VIDEO, PHOTOS: West Seattle Summer Fest day two, report #2

(QUICK LINKS: Music lineupsvendor listfood and drinkKids Zone info)

4:57 PM: The Black Whales played at mid-afternoon on the West Seattle Summer Fest main stage (on California between Oregon and Genesee), one of two festival venues where you’ll find music right now. The north end of the festival zone is where SW Oregon is closed for the first time, and besides enabling a better flow of festivalgoers, it’s also created a bonus zone for food and beverages:

That’swhere you will find the non-alcoholic coladas in whole pineapples, as well as burgers and the New Zealand-style ice cream from Highland Park Corner Store that we mentioned Friday, Tip Top Ice Cream (look for the bike). Traveling southbound along the west side of the Oregon-to-Alaska block, you’ll also see the mobile romance bookstore Beguiled:

And for a second day, the Fourth Emerald Games Pokémon scavenger hunt seems to be hugely popular. More to come as we move into late afternoon and early evening!

5:23 PM: Thanks to Paul Weatherman for the aerial views – above is “The Porch,” the all-ages zone in the lot at the southeast corner of 44th and Alaska, with food, beverages (including alcohol), and places to sit and enjoy them. He also sent this view of Walk-All-Ways and northward (where we’re in the Info Booth throughout the festival):

Further north, Massy Ferguson was on the main stage last hour – WSB contributor Jason Grotelueschen recorded video:

5:40 PM: Though the idea of an outdoor watch party during Summer Fest didn’t take flight, some local venues are full of enthusiastic fans watching today’s matches – this was the scene during Norway vs. England:

Jason got that pic of soccer fans watching at The Beer Junction. Meantime, we just got a question about tomorrow – yes, the Farmers’ Market IS on – it’ll be on California north of Oregon as it’s been for the past few festivals, as the Main Stage will be decommissioned after tonight’s bands.

7:06 PM: Thanks to Jerry Simmons for this bubbly festival photo:

We’ve arrived at the final official festival hour of the day, though music will continue until 11-ish. One of the most fun things about the festival has little to do with vendors, food, or music … it’s seeing friends and neighbors as what seems like everyone on the peninsula converges on The Junction for the weekend. We get to see a lot of people we mostly know from email the rest of the year. Like someone who just stopped by the booth, Perla X. Caballero of the Morbidly Curious Book Club, one of several book clubs whose monthly meetings are listed on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (always free – send West Seattle event info to westseattleblog@gmail.com).

8:32 PM: We’ve left but expect to have more music clips to post later. Tomorrow instead of a stage, the area north of SW Oregon will hold the Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm as usual. Festival hours will be 10 am-5 pm. See you there!

10:10 PM: Thanks again to Paul Weatherman for more aerials – this time, evening views of the stage/beverage garden area tonight!

11:23 PM: And here’s what it was like on the ground:

That’s from WSB contributor Jason Grotelueschen, who also recorded clips of most of tonight’s bands, starting with Chewing Gum (recently showcased in an Easy Street show) at The Big Dark Corner:

On the main stage, Bog Ogre:

Bexley:

Dark Chisme:

And True Loves:

No main stage music on Summer Fest Sundays, but The Big Dark Corner starts up at 10 am.

5 Replies to "VIDEO, PHOTOS: West Seattle Summer Fest day two, report #2"

  • 1994 July 11, 2026 (10:07 pm)

    Great to have shade umbrellas at the Porch dining area :)

  • Ghost July 11, 2026 (10:45 pm)

    What happened to quiet hours? This is ridiculous. 

    • WSB July 11, 2026 (11:00 pm)

      Should be over or close to it, as the police assigned to Summer Fest are officially demobilizing for the night, according to an announcement over SPD radio just now.

    • Buzzkill July 12, 2026 (7:34 am)

      Right? Thankfully it’s only one weekend a year when this outrageous event happens. Way too many people out there enjoying themselves on a beautiful summer evening causing this ruckus. At least we have 363 more peaceful nights until we have to put up with this madness again. 

  • Foop July 12, 2026 (12:27 pm)

    It was amazing seeing all of the added outdoor seating without 6 lanes of road full of pass thru traffic.These are the kinds of spaces I seek out and find elusive in our beautiful Seattle summers. More patios that aren’t immediately adjacent to busy roads please. Would love to see California somewhere between Edmund’s and Oregon become a people street.

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