West Seattle, Washington
24 Wednesday
Don’t have party plans set yet for this Saturday night? It’s your next chance to have a good time for a good cause. The West Seattle Community Orchestras rely on community generosity to help make it possible for student musicians to play for free. Here are the newest party details:
Rummage through your costume collection and then plan to join West Seattle Community Orchestras (WSCO) for its annual gala fundraiser in support of free participation in our orchestras for student musicians!
The West Seattle Big Band will once again provide music for dancing—and just plain good listening!
(WSB photo, WS Big Band at last Sunday’s Fauntleroy Fall Festival)
Very special items for our silent and live auctions have been donated by our generous supporters. Here’s a small sample:
Canlis | Seattle Shakespeare Theatre | Boehm’s Candy Kitchen | Beer Junction | Chihuly Garden | MoPOP | Kenyon Hall | Seattle Storm | Lake Union Civic Orchestra | PlantAmnesty | Seafair | Countryside Café | Elliott Bay Brewery | Ivar’s| Caffe Ladro | Pagliacci Pizza | Bakery Nouveau
Here’s the agenda:
6:00-7:15: Doors open, cocktail reception, silent auctions, entertainment by WSCO musicians
7:15: Buffet dinner served
7:55-8:40: Live auction, raise the paddle, dessert dash
8:40++: Dancing to the West Seattle Big Band!Your support will help WSCO continue to provide FREE participation and instruction in orchestral music for our student musicians.
Here’s the important info:
— Saturday, October 27, 6:00 to 11:00 p.m.
— Alki Masonic Lodge, 4736 40th Ave. SW.
— Adults 18+ $40, children 6-17 and seniors $25Plan to have fun while supporting this vital West Seattle resource! REGISTER & PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE HERE. Tickets also available at the door. Costumed or not, don’t forget your dancing shoes!
As of right now, 38 events are listed in our West Seattle Halloween Etc. Guide – for kids, adults, even pets – many, but not all, later this week and this weekend. But we’re sure there’s more, and we’d love to add yours. White Center and South Park events are welcome as well as everything happening in West Seattle. Please e-mail us the info at westseattleblog@gmail.com!
2:55 PM: The sun has arrived! And the Fauntleroy Fall Festival is on, until 5 pm, at the church/schoolhouse/Y in the 9100 block of California SW. Here again is what’s happening and who’s here:
(If you can’t view what’s above, here’s the PDF version.) Among the attractions: The Falconer:
3:35 PM: This is an outdoor-indoor festival – something going on at every turn. Music, too! Inside The Hall at Fauntleroy on the west side of the street:
The @wsbigband just started playing in The Hall at Fauntleroy's big room. Awesome as always. pic.twitter.com/FQVPYBxIkX
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 21, 2018
Elvis is in The Hall, too!
Meantime, outside the church/Y on the east side of the street, here’s who was playing when we arrived:
The Don't Ask Band outdoors at Fauntleroy Fall Festival. (Inside The Hall across the street, Elvis in one room, @wsbigband in the other!) pic.twitter.com/JXpG11kxjM
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 21, 2018
To get between them, you’ll be assisted by volunteer crossing guards!
This is all free (except for food/drink) – this year funded in part by a city Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund Grant.
5 PM: Festival’s over! Big turnout, all ages. Adding more photos/video in the next hour-plus. Starting with pumpkin-painting:
ADDED: More video – first Elvis:
The West Seattle Big Band:
Festival vendors included Endolyne Joe’s (WSB sponsor) with a multigenerational team:
And Wildwood Market with proprietor Lonjina:
Climbing was easier with a little help:
And it’s not the Fall Festival without salmon-hat-making (supervising off-camera, Judy Pickens):
By the way, Fauntleroy welcomes you back next Sunday (October 28th) – drum to welcome the salmon home (and bring fish jokes!) at 5 pm at the fish ladder across and upslope from the ferry dock.
Get your Halloween season going this Saturday by being part of a first-ever West Seattle event – the first Monster Bash fundraiser for nonprofit Mode Music and Performing Arts!
It’s MMPA’s first year of providing music and performing-arts education at Title I schools including Highland Park and Roxhill Elementaries, along with partial and full scholarships for families in need, all intended “to create equity in arts programming within our educational system.” And they’re raising money by offering you a night of food, drinks, music, theater, and fun! KEXP DJ Troy Nelson is hosting. Tickets are only $20 in advance ($25 at the door); the party’s happening at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), 7:30-10 pm Saturday (October 13th). Get your ticket(s) online now!
Things are going to get disastrous during the next Trivia Night at Talarico’s in The Junction. The announcement explains:
Wednesday, October 10th is “Disaster Trivia Night†at Talarico’s Pizzeria, 4718 California Ave SW. Starting at 8:30 pm and going until about 10:15, you and your friends can test your knowledge about disaster preparedness and disaster movies.
In addition to the prizes awarded to the top finishers, West Seattle Be Prepared, our local preparedness group, will hold a raffle of disaster supplies as a fundraiser. See how much you know and at the same time you will help out a great organization. $2 to play, which becomes the prize money.
See how much you know, learn something you don’t, help out a great organization, and do it all with beer and pizza or pasta and wine (are those survival foods?)
It’s best to make a reservation at Talarico’s to ensure your team has a seat! 206-937-3463. Over 21 only. Questions? Email info@westseattlebeprepared.org
Got your ticket(s) for Neighbors Helping Neighbors, the West Seattle Helpline fundraising dinner that’s now eight days away? Ticket sales end tomorrow (Friday). Helping the Helpline means you’re helping prevent homelessness; providing emergency assistance to help people stay in their homes is a big part of what the nonprofit does. Your ticket gets you a seat at the 6 pm October 12th event at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), which starts with music, a cocktail hour, and silent auction, continuing through dinner, a live auction, and dessert dash. Tickets are available online here.
P.S. If you voted for WS Helpline in the recent HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) grant competition, a big thanks from WSH – they won!
As we do every year, we’ll be publishing the West Seattle Halloween Etc. Guide page, listing all the special events coming up this month, and they’re starting soon, so we’re working on it sooner than usual! If your organization/business/school/facility/group/etc. is planning something that’s open to the public, please e-mail us the info as soon as you can – just the basic what/when/where details, and a website link if you have one – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
The announcement and photo are from West Seattle Church of the Nazarene pastor Shaun Mattson:
Wanted to let you know that on Tuesday, October 2nd, we will be opening our Play Space (the church nursery area) to the community. We will be open from 9 am – 12 pm, and will continue to be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays during those times. It will be a place for parents, grandparents, and caregivers to bring kids to play while they connect with others or work while their kids play. (Note this is not child care – parents, grandparents, and caregivers must be on campus while their kiddos play.)
This is free to the community. Wi-Fi, coffee, hot chocolate, and tea will be provided. Would love for it to be used as a resource to the community.
The church is at 4201 SW Juneau (corner of 42nd).
Short week, so we might as well look ahead to the weekend already. It’ll start with a beer-and-bowling benefit at West Seattle Bowl, on behalf of the families helped by the Seattle Ronald McDonald House, which tells WSB that lanes remain for Bob’s Bowl-A-Rama, 7-10 pm Friday (September 7th):
Gather your friends, family, or coworkers for an awesome night of bowling, beer, and raffle prizes! Proceeds from lane sales, raffle tickets, and Bob’s Ales will all go toward supporting RMHC.
Tickets? Tickets are sold per bowling lane. For $200, you and up to 7 others get bowling shoe rentals, 3 hours of unlimited bowling, and tickets for Georgetown Brewing Co’s beer! Pre-payment is required. To purchase tickets, call Jeff Swanson at West Seattle Bowl, 206.932.3731 or email him at jeffs@wsbowl.com.
Who Can Attend? This is an all-ages event! Not a great bowler? No worries! Turn on the bumpers or ask for a ball-roller.
Who was Bob? Bob was a child fighting cancer at the House who came to us all the way from Alaska. During his stay, he went to a local camp for seriously ill children where he met his camp counselor, Manny Chao, the brewmaster of Georgetown Brewing.
The two hit it off and an instant friendship was formed. When Bob passed away, Manny decided to brew a beer in his honor every year on May 14th, Bob’s birthday. Georgetown Brewing donates 100% of the proceeds of Bob’s Brown Ale to RMHC.
(WSB photo from 2017 ‘A Grand Affair’)
Less than a week until ticket prices go up for “A Grand Affair,” the annual cocktail-and-casino-style-games benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank. This year, it’s back in West Seattle – at The Sanctuary at Admiral, 6:30 pm Friday, September 14th. It’s a Roaring ’20s-themed cocktail party with casino-style games, hosted wine and beer, heavy appetizers, plus local favorites such as Husky Deli ice cream (served by Jack Miller himself) and specialty cocktails from Peel & Press and The Bridge. Get your ticket(s) here before the price goes up Sunday. (Event co-sponsors include WSB.)
(Photo by Debra Alderman, USCG Auxiliary)
It’s one of those things you can only do around here in the summer – and you only have two more chances! So Debra Alderman of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is reminding you it’s not too late to tour historic Alki Point Lighthouse before summer’s end:
US Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers will be giving tours at the Alki Point Lighthouse just two more Sundays for this season: Sunday, August 26th, and Sunday, September 2nd. Tours begin at 1 p.m. and the last visitors enter the site at 3:45 p.m.
We’d love to have lots of West Seattleites come for a visit! Learn about local history and how people and technology have been teaming up to keep people safe on Puget Sound for over a century. Entrance to the site is at 3201 Alki Avenue SW.
Questions? alkilighthouse@cgauxseattle.org
Next week is the last full week of summer break for students who aren’t already back at school, and the Seattle Public Library is starting it off by inviting you to “a special West Seattle-wide celebration of the end of summer!” It’s happening 4-7 pm Monday (August 27th) at High Point Library:
We will have family entertainment for little children, kids, tweens, and teens – everyone is welcome. There will be bubbles, a tinfoil boat competition, create and design your own t-shirt activity (for youth ages 11+), crafts, games, prizes and an ice cream sundae bar (starting at 6 pm) for all.
No charge, and no registration required – just show up! HP Library is at 3411 SW Raymond.
(WSB photo from last year’s West Seattle Car Show)
Now that it’s safe to go outside again … we can resume getting excited about this weekend’s big outdoor events! Saturday includes the 2018 West Seattle Car Show – if you have a vehicle to show off, it’s not too late to be part of the show, via day-of entry (registration info’s here), with load-in starting at 8 am. If you just want to wander, show hours (free admission!) are 10 am-3 pm, with the chance to eat and drink while you’re there – the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, and the Northwest Wine Academy will be open, with beverages including wine and coffee. You’re also invited to visit the adjacent Seattle Chinese Garden. It’s all happening Saturday (August 25th) on the north side of South Seattle College, whose Automotive Tech program benefits from proceeds of the show presented by West Seattle Autoworks and Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsors) – see you there!
(2016 WSB photo)
The National Weather Service said it again tonight – the air’s clearing and should be much better tomorrow. Just in time for this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha finale – family-rock fave Caspar Babypants. Even the not-so-little have a tough time resisting the urge to dance to his irresistible tunes, like this one:
All are welcome on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (, 6:30 pm Thursday (August 23rd). Free and fun. Bring a chair/blanket (unless you’re planning to stand up and dance throughout). The Admiral Neighborhood Association is in its 10th year of presenting the six-free-concerts series, with community sponsors’ support (including WSB).
P.S. If for some reason the sky does NOT clear as forecast, series coordinator Stephanie Jordan says, “Smokopolis 2018 will not deter Mr. Babypants – we’re keeping a close eye on air quality and will move the show inside if it’s still too icky. If you don’t see anyone in the park at showtime, we are in the community center gym.”
(WSB photo: Smoky Monday afternoon @ Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza)
First announcements of this type that we’ve received – and likely not the last – both just out of the WSB inbox. First, from West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) executive director Shalimar Gonzales:
With more fires cropping up in BC and surrounding areas, the smoke may be here for a while longer. The West Seattle Y is offering a respite for community members at our location on Snoqualmie Street. Our center is air-conditioned and offers free Wi-Fi.
This is an opportunity for us to pay back this special community. We are happy to open our doors to our neighbors to protect their health.
The use of these facilities is free to the public. YMCA lot parking regulations still apply. A government issued photo ID is required to enter the facility. If you are interested in getting a workout in, feel free to stop by our welcome center to get a free pass to use our facility.
And from St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church rector Rev. Kate Wesch:
Tuesday and Wednesday, August 21 and 22 from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Escape the smoke with children ages 0-5 who need to move at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church
Do you have cabin fever with your little ones? Looking for some space to run around where the kids can play indoors away from the smoke? St. John’s is opening the Parish Hall, a large carpeted room, and will have a few large motor toys and blocks out. Come for an hour or stay all three. We’ll have coffee for the grown ups. St. John’s is located on the corner of California Ave SW and SW Hanford St. next door to WS High School. (3050 California Ave SW) Questions? 206-937-4545
Anybody else with something special to announce? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thanks!
Tomorrow night’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha band, The Service Providers, has a serious rock pedigree. Here’s part of the explanation:
The Service Providers is a new project of Brian Naubert, Dave Fox, Mike Musburger, and Arthur Roberts.
How they started: Mike and Arthur played together in The Posies. Arthur left the Posies to play in Sushirobo and Peach. Mike and Dave played together in The Posies. Dave left the Posies to play in Flop. Mike left the Posies to play in the Fastbacks. Brian played in Popsickle. Brian left Popsickle. Mike, Dave and Brian played together in Tube Top. Mike, Dave, and Brian left Tube Top. Mike, Dave and Brian played together in Ruston Mire. Now, Mike, Dave, Arthur, and Brian play together in The Service Providers.
(If you saw the Fastbacks at SPF30 last Saturday, you saw Mike.) The Service Providers describe their sound as “a crackling bonfire of hard guitar rock, rife with unabashed pop hooks and formidable chops. … catchy as hell, treating heartbroken love songs and post-ironic party anthems with equal dexterity. … something like stumbling into a bar fight between Blue Oyster Cult, Devo, and the Kinks — amped on adrenaline and bleeding nostalgia.” They’re releasing a record with help of a crowdfunding campaign – the page for it includes two sample tracks, if you’d like to preview their music before packing up your chair/blanket/picnic dinner and heading to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center – along Walnut south of Lander, 6:30 pm Thursday (August 16th) – free! (The series is in its 10th summer and WSB has been a co-sponsor since the start.)
Before we get to SPF30 … there’s Hiawatha 4! You’re invited to the fourth of this year’s six free Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, 6:30 tomorrow night on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center. This week, you’ll see and hear General Mojo’s, whose lead singer Heather Thomas describes their live performances as “high energy and danceable, inviting and empowering.” Here’s a preview:
Stephanie Jordan, who organizes the concert series for the Admiral Neighborhood Association, notes, “On their website, they relate themselves to the Flaming Lips and ‘a renaissance of familiar soundscapes that recall the tradition of long-haired frontmen making fuzzy yet catchy rock sound’.” Go see for yourself Thursday night! Bring your own chair, blanket, picnic dinner; the concert site is along Walnut south of Lander. (Concert series co-sponsors include WSB.)
(WSB photo: WestSide Baby’s diaper-drive bus at West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade afterparty)
The heart of summer also brings the heart of WestSide Baby‘s biggest diaper-donation drive of the year, Stuff the Bus! Here are two opportunities for you to contribute:
TALARICO’S TRIVIA TONIGHT: Host Phil Tavel says, “This week, Trivia Night at Talarico’s is supporting the WestSide Baby diaper drive. Help give to parents and their children who don’t have enough diapers. Instead of cash, bring diapers! Any size for children. If you can’t bring diapers, bring cash and we will buy the diapers – but, bring diapers! There will be a nice prize for the team that brings the most diapers. Also some raffle prizes as well.” 8:30 pm until about 10:15 pm. (
Starts at 8:30 and goes until about 10:15. (4718 California SW)
STUFF THE BUS BASH ON SUNDAY: Again this year, WS Baby is inviting everyone to bring diapers to its headquarters for a big party – that’s noon-3 pm this Sunday (July 22nd):
Fun during the afternoon will include…
Tours of our new, expanded warehouse
Diaper Dash – a short race for baby crawlers & non-walkers!Article Image
Trike Race – fun for kids ages 2-6 (we will provide trikes & helmets!)
Diaper Relay – because adults want to have fun too!
Kids games, arts & crafts!
Live music
Local food trucks
Free lemonade stand
Free ice cream!
And, most importantly, we will be stuffing our WestSide Baby Bus with your diaper donations!Donating to our summer drive can be as easy as bringing a package of wipes, or an open package of diapers with you.
All welcome! (10002 14th SW)
Ever wonder what happens AFTER successful crowdfunding for a project? West Seattleites Chad and Lillian Gray can tell you – in the photo they shared, they’re holding some of the results of last year’s Kickstarter crowdfunding to produce the card game they designed, Goatfish! It’s been distributed to backers and is now available to all. So they’re celebrating its release with a family-friendly event tomorrow night (Thursday, July 12th) at Meeples Games (3727 California SW), 6:30-9:30 pm: “There will be game decks available to play and an official Goatfish tournament with prizes!” You can also check out Goatfish in the Meeples Games booth at West Seattle Summer Fest this Friday-Sunday in The Junction.
(2016 Seafair Pirates sighting offshore, photographed by Paul Panzl, from the yacht Pearl)
Alki Beach will be awash in pirate fans tomorrow (Saturday, July 7th) as the Seafair Pirates approach for their annual landing. As usual (as previewed here last month), the occasion calls for an all-day festival, 10 am-5 pm, with vendors, kids’ rides, and music. The stars of the show will be ashore sometime in the early afternoon – last estimate we heard is 1:30ish, but that could change … they’re pirates, after all. You’ll usually hear cannon booms offshore as they get close; eventually they’ll pull up in their landing craft and wade ashore, into the crowd that gathers near Alki Bathhouse (60th SW/Alki SW). Their non-seagoing Moby Duck usually awaits them along the street, but not until their arrival has been followed by photos and pillaging. This is the first big event of the four weeks at the heart of Seafair; the Pirates will be back for the West Seattle Grand Parade two weeks later, but this is the one time you get to see them sail in! (Forecast, by the way, looks perfect.)
(WSB photo, 2017 West Seattle Car Show)
Registration is now open for the 11th annual West Seattle Car Show – and we have some details you might be interested in even if you don’t plan to show off a vehicle.
West Seattle Autoworks and Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsors) are presenting the show again this year. It’s set for 10 am-3 pm Saturday, August 25th, in the big north lot at South Seattle College (also a WSB sponsor), whose automotive program benefits from the proceeds.
To register – download a form here. Organizers have made some changes to the categories and other registration details so judging will go more smoothly. Also new: “A call for car clubs to pre-register — if we get a minimum of 5 vehicles pre-registered from any one club, we will provide a trophy specific to the club!” (Register by July 31st to get in on that.)
Want to be a sponsor? Here’s the form for that. You’ll be helping make this a fun day for all.
Can you volunteer? Here’s the form for that.
And there’s one more special request from the folks at WS Autoworks and Swedish Automotive: “Though we are happy to have been able to rescue the West Seattle Car Show when its organizer Michael Hoffman passed away suddenly, we also would like to find some dedicated folks to join the committee and take over the bulk of the duties for the production of the show next year. If there are supporters out there who would be willing to carve out some time and get involved, we would welcome you!”
P.S. And for show visitors – this year’s features (besides the vehicles!) will include a hot-dogs-and-burgers BBQ by the West Seattle Kiwanis Club, beverages available from the Northwest Wine Academy, kids’ activities in the NWA building, “Don’t Drip and Drive” inspections plus bulb checks, tours of the adjacent Seattle Chinese Garden … details on all that as the summer proceeds!
ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:38 PM: The sun made an unforecast appearance and there’s a good crowd at Roxhill Park for the first community barbecue organized by neighbors working to get more community involvement with the park – the cookout tent in our top photo is just part of it. Stop by for not only your free food, but also to find out more about what’s at the park, to share your ideas about potential future events and activities, and to connect with other groups and agencies.
We spotted Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner and West Seattle Emergency Communications Hubs‘ Cindi Barker, among others.
It’s on until 2 pm, just past the playground along 29th south of Barton. More photos later!
4:24 PM: Photos added above – plus, other barbecue scenes – that was Earl Lee on the grill:
Visitors got a chance to learn about wildlife in the park:
And support from nearby community groups – here’s Highland Park Action Committee vice chair Gunner Scott:
And, courtesy of organizer Kim Barnes, video from local musicians who played after our visit:
Eric and Ludovic, Roxhill Elementary parents, played music from Burkina Faso. Missed the party? Keep up with Roxhill Park’s community-centered future at roxhillpark.org.
(WSB photos)
12:39 PM: It’s that one day of the year when you’ll find all the fishing-related activity inland – gear demos/tryouts, classes, and more are all happening at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park (4503 Beach Drive SW) during the annual Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) Fly Fest. That includes, coming up at 1, the highly competitive (and tasty) EWA Staff Cookoff:
See the plan for the rest of the day here.
4:26 PM: We don’t know yet who won, but the dishes in contention sounded scrumptious – from a pork-belly banh mi to a fancy BLT to scallop sliders. Meantime, Fly Fest was also an occasion for EWA and the fishing community to give back. For one, while classes and clinics were free, donations were accepted for Casting for Recovery. For two, the Wild Steelhead Coalition was represented to accept a special donation:
EWA proprietor Dave McCoy’s daughter Nessa McCoy created art to sell at the shop and by donating $2.50 from each piece, raised $1.800 for the WSC!
EWA’s shop is at 4502 42nd SW in The Junction.
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