(WSB photo from 2011 West Seattle Grand Parade)
So apparently this will be a summer without a Seattle 4th of July fireworks show.

A summer possibly without Blue Angels.

But we’ll have the West Seattle Grand Parade – right?

Right?

Well, provided there’s a little help footing the bills, yes. The parade is planned for 11 am Saturday, July 20th, and co-coordinator Dave Vague says:

We are still in our planning stages and have secured a couple of our sponsors from last year, but we are still a little short and are once again asking for the support of the West Seattle Community, who has been so generous in the past and helped us to continue this cherished community event.

Donations can be made at the West Seattle Grand Parade website:

thewestseattleparade.com/Donate.html

If you’re new in town or have missed our coverage of this in recent years, the costs of putting on the parade have continued to go up, and just the barricades/no-parking signs alone cost thousands of dollars. WSB will be donating again this year and we hope that if you can, you will too.

Here’s a lost bunny who doesn’t really qualify for the WSB Pets page … so we’re showing it here. Markus explains:

We went to the West Seattle Parade this weekend and unfortunately lost our daughter’s beloved stuffed animal bunny. I thought the bunny made it home in my backpack, but others saw her take it out while I wasn’t looking. :( We posted some flyers around Hinds & California where we sat for the parade. … If there is any way to help spread the word, our little one is still asking where she is…

If you have any ideas about the bunny’s whereabouts, e-mail the bunny’s companion’s dad at Markus@rocketgraphicsinc.com.

(Photo by Nick Adams for WSB)

(Photo by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)
(All of our West Seattle Grand Parade coverage can be seen here.) Second, the ANA-presented Summer Concerts at Hiawatha start in just three days! Thursday night, come hear The Local Strangers, live on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (2700 California SW, but this is on the Walnut side of the site), free – bring your own blanket(s)/chair(s); show starts at 6:30. After this week, there are five more Thursday night shows – the schedule’s here (note that August 16th’s concert is at Alki Beach – it’s a SC@H tradition to have one there each year, since city cutbacks at Alki Community Center meant they can no longer present a summertime outdoor concert)

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
Yet another facet of the interwoven events of Saturday, in connection with the West Seattle Grand Parade, was the Rotary Club of West Seattle-presented Kiddie Parade. Once again on Saturday, the proud participants marched down California from SW Genesee to Edmunds. Or rolled:

First, as usual, they mill about, which is almost as much of a spectacle:

Costumes usually abound:

Always lots of kids in the “main parade,” but this is a chance for little ones to enjoy the being-in-the-parade experience, even if they’re not part of a school, group, church, etc. that has an entry.

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
When Seattle Police Officer John Bernasconi pulled his motorcycle up to the curb near the start of the West Seattle Grand Parade route this morning, to join the Drill Team as its leader for one last ride, a colleague joked, “Hey, this is seniors’ parking.”

The officer laughed. Within an hour, there would be time for more somber emotions – though the hugs and handshakes began long before he and his colleagues reached the California/Charlestown intersection where a ceremony was planned to mark his last ride.

This year, he is retiring, not just from the Drill Team after 36 years (12 as Drillmaster), but from the force after 43 years. We told his story here on Thursday,

Though he has worked from the downtown-based Traffic Division, those who speak fondly of him include Southwest Precinct leadership past and present – Traffic Division vets – current commander Capt. Steve Paulsen, past commander Capt. Joe Kessler (who now leads the West Precinct and was at today’s ceremony), current operations Lt. Pierre Davis. “He is just the nicest guy” is something we heard often.

And fittingly for a nice guy, though the morning was a tribute to him, he brought the gifts – bouquets of flowers for his wife Cindy, daughter Alexandra (visiting from Australia), and his mom (visiting from California). Our nine-minute uncut video shows how the farewell unfolded:

(That video is by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand; for a shorter clip, see Christopher Boffoli‘s video here.)

What made this particularly unusual was the fact it was held during the West Seattle Grand Parade – Officer Bernasconi’s choice, because he is a native West Seattleite, and it’s where he and Cindy, married 28 years, raised 23-year-old Alexandra:

Then after applause and more hugs ..

…off he rode:

…while his teammates, and their counterparts from Vancouver, B.C. – who as shown in our long clip also stopped to pay tribute – continued the parade.

(Video of the race’s start and first 2 photos, by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
About 300 people ran and/or walked in the first-ever West Seattle Float Dodger 5K, a kind of opening act for the West Seattle Grand Parade, was a big success, reports Tim McConnell of West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), which played a big role in making it happen. Tim and wife/co-proprietor Lori McConnell both participated, too, in costume (which was encouraged):

The race started under cloudy skies, but no rain:

The “float dodging” happened after participants walked/ran the first leg of the race, north from California/Charlestown to California/Lander, the starting line of the parade – where the West Seattle Hi-Yu float was parked, minus royalty, for them to run around:

(WSB photo by Tracy Record)
From there, they ran southbound along the entire parade route to the finish at California/Edmunds. The results are available online now – go here. The top male finisher was 29-year-old Mark Mandi, with a net time of 15:28; top female finisher was 30-year-old Bekka Martin, with a net time of 20:17. Other winners included the beneficiaries, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Rotary Club of West Seattle, whose members helped with race staging/organizing – here’s Gary Potter of Potter Construction (WSB sponsor) with some of the course markers:

(WSB photo by Patrick Sand)
This was one of two Rotary events on parade morning – the other was the Kiddie Parade; photos from that are coming up. Run for Good Racing Company was a partner in making the Float Dodger 5K happen, too. So far, sounds like the first one won’t be the last – so watch for the registration announcement next year!

(WSB video of the All-City Band, top Overall Trophy Winner today)
Just announced by West Seattle Grand Parade coordinators – today’s winners!

Clowns & Comics

1.       Seattle Seafair Clowns
2.       Keystone Kops

Performing Acts

1.       Pathfinder K-8 School (Unicycle Team)
2.       Lake City Vigilantes
3.       Seattle Seafair Pirates

Marching Bands

(Photo by Dan Holz)
1.       Kennedy Catholic High School Marching Band

(This photo and next one by Nick Adams for WSB)
2.       Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder
3.       Pacific Northwest Drumline (Tie)

3.    Seattle Police Pipe & Drum Band

Drill Teams – Senior

1.       Electronetts High Steppers Drill Team & Drumline
2.       The Dolls Drill Team
3.       Super Steppers Marching Team

Drill Teams – Junior

1.       Electronetts Butterflies Drill Team
2.       Washington Diamonds Drill Team
3.       Daughters of Royalty Drill Team

Cars & Antique Cars

(Photo courtesy Lance Rasmussen)
1.       Pacific Northwest DeLorean Club
2.       Last Resort Fire Department
3.       Seattle Lutheran Schools

Commercial

1.       Your Seattle City Light and the Northwest Tap Connection Dance Team
2.       Luna Park Café
3.       Seattle Public Utilities

Community

(WSB video of part of the OLG parade entry)
1.       Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish & School
2.       Little Gym of West Seattle

(Photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
3.       WestSide Baby

Floats

1.       Marysville Strawberry Festival

Overall Trophy Winners

1.       Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band (see video atop this story)
2.       Chinese Community Girls Drill Team
3.       Sumner High School Marching Band

It’s 12:33 pm as we publish this – almost 2 hours after the West Seattle Grand Parade began with the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team, almost 3 hours after the Float Dodger 5K preceded the parade down the course – and even here at the starting line, California/Lander, the parade isn’t over yet. About 10 minutes ago, the Seafair Pirates took their turn heading down the route, and we caught their first cannon blast on video (above). The very start of the route is a great place to watch – especially if you like to see a bit of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering; for parade participants (we’ve been in it three times), getting the signal to move onto the route is a thrilling moment – here’s Lora Swift from Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), atop her Mini looking out of, of course, a coffee cup:

Just before we walked up to photograph the Hotwire entry, Lora e-mailed us this photo from HER viewpoint atop the cupmobile:

Sustainable West Seattle has, of course, a human-powered entry again this year:

And while the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums were marching for their first appearance in this parade, the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew over (as of the Monday night parade-lineup meeting, it had been requested, but it’s never a sure thing; an emergency might call for it) – it’s at the end of this short clip:

And of course there was royalty! One of the Seafair princesses was Kelsey Bills, representing West Seattle Hi-Yu in this year’s Seafair Scholarship Program for Women –

Will she become queen? We’ll find out just before next Saturday night’s Torchlight Parade. Meantime, Hi-Yu’s appearance today will be in one of our upcoming reports.

ADDED 12:56 PM: Traffic note – the parade is over now at the NORTH end of the route, through the Admiral District, and from Admiral Safeway, we are seeing traffic moving again along California in this area. The parade still has some time to go in The Junction, though, so it won’t be fully reopened for a while.

ADDED 1:07 PM: The parade has now finished passing California/Charlestown, our crew at that intersection reports.

ADDED 1:56 PM: One more clip for this story – Nancy Woodland from WestSide Baby entering the parade route as Grand Marshal, followed by the WS Baby bus and volunteers (even chanting!), and then after a bit of a pause, Shirley Vradenburgh riding with the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Community Service:

In forthcoming reports, we’ll have much more parade coverage; we had four photojournalists covering today’s parade (including a team covering the mid-course farewell ceremony for SPD drill-team Drillmaster Officer John Bernasconi).

We’re starting West Seattle Grand Parade morning at Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights (WSB sponsor), where the Seafair Pirates have just swept in for a “raid” (so says a sign on the front door) – and are serenading residents, staff, and West Seattle Hi-Yu royalty, with pirate songs (ending “We never put out to sea”) at the start of a big day. Here’s the Pirates’ leader, Captain Kidd (aka Lance English), with members of last year’s royalty:

One pirate appeared to be attempting to “borrow” this year’s Junior Court Queen Thea‘s pendant for their treasure chest … hmm:

In a couple hours, the Pirates will “sail” Moby Duck down California SW, cannon blasts, sword-sweeping and all. The road is closed from Admiral Way south, remember; the Float Dodger 5K starts from California/Charlestown at 9:45, while parade preps continue further north, with the route going southbound from SW Lander all the way to SW Edmunds.

9:19 AM UPDATE: California outside Admiral Safeway/Lafayette is starting to fill up with parade participants. Here’s the WestSide Baby bus, not only promoting tomorrow’s diaper drive but following WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland, Grand Marshal for today’s parade:

Thirsty? Next to Admiral Safeway, Umpqua Bank (WSB sponsor) manager Kirk Mead and team are ready to offer bottled water:

Across the street, some logistics – parade co-coordinator Dave Vague (right) checked in with Josh Sutton, who’ll be driving the West Seattle Y (WSB sponsor) bus, about the banner that will be displayed to show the Y is a major sponsor of the parade:

The Seattle Police Pipes and Drums members, making their first West Seattle Grand Parade appearance, are gathering:

You’ll see them BETWEEN the two motorcycle squads (Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.). Meantime, we can guarantee this will be the biggest bus in the parade:

And yes, “RapidRide Man,” costume and all, will be on hand, the bus’s minders told us. Meantime, it’s getting closer to Float Dodger 5K start time down at California/Charlestown – we’ve got crews there too and expect to hear from them shortly. We’re going out to check on more arrivals, including, we expect, some parade-watchers in the Hiawatha vicinity.

9:44 AM: More than 250 runners/walkers are about to start the Float Dodger 5K – here’s a photo from our crew – it heads NORTH on California before turning around to head south to finish at California/Edmunds:

10:04 AM: The runners/walkers have all completed the first section of the course – they ran north to California/Lander and “dodged” the Hi-Yu float, which was parked in the intersection to play the role.

They’re now all headed south to the end of the parade route at California/Edmunds. (300 participants, we’re told!) Separate story with 5K video and more, later! P.S. (as of 10:08 am) – the Seattle and Vancouver B.C. motorcycle units have JUST arrived, and if you’ve been following our coverage, you know they have a special event ahead at California/Charlestown, as longtime Drillmaster for SPD, Officer John Bernasconi, a West Seattleite, relinquishes his command (he’s retiring this year) – added, we walked up just as he was arriving around 10:10:

As of 10:19 am, the motorcycles appear to be getting ready to leave – if you’re at California/Charlestown, get ready! Not sure when our next update will be – watch us on Twitter.

Check our parade preview from last night for more advance info; more pre-parade coverage to come.

It takes a village to build a float! The volunteers we found outside Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) tonight are no doubt just one of many groups/businesses/organizations putting finishing touches on their floats, cars, signs, etc., for Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade. So it’s time for one final preview of what you’ll see tomorrow among the nearly 100 entries. Here’s what we have already reported (with links to our stories):

*Grand Marshal: Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby – she’ll be in a car, followed by the famous “Stuff the Bus” school bus promoting Sunday’s big diaper drive
*Orville Rummel Trophy: Shirley Vradenburgh, recently retired from Seattle Lutheran High School
*Seattle Police Pipes and Drums’ debut, marching between motorcycle groups, with visiting Boston Police counterparts
*Last ride/ceremony for SPD Motorcycle Drill Team leader Officer John Bernasconi, a West Seattle native (you’re welcome to watch – 10:30 am or so at California/Charlestown)
*First-ever Float Dodger 5K precedes the parade (still time to register beforehand – run/walk starts at California/Charlestown at 9:45 am)

And now, from information gleaned while we sat in on the parade-lineup meeting this week (with Jim Edwards, Dave Vague, Doreen Vague, and Michelle Edwards working to put it all together), some of what else you’ll see along the parade route (California/Lander to California/Edmunds):

*More marching bands than ever – half a dozen as of the parade-lineup meeting – including the Seahawks’ thunderous Blue Thunder. (Michelle Edwards is a member but won’t be playing with them because she’s part of the coordinating team for the parade – without which, there would be chaos!) And of course, the famous, West Seattleite Marcus Pimpleton-directed All-City Marching Band. (Marching bands obviously have to be separated, making for a fun juggling challenge at the lineup meeting.)

*Your major parade sponsors are the returning West Seattle YMCA (also a WSB sponsor), West Seattle Podcast (the folks in the ex-Petco space, aka Sound Ad Group), and International Parking Management. (WSB is proud to be among the next tier of donors – thanks to EVERYONE who chipped in to help make sure the parade would happen.)

*The Admiral District will make its debut in the parade – the newly formed business group

*As always, the Rotary Club of West Seattle-sponsored Kiddie Parade will be seen in The Junction, leaving California/Genesee at 11 am, marching, walking, rolling down the rest of the parade route to California/Edmunds – all kids welcome to participate (details here – you can sign up online OR just show up at the starting spot after 10 am)

*19 community groups (schools, churches, nonprofits, youth groups, lots and lots of your West Seattle neighbors)

*13 drill teams (including the always awesome Seattle Chinese Community Girls’ Drill Team)

*Performing acts including new participant Joyas Mestizas and Pathfinder K-8‘s unicyclists

*VIPs including Seafair royalty (cheer for Kelsey Bills, who is representing West Seattle Hi-Yu in this year’s Seafair Scholarship Program for Women competition)

*A red-and-yellow RapidRide bus

*Of course, the Seafair Pirates and the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival float, among others who participate every year (Art and Gloria, the World War II veterans who were last year’s Grand Marshals, are scheduled to return!)

*Remember, it’s NOT the “Hi-Yu Parade.” Hi-Yu is IN the parade. The festival sponsored the parade in its early years (the first parade was in 1934). But it’s the West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade now.

*Judges will be spread out along the route – no truth to the perception that acts show off at California/Alaska because that’s where they ALL are. Announcer Joe is at that intersection, though.

*One last reminder – if you ignore a sign like this any time between early Saturday morning and mid-afternoon …

… you are in danger of getting towed. Restrictions kick in at 7 am, per signs like that one along California, and that road will be closed earlier than usual because of the Float Dodger 5K. Side streets used for parade staging are mostly “just” parking restrictions but that means serious enforcement too – the area is needed for staging before AND afterward. And remember that the area around Hiawatha will be even busier because tomorrow is Day 1 of the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival, which begins right around the time the parade does!

(WSB coverage will start early in the morning with pre-parade preps. Later on, if you get cool parade pix, please consider sharing them with us, via e-mail or Flickr or Facebook or Twitter, for potential inclusion in our coverage! Thanks!)

(Photo of Officer John Bernasconi, courtesy Cindy Bernasconi)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Seattle Police Officer John Bernasconi, the SPD Motorcycle Drill Team‘s Drillmaster, will do this Saturday what no one before him has done:

He will relinquish his leadership of the team in a ceremony during the West Seattle Grand Parade.

Officer Bernasconi is retiring this year, after 43 years on the force, where he serves in the Traffic Division. He is also the longest active member of the Motorcycle Drill Team, which he joined 36 1/2 years ago – in January 1976, becoming Drillmaster in 2000. And – he is a West Seattleite, born and raised here.

That’s why he has chosen to have the changeover ceremony during the West Seattle Grand Parade, instead of a parade later in the season, as has been customary, we are told, for those before him.

It won’t happen at the start or the end of the drill team’s performance in the parade – but right in the middle. And you’re welcome to watch – but you have to be in the right place!

The ceremony is scheduled to happen at California and Charlestown sometime after 10:30 am (that’s when parade organizers say the drill team is scheduled to leave California/Lander, but it could be a little earlier if the Float Dodger 5K runners/walkers are all clear).

Officer Bernasconi will have family and friends in attendance including his 23-year-old daughter Alexandra, who grew up in West Seattle (attending Holy Rosary) and is visiting from Australia, and his mom, visiting from California.

We talked today with his proud wife of 28 years, Cindy Bernasconi, who says that her husband’s aspiration to be a motorcycle officer went all the way to childhood, when he would ride his trike and pretend he was chasing lawbreakers. She says he’s devoted a lot of time to it over the years – there are practices (he was at one when she and I spoke, in fact) and there’s lots of travel to other parades – including Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Canada, and other locales far and near. Two years ago, she shared a photo of him (below, at right with fellow West Seattleite Rob Blanco):

Officer Bernasconi’s SPD career dates back to April 1969, and he joined the Traffic Division two years later, the Motorcycle Unit three years after that. Then after another year and a half, he joined the Drill Team, which has led off the West Seattle Grand Parade for many years (and has been in operation for 63 years!).

He’s also known in West Seattle for community/volunteer work including sports coaching, Cindy tells us, so the cheering section for Saturday’s ceremony and parade is bound to be big. Everyone we talked to informally about Officer Bernasconi says he’s a genuinely nice guy.

Once the ceremony is complete, he will “ride off by himself,” she says – and the rest of the team will continue on with the parade.

****

Again, this is all scheduled to unfold at California/Charlestown on Saturday morning. The SPD motorcycles begin the parade from California/Lander, followed by, as we reported here, the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums with their visiting mentors the Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums, then the Vancouver PD Motorcycle Drill Team, and the rest of the parade – including Grand Marshal Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby and Orville Rummel Community Service Trophy honoree Shirley Vradenburgh, recently retired from Seattle Lutheran High School.

Remember that the parade route and staging area stretch along California between Admiral and Edmunds, with parking restrictions starting at 7 am and continuing as late as 3 pm, and enforcement earlier because of the parade-preceding 5K. There will also be parking restrictions on streets to the west and east of California as staging zones. (We’re working on a map with more specifics.) The official parade website is here.

(WSB photo from just before the start of 2010 parade, in which we rode behind Post 160′s commander)
This Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade is suddenly short two convertibles for the VIP’s who ride toward the start – and organizers are asking if anyone out there in WSB-land can loan theirs. One is needed for Orville Rummel Trophy winner Shirley Vradenburgh (here’s our story from last night), and the other for parade-presenting American Legion Post 160‘s Commander Chris Shea, a Navy veteran riding in his final parade before a change of command for the Post. If you can loan one (or two!) convertibles to the parade, please contact co-coordinator Dave Vague ASAP – e-mail vagued@comcast.net. Thanks!

Making their first appearance in the West Seattle Grand Parade this year are the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums. They practice at the Harbor Patrol facility on Lake Union, where we recorded that video last night. (They also participated in this year’s Seattle Police Memorial at Forest Lawn back in May.)

Their participation will change the first part of the parade a bit – the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team will take off from the parade route’s California/Lander starting line at about 10:30, and instead of the Vancouver (B.C.) Police motorcycles being right after SPD, the Pipes and Drums will march … along with a special guest: The Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums. The West Seattle Grand Parade is the only parade in which they’ll participate; the Seattle and Boston pipers/drummers then have a big concert on Sunday night, along with even more visitors, from Delta, B.C. (The concert’s at 6 pm Sunday at Seattle University – full details here.)

The SPD Pipes and Drums are in their second year (their Boston mentors, in contrast, are in their 21st); they’re nonprofit, all-volunteer, supported but not financed by the department. And the group includes two West Seattleites:

The drum major, Scotty Bach, works in Criminal Intelligence at headquarters. One of the pipers is Michael Jongma, who’s with the Traffic Division:

And while he’s NOT a West Seattleite, we photographed Det. Mark Jamieson, who we usually talk with several times a week:

He is a member of the Public Affairs/Media Relations team downtown, so he’s often quoted in news stories – he and his colleagues find the info that us journalist types call to ask for. (They also write for SPD Blotter, tweet, appear on camera at major breaking-news scenes, etc.)

So look for the SPD Pipes and Drums this Saturday along California SW, between Lander and Edmunds, right after the SPD motorcycles (which start everything off at 10:30), marching with their Boston counterparts; then, see them Sunday night at Seattle U’s Pigott Auditorium (ticket info here).

SLHS honored Shirley, a West Seattle native, just last month – as she retired – with its first-ever Ring of Honor Award. She spent 33 years as teacher and registrar/college counselor at Seattle Lutheran, after spending a few years away from West Seattle, while she studied and taught in the Midwest.

Her community service here has included myriad roles including youth ministry and volunteer work with local nonprofits. In particular, she is well-known at Providence Mount St. Vincent, and explains:

I began volunteering at the Mount in 1996 when my mother spent her last two years there. I went every evening to visit her and began helping at dinner time. After my mother died in 1998, I was back the next day, and I have continued most days since that time. I found the Mount to be a special place; the staff were very supportive, and I have enjoyed many friendships with residents and their families through the years. It is a delight to see the smiles on the faces of residents as I spend a few minutes visiting while I help serve their drinks and the evening meal. They enjoy hearing about my activities with the students or travels, etc. I also spend time visiting with other residents around the building. Spending time with teenagers and the elderly each day makes a great balance – both are amazing groups of people.

The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle celebrated Shirley as an Everyday Hero in 2008, and the Rotary Club of West Seattle honored her recently too. Now, Post 160 is honoring her with the award named after the man who led the Post as Commander when it was first presented, 1984, Orville Rummel. Last year, community advocate/volunteer Cindi Barker was the honoree. In 2010, your WSB co-publishers were honored to receive it; that year, we wrote about its history.

So come to the parade this Saturday and cheer for Shirley – the route is California SW from Lander to Edmunds, starting around 11 am, with the motorcycles as usual launching earlier, so don’t be last-minute if you’re watching from the start of the route!