West Seattle, Washington
27 Saturday
Not only can you drop off diapers to help “Stuff the Bus” at WestSide Baby‘s headquarters (10002 14th SW) until 3 pm – you can also stop and join the party. Barbecue, ice cream, kids’ activities! We had just arrived and caught a few early photos before we had to leave for the 14th SW fire – but donations and partygoers were starting to arrive.
If you can’t stay but want to drop off diapers, you can do that via northbound 14th just south of 100th – follow the signs. The party entrance is on the eastbound side of 100th. If you are picking up diapers along the way – “Our most-needed sizes are 4, 5, 6, and pull-ups in 3T-4T and 4T-5T,” WS Baby tells WSB.
12:23 PM: Seattle Fire is on the scene of a house fire in the 8100 block of 14th SW. We’re on the way to find out more.
12:23 PM: We’re arriving in the area. Firefighters are still searching the house to be sure everyone is out OK. SFD is asking for more backup.
12:37 PM: Firefighters report the fire is knocked down “in the wall” of this 2-story house – we’re not seeing any more smoke – but are checking to be sure it didn’t extend to the rest of the house. No injuries reported so far; we hope to talk to the incident commander soon to confirm.
12:48 PM: Firefighters tell us no one was home when this started; the neighbors called it in. It was confined to the wall. They confirm, no injuries. Some of the crews are being dismissed.
Great Blue Herons like the one photographed on Alki by Mark Wangerin are just some of what you might see at low-low tide today – part of a big Sunday list for West Seattle and vicinity:
LET SOMEBODY ELSE MAKE YOUR BREAKFAST: The White Center Kiwanis Club‘s annual pancake-breakfast fundraiser is happening right now, until 1 pm, at Holy Family. Details here. (20th/Roxbury)
LOW-LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: 9:45 am-1:45 pm, Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out at Lincoln and Constellation parks. Today’s low-low tide is out to -3.1 feet at 11:23 am.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Back to its usual spot in the street today, 10 am-2 pm. (California SW between Oregon and Alaska)
ALKI ART FAIR: The 20th-anniversary edition of the Alki Art Fair continues 10 am-6 pm today. Dozens of artists are showing and selling their work; you’ll also find art activities for kids, community groups with information for you, food, music (here’s the schedule), and silent auctions (to help the festival stay free) inside the Bathhouse, with items donated by artists, like these we found on Saturday:
It’s all in the Bathhouse (silent-auction closings at 1 and 4 pm, plus photos and more from the festival’s two decades) and on the boardwalk, mostly west of the Bathhouse, with the main stage to the east. Free shuttle to and from the park-n-ride at Harbor/Avalon/Spokane. (60th/Alki)
WHITE CENTER JUBILEE DAYS FESTIVAL: 10 am-6 pm, the street fair and other activities continue on 16th and 17th SW between Roxbury and 100th. The carnival at Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd) runs 11 am-11 pm. Full details on the festival website.
WADING POOLS AND SPRAYPARK OPEN TODAY: Lincoln Park wading pool is open 11 am-8 pm, Highland Park spraypark is open 11 am-8 pm, Delridge wading pool is open noon-6:30 pm. (Find addresses here)
POP-UP BOUTIQUE: Shop local vendors at Highland Park Improvement Club, today only! 11 am-3 pm. (1116 SW Holden)
LOCAL TENT SALE: Last of 3 days for the tent sale at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), 11 am-5 pm. (4201 SW Morgan)
WHITE CENTER JUBILEE DAYS PARADE: 11 am, along 16th SW from SW 112th north to SW 100th.
Almost 50 entries, with little overlap from Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, so if you love parades, come see this one too!
‘STUFF THE BUS’ BASH AT WESTSIDE BABY: Buy some diapers and come to WestSide Baby‘s first “Stuff The Bus” bash at its White Center headquarters – barbecue, ice cream, kids’ activities, more. Have a great time while helping families around the area. Details in our preview. (10002 14th SW)
NO ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE TOURS TODAY … next chance, as of this writing, is next Saturday.
FREE SHAKESPEARE @ ROXHILL PARK: 2 pm, the second and final Young Shakespeare Workshop performance of the comedy “As You Like It” in Roxhill Park. Here’s our preview; here’s a report from a reader who went on Saturday. (2850 SW Roxbury)
OPERA PREVIEW LECTURE: 2 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, a free lecture previewing Puccini‘s “Madame Butterfly.” (2306 42nd SW)
BRAZILIAN MUSIC … with Choro Tocando at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3-5 pm. (5612 California SW)
AND THERE’S MORE … on our complete-calendar page.
Some walk, some march, some ride, some roll … however they get down the parade route, the people ARE the parade. So here are more of the hundreds who traveled down California SW at midday Saturday for this year’s West Seattle Grand Parade:
Those are the West Seattle Little League All-Stars who just won a state championship carried their banner down the route. And we saw a strong presence of Scouts — Girl Scouts …
… and Boy Scouts:
11:14 PM: Local distance swimmer Andrew Malinak is the person who’s told us about some of his fellow swimmers’ memorable feats in recent years – such as Melissa Blaustein tackling the “Amy Hiland Swim” from Bremerton to Alki Point three weeks ago (WSB coverage here), less than a year after Erika Norris did it.
And he's off. #swimming from Olympia to Seattle. #marathonswimming #openwaterswimming pic.twitter.com/MejBPtEWZo
— Andrew Malinak (@AndrewSwims) July 22, 2017
Right now, Andrew is on a daring swim of his own – having left Olympia around 4 pm, planning to swim all night and into tomorrow, expecting to reach downtown Seattle Sunday evening. Along the way, if all goes well, he’ll be off West Seattle . You can follow him via this tracking site.
He planned to have Alki swimmers including Erika sailing alongside for support. “I’ll swim through the night, and will land in the Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle around maybe 6 pm Sunday. We’ll pass by Alki Light around 3-4 pm-ish. Distance is 53.3 miles.” So keep an eye offshore tomorrow afternoon – you might see Andrew and his support crew. Two years ago, he swam from Tacoma to West Seattle – this is about triple the distance.
SUNDAY MORNING NOTE: The tracking stopped after midnight, and Andrew e-mailed at 1 am that “the swim is over; we’re headed home.”
(K-9 unit’s vehicle)
ORIGINAL SATURDAY NIGHT REPORT: Thanks for the texts about a police search in North Delridge. Officers including a K-9 team are in the Delridge/Brandon/26th SW area. We talked with one officer who is part of “containment” – keeping watch on the periphery of the search area – he told us they are looking for someone who was arrested (for what, he didn’t know) and being treated by an ambulance crew and somehow got away. The only descriptive info he had was 6’1″ African American male – wearing handcuffs.
MONDAY UPDATE: We’re told the suspect is back in custody. Working to find out more.
Thanks to Judy for photos from this afternoon’s Young Shakespeare Workshop performance of “As You Like It” at Roxhill Park this afternoon. She enjoyed it and wanted to let you know a few things in case you were thinking about going to the encore performance tomorrow (2 pm Sunday):
Judy says, “I parked at the Roxhill Park parking lot off 29th just south of Barton and walked SE on paths to reach the performance location—they promised there would be direction signs on the paths for tomorrow’s performance. Bring a blanket, towel, or camp chair for sitting on the hillside. There’s some shade but also areas to sit in the sun.” The performance is free.
Young Shakespeare Workshop, by the way, is a nationally acclaimed organization – its director Darren Lay accepted an award at the White House a few years back – and doesn’t usually have West Seattle stops on its summer schedule, so if you have time tomorrow afternoon, don’t miss the chance to see them.
7:35 PM: Stormtroopers, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, School of Rock musicians, the Macho Burgers food truck, and early-arrival moviegoers are already gathered in and along the SW Snoqualmie festival street west of 36th SW [map], for the first night of this year’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies series. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is tonight’s movie. (Added – SOR started playing and a stormtrooper dance ensued:)
School of Rock starts playing at @wsmovies preshow – stormtroopers start dancing. (Rogue One onscreen at dusk.) pic.twitter.com/1dOSI7jLja
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 23, 2017
This is the first full season that the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) is hosting the series, which now has more room and more opportunities for preshow fun. There’s still time for you to get here – after some preshow music, we’re gearing up for “Star Wars” trivia, hosted by co-publisher Patrick, and the movie itself is still an hour and a half or so away. It’s a little breezy here in the shade so we’d recommend bringing a sweater. And definitely bring your own chair(s) and/or blanket to sit on. The movie’s free; in addition to the food truck availability, the Y is selling concessions, and cool prizes will be raffled to raise money for local nonprofits.
8:56 PM: Movie time is getting closer. People are still arriving; still room toward the back of the sloped seating area facing the inflatable screen (which is being tested right now – not dark enough to start the movie yet). Definitely sweater/blanket weather, at least in your editor’s opinion. The “Star Wars” trivia game is in the final moments. Meantime, another scene from the Garrison Titan visit earlier – some of the visitors posing with the Y’s new leader Shalimar Gonzales:
Next week, it’s the LEGO Batman Movie. During the week, we’ll have a preview with even more details such as preshow activities, food-truck plans, etc.
The judging results are in … and here’s who the West Seattle Grand Parade judges chose as the winners this year. Topping the list, same grand-prize winner as last year – congratulations to the All-City Band, led by West Seattle’s own Marcus Pimpleton (who is also assistant principal at Denny International Middle School):
Overall Grand Prize Winners
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)1st – Seattle Schools All-City Marching Band
2nd – Electronettes Drill Team & Drum Squad
3rd – West Seattle Lions Club
Marching Bands
1st – Kennedy Catholic High School Marching Band
Cars & Motorcycles
1st – Senior Center of West Seattle
2nd – Soil Sciences Products
3rd – Nile Shriners
Performing Acts
Joyas Mestizas in @wsparade pic.twitter.com/oxWpiDrhwZ
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
1st – Joyas Mestizas – Seattle Mexican Youth Folk Dance
2nd – Pathfinder K-8 School Unicycle Team
The first @SeafairPirates cannon blast of the @wsparade pic.twitter.com/X0Kabdvwg0
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
3rd – Seafair Pirates
Commercial
The Eldercare Consulting walker drill team! pic.twitter.com/8WSA0DZ7xJ
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
1st – Eldercare Consulting
2nd – The Little Gym of West Seattle
3rd – Ronald McDonaldCommunity
Southside Revolution Jr. Roller Derby pic.twitter.com/JjRexVl7Ze
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
1st – Southside Revolution Jr. Roller Derby
2nd – WestSide Baby – Stuff the BusCora from WS Amateur Radio Club, always a hit. pic.twitter.com/mTi0bvcJoA
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
3rd – West Seattle Amateur Radio Club
Drill Teams – Junior
1st – Butterfly Electronettes Drill Team
2nd – Washington Diamonds Drill Team Jr.
Drill Teams – Senior
Back this year – the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team! pic.twitter.com/17SohNzA0u
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
1st – Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team
2nd – West Seattle High School Cheer
The Diamonds drill team: pic.twitter.com/PIBE5drCeX
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
3rd – Washington Diamonds Drill Team Sr.
Floats – Large Community
1st – Marysville Strawberry Festival
The Daffodil Festival float that arrived in the big truck we showed earlier. pic.twitter.com/HQjzEUAUCx
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
2nd – Daffodil Festival
Floats – Smaller Community
1st – Fathoms O’ Fun – Port Orchard
2nd – Holy Rosary Church & School
Congratulations to all! We’ll be adding more photos (and some sunnier substitutions) and video of the winners in the hours ahead, and publishing other parade galleries too.
P.S. If you love parades … note that the White Center Jubilee Days Parade is tomorrow morning, 11 am, from 16th SW and SW 112th, heading north on 16th to 100th.
Been to the beach yet? You have until 6 tonight to catch the artists/vendors, 9 tonight to catch the music, on day 1 of the 20th anniversary edition of the Alki Art Fair. We just walked through – there’s lots to see and buy. Angela Belzetsky‘s pelican caught our eye:
Don’t miss the free kids’ activities just west of Alki Bathhouse. There are two music stages, the main stage just east of the bathhouse, and a busker stage on the boardwalk at 63rd – here’s the schedule. Back to the bathhouse – go inside to see the 20th anniversary display, and to bid on silent auction items- these are just a few of the ones with bidding closing at 4 pm.
You can catch the shuttle bus from the Spokane/Avalon/Harbor park-n-ride under the bridge (it’s a big yellow school bus) or get there many other ways (we noticed bicycles in the area from the two new bike-share companies that debuted in Seattle this past week, Spin and LimeBike).
P.S. If you missed it earlier this week, here’s our interview with Giovannina Souers, who’s been involved with the Alki Art Fair since it began 20 years ago.
If you just watched the West Seattle Grand Parade, you saw WestSide Baby‘s famous bus – so we’re reminding you that they’re going about “stuffing” it with diapers a different way this year. Instead of parking the bus at a spot where you can drop off donations, they’re throwing a big party Sunday, noon-3 pm, where you can come have fun AND drop off diaper donations. From WS Baby:
The outdoor family-friendly event runs from 12 pm-3 pm at WestSide Baby’s offices in White Center (10002 14th Ave SW). The entry fee is a package of diapers (sizes 4,5,6 and pull-ups in 3T-4T and 4T-5T are most needed). The Bash is the culmination of July’s Stuff the Bus Diaper Drive, which aims to collect 300,000 diapers to distribute to kids in need across Western King County.
Diapers aren’t covered by food stamps, and one in three US families have struggled to afford diapers for their babies. Last year WestSide Baby distributed 1.4 million diapers to families through 114 social service agencies.
There are going to be plenty of fun activities, including a free BBQ, Full Tilt Ice Cream, an Art Tent and games, trike races, and a diaper dash. So bring the family and a pack of diapers to help keep kids in our community dry and happy.
Before or after, you can wander a few blocks west to the Jubilee Days festival.
With @SeattlePD motorcycles, the @wsparade is on! pic.twitter.com/XIHCv93htk
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
10:42 AM: The Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team is performing, and that marks the start of the 2017 West Seattle Grand Parade, From California/Lander in The Admiral District to California/Edmunds in The Junction. They and the Vancouver B.C. Police motorcycles perform before the rest of the parade, which is set to get going around 11, after hours of staging, practicing, and behind-the-scenes logistics by dozens of volunteers, from the parade co-coordinators, to the Seafair Parade Marshals assisting them, to the West Seattle Amateur Radio Club hams communicating along the route. This year’s parade is about the same size as last year – more than 70 entries, as of the lineup meeting we covered earlier this week – and that means it’ll likely conclude at this end around 12:30 pm, in The Junction after 1. If you’re watching on that end, also look for the Rotary Kiddie Parade leaving California/Genesee at 11. And watch our Twitter feed for parade photos and updates before our post-parade coverage!
12:13 PM: The parade has just concluded at the north end of the route, California/Lander. We have a crew at the south end, too, and will update when it wraps up there. The road will reopen block by block in most cases – the block between Admiral and Lander has just reopened, but police vehicles are keeping watch south of there while the parade proceeds. Meantime, from all the photos and videos we tweeted, a few sightings of note:
April Davis of West Seattle, former Hi-Yu queen, in Miss Seafair running this year. pic.twitter.com/0dRWDXFtBh
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
While this is the first year without Hi-Yu, a former Senior Court Queen was in the parade, one of the contenders in this year’s Seafair Scholarship Program for Women, April Davis. The next Miss Seafair will be crowned next week. And speaking of reigning …
The @wslittleleague AllStars who just won the state championship! pic.twitter.com/3fNphmN6LY
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
Lots more photos and video in our upcoming roundups – but first we’re off to some of today’s other big events.
1:11 PM: Our crew in The Junction reports the parade has ended.
The MyTeamTriumph group started the Float Dodger 5K moments ago. pic.twitter.com/F4XgMvzSAx
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 22, 2017
The runners in red shirts are from MyTeamTriumph of Puget Sound, and they started this morning’s pre-parade Float Dodger 5K – MTT is “an athletic ride-along created for children, teens, adults & veterans with disabilities who would normally not be able to experience events such as triathlons or road races,” and it’s this year’s Float Dodger 5K beneficiary. Here are the rest of the runners, leaving the start line:
This is the second year for the r5K, presented by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), to start and finish at Hiawatha. Pre-race, we photographed WSR’s Tim McConnell with Teresa The Goldfish:
Once off the field, the runners got to “dodge” a new float this year:
(Photo courtesy Dave Vague)
They ran around the West Seattle Rotary float – the Rotary presents the West Seattle Grand Parade, which starts with the motorcycle drill teams leaving California/Lander around 10:30 am. In past years, runners have “dodged” the Hi-Yu float, but since that organization has deactivated, a new local dodge-able float had to be found. Meantime, we’re told about 400 people were signed up for the 5K – and the first finishers already are crossing. Results later! And for continuing pre-parade coverage, watch the WSB Twitter feed.
That’s a “live” SDOT view of California/Alaska, part of the route for the two big events that start the day with road-closure and parking-restriction alerts, the West Seattle Grand Parade and, just before it, the Float Dodger 5K. California SW will be closed starting at ~7 am at SW Admiral Way, and the rest of the way south to SW Edmunds by ~9 am, with restrictions on streets to the west and east, especially toward the north end of the route, for staging. When you see those no-parking signs and barricades, take them seriously! (Find bus reroutes here.) As for what else you need to know about those events and what else is happening today:
FLOAT DODGER 5K: Before the West Seattle Grand Parade, run/walk the route, in the Float Dodger 5K, presented by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor)! Last-minute registration starts at 8 am; kids’ dash on the track at 8:45 am; race starts at 9:30 am. Hiawatha Playfield and on to the parade route. More info here. (2700 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE GRAND PARADE: The Seattle and Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Teams start ~10:30 am from California/Lander, rest of the parade 11 am, heading south on California to Edmunds in The Junction. Our two most-recent previews of this year’s parade are here and here. This year’s Orville Rummel Trophy winner is Keith Hughes; grand marshal is City Councilmember Lisa Herbold; come cheer hundreds of your neighbors as they roll, walk, ride, dance, etc. down the parade route. (California SW between The Admiral District and The Junction)
ALKI ART FAIR: Celebrating its 20th year! First of two days with dozens of artists/vendors lining the Alki Beach boardwalk near, and west of, the Bathhouse. 10 am-6 pm today, with music continuing until 9 pm – see the lineup here. Free shuttle running continuously from the park-and-ride area under the West Seattle Bridge, near Harbor/Avalon/Spokane. Go inside the Bathhouse for silent auctions – closing at 1 and 4 pm – and festival history. Here’s our preview. (60th/Alki)
LOW-LOW TIDE, INCLUDING SIGN-LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION: 9:30 am-1 pm today, Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists are at Lincoln and Constellation parks, with a low-low tide of -3.0 at 10:35 am. Also at Lincoln Park, today only, sign-language interpretation available 10 am-1 pm.
WHITE CENTER JUBILEE DAYS: Street fair and more, 10 am-6 pm today, expanded this year to 16th SW as well as 17th SW between Roxbury and SW 100th; car show 11 am-5 pm. See the music lineup here; see the map here.
WADING POOLS AND SPRAYPARK: Lincoln Park wading pool and Highland Park spraypark are both open 11 am-8 pm today; Delridge and Hiawatha wading pools are open noon-6:30 pm. (Find addresses here)
ALKI POINT LIGHTHOUSE TOURS: The US Coast Guard Auxiliary presents free tours today, 1-4 pm – last tour group at 3:40 pm – but NOT tomorrow, so enjoy the historic lighthouse today! (3201 Alki SW)
SHAKESPEARE @ ROXHILL PARK: Young Shakespeare Workshop presents “As You Like It,” 2 pm at Roxhill Park. Free. (2850 SW Roxbury)
TREVOR RAS AT C & P: Performing at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – 4-5 pm, kids’ singalong; 5-6 pm, “soulful Americana.” (5612 California SW)
WEST SEATTLE OUTDOOR MOVIES: First of this season’s six movies is “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Remember that West Seattle Outdoor Movies are now in the “festival street” south of the West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) headquarters. Bring your own chair/blanket. Free admission; bring $ for nonprofit-benefiting raffles, concessions, and food truck (Macho Burgers this week). Open at 6:30; preshow “Star Wars” trivia, selfies with stormtroopers, School of Rock performances, movie at dusk – no earlier than 9 pm this week. (36th SW/SW Snoqualmie)
OF SEA AND STONE: Folk-pop/alt-country at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
MARKET STREET DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND: 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, with “hot New Orleans style traditional jazz, Dixieland and 1920’s tunes.” Ticket info in our calendar listing. All ages. (7904 35th SW)
WEST END GIRLS: Cookie Couture hosts a drag extravaganza at The Skylark, doors at 8, show at 9, performers and other info in our calendar listing. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
THAT’S NOT ALL … see all the listings for today/tonight on our complete-calendar page! That’s also where you can find out how to get your event listed on WSB.
(Timothy Brock’s video invitation to Tuesday’s event, courtesy of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The last time composer/conductor Timothy Brock was onstage in West Seattle, he was a WSHS student, performing with one of the school’s musical groups.
During his years at the school, he was involved with them all – band, orchestra, stage band, chamber orchestra, choir – he recalled during a conversation this week outside the Admiral Theater, where he’s headlining the next fundraiser for restoration of the moviehouse’s historic circa-1942 murals:
At 6:45 pm next Tuesday night (July 25th), he will be onstage just a few blocks from his alma mater, in a multifaceted event explained by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, which is leading the mural-restoration fundraising campaign:
This exciting evening – to last more than three hours, with an intermission – will start with Timothy Brock being interviewed by his childhood friend, West Seattle’s Dave Beck, a host at KING-FM and longtime former KUOW-FM host.
Brock will reminisce with Beck about their West Seattle upbringing and discuss the fascinating process of scoring silent classics. (Brock earned the label of “Silent-Film Music Guru” from Vogue magazine in May 2016.)
Interspersed will be stills and clips from silent films that Brock has scored. Following an intermission, Brock will introduce the screening of the Charlie Chaplin feature “Modern Times,” for which Brock has restored and re-recorded the original 1936 Chaplin score.
This isn’t Brock’s first trip back home – far from it. His mom and sister live in this area. His oldest son lives in Olympia. That’s where Brock moved at age 18, leaving West Seattle, and eventually spending more than a decade conducting the Olympia Chamber Orchestra. Olympia is where he says most of his “silent-film experiments” were initiated, but he now lives in Europe, where there is more of an appreciation for what he specializes in – composing scores for silent films. And it’s not just an appreciation from the spectator standpoint; Brock explains that silent-film history is taught, and in France, there’s even a program to teach silent-film composition.
His path toward his unique career started with a visit to the now-gone Granada Theater (south of The Junction) at an early age. “I actually came back and said to my mom, ‘this is something I would really like to do – play piano and make music for really old films’. She didn’t know I meant silent films. (I explained), ‘no, these don’t have any words at all, just words (onscreen) and music’. She’s been worried about my career ever since.”
He was age 10 when that interest was kindled. At 23, he was commissioned to write his first silent-film score, for “Pandora’s Box,” a film by G.W. Pabst. Since then, he says, he’s written on average one silent-film score a year. He just completed one for Fritz Lang‘s 1929 “Frau im Mond (Woman in the Moon),” a three-hour science-fiction film that he says was the first of its kind. The premiere was last April. He’s now writing a violin concerto for the BBC Symphony, to premiere next season, in 2018-2019.
So what’s it going to be like, to be onstage at The Admiral next Tuesday? we asked.
“It’s the most bizarre feeling to see your name on the marquee of a theater you grew up with,” Brock acknowledged. But also – “It’s great. It’s a little like coming back home and playing for your friends … talking with family and friends about what it is that you do.”
We asked how he views the importance of what it is that he does – Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director Clay Eals recorded Brock’s answer on video:
As you can hear in the video, he listed several reasons – “It’s part of our heritage, specifically for Americans, too … an art form that has obviously died out,” as have most of the people who performed as silent-film musicians. So many of them, Brock explained, performed in symphony orchestras as well as the theater orchestras that played the silent-film accompaniment. And now – “It’s a matter of keeping that art up, learning the craft, teaching it to future generations. One of the reasons I live in Europe is that orchestras of middle- and high-caliber program silent films as part of their seasons.”
The music itself, he added, is of great historical value, with work by composers such as Shostakovich “who liked the idea of writing for this [then-]new art form. … It needs to be kept alive.” Brock’s work includes the silent-film programs for the New York Philharmonic: “It’s important just like any period performances of baroque or Middle Ages [etc.] music.”
And his early music education at West Seattle High School helped lay the groundwork for his one-of-a-kind career. In our conversation, he listed “some fabulous teachers,” including Donn Weaver, who recently retired as director of the West Seattle Big Band.
So come to The Admiral on Tuesday night to see and hear how one of your former West Seattle neighbors is preserving and enhancing film and music history, while contributing to the preservation and restoration of the theater’s historic murals. Tickets are $20 and you’ll want to buy yours online ASAP – go here and choose “Modern Times” at the bottom of the page. (There’s also a $100 VIP opportunity, to meet and talk with Brock and Beck at 5:30 pm.)
8:35 PM: They happen more often late at night or early in the morning, but several readers have reported hearing a big boom in the Charlestown/Genesee area within the past half-hour. All we know is that there are no fire or medical calls anywhere in the area – no power outages, either (one person thought it might have been a transformer) – if you know exactly where it happened and/or what it was, hopefully you already have called 911.
11:11 PM: In a comment below, Stephanie says the blast was from fireworks.
One more preview before the West Seattle Grand Parade arrives tomorrow (Saturday, July 22nd)!
(WSB photo, Vancouver B.C. Motorcycle Drill Team in 2015 West Seattle Grand Parade)
WHERE TO WATCH: Really, anywhere along the route. If you watch in The Junction, you’ll see the Kiddie Parade (11 am, southbound from California/Genesee) and you might hear the announcements (California/Alaska) too. If you watch near the start of the route, there’s a shady slope area along the west side of Hiawatha, and if you arrive early, you can walk around and see “behind the scenes” as parade participants line up and practice, and parade coordinators do their work to be sure everyone’s where they should be. With motorcycles taking off around 10:30, here’s what to expect, where, at 11 am, if all is going according to plan, says parade co-coordinator Jim Edwards:
Genesee St: Kids Parade
Andover St: Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team
Hinds St: Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Team
Lander St: Honor Guard
There are still some construction sites between the Admiral and Alaska Junctions, and some sites where construction has wrapped up since last year. So scout your spot early.
(West Seattle Grand Parade 2016 – photo by Don Brubeck)
DANCING DOWN THE ROUTE: Joyas Mestizas (file photo above) will be back.
BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOLS: They’ll be represented abundantly, including:
Pathfinder K-8 Unicycles (file photo above)
West Seattle High School Cheer Squad
Seattle Lutheran High School Cheer Squad
Westside School
Holy Rosary
Hope Lutheran
Kennedy High School Marching Band
AND … Scouts, skaters, Spud (2007 photo above – what will s/he wear THIS year?) … Pirates (remember they’re LOUD), politicians (we may have more county reps than city reps this year), and Potter Construction (parade and WSB sponsor – added, here are Karl and Gary, decorating the truck Friday night:)
… and many others we’re out of time for mentioning – you’ll just have to see for yourself! And remember that the Float Dodger 5K precedes the parade – not too late to be part of it (9:30 pm start from Hiawatha track, 2700 California SW).
PREVIOUS PARADE PREVIEWS (and coverage from the past decade) … scroll through this archive section.
P.S. Even if you’re not going to watch, or be in, the parade and/or 5K … heed the no-parking signs you’re seeing along and near the route … road closures and bus reroutes start early Saturday and should be over by 2.
P.P.S. The parade is presented by the West Seattle Rotary Club‘s Service Foundation. See our previous preview here.
Artists/designers Jason and Briana are touring cross-country with the Airstream Basecamp trailer they’re standing in front of in our photo, parked right now in front of Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor) in The Junction. Their company is Brainstorm, based in New Hampshire, with prints “inspired by science, nature, and the outdoors”; they won a cross-country trip in the trailer as the prize in a contest to design a wrap for it. They’re chronicling the journey here. Meet them at Click! and check out their pop-up shop until 7 tonight.
(Map from agenda for January 18th City Council committee meeting)
When last the City Council was briefed on the status of the city’s two potential annexation areas, back in January, there was talk that the smaller one – the Duwamish Annexation Area in the South Park vicinity – might go to the area’s 87 voters this summer.
That didn’t happen. And now we’re learning that the proposed Duwamish Annexation is on hold because of a costly issue the city wants the county to address first. That’s according to new information procured by, and provided to WSB by, City Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s staff.
According to a memo to City Councilmembers from city staff, here’s what the mayor’s office wants to see happen before going any further:
With potential sewer-related costs in the range of $14–$50 million, the Executive has taken a position that the County must address and fund the installation of a sewer system prior to the City pursuing annexation.
According to another memo, this time from the longtime mayoral point person on annexation issues, Kenny Pittman, those issues are primarily in the “Sliver” section of the potential annexation area, where some have septic systems instead of sewer access. Pittman also wrote that King County was told of this two months ago and has not responded. (We’re following up with King County to ask about that.) But Pittman told the council that, independent of the sewer issue, the city was prepared to address public-safety needs in the “Sliver” with SFD responses and SPD patrols, as part of the departments’ work “in the overall South Park neighborhood.”
All this led Councilmember Herbold also to ask about the status of the much-larger proposed annexation of White Center and vicinity (the North Highline area on the map at the top of this story). Her staff was told that whether it moves forward at all will depend on “the position of the new administration” – whoever is elected mayor to succeed Ed Murray. We asked the 14 candidates who were at last Saturday’s Sustainable West Seattle forum at Summer Fest whether they supported annexation; the prevailing answer was, if the residents want to be annexed. That still would require sending a proposal to the area’s 8,600+ voters; the city memo lays out a possible timeline in which City Councilmembers could decide in August 2018 whether to take annexation to North Highline voters in November 2018.
(Looking northwest over the proposed buildings, marked with beige shading)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The next major project in the pipeline for the intensively densifying east edge of The Junction has moved on to the second phase of Design Review – two buildings with a total of nearly 300 apartments, plus retail and live-work spaces, at 4722 Fauntleroy Way SW [map] and across the alley at 4721 38th SW.
The sites are being developed together by Legacy Partners, and so were presented together last night to the Southwest Design Review Board. Three of the four current board members – chair Matt Zinski, Don Caffrey, and Crystal Loya – were there, as was fill-in (and former) board member Robin Murphy, and assigned city planner Carly Guillory.
This was the Early Design Guidance phase, which meant the focus was on “massing” – size, shape, placement on site – rather than specific aspects of the design itself. The site has history – it went through two SWDRB meetings when CVS planned a standalone drugstore, under different (potential) ownership and architects; then that plan was scrapped last year. We first reported on the emergence of the new plan last December.
The meeting unfolded with one format change – double the time (40 minutes instead of 20) for the architects’ presentation, since they were covering two sites:
Seagoing sights this morning:
SS PACIFIC TRACKER HEADS OUT: Thanks to Huck for that photo – after almost a week docked in West Seattle, the missile-defense-radar ship SS Pacific Tracker headed out this morning. Here’s our report on its arrival last weekend. The info on MarineTraffic.com doesn’t list a destination.
USNS BENAVIDEZ TO BREMERTON: Thanks to Greg for that photo – visible from West Seattle on its way to Bremerton this morning was the USNS Benavidez, a Military Sealift Command ship that serves as a “dry cargo surge sealift carrier.”
(Belted kingfisher, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Now through late night, highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
LOW TIDE, WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: Until noon, Seattle Aquarium volunteer beach naturalists are out on Constellation and Lincoln Park shores, to answer your questions as you explore at low-low tide, which is out to -2.4 at 9:47 am.
DRAGONS AT THE LIBRARY: 11 am at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 4- to 8-year-olds are invited to get up close and personal with reptiles – details here. Free! (2306 42nd SW)
WADING POOLS AND SPRAYPARK: Open today are Lincoln Park wading pool, 11 am-8 pm; Highland Park spraypark, 11 am-8 pm; Hiawatha wading pool, noon-6:30 pm; EC Hughes wading pool, noon-7 pm. (Find addresses here)
TALK WITH YOUR CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Lisa Herbold has in-district “office hours” 2-7 pm today at the Southwest Neighborhood Service Center (same building as SW Pool and Teen Life Center) – “walk-in friendly” but if you want to schedule in advance, e-mail alex.clardy@seattle.gov ASAP. (2801 SW Thistle)
THRIFTWAY TENT SALE: First of three days of tent sales at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) – 2-7 pm. Photo added above (11:54 am) as preparations were under way this morning! (4201 SW Morgan)
JUBILEE DAYS CARNIVAL: The carnival for White Center Jubilee Days is open 3 pm-11 pm at Steve Cox Memorial Park. (1321 SW 102nd)
MEET THE MAKERS AT CLICK! 3-7 pm, Jason and Briana of New Hampshire-based Brainstorm are bringing an Airstream Basecamp trailer (they entered a design contest to create a wrap for it and won a cross-country trip in it!) and their prints, “inspired by science, nature, and the outdoors”, to Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) for a one-day pop-up. (4540 California SW)
LIVE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ: With the Dave Holo Trio at Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor), 5-8 pm. (1936 Harbor SW)
FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE: 5:45-7:45 pm at Alki Community Center – details in our calendar listing. (5817 SW Stevens)
MAURICE AND HIS THING: Blues, pop, rock, and “spoken weird,” 9 pm-midnight at Parliament Tavern. $5 cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
If you’ve been wondering why the little brick restroom building in the heart of Alki’s sandy beach area has been closed for more than two weeks – here’s an update. It’s from David Takami at Seattle Parks and was forwarded by Alex Clardy from the office of Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who had asked about it because of constituent questions:
The restrooms at Alki Beach Park at Alki Ave. SW and 57th Ave. SW are closed due to the collapse of a sewer line beneath the surface that occurred just before July 4. The restroom building is circled in red on map below. There are signs up at the restroom explaining the closure.
There are two restroom facilities nearby in the park further to the west, one at the Alki Bathhouse and one at 63rd Ave. SW. There is also a restroom in Alki Playground, across Alki Ave. along 59th Ave. SW. Farther away to the east, there are two restrooms, one at the Don Armeni boat ramp and one at Seacrest Park.
In addition, we’ve set up two portable toilets at the site of the closed restroom and one portable outside the Alki Bathhouse. These were set up right after the restroom was closed. Because it’s a busy time of year at a popular park, we’ve increased the frequency of cleaning the portable toilets to once a day, seven days a week. Staff also monitor the portable and other restrooms daily to see if they need more toilet paper and paper towels. (A group that runs beach volleyball tournaments on weekends has set up its own portable toilet – paid by the group – which is open only on tournament days on Saturdays and Sundays.)
We plan to begin the project to repair the broken sewer line as soon as possible. Work will include excavating and repairing the sewer line in the street right of way, replacement of an ADA ramp, and renovation of the restroom.
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