “loudest bark”:

Happening now, a festival favorite – the Splatter of Morgan, on the fence around the future park addition. Paint and squirters provided!

Onstage in the park: Servants of the Rich.

The festival continues until 4 pm.

2:49 PM: This is the quieter home stretch of the festival. The final performers are even playing under the name Quiet Heart (Gary Benson and Ariel Westfall). The banner-towing plane (not associated with the festival!) that was making passes every 15 minutes for a while is gone. Some cool art has been created:

Kids’ craft/art tables are still in action west of us; the Parks table to the east of us is gettng lots of action. The festival is volunteer-powered, and free in no small part thanks to community sponsors (including us):

Remember that supporting local community businesses often also means you’re supporting local community events and activities too.

3:06 PM: The sun finally joined the party!

3:47 PM: Cleanup has begun. Congratulations to the Morgan Community Association on a fun 14th annual festival!

10:33 AM: “Hi, bumblebee!” Just heard a young West Seattle Bee Festival-goer greet one of the guests of honor. The festival is under way until 2 pm in and around High Point Commons Park; Lanham Place SW is closed between Sylvan and Graham for the vendor fair, which is just part of the fun. Ella-Bella Bee and The Pollinators are performing in the amphitheater behind Neighborhood House:

Interactive music and comedy until about 11! And if you’re here at 11:30, be part of the parade! Meantime, many all-ages activities, from the Urban Skills Survival Fair on the north side of the park…

… to facepainting toward the south end of the vendor fair on Lanham (which is closed to motorized traffic for the festival) …

“Vendor fair” doesn’t fully describe everyone who’s here. A few people are “vending” – you’ll find beekeepers selling honey by the Bee Garden, too – but many community organizations too …

(Community advocate Mat McBride, who is offering info to prospective “do-gooders”)

SFD and SPD as well. And us … stop by for a free WSB refrigerator magnet while they last:

(It’s our first freebie since the ice scrapers many years ago.)

11:07 AM: Second hour of the festival! As beautiful as the weather is, do take a minute to peek indoors at Neighborhood House – lots going on in there too!

Woodland Park Zoo is visiting with “animal ambassadors.” And the parade starts soon! Back up by the Bee Garden, student jazz:

11:48 AM: After a bit of parading …

… it’s on to the festival’s second half. At noon, at the Bee Garden on the north end of the park, see its founder Lauren Englund do a beehive demonstration! And at the amphitheater on the south end, Laura Love performs with Terry Hunt.

12:46 PM: That’s Laura onstage. And here’s the crowd Lauren drew:

The bees:

You still have time to get here – it’s on until 2 pm; the map for getting here is on the official festival webpage. Lots more visitors than we remember from years past; thanks to everyone who’s stopped by to say hi!

1:19 PM: Less than an hour left! If you’re here, don’t miss the Urban Survival Skills Fair:

This includes very specific preparedness topics – all the way to how to set up an emergency toilet.

If you couldn’t check it out today, the Urban Survival Skills Fair will make an encore appearance at Delridge Day in August (and a scaled-down version during Field Day at South Seattle College [WSB sponsor] next month).

1:50 PM: We were seconds away from tweeting to observe that no candidates had been sighted at the festival, when District 1 City Council contender Brendan Kolding stopped by.

Our longstanding policy “if candidates stop by our booth, we’ll take their picture” continues this year (our next tabling gig is the Morgan Junction Community Festival on June 22nd).

From the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting, which just wrapped up at The Kenney, itself a major agenda item:

THE KENNEY’S NEWEST REDEVELOPMENT PLANS: John Shoesmith from Shoesmith Cox Architects (based in Madison Park) explained what’s on the drawing board now. He explained that the site remains a mix of zones – LR1 and LR3. The three duplexes on the property’s southeast corner will be taken down and replaced with five rowhouses, two facing Fauntleroy, three facing Othello. They will range 2,000 to 3,000 square feet, with attached garages, master bedrooms on the main floor, and are aimed at attracting a “more independent” and somewhat younger (65ish) resident. They will be 1 1/2 to 2 stories high. A driveway off the SW Othello cul-de-sac west of Fauntleroy will lead to the garages of the units facing that street. The exteriors will include some brick, “cement wood” siding; street trees are planned on 46th, Fauntleroy, and Othello. The corner will be highlighted by an “amenity space” as required by zoning – landscaping, a bench, etc.

They’re currently in the Master Use Permit application stage with the city, seeking land-use approval, and filing soon for a building permit. They will be part of The Kenney rather than offered for sale. We asked a couple followup questions, recalling the meeting almost two years ago at which this same architecture firm discussed concepts for site redevelopment; no rezoning proposed right now, and the idea of an apartment building further west on the site is still out there, but nothing formal being pursued right now.

35TH SW PHASE 2 UPDATE: SDOT’s Jim Curtin was here to talk about 35th SW Phase 2, which we first detailed back in April. He said there’s been a “modest reduction in crashes” since Phase 1 was complete in fall 2015, and they’d like to see more of a reduction. He acknowledged that the signal timings have been less than optimal. They’ve been tweaked and “we’re seeing a pretty good flow out there” now, he said. He also acknowledged that before the timings were changed, they saw some diversion to side streets, and that, he said, has since eased.

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Four years after the city bought it, the Morgan Junction Park addition site is finally closer to its intended use. So Seattle Parks has a few questions for you, such as – how should it be configured? Like Option A above, or Option B below?

As we mentioned in our coverage of last Saturday’s Morgan Junction Community Festival, the city opened the polling there and is continuing it online. You’re also invited to choose 10 elements from this list of 36 – and/or suggest something else you’d like to see:

1. Community Classroom
2. Pavilion/Band Shell
3. Mounded Play
4. Movable Furniture
5. Tree Grove Planting
6. Reading Room
7. Sustainable Streetscape
8. Food Cart/Truck Access
9. Event Venue
10. Natural Play Elements
11. Pollinator Plantings
12. Outdoor Fitness Area
13. Catenary Lighting
14. Woonerf/Festival Street
15. Signature Specimen Tree
16. Table Tennis
17. Group Dining Area
18. Bocce Ball
19. Edible Landscape
20. Swing/Hammock Seating
21. Sculptural Play
22. Shuffleboard
23. Outdoor Cinema
24. Checkers/Chess
25. Craft Fair/Market
26. Rain Garden Planting
27. Buffer Planting
28. Large/Iconic Play
29. Tricycle Track
30. Native/Adaptive Planting
31. Signature Lighting
32. Shade Area
33. Platform Seating
34. Built-In Lounge Seating
35. Pet Relief Area
36. West Seattle Trail Map/Communication Kiosk

You can see images of the potential elements on the survey page – go here to let Parks know your choices. The addition is expected to be built in 2020; the city demolished the commercial building on the site in 2016.

We’ve already reported one story from this past week’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting – the installation plans for City Light’s new metering system – and we have one more to go, an update on a development project that’s taken a surprise turn. But first, tonight, other hot topics from Wednesday night, first of which was a followup from the city’s HALA-related open house the previous evening:

COMPREHENSIVE-PLAN AMENDMENTS, THE NEXT STEP: While Tuesday night’s open house in High Point (WSB coverage here) tackled two topics, one is of the most interest to MoCA – the proposal to amend the city’s Comprehensive Plan to override neighborhood-plan-related language related to single-family zoning. (We previewed this here.)

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Two weeks from today – on Saturday, May 6th – the proposed Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) rezoning for Mandatory Housing Affordability will be spotlighted at another city “open house” in West Seattle.

This time, unlike the one back in December, it’s a big venue – Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights.

More on the open house later. First: Community groups are continuing to discuss HALA, too, particularly as they await the draft Environmental Impact Statement. If you need a refresher – Mandatory Housing Affordability is supposed to add more development capacity in exchange for requiring developers to either include “affordable” units in their projects, or pay a fee into a city fund that will be used to build it somewhere else. (If you haven’t already checked what might change near you, here’s the interactive citywide map showing that.)

At the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting this past Wednesday night, MoCA president Deb Barker said the EIS is expected to be out in mid-May, which would open a public-comment period through June – which happens to be what the city had listed at previous meetings (including the Morgan “Community Design Workshop” last month) as the expected drop-dead comments-closed period. Read More

Another info-packed quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association last night. MoCA vice president Phil Tavel presided over the meeting at The Kenney. Here are the toplines:

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The most-important agenda at the quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting this past Wednesday was the briefing on the then-impending release of the draft rezoning maps for Morgan Junction and West Seattle’s three other “urban villages.” We covered that part of the meeting in this report on Thursday, when the four maps went public for Morgan, Admiral, Westwood-Highland Park, and The Junction. So today, we’re publishing the rest of the toplines from the MoCA meeting, which touched on many other topics, with updates that might interest you even if you don’t live/work in Morgan:

LOWMAN BEACH SEAWALL, WITH A SURVEY FOR YOU

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(Fishing at Seacrest on Tuesday – photo by Don Brubeck)

Much happening today/tonight. From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

COWORKING MEETUP: Wednesday means it’s the weekly 12 pm-1:15 pm meetup at West Seattle’s only coworking center, WS Office Junction (WSB sponsor) – drop by, bring your lunch, meet new people! (6040 California SW)

(added) DINE-OUT BENEFIT: Shelby’s Bistro and Ice Creamery in The Junction is hosting “a fundraiser for Holy Rosary today from 2-9 pm and donating 10 % of sales back to the school (excluding gift cards, gratuities and taxes).” Shelby’s adds that they “would love to assist other schools or school organizations raise funds as well.” (California/Edmunds)

DEBATE WATCHING: Don’t want to watch the third and final presidential debate (6 pm our time, live from Las Vegas) at home? You have at least four options in West Seattle:

Parliament Tavern (4210 SW Admiral Way) – they advise arriving early (5:30ish) to get a seat – Happy Hour prices throughout the debate
Sound & Fog (4735 40th SW) – Coffee, beer, wine, pizza.
OutWest (California/Brandon) – Happy Hour until the debate is over
Admiral Bird (California/Admiral) –
Anyone else? Please let us know so we can add to the list!

DEBATE ALTERNATIVE AT WORDSWEST: As previewed here earlier this week, WordsWest Literary Series offers you a night of “Literary Citizenship” at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7 pm. (5612 California SW)

DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL: The City Council hasn’t yet finalized the mayor’s plan to cut ties with, recognition of, and support for neighborhood district councils – it got some discussion in Tuesday afternoon’s budget deliberations. But the DNDC is going forward. What’s the plan for next year? That’s on the agenda tonight, 7 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)

MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: MoCA’s quarterly meeting has a BIG agenda. In the downstairs community rooms at The Kenney:

If you own property inside the Morgan Junction Urban Village, your land is proposed to be rezoned. Please come to the meeting for more details, or watch for the posting of the maps and additional information on the City’s HALA page.

INTRODUCTIONS & MORGAN MINUTE UPDATES
2016 NSF applications – what’s next
California at Juneau – pedestrian and bike safety project
Morgan Junction Mural status
35th Ave SW – Phase II update
New Web Host

OLD BUSINESS
Lowman Beach Seawall
SW District Council updates
Murray CSO Update
HALA Focus Group Update
SW Precinct Advisory Group

NEW BUSINESS
Westside Neighbors Network
Survey results for 37th Ave SW Greenway
Morgan Park Expansion Planning Committee
Morgan Festival 2017
Beyond MoCA Boundaries
New secretary

(7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)

SIGGIE THE VINTAGE MAN: Live music! Now at 7 pm Wednesday nights at Whisky West. (6451 California SW)

THE TIKIGRAPHS: 8 pm, right after presidential-debate viewing, at Parliament Tavern. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

MUCH MORE … for today/tonight; just check our complete calendar page.

(Jellies photographed by Gary Gates, via Twitter)

Welcome to the weekend! Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

GARAGE/YARD SALES: See who’s having one today, via the free listings in the WSB Forums‘ Freebies/Deals/Sales section.

SEAFAIR PIRATES LANDING: It’s an all-day festival at Alki Beach, with the Seafair Pirates expected to land around 2 pm, according to organizers – they’ve been known to arrive early so we’d suggest you do the same. Our preview includes the schedule, including bands. (60th SW/Alki SW)

WADING POOL OPENING DAY … this is Lincoln Park Wading Pool‘s opening day IF the forecast calls for sunny/70+-degree weather. Looks borderline right now so after 9 am, check with the wading-pool hotline, 206-684-7796. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)

FIELD DAY @ SOUTH SEATTLE COLLEGE: 11 am today through 11 am Sunday, members of the Puget Sound Repeater Group and Seattle Auxiliary Communications Service will be set up on the south side of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus for the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise. It’s open to the public and you’re welcome to stop by, see what they’re doing, and learn about amateur radio. Organizers note that “a special station will be staffed with a licensed mentor” so that “anyone can come to this … event and get on the air!” (6000 16th SW)

BARBECUE BENEFIT: 11 am-4 pm, West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) is grilling up lunch – look for the tent outside the entrance – to benefit Pencil Me In For Kids, which gets school supplies to kids who need them. (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan)

FAMILY GAME DAY: 11:30 am-3 pm, come play at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) – all ages welcome – “a chance to come meet your neighbors, make a few friends, and maybe (just maybe) defeat them in an epic struggle to control the universe!” (3727 California SW)

LOG HOUSE MUSEUM CLOSED TODAY: Usually open noon-4 pm – stop by tomorrow! – but not today because volunteers and staff are all busy with the Kenney tour (see 3 pm event below) …

TOUR ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE: The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary welcomes you to West Seattle’s historic lighthouse. Free tours run 1 pm-4 pm – be there by 3:40 to be on the final tour. (Alki Avenue SW/Beach Drive SW)

LIBRARY CELEBRATION: Friends of the Seattle Public Library are giving away 75th-anniversary totes 2-3 pm – first-come, first-served, at Delridge Library. (5423 Delridge Way SW)

KITE FESTIVAL: The Seattle Chinese Garden at the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus invites you to its annual Kite Festival, 2-6 pm. Here’s our preview. (6000 16th SW)

KENNEY TOUR: 3-5 pm, get a behind-the-scenes tour of The Kenney and its century-plus history with descendants of its founders and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, as previewed here. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)

(added) SLHS RING OF HONOR: From the inbox: “Tonight Seattle Lutheran High School Boosters are installing Robert “Bob” Christian into the Saints Ring of Honor with a Tailgate Party in the gymnasium – cost $20 – dinner at 5:00; presentation at 6:00.” (4100 SW Genesee)

(back to original list) MUSIC AT THE PROLETARIYACHT CLUB: Starting at 8 pm, “… an evening of original solo music performances featuring Blake Musselman (aka Moogie Man) with a theatrical rock-based show, Marko Reyes-Jech with his soul/funk crooning, and Tim Scallon with rock-based looping.” (4316 SW Othello)

And these two notes if you’re heading off-peninsula:

PRESIDENTIAL DEPARTURE: President Obama is expected to take off from Sea-Tac Airport by 9:45 am – there’ll be some ramp closures toward the east end of the West Seattle Bridge when the motorcade heads south from downtown Seattle, so we’ll be updating here.

SPORTS IN SODO: 2 pm Sounders FC match vs. New York at CenturyLink, 7:10 pm Mariners’ game vs. St. Louis at Safeco.

Rain or shine, the Morgan Junction Community Festival is on for Saturday, 10 am-5 pm in and around Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW).

Last night, we brought you a thorough preview of most of what you’ll find at the festival, which is presented by the Morgan Community Association, with sponsors including WSB. But we promised that tonight we’d share the word about the food.

In addition to the area’s year-round restaurants, including Zeek’s Pizza (WSB sponsor) right next to the festival zone, four mobile vendors are scheduled for Saturday, according to festival organizers, and this year they’ll be next to Beveridge Place Pub, adjacent to the park, rather than across the street as in the past few years. They are:

Kabob ‘n Kabob
Dirty Dog hot-dog cart
Gourmet Tamales
Sweet Bumpas Ice Cream

And kitty-corner from the park, at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), look for the barbecue tent outside the store entrance – you can support the festival by getting a fresh-grilled burger, chips, and drink for lunch, $7 suggested donation goes to keeping the festival free! 11 am until about 3 pm.

One more preview tomorrow, and then we’ll see you in Morgan Junction on Saturday!

Saturday is getting closer! And so far, looks like sun will grace the 2016 Morgan Junction Community Festival. We have even more information tonight about what you’ll find in and around Morgan Junction Park during the festival, which is coordinated and presented by the Morgan Community Association.

Festival hours are 10 am-5 pm. When you get there, you’ll find a program at the festival-info booth in the park. The overall schedule grid is here; here are the featured events:

Music/entertainment lineup:

Alan Erlich, 10:00
Endolyne Children’s Choir, 10:45
Ellis Brothers, 12:15
Comfort Food, 1:00
Tongan Choir, 2:00
Broken Horses, 3:00
Gary Benson, 4:00

Vendors and Community Groups, starting at 10 am

More than 40 commercial vendors and community group reps will be in the parking lot behind Zeeks Pizza (WSB sponsor) and Whisky West, on Beveridge Place, and Eddy Street. Highlights include the Seed and Plant Exchange booth; Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) will feature an architect with whom you can discuss backyard cottage design/build ideas and requirements, Parie Hines of LD Arch Design (also a WSB sponsor); a representative from the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) will be available; and dozens more (we’ll be there reporting live as usual).

Writers’ Realm – Starting at 10:30 am, it’s back, featuring fifteen West Seattle authors, with readings and book sales at booths in the parking lot vendor area behind Zeeks and Whisky West – the authors’ list is here.

Kids’ Activities – 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. Jennifer Young, owner of My Three Little Birds (WSB sponsor), is coordinating the children’s activities. Chief entertainment for the kids is The Bubbleman, of course. He begins his always-pleasing wild and colorful show at 11:30 in the park. Craft activities start at 10:30 and end at 3:30. In addition to the crafts, face painters will be in the kid activity area from 10:00 to 3:30 and a balloon artist between 12:15 and 3:00. Mode Music Studioss (WSB sponsor) will hold half-hour Kindermusik sessions for younger children beginning at 12:30 and ending at 3:30.

Seattle Police Mounted Patrol – visiting at some point between 12:30 and 4 pm
Meet the horses (and the human officers), who are based right here in West Seattle.

Bark of Morgan dog parade and contests – 1:30 pm on, bring your leashed dog to SW Eddy just north of Morgan Junction Park – costumes encouraged! Parade through the festival grounds and then return for judged contests around 1:45 pm – more info here.

Spatter of Morgan – 3-4 pm
You’ll have the chance to “spatter” the soon-to-be-demolished building north of the park (site of future park expansion!) with water-based paint.

Tomorrow – we’ll preview Morgan Junction Community Festival food! (Thanks to festival publicity coordinator Susan Madrid for providing the detailed information featured above.)

The Morgan Community Association (morganjunction.orgMoCA) is pleased to announce the return of the ‘BARK OF MORGAN’ DOG SHOW at the Morgan Junction Community Festival on June 18, 2016. The ‘Bark’ kicks off with the Pooch Parade through the Festival Grounds followed by Canine Contests. There are seven contest categories this year, with judging by audience applause.

This is the 11th year of the popular Morgan Junction Community Festival held in and around Morgan Junction Park in West Seattle. As in past years, the Festival and the Bark of Morgan will occur rain or shine!

Here are the Bark of Morgan details:

1:30 PM – POOCH PARADE: Leashed dogs and their human should line up by 1:30 pm north of Morgan Junction Park in SW Eddy Street. Costumes are encouraged. The parade will go through the Festival Grounds back to Eddy Street.

1:45 PM – CANINE CONTESTS: The contests take place north of Eddy Street after the Parade. Contest categories are:

* Highest Jump
* Smallest Dog
* Best Urban Village Dog
* Best Trick
* Best Costume
* Longest Tail
* Best Owner/Dog Look Alike

Contest winners are based on the audience ‘applause-o-meter’, as determined by the MC.

(WSB photo: If you go to The Junction this weekend, you’ll see the hanging flower baskets, which arrived Friday)

Rain or shine, here are the highlights of our West Seattle weekend, day 1. First, a few notes:

TRAFFIC ALERTS: **No** bridge closure tonight – next one is Sunday night. If you’re going to/through SODO, note that Sounders FC hosts Colorado tonight at CenturyLink Field, 7 pm. And if you’ll be on Alki late tonight, remember the Sunday morning parking restrictions/road closures for the West Seattle 5K.

HELICOPTERS: Might be some unusual sightings today because of the American Heroes Airshow at the nearby Museum of Flight – it’s on our calendar because aviation draws so much interest here!

Now, as for what’s happening in West Seattle and vicinity …

TAI CHI AT THE BEACH: 9 am-10 am by Alki Bathhouse, with Lao-Shi Caylen Storm. (61st SW/Alki SW)

WHITE CENTER LIBRARY DEDICATION: White Center’s brand-new King County Library System branch is finished and ready to open. Party starts at 9:30 am today. When you visit, look for WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli’s image “Octopus Survey” in a conference room – it was still wrapped up and awaiting installation when he photographed it on Friday:

(1409 SW 107th)

WEST SEATTLE BEE FESTIVAL: 10 am festival, 11 am parade, and much more! See our Friday night preview. Come visit us at the Vendor/Info Fair! High Point Commons Park (including the West Seattle Bee Garden) and Neighborhood House’s High Point Center. (6400 Sylvan Way SW)

LEARN TO PAINT MINIATURES: 11 am at Meeples Games (WSB sponsor) – as explained on the Meeples website – all ages but a parent must accompany anyone under 12. (3727 California SW)

(update – rained out) BARBECUE BENEFIT: Another benefit barbecue lunch at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), 11 am-4 pm. Today, it’s burgers and hot dogs, benefiting Northwest Harvest. (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan)

FRIENDSHOP POP-UP: Friends of the Seattle Public Library will have a pop-up shop on the front steps of the West Seattle (Admiral) Library today, 11:30 am-3:30 pm – here’s what it’s all about. (2306 42nd SW)

PACKET PICKUP AND REGISTRATION FOR WEST SEATTLE 5K: Noon-6 pm at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), you can pick up your packet for Sunday morning’s West Seattle 5K if you’re already registered, or register if you’re not! (2743 California SW)

CATIO TOUR: Two West Seattle “catios” are on the map for today’s noon-4 pm self-guided tour – details in our calendar listing.

BIRDS OF THE DUWAMISH VALLEY: 1-3 pm at the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse, presentation and walk – details in our calendar listing. (4205 W. Marginal Way SW)

WRITE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! With Seattle’s Civic Poet (and West Seattle resident) Claudia Castro Luna, 1-3 pm at High Point Library, a “fun and interactive afternoon reading and writing poetry.” Free but first-come, first-served. (35th SW/SW Raymond)

HIGHLAND PARK UNCORKED: Sold out, so this is just a reminder if you’ve signed up – the Highland Park Improvement Club‘s annual wine-tasting benefit is tonight, 5:30 pm doors open, 7 pm tasting begins! Co-sponsors include WSB. (12th SW/SW Holden)

LAFAYETTE’S ‘THE LION KING’: All are welcome to enjoy Lafayette Elementary‘s “The Lion King” tonight, 7 pm, at West Seattle High School. Performances are by kids in grades 3rd through 5th who attend Lafayette. Free admission; concessions on sale. (3000 California SW)

ROO FORREST AND FRIENDS: Originals and covers at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)

MADELINE BERSAMINA & FRIENDS: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, “soprano Madeline Bersamina (has) put together a program of American and British songs with mezzo soprano Erin Calata, flutist Brian Fairbanks, and pianist John Stuntebeck.” Ticket info and other details in our calendar listing. (7904 35th SW)

SEE THE CALENDAR … for even more.

(2013 WSB photo from first WS Bee Festival Parade)

The place to “bee” tomorrow is the West Seattle Bee Festival – you can even join in the parade celebrating those buzzy little insects on which our lives depend. A few things so you can plan your visit:

*Official festival hours, 10 am-3 pm
*Official locations – High Point Commons Park and inside Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (immediately south of the park at 6400 Sylvan Way SW)
*Honey Run, 10 am (signups start at 9:30 am by the Commons Park amphitheater)
*Costume-making and face-painting activities to prepare for the parade start at 10 am
*Food trucks west of HP Center, 10 am-2:30 pm
*Music in the park, 10 am-3 pm
*Kids & pets parade, 11 am, starting from the amphitheater
*Vendor/Information Fair, 11 am-2 pm along Lanham Place SW on the west edge of the park, between Graham and Sylvan/Morgan
*Plant/Seed/Tool Swap, 11 am-2 pm
*Woodland Park Zoo “Up Close” pollinator program, 11:30 am-1:30 pm inside HP Center
*Art-making activities, 11:30 am-3 pm inside HPC Center
*Bee hive demo, noon-12:30 pm at the Bee Garden on the north side of the park
*Bee Garden tours, periodically noon-2 pm

Aside from food trucks and vendors’ merchandise, it’s all free! More details here. WSB is participating in the Vendor/Info Festival, so we hope to see you there!

Now the rest of the story from last night’s Morgan Community Association meeting:

FUTURE PARK-EXPANSION SITE: We reported last month on the last business leaving the Parks-owned commercial building at 6311 California SW that will be demolished to expand adjacent Morgan Junction Park. MoCA president Deb Barker said Parks sent word that they will soon be boarding up the building and ringing it with a chain-link fence and “no trespassing” signs, since they’re already having trouble with squatters who apparently have gotten in by breaking through the building’s “rotten” roof. The fencing will be removed for a mural project during the Morgan Junction Community Festival on June 18th; demolition of the building is expected soon after the festival, Barker said.

ABOUT THAT MURAL: MoCA is looking for someone to lead the project, which will guide local kids in creating a vision of the future park expansion. Interested? Contact MoCA ASAP – contact info’s on the group’s website.

AND SPEAKING OF THE FESTIVAL: MoCA’s been making progress signing up vendors and bands – nothing to announce just yet. The “Bite of Morgan” food samples, donated by local restaurants in recent years, will not be back this year. Food trucks, a popular feature the past few years, will be.

LOWMAN BEACH SEAWALL: David Graves from Seattle Parks brought an update on the shifting seawall at Lowman Beach Park. The city is looking for a grant to study it, but even before that, there’s one big concern: Addressing the problem could require taking out the little park’s tennis court. Parks doesn’t know much about its usage before the Murray CSO storage-tank project took over much of the park but nonetheless promises to bring this issue and others regarding Lowman to the community, with public meetings expected.

SDOT GRANT: MoCA is proposing another use for $24,000 available from SDOT to buy “street furniture” – spending it instead on repairs for the gravel alley behind businesses on the east side of California SW north of Fauntleroy. This is something that’s been a thorn in the area’s side for a long time and has even been proposed for city grant funding before – most recently in 2013, when this WSB story explained the problem. The street furniture money had a caveat anyway – maintenance and liability insurance. MoCA leaders say in other neighborhoods, that’s a responsibility placed on business owners rather than a community council.

HALA FOCUS GROUP MEMBERS: The meeting also included a brief chat with locals who had been chosen for the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda “focus group” neighborhood spots. As you can see on page 4 of this list, five people from the Morgan Junction Urban Village area were chosen, including MoCA board member Cindi Barker, who was on the original HALA advisory committee. In general, local reps hope to provide the focus group a perspective on what life south of downtown is like for people struggling to get by.

The Morgan Community Association meets quarterly on third Wednesdays, 7 pm, at The Kenney – keep up to date between meetings by checking in at morganjunction.org.

(Alki sunset photographed by Jay Strevey)

Sunset-watching, community-group participation, and more – here’s what’s up in the hours ahead, trom the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

NETWORKING AT LUNCHTIME: Bring your lunch and ponder telecommuting/coworking/networking while getting ready to be Viaductless for two weeks. Or, drop in even if you’re a regular on-the-peninsula worker/entrepreneur. Noon-1:15 pm at West Seattle Office Junction (WSB sponsor) – more here. (6040 California SW)

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUP: Monthly meeting 1-3 pm at Uptown Espresso in The Junction – info in our calendar listing. (California/Edmunds/Erskine)

FAMILY FUN AT ROXHILL: 6 pm tonight, it’s Family Health and Fitness Night at Roxhill Elementary:

There will be food, prizes, Zumba, community organizations, fitness activities, and giveaways! It will be a fun night for the whole family.

(30th SW/SW Roxbury)

COED ULTIMATE FRISBEE: 6 pm pickup game every Wednesday night at Fairmount Park Playfield, all welcome. (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW)

WORDSWEST LITERARY SERIES: 7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), this month featuring “Poetry in Music and Music in Poetry” with Jenifer Browne Lawrence and Lana McMullen; “Favorite Poem” by Victoria Melton, Seattle Public Schools music teacher. More info in our calendar listing. (5612 California SW)

DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL: 7 pm monthly meeting at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. The agenda:

7:05 p.m. Welcome & Introductions

7:15 p.m. DNDC Updates & Announcements
· CNC Report
· Update on NSF Project
· West Seattle Grand Parade
· Other announcements

7:30 p.m. Northwest Seaport Alliance Terminal 5 EIS

7:40 p.m. Neighborhoods SLI (Statement of Legislative Intent)

8:00 p.m. Southwest Youth & Family Services

8:15 p.m. Councilmember Lisa Herbold

8:50 p.m. Other DNDC Business
· Next month Neighborhood Street Fund Project Reviews and Ranking

(4408 Delridge Way SW)

MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: 7 pm quarterly meeting at The Kenney. Agenda:

7:00 Introductions and Morgan Minute Updates

· April 28, 2016: Morgan Junction Business Mixer at Zeeks Pizza
· Morgan Junction Sidewalk Improvements
· Morgan Junction Park Expansion status
· Murray CSO Update

7:05 Introducing Morgan Junction HALA Focus Group members

7:15 Old Business

· Lowman Beach shoreline retaining wall (David Graves)

· Morgan 2015 NPSF award status
· June 18, 2016 Morgan Junction Community Festival
o – – Music and Entertainment Lineup – –

8:00 New Business

· SW District Council updates
· 2016 Morgan NSF prioritization
· Seattle Summer Parkways

8:30 Adjournment

(7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)

34TH DISTRICT REPUBLICANS: 7 pm at American Legion Post 160. Guest speaker tonight: Michael Waite, running for State Treasurer. (3618 SW Alaska)

TONIGHT’S SUNSET: 8:07 pm is the official time (you can always find it on the WSB West Seattle Weather page)

LOTS OF NIGHTLIFE! See the listings on our complete calendar!