(QUICK LINKS: Music here, food here, vendors here, kids zone here, bus reroutes here)

5:54 PM: As previewed a bit earlier, that’s Caitlin Sherman on the West Seattle Summer Fest stage, introduced by Troy Nelson. The first day/night of festival music is now at full speed – the main stage is on California north of Oregon, near the Post Office. Here’s the rest of tonight’s lineup:

6 pm – Smoker Dad
7 pm – Acapulco Lips
8 pm – Spirit Award
9 pm – Naked Giants

Also, 7 pm outside Elliott Bay Brewery, Urban Achievers

Doing some main-stage emceeing is a local musician who played Summer Fest himself a few years back – Brent Amaker:

One more reminder – no music Sunday, just today and Saturday; on Sunday, the space north of Oregon will be occupied by the Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm). More festival coverage to come!

6:10 PM: Here at the Info Booth, we’ve had a lot of questions today about the food providers. The visiting vendors are all on SW Alaska between California and 42nd – including classic fair/festival food:

There’s also Kenyan, Filipino, Mexican, Thai, and Nepalese food – and several options for ice cream. Show some love to the year-round food/drink providers too – for example, A La Mode Pies is on the same block as the food vendors, with amazing sweet treats; if you’re looking for a full meal, as noted earlier, many Junction establishments have added sidewalk cafés for the weekend – lots of people-watching going on. It’s clouded over in the past hour but still pleasant. The festival’s on until 8 tonight (music till 10) – more coverage ahead!

6:58 PM: As has been the case every year, the festival gets ever-busier on Friday evenings – that’s a big reason why the vendor hours changed to 1-8 pm. We’ve had fun talking to myriad people all day – among them, West Seattle Grand Parade co-coordinator Michelle Edwards – just one week until Junction (and beyond) streets will close again, for the parade’s return! It starts at 11 am Saturday, July 23rd, heading south on California SW from The Admiral District to The Junction. Meantime, it’s time for a special musical event – the Elliott Bay Brewery stage, with 7 pm bands both nights – tonight, Urban Achievers. (Video added:)

10:20 PM: We left a bit earlier because of breaking news. Summer Fest resumes at 10 am Saturday (music at noon).

(QUICK LINKS: Music here, food here, vendors here, kids zone here, bus reroutes here)

West Seattle Summer Fest doesn’t officially start until 1 pm but people are here already, wandering, shopping, snacking … so come on down to The Junction (California between Oregon and Edmunds, Alaska between 42nd and 44th). We’re in the Info Booth, which also features volunteers helping with a variety of things including the return of T-shirt sales!

Update on The Whale Trail maps – if you didn’t get one on Summer Fest Eve, come to the Info Booth for one!

We’ve already seen at least one young festivalgoer who completed the search!

2:16 PM: Day 1 is always all about seeing what’s where. One general observation, in this transitional year, the festival grounds have some open areas, like north of where we are at California and Alaska:

Many of the year-round Junction businesses are offering sidewalk sales – Summer Fest trivia, the festival has its roots in a summertime Junction-wide sidewalk sale:

In addition to the year-round sidewalk cafés, some venues have added them just for the festival – in the background of our next photo, The Beer Junction’s outdoor space is year-round, while newly opened Bonjour Vietnam has added one for the festival.

We stopped by to say hi to proprietor Jade Nguyen as she soft-opened last night:

Coming up, music starts at 3 pm … also at 3 pm, The Whale Trail presentation about Springer the rescued orca, at the Senior Center (California/Oregon). [Correction, that’s at 3 pm Saturday and Sunday.]

3:02 PM: Music should be starting any minute now at the main stage, which is on California north of Oregon, near the Post Office. Appaloosa 15 is the first band of the day, with indie rockers Chris King and The Gutterballs following at 4.

3:25 PM: If you’re here with kid(s), there’s free fun in the Kids’ Zone on Alaska west of California, as well as the inflatables (for which you need a $20 unlimited-use-for-one-day bracelet) – big games! Along with the ones right by the big GAMES sign, the kids-zone sponsors, Seattle Kraken, have a free game station next to it:

4:44 PM: Even if you don’t make it up to the stage for music, you’ll catch some all along the festival zone:

Other buskers we’ve seen so far include a magician:

Dinnertime nears. We’ll take a look at festival food in report #2.