Though the 43 venues (list/map) participating in West Seattle Art Walk tonight (as well as the August and September editions) stretch far beyond The Junction (Alki to Endolyne, as the Art Walk poster/postcard puts it), the Summer Fest eve street closure in “Downtown West Seattle” plays an integral role. As mentioned here earlier this week, street performers – “buskers” – are invited to play in the shutdown streets; by late this afternoon, California will be closed from Edmunds to Oregon, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th, and they’ll remain closed until after the Summer Fest booths, stages, etc., are taken down Sunday night. (One of the headliners will be back – Bubbleman is expected outside Elliott Bay Brewery tonight.) The closed Junction streets are not the only reason this is usually the biggest West Seattle Art Walk of the year – the great weather usually brings everybody out, and tonight, it’s the perfect reason to get out of your probably-not-air-conditioned house (here’s the newest forecast). Many venues have beverages and snacks, free to Art Walk visitors, and tonight, with the theme “Art Walk Live!”, there’s lots of live music, not just in The Junction.

Many venues’ highlights are now posted on the official Art Walk website. Just a few – the grand opening for The Cask in Admiral (reported here Tuesday); Alki Bathhouse has a guitarist playing live (beach breezes!); WSB sponsor Bin 41 has tastings with popular Oregon winemakers Athena and Stewart Boedecker plus TWO live musical groups (details here) ; at newly returned WSB sponsor West Side Yoga/Doga in Morgan Junction, stop in for the Dogs Deserve Better benefit featuring artist Emily Rieman and “live surf music”! Other WSB sponsors participating in tonight’s Art Walk are Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (artist info here), Brunette Mix (artist info here), Cupcake Royale, 8 Limbs Yoga (artist info here) – all in The Junction – and Click! Design That Fits in Admiral (artist info here). Again, you can browse artist info for many of the venues on the official Art Walk website; here’s the venue list and walking map. Stay cool, spend tonight at the Art Walk! We’ll see you there – and we’ll be reporting “live” here and via Twitter – 6-9 pm tonight.