West Seattle’s biggest summer festival is now just a month away — West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction, Friday 7/10 through Sunday 7/12. It’s more like a three-and-a-half-day festival, since Thursday 7/9 is the monthly Art Walk and the streets will be closed that night for setup (as well as for some pre-festival fun – we hear the Bubbleman will be out by Elliott Bay Brewery that night as he was last year – he’ll be at this Saturday’s Morgan Junction Festival too). This year’s festival will have some new elements and a different configuration; perhaps the biggest, the southernmost music stage will move to SW Alaska east of California, and the south end of the festival zone on California will be the family-fun zone, right in the section of the shopping district that most West Seattle families already know well as home to Curious Kidstuff (WSB sponsor). Besides ticketed attractions (bouncy house, slide, etc.), this area also will feature more free family fun and performances this year, according to Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association. With so many great school and youth performance groups and clubs around West Seattle, she wanted to put out the call to any who might be interested in showing their stuff during Summer Fest, so it’ll have even more West Seattle flavor. If you’re involved with a school or youth group that might like a turn in the Summer Fest spotlight, contact Susan at the WSJA office (susan@wsjunction.com or 206-935-0904). Meantime, keep an eye on the Summer Fest website; as reported here last week, the full music schedule is now published there (that relocated stage by the Junction Plaza Park site – where you will find a beer garden, too – is the Alaska stage, while the one on the north end of the festival zone is the California stage). And remember Twilight Artist Collective has put out a call for Art Dive participants too – see it here. (Photos from Summer Fest 2008 – crowd shot by Christopher Boffoli, Lion Dance by TR)