Belly dancer Najma is just one of the performers who’ve already taken the stage – or, in this case, danced on the green – at Morgan Junction Park, where we’re midway through the Morgan Junction Community Festival. Lots of folks dropping by to say hi (and in the past hour-plus, picking up the free bumper stickers we mentioned in our first report – they’re going fast!), telling us they’re taking a break from yard work or other things they think they SHOULD be doing … c’mon, get away from the computer, it’s a mellow afternoon down here. Dog-friendly too if you want to bring your pooch. Still three more bands to go over the next few hours, plus the fabled Bubbleman at 5:15 pm.

3:32 PM: Inbetween the park and the area where us exhibitor types are hanging out behind Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor)/Zeeks Pizza, you’ll find West Seattle Natural Energy and MissionMoto – they’re set up between Beveridge Place Pub and Feedback – and just past them, you’ll find booths like the one Sylvia Rolle and Cindi Barker are staffing right now:

They’ll be happy to tell you all about the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs (and other West Seattle Be Prepared readiness matters). More to come – this continues till 7.

4:37 PM: The Slags are just now starting to play – a little later than scheduled – and we’re awaiting word on whether the Bubbleman will make it – apparently he was having some trouble catching a ferry from Vashon. Meantime, some updates – we’re out of the I (Heart) West Seattle bumper stickers that the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce had given us to hand out – also “sold out” (though they too were free), the coupon books for the Bite of Morgan tastes – organizers printed almost 500 this year, a few hundred more than last year, but still ran out. Of course you can still stop in to eat and drink at the nearby restaurants/bars – all this is amid Kokoras Greek Grill, Feedback Lounge, Zeeks Pizza, Beveridge Place Pub, Starbucks, West Seattle Thriftway, Subway, New Teriyaki and Wok, Domino’s – and a bit to the south, Caffe Ladro.

5:25 PM: Bubbleman is indeed here and started a few minutes ago. We photographed him getting ready:

And from their performance about an hour ago – The Slags – introduced by their drummer’s son, with a bit of off-camera coaching from Morgan Community Association’s music guru (among other things) Chas Redmond:

Speaking of music … we spotted Willie Murderface – a West Seattleite who hosts karaoke – and asked if he’d stop for a photo:

Even if you’re not a karaoke denizen, you may remember Willie for the benefit he organized last January to raise money for Jason McKissack, the Seattle police officer who suffered a career-ending injury when attacked in the line of duty two years ago. (Here’s our story from the night of the fundraiser.) Thanks to everybody who stopped by today – the booth area behind the Feedback is starting to clear out, but there’s still one band left to play in the park (warming up now) before the festival wraps. We’ll have one more report later including a video-highlight roundup and any other post-festival tidbits – meantime, hope to see you tomorrow at the West Seattle Junction Health Fair, 10 am-2 pm in the Wells Fargo parking lot, right across from (and same hours as) the Farmers’ Market!

That’s the entertainment schedule at the Morgan Junction Community Festival, which has just begun at Morgan Junction Park (on California SW just north of Fauntleroy) – in and around the park, and don’t miss the dozens of booths behind Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) and Zeeks Pizza, including ours:

(That’s our old advertising banner from the Water Taxi, which isn’t running ads on the new boat yet.) Also of note, in the “festival zone” at Beveridge Place Pub, a crowd’s gathering for the USA-England World Cup soccer match:

You can also watch at Abbondanza Pizza a bit further south, same side of California SW. So come down and enjoy the festival – be sure to get your free Bite of Morgan food coupons (Abbondanza is among the participants) at the Morgan Community Association booth at the park – the one in the left of this shot:

The festival continues till 7 pm. More coverage to come! 11:49 AM: Almost forgot – in addition to the Bite tastes, you can get a barbecue lunch at West Seattle Thriftway, kitty corner from the festival zone, till 4 pm, benefiting the Morgan Community Association!

12:49 PM: Back to the festival focus after a brief bit of breaking news (diver rescue call that turned out OK – diver wasn’t missing or in trouble, after all). Good news – we have something new at the booth, courtesy of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – free I *HEART* West Seattle bumper stickers! While they last! Here they are on our table, next to the makeshift World Cup scoreboard:

Also Water Taxi brochures and city Neighborhood Center info. We’re right behind Feedback Lounge, between Animals First Foundation and Pacific Rim Emergency Planning.

2:05 PM: Shoutout to more of our neighbors here in the exhibit area – longtime WSB sponsor Ventana Construction is right across the way – here’s Ventana’s Anne with kids Delila and Logan:

We’ve also seen some candidates – Marcee Stone and Joe Fitzgibbon, both candidates for the 34th District State House Position 1 have been sighted. (P.S. Later in the afternoon, another candidate in that race, Mike Heavey, visited the festival too, as we noted at the time via Twitter.) We’ll be starting a new report shortly – have video of belly dancing and music too!