One week from today, California Avenue SW will be lined with spectators and filled with floats, marchers, and more, for the West Seattle American Legion Post 160 Grand Parade. And today, we learned that WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland will be Grand Marshal, just one day before her organization’s big annual Stuff The Bus diaper-donate-a-thon (10 am-2 pm Sunday, July 22nd, in the AmericanWest Bank parking lot). The diaper drive’s signature bus will be in next Saturday’s parade right behind the convertible in which she’ll be displaying a well-executed parade wave (we saw a preview in the West Seattle Summer Fest Info Booth today). Note that this year’s parade timing will be a bit different for reasons including the first-ever Float Dodger 5K – which will start at California/Lander, the start of the parade route, around 9:45 am. The parade will begin with the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team as usual – and then between the SPD motorcycles and their Vancouver, B.C., counterparts, you’ll see the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums with some guests from back east. In The Junction, the Rotary Club of West Seattle Kiddie Parade will precede the main part of the parade as usual (click the linked title to sign up now) – more parade previews here all week.
(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!) –
(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:
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.
Rick R is wondering if you can help find that missing buoy:
Our neighbor’s mooring was last seen on Sunday, before the lightning storm. It normally rests in the small bay just South of Brace Point, around the point from Fauntleroy Cove.
It isn’t the best looking buoy around, but it has a lot of sentinmental value. If the chain broke, it could have ended up anywhere from The Arroyos to Alki Point..or beyond.
If seen, please send me a note at fr7001@gmail.com.
12:09 PM: We’ve learned that a man killed in a one-car crash near the Southworth ferry dock on the Kitsap Peninsula yesterday was a 20-year-old West Seattleite. Ben Huppe graduated from Garfield High School just two years ago. According to this Kitsap Sun report, his car veered off the road around 7:30 am Friday and went down a 30-foot embankment. A friend who e-mailed us with the sad news describes Mr. Huppe as “a truly amazing young man.”
ADDED 6:38 PM: As commenters have mentioned, Mr. Huppe was a coach at the Arbor Heights Swim and Tennis Club, where a memorial is growing. C.D. sent the photo we have added above, explaining it’s “a little memorial that we set up on the Arbor Heights Swim and Tennis courts; we encourage members to write their thoughts and prayers.” The AHSTC website has this tribute:
Ben has been the heart of the tennis team for years, joining the team at age 9 and twice voted “most inspirational” by his teammates. Ben coached for 4 years and has been a great role model for all the kids at the club, teaching them to love the game of tennis. He will be greatly missed and our hearts go out to his family
(Recent Lowman Beach aerial photo, by Long Bach Nguyen)
Next week, a month-long project is starting at King County’s Murray Pump Station in Lowman Beach Park, and it means reduced park access and parking, according to county spokesperson Annie Kolb-Nelson, who explains:
King County contractors will begin work during the week of July 16 to replace the wet well grate in the County’s Murray Pump Station located in Lowman Beach Park. The work is not part of the CSO project but necessary for the maintenance of the facility. The project will take about a month to complete and will reduce parking on Beach Drive Southwest and access to the southeastern corner of Lowman Beach Park (see attachment). Public access to the swing set, tennis court and beach will be maintained.
The pump station transports West Seattle’s sewage and stormwater for treatment at the County treatment plant in Magnolia. The new grate will allow County operations and maintenance staff to continue working safely in the pump station. The old grate has been corroded by sewer gases over the course of the pump station’s 55 years of service. Park users and neighbors can expect the following:
· Work hours typically 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday
· More noise and activity at the site
· Construction fencing and boom truck on site
· Reduced access to southeastern corner of the park
· Three closed parking spaces on Beach Drive Southwest
Again, she says this is NOT related to the upcoming megaproject to build a million-gallon underground storage tank (the houses/apartments in the center of the photo, “above” the park – east of it – will be demolished for that), but there is a related meeting coming up:
Also, the next Murray CSO Control Facility DAG meeting is Tuesday July 17, beginning at 6:30 at the Fauntleroy Church.
Meeting topics include:
· SDOT review of 60% design
· Facility landscaping, architecture and art
· Site fencing and art
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.
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.
The photo is courtesy of Master Steve Elmore of Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy – it’s from 2001, when he and his first black-belt-test students were photographed with a leader who has just passed away and will be remembered in West Seattle today:
On Monday, July 9th, 2012, the Martial Arts world lost one of its most prominent and respected leaders, Grandmaster Jae Chul Shin. Grandmaster Shin passed away on Monday after battling cancer. He was the founder, president, and Grandmaster of the World Tang Soo Do Association which has over 100,000 members in over 38 countries worldwide, making it one of the largest Martial Arts organizations in the world today.
The two member schools in Washington, located in West Seattle, will be having a memorial in his honor at 1 pm (today) Saturday, July 14th, in Hiawatha Park. Students from these two schools, Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy and Puget Sound Tang Soo Do, will be sharing memories and stories of this great leader, teacher, and mentor. Many high-ranking students and instructors will also be traveling to North Carolina to attend a service in his honor on July 22nd.
The two schools will also be making a donation to the American Cancer Society in Grandmaster Shin’s name and will accept donations from anyone in the community. Grandmaster Shin’s life and legacy will be kept alive by the nearly 250 of his students that train in Seattle today. He was an inspiring, compassionate, and dedicate man with the utmost character and integrity. He will be sorely missed by many.
Six West Seattle Crime Watch reader reports to share, that have come in over the past several days. For starters, two reports of mailbox crime: Above, Gregg says six mailboxes at 22nd SW and SW 104th in Shorewood were broken into on Tuesday. “Two were the security locking type. Did not seem to stop the mail thief.” Also on Tuesday, in the 8400 block of 25th SW, Bill says, “Mailbox block was destroyed by a moron with a rock. They’ve been replaced and reported to postal police.”
And today, we learned that 
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