One week till the 4th of July: Fireworks rules; more holiday events
Tomorrow at noon, the fireworks stands in unincorporated King County will open — including some that are literally just barely over the line from the Seattle city limits, where they’re banned. (The photo above shows one of the stands in White Center.) So it seems like a good time for a reminder about the rules: As spelled out on this King County page (which is also linked on our WSB West Seattle 4th of July page), you can buy them starting tomorrow but you can only use them between 9 am and midnight on the 4th, and only in the unincorporated area (or a few cities where they’re legal, listed further down this page; closest one is Normandy Park). If you want to check whether a certain address or place is in the unincorporated area, this page shows how to do that. And the only fireworks legal in those areas are the ones you buy at stands like the one shown above – the serious explosives sold at tribal stands are NOT legal off reservation land. And we should note, fire chiefs around King County would rather you just not set off fireworks at all, legal or not; last year there was one big fire and several small ones blamed on fireworks here in West Seattle. Last note – thanks to everyone who’s sending word of West Seattle 4th of July events; we have several more on our 4th of July page now, including the Avalon Glass Works sidewalk sale, a sale at Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), and the C & P Coffee community barbecue/potluck – as well as the latest on the big fireworks displays visible from here, the West Seattle parades, and other assorted holiday-related info.
West Seattle 4th of July: Our holiday-info page is now up
With the 4th of July just a week and a half away, it’s high time to start thinking about it. A lot. So we’ve finished the WSB West Seattle 4th of July page 
and you can find it now from the row of page-navigation tabs atop every WSB page — or just click here. It’s your one-stop shop for everything from the Alki traffic-restrictions plan we first published here a week and a half ago (important info so read it now if you didn’t read it then), to holiday events such as the Admiral Kids’ Parade and the High Point Commons Park celebration, to Water Taxi, ferry, and bus info, and even all the details we can find about the fireworks shows you’ll watch from West Seattle — or elsewhere (we’ve got the statewide list linked on the page too). If there’s some other Independence Day info you’re looking for – or if you have an event to add to the page – please e-mail us, as we’ll keep updating it till the holiday’s over.
Tuesday notes: Berry delay, boat trip, shoe drive, coffee talk
BERRY DELAY: This afternoon’s weather is picture-perfect typical June, but we all know what a weird year it’s been otherwise. As a result, the Rotary Club of West Seattle won’t get the first delivery for its berry sale — the strawberries — till next month, so the pickups originally set for this Friday and Saturday are postponed till July 11-12 – when raspberries will be available too. You can order berries through the Rotary Club’s website.
BOAT TRIP: If the forecast holds out, this is going to be spectacular: The Northwest Environmental Education Councill and Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition have a two-hour boat trip on the Duwamish this Saturday, 10 am-noon. It’s $20/person and you can sign up online here.
SHOE DRIVE: If you have any “gently used shoes” you’re thinking of getting rid of, save them for next month – Edie’s Shoes in The Junction sends word of a drive to benefit Soles 4 Souls – they’ll offer $10 discounts to customers who bring in “gently used shoes” to donate to the drive during July.
COFFEE TALK: Every Thursday night starting this week, 6-8 pm, special “coffee hours” are planned at Cafe Rozella as part of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative — looking for your thoughts about the availability of activity opportunities and healthy food in Delridge and White Center. Read on for more info:Read More
What’s happening on summer’s 1st full day: Late adds
Since we first published the latest West Seattle Weekend Lineup list on Friday afternoon, we’ve gotten word of a couple additions for today — including one that came in overnight, for the karaoke fans who have been lamenting the closure of the Corner Inn in Morgan Junction (first reported here June 3). Kim N e-mailed to say:
Since the Corner Inn closed down, lots of folks have been upset at the loss of being able to perform karaoke there, hosted by Christopher Mychael (of PCM Musiq).
Well, the wait is over!
Christopher Mychael will be hosting Karaoke this Saturday night (6/21) at The Rocksport! Please come out and support him. If all goes well, there will hopefully be a more permanent schedule there!
P.S. Remember The Viaduct is closed this morning, till about 11 am, for Race for the Cure; that’s where we’ll be for the next few hours.
Grand Opening day for Full Tilt Ice Cream (and pinball!)
The first pinball (note the circa-1981 Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man game at right) and video games are in … the ice cream is up at the counter …
… and Full Tilt Ice Cream on 16th SW (detailed WSB preview here with flavors, hours, etc.) is open for business as of a couple hours ago. Co-owner Justin Cline says the party really gets going tonight, with The Blank-Its playing from 9 till about midnight, but you can wander in any time before then and try the ice cream, paletas, and/or pinball. We’ll add a couple video clips in a bit with a closer look at the games; just wanted to post this reminder that they’re officially open.
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
Full Tilt Ice Cream pre-opening updates: Flavors, hours, more
They’re less than 48 hours from their grand opening, but Justin Cline and Ann Magyar made time to talk with WSB this afternoon as they continued getting their much-buzzed-about White Center shop Full Tilt Ice Cream (original WSB report here) in ship shape — appropriate, since Justin’s a boat-builder. They just got the news hours earlier that inspectors cleared them to open Friday; pinball machines were scheduled to arrive any moment. The machines didn’t show up while we were there but we do have the scoop on some of what they’re expecting, plus the flavors they’re planning to open with. We even got to see the first boxes of paletas (mango chili and blackberry cinnamon) in the freezer (photo above)! More ahead:Read More
New info on summer activities for West Seattle kids and teens
Now that summer vacation is in full swing — families may still be looking for ways to keep the kids busy. Two compilations of area activities — at local community centers, libraries, and other facilities in the West Seattle, White Center, and South Park areas — have just been distributed, and they are in such an easy-to-read format, we wanted to share them with you here. Here’s the list for under-12’s; here’s the list for teens. And if you have a musically inclined teen in the family – we have a separate invitation, from the All-City Band:
You’ve probably seen the group (in those distinctive green polo shirts) marching in Seattle summertime parades, including the West Seattle Grand Parade that American Legion Post 160 will be presenting exactly one month from tomorrow. The All-City Band – directed by Denny Middle School‘s renowned music director Marcus Pimpleton — has its first rehearsal tonight – just show up, no audition required. Here are the full details — including a side note about how to book the All-City Band for events, if you need a pep/marching band:Read More
Happening today: Freedom celebration; townhouse forum; more
Full list in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup; couple of highlights — Freedom Church (35th/Roxbury) is throwing a party 10 am-4 pm and you’re invited — there’s a lot percolating at the ex-Safeway-turned-church site as it builds a “Village of Hope” that eventually is envisioned to include housing and community services; today’s event celebrates their ownership of the site and vision of the future. Meantime, another notable event happens outside West Seattle — City Councilmember Sally Clark (whose recent Junction walking tour was covered here) convenes her “Townhomes – Can the Patient Be Saved?” forum on Capitol Hill at 10 am today (original WSB report here; details from Clark’s site, including location and map, here). Our favorite excerpt from the description on her site — “The morning will start with a few examples of the good, the OK and the fatally wounded.”
The sun’s coming back someday. Maybe even this afternoon, 
is the all-things-West-Seattle book written by Lori Hinton, who’s been sharing selected chapters here on WSB for the past few months. Today, we add Lori’s stories about 
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