West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
(WSB photos)
Not only can you get a pic with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus at the Menashe Family Lights tonight – you can meet real reindeer too.
As featured in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, they’re visiting until about 9 pm at the 5605 Beach Drive SW house famous for thousands of Christmas lights. The two reindeer are from Rainier Reindeer Ranch, which is based in Buckley (near Mount Rainier), part of a herd of 40 reindeer.
By the way, if you’re thinking about going tonight, Beach Drive road conditions were good – the most challenging spot we drove – using arterials to get there – was California SW just south of Admiral Way, crunchy thanks to frozen snow.
It’s a tradition at West Seattle Thriftway (4201 SW Morgan; WSB sponsor) to feature Santa visits and live holiday music the week before Christmas. That all started today – Santa roamed the store 10 am to 1 pm, and Alex Baird is there playing holiday favorites until 3 pm.
Gary Benson also is performing at Thriftway – here’s the schedule for both musicians, as posted at the store:
And as noted in our Holiday Guide, Santa will be back 4 pm-7 pm Tuesday (December 20) and Thursday (December 22) and 10 am-1 pm Friday (December 23).
This is the first of eight nights of the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. It began with two community menorah lightings – both outdoors, as light snow fell:
The Alki synagogue Kol HaNeshamah returned to The Junction for its “pop-up” Hanukkah celebration, with Rabbi Sabine Meyer lighting the first-night candle. Music followed.
Kol HaNeshamah also offered treats in keeping with the celebration’s theme of “Love! Light! Donuts!” P.S. As Hanukkah begins, the synagogue’s donation drive continues, collecting warm clothing through Wednesday (December 21st) – you can drop off donations at 6115 SW Hinds.
Tonight’s other menorah lighting brought a gathering to Alki Beach, just north of the bathhouse:
Rabbi Eli Duban‘s plan was to light the first candle of a 12-foot Grand Menorah with a tiki-torch flame, but the weather was a bit fierce right about then, so one of its light bulbs was turned on instead:
The Grand Menorah is expected to stay at Alki through the final night of Hanukkah on December 25th.
One more holiday tradition is back for the first time since 2019 – Cocoa Cris Cringle is visiting Easy Street Records right now. Photo sessions until 7 pm ($20 fee as a food-bank fundraiser, kids and pets welcome too), and music at 7:30 pm (no cover) – two holiday songs from Cocoa Cris (aka Maurice Caldwell Jr.)’s own record!
(WSB photo)
On this misty night, West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) filled with people ready to head out on the annual Christmas Light Run, a tradition that dates back to even before Tim and Lori McConnell founded their shop. So off they went to run a few miles and see nearby holiday sights:
They jingled, they glowed, they ran, they rolled. Upon return to WSR, treats and warm beverages awaited.
P.S. Lots of gift possibilities in the clothing, shoes, and accessories sold by WSR; they’re open regular hours through Friday, then closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That means 11 am-4 pm Sunday, 10 am-6 pm Monday-Friday.
Did you try the Winter Wander this year? Local realtor and community advocate Alice Kuder organized it for the third year and says that thanks to participating businesses, volunteers, and players, it was a ton of fun:
The West Seattle Winter Wander Scavenger Hunt is a free, 10-day event designed to bring friends and families together for holiday fun! It also promotes and supports small West Seattle businesses, providing them with free publicity that will bring them to the attention of hundreds of potential customers.
Winter Wander by the numbers:
-In 2020, its first year, 12 teams signed up.
-In 2021, 24 teams registered.
=In 2022, 77 teams signed up, most of which pre-registered before the event even began. Registration wasn’t required unless players wanted to qualify for prizes, so many others may have just downloaded the clue sheet and map and played just for fun.
35 of the 77 teams submitted selfies. 16 teams solved all 25 clues. In addition to solving clues, teams earned points by donating to the West Seattle Food Bank and Toys For Tots. Each point earned an entry in the drawing for the Grand Prize Swag Bag filled with booty from local businesses. In the end, those donations were so generous that we gave away three swag bags instead of one! Those 3 were drawn at random from 2003 entries!
The three winning teams were: The Snow Leopards, led by Amy Converse; The Dog Pack, led by Chris De La Rosa; and Team Peckyno, Steve and Laura Peckyno.
Diana and Eric Huling, aka The Cotton-Headed Ninnymuggins, won the $100 First Place prize by submitting all 25 correct answers at 9:36 PM on Dec. 2nd, just 5 hours and 26 minutes after Winter Wander began!
Here is a sample of the creative team names: We Sleigh; Kraken the Clues; The Dingus Dashers; The Awesome Austins; The Yetis; and The Penguin League.
I hope and intend to make Winter Wander a West Seattle holiday tradition that our community can look forward to each year. It runs from the first Friday in December until the second Sunday in December, so the fourth annual Winter Wander will be Dec. 1-10, 2023.
Although I am the sole sponsor of Winter Wander, I depend on the generous assistance of a few volunteers to help me pull it off. This year, those volunteers included: Claire Sites, Randy Winn, Kathy Blackwell Harper, Shelley Barouh, Steve Bierman, Sarah Frances, Barb Joseph, and MJ Brick.
Swag bag donors:
Just in Case
Avalon Glass
My Necessitea
Meeples Games
Hotwire Coffeehouse
Seattle Sorbet
ArtsWest
Sound Painting Solutions
Lars Gesing Fine Art Images
The Missing Piece
Dunn Gardens
Better Builders
Log House Museum
In Spa
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Penguina Jewelry Designs
West Seattle Adventures blog
Prestige Home Loans
Guild Mortgage
Equity Title
Procura Home Lending
Home DepotBusinesses that participated as clue solutions:
Animated Cafe
Better Builders
ArtsWest
The Missing Piece
Lars Gesing Fine Art Images
Ounces
Skylark Cafe
Pawsitively Kleen
Applied Martial Arts
Three Little Birds
Thunder Road Guitars
GoodMed Clinic
West Seattle Food Bank
West Seattle Fish House
Verity Credit Union
West Seattle Autoworks
The Westy
GrillbirdAny business that would like to be a clue solution next year, should contact me at wswinterwander@gmail.com or 206-708-9800.
Lastly, in case anyone wonders why I do this, here are some of the comments I got in emails.
“So grateful for the event – was a ton of fun! Thanks for doing it,. Alice – It was a great community builder!”
“Thank you so much – it was honestly the funnest we’ve had in a while so thank you for setting this up.”
“Our family is having fun with the Winter Wander! Thanks so much for making this happen in our community 😊”
“The Three Blind mice found the Grinch!! This was fun, saw amazing lights while driving around.”
“This was a really fun adventure. Thanks for putting this together.”
“Thank you for providing (me) so much fun this weekend!”
Two holiday notes just in:
TREE DEALS: We mentioned in today’s preview list that it’s the last day for Holy Rosary School‘s tree lot. Just got an update – starting now, everything is half-priced, and they’re open today until they sell out. They have about 20 trees left in the 5′ to 12′ range, and 30 under 4′. Find the lot – whose proceeds benefit nonprofits – on the north side of the campus, 41st/Dakota. 3:38 PM UPDATE: Just got a call – they’re sold out. ADDED: Some little trees have been set out, free for the taking:
EMERALD WATER ANGLERS: West Seattle’s fishing/outdoor-apparel shop at 42nd/Oregon (a longtime WSB spondor) says it’s “Holiday Sweater Saturday” – which means “wear your fave/obnoxious/ugly sweater and receive 6 trout flies for every $100 spent.” EWA is open until 6 pm today.
(Photo courtesy Melody Sarkies)
The “giving tree” is a holiday tradition for many businesses – with “ornaments” representing holiday wishes, fulfilled by employees (and sometimes customers too). The tree above is at Nucor Steel, which delivered the resulting presents to Providence Mount St. Vincent at midday today:
(WSB photo)
This year’s giving tree in the Nucor lobby resulted in more than 200 gifts!
All season long, we’ve kept a running list of holiday donation drives in our WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide. This week we got word of one more hosted by a local business – PNTA, which is headquartered at 2424 SW Andover (the business park by Nucor), is collecting items for the nearby nonprofit Transitional Resources. Unlike many donation drives, this one continues into January, so there’s still time to help. Here’s the announcement we received:
You can help make the holidays brighter for those in need. PNTA is hosting a “Winter Essentials Drive” for Transitional Resources, running from December through January.
Transitional Resources supports adults living with serious mental illness by providing them with behavioral health treatment and supportive housing. The needs for their services are critical during the winter, and TR is in need of warm winter accessories and hygiene items to give to their clients to use during this time of year and beyond.
These items will go directly to those living in supportive housing in our community (*New items only):
Hygiene products: toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, bar soap, hand soap, shampoo, hand lotion, and other items.
Warm socks
Gloves
Other warm itemsFor questions about items needed, please email kristenj@transitionalresources.org
Location Drop Off:
PNTA, 2414 SW Andover=
Mon-Fri 9 am-6 pmIf PNTA is closed, here are other options to help support TR: transitionalresources.org/get-involved
Just added to our West Seattle Holiday Guide – the return of Cocoa Cris Cringle!
(WSB file photo)
Cocoa Cris Cringle has presided over some of the most fun Santa-photo sessions in past years, and this Sunday (December 18th) he’ll be back at Easy Street Records (4559 California SW), 4-7 pm. The $20 photo-session fee is a food-bank fundraiser. Everybody’s welcome – even pets. No appointment necessary – just show up. Bonus this year: Cocoa Cris has a record coming out and plans to perform two holiday songs at 7:30 pm, so come for the photos, stay (or come back) for the music!
(January 1, 2019 photo by Robert Spears)
With a clear view from across the bay, the Space Needle‘s New Year’s Eve fireworks show is practically local for us, so here’s what was just announced: For one, if you’d rather be there in person than watching from here (or on a screen), they’re again going to allow a crowd to gather for viewing from beneath the Needle at Seattle Center. Second, they’re adding a drone light show this year. It’ll be produced by Sky Elements of Fort Worth, Texas. Here’s how the Space Needle’s announcement describes the plan:
The captivating formations — designed to integrate with the fireworks and light displays being launched and projected off of the Space Needle — will fly between 200 and 600 feet above ground, directly north of the tower. The coordinated drone effects will be best seen from the Seattle Center campus grounds. This won’t be the firm’s first show in the Emerald City; Sky Elements’ drones performed at T-Mobile Park following a Seattle Mariners game on July 22, 2022.
Before the midnight fireworks and drone light show, the Needle will stage “two musically-choreographed light shows” at 10 pm and 11 pm, produced by Illuminate Production Services; the 11 minutes of fireworks are by Pyro Spectaculars by Souza.
Three holiday biznotes:
BOUTIQUE CRAWL: Thanks to Alisa for the tip. Tomorrow night (Thursday, December 15), seven West Seattle Junction shops open their doors for a “boutique crawl,” 5-8 pm – see them listed here.
CHRISTMAS LIGHT RUN: West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) coordinates many group runs every year, but none as festive as the Christmas Light Run, a casual fun run from the shop on a route where you’ll see lights. The run leaves the shop (2743 California SW) this Saturday (December 17th) at 6 pm. Treats afterward. Bring a nonperishable-food donation if you can!
SPECIAL HOURS: From Thunder Road Guitars and The Bass Shop (both at 6400 California SW, and both WSB sponsors):
Happy holidays from Thunder Road Guitars & The Bass Shop. We wanted to pop in and say thank you for your support this year! We are here for your holiday shopping needs: Strings, cables, straps, pedals, picks and maybe even a guitar or two. We have extended hours leading up to Christmas Eve and then will be closed the last week of the year for a much needed break. Our holiday hours are below, stop by and see us between now and Christmas Eve.
Through December 18th (normal hours Tues – Sat 10 am – 6 pm, Sun 11 am – 5 pm)
Monday, December 19th open 10 am – 6 pm
Tuesday, Dec 20th – Friday Dec 23rd open 10 am – 6 pm
Dec 24th Christmas Eve Open 10 am – 1 pm
Dec 25 – Jan 2nd – Closed
Jan 3rd – Normal hours resume
Got holiday – or other – West Seattle business news? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
With four days until Hanukkah, one week until Winter Solstice, 11 days until Christmas, and 18 days until New Year’s, we’re still adding to our all-season-long WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide (and updating it nightly to remove events that have passed so you’re not scrolling through outdated info). It’s where you’ll find events and info including holiday markets/bazaars, Santa photo ops, concerts, plays, other performances, tree lots, donation drives, and more. We’re also building lists of holiday services and “what’ll be open on the holiday,” so all of that information is appreciated. Best way to send something for the guide is westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Planning on getting a Christmas tree soon? Time is running out for two West Seattle tree lots. First, from the nonprofit-benefiting lot at Holy Rosary School:
The Holy Rosary School tree lot is in the final week of sales. A fresh load of trees arrived Monday night, with another due on Wednesday. If you haven’t found a tree yet, hurry and stop in before they are gone. The lot is scheduled to close for the season after Saturday, December 17th, barring inventory. Wreaths, garland and poinsettias (in partnership with Hope Lutheran) are also available for sale. Proceeds to benefit Holy Rosary School, Hope Lutheran (poinsettias only), West Seattle Food Bank, and Hickman House. Open weekdays at 4 pm and weekends at 9 am, closing 8 pm nightly.
The lot is on the north side of the school, off 42nd north of SW Genesee.
Second, just received from Trees By The Sea (2530 Alki SW): “Very few trees left; we anticipate being done by Thursday the 15th. Regular hours until then: noon to 7 pm. If you’ve been waiting, now is the time to visit. For all of you who’ve already been by we thank you for your amazing reviews, overwhelming joy and general support. We’ll see you all again in 2023!”
P.S. You can find the full list of West Seattle tree-sellers in our Holiday Guide.
(WSB photos)
Tomorrow (Wednesday) night brings your next chance to see the Fauntleroy UCC Festival of Trees – a dozen creatively decorated trees with unique takes on the season. Among them, a “Star Wars” tree (with a sign inviting you to guess whose quotes are on its branches):
For those whose space taste runs back even further in time, there’s also a “Star Trek” tree:
There’s a Peru-themed tree highlighting the church’s work with immigrants:
And the church’s pastor, Rev. Leah Atkinson Bilinski, exhibited a sense of humor with this tree:
That one has the title “Idol-a-Tree,” a pun paying homage to the ’80s music icon. Other themes include birds and Legos (the full list is here). The Fellowship Hall at the church (9140 California SW) will be open again tomorrow night (and the following Wednesday night) 7-8 pm for viewing. If you can, bring a nonperishable-food donation – people are voting for their favorite tree by placing cans and boxes around them.
As noted in our daily highlight list, you have extra reasons to go to The Junction during Farmers’ Market hours today:
The West Seattle Food Bank, West Seattle Junction Association, and Kiwanis Club of West Seattle are teaming up to accept coat (and other warm clothing) donations, with free cocoa, at the south end of the market (California/Alaska). A very young donor visited while we were there:
Also at the booth, you can buy Hometown Holidays mugs and $2/foot holiday garland, both benefiting WSJA (which is a nonprofit too):
Across the Walk-All-Ways intersection, just outside the market at KeyBank Plaza, you’ll find the Pathfinder K-8 PTSA selling handmade garlands and other “door decor”:
This is the second of three consecutive Sundays they’re in The Junction to sell the fundraising wreaths/decor, which benefit outdoor education for Pathfinder students. You can also order online!
All of the above is happening until 2 pm today.
Santa photos are not just for kids! Everybody’s welcome to a selfie with Santa Claus at the West Seattle Junction Association‘s Hometown Holidays “Santa House” photo ops until 1 pm today. Three different settings await you in the ground-level corner space at the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon) – BYO camera/phone. Here’s the full list of Santa photo ops remaining this season (as listed in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide). Meantime, another major Hometown Holidays event happens tomorrow (Sunday, December 11th) – look for the WSJA booth at the south end of the Farmers’ Market (California/Oregon) to donate coats, get hot chocolate, and/or buy commemorative mugs and holiday garlands.
Today’s the last day to bid on that Noble Fir we told you about back on Monday – a West Seattle family is offering it to the top bidder to raise money for the Medic One Foundation, in memory of a family member and friend both lost in crashes last year. Two updates from the original call for bids – the tree is removable at 7′ than 8′ so you don’t have to have a mega-high ceiling, and they have the equipment to remove it, so it’s not a “bring your own saw” situation. Email your proposed bid amount to KimberlyMickelson@icloud.com by midnight tonight; they’ll notify the top bidder Sunday morning, with the tree available the same day. (Full details are here!)
That’s the chair awaiting Santa Claus at My Three Little Birds in The Junction, one of five places in West Seattle that you can catch up with the Jolly Ol’ Soul himself in the days and nights ahead. From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, here’s the list we have so far:
SANTA HOUSE IN THE JUNCTION, DECEMBER 10: DIY photos with Santa on Saturday, 10 am-1 pm in the pop-up space on lower level of Senior Center of West Seattle
(added) Above is a photo of one of the three selfie settings from which you’ll be able to choose! (California/Oregon)
OUNCES, DECEMBER 10: Santa at Ounces, 3-6 pm on Saturday. Free DIY photos – people and/or pets. (3809 Delridge Way SW)
MENASHE FAMILY LIGHTS, DECEMBER 10 AND 20: Santa and Mrs. Claus will be at the famous light display for photos, 5-9 pm Saturday. Bring a donation of nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank. They’l be back 5-9 pm Tuesday, December 20th, with real reindeer. (5605 Beach Drive SW)
MY THREE LITTLE BIRDS, DECEMBER 11: 10 am-noon, Santa will be at this Junction shop. “No charge. Families can take their own photos. Please bring diapers for WestSide Baby if you wish to donate. We are also doing a diaper drive that day.” My Three Little Birds proprietor Jennifer Young adds, “Size 4, 5 and 6 diapers, and all Pull Ups sizes are needed most.” (4736 California SW)
HOLIDAY PHOTO POP-UP, VARIOUS DATES: Join Gail Ann Photography on six dates in December – two with Santa! – for holiday photos at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW), including two with Santa Claus. Fee, part of which is a nonprofit donation. Full details and all dates/times are in our calendar listing.
Any others we haven’t heard about yet? Please email info so we can add to the list – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
6:39 PM: Santa is on the move in The Junction, part of the holiday enhancements for this month’s West Seattle Art Walk. He and The Silver Belles are circulating in The Junction until 8 pm, and that’s just part of what’s happening around the peninsula tonight, as previewed here (follow that link for the list/map and more) – updates to come!
6:59 PM: In north Morgan Junction, Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor) is hosting painter Kevin Ducoing:
As noted in our preview, his recent work focuses on neighborhood trees.
7:30 PM: Another highlighted stop tonight, Canna West Culture Shop (5435 California SW), where you can meet prolific painter Desmond Hansen:
Back in The Junction, we also caught up with the spicy caroling of The Silver Belles:
In The Junction, next Hometown Holidays events are this weekend – Santa is at California/Oregon for DIY photos 10 am-1 pm Saturday, and you can get hot cocoa, donate a coat, and buy mugs and garlands at the Junction Association booth at the Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm.
(WSB photo, early cookie dropoffs last year)
Many ways you can help this holiday season – see the ongoing list in our West Seattle Holiday Guide – but only one like this: The Christmas People are again requesting home-baked cookies for the holiday meals they’ll be serving to people in need in King County. It’s their 24th year and they’re hoping for 7,000 cookies – home-baked, NOT purchased. Two dropoff spots, one in West Seattle, the other not far:
Drop cookies off at West Seattle Coworking, 9030 35th Avenue SW, [update] Thursday, December 22nd through Saturday, December 24th, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
Cookies may also be dropped off at our headquarters, Artisan Community Kitchen, 10836 E. Marginal Way South, Thursday, December 22 thru Sunday, December 25th, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Questions? Contact Fred Hutchinson, 206-719-4979, or Ruth Bishop, 509-961-7736.
Tomorrow, music accompanies the West Seattle Art Walk in multiple ways! It’s the holiday edition, so The Silver Belles (WSB file photo above) will be roaming The Junction with their sassy take on Christmas songs. That’s happening 6-8 pm, along with Santa on the move too (available for selfies!). And The Art of Music brings three live performances to the Art Walk this time, 6 pm-7:45 pm – Katrina Kope at Great American Diner and Bar (4752 California SW), Marco de Carvalho at Zeeks Pizza (6459 California SW), and Susan Burke at The Nook (2206 California SW) – read about all three here. For an Art Walk overview, here’s the list/map of fourth-quarter venues, including food/beverage establishments where you’ll find specials if you stop by during the WSAW window (5 pm “till late”):
As for the art, many venues welcome you in to meet the artists – here are four of them!
MEET DESMOND HANSEN: West Seattle’s prolific muralist will be at Canna West Culture Shop (5435 California SW) 5-8 pm.
WONDROUS WHALES: 5-8 pm at West Seattle Grounds (2141 California SW) in North Admiral, meet Brittany Noelle, founding/principal artist of PNW Orca Pod Squad Photography, showing her wildlife photos. (And if you’re moved to buy any of her work, she’s donating 5% this year to West Seattle-based educational nonprofit Killer Whale Tales!)
SEE TREES: 5-8 pm at Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor), the featured artist is Kevin Ducoing, who says: “Lately, my work has been focusing on the trees in our neighborhood, and how trees –even a single tree– transforms a neighborhood into something quite different.”
CHOCOLATE AT CAPERS: Starting at 5 pm, meet artists Magdalena Cooney and Ricardo Duque – and taste chocolate – at CAPERS (4511 California SW).
The full preview is on the Art Walk website.
We’re in the heart of West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays, with the next big event – Thursday’s Holiday Art Walk – just a few nights away. But first, we have followups from this past Saturday night’s festival (missed it? here’s our coverage).
LIGHT-COSTUME WINNERS: Maybe even more of a highlight than the tree lighting – the first-ever GLOWS (Glorious Lights Of West Seattle), featuring commissioned artists promenading in elaborate costumes and choosing festival attendees to take the stage for an audience vote. Tonight we know more about the winning group, all local students – Chris Mackay from the West Seattle Junction Association, who organized the festival, shared the photo and info she received from one winner’s mom on behalf of the group:
I am writing on behalf of the winter fairies who won the group costume contest on Saturday night. First, I’d like to say thank you so much [to the Junction Association] for hosting such an inspirational event! When the girls heard of this contest a few weeks ago, they became really excited and began a series of meetings to plan their costumes. These are all 6th-grade girls from Madison Middle School and costume design became their after-school focus. They did everything on their own, from self-organization to the construction of headbands, wings, and in some cases, sewing their own skirts and scarves. This was such an empowering experience for them! They probably logged 20-25 hours in total working on this project. Their goal was to make it on stage as one of the finalists but they truly hadn’t dreamed of actually winning. Needless to say, they are soooo thrilled!!
You can see them onstage during this video (which was featured in our Saturday night coverage). The girls are, from left in the photo above, Daphne Cox, Paige Bailey, Katara Andes, Manon Coffinieres, Azalea Geoghegan, Sophia Marroquin, Mikalya Holloway. WSJA plans to do it again next year, so start planning YOUR costume!
HOT-CHOCOLATE TALLY: The Hope Lutheran School Student Council served up a LOT of free hot chocolate:
The grand total – 1,000 cups!
MISSED ELVIS? We had some upload challenges with our video of Tony Colinares‘s stage-shaking performance in tribute to Elvis Presley, so it’s not in our Saturday night story, but we finally can share the video tonight:
MORE ABOUT THURSDAY NIGHT: Now looking ahead – during the Holiday Art Walk, the Silver Belles will be caroling all around The Junction, Santa will be roaming, and luminarias will add to the holiday lights – that all starts at 6 pm Thursday. Three Art of Music performances at 6 pm, too – see who’s where, here.
Check the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide for even more seasonal fun, now through New Year’s!
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