(Live SDOT camera from California/Alaska)
11:01 AM: Until 2 pm, The Junction is a center of Halloween-season happiness, for this year’s Harvest Festival. Here’s the schedule – costume parade from Junction Plaza Park, led by the WSHS Marching Band, starts it all at 11 am; the chili cookoff also starts at 11 at the KeyBank corner until chili runs out; and the Thriller Dancers are due at Walk All Ways at noon. (The Farmers’ Market is in its usual spot, usual time, until 2 pm, plus an extra block of closure on California south of Edmunds.) Updates to come!
11:31 AM: The costume parade has concluded – we’ll have video later:
Update: here’s the video!
(Videos by Edgar Riebe for WSB)
Trick-or-treating is now in full swing.
(This photo and next by Holli Margell)
The weather is dry but brisk – not a good day for oh, say, a beach-party costume.
12:05 PM: If you haven’t tried a flight of chili yet – $15, benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank, and you get to vote – Robbin from WSFB tells us there’s still some:
“Steady crowd,” we’re told.
(We’ll report later who won.)
12:23 PM: Don’t forget the activity booths from local schools and businesses, mostly on California south of Alaska (which also is closed on the blocks bookending Calif):
Trick-or-treating status – we bought candy weeks ago and brought four big Costco bags today – hasn’t all run out yet!
12:34 PM: The Seattle Thrillers put on a show at Walk-All-Ways, as lively – or should we say undead – as ever:
Update: Here’s the video!
Right now the pie-eating contest is happening (as is a rain shower, though costumed attendees are braving it). The festival continues until 2 pm.
12:45 PM: And now a sunbreak!
12:54 PM: Just announced – the chili winner, Easy Street Café! Proprietor Matt Vaughan says he lost by one vote last year so he’s thrilled to take the top spot this time. (Update: A commenter points out Margie’s Café was actually #2 last year. We apparently misheard at a distance.) Coming up in the stage zone, on the east side of Walk All Ways, the Heebie-Jeebies will rock the festival.
1:19 PM: The band says this is their 10th anniversary!
They’re singing what you might call Halloween-forward music, like the ’60s classic “Spooky,” plus selections from their most-recent CD.
1:35 PM: Final half-hour. The band’s still playing, telling spectators “we’ll keep going as long as it’s not raining!”
2:58 PM: The rain did return before the festival ended. We’re adding more photos – thanks to everyone who has shared pics! Another cool performance at the festival – RopeWorks:
SUNDAY NIGHT: In addition to the video we added above, here are two more clips – trick-or-treating …
And Joe Ross, one of the two spotlight musical acts:
Thanks again to Edgar Riebe for the videography!
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