West Seattle, Washington
28 Thursday
BIG Saturday ahead. You can preview it all right now on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar. And here are a few details on two of the biggies:
(Click to see map full size in Delridge Day brochure, with vendor list)
DELRIDGE DAY: Tons of fun packed into a four-hour festival, 11 am-3 pm Saturday in the park between Delridge Community Center and Delridge Skatepark. We’re sponsoring the Kids’ Zone, with a bouncy house, face-painting, picnic games, and balloon art. You’ll also find live music (the schedule’s in the official brochure), dozens of booths (come say hi!), two food trucks, the Alki Bike and Board skate competitions, and more.
WEST SEATTLE OUTDOOR MOVIES: Second-to-last Saturday for the year (!) … The Beatles’ animated “Yellow Submarine” is the movie; trivia with Jessie from Skylark Café and Club is the preshow fun; the courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) is the place. You’ll also find Furry Faces Foundation there selling/making pet tags (read about the program here) starting around 6 pm. Movie’s at dusk – it’s free, but bring $ for pet tags and nonprofit-benefiting raffles and concessions!
You can donate to the bake sale at the Delridge Day festival this Saturday without even baking. Francesca Annis from the Delridge Community Center Advisory Board explains:
There will be a bake sale to benefit youth programs at Delridge Community Center during the Delridge Day Festival hosted by the Delridge Community Center Advisory Board. Goodies made by the School Age Care and Teen Programs include snickerdoodles and bacon-chocolate-chip cookies!
Contributions from C&P Coffee Co., Great Harvest Bread Co., Sugar Rush Baking Co., and Zatz a Better Bagel will also be available.
We are also accepting homemade and store-bought items from the community. If you are interested in making a donation you may drop it off at the community center on Friday (please make sure to label it) 11 am-6 pm or bring it directly to the table on Saturday beginning at 9:00 am. If possible, please wrap homemade items individually and mark if the item contains nuts.
Question about the bake sale? E-mail Francesca, wskeekai@gmail.com. For full details about the festival (with co-sponsors including WSB) – check out the brochure, which includes a vendor list/map and schedule of events (music, contests, more).
WSB is proud to be a co-sponsor of West Seattle’s next summer festival – Delridge Day, coming up this Saturday (August 18th). We’ve been bringing you previews, and today we asked organizers if the official vendor list is out yet; turns out they had just finished the brochure, with the list and map and other details of this Saturday’s festival, 11 am-3 pm at the park between Delridge Community Center and Delridge Skatepark (Delridge/Genesee) – see it all here (and we’ll see you there!).
New info tonight about this weekend’s big Delridge Day festival (with WSB among the co-sponsors) – here’s what Holli Margell is sharing tonight:
Only 4 more days until the Delridge Day Festival takes over Delridge Park on August 18th from 11 am-3 pm. Here’s a short preview of what’s happening, and when:
– The Music Stage has a full 4-band lineup from 11 am-3 pm: Ellis Brothers, Moongirl, Sidesaddle Cowboy, and from the North Delridge Neighborhood, Low Land High.
– Skate Competition prizes have been counted and there’s plenty of decks, hats, shirts and other swag for lots of contestants. Registration starts at 10 am, closes at 11 am for competition. Parental signature (minors only) and helmets required for entry. A $15 registration fee includes Festival Shirt.
– Kids Zone has a Face painter and Balloon Artist booked. Bouncy House and Picnic Games are ready!
– The vendor-booth area is up to 60! You’ll see local artists, businesses, and non-profits. Bring some cash for a new plant start, local art or books. Youngstown Flats, the new development on 26th, will be giving out free Ice Cream tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis until they run out.
– We need your help to make it an amazing day! A completely volunteer led festival, we depend on volunteers for event day to help the event run smoothly. Any time you have to give is helpful from setting up tables for an hour in the morning to picking up trash after the festival in the evening. If you can help make it an awesome event with your time, please e-mail delridgeday@ndnc.org or visit http://tinyurl.com/ddvolunteer for more details.
To check out more about the festival, Skate Competition, Food Truck Chow Down, Kids Zone, and Vendors, visit the webpage: www.ndnc.org/delridgeday
The park is along Delridge south of Genesee, adjacent to the Delridge Skatepark and Delridge Community Center.
Just as another fun-filled weekend is beginning – take a minute to check your schedule for next weekend, to and see if you can spare a few hours to help make the sixth annual Delridge Day festival happen one week from today at Delridge Community Center/Park. Organizers are circulating one last call for volunteers; they’re all volunteers too – including members of the North Delridge Neighborhood Council, which took over the festival last year when previous organizers were unable to keep it going. Next Saturday’s fun, 11 am-3 pm, includes the Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor) skate contest, live music, food trucks, and a kids’ zone (co-sponsored by WSB), and dozens of vendors. All they need now is some more help for setup and cleanup – 8:30-10:30 am and/or 3-4:30 pm – if you can help with either, please e-mail Tanya ASAP, ocean_bee@hotmail.com. See you there!
We’re into the second half of day 1 of the 2012 Alki Art Fair – with a growing patch of blue sky overhead, and pale blue water as the backdrop. It’s particularly interesting to see artists who focus on the sea, holding court at booths right on the water:
Patri O’Connor, whose work can be found at nearby Alki Arts (and often on the WSB Facebook page!), has a booth just steps away from where Art Fair volunteers are showing this year’s official T-shirt ($18), featuring her design:
That’s Susan Madrid, who’s in the booth right next to the Bathhouse’s waterfront doors, with all the info you need if you’re looking for something or someone. (Inside the Bathhouse, silent auctions are under way – one just ended, and another one is continuing at least till 5 today.) Back to the vendors: Andy Hill is showing and selling sea creatures in handcrafted metal sculpture:
From North Delridge, “Holli with an I” (Margell) is here with her photography:
And kids will find something to do even if they’re not art lovers yet – there was a big crowd around the Seal Sitters‘ table:
And just west of the Bathhouse, Young at Art is here from The Junction (they are moving soon to Fairmount Springs, at Fauntleroy and Raymond) with activities, too.
On the east side of the Bathhouse, you’ll find the main stage, with music till about 9 tonight (here’s the full schedule). If you come before the vendors close for the day at 6 (and again 10-6 tomorrow), you can take the free shuttle from the West Seattle High School parking lot – we’ve already heard from one rider who says it’s NOT crowded.
One other frequent question – what about food? Besides the numerous year-round beach businesses, we’ve seen two booths – frozen custard (focused on sundaes) from Peak’s, west side of the Bathhouse, and T-CE’s Barbecue further west, toward the picnic shelters.
ADDED 3:55 PM: Earlier this afternoon, the Log House Museum presented a show of vintage bathing fashions; the models posed just before taking the stage:
The museum itself, by the way, is open noon-4 pm Thursdays-Sundays. And while you’re at Alki tomorrow, the Alki Point Lighthouse is open for tours 1-4 pm (Saturdays and Sundays, through August).
The biggest events of Seafair are getting closer – with the Torchlight Parade (including the West Seattle Hi-Yu float) downtown this Saturday, and the Blue Angels and hydroplane races coming up the first weekend in August. And an event that can be viewed from West Seattle shores is a week away – the Seafair Parade of Ships and Flight. The parade is scheduled for 1:45 pm next Wednesday (August 1st), which means that you’ll see it from here in the early afternoon. Here’s our coverage from last year, when we recorded video from a perch along Duwamish Head. This year, your editor here will get a different perspective – from the media ride-aboard, spending that morning on the guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill (CG-52). The Seafair website says other ships coming in for the festival include the amphibious dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor (LSD 52), which will later dock at Pier 90, and guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97), which will dock at Pier 66 (the Bunker Hill will be at Pier 48). The ships will offer free tours Thursday-Sunday, August 2nd-5th (hours and details are here).
(Troupe Rashaad from Lacey, at Medfest this afternoon)
ORIGINAL SATURDAY REPORT: Steps away from where the West Seattle Grand Parade (WSB coverage here) began just a few hours ago … another big event is continuing till 7 tonight (and again tomorrow). Belly-dancing is the main event at the Mediterranean Fantasy Festival – Medfest for short – in and around Hiawatha Community Center; it’s celebrating its quarter-century anniversary this time! Shopping and browsing are popular too:
Admission is free. Performers and vendors come from all over the region – the schedule is online, but you also can get a program at the festival – browsing the copy we picked up, we’re seeing performers from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, even Rhode Island, as well as here in Washington. There are indoor and outdoor performances, till 7 tonight, and 11-5 on Sunday. The Babylonian Ensemble co-sponsors the festival, along with the Hiawatha Advisory Council (which benefits from the vendor fees, to help pay for center programs).
ADDED POST-FESTIVAL: A Sunday photo shared by Dina Johnson (who designed the MedFest banner in the photo):
Dina says Tiffany, at left, “is a Tribal Bellydancer from West Seattle, one of Troupe Hipnotica’s (very accomplished) students. Saroya, who grew up in West Seattle, has been co-producing MedFest for 25 years now.”
We’re on Avalon Way as its funky little business district opens its arms and its doors to evening visitors for the 2nd annual Luna Park Block Party. Top photo shows Sean Welch making a bowl at Avalon Glassworks, where you can enjoy some truly warm temperatures if you are missing true summer (don’t worry, you can also stand by their ginormous fan and feel Seattle-cool). The block party’s on till 9. Outside Java Bean Coffee, we spotted their long-famous red VW van:
Tonight’s host business is Ola Salon a bit further south along Avalon Way, where Sid Law is serenading Block Party-goers:
And Luna Park Café promises free facepainting, though – thinking ahead to Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade – we opted instead for a photo of “Bailey the Burger”:
The Luna Park Block Party’s on till 9 tonight.
A couple post-West Seattle Summer Fest notes tonight:
The photo is from Prudential Northwest Realty‘s Don Bereiter, who explains the cans in their WSSF booth were part of a game that will help keep a lot of people from going hungry:
I just wanted to point out the HUGE success that Summer Fest was this year. We tried a new approach this year by involving as many kids that would participate. We set up some empty cans to be knocked down with foam rubber Prudential rocks. Each kid received a piece of licorice and we agreed to donate one can of food to the West Seattle Food Bank for each participant. We ended up with 756 kids (some adults, too)!
In lieu of physically donating canned food, we are going to write a check for $378 (756 divided by 2) to the food bank. This way they can use their buying power to purchase more than the 756 cans. My guess would be well over 2000.
Just wanted to share with the neighborhood the good news. I am sure the participants will be happy to hear how much good they did by playing!
We also received a note from James, who wanted to offer this public “thank you”:
I just wanted to thank the Good Samaritan that returned my 8-year-old daughter’s coin purse (Sunday) at the West Seattle Street Fair. My daughter was carrying around $40 in her purse for the fair. We didn’t realize it was lost until we were almost home. We rushed back to the fair, which was shutting down for the year. I backtracked our steps (to no avail). I then went to the event center’s lost and found, happily discovering someone turned it in with every cent accounted for. I am proud to be born and raised here in this community of West Seattle where great people reside!
(Live SDOT webcam looking north on California from Alaska)
11:49 AM: The third and final day of West Seattle Summer Fest 2012 has begun! The weather is getting better by the minute – sun as well as clouds, the mist has (mostly) stopped, just a bit of breeze, lots of people here. One more time, here are the quick info links:
Vendor list and map: 3 ways to view – searchable list, PDF list, zoomable map – and if you haven’t shopped the year-round Junction merchants’ sidewalk sales, last chance!
Music schedule: Here
Alaska Stage schedule: Here
GreenLife schedule: Here
One thing you will NOT find in The Junction today – turns out that Rocksport sold out of food and liquor last night, and will NOT reopen today – last night was it. Here’s the sign on their door:
Lots of places you CAN go, though – all the restaurants/bars along both sides of California SW are welcoming Summer Fest visitors with open arms, and many with specials, in addition to the temporary fair-style food booths. More than a few people have asked us about caramel corn – there IS a booth at the far south end of the festival, at SW Edmunds.
Which leads us to a great photo that just came in – an amazing overview of the entire festival zone:
That’s from John Peck of QuickShows.com – they shoot with a mast-cam. Back down here on street level, if you’re looking for any festival information, we’re in the Info Booth with West Seattle Chamber of Commerce ambassadors, plus flyers about a variety of other summer events still to come. And the music has begun – we’ll add video from the first act of the day, Black Bangs, in a few minutes.
1:07 PM UPDATE: As promised, here’s that clip:
So glad to see the weather isn’t keeping anyone away – just as busy as yesterday. Also relatively quiet so far – in the past half-hour or so, we’ve seen Seattle Police Lt. Ron Smith, who’s been in charge of the Summer Fest force, and Officers Luckie and Lucas, and they have nothing major to report. We HAVE heard (mostly via e-mail) from folks pointing out that parking enforcement on 44th is being taken seriously, with towing again today – the “no parking” zones are posted there so buses rerouted from California/Alaska can get through. (Remember there will also be lots of no-parking signs in advance of West Seattle Grand Parade/Float Dodger 5K day next Saturday, too.)
1:44 PM UPDATE: Bunnies!
You’ll see them at GreenLife on the southwest end of the festival zone, alongside Bikram Yoga (WSB sponsor) and east of the Chase drive-thru. This is also a great day to find out why it does NOT have to be sunny for solar power to work at your home/business:
Solar Epiphany is putting on frequent demos at GL. And GreenLife – presented by Sustainable West Seattle and WS Nursery – also is where you can test putting your bike on a Metro bus-style rack (like the one that’s been out in front of Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor) in the Admiral District, whose proprietor Stu Hennessey is at GreenLife too):
On the north end of the festival zone, near SW Oregon, don’t miss the Art Dive – lots of artists showing and selling their creations.
2:20 PM UPDATE: The SUN is now out. (Check the live cam atop this story – refresh the page if the time stamp isn’t current – for proof.) We just knew the forecast was overplaying the clouds. Meantime, another Summer Fest sight – the impromptu skatepark right behind the Info Booth:
A popular question at the Info Booth today – where are the community organizations, like Seal Sitters or West Seattle Be Prepared? They’re time-sharing at the community spot over near the ex-Petco. Meantime, we’ve been hanging out in the Info Booth with WS Chamber ambassador Don Bazemore, who’s been talking to people about his glam-rock group’s next gig – Matt the Hoopla (after playing Ballard Seafood Fest last night) plays the Alki Art Fair in two weeks, July 28th.
3:18 PM UPDATE: Still time to get here for the final performances/demonstrations of Summer Fest – Hobosexual is the last scheduled music act, on the California Stage at 3:45 pm. At GreenLife, Backyard Beer Making is the last scheduled demonstration/workshop, 4 pm. Meantime, here’s a music clip from earlier – the Duwamish Dixieland Jazz Band was on the Alaska Stage earlier this afternoon:
4:45 PM UPDATE: Festival’s waning minutes – and the first missing-child report of the entire three-day festival (hopefully the last!) has just happened – 5-year-old boy reunited quickly with mom after, we’re told, he walked up to a police officer at California/Oregon.
4:52 PM: Second lost-child report, also a 5-year-old boy, Ben, blonde, gray T-shirt. Police and festival staff are searching. Meantime, if you have lost any items during the festival – the official lost/found was at the festival office, on California SW next to the now-ex-Super Supplements (they just opened their new Morgan Junction location this past Friday).
5:00 PM: Festival closing time. Some of the vendors may linger – the food booths near the info booth still seem to be in action – but before too long, some of the load-out will begin. It usually takes several hours for breakdown, so the streets will remain closed for a while. **2nd lost child found.**
ADDED 11:56 PM: A few photos shared with us post-festival – first, Eric took this one of Ben Harwood from Hobosexual, performing this afternoon:
And from Jana, a montage of tiny participants in the West Seattle’s Got Talent showcase held at the Alaska Stage:
Festival breakdown wasn’t done yet when we passed through The Junction about two hours ago, but the California/Alaska SDOT cam shows the streets are clear now. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the Info Booth to say hi – we had a terrific time and hope you did too.
(WSB coverage of 2012 Summer Fest Friday is here and here)
FIRST REPORT, 1:31 PM: The fog’s gone, the afternoon sun is shining in full force on West Seattle Summer Fest’s second afternoon, as you can see on the SDOT “live” cam that’s right over our HQ in the Info Booth (southwest corner of California/Alaska) with West Seattle Chamber of Commerce volunteers. We’re launching continuous coverage in a moment – but first the quick links for info before you go (or while you’re there!) –
Vendor list and map: 3 ways to browse – searchable list, PDF list, zoomable map
Music schedule: Here
Alaska Stage schedule: Here
GreenLife schedule: Here
(added) The Alaska Stage is where Rat City Brass kicked off today’s performances:
GreenLife is on the west side of the south end of the festival zone, just south of Bikram Yoga (WSB sponsor) – and Sustainable West Seattle president Christina Hahs just came by the Info Booth to tell us they’ve got COUPONS you might be interested in – including discounts on Cedar Grove Compost, and 10 percent off the just-moved Greendepot in SODO.
GreenLife is one place where Summer Fest exhibitors are educational as well as fun. Then there’s the community booth along the east side of California SW south of Alaska – where West Seattle Be Prepared‘s Deb Greer and Karen Berge are on duty now, talking with folks about preparedness:
Once again today, the kids’ activities are a big focus of Info Booth questions – if you’re here with little ones, be sure to check out the rides on the west end of SW Alaska as well as everything in the Wells Fargo lot – you’ll even find this – not exactly the Seattle Great Wheel, but perfect for little ones:
2:34 PM UPDATE: The “Guns ‘n’ Hoses” Wing Dome three-alarm-wing contest is over – and the winners are:
That’s the Seattle Police team. They won, four to one, in individual matches like this:
They won $250 – and there was a $125 prize for the Seattle Fire Department team, whose members, we’re told, were from nearby Station 32:
Also here at the heart of the festival, live painting’s happening with artists from Seattle Mural Art, outside Twilight Artist Collective (just around the corner from Easy Street Records):
Twilight also organizes the Art Dive, north of Oregon – don’t miss it! That’s also where you’ll find the West Seattle Hi-Yu float (this year’s theme, “Secret Garden,” preview it before next Saturday’s WS Grand Parade!) Meantime, Hi-Yu royalty and volunteers have been wandering the festival selling buttons ($1, and it supports the program that includes Seattle’s last community parade float!) – and then if they spot someone wearing one, they’re handing out random prizes! Here’s Queen Kayli with one of the winners, Cherie:
More to come!
4:07 PM UPDATE: After a very brief rainshower, which required a tarp for the chalk-art project we’ve been watching for two days …
… it’s dry – with filtered sunshine. The rain didn’t seem to chase anyone away – it’s a steady stream of people. And besides music on the California Stage, there are also lots of performers along the sidewalks, in the middle of the street … and at venues like Red Cup Espresso just north of SW Oregon:
(Thanks to @youngsgtweet for the photo!)
5:08 PM UPDATE: Another hot topic in the info booth: Festival food. Yes, there are fair-style traditions like deep-fried peanut-butter sandwiches, strawberry shortcake, etc:
Some Junction restaurants are also taking it outside their regular spots – Matador and Bang Bar both have a presence in the food zone on SW Alaska, west of California. We spotted Nadia in the crowd; she’s performing at Bang Bar at 6 pm:
Tonight’s official fair hours are till 8, although some booths do close earlier – the music continues till 11 tonight, with The DTs at 6, The Tom Price Desert Classic around 7:30, Alcohol Funnycar around 8:30, and Pierced Arrows last up, at 10 pm. We hear the beer gardens are rocking today, too – they’re by both stages, the Alaska Stage by Junction Plaza Park, and the California Stage on California north of Oregon. We mentioned earlier that there’s music outside the stage, too – Sarah e-mailed to share a photo and more info about something to look for toward the south end of the festival zone:
A fun highlight from the West Seattle street festival was free drumming lessons for kids at Nana Yesman’s African Crafts Booth across from Northwest Art and Frame. Nana Yesman (Aminu Adamu) is a resident of West Seattle and works at PCC Natural Markets. He makes and sells jewelry using beads from his native country Ghana. He also sells other handmade arts and crafts from Ghana, including djembe drums … tomorrow (Sunday) at noon, he is offering free drumming lessons to kids.
5:46 PM: Just a note, if you’re coming tomorrow (or if you’re in the area tonight), if you stop by here at the Info Booth, we have lots of info about other summer activities. That includes tomorrow’s West Seattle Garden Tour – 9 am to 5 pm! – and White Center Garden Tour – 10 am to 4 pm. And since there’s a big West Seattle Outdoor Movies banner hanging in the back of the booth, we’ve gotten plenty of takers for the WSOM schedule flyers – they start Friday night (July 20th) with a special benefit event for Thrive Through Cancer (the movie is “50/50” – not recommended for young kids) and then the first of six Saturday night movies (July 21st) – “Pretty in Pink,” with Bob “Bobcat Bob” Rice as the opening act. The movies are on the wall in the courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor).
7:15 PM: Booths are starting to close up; sun from the west is intensifying. Above, the view a few minutes ago from our perch. We’ll be back in the Info Booth tomorrow for day 3, when Summer Fest opens an hour later so everyone can recover from Saturday night – 11 am.
ADDED: A few more Summer Fest Saturday scenes. At GreenLife, Occupy West Seattle presented an open-mike speakout on whether the economy is sustainable. A gallery was shared with us by Dina Johnson, who also spoke:
Dina says she talked “of the massive and skyrocketing gulf between the richest one percent of households (red line) and the rest, creating an unhealthy imbalance in economic and political power – in favor of the super-rich.” She reports 21 speakers in all.
On the main festival ground, WSB contributor Nick Adams shows us a closer look at the mentioned-earlier street art that’s been under way all festival long outside the Verizon megabooth (steps away from our spot at Info Central):
And a vendor with his wares: Hatterdashery’s owner Michael Loeffler, making a hat during the festival:
One more chance Sunday to check the sidewalk sales, see friends and neighbors, enjoy the music … see you there.
Again today, we begin the daily preview with the “live” SDOT cam at California and Alaska, serving this weekend as Summer Fest Cam, as West Seattle’s biggest party of the year continues. Our base is the Information Booth, which would be just offscreen in the lower left of the camera’s view. WSSF is the BIG event today, but not the ONLY one …
WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST LINKS: The official hours are 10 am-8 pm again today, with the beer garden and music continuing for a few hours beyond that. Here again is the festival-zone map:
The “California Stage” is on California SW north of Oregon; the “Alaska Stage” is on SW Alaska east of California. The kid zone is near Wells Fargo, north of Alaska and off 44th SW; GreenLife, with a focus on sustainability how-to’s and demonstrations, is on the south end of the festival zone, west side of California, just north of Edmunds.
Vendor list and map: 3 ways to browse – searchable list, PDF list, zoomable map
Music schedule: Here (first performance at noon, Gunn & The Damage Done)
Alaska Stage schedule: Here (first performance noon, Rat City Brass)
GreenLife schedule: Here (first event 11 am, Connie Wurm from West Seattle Nursery talks “Backyard Chickens” – we photographed Sustainable West Seattle president Christina Hahs with a chicken at GreenLife yesterday:)
One more Summer Fest preview note – the “Guns ‘n’ Hoses” police-vs.-firefighters hot-wing contest is at 1:30 pm on the Alaska stage (details on The Wing Dome’s Facebook page).
Also today/tonight:
BIKE HELMET EVENT: At Roxbury Spine and Wellness (28th/Roxbury) – free helmets for the first 200 kids, with lots more going on at this 10 am-12:30 pm event (as detailed here).
‘SAVE THE POLAR BEARS’ CUPCAKE SALE: West Seattle student Sam is selling cupcakes at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) 10 am-1 pm today to raise money for Greenpeace’s Arctic work.
HELICOPTER AIRSHOW AT MUSEUM OF FLIGHT: West Seattleite Jen Boyer is show director, and shared the photo above, of the Apache that arrived yesterday for the American Heroes Airshow. Here’s our full preview; here’s the info on the MoF website. 10 am-3 pm, free.
SSCC PLANT SALE: Support the Landscape Horticulture Program at South Seattle Community College by purchasing plants today, 11 am-3 pm (details in the calendar listing)
NEIL YOUNG SONGS AT C & P: 6-8 pm, Harvest Moon performs at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW).
SECOND-TO-LAST SHOW FOR ‘XANADU’: Also in The Junction along with Summer Fest – “Xanadu” at ArtsWest ends its run Sunday, and tonight the young performers take the stage at 7:30 pm.
SUMMER FEST AFTERPARTY: Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction has live music again tonight as “the official WSSF aftershow party” venue – tonight at 9:30, it’s ‘One Man Banned’ Aaron Daniel, who defies description – you just have to see him in action.
And that’s only part of what you’ll find on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar.
(See our 1st ongoing afternoon report here)
Now that we’re into the first evening of West Seattle Summer Fest, the music plays a bigger role – and there’s lots of it. Above, the Dolly Rottens played in the late afternoon. Their first show as an all-girl band, per their Facebook page.
(Photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
Right now, Caspar Babypants is on the Alaska Stage. Before he played, we photographed him with (right) artist Kate Endle and their friend Zoe (left):
(added) Here’s video of CB’s first song, “My Flea Has Dogs”:
And at 8 pm, rising star Star Anna performs (California Stage). Lots of street music as well – we’ve seen drummers, strummers, and more. Big occasions for Junction businesses, too – Elliott Bay Brewing is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and proprietor Todd Carden tapped a keg of special ale:
Along with year-round Junction establishments where you can get something to drink or eat, there are two beer gardens, one near each stage, are open too. We’re still in the info booth at California/Alaska till the vendors shut down for the night around 8 (with the music continuing a few hours beyond).
8:05 PM: The booths are now officially closing – you might find some stragglers; we’re folding up the info booth too, but we’ll be back here same hours tomorrow, 10 am-8 pm. We’re off to check out Star Anna (watch for video – and we have one more Day 1 roundup of photos in the works, too, along with a look ahead to tomorrow). Again, the bands and the beer gardens continue for a few hours more – as do your year-round drinking/eating places, several of which have special outdoor zones for the festival.
ADDED: A few more scenes from earlier on Saturday, all photographed by WSB contributor Nick Adams. First, the crowd:
The fun – 3-year-old Peter Ahern, in the kid zone:
And yet there’s always a chance to find a place of your own – Linda Lee found one while listening to music from the California Stage:
Near the stage, the West Seattle Eagles had pulled pork going on a big grill – Frank Wilkerson was tending it:
Looking for bird condos? That’s what Mike Cronk was taking back to his Mike’s Workbench booth:
Also from the vendors roster … Dean Mollen tunes a hand-made cigar-box guitar at Soul Cat Guitars –
If you’re looking up a particular vendor, the vendor list linked on this page of the Summer Fest website has weblinks for many of this year’s participants.
12:43 PM: The weather is calmer and the crowd keeps growing at West Seattle Summer Fest, with day 1 well under way – and we’re live in the Information Booth again this year; drop by to say hi, pick up the festival flyer, a free West Seattle Art Walk button, a West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Resource Guide, postcards and mini-flyers for other summer fun (WS Outdoor Movies, Delridge Day, the WS Junction Car Show) … The info booth is on the southwest corner of California/Alaska this year, right outside KeyBank, front row to everything. LOTS of people here so far. Here again are the handy info-links:
Vendor list and map: 3 ways to browse – searchable list, PDF list, zoomable map
Music schedule: Here
Alaska Stage schedule: Here
GreenLife schedule: Here
On the Alaska Stage right now, first event of the day – a West Seattle Hi-Yu presentation, including royalty like Queen Kayli, who had her umbrella handy earlier just in case:
The number one question is always – where’s the kid stuff? Again this year, it’s on the west side of the festival zone, in the Wells Fargo parking lot, under the WF drive-thru (that’s where Pathfinder K-8 and Curious Kidstuff are sponsoring art activities and facepainting). The ticket booth for the kids’ rides is right next to one of them, the scrambler-type ride, on the west side of the western food zone along SW Alaska.
Another area you might miss if you’re not looking for it – GreenLife on the south end of the festival zone – where we found Stefan Hansmire of Ncompass (WSB sponsor) with Chas Redmond and Bill Reiswig of Sustainable West Seattle:
Oh, and this just in – beer gardens open at 2!
2:07 PM: Sun’s out and the activity zones are all in full swing. Some highlights coming up:
Bubbleman (who performed in the street last night) is at the Alaska Stage at 3:45 today; that’s also where you’ll find Caspar Babypants at 6:30 tonight.
3:12 PM: Along with the sidewalk sale outside year-round merchants, the vendor booths in the middle, you’ll also find lots of local nonprofit organizations – like Northwest Hope and Healing, promoting next month’s Alki Beach 5K:
And Seal Sitters:
And speaking of critters … we met Morgan‘s mohawk-sporting Pomeranian, Bogie:
You never know who you’ll see.
4 PM: This is the Summer Fest breakout treat so far (well, besides the deep-fried peanut-butter sandwiches) – coconuts:
Young coconuts, for sale on the north side of the California/Alaska intersection – $3 each or 2 for five bucks. (That’s Jarred Shelton in the photo.) They’ll cut them open for you here – and you can also find them, not cut, at QFC (whose booth they’re in. Steps away, at Cupcake Royale, their ice-cream cart is debuting:
Small scoop about $3, regular scoop about $4. For a more adult type of treat, head to one of the beer gardens – one by the Alaska stage, one up by the California stage:
Feedback Lounge is managing the one by the Alaska stage. Co-proprietor Jeff Gilbert stopped for a photo earlier with West Seattle Junction Association director Susan Melrose:
Summer Fest is on till 8 tonight (with bands and beer gardens running a few hours beyond that) – and of course continuing Saturday and Sunday. We’re in the info booth for the duration … thanks to everyone who’s stopped by to say hi so far – it’s always great to meet you.
7:20 PM NOTE: We have some evening coverage going in a separate story.
Some updates as our countdown to West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB) continues!
JUNCTION STREET CLOSURE REMINDER: Tomorrow (Thursday) night at 6 pm is when California is scheduled to close from Oregon to Edmunds, along with a section of California just north of Oregon (which itself remains open to west-east traffic), and Alaska between 44th and 42nd. Which paves the way for …
SUMMER FEST EVE IN THE STREETS! As previewed here last Thursday, the Yada Yada Blues Band outside West 5 and Bubbleman outside Elliott Bay Brewing Company are just part of the Thursday night fun. There’s also …
SUMMER FEST EVE ART WALK: Venue/artist previews are up now at wsartwalk.com. (While The Junction’s venues will be in Summer Fest Eve mode, there are of course many venues in other parts of West Seattle too, so you can roam the peninsula on what promises to be a gorgeous night.) One special Art Walk highlight …
HOTWIRE CELEBRATES ITS TENTH! During the Art Walk, Hotwire Online Coffeehouse – WSB’s first-ever sponsor – will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Read about their plans on the Junction Association website.
AND THEN THERE’S THE ACTUAL FESTIVAL … First day of Summer Fest is Friday (you can take the day off, right?), with official hours 10 am-8 pm, but music and beer garden running later. Here’s the music lineup (first act is at noon Friday); here’s the vendor lineup/map; here’s the schedule of demonstrations at the GreenLife zone; kids-activities info is here; and remember your favorite year-round Junction merchant may well be having a sidewalk sale – WSB sponsor J.F. Henry is starting its sale tomorrow.
NOTE FOR PARENTS WITH LITTLE ONES: Donna Ryan says her City Mouse Studio and Store will again be a “Parents’ Rest Stop” during Summer Fest: “We will be opening up the studio space again this year for parents of little ones to nurse, feed, change, relax, and break from the heat.” City Mouse is at 4218 SW Alaska, just steps east of California.
(Photo by Gary Jones)
With a chorus of cannon blasts offshore, onboard a vessel bearing the name of West Seattle’s own Global Diving and Salvage, the Seafair Pirates landed on Alki minutes ago. Some waded ashore – others hopped a ride on other vessels (including a tribal canoe). One of the first pirates ashore walked along the beach suggesting the crowd cheer on his fellow scalawags with “Row Row Row Your Boat”:
As the Pirates’ “ship” approached shore, it passed the fleet of sailboats – with occasional cannon blasts:
The celebration continues with bouncy toys, vendors, live music, and more, for a few more hours.
ADDED 2:34 PM: A closer look as the Pirates storm ashore – next four images are from WSB contributor Nick Adams:
Ah, the thrill of conquering the beach! Once, of course, you’ve reached it:
As usual, authorities had to make sure the Pirates had a clear path ashore:
And they made a splash:
ADDED 4:14 PM: Though the Pirates were the stars of the show, it had quite a supporting cast. Including West Seattle Hi-Yu and Seafair royalty. It was a most cordial meeting:
(That photo and next two, by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
We also spotted Hi-Yu Senior Court Queen Kayli chatting with some of the Pirate-watchers:
The pirate hats, by the way, were courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle – who handed out so many, they ran out around noon. They had a concession stand, too:
Pole vaulters showed their stuff (the competition continues till after 5 pm):
(That photo and the others below by Gary Jones – except for one credited otherwise)
What Pirate scene is complete without a parrot .. or some kind of bright and beautiful bird?
And furry mini-pirates:
(Photo courtesy Paul P)
Back on the water, we’re afraid the entire fleet off Alki was seriously outclassed to the west:
The Seafair Pirates are due back in West Seattle at least once more this summer – for the WS American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade on Saturday, July 21st, just two weeks away!
That’s not the official name for the night before West Seattle Summer Fest begins – in other words, next Thursday night, July 12th – but it might as well be. The streets will close in the festival zone (California SW between Oregon and Edmunds, plus half the block north of Oregon, and SW Alaska between 44th and 42nd) in early evening, and the fun starts shortly thereafter (along with the festival setup). Including:
(The band outside West 5 on ‘Summer Fest Eve’ in 2010 – there’s video in our story from that night)
*West 5 brings back the Yada Yada Blues Band, “live in the street,” right outside. West 5’s Dave Montoure says, “California Ave closes promptly at 6:00, we’ll have our outdoor cafe set up and operational as soon as humanly possible. Come see Milky, Steb, Don, John, and maybe a special guest or two. 8 pm.”
*The also-legendary Bubbleman, last seen BEFORE a downpour shortened last month’s Morgan Junction Community Festival, will be as bubbly as ever in the street outside Elliott Bay Brewing at 6 pm (per his own event calendar)
*It’s the July edition of the West Seattle Art Walk that night, 6-9 pm, and while WSAW is *not* a Junction-only event, you’ll find lots of participating venues there – watch wsartwalk.com for the map/list.
Summer Fest itself (co-sponsored by WSB) runs 10 am-8 pm on Friday 7/13, 10 am-8 pm Saturday 7/14, 11 am-5 pm Sunday 7/15 (with beer garden and live music continuing past the vendor-closure times Friday/Saturday). The music lineup is here, vendor lineup/map here – and remember that many of your year-round Junction merchants have sidewalk sales during Summer Fest, too, so stroll the sidewalks as well as the festival pathways.
(WSB photo from Seafair Pirates Landing 2010)
Just in case you’re new … and thinking it’s a little quiet around here for summer … the big events are right around the corner. The Fourth of July, of course, goes without saying (our roundup on that is almost done – look for it tomorrow). Three days later – next Saturday (July 7th) – the Seafair Pirates land on Alki – always a spectacle, with a flotilla offshore, a landing craft sailing right up to the beach, the Pirates storming the shore, and all manner of mild mayhem after that, before they board their landcraft Moby Duck and sail, er, drive, away. You can arrive at the beach early and check out vendors and kids’ activities. One possible twist this year – remember our story earlier this month about people being sought for some kind of political demonstration? Still haven’t heard who that might be and what it might be about – organizers promised it would “be on the news” but haven’t revealed it to “the news” yet, so far as we know. The Pirates’ Landing itself always makes news anyway, and you can be part of it – their website says, as usual, they’ll land between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm, but it could be earlier, could be later. Arrrrrrr!
A food-truck roundup is the latest addition to the lineup for this year’s Delridge Day, now less than two months away. Just in from organizers:
The Delridge Day Planning Committee is on a roll, with several updates for the Delridge Day Festival on August 18th from 11 am-3 pm.
The newest feature to the festival is the Delridge Day Chow Down. It is the first Delridge Food Truck roundup, set to feed festivalgoers. The trucks are: Athena’s (Greek), Jemil’s Big Easy (Cajun), and Full Tilt Ice Cream!
More ahead:Read More
(TOPLINE: Festival started in filtered sun, then came hours of rain/wind, and it ended early)
(Plushies are at Pink Gorilla booth; in the background, plants @ Furry Faces Foundation)
ORIGINAL 11:36 AM REPORT: “Filtered sunshine,” dry weather, warm-ish temperature! Turned out to be start off as a fine day for a festival here in Morgan Junction. We’re behind Feedback Lounge/Zeeks Pizza with about 20 other booths – and that’s just part of the festival; there’s live music in Morgan Junction Park just steps away, north of Beveridge Place Pub, and kids’ activities across California SW alongside Washington Federal – featuring Young at Art:
Key festival info:
*The entertainment schedule (mostly live music, but including The Bubbleman at 11:30)
*“Bark of Morgan” dog parade and contests, starting at 2 pm
*Here’s the festival site map – the Metro RapidRide bus is here all day; Seattle Fire Engine 37 is due here at 12:30 pm
And we have an update on the “Bite of Morgan.” Five local food/beverage places are offering free samples (stop by the Morgan Community Association booth in the park for your guide) – north to south, it’s Little Prague Bakery with kolach and strudel, Kokoras Greek Grill with stuffed grape leaves, the Feedback with pan-seared barbecue pork chops, Zeeks Pizza with cheese or pepperoni pizza, and Domino’s with mini parmesan bites. You can also visit the West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) barbecue tent outside the store for a $7 lunch, proceeds benefiting the festival (which is an all-volunteer production).
12:09 PM UPDATE: Showers, off and on. The festival continues. The Bubbleman (who is now a West Seattle resident, by the way!) just performed – video:
12:29 PM UPDATE: Serious rain. Some intrepid festivalgoers are still here in jackets and umbrellas. Here’s hoping it’ll dry out later (about to check the radar).
1:21 PM UPDATE: Some booths are folding up – the rain was one thing, but the chilly wind kicked up too, and that seems to have pushed some over the edge. We’re checking with organizers for the official word.
1:40 PM UPDATE: The rain’s lightening a bit but the booths are down to about half a dozen – organizers gave vendors the option to fold up – our neighbors, selling jewelry, say they don’t mind the weather, but since nobody’s coming to visit, there’s no point. We’re continuing to hang out. The band schedule is going moment-to-moment, depending on the electronics and the weather. The dog parade for 2 pm is still on – depending on who shows! SFD and SPD are here too:
2 PM: Furry Faces Foundation hasn’t folded up its plant sale:
But if you want to buy a plant, you’ll have to go find Teri inside the Feedback.
2:25 PM: Speaking of “furry faces”… yes, there was a dog parade!
(added – two more photos – note that this dog didn’t want to look at the camera when posing with its people but did then have something to say to Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker!)
And even though NOW the rain and wind are lifting … the vendors are almost all gone.
3:10 PM UPDATE: The festival has officially come to an early end. Bands cut short, all festival zones being cleaned up/folded up. Thanks to everybody who came out, even in the downpour! We’re among the last to fold up but we’ll be gone shortly since the Feedback/Zeeks back parking lot has reopened to traffic.
The sun hasn’t emerged in tomorrow’s forecast YET but we hope you’ll come visit the Morgan Junction Community Festival (co-sponsored by WSB) no matter what kind of weather we wind up with. Cindi Barker from the Morgan Community Association says they have tents for the band stages if necessary, and people with booths at the festival are usually under tents anyway (we’ve got ours ready to go). Prep work is continuing at the site – which includes Morgan Junction Park, the lot behind Zeeks/Feedback (just walk southwest of the park to get there), and Washington Federal across California. Here’s what you need to know:
*The entertainment schedule (mostly live music, but including The Bubbleman at 11:30)
*“Bark of Morgan” dog parade and contests, starting at 2 pm
*Here’s the festival site map – note a Metro RapidRide bus and Seattle Fire truck are both expected. Visit the MoCA info booth in the park (marked on the map) for Bite of Morgan food-sample information/location list/tickets (free but first-come, first-served).
*Festival hours are 10:30 am-7 pm; vendors/exhibitors will likely be closing around 6 pm, so the final hour is mostly just music and unwinding. Stick around Morgan Junction and enjoy the local businesses, many of which are sponsoring the festival – have dinner, and/or drinks, lots of after-partying awaits! P.S. One lunchtime idea – there’ll be a barbecue outside nearby West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), with proceeds benefiting the volunteer-produced, nonprofit festival.
(Scroll down for the newest updates/photos)
Bounce on over to Westwood Village, where we’re live at the Street Fair, and we’re actually seeing a bit of blue between the clouds to the west. Bouncy rides (FREE!), treats, live music (School of Rock at noon!), demonstrations – like this Zumba class:
… and the beer garden, sponsored by the West Seattle Eagles JUST opened.
And bring or buy school supplies to donate at the “stuff the bus” stop:
We’ve seen at least one school among the exhibitors here, too – Seattle Lutheran High School even brought a robot!
There’s a dog contest – says the emcee – coming up at 1:30, and the blue-sky spot keeps getting bigger to the west …
12:19 PM UPDATE: You’ll meet Westwood merchants here, too – above, Curt Keppler from Wyatt’s Jewelers (longtime WSB sponsor), with Evan. And in a booth that’s a few steps from her Eats Market Café, chef Toby Matasar is selling flavored popcorn:
There’s a fire engine for the kids (and grownups!) to check out, too, along the roadway between the central Street Fair zone and the Wyatt’s/Chico’s/etc. storefronts. More to come.
1:08 PM UPDATE: Chico’s is having a fashion show right now, and dogs are showing up for the 1:30 pm competition. We also just met a dog whose person thanked us for the WSB Pets page, which helped bring the little guy home recently:
Thank you to everyone who’s stopped by to say hi – even without bright full-on sunshine, it’s definitely nicer weather than last year, when we were all out here shivering … the temps are comfortable and there’s not a raindrop in sight. At 2 pm, there’ll be a special main-stage storytime with Melissa from Barnes and Noble (who usually does storytimes in the store on Saturday mornings).
1:41 PM: Bulletin – the sun has arrived. “Partly sunny,” to be sure, but it’s sun. Also forgot to mention, the West Seattle-based food truck A Lunch in Hand is here, on the south end of the street-fair area, north of the Taco del Mar/Giannoni’s Pizzeria lot. Here’s their menu:
Another pitch for the beer garden – the proceeds go to charity! It’s right by the stage, outside BBB/Eats.
2:07 PM UPDATE: Melissa‘s onstage with a picture book now (check out her regular Saturday readings at B&N at 11 am):
Among the people who’ve stopped to say hi so far are folks we’ve written about here the past week or two – Jason from “the ex-Petco site” (Sound Ad Group’s temp home) in his West Seattle Podcast T-shirt (here’s our story about the podcast plan); Ellen Bremen, the “Chatty Professor,” who has just published “Say This, NOT That, to Your Professor …” (here’s our story). Longtime WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli stopped by to say hi – his big New York City exhibition for his internationally renowned “Big Appetites” photos is coming up this week. And even as we type … a reader who has contributed photos, Diane, stopped by … the most famous one, she reminded us, showed the inflated plastic bag that protruded from a window during last summer’s demolition of the old Denny school site.
2:22 PM UPDATE: The Seattle Fire Department‘s back – an engine was here earlier (we believe 37 but couldn’t leave our post to look) and now a ladder truck (update: it’s Ladder 13, which is currently based at Highland Park’s Station 11) – same parking spot as earlier (which is also right alongside the inflatable obstacle course). Live music is scheduled to resume at 3 pm with Gunn and The Damage Done, and in the meantime, there’s been a heavy dose of classic rock – multiple Doors hits.
3:24 PM UPDATE: BOTH units from Station 11 are here.
And the band plays on:
(added) Video:
Among those here checking out the band: Jeff Gilbert from Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction. Rest of the music schedule is here.
4:17 PM UPDATE: The NW Rivals are playing now, and the beer garden activity looks to be picking up. Those blue-sky breaks from earlier are gone, sadly, but still no rain, and the temperature’s pleasant. The bouncy house, slide, obstacle course, etc., are still up and running, but some of the tablers are folding up, particularly near the stage, where the focus is fully on the music for the rest of the event.
5:27 PM UPDATE: We’re the last booth left, but the bouncy toys are still going, and live music continues, with RAF onstage now. Couple more visitors at the booth here, including the Full Tilt Ice Cream family, and Ruth from West Seattle See Dogs, the guide-puppy-raising club, here giving future guide dog Gulliver an idea of what a street fair with live music is like.
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