(FESTIVAL INFO QUICK LINKS HERE … METRO REROUTE LINKS HERE … FIRST FRIDAY REPORT HERE)

You can kick back at West Seattle Summer Fest. That’s John Smersh, co-proprietor of Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor), demo’ing an air chair they’re featuring. Click! has a “garage-sale”-style sidewalk sale too, plus they’re selling cool local baby onesies (whose creator isn’t vending separately this year). So don’t miss your year-round merchants along the sidewalk. We’d have to say “discover and explore” is a big theme this year. Look around every corner – you might find something special, like this:

That’s the community mural that West Seattle Art Nest is leading in Junction Plaza Park– – by the wind sculpture, near the community stage – until 7. They explain that it – and the two they’ll be leading the next two days – are inspired by features in West Seattle parks. That’s the Schmitz Park crocodile; the next two will be the Whale Tail Park whale and the Lincoln Park griffin. Meanwhile, back on the main stage:

All three stages’ programming schedules are here. More coverage to come!

6:07 PM: Festival sights. From Tatooine to West Seattle:

And we’ve gotten enough questions about this poster, we have to say, according to festival organizers – IT’S NOT REAL:

We’ve heard from more than a few Gary Busey fans at the Info Booth who are disappointed to hear that. So who IS here? Still to come tonight on the main stage (California north of Oregon):

6:30 pm – West Seattle Soul
7:30 pm – The Grizzled Mighty
8:30 pm – Common Market
9:30 pm – DJ Kurt Bloch
10 pm – Polyrhythmics

The last community stage act of the day, Tekla Waterfield, is on now; on the Wooden Instrument Stage (west side of California just north of Edmunds), it’s Annie O’Neill now, Cami & Co. at 7.

6:33 PM: First lost/found child of the day, quickly reunited. That’s part of what happens at the Info Booth – if there’s a problem, we summon help. The Info Booth winds down around 7 pm – if you need help after that, look for a festival staffer. … Even more music happening now – Kyle Craft in-store at Easy Street Records (as featured in our daily preview today).

7:06 PM: Though shopping/vending time is winding down, music keeps heating up:

Dinnertime for many festivalgoers:

Common question at the Info Booth is whether the east side of SW Alaska is “all the food.” Remember that many of the year-round restaurants offer something special for Summer Fest too – outdoor cafes, and/or street food, like Husky Deli’s stand:

We’re heading out but will be back later tonight for more music!

(FESTIVAL INFO QUICK LINKS HERE … METRO REROUTE LINKS HERE)

11:44 AM: West Seattle Summer Fest got its start decades ago as the West Seattle Junction’s annual sidewalk sale – and that’s still part of the program, including (outside CAPERS, west side of California between Oregon and Alaska) the world-famous WEST SEATTLE T-shirts shown above. Lots of shopping – at year-round merchants and visiting vendors – and all-ages activities. That includes two types of axe-throwing!

The inflatable “axe-throwing” is in the kids’ zone on Alaska west of California; the actual axe-throwing is in the game zone on California north of Oregon. Now that we’re in hour two, everybody’s starting to settle in. And as lunchtime approaches, you’ll find festival food booths on Alaska east of California, plus lots of outdoor offerings from year-round restaurants – even Bakery Nouveau has a sidewalk café1

12:19 PM: Besides playing, shopping, drinking, noshing, Summer Fest is also a place to learn. Got a question about West Seattle’s light-rail plan? Stop at the Sound Transit booth:

They’re on the east side of California between Alaska and Edmunds. On the other side of the same block, you can talk with WSDOT about Highway 99 Tunnel tolling, which is expected to start this fall:

Speaking of transportation, we just got word that Canna West Seattle is offering a shuttle from Summer Fest to their shop about a half mile south. Canna Culture is here at the festival, too:

That’s Canna Culture shop manager Nina Perceful, just south of the Info Booth (our base during Summer Fest) at California/Alaska. You can stop there to find out about in-store sales happening during the festival. And as for the shuttle:

The rides will be offered every half hour, from 10am-8pm Friday and Saturday, and from 10am-5pm on Sunday. Summer Fest attendees can pick it up at SW Edmunds Street and California Avenue (near the 7-11 store).

Festival attendees should look out for this ride:

As for other transportation to/from the festival – note that we have the bus-stop revisions all linked atop this story. Main-stage music is now just three hours away, starting with Razor Clam at 3:30 pm; more coverage to come!

2:30 PM: Sun’s out and the crowd’s growing. A few things that have come up in comments:

-The kids’ area has a different provider this year. They specialize in inflatables, so there’s no mechanical rides.

-Art-making for all ages is spread throughout the festival, including participation in mural creation with West Seattle Art Nest in Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska), 3-7 pm today, noon-8 pm Saturday, noon-5 pm Sunday. If you’re looking for face painting, The Hill Team had a free face painter in front of Keller Williams on the east side of California north of Oregon.

-Also on California north of Oregon, giant games for all ages.

3:06 PM: Popular question – where to buy water? Answer:

That’s the QFC booth, just north of our side of the Info Booth at Walk-All-Ways. $1 water plus fruit kabobs and coconuts.

3:51 PM: Main-stage music has begun!

Next up:
4:30 pm – Sweet Jesus
5:30 pm – Stas Thee Boss
6:30 pm – West Seattle Soul
7:30 pm – The Grizzled Mighty
8:30 pm – Common Market
9:30 pm – DJ Kurt Bloch
10 pm – Polyrhythmics

Remember there’s two other stages, too – community stage in Junction Plaza Park, “wooden instrument stage” on the west side of California just north of Edmunds. The schedules for all three stages can be found in this WSB preview.