(LOOKING FOR POWER OUTAGE/STORM CLEANUP UPDATES? HERE’S OUR COVERAGE)
(Mini-pumpkin toss at the Potter Construction [WSB sponsor] booth)
10:28 AM: We’re in The Junction, where the Harvest Festival is on! Bundle up if you’re coming down – it’s chilly. But everyone’s in good spirits. Activity booths and Farmers’ Market vendors are lining the streets (California between Oregon and Edmunds, Alaska between 42nd and 44th).
Info:
*11 am, chili competition flights on sale, while they last
*11:30 am, costume parade
*noon-2 pm, business trick-or-treating
*Until the streets reopen: Bus reroutes
Festival’s on until 2 pm, and it goes fast, so come on over!
11:23 AM UPDATE: We’ve seen some showers, but hey, it’s fall. Diver Laura is here with us now and brought plankton, iPhone microscope, and even an ROV.
Come see plankton with @diverlaura at our Harvest Fest booth! pic.twitter.com/tiGdtavAdv
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 26, 2014
Come see, and pick up a free WSB ice scraper.
Free ice scrapers at our Harvest Fest booth on Alaska east of Calif pic.twitter.com/WQyv8rlYzP
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 26, 2014
Look for the banner in our booth on Alaska just east of California.
Meantime, the chili competition is on across California from us by KeyBank, until 1 pm (or while the chili – $10, nine tastes, benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank – lasts).
And the costume parade is about to start – with the West Seattle High School Marching Band leading the way.
11:46 AM: The parade’s just wrapping up. Here’s the start:
Just a few of the adorably costumed kids:
Trick-or-treating is up next, starting at Junction businesses at noon. That, plus the activities and Farmers’ Market continue until 2.
12:52 PM UPDATE: One more hour of festival fun! We’re continuing to admire creative costumes:
And we’ve seen two candidates – WSB policy is to photograph candidates who visit the booth when we’re at festivals, and first one to stop by today is newly declared City Council District 1 candidate Amanda Kay Helmick:
She’s gathering signatures to get on the ballot for next year’s first-ever by-district council elections. Also visiting – judge candidate Phillip Tavel, and family:
He’s a West Seattleite who’s on the November 4th ballot for King County District Court.
1:28 PM UPDATE: Chili competition vote results are in – Deano’s wins! (And the WS Food Bank wins, from the proceeds of the chili donated by nine businesses, and paid by voters/partakers.) Instagram video of the big announcement:
Meantime, half an hour to enjoy activities and to stop by here for a look at what Diver Laura’s iPhone microscope is showing, and for kids to trick or treat. We’ll wind up adding many more photos after we get back – more than we can process in the field before it’s time to wrap up. It’s been great to see so many people out despite the chilly, breezy weather (and despite the fact the Seahawks game).
1:54 PM: The rain’s returning and we’re packing up. Thanks to everybody who came to the festival!
P.S. Adding this for future reference – roads reopened just after quarter past 4.
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