West Seattle Tuesday: Spoke & Food; swim-team evaluations; free run; ‘focus group’ for Block Watch’ers; more…

“When all gets orange, summer is over,” is how Flickr member alextutu1821 captioned that photo, sharing it via the WSB Flickr group. Not over yet, but late July means it’s time to savor every day! Warm sunshine is forecast for the rest of the week, including the rest of today/tonight – here are highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:

KALEIDOSCOPE PLAY-AND-LEARN: Kids 3-5 and their caregivers are welcome to this free weekly play-and-learn group, 1:30-3 pm at High Point Library – details here. (35th/Raymond)

CENTRAL AREA AQUATIC TEAM EXPANDING TO WEST SEATTLE, EVALUATIONS TONIGHT: This year-round swim club for ages 6-18 years is expanding to West Seattle and inviting interested families to team evaluations tonight and Thursday, 5 pm, at WS Health Club. You don’t have to be a member, and CAAT stresses, “This isn’t a tryout; there is a place on the team for all swimmers.” More info here. (2629 SW Andover)

SPOKE & FOOD BIKE-TO-DINNER BENEFIT: 5-10 pm tonight, 20 percent of the proceeds at participating restaurants – in our area, that’s The Westy (21+) and Proletariat Pizza (all ages) – goes to Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. Bicycling to dinner is encouraged! More info here.

TUESDAY NIGHT DEMO AND PADDLE RACES: 6-8 pm at Alki Kayak Tours – no pre-registration required, just show up! Details here. (1660 Harbor SW)

FREE TRACK RUN: 6:15 pm, meet at West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) for a free group run! (2743 California SW)

BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS’ FOCUS GROUP: 6:30-7:30 pm, the next “focus group” invited to talk with Southwest Precinct research assistant Jennifer Burbridge about neighborhood policing plans and crime/safety concerns is the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network. If you’re involved with a block watch, you’re invited to be there – more info on the WSBWCN website. (2300 SW Webster)

THAT’S NOT ALL … see more of what’s up today/tonight by going to our calendar.

Lina July 28, 2015 (10:34 am)

fyi – the plant in the photo is Arum italicum, also known as Italian Lords and Ladies. It is an invasive plant, naturalizing in many of our local forests. Is also toxic to livestock and humans. Here is some more info on it: http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/detail.asp?weed=141

http://www.nps.gov/cue/epmt/products/Arum%20italicum%202012%20NCREPMT.pdf

sorry to be the bearer of bad plant news! it is a lovely photo and an attractive plant. Unfortunately, I would recommend digging it out and replacing it with another species before it spreads.

also – awesome that so much fun stuff is happening in our hood today! as always, thanks WSB for keeping our family up to date with all the happenings.

WSB July 28, 2015 (11:14 am)

I don’t know whether it’s at our Flickr contributor’s home or elsewhere, but thanks for the info, Lina – TR

sam-c July 28, 2015 (12:04 pm)

another commenter mentioned this the other day:

https://westseattleblog.com/2015/07/saturday-westcrest-park-celebration-to-include-bouncy-house/#comment-1949037

but this one really stands out to me: Why do they plan “KALEIDOSCOPE PLAY-AND-LEARN” right during what would typically be a 3-4 year old’s nap time? I guess 5 y.o. prob don’t nap, but seems silly when there would be more people able to attend outside of nap time.

Diane July 28, 2015 (1:49 pm)

very good point sam-c; that is the time frame when most children in that age group are napping

S July 28, 2015 (3:30 pm)

Nap time at our kids’ large daycare is 1-3 pm. Ages 2 and 4.

Kerry July 28, 2015 (9:59 pm)

Lina!
I’ve been battling that stuff for five years. I dig it out as soon as it comes up. Any ideas on how to stop the progress?

HelperMonkey July 29, 2015 (8:55 am)

I have no knowledge of plants – saw that and thought how cool it looked and wanted to plant some. thanks for the heads up, Lina! I’m already battling Scotch Broom invasion… :)

Question Mark July 29, 2015 (6:43 pm)

Italian Lords and Ladies is fine in a well-enclosed space in a city garden. Because it’s leaves and spadices wilt and die back after spring, it has kind of a sad looking time before the real show — the berries — begins.

Care must be taken if you want to remove this plant, because it reproduces by tuber. Any small part of its underground growth has the potential to become a new plant. Dig up completely and use dilligence to get it all out of the ground.

Sorry, comment time is over.