West Seattle, Washington
06 Sunday
The West Seattle Summer Fest excitement rolled north to the main stage and beer garden as night arrived. Paul Weatherman‘s aerial view shows the crowd during Common Market‘s performance; then came the final band of the night, Polyrhythmics:
(WSB photos/video from here down)
A bit of video:
Tomorrow’s main-stage music is scheduled to run 12 full hours, all the way through Blackie’s 10 pm performance, with other highlights including Jeremy Enigk at 5:30 pm and Jenn Champion at 8:30.
Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo from Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, one of more than 100 places around the nation and world where people gathered tonight “to protest the inhumane conditions faced by migrants,” particularly detention and separation at the U.S. border. The movement is called Lights for Liberty, and the West Seattle vigil was one of at least half a dozen planned in the city tonight.
(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:
Sweet Jesus, second main-stage band at West Seattle Summer Fest pic.twitter.com/FoDvtZYjoq
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 13, 2019
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:
West Seattle Soul on the Summer Fest main stage right now pic.twitter.com/cKgYjURzPt
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 13, 2019
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!
That’s the advice from Andy, who just emailed to say traffic heading out of downtown is so bad, “I got on the 56 bus 45 minutes ago at 3rd & Seneca and we are only in Pioneer Square. 45 minutes to go 2 miles.” We’ve heard about the delays here at West Seattle Summer Fest, from people who have been waiting for friends to join them here. We’re not seeing any one big incident, just a variety of factors.
(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!
Razor Clam on the main stage at West Seattle Summer Fest. pic.twitter.com/rmJPGTaxrt
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 12, 2019
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.
Happy Friday! Our highlights begin with West Seattle Summer Fest‘s first day:
QUICK LINKS FOR WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST, DAY 1: The festival’s official hours today are 10 am-8 pm (music runs later). We’re in the Information Booth as usual for as-it-happens coverage starting later this morning (also watch our Twitter feed for festival scenes), but here meantime are the toplines:
Shopping: 10 am-8 pm – here’s the list of both year-round merchants with sales and visiting vendors with booths
Kids’ rides and activities: 10 am-8 pm – here are ride hours and prices plus other info; go here to find out about the Kids’ Pirate Treasure Hunt (update: it’s happening SATURDAY ONLY)
Food: Year-round food/beverage purveyors are offering “extended service,” which for many means outdoor cafés – here’s the list of those businesses plus visiting vendors
Music/entertainment/events: Three stages – main stage on California north of Oregon (schedule here), community stage in Junction Plaza Park at 42nd/Alaska, south (wooden instruments and more) stage on California just before Edmunds (schedules here)
Beer garden: Next to the main stage, open late
Community groups: In the Info Booth and a second “community gathering tent” – find the list of who’s where and when here
Pet Junction: By Next to Nature, on west side of California north of Alaska – see the vendor list here
Art – You can make it at Summer Fest!
Mothers’ Room – Hosted by Nurturing Expressions (4727 44th SW, WSB sponsor) – a place for changing/feeding babies, etc.
See you at Summer Fest! P.S. Metro reroute details are linked here
Other West Seattle highlights for today/tonight:
COLMAN POOL CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC: Another swim-meet closure today.
BINGO! Yet another reason to come to The Junction – weekly bingo at the Senior Center, 11 am-2:30 pm. 18+. (4217 SW Oregon)
KYLE CRAFT: And even MORE in The Junction – live record-release performance, in-store at Easy Street Records, 6:30 pm. (California/Alaska)
BACKYARD BARD: “Stripped-down” Shakespeare with GreenStage at High Point Commons Park, 7 pm – “Merry Wives of Windsor.” Free! (6400 SW Sylvan Way)
‘PATRINELL: THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE’: New documentary about Rev. Pat Wright, longtime leader of the Total Experience Gospel Choir, 7:30 pm at Kenyon Hall, where she and the choir rehearsed for years. (7904 35th SW)
LIGHTS FOR LIBERTY: Vigil at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza, 8 pm, part of nationwide protests against asylum-seeking families/children being held in border detention. (2701 Alki SW)
MUCH, MUCH MORE … see it all on our complete calendar!
Another reminder that the streets in the heart of The Junction are closed for West Seattle Summer Fest through late Sunday night – the festival ends at 5 pm Sunday, but breakdown/cleanup usually continues for several hours beyond that.
-California SW is closed between SW Genesee and SW Edmunds except for SW Oregon, which remains open to east-west traffic
-SW Alaska is closed between 44th SW and 42nd SW
Bus reroutes (each route links to the Metro PDF explaining that specific reroute, with stop revisions):
–C Line
–Route 22
–Route 37
–Route 50
–Route 55
–Route 57
–Route 128
–Route 773 (Water Taxi shuttle)
–
3:05 AM: Texters reported feeling an earthquake, and indeed there was one, 4.7 magnitude – here’s the map. Epicenter was east of Everett. If you felt it, you can tell the USGS about it here.
3:17 AM: The USGS has revised the magnitude of the 2:51 am quake to 4.4.
3:25 AM: 4.4 isn’t huge but certainly the strongest in the region in quite some time. Here’s the page showing recent Puget Sound quakes. First quake of at least 4 magnitude since February 2017. (Here’s the list of other 4-or-greater quakes in our region, going back half a century. This was the second-strongest since the 2001 Nisqually quake.)
3:42 AM: Scientists have revised the magnitude again, now to 4.6. If that holds, it’s the highest-magnitude quake since Nisqually.
4:02 AM: One more link before we go back off watch for a while – the aftershocks are shown here.
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