West Seattle, Washington
14 Wednesday
At the West Seattle Summer Fest information booth, besides “where’s the stage?” “when’s (fill in the band name)?” and “anybody here selling strawberry shortcake?” frequent questions include the dates of other upcoming major summer events. So, a couple quick notes tonight on three of the biggest events ahead (all of which we are co-sponsoring):
WEST SEATTLE OUTDOOR MOVIES START ONE WEEK FROM TONIGHT: Next Saturday (July 16th), get to the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard early and stake out your spot for the season’s first of six West Seattle Outdoor Movies, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (trailer above). Each movie screens at dusk and will have preshow entertainment this year (find the schedule here). Free, but bring a few bucks for concessions and raffles that raise money for local nonprofits.
WEST SEATTLE GRAND PARADE, TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY: 11 am Saturday, July 23rd, the big parade coordinated by American Legion Post 160 rolls down California from Lander to Edmunds, with floats, bands, community entries, motorcycles, and more – including traditional favorites like the Seafair Pirates and All-City Band, and there’s always something/someone new. The parade’s online at thewestseattleparade.com and on Facebook here.
ALKI ART FAIR, TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY/TOMORROW: Also on July 23rd, plus July 24th, this year’s Alki Art Fair at the beach. WSB is a co-sponsor for the first time, and while you’ll see a longer preview here in the next day or so, there’s advance word on the Art Fair website now – including the Alki Bathhouse centennial celebration, and music on two stages!
Two reader reports out of the WSB inbox tonight – first, a woman with a warning about a man she says pinched her tonight at West Seattle Summer Fest; second, a door-to-door alert – read on for both:Read More
8:10 PM: Thanks to Nathan for the tip that more than 300 homes/businesses are reported without power in southwestern West Seattle, from Brace Point southward and toward the water, including a stretch west of Marine View Drive. He says that while his home didn’t lose power, it did lose Comcast service. The City Light outage map indicates they are hoping to restore power within a few hours.
11:18 PM: Nathan sent an update that he lost his power not long after e-mailing us; meantime, the City Light map now estimates restoration after midnight.
1:24 AM: Estimated restoration time is now after 11 am.
If you haven’t browsed the Art Dive at West Seattle Summer Fest 2011, come back and take a look. WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz found Jon, above, with … coyote, um, memorabilia. Not from here, he insists, from NY. Another sight not to be missed, even if you’re not participating – Hack-cycle, which has yielded some creations, like this one we saw circling around by Junction Plaza Park:
Now that Night 2 of Summer Fest is under way, the people are the sights – whether artists, vendors, performers, or festivalgoers. One of the final activities of the day in the informal California/Alaska performance area was belly-dancer Nadira:
Hers was the second belly-dancing performance of the day; one more is scheduled tomorrow (1 pm), after the noon “Minute to Win It” presented by TILA Real Estate. Meantime, music goes till midnight tonight – Curtains For You is up at 7:30, The Bend at 8:45, The Staxx Brothers at 10 pm, and Head Like A Kite wraps up the night at 11:15 pm. And you never know when you might see performers just wandering in the street – it happened just a little while ago:
Food stands are open till 8, but lots of Junction restaurants are open longer, and many have outdoor seating. Most of the vendors have rolled up too. We’ll have some more photos/video to add later, including many more sights from Day 2!
(Scroll down for updates – we’re adding photos and video as the afternoon goes on)
As several of the many awesome people we’ve been able to talk with here at the West Seattle Summer Fest Information Booth (California/Alaska) have observed – the weather is PERFECT. Sunny but not hot. The spirited breeze from yesterday hasn’t kicked up so far, either. The activity area near here has just revved up too – Rob Roy from Fresh Bistro won the veggie-dog-eating contest; Troupe Hipnotica‘s belly dancing is happening now.
Afternoon-long coverage, in the hours ahead; check out our Day 2 “guide” here if you haven’t already. And look closely at booths and stores’ outdoor tables as you wander along – you’ll find drawings as well as freebies – here for example is something for which you can buy a raffle ticket outside the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon):
WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz took the photo and reports, “Jan Haring and Kim Roper are at the Senior Center Stop and Shop. They and 20 or so other WS seniors made their annual group quilt for a drawing at Rainbow Bingo Night at the Center on Oct. 28th. The 78″ x 92″ textile art ‘Alki Sound’ will be on display at the Senior Center until the drawing.” Deanie also checked out the Art Dive (California SW north of SW Oregon), where she found acrylic artist Hoogen – whose work, she notes, is currently on display at Zippy’s Giant Burgers in White Center:
Nice shirt! (That’s the back of the Lowman Brau T-shirt, a popular item of West Seattle garb we’ve seen here – you can now get Summer Fest T-shirts just SOUTH of the Verizon booth that’s south of the info booth, instead of here in the info booth.)
2:36 PM: Uh-oh, Jeff Gilbert from Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), the Lowman Brau brainstormer, just popped down and told us only 10 of those T-shirts are left, up at the beer garden by the stage/Eagles aerie (California between Genesee and Oregon). Meantime, also stopping by, city Chief Technical Officer and West Seattleite Bill Schrier, who tweeted a pic of your editor here. In the house with us at the moment, the Admiral Neighborhood Association and Fairmount Community Association reps at the “community/neighborhood table” next to ours on the east side, and the West Seattle Be Prepared team is still in the house next to us on the west side.
3:20 PM: That’s the popular Rat City Brass, one of this afternoon’s featured acts up on the stage (remember, there’s ONE music stage). And if you’d like to watch somebody paint, “live,” go see Joseph outside Twilight Artist Collective (SW Alaska just west of California):
4:05 PM: We checked in on the kid zone – Lashanna from Pathfinder K-8 is there; they’re coordinating the free art activities again this year:
Good turnout!
And Clowns Unlimited brings the bouncy rides and climbing wall (if you missed it earlier, here’s the pricing info and hours):
The bouncy rides are scheduled to be in operation till 8 tonight. And keep your eyes peeled to see who’s circulating – the reigning Hi-Yu senior court stopped by the booth (we just missed a photo of them asking a little girl to show her ‘princess wave’):
Also roving to check out the Summer Fest scenes, WSB contributor Stephanie Chacharon – who spotted these two:
Stephanie explains, “We caught Tilo and Imari Calkins dancing in the street while manning the T-shirt booth for David Groves of Seattle Logo Pro. The sisters, who live near Alki, attend Summer Fest every year. If you need to get your hands on a tee, look for these ladies — we bet they’ll still be dancing.” (Note the “West Side” tees, too.)
1:03 PM: Within the past 15 minutes or so, the Seafair Pirates landed at Alki. Video to come. We’re told Moby Duck will make an appearance later in the day; we also hear the Pirates are planning to be at West Seattle’s Avalon restaurant after 7 pm or so tonight.
2:13 PM: Just added the video!
3:07 PM: And … we’ve added a couple photos too – just before the Pirates stepped off, at the edge of the shore, above; the Seattle Police boat showing off for the crowd, below:
No worries if you missed the Pirates today – they’ll be in the West Seattle Grand Parade exactly two weeks from today, July 23rd, starting in the Admiral District at 11 am and heading south along California SW.
(Photos by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)
12:12 PM: We’re on our way to Sunrise Heights, where the first crews on scene report light smoke coming from the upper level of a home in the 3100 block of SW Kenyon (map). More to come.
12:32 PM: Christopher Boffoli is on the scene for WSB. He reports, “Some smoke, but looks like they’ve got it tapped.” Investigators have been dispatched.
12:41 PM: Update from Christopher: “It was a small fire on the second floor (residential house) in a bedroom. No one at home, though they are still conducting a secondary search. No victims and no firefighter injuries. Fire is now tapped. Too early to speculate on the cause.”
6:11 PM: From SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore: “It was accidental and started in a second floor sewing room at the edge of a bed. The house was secure. The homeowner left 24 hours before the fire started to go on vacation. When firefighters arrived we had to use tools to get inside. The damage estimates are $50,000 to the structure and $25,000 to the contents.”
By Megan Sheppard
On the WSBeat, for West Seattle Blog
From reports on cases handled recently by Southwest Precinct officers:
*After ringing a doorbell several times in the 3000 block of 63rd on Saturday afternoon, a would-be burglar apparently decided no one was home. He broke in, not realizing that an infirm resident was napping. She woke up, and her screams brought her husband into the room and sent the suspect running. Nothing seems to have been stolen. The suspect was described as a black man, aged 18-21, with curly black hair in a pony tail. He wore all black clothing.
*In the 9200 block of Fauntleroy, a man was asleep early Saturday when he heard someone open his bedroom window from outside. He yelled, “Hey!” which scared off the suspect: A white man, aged 22-29, about 5’11” and of medium build with brown curly or permed hair.
*On 57th SW, a citizen got out some frustrations by puncturing a neighbor’s car tire. He also left a note suggesting that after she got the tire fixed she should learn how to park.
More ahead, including a death discovered on a local sidewalk:Read More
At 10 am, the biggest of West Seattle Summer Fest‘s three days begins in The Junction. Vendors are scheduled to be open till 8 pm; music goes till 11 pm. Above, the map. Below, some highlights:
MUSIC – ALL ON THE CALIFORNIA-NORTH-OF-OREGON STAGE: Here’s the lineup. The live music starts at noon with Eight Legs to Nowhere. Continues till midnight (Head Like a Kite at 11:15 pm is the last group) – with longtime faves including Rat City Brass at 2:30 pm, Rachel Harrington at 3:45, Massy Ferguson at 5.
LIVE PERFORMANCES AT CALIFORNIA/ALASKA: These are not in the festival guide – but the first ones of the day are a hot-dog-eating contest at 1 pm, Troupe Hipnotica belly dancing at 1:30 pm, Evergreen Tang Soo Do martial-arts demonstration at 2 pm, Sugar Rush cake-eating contest at 3 pm, “adorable child dancers” at 4 pm, Nadira at 5 pm, West Seattle Hi-Yu at 6 pm.
SUMMER FEST KIDS’ AREA: Open 10 am-8 pm today. The rides are at SW Alaska and 44th SW, a few on Alaska, the rest in the Wells Fargo parking lot to the north. Here’s our earlier report with full details on the rides and the pricing. But there are free activities too – like the art zone coordinated by Pathfinder K-8.
ART DIVE: Look for the big tent on California SW north of SW Oregon. Too many participants to list in the guide, but we got a sneak peek from coordinators Twilight Artist Collective in this earlier report (hair extensions!).
HACK-CYCLE: Bring that neglected/no-longer-needed bike, and use cool tools to make something new (and hopefully still rideable) out of it. The Hack-cycle zone is on SW Alaska east of California, across from Junction Plaza Park. Here’s our preview story, with metal artist Rusty Oliver explaining what it’s all about (or if you don’t have a bike, drop by to help provide human power!).
GREENLIFE: The sustainability zone is in a parking lot on the south end, just past Bikram Yoga, and east of the 44th/Edmunds Chase drive-thru. Today’s demonstrations start at 11 am with “Green Cleaning Materials,” and continue till “Making Beer at Home” at 5 pm. Full schedule here.
FESTIVAL FOOD: Most of the food booths are on SW Alaska on both sides of California – but note that many of the area restaurants in The Junction to serve you day in, day out, night in, night out are offering something special, like in more than a few cases, outdoor seating … so wander the whole area to have a look BEFORE you get hungry!
INFORMATION BOOTH: If you just can’t find someone – or have another question – or want to say hi to reps from neighborhood groups, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, West Seattle Junction Association, and WSB (hi!) – you’ll find them all in the info booth is in the heart of the festival area, Walk-All-Ways at California/Alaska.
(Photo courtesy Bike Hugger – bikehugger.com)
West Seattle Summer Fest is at center stage again today in The Junction, 10 am-10 pm. Our next story will be a preview of today’s hours, performances, what you need to know before you go But there are a few other big events that we wanted to mention — all from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
EDIBLE GARDEN TOUR: 4th annual West Seattle/White Center self-guided tour, presented by Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. 10 am-4 pm, details and ticket info here. And as part of the day’s events …
COMMUNITY ORCHARD OF WEST SEATTLE GRAND OPENING: … during the Edible Garden Tour, at noon today, north end of South Seattle Community College campus, a celebration officially opens the orchard (which already has had its first harvests, as reported here). Those scheduled to be on hand include City Council President Richard Conlin.
CHICKEN COOP AND URBAN FARM TOUR: 10 am-4 pm, this Seattle Tilth-presented tour is citywide, but we’re told plenty of stops in West Seattle. Details here.
…AND ANOTHER GARDEN TOUR!: The self-guided, free White Center Jubilee Days Garden Tour is today, 9 am to 6 pm. The Garden Tour will begin in the parking lot of McLendon Hardware in WC (where you can get a free map), traveling through ten distinctive gardens in the White Center area. More Info
SEAFAIR PIRATES’ LANDING: Activities at the beach all day (centered in the Bathhouse area), but the main event, the Seafair Pirates Landing at Alki, should be around noon (not a hard-and-fast time, could be a bit earlier, could be a bit later). Note this tends to draw a huge crowd, so go early, and realize you may have to park a distance away, even south of Admiral Way – or take the bus (Water Taxi shuttle will get you there too). Reminder that, as noted in our previous story, the Pancakes and Pirates fundraiser breakfast continues till 10 outside the Bathhouse (water side), $5/person.
NEED PLANTS? Garden Center (plants on sale!) open at South Seattle Community College, 11 am-3 pm. Details here.
FUNDRAISING BARBECUE AT THRIFTWAY: The weekly West Seattle Thriftway barbecue lunch, starting at 11 am, is a benefit this week for WestSide Baby.
SIGN UP FOR ‘BREATHE DEEP’: Registration party at West Seattle Runner for August 13’s Breathe Deep Seattle 5K at Lincoln Park, noon-4 pm (details and links here)
‘HOOD HUNT: The Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum presents another ‘Hood Hunt, 1 – 4 pm. See Facebook event page here for details.
BOWL VS. BOWEL: 6-8 pm at West Seattle Bowl: A bowling fundraiser to benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Help fund research and treatment of all irritable-bowel diseases. $20 a person. Raffle tickets $1 each or 15 for $10. If you are not able to attend but want to donate, please go to http://online.ccfa.org/goto/heidicoy
‘THE SHESPOT GOES BACK TO CAMP’: At Camp Long Fire Circle (5200 35th Ave SW), 7 pm, the two-woman improv team, The SheSpot, presents a show full of improvised scenes and songs inspired by the audience’s memories from summer camp. After the show, stay for s’mores and hang around the campfire. Kids, dogs, and hand-held percussion instruments are welcome. Tickets $10 day of event. See The SheSpot Facebook page for information.
BELLYESQUE AT SKYLARK: Belly-dancing fundraiser (for new costumes!) tonight at 8. Details are here (but note that online ticket sales have ended so you’ll have to buy at the door).
MUSIC AT SPIRA POWER YOGA: Blues concert at Spira Power Yoga in the Admiral District. BYOP – bring your own pillow. Steve Gold and his guitar band, 8 pm. Ticket info and other details here. Spira Power’s Dora says, “No yoga involved, just sit and enjoy the music!”
CANDYLANDIA: 9 pm at the Heartland Café‘s Benbow Room: Dance party! Brought to you by DJ Cotton Candy every second Saturday of the month.
Blue sky, blue water at Alki, as the 2011 Seafair Pirates’ Landing approaches – and setup is under way:
But there’s a reason to go to the beach early – till 10 am, as a fundraiser for Sports in Schools, there’s a pancake-breakfast fundraiser at Alki Bathhouse, $5/person. (The landing itself will be between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm, according to the Pirates’ website.) Randy, Will, and volunteers are on the water side of the Bathhouse, outside:
More shortly on other events happening today (plus a West Seattle Summer Fest, Day 2, preview).
From West Seattle Little League president Mark Terao:
Our 11-12 West Seattle Little League All-Stars beat Rainier Little League All-Stars 12-3 in 6 innings (Friday) night, capturing the District 7 Championship. This title sends the 11-12 West Seattle Little League All-Stars to the State Tournament in Vancouver, Washington, the week of July 23rd.
Manager: John Coats
Coach: Howard Chilcott
Coach: Tim Johnson
Players: Jackson Chilcott, Anthony Coats, Jax Cramer, Matt Dietz, Zach Gerhardt, Anthony Goss, Tyler Hammond, Blue James, David Johnson, Tim Roach, Adam Wickler
This team is the second WSLL All-Stars team to win the district championship this season; the 10-11 All-Stars go to state later this month, and their fundraising car wash is coming up this Sunday (details here).
Before we move on to West Seattle Summer Fest 2011 Day 2, we have a multitude of photos still to share from Day (and Night) 1 – above, of course, The Fastbacks’ reunion, and below, the crowd:
Summer Fest was full of unscheduled moments – like a Seattle Police sergeant atop Seattle Fire’s Ladder 11 as its ladder was extended during its visit alongside Junction Plaza Park:
Also extended: The arms of Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) co-proprietor Jeff Gilbert, in the midday sunshine:
Many more photos, after the jump:
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