West Seattle, Washington
11 Saturday
First – this Saturday’s tree lighting in The Junction. We are pleased to announce that your WSB co-publishers have the honor of helping emcee the hourlong extravaganza, which will feature live holiday music, live holiday theater (a sample of ArtsWest‘s “Plaid Tidings”), and the first drawings as part of the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor)’s $5,000 holiday giveaway (enter FREE at any participating store!). 5 pm in the Farmers’ Market parking lot (44th/Alaska). WSB marks its third birthday this holiday season (first post 12/24/05) and we’d love to celebrate a West Seattle holiday tradition with YOU. Second event – the day after that, noon-4 pm this Sunday, it’s the first of three Junction Hometown Holidays Sundays, with draft-mule carriage rides, special in-store events, and Santa photos at Cupcake Royale (donation suggested for local charities) taken by a professional photographer. Speaking of great photography – we are thrilled to learn that WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli will be one of the artists participating in the holiday edition of the West Seattle Second Thursday Art Walk next week (6-9 pm December 11th) — Christopher’s work will be displayed on the big screens at Ama-Ama (which also happens to be a brand-new WSB sponsor – story to come tomorrow!), northeast corner of California/Edmunds. This Art Walk also has a special bonus to help holiday shoppers – free child care for ages 3-11, provided by West Seattle Christian Church (space limited; call Dan at 932-2098, x. 102, ASAP).
*Linda Ann Cox reminds us that a great way to start next Saturday is at the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle Pancake Breakfast at the Masonic Hall, 4736 40th SW – 7 to 11 am, $6 adults/$3 kids, proceeds to Kiwanis Sponsored Youth Services, Santa will even be there. (This event is one of many listed on the Holiday Happenings page – and we’re continuing to add new ones daily, so keep an eye out; West Seattle is overflowing with holiday fun this year.)
BEER: Prost West Seattle says this is opening day. 3 pm.
BOOKS: West Seattle High School students raise money through a Barnes and Noble book fair at Westwood Village. (Voucher 423228)
CONCERT: Family concert by Joe Craven @ Youngstown Arts Center, 6:30 pm (proceeds partly benefit Sanislo Elementary)
CLOSURE: Arbor Heights Elementary‘s PTSA leads a community meeting to discuss the district’s proposal to eliminate their school, 7 pm, AH cafeteria
And that’s not all! See the WSB Events Calendar for more.
(added Monday night: one of the “Save Arbor Heights” campaign signs that are being printed)
The Arbor Heights Elementary PTSA has just finished a “fact sheet” about its school, which (to recap) is proposed for closure by Seattle Public Schools staff — not the building itself, but the school that’s currently housed in it. AHPTSA describes it as “being evicted”; SPS staff proposes dispersing AH students to other “West Seattle South cluster” schools, and moving the Pathfinder K-8 alternative program into the AH building (after closing the deteriorating Genesee Hill building where it’s long been housed). One of the points that AH reiterates on the fact sheet: In a time when SPS leaders have said they want to move back toward “neighborhood schools” (after years of “school choice” tending to scatter people) — buildings where a high percentage of the students are from nearby neighborhoods — AH already is succeeding on that front, with 50% of its students from the immediate area (described by SPS as the “reference area”). If that doesn’t sound like much to you, consider the stats for other West Seattle elementary schools (according to the “demographic summaries” available on the SPS website – you can choose any school from the “school reports” pulldown on this page):
21% for Alki Elementary
29% for Cooper Elementary
32% for Gatewood Elementary
47% for Highland Park Elementary
42% for Lafayette Elementary
26% for Roxhill Elementary
31% for Sanislo Elementary
51% for Schmitz Park Elementary (the only one higher than AH)
36% for West Seattle Elementary
(Thanks to Michelle for pointing out this info also is available in map form)
Here again is the new Arbor Heights fact sheet; next steps for the “Save Arbor Heights” campaign, a community meeting in the school cafeteria at 7 tomorrow night (as reported here last night). Side note: Tomorrow is also a big night for dozens of West Seattle parents affected by the proposal to move the citywide APP (top-level gifted) program out of Lowell Elementary in the north end and split it between two schools (West Seattle APP students would move to Hawthorne) – their advisory committee is having a meeting at Lowell with a briefing from district staff.
From the latest edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup:
If you started to sing along with that clip – then you might consider cruising to the Admiral Theater tonight for the sing-along edition of “Grease” – girls’ lyrics in pink, boys’ lyrics in blue. Also on the agenda today/tonight, more holiday mania: West Seattle’s most famous Christmas tree sellers, the volunteers of the Holy Rosary Tree Lot south of Admiral Safeway, open their doors today, so we’ll be publishing our West Seattle tree-lot list/price survey by day’s end. Noon-4 pm, you’re invited to drop by the Log House Museum to help decorate – bring an ornament or something else to make the home of West Seattle history just a bit more special this season. Same hours, Santa arrives at Westwood Village … hmm, didn’t we just see him downtown Friday morning?
He’s making a lot of West Seattle appearances this holiday season (in The Junction starting next weekend), so he’ll have no excuse not to hear what’s on your list. Two more notes: Southwest Youth and Family Services continues its holiday plant sale 9 am-1 pm, and the White Center Swap Meet and Flea Market (WSB sponsor) celebrates its official grand opening with new hours, 8:30 am-4:30 pm. Lots more in the Saturday section of the Weekend Lineup (hop to it directly from here).
(photo by Matt Durham of MattDurhamPhotography.com)
Time for tidings of great … plaid … as in “Plaid Tidings,” opening tonight at ArtsWest; that, along with the Admiral Theater “Grease” sing-along, plus your chance to help deck the halls of the Log House Museum, as well as Santa’s arrival at Westwood Village and new hours for the White Center Swap Meet (WSB sponsor) — all part of the 36 West Seattle-and-vicinity events on our handy list ahead:Read More
Please help welcome our newest WSB sponsor, the White Center Swap Meet and Flea Market. As we reported earlier this fall, the former Southgate Skate Center (map) has been renovated to become the Southgate Event Center, which is home to the White Center Swap Meet and Flea Market – the only one of its kind in the West Seattle/White Center area. After several weeks in “soft launch” mode, the Swap Meet is ready to welcome you to its official grand opening – as it launches expanded winter hours, 
just in time for holiday bargain shopping: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm (12/6/08 update – hours are now 10 am-4 pm), Saturdays and Sundays. In true swap meet/flea market tradition, you never know who’s going to be selling what (like the items you see at left), or what treasures you might find. Operator Dean Burgess invites you to stop by and check it out – there’s no admission, and the building is open to the public. As for the Southgate Event Center itself: Now that the historic 13,000-square-foot center has been remodeled, you can book it for parties and other events, starting in January (here’s more information from the center’s website). There’s an attached kitchen, and a small business-office space upstairs. Free space also is available to nonprofits (by appointment only). Dean and his team say they are “proud and thrilled to be retaining this building and returning it to its use as a community outpost and meeting place.” Drop by and say hi this weekend during the grand opening, 8:30 am-4:30 pm both days — 9646 17th Ave SW (map), barely a block over the line from West Seattle, and immediately west of the heart of the 16th SW business district. Welcome to the White Center Swap Meet and Flea Market; we’re glad to have them on the WSB sponsor team – you can see the latest lineup here, along with information on how to become part of it!
Thanks to Cami for forwarding that clip (’80s nostalgia, anyone?) of the winner of the $1,000 “Alki Idol” multiweek talent contest at Bamboo – that’s Lynda; 2nd through 6th place went to, in order, Meeka, Brett, Julie, Amy, and Tara – and you can see them all at alkiidol.blogspot.com – Meantime, if you want a few moments in the limelight without singing, tonight’s the night at Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor):
It’s “Turntable Night” again tonight – and that’s a selection of the records (yes, real-live oldschool vinyl) from which WSB co-publisher Patrick may or may not be choosing, when he signs up for a turn. You too can bring your records down and spin on pro equipment – as explained on the Skylark schedule:
We’ve got the Technics, bring your own vinyl! Sign up for your 1/2 hour of fame at 9 pm, when DJ Create kicks it all off with his vintage soul collection. All genres, all styles welcome. Bring friends in to enjoy late night happy hour prices from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am.
See you there?!
We told you Tuesday about the free “Gobble Stomp” exercise classes being offered Thanksgiving morning by the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) at the Junction and Fauntleroy locations. Now, another option for pre-turkey exercise — just out of the WSB inbox:
Hi, I’m hoping to find some sportin’ folks of all ages and both sexes for a little pre-gorging two-hand-touch football on the athletic field at Madison Middle School. Very inclusive, get-everybody-involved, size-doesn’t-matter kind of fun. Approximately 9 am-10:30 (Thanksgiving morning). Gavin Layton, 206-937-5478
You can also e-mail Gavin if you’re interested – gavin@gavinlayton.com
From the West Seattle Weekend Lineup: Lots going on – starting with hundreds of turkeys to be given away 9 am-noon by, and at, Eastridge Christian Assembly (across 39th from West Seattle Bowl; here’s a map). 10 am, learn how to make wreaths, at Camp Long Lodge (here’s a map); 1 pm, Seattle Free School brings “Stocks 101” to High Point Library (here’s a map). To see what else is up today/tonight, click here to hop directly to the Saturday section of the Weekend Lineup.
Holiday merriment, of course, continues to gear up — free turkeys, wreath-making, the Log House Museum‘s annual gala — but this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup has eclectic offerings too: Seattle Free School brings a timely class to West Seattle (Stocks 101); the Point of Order Parliamentary Law Unit welcomes you to its monthly gathering; Chief Sealth and West Seattle High Schools both have theater productions; that’s all among 38 West Seattle and WS-linked events on our handy list ahead:Read More
From the Events calendar: At 10 am, the West Seattle Garden Club meets – topic, “Winterize Your Garden,” bring your lunch, the club provides dessert and beverage, $5 donation, Alki Congregational Church, 6115 SW Hinds (map). At 1 pm, the Nature Consortium‘s free monthly guided hike through a part of the West Duwamish Greenbelt you might not have known existed – it’s a fairly easy walk, fun, and fascinating, meet at the trailhead at 14th/Holly (map); call 923-0853 if you want more info first.
Before night finishes falling, a quick note about some of what’s happening in The Junction tonight as holiday-shopping season really starts to rev up: We’ve mentioned the Capers “Girlfriends’ Night Out” event (see the Holiday Happenings page for full details), and we’ve also received word of an event at Windermere in The Junction (4526 California SW): “Jewelry, scarves, glassware, holiday items galore! Hosted by Kim Tingley and Barb Ogden of Flutter and No Wire Hangers, an upstart boutique, soon to open in West Seattle. 5:30-8:30. Bevs and snacks served while you shop. % of proceeds to help fight Lou Gehrig’s disease!” Tomorrow, meantime, you’ll be able to start entering the holiday gift-certificate raffles being offered by participating merchants in the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor) – thousands of dollars in gift certificates will be raffled off next month, at events including the West Seattle Christmas Tree Lighting (5 pm 12/6). (More on Friday-Sunday events coming up in tomorrow’s West Seattle Weekend Lineup; also, Junction merchants have more holiday events listed on the WSJA website – we’ll be adding those to Holiday Happenings ASAP.)
They’re not just knocking down pins, they’re stacking up food for West Seattle Food Bank tonight at West Seattle Bowl, where the Beer Church has tapped quite the crowd for its 10th annual fundraiser/food drive Turkey Bowl:
Kendall from the Beer Church told WSB there’s no exact count yet but $ raised for WS Food Bank appears to have surpassed $2500.
This is going on till about 10 tonight – you are welcome to drop by with a food donation, or to just “hang out.” Find out more about the Beer Church at its website (which includes Beer News Headlines!). Also, you can help the two food banks that serve West Seattle any time, with an online $ donation — donate $ to WS Food Bank by going here; donate $ to White Center Food Bank by going here.
Thanks to JenV for adding a comment to our previous post, pointing out that you can donate a turkey to the West Seattle Food Bank today by buying it for just $5 at Jefferson Square Safeway. Two other food drive/fundraiser events for WSFB are happening tonight in the general Junction vicinity — the Beer Church‘s annual Turkey Bowl, starting at 5:30 pm at West Seattle Bowl (the TB lanes are full but you’re welcome to drop by, bring food and/or money for WSFB, and hang out) — and at 8 pm, a live-music benefit, Serve It Up, at Rocksport, with the toplines as follows:
Features Fall from Grace, To the Glorious Lonely, Memphis Radio Kings, Down with People, Something Vital and unplugged sets from Owen Wright, Martin Chandler, Tom Gunn and Dudley Taft. Door goes to Food Bank. $10.00 cover. Bins to donate non-perishable foods as well as raffles for prizes!
It’s the ultimate multitasking — having fun while doing good. P.S. If you can’t join in any of the above, you can still help the two food banks that serve West Seattle, right now without even leaving your computer/tucking away your iPhone/whatever — donate $ to WSFB by going here; donate $ to White Center Food Bank by going here.
That’s the scene at the Camp Long Lodge, where the first-ever CoolMom.org Toy Swap/Sale is happening till 1 this afternoon (added later: everything’s been marked down till sale’s over!) — the “swapping” happened in advance with donations taken in exchange for sale credit, so today, just bring your $ – proceeds benefit WestSide Baby and West Seattle Food Bank as well as CoolMom. Not far away, it’s the second and final day of the Holiday Bazaar at Providence Mount St. Vincent:
You can shop the bazaar till 3 pm. Overall, it’s a great day to get a jump on holiday shopping – it’s also the final day of the Square 1 Books (WSB sponsor) everything-21%-off anniversary sale; another WSB sponsor, West Seattle Nursery, has its annual open house; Capers and Friends and Company have special events in The Junction; Snap Fitness on the 42nd SW side of Jefferson Square (run by longtime WSB’ers) has its grand opening; browse the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for the full list of EVERYTHING happening today — including playoff games for Seattle Lutheran‘s football (1 pm vs. Naselle) and girls’ soccer (4 pm vs. Liberty Bell) teams, both at Sammamish High School.
The photo at left is from “Bullshot Crummond” — which Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor) is presenting at Youngstown Arts Center tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon — and as you’ll see in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, to be published a little later today, it’s one of THREE live-theater productions on the peninsula this weekend: In addition to this being the second and final weekend for “Bullshot Crummond,” it’s also closing weekend for “Black Gold” at ArtsWest, and the first of two weekends for a West Seattle High School Drama Club production — plus many local merchants are having special events this weekend to kick off holiday-shopping season – that’s all among more than 50 (!!!!) West Seattle and WS-linked events on our handy list ahead:Read More
Two quick mentions — part of what’s making this a hot Thursday night in West Seattle, even with fall chill in the air: 6-9 pm, West Seattle Art Walk, more than 40 venues, get the map and the details – lots of artists’ receptions and other fun features – by going here. Then at 9:30 at Bamboo on Alki, it’s the second-to-last week for “Alki Idol” – Tonight the field is cut to 6 finalists who then compete next Thursday night for more than $1,000 in prizes. Tom Hutyler hosts, DJ Christopher Mychael does karaoke.
The next West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day — which’ll be the second one presented by WSB, after the late great Megawatt sponsored the first three — is exactly six months from today! Just wanted to mention that so you could be sure to mark your calendar. Last year was a blast, with more than 140 sales all around West Seattle (browse our coverage archive at westseattlegaragesale.com); if you don’t have an ’09 calendar yet, set an Outlook reminder or whatever it takes – Saturday, May 9, 2009, is the date. (But first, let’s savor what remains of ’08 … including the holidays … we’re continuously adding more West Seattle holiday events to our Holiday Happenings page, by the way.)
Sunday morning’s here, so it’s time for the link to the latest “ripe and ready” list of what you’ll find at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market – 10 am-2 pm, SE corner of 44th/Alaska.
Two big names on the roster tonight. Frances Farmer’s Revenge (read our in-depth preview here) at the Admiral, and Twelfth Night Productions‘ “Bullshot Crummond” (WSB sponsor) opening night. Then tomorrow is Green Seattle Day and there are ways you can help (yes you can!) – a cat adopt-a-thon at Southwest Community Center too … Those are part of the 41 West Seattle events, from live music to work parties to a FREE dinner (with just one catch), on our handy list ahead:Read More
Post-election and pre-(potential) weathermania, are you ready for some laughs? We’re welcoming a new sponsor – Twelfth Night Productions, opening “Bullshot Crummond” tomorrow night at Youngstown Arts Center. Here’s the official announcement:
“Before there was Austin Powers, before there was James Bond, there was … Bullshot Crummond! International man of action! … well … British man of action! … well … he certainly is British. Twelfth Night Productions presents Bullshot Crummond, a parody of the British pulp hero Bulldog Drummond, written by Ron House, Diz White, John Neville-Andrews, Alan Shearman, and Derek Cunningham. Bullshot Crummond was before James Bond and before special effects, providing much of the fun in this hilarious send up of 1930s low budget “B” action movies. The action opens with Teutonic villain Otto von Brunno and his evil mistress Lenya as they crash their plane in the English countryside and kidnap Professor Fenton, who has discovered a formula for making synthetic diamonds. Bullshot Crummond is called to the rescue and hilarity insues. Come see Bullshot Crummond as he saves the world one blunder at a time. Bullshot Crummond runs for a special two-week engagement at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (map) in West Seattle, formerly historic Cooper School. Showtimes are: November 7, 8, 14, 15 at 7:30 PM, and November 9, 16 matinees at 3 PM. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students & seniors, and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (brownpapertickets.com/event/46871) and at the Youngstown theater box office one hour before showtime on performance days.” We wish the Twelfth Night Productions crew a jolly good run for “Bullshot Crummond,” and thank them for sponsoring WSB to get out the word; the complete current list of sponsors is on this page along with info on how to join them!
Reminder that just ’cause Halloween’s over, the fun isn’t. Right now, till 6 pm, Furry Faces Foundation invites you to go play casino-style recreational games at Beveridge Place Pub, which has been transformed into Catsino for the occasion (animal-advocacy fundraising). And Skeleton Theatre (see our clip in this Halloween roundup from last night) has encore performances tonight between 6 and 9 pm. Plus – live theater, anyone? “Black Gold” is at ArtsWest, 7:30 tonight, 3 pm tomorrow – here’s a production photo by Matt Durham, followed by a plot synopsis:
“Black Gold,” which is in its world-premiere run at AW, is described as: “What happens when an African-American man in Detroit buys an oil rig on eBay and discovers oil right under his own backyard? Will the poor get rich or will the rich just get richer? Six actors play over 80 roles in this fast-paced, political satire of class, race and government-gone-berserk.” Many more entertainment opportunities for today/tonight/tomorrow on our West Seattle Weekend Lineup list.
If you weren’t already aware of this – the Senior Center of West Seattle is lots livelier than the senior centers of yesteryear. Take a look at that photo shared by Cindy Gwinn – that’s the sold-out crowd that jammed the SC for Halloween Rainbow Bingo a week ago. Cindy tells us the next bingo session will be in February – we’ll let you know when the date is finalized. Meantime, we’ve mentioned before that the Stop ‘n’ Shop store on the center’s ground floor is closed for remodeling; a grand reopening party is planned for November 15th, and before then, Cindy says: “We are looking for helpers! We need people to help assemble shelving this coming weekend, the 8th and 9th of November. We are also looking for volunteers to work in the store. Anyone that can help or that would like to volunteer, please call 206 915-5595.”
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