West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
Some of the news we share from local schools is quickly summarizable – a photo, a few words. This report is more verbose – because it’s about words. Just before what became this snow-extended Thanksgiving break (most students have been out since noontime Monday, if not earlier), West Seattle High School language-arts teacher Kira Hopkins shared her news about WSHS and Writers in the Schools, working with her ninth-grade students. Here’s what WITS writer-in-residence Katie Ogle writes about her experiences so far – including a sample of student work:
Writers in the Schools at West Seattle High School
Writers in the Schools, a program of Seattle Arts and Lectures, employs local teaching artists to bring creative writing into King County public schools–and I, Katie Ogle, am delighted to be a 2010 writer-in-residence at West Seattle High School.
I visit Kira Hopkins’ four 9th-grade Language Arts classes each Friday. The early morning classes are usually still waking up and the afternoon classes are sprinting toward the imminent weekend, and yet they still are able to give me astute observations about published work I bring in to examine and push themselves to create stunning responses to my challenging writing prompts.
So far we are learning about the autonomy the writer has over language, the efficacy of literary devices, and how to develop honest, interesting poetry and writing. In keeping with Mrs. Hopkins’ course-theme, Identity, we have written self-portrait poems, odes to cherished objects, and poetic memoirs. I am so pleased to share one of many sharp and well-crafted poems that has come out of our short time together:
Click ahead to read that “well-crafted poem,” and a bit more from Katie Ogle:Read More
There are many reasons to head over to the Duwamish Longhouse in eastern West Seattle (4705 West Marginal Way SW) this afternoon – and one of them is Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen‘s famous frybread. She and her granddaughters were in the longhouse kitchen working on it when we stopped by earlier to get photos from the Native Art Fair, continuing till 5 tonight. Close to the main entrance, you’ll find Duwamish artist Virginia Nelson and husband Tim:
She has fuzzy purses and wallets, among other items, while he’s selling an eclectic doorstop made from a paver, decorated like a snowman – and you can even get them in Husky or Cougar garb. (The Cougs outsell the Huskies, the Nelsons insist.) Next to their table, you will find Duwamish Designs by DeAnn – including dolls made from cedar bark and cattails:
She told us, “I’m not a patient person … but making these has taught me patience,” as she shepherds the entire artistic process, starting with harvesting the cattails and bark. (In the left corner of the photo are beaded bookmarks she is also selling.) You’ll also find hats, wall-hangings, even tribal-art Christmas stockings.
Not snow, nor sleet, nor rain, etc., will deter … not only postal carriers, but also artists. Above, that’s Linus Von Moos, who’s visiting West Seattle all the way from Switzerland. This afternoon, despite the snow and chilly wind, he’s out painting a mural in front of Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction. He’s a traveling artist, Twilight co-proprietor Erin explains, who’s been couch-surfing, including a stay at co-proprietor Mary’s place: “He was itching to leave his mark in Seattle, so we offered TwAC’s wall outside, under the main window.” While he was inside the gallery/shop taking a break, we asked him about the mini-project:
You can see more of his work on his website.
Also from The Junction: If you’ve been there lately, you might have noticed the work going on along the sidewalk on the north side of Alaska, between the Cupcake Royale corner at California SW and the Junction Plaza Park corner at 42nd SW:
Several people have asked us about it or even sent photos; we took that one when we spotted the SDOT truck there on Saturday. According to Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association, the crews are installing more “decorative lampposts” along Alaska, and are working hard to finish the job before Thanksgiving. (Junction Plaza Park is where West Seattleites will gather for the Christmas Tree lighting in less than two weeks – Saturday, December 4th, 5 pm.)
By Christine Johnson-Duell
Special to West Seattle Blog
“Literary Fires,” tomorrow (Wednesday) night at C&P Coffee (WSB sponsor), is a poetry and prose reading on the topic of fires, real and conjured.
The firestarter is poet Susan Rich (left), who won a 2010 CityArtist grant to write about her experiences in Spain during the 2009 wildfires. This reading is part of the grant project.
To help her fan the literary flames, Susan invited award-winning writers Harold Taw and Elizabeth Austen to read with her. All three writers live in West Seattle — and all three have had a literary year that was, well, on fire; Rich’s invitation to Taw and Austen might serve an additional purpose: To mark the achievements all three have enjoyed this year.
The posters are up, all over the hallways inside West Seattle High School – but the invitation extends to the rest of the community, too: The WSHS Drama Club is two nights away from opening its fall production, the jury-deliberations drama “12 Angry People” (known in earlier incarnations as “12 Angry Men”). Drama teacher and “12 Angry People” director Andrew Finley allowed WSB to sit in on dress rehearsal Monday evening, so we grabbed a bit of video during one of the production’s most-emotional scenes:
“What I love about (this play) is that it’s a character study,” Finley told us during a quick chat on the sidelines while the student actors continued their run-through. “The playwriting term is ‘an elevator play’ – the characters are locked in a room, and have to work things out.” For Finley, teaching drama (along with other subjects he teaches) isn’t just a career – it’s in his blood, truly, considering that both his parents are actors, and there’s so much theatrical involvement on his family tree, he jokes that an uncle who is an “international businessman” is considered the “black sheep of the family.”
His cast for “Twelve Angry People” spans the class roster at WSHS – for example, he notes juror #3 is a senior who’s been in the Drama Club for years, while juror #8 is a freshman. (If you’ve never seen a variation of this half-century-old play, it follows the jurors through their debate over a verdict in the case of a young man accused of murdering his father.) Here’s the full cast, from the official website:
FOREMAN: Taylor Schuler
JUROR NO. 2: Matthew Carlson
JUROR NO. 3: David Ramirez
JUROR NO. 4: Flannery Denison
JUROR NO. 5: Nanna Darden
JUROR NO. 6: Matt Bohl
JUROR NO. 7: Johnny Le
JUROR NO. 8: Kayla Swedlow
JUROR NO. 9: Kaily Irons-Fuda
JUROR NO. 10: Sterling Espinoza
JUROR NO. 11: Biruktawit Mengistu
JUROR NO. 12: Mackenzie Jennings
BAILIFF: Margie Alamario
So if you’re not associated with WSHS, why come see a student play? Finley – in his ninth year at WSHS – thinks for a moment, then suggests that one thing setting this apart from other student productions – “I have almost unreasonably high standards,” because of his background. And indeed, as our visit to dress rehearsal wraps up, the actors take a break, and Finley briskly points out one major glitch they’d just displayed – but in a tough-coach sense, not a berating-tyrant sense. They continued working into the night, and will be ready to show their stuff for you and other audience members, Thursday-Saturday this week (Nov. 4-6) and next (Nov. 11-13). Showtime at the WSHS Theater is 7:30 pm nightly; admission is $7 with a reservation, $12 without (all explained online) – to make a reservation, call 206-252-8834. (And stay tuned within the next few weeks for the announcement of two more WSHS productions to come!)
That’s one of the stars of Skeleton Theatre 2010 – “The Death of Rock” (here’s our report from last night; here’s our earlier preview) – with a glass pumpkin left courtesy of West Seattle Art Attack (remember them? if not, read this). The photo’s from Maia Low, part of the Skeleton Theatre team, who wanted to let everyone know THE SHOW WILL GO ON TONIGHT AS PLANNED, rain or no rain. Maia added, “We’re also hoping to add more videos to tonight’s show!” and, regarding the WSAA surprise (which we have independently confirmed), she wrote, “While bagging up the skeletons for the night, we found a wonderful glass pumpkin on our front porch. We were thrilled to find it and it makes me feel like we’ve won an Academy Award! It means a great deal to us to receive such a lovely sign of support from our neighbors (beyond everyone’s willingness to come out and see our shows).” 36th and Hanford (map), 6-9 pm tonight, the animatronic-skeletons-plus-bigscreen-video show runs continuously (with a few minutes’ break between performances), no admission charge but if you want to donate $ to help with expenses, there’s a PayPal link on the ST website.
Till 9 pm, it’s Skeleton Theatre 2010 – “The Death of Rock” – West Seattle’s own animatronic Halloween extravaganza, at 36th/Hanford (map). Thanks to the WSB’er who just texted that photo … we’re heading over shortly to check it out and hope to add video here later.
ADDED 11:59 PM: Two clips – first, a bit of the “Beyond the Music” story of the band Bonaparte, shown on a big screen above the stage, punctuating the songs:
And a bit of Bonaparte’s quite-original, quite-appropriate musical artistry:
Even in a bit of mid-evening drizzle, an appreciative crowd filled the lawn:
Side note – if you walk up 37th along the block south of Hanford, you might see this lovely lass who looks like she should be hanging out with the band:
P.S. If you missed it tonight, Skeleton Theatre is scheduled to run continuously 6-9 pm again tomorrow (Monday) too. This is the fifth year Chris Walker and friends have put on an animatronic tour-de-force … explore the official website for the background (and to find a button to chip in a few bucks if you enjoyed the show!).
Since pumpkins are part of the photo, we’re kicking off this final roundup of West Seattle pumpkins with this photo, and “news alert!” explanation, from Chris Henggeler:
Admiral family awakes to enormous spider in house. Local scientists believe the spider originally hitched a ride in a container from southeast Asia and disembarked at the Port of Seattle. It’s thought that the insect was exposed to toxic waste at the Aluminum Plant and has now taken up residence at the corner of 39th and Lander. The family is trapped in the house waiting for emergency services and animal control to arrive.
Will they escape? Only time will tell. In the meantime, more West Seattleites’ pumpkins for all to enjoy, trapped or not. First, from Kate, Pat, and Neil:
Next, a brainy pumpkin from Carl:
From SeaChanty51:
Adam carved this howling-wolf pumpkin:
Vanessa shares this, explaining that’s Elmo on the right:
Dan and Heidi shared their pumpkin group:
Finally, this pumpkin pic’s from EE:
One more round of BIG THANKS to all the pumpkin-photo-sharing WSB’ers – scroll through our Holidays archive to see the others shared over the past week-plus. ADDED 11:34 PM: To bookend this with spiders – one more, from Todd, who says it’s at 38th/Lander in the Admiral District:
Thanks yet again for sharing so many great pumpkin photos this past week – This round begins with one from Chef Jason Todd Rice at The Bohemian, who also wants to make sure you know they have a special cocktail with proceeds going to help Sofia Goff from now-closed Café Revo – just ask for “La Sofia.” Meantime, Meredith shared this group:
And two from Todd:
If you have a pumpkin pic to share for the final two roundups tonight and Halloween night – please use this address: westseattleblog@gmail.com … our main one’s having a few technical challenges at the moment and might not be fixed till later Saturday. Thanks and have a great time this weekend!
We’re featuring West Seattle pumpkins through Halloween, and tonight, three more examples of creative carvings – first, Megan carved half a dozen pumpkins, both in honor of her two Admiral workplaces (including WSB sponsor Shanti Salon and Spa) and “just for fun.” Next, Bill Schrier – who among other things is webmaster for the 34th District Democrats – has some political pumpkins in this picture:
From left, that’s Alexandria, Ryan, Lara, and Bill. And from MargL‘s three-member family, a three-pumpkin family:
Sent your pumpkin photo yet? We’ve got room for more the next three nights! Here’s how to send ’em.
Busy news night tonight, so we’ll just show two West Seattle jack-o-lanterns for you to admire – Karen shared the “friendly vampire” in the top photo – and this spider came in anonymously (is it yours?):
Browse our “Holidays” archive to see the pumpkins we’ve shown the past few nights; if you have one to show off, please share a photo – e-mail address (etc.) here! And if you’re looking for West Seattle Halloween activities, there are dozens in the next five (yes, even Nov. 1) days/nights – full list on the WSB Halloween page.
“Stella and her pumpkin from Tony’s,” is how Justin captioned that before sending it in, as our pumpkin-photo-share-a-thon continues. (By the way, we asked Tony’s last weekend about the impending seasonal break – they told us they’ll be closing after Halloween, till reopening for Christmas trees.) Then we have Andrew‘s pumpkin, which looks a little spooked:
With a classic literature theme, the Mahrt family pumpkins – they note they have a child who’s dressing up as “Thing One” this year:
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” spawned Kimi‘s pumpkin:
Share yours – here’s how.
And the pumpkins keep rolling in … Last night we published some of the pumpkin photos shared by WSB’ers (see them here), plus one in a pre-Halloween update earlier today, and now, tonight’s official showcase: The top trio is from Sara, Lisa and Terra; these next three were shared by Shelley:
Anthony and Kelly Perez shared the next pumpkin pair:
And Lisa L sent this photo taken after a carving party last weekend:
We’ll be showing more between now and Halloween – so keep ’em coming! Meanwhile, in case you missed it earlier – the Southwest Precinct is interested in showing off West Seattle kids’ pumpkins – so if you’ve got a jack-o-lantern to share there, check out the info here (last part of the story).
ArtsWest in The Junction says “Evil Dead: The Musical” is such a hot ticket, it’s adding seven more shows, extending the run through 11/20:
The schedule for the 23 remaining shows is as follows:
· Wednesday 10/27 thru Saturday 10/30 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 10/30 at 11:00 PM; Sunday 10/31 at 5:00 PM; Monday 11/1 at 7:30 PM
· Wednesday 11/3 thru Saturday 11/06 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 11/6 at 11:00PM; Sunday 11/7 at 3:00 PM
· Wednesday 11/10 thru Saturday 11/13 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 11/13 at 11:00PM
· Wednesday 11/ 17 thru Saturday 11/20 at 7:30 PM; Saturday 11/20 at 11:00 PM
Tickets are on sale by phone 206-938-0339, at the box office, or online at artswest.org.
After noticing so many people out buying pumpkins today, we put out the call via Facebook this afternoon: It’s been fun to spotlight West Seattle jack-o-lantern pix in recent years, so send us yours! And we’ve received several already. Here are three. Top, Stephanie shares “Pac-Kin”; next, Sarah, Dan, and Wrigley sent their trio of “freshly carved West Seattle pumpkins”:
Via Facebook, Joleen shared a photo from her visit (with a friend she says is also from WS) to last week’s Keene, New Hampshire, pumpkin festival – the bottom two jack o’lanterns are theirs:
Also from the after-dark files, David Rosen from SlickPix Photography shares the one he made for his Halloween party:
Counting Halloween, we have seven nights ahead for pumpkin-showcasing – share yours any of these ways!
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
A local author took center stage at the monthly meeting of the Alki Community Council at Alki UCC Church on Thursday night, along with discussions of disaster preparedness and city-budget concerns affecting Alki Community Center.
The final hour of the meeting was devoted to a presentation by Alki author Peter Stekel (above) who talked about his book, “Final Flight: The Mystery of a WWII Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra.” The book, published last month and available on Amazon, chronicles Stekel’s extensive research into the 2005 discovery of the body of an “ice man” pilot in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and Stekel’s resulting discovery of airplane wreckage and an additional pilot’s body.
The meeting opened with remarks by Alki parent Lisa West (who had also collected signatures and spoken at last week’s Seattle budget hearing), expressing concern about service reductions at Alki Community Center as part of the proposed cuts announced by Mayor McGinn last month (WSB coverage here). West said the city’s plan would reduce the center’s weekly operations from 53 hours to 15 hours (7 of those on a single day – Friday), and that the closest alternative (Hiawatha) is “too far up the hill for kids to walk to.”
West encouraged community members to let the City Council know that Alki Community Center is important, by visiting the council’s “IdeaScale” website and voting for continued funding (link is here). NOTE: The city’s third and final public budget hearing is Tuesday October 26th.
ACC trustee Tony Fragada added that the city’s proposed budget cuts would also affect Department of Neighborhoods funding and encouraged citizens to keep that in mind while getting involved with the discussion.
Read on for more meeting notes: Read More
Tomorrow and Friday, the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (WSB sponsor) returns to West Seattle’s historic Admiral Theater. We’ve given away tickets, courtesy of festival organizers, the past two nights, and tonight we have one last giveaway: Two tickets to the 6 pm Friday screening of “The Sleeping Beauty of East Finchley,” described as an “uplifting drama shot at the Various Voices Festival, a 4-day festival of gay and lesbian choirs from all over the world.” First person to e-mail us with SLEEPING BEAUTY TICKETS in the subject line, westseattleblog@yahoo.com, wins (be sure to tell us the name you want the tickets held in at the box office). Once the tickets are won, we’ll post an update here; no more giveaways after tonight, but you can go here to check out all the Admiral showings over the next two days.
9:19 PM UPDATE: The tickets have been won.
Thursday and Friday, the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (WSB sponsor) is back at West Seattle’s historic Admiral Theater. See the full Admiral lineup here. Tonight, we have another ticket giveaway – this time, we’ll have TWO winners, each for two tickets to “To Faro,” screening at 9:45 pm Thursday, described as “an endearing account of complicated relationships … an audience favorite at LGBT festivals around the world.” First two people to e-mail us at westseattleblog@yahoo.com each get two tickets to that screening. Make sure your e-mail has TO FARO GIVEAWAY in the subject line, and includes the name in which you would want the tickets held at the box office. As soon as they’re given away, we’ll add a note here. We’ll have one more giveaway, tomorrow night; then Thursday and Friday, it’s festival time.
ADDED 10:28 PM: Both sets of tickets have been won! Check back tomorrow evening for 1 more giveaway, different film.
P.S. One more reminder of this free event that’s being held (not in WS) in connection with the festival, tomorrow night: SLGFF is joining with Safe Schools Coalition to screen the documentary “Bullied” at 6 pm Wednesday, Broadway Performance Hall, with a panel discussion afterward, including three youth speakers.
West Seattle artist Oleana Perry shared this photo and explained what the bags are all about:
Yesterday I spent the day making decorative harvest-leaf bags out of burlap coffee bags. My leaves are out of control in my yard and I don’t like the big plastic pumpkin bags (plastic is forever), so I solved the problem. The decorative burlap bag will break down and compost the leaves over the winter season. Then I will mix the leaves in my garden soil and use the bag as weed block or for my garden path. The West Seattle Nursery liked them as well, so I had to make about 25 of them in my front yard yesterday. People walking by kept buying them as I was making them, it was pretty hilarious. It amazes me that all of these burlap coffee bags come from all over the world and a huge majority of them go into landfills. I think this is a resource we should all be thinking about.
She says you can find her bags at West Seattle Nursery or you can e-mail her about bulk orders – art4thoughts@yahoo.com
(Red laceleaf maple at the South Seattle Community College Arboretum, photographed by Keri DeTore)
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Hear the latest local crime trends firsthand – and get a chance for Q/A with local police leaders – when the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meets tonight, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster) … Tonight’s the quarterly opening for the Art Lending Library at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way), details here … 10 am-2 pm today, it’s a Potpourri Bazaar of goods and services at Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon), even flu and pneumonia shots … 6:15 pm tonight at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor), Toastmasters Club 832 tells “Tales from the Hearth” (featured on our new West Seattle Halloween page) … After 6 pm “Spin Your Wax” open turntables at Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) tonight, it’s the monthly Alauda belly-dance showcase (3803 Delridge Way) … Not in WS, but of regional interest: The public-health impacts of trucking are the topic of a special community forum tonight at South Seattle Community College‘s Georgetown campus (6737 Corson Avenue South).
(Kelly Lyles, center, photo by Dina Lydia Johnson)
When we photographed Highland Park artist Kelly Lyles at the Twilight Artist Collective show during West Seattle Art Walk last Thursday, little did we know she had been feted the night before, receiving a grant as lively as her work: The Conductive Garboil Grant. Another Highland Park artist (and dancer, and photographer), Dina Lydia Johnson, shares the news, plus the photo of Kelly and this video of her lightheartedly accepting the award:
The Conductive Garboil (that last word is a very old term for a disrupter) is a $3,000 grant given by organizations including 4Culture. Dina says Kelly declared, “”I’m thrilled to be the grantee; it means a lot, the peer recognition as much as the financial reward.” Dina has more photos on Flickr here, including the splashy outfit she wore to honor Kelly. She and her work – including her well-known “art car” – are online at kellyspot.com.
The Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (WSB sponsor) is back at West Seattle’s historic Admiral Theater this Thursday and Friday – the full Admiral schedule is here – and organizers are providing tickets for giveaways – so we’re starting right now. First person to e-mail us at westseattleblog@yahoo.com gets two tickets to “The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls.” It’s an award-winning documentary coming back to Seattle after its previous appearance at SIFF, and it’s described as “the must-see yodeling lesbian twins movie of the year.” After the 7:30 pm Thursday screening, there’s a reception at SLGFF sponsor Heartland Café just steps from The Admiral. Make sure your e-mail has TOPP TWINS GIVEAWAY in the subject line, and includes the name in which you would want the tickets held at the box office. As soon as they’re given away (which could be a while given the hour!), we’ll add a note here. We’ll have giveaways tomorrow and Wednesday night too (earlier!) and then Thursday and Friday, the festival’s on. 12:47 AM UPDATE: Tonight’s tickets are gone.
P.S. Not in West Seattle, but part of the festival, and free: SLGFF is joining with Safe Schools Coalition to screen the documentary “Bullied” at 6 pm Wednesday, Broadway Performance Hall, with a panel discussion afterward, including three youth speakers.
We mentioned Avalon Glassworks‘ pumpkin-making event earlier – seems there’s another patch of glass pumpkins in West Seattle today: WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen happened onto this show/sale that Tacoma Glassblowing Studio is presenting till 4 pm at Alki Bathhouse. Above, that’s studio co-owner Jeannine Sigafoos; part of today’s proceeds are going toward an orphanage in Romania and a Puget Sound charity (explained here, along with other venues that’ll be hosting the event in the weeks ahead).
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