West Seattle, Washington
26 Tuesday
Three West Seattle Halloween scenes:
‘NIGHTMARE ON 44TH’: David Williams sent the photo from his revived “Nightmare on 44th” animatronic front-yard show, 3800 block of 44th Ave SW until 9 pm, one of many attractions listed in our West Seattle Halloween Guide.
SKELETON THEATRE: West Seattle’s longest-running animatronic front-yard show has been having technical difficulties tonight. We did get to see part of the show around 7:30:
They weren’t sure if they’d get it all together tonight but they were trying. It’s scheduled to run tomorrow night (Tuesday, November 1st) between 6 and 9. You can at least get a look at the not-so-bare-bones “cast” on the elevated stage:
Skeleton Theatre’s viewable from the east side of the southwest corner of 36th/Hanford.
COSTUMED CREW: Finally, many workers at local businesses dress up for Halloween. This photo was sent by Gay.
Gay explained, “Suki had a Special Delivery for Miss Jimmye and the whole gang at Junction True Value.”
Just might be the most adorable Halloween scene of the day. Sent by Our Lady of Guadalupe School:
Firefighters from Station 37 paid a visit today to Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Early Learning Center. Students and dalmatians (teachers)
all enjoyed the visit on this festive Halloween day!
Station 37 is just a few blocks north of OLG on 35th.
(Festival schedule is here)
11:50 AM: That’s the costume parade (led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band) that kicked off the first full-strength West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival in three years. It’s happening right now on California SW between Alaska and Edmunds, and on Alaska between 44th and 42nd. Trick-or-treating is happening now, wherever you find candy (and it’s going fast). Lots of free fun activities too:
Plus, the first mainstage performance, by the 8-Bit Brass Band, starts soon. The chili cookoff also gets going at noon – $10 gets you tastes of every contender (benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank), and a vote.
More to come as the festival continues until 5 pm, whatever the weather does.
12:24 PM: The chili cookoff is literally a hot ticket – it’s drawn a line. Servers are busy!
Over at the main stage – which is ground-level – the 8-Bit Brass Band is playing:
Following the band, the mural created at Summer Fest is scheduled to be unveiled.
1:19 PM: That’s artist Stacey Sterling, who led community participants in creation of the mural. She was followed on the main stage by the pie-eating competitions, presented by nearby A La Mode Pies:
We’ve made a few trips to the nearby stores for candy replenishment, so trick-or-treating is still on here at the Info Booth. Lots of little ones who are trick-or-treating for the first time, getting parental coaching.
1:49 PM: The Heebie-Jeebies are playing now – perfect Halloween music.
And all around the festival zone, the first-ever Harvest Fest cornhole tournament is in the heat of competition:
32 teams are playing; winners will be announced when the festival wraps at 5 pm.
The @WSJA Harvest Festival rolls on. Jump-rope demo right now! pic.twitter.com/M2gV1Onivw
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 30, 2022
2:17 PM: Lots going on at the community activity booths, sponsored by local organizations, schools, and businesses. Westside School (WSB sponsor) had a line of festivalgoers:
The Farmers’ Market is keeping regular hours, so it just closed. (That means vehicles are coming in for market breakdown, on California north of Alaska.)
The Heebie-Jeebies have just finished playing; next up in the stage area, square dancing at 2:30 pm. But first, the chili cookoff results …
#1 – Husky Deli
#2 – The Bridge (just one vote behind)
#3 – Easy Street
WSFB promises an update tomorrow on how much the cookoff raised to support their work preventing hunger and homelessness. (MONDAY UPDATE: $3,820!)
2:45 PM: Some booths are folding up early, so if you haven’t been here yet, hurry! At the stage, square dancing has begun.
3 PM: With the scheduled activities wrapping up (aside from The Potholes performing at 3:30) and rain moving in, Chris Mackay of the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association has given the clearance to fold this up, so our coverage is concluding. Thanks to everyone who stopped by them Info Booth to say hi! For the rest of today, and tomorrow, see our West Seattle Halloween Guide.
ADDED SUNDAY EVENING: Some additional photos. First, these owls caught a lot of attention – photo sent by Laura Goodrich:
Holli Margell sent the next four, starting with two more looks at the WSHS band leading the costume parade:
And we caught more costume creativity:
Set your calendar for the next big seasonal fun in The Junction – Tree Lighting, GLOWS, Night Market, more on Saturday, December 3!
(File photo by Jason Enevoldsen)
As promised, we’ve added a list of Teal Pumpkin Project participants – offering treats for kids with food sensitivities/allergies – to the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide. We’ve mentioned the TPP several times over the years, dating back to this overview in 2015. If you’re planning to offer alternate treats too, let us know – westseattleblog@gmail.com – so we can add you to the list!
For the first time since 2019, a costumed crowd at Lincoln Park helped West Seattle Cooperative Preschools raise money via its Halloween-season tradition, the West Seattle Monster Dash. Above is our video of hundreds of runners/walkers starting the main “dash”; below, the children who signed up for the Kids’ Dash, split into two age groups:
Of course costume-watching was also part of the fun:
See the race results here.
It’s the only trick-or-treating event where you can get free trees (up to four per Seattle property!) as well as candy: Trick or Trees is happening outside the Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW), including a closed half-block of SW Kenyon south of the store:
Along with Halloween, this also celebrates Dia de Muertos, with Cocina MX32 selling food, and music too, with Mariachi Alma Nueva:
(added) For Dia de Muertos, an ofrenda was set up inside the store:
If you can give, there’s a donation box on a table outside the store, collecting cold-weather clothing for Highland Park Elementary:
That’s just part of what you’ll find. If you can be there at 3 pm, there’s a pet-costume contest! Trick or Trees continues until 4 pm.
Two notes as we wrap up this first night of the extended Hallo-weekend … first, a reminder about Sunday’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Fest:
That’s the map for Sunday’s in-the-street festival, which runs 11 am-5 pm; just north of the top of the map, on California between Alaska and Oregon, you’ll find the Farmers’ Market as usual, regular time (10 am-2 pm). Note all the cornhole-court locations – the tournament is new this year, with 32 teams set to compete. One thing West Seattle Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay wants to stress – the festival is RAIN OR SHINE – if we get rain, just incorporate an rain hat or umbrella into your costume! The costume parade starts it off at 11 am; line up at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). Right after that, trick-or-treating and other activities start at businesses and booths at 11:30 am. Almost everything is free, but if you want to taste, and vote in, the chili cookoff, bring $10 (which benefits the West Seattle Food Bank). See the full schedule on the official website.
And more home decorations to show tonight – Heather sent this:
Happy Halloween from The Dyers on 17th! (Between Myrtle & Holly)
Spiders, Webs & Skeletons….oH mY eYeballs!
The Rube Goldberg Candy Machine will be up and giving out candy Sunday and Monday.
Come on by and check out the Spooky neighbors too!
PS…just spooky enough for the little during the day. Extra creepy lights at night for the bigs.
Thanks again to everyone who has sent decoration photos – so much Halloween spirit around West Seattle! Lots going on the next few days – check out the listings in our West Seattle Halloween Guide.
3:16 PM: Sunshine just in time! The Admiral District will be full of costumed children until 6 pm as businesses hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. The Admiral/California junction is the heart of it, but wander north and south on California, east and west on Admiral, to look for other participating businesses too!
Admiral District trick or treating! Alki Bike & Board is always into it: pic.twitter.com/y3yPBWc4O8
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 28, 2022
More photos to come.
3:52 PM: Be sure to wander down the west side of California – we found treats as far south as PCC, with other participating businesses including West Seattle Runner and West Seattle Realty (all WSB sponsors) along the way!
(West Seattle Realty, new HQ at Admiral Station, 2715 California SW)
4:30 PM: North of Admiral, you’ll find businesses with treats all the way up to West Seattle Grounds.
(Outside West Seattle Grounds)
(Outside Brent Amacher’s insurance officer)
Lots of memorable costumes seen:
Next business trick-or-treat event is Alki, 10 am-2 pm Saturday – see others in the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide!
Too busy to cook amid the Halloween activities? Pecos Pit-West Seattle (35th/Fauntleroy; WSB sponsor) is offering a deal Sunday and Monday:
You can see their menu here.
Two more one-of-a-kind West Seattle Halloween displays:
This one is a sight to see by day and by night, on 47th SW between Hinds and Hanford:
Both Ron and Kylie sent photos of this display. Kylie says, “This house is fantastic. … Check it out, the details are incredible.”
Another home to see if you like jack o’lanterns:
Jason sent the video of the first 50 pumpkins he carved this Halloween season – going for an “epic” total of 100! You can see them at 52nd and (corrected) Dakota.
P.S. Even more events – from trick-or-treating to a “GLOW Party” to The Skylark’s famous “Come As You Aren’t” – have just been added to our West Seattle Halloween Guide; don’t miss out on the fun!
Another double spotlight of Halloween decorations tonight …
Thanks to Janet for that photo from 39th SW and SW Charlestown (a neighborhood long devoted to decorating for fall and winter holidays!), near the Charlestown water tower (technically “standpipe”) as shown. Also tonight, Nikki sent photos from 2752 38th SW:
Nikki explains that she was hired “to create and implement this year’s decorations” at this house via her “concierge” company Help is Here.
We still have more decorations to show you in the next few nights! Meantime, the event lists are getting longer in our West Seattle Halloween Guide, with busy days and nights ahead – if you have a public event happening and it’s not listed yet, hurry! westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you.
Halloween’s now less than a week away, so we have to start doubling up on the spotlights! First, from Lindsay and Zach:
We are excited to announce that our Halloween Town display is now showing at 3050 64th Ave SW off Alki. 24/7 show from now through Nov 1st, with full light show on Halloween night. Mostly a ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’-themed display, but don’t miss the pirate ship and giant grim reaper.
We’re also participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project and will have trinkets available for any kiddos that may have food allergies or sensitivities. Happy Halloween!
As mentioned previously, we’re compiling a Teal Pumpkin Project list to add to our West Seattle Halloween Guide before trick-or-treat time. Meantime, more creative decorations – Albert‘s house at 49th/Hudson has the theme “Let’s Ride Skeleton Style”!
Thanks again to everyone who’s been sending decoration photos!
(Photos courtesy Meeds Manor)
In our West Seattle Halloween spotlight tonight, Meeds Manor is back! Jessica Meeds explains that the house at 45th and Stevens has “a new set =up in the front yard with a carnEVIL theme, but the rest you will have to come see for yourself!”
They’ll open for a walk-through on Halloween night, 5:30-9 pm. Jessica adds, “This year we are taking donations to support the West Seattle High School girls’ basketball team. The team will be working the event for their fundraiser.” Meeds Manor is among the attractions listed in our West Seattle Halloween Guide – we’re still adding to it, so if you have something to send, from decoration photos to a Halloween or Dia de Muertos event, please send info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(WSB photo, October 2021)
That’s the crew at Outer Space Seattle during last year’s first-ever Alki Beach Trick-or-Treat event. They just sent word it’s returning this year – 10 am-2 pm this Saturday (October 29th). Seven Alki businesses are sponsoring (with more participating) – here’s the map:
We’re added this to the trick-or-treat-event list atop the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide, which also lists seasonal fun from front-yard shows to bar parties – if you have something to add, please email the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(WSB photo from 2019 West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival)
Next weekend will be part of a four-day Halloween celebration, Friday through Monday, and the biggest event of all will be on Sunday (October 30th) in The Junction – the return of the full-fledged Harvest Fest. In the first pandemic year, 2020, the West Seattle Junction Association assembled and sold Harvest Fest boxes so families could enjoy seasonal fun at home; last year, The Junction hosted in-person trick-or-treating. This year, all the festival fun is back – costume parade, trick-or-treating, activities, chili cookoff, pie-eating contest – and new fun has been added, including a cornhole tournament, mainstage music, and square dancing. The West Seattle Farmers’ Market will still be happening at its regular time in its regular location – California SW between Oregon and Alaska – and the street closures will expand to California between Alaska and Edmunds and Alaska between 42nd and 44th. The festival hours will be 11 am-5 pm Sunday (the Farmers’ Market is 10 am-2 pm as usual). If you’re interested in the cornhole tournament – prizes! – team registration is still open last we heard; use this form. For everything else, just show up (all the spots in the pie-eating contest are taken, by the way). Even more Harvest Fest details are in our most-recent preview. (And you can plan your whole Hallo-weekend with our West Seattle Halloween Guide!)
Thanks to Jerry Simmons for tonight’s Halloween-decorations photos – he says these sightings are from the Fairmount neighborhood:
Also of note tonight, the people who created the West Seattle Yuletide music-synched light show in years past have announced that they are doing a Halloween show this year! It will be nightly from next Thursday (October 27th) through Halloween, 6-9:30 pm, on 38th SW between Genesee and Dakota – more info in our calendar listing. This is in the event list of our West Seattle Halloween Guide, too. We have several more to add tonight – not too late to send additions if you have a Halloween/Dia de Muertos event – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Ten nights until Halloween, and we’re back to showcasing West Seattle decorations. The photo above is perhaps the least scary scene in David‘s Delridge yard, judging by the video he sent with this announcement:
Halloween frights return for 2022 at 5206 23rd Ave SW.
We are one block east of Delridge Way and SW Brandon St. Just past the new home construction.
The 29th, 30th, and 31st will have lights, sounds and ghosts. Full-size treats on Halloween.
This is one of the displays featured in our West Seattle Halloween Guide, and we’re continuing to add more – if you have decorations or an event to tell us about, send info (and photos if available) to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Everyone’s in the spirit (thanks to Desiree for the recent photo of decorations seen on Seattle Fire’s Junction-based Ladder 11). With 11 days to go until Halloween, we’re approaching the first of two Hallo-weekends, so our seasonal guide – all the events, from trick-or-treating to nightlife – is launched, featuring decoration spotlights too. We’ll continue to add to it as we get announcements (and decoration photos), so keep checking back. It’s at westseattleblog.com/halloween. Have something to add? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Two weeks until Halloween! Our decoration spotlights continue with the “spooky swamp” set up by Meagan and Matt. She explains:
My husband and I are excited to roll out our spooky swamp this Halloween at the intersection of 19th Ave SW and SW Austin St. Watch your step in the fog, we spotted a few gators and snakes in the area!
We are also participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project, an awareness campaign for kids with food allergies. We will have non-food treats available in a separate bowl from candy so the kiddos with allergies get to enjoy themselves as much as anyone else!
There is more information available as well as a map of participating households (here). I hope more people will join and parents/guardians of kids with allergies find this helpful in their trick-or-treat planning.
Anybody else participating in the Teal Pumpkin Project is welcome to send their location for our forthcoming Halloween Guide. We’re still loving the decoration pics, too – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle for the photo! In their booth on the west side of the Farmers’ Market, Key Club members from Chief Sealth International High School are again selling painted pumpkins as a fundraiser. The market is on until 2 pm; if you miss them this week, they will be back next week.
Businesses in The Admiral District have changed the previously announced date of this year’s trick-or-treating. Dan Jacobs of the Admiral Neighborhood Association sent word today that the new date is the Friday before Halloween, October 28th, still 3-6 pm. He says the decision was made to “provide the most business participation possible.” The event is centered at the Admiral Junction – California/Admiral – but other businesses often participate too.
The photos are from Yma:
Come out to Gatewood: 4116 SW Portland Street, off California- South of Morgan Junction.
Mid block we’ve got dragons & black cats & Mariners’ fans! Our neighbors have ghosts & pumpkins!
Decoration photos/suggestions welcome at westseattleblog@gmail.com. The ones we showcase will also be linked in the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide, due out by weekend’s end.
That’s the trailer for one of West Seattle’s spookiest Halloween shows, “Nightfall Orphanage.” It’s back this year, but at a new location, and its run soft-opens tonight. Here’s the announcement:
THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF WONDER
The Halloween season is at hand, and the veil between this world and the Radiant Twilight grows thin as the ethereal echos of Nightfall Orphanage materialize in its NEW WEST SEATTLE LOCATION.
Admission is free and Nightfall Orphanage will be accepting non-perishable food donations for West Seattle Food Bank and monetary contributions for Washington’s National Park Fund. As Nightfall Orphanage is a neighborhood home haunt for charity; we ask that you please be respectful of the community.
Please check the website before attending for information and to explore the lore of Nightfall Orphanage. Dates, times, and realities are subject to change.
All are welcome who would welcome others.
Please give generously to our charities.Nightfall Orphanage may be too intense for some younger guests. Parental discretion is advised.
New Location:
4544 51st Place SWTHERE IS NO HAUNT PARKING ON 51st PLACE. Please park on a nearby side street.
October 14,15 (Soft Open*)
October 21,22,28,29,30
7 pm-10 pmOctober 31st HALLOWEEN
7 pm-10:30 pm*The table is set and dinner is served but some things might still be in the oven.
This will be in our calendar and the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide (which will launch this weekend).
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