(8:30 am photo: Seafair Pirates already have landed in the Admiral District, pre-parade!)
Biggest day of West Seattle’s season of summer fun! And this is just SOME of it – even more is on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

CSWS RUMMAGE SALE: 8 am-8 pm, one of our area’s biggest annual rummage sales, with a bake sale too! (9450 22nd SW)

FLOAT DODGER 5K: 9:45 am, the second annual edition of this fun pre-parade race – see the route here. Run in costume! Win prizes (see the list here)! Receive cheers from people waiting for the parade! You can still sign up pre-race starting at 8 am. (Starts at California/Charlestown)

ROTARY KIDDIE PARADE: 10 am, check-in starts at California/Genesee; 11 am, kids are invited to walk, roll, skip, pedal in the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s annual mini-parade, which also features the Junior All-City Band (see our Friday night preview).

ALKI ART FAIR: 10 am-6 pm for artists, music until 9 pm, on the promenade at the beach. See the artist/food vendor list in our Thursday preview; see today’s music lineup for the two main stages here (PDF). Free shuttle if you park at West Seattle High School (3000 California SW)

COMMUNITY GARDEN TOUR: Village Green Perennial Nursery has organized a free self-guided West Seattle/White Center tour spotlighting rain gardens, urban farming, beekeeping, and other sustainability practices, 10 am-4 pm today, – see the map and more info here.

FRIENDS OF MORGAN JUNCTION PARKS CLEANUP: 10 am-noon, lots of help needed to continue beautifying Morgan Junction Park! Details in the calendar listing.

WEST SEATTLE GRAND PARADE: 11 am, more than 70 entries from motorcycles to marching bands to unicycles to drill teams to community groups (and more!), heading south on California from Lander to Edmunds. The parade is presented by West Seattle’s American Legion Post 160. Here’s the official website; here’s our coverage archive, with multiple previews (as well as coverage of past years).

BARBECUE LUNCH FOR WESTSIDE BABY: Today’s 11 am-~4 pm benefit barbecue at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) raises money for WestSide Baby on the weekend of its biggest annual diaper drive – more on that a few entries down! (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan)

MEDITERRANEAN FANTASY FESTIVAL: Belly dancing, vendors, food and more, in the park at Hiawatha Community Center. The dancer lineup for today – outdoors and indoors, 11 am-7 pm – is here; other details are in printed programs on site. (2700 California SW)

BYE, BYE BERTHA: 11:30 am, not in West Seattle, but Highway 99 affects us in a big way, so the official sendoff for the tunnel-boring machine might be of interest. It starts with speeches and a ceremony at 11:30, and continues until 3 pm with launch-pit tours. Full details here.

KIWANIS BENEFIT MOTORCYCLE/SCOOTER RALLY/POKER RUN: The Bridge is the start and finish spot for the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle‘s 5th annual Charity Motorcycle and Scooter Rally (Poker Run), from registration at noon till the conclusion of the afterparty around 7 – full details in our calendar listing. (4439 35th SW, and beyond!)

BACKPACK GIVEAWAY AND BARBECUE: Eastridge Church presents a family festival including a barbecue lunch and backpack giveaway, 1-3 pm at Delridge Community Center; full details in the calendar listing.

GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY PLAYDATES: Meet your future schoolmates long before the new school year starts! 1-3 pm on the Gatewood playground – details here.

FUNDRAISER FOR JAN: Longtime WSB’er Jan Seeley is recovering from a long-needed kidney transplant, and well enough now that friends are throwing a party starting at 2 pm today. It’s a multi-part party, explained in this Facebook event.

EARLY ‘STUFF THE BUS’ DONATIONS: The big diaper drive for WestSide Baby is Sunday – but today, you can drop off diapers early, 4-7 pm, with WS Baby volunteers tabling at:

*West Seattle QFC on SW Alaska St & 42nd Ave SW (Alaska Junction)
*West Seattle Safeway on SW Admiral Way & California Ave SW (Admiral Junction)
*West Seattle Safeway on SW Alaska St & 42nd Ave SW (Jefferson Square)
*White Center Safeway on SW Roxbury St & 28th Ave SW

WEST SEATTLE OUTDOOR MOVIES: At dusk tonight in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), this year’s Outdoor Movies series (co-sponsored by WSB) begins with the 1964 James Bond classic “Goldfinger.” Free, but come early to stake out your spot (BYO chair/blanket), and bring $ for concessions and raffle prizes. Preceded by a short from the web series “Rocketmen.” And more surprises! (4410 California SW)

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: Greenstage presents “Merry Wives of Windsor” at High Point Commons Park, 7 pm (map and details on the calendar).

FIREWORKS OFF BEACH DRIVE: At about 10 pm tonight, from a barge off the 4500 block of Beach Drive, a privately arranged (but publicly visible) fireworks show is scheduled. Here’s our original report, and another reminder that cleanup volunteers are welcome tomorrow morning.