(WSB photo by Jason Grotelueschen from 2024 Not-So-Silent Night Parade)

If you’re still finalizing New Year’s Eve plans – or open to changing them – here are two ways to walk it out, so to speak, in West Seattle on Wednesday night, as featured in our Holiday Guide:

EMERALD CITY WANDERERS: This group is presenting its annual New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day walks in West Seattle. On New Year’s Eve, you can start from St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (3050 California SW; WSB sponsor) any time between 3:30 and 6:30 pm – in other words, choose your own start time – and head out on either a 5K or 10K route. Snacks and hot soup await you afterward. (And they’re offering two different routes for walkers on New Year’s Day too (departing between 8:30 am and 11:30 am). Free, but donations are appreciatedDetails are on the ECW website.

NOT-SO-SILENT-NIGHT PARADE: West Seattle’s only New Year’s Eve parade, starring you! Highland Park Improvement Club has been organizing this since the late ’00s. While their building site is in transition (here’s our recent update), the gathering place is Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW). All ages, all outfits; bring lanterns, noisemakers, hopes and dreams, and join the walk through nearby HP neighborhoods to bid 2025 farewell, starting at 6 pm. (We counted 100+ participants last year!)