West Seattle, Washington
22 Friday
What’s in the pickup shown above are the donations from last holiday season’s warm-clothing drive at Dave Newman State Farm Insurance Agency (WSB sponsor) – the biggest one ever. Can you help outdo that this year? The drive has just begun – here’s the announcement:
The 8th annual winter clothing drive has begun at Dave Newman State Farm Insurance Agency.
In conjunction with the West Seattle Food Bank/West Seattle Helpline, we are collecting donations of clothes, coats, and shoes until January 1st. Please drop off your donations at 3435 California Ave SW. The office is open for donations Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. For undergarments and socks, please donate only new and unopened packages of clothing items.
Pickup may be available for those who have donations but are unable to transport them.
For further information contact the State Farm office at 206-932-1878.
Thank you, West Seattle, for your generosity and spirit of giving.
(Art by Linda McClamrock)
Your next chance to do early holiday shopping by buying directly from local artists and crafters is only a few days away. The three-day Fauntleroy Fine Art and Holiday Gift Show starts Friday. Here’s what you need to know.
These 15 artists and artistic crafters will be showing, discussing, and selling their specialties at the annual Fauntleroy Fine Art & Holiday Gift Show when it returns to Fauntleroy Church (9140 California Ave. SW) this coming weekend (Nov. 5-7). Show hours in Fellowship Hall will be Friday 5-8 pm, Saturday 10 am-4 pm, and Sunday 11 am-2 pm. ADA access from off-street parking; masks required.
Leslee Avery-Beausoleil – hand-crafted soaps
Tom Costantini – fine watercolors, prints & cards
Apple Cox – whimsical media cards & prints
Gretchen Curtis – hand-knit wearable art
Rose Grandbois – glass ornaments, sun-catchers & garden art
Rance Holiman – everyday sightings in oil
Tim James – miniature landscapes in terraria
Espie Lazo – wrapped & hammered beaded jewelry
Johanna Lindsay – twisted, fused & hammered beaded jewelry
Kathryn Lorenzini – fine greeting cards, packaging & fabric art
Linda McClamrock – fine collage art
Dee Miller – welded & fused glass art for the garden
Linda Thorson – molded concrete designs for home & garden
Jen Vanderhoof – fine photographic images of water worlds
Linda Zhao – hand-crafted critters, polished stones & crystal balls
In addition to all the Halloween displays featured here (thanks again to everyone who’s sent tips and photos!), we’ve received more photos of sightings tonight:
That’s the nighttime view of what a texter called “Cadzilla” – a “haunted 1965 Cadillac DeVille.” Daylight view:
It was found haunting the 3000 block of 59th SW in Alki. Also in via text, the “Ghosts of Belvidere”:
The texter saw them on SW Hanford, near this spooky house:
How’s your Halloween going?
3:26 PM: The first of four local business-district trick-or-treating events is happening now! Wander around The Admiral District before 6 pm to show off costumes and get treats. Above, the scene inside Alki Bike & Board; below, candy and cider at Arthur’s. . More photos to come.
3:52 PM: Walking around to check on participation – the block of California north of Admiral, both sides; south of Admiral, to Safeway on the east side and to Fit4Mom on the west side. Also a few on the south side of Admiral east of California.
5:39 PM: Here’s some of who we saw – at Circa:
At Bebop Waffle Shop:
At Brookdale:
At Brent Amacher State Farm:
And other sightings in the first hour:
See our West Seattle Halloween Guide for other business-district trick-or-treating in the next two days – starting with Alki Beach, 10 am-noon Saturday!
The senior-living complex Brookdale Admiral Heights is planning a Festival of Trees this holiday season and looking for businesses to donate decorated trees. Here’s the announcement:
You can help us celebrate our first ever magical community event by donating a decorated holiday tree to the Brookdale Admiral Heights Festival of Trees. Your beautiful and creatively decorated tree will be displayed for over two weeks and viewed by many of the West Seattle community (and also showcased online).
Whether you’re advertising your business, promoting your organization, showcasing your children’s creations or decorating a tree for yourself or your family, you’ll be proud to be an important part of this exciting annual event. Deadline to donate a tree and be a part of the festival is November 6th. Please note we are capping our tree donations at 12 this year, so sign up ASAP! Also send your business logo.
If you have questions about donating a tree for 2021, please call 206-512-7730 or email a member of the 2021 Tree Team at tmeade@brookdale.com leaving your name, address, email, and telephone number. Your tree theme is up to you and a name for your tree is required.
Your decorated tree is a tax-deductible donation which will be auctioned off as part of the fundraising efforts of the West Seattle Rotary. The West Seattle Rotary is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit organization as defined by the US Internal Revenue Service code. The Festival will provide you with a donation verification letter should you desire it for tax purposes.
Now that we’re midway through Halloween week, time to review the local business-district trick-or-treating plans:
ADMIRAL DISTRICT: 3-6 pm Friday at participating businesses.
ALKI BEACH: 10 am-noon Saturday – check here for map updates.
WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION: 10 am-2 pm Sunday as part of Harvest Fest week – here’s the map to more than 20 “candy stations” you’ll see, in addition to merchants handing out treats:
The Harvest Fest and Trick or Treat page is updated here.
WHITE CENTER: Starting at 3 pm Sunday – see the latest list of participating businesses here.
(Westwood Village is not having a trick-or-treat event this year, according to merchants we’ve talked to.)
In addition to what’s above, we’ve heard from a few individual businesses/venues with additional plans:
BROCANTE BEACH HOUSE: Participating in the Alki Beach trick-or-treat and open special hours on Saturday beyond that, with special plans for shoppers too, 10 am-6 pm at 2622 Alki SW – details here.
LOG HOUSE MUSEUM: Trick or treat at the home of West Seattle’s history (61st/Stevens) on Saturday, noon-4 pm. Also spooky storytime and crafts, 1 and 3 pm.
YOUNGSTOWN COFFEE: The Morgan Junction coffee shop (6032 California SW) is offering candy and stickers all weekend, Saturday and Sunday.
PAPER BOAT BOOKSELLERS: The Morgan Junction shop (6040 California SW) will give out candy bags on Sunday (open 11 am-5 pm).
TAILS TO ASTONISH: It’s the first Halloween for the comic-book store just south of The Junction (4850 California SW) and they’ll be open noon-7 pm on Sunday with candy and comics for everyone in costume. Plus 10 percent off back issues, toys, and statues. And a costume contest at 6 pm – prize is $20 in store credit.
Lots of other Hallo-week fun (starting tonight) in our West Seattle Halloween Guide, and we’re still adding to it, so email us your event at westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
After an online-only 2020 show, Skeleton Theatre is back – in-person and online! Just got the word from Maia Low at Skeleton Theatre:
Skeleton Theatre will be live AND virtual this year! We put together a short show called “Get Silly” that will run on Halloween and November 1 between 6 and 9 pm. We opted for a short show to avoid large groups of people gathering for an extended time. We will also post a pre-recorded version of the show on skeletontheatre.com on Halloween. Here are the details:
Skeleton Theatre 2021 – “Get Silly”
Show length: 6 minutesLive Performance
Show times: 6 pm-9 pm, about every 10 minutes
Show dates: Sunday, October 31 and Monday, November 1Please wear a mask and observe social distancing while watching the show.
Virtual Performance
Available starting on October 31
skeletontheatre.comWe’re looking forward to celebrating Halloween with our neighbors again!
Skeleton Theatre is an outdoor animatronic show in a yard at 36th/Hanford.
P.S. We’ve just added this to the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide, which has other event listings, including trick-or-treat events, plus photos/locations of decorations suggested by neighbors all over the peninsula. Still more to add – email westseattleblog@gmail.com if you have decorations or an event for the page!
With Halloween now six days away, the West Seattle Junction’s weeklong Harvest Festival is on – starting with the Scavenger Hunt! Here’s an update from the Junction Association:
What flies above but haunts below? You’ll need to figure out this clue, plus 12 more to get the goods during the second annual Harvest Fest Scavenger Hunt. Beginning today (Monday, October 25th), pick up your scavenger hunt map from participating businesses. Or, if you purchase a tote bag, the scavenger hunt map will be included. Here’s part of it (the official version also has the clues):
Harvest Fest Totes for Kids – The Junction is bringing the joy of Harvest and Halloween in one special tote. Each box has a seasonally themed or musically themed craft, individually wrapped Halloween treats, and a special surprise from the Junction! $35 each ($45 value). UPDATE: There are seven remaining tote bags! Email the Junction at info@wsjunction.org for yours. Pick up at the Junction office (located above Shadowland) – we will email you an invoice to pay via credit card.
Harvest Fest Adult Totes – SOLD OUT
Go here for other Harvest Fest details, including online Haunted Trivia this Friday, and Junction Trick-or-Treating on Sunday, 10 am-2 pm outside businesses along the sidewalks, plus bonus treat stations (including the KeyBank Plaza, where we’ll have a booth too).
The photo’s from Mary, one of the latest contributors to the list of decorated houses in the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide. Going into what you might call Hallo-weekend #1, we’ve got places to do and things to see. We’ve added more events as well as decoration locations. This weekend’s events include:
SATURDAY
Monster Dash Family Fun Event/Kids’ Dash
Our Lady of Guadalupe Halloween Carnival
SUNDAY
Fauntleroy Fall Festival (RSVP required)
Trick-or-treating at Combat Arts Academy (RSVP required)
We’re still adding events and decoration locations as we hear about them – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(Thanks to Barbara for this photo from 38th/Lander)
Thanks to everyone who continues sending contributions for the WSB West Seattle Halloween Guide! We’ve added a half-dozen more displays, and the event list is growing too. Just 11 days until Halloween, but events start this weekend, including the Our Lady of Guadalupe carnival on Saturday and the drive-up/ride-up Fauntleroy Fall Festival on Sunday. Got something to add – decoration location (with or without a photo) or event? westseattleblog@gmail.com is where to send it – thank you!
We’re continuing to collect Halloween decorations/show info and will launch the annual WSB Halloween page tomorrow. First, news of a spooky show returning starting tonight:
The doorways of The Radiant Twilight have materialized, and the haunted echoes of Nightfall Orphanage return to West Seattle for the 2021 Halloween season.
Nightfall Orphanage is an Alki neighborhood Halloween garage haunt experience that is dedicated to aiding and promoting local and state charities that support the community and environment. Because scaring is caring!
For October 2021, Nightfall Orphanage Haunted House is accepting non-perishable food and monetary donations for West Seattle Food Bank, and raising funds for Washington’s National Park Fund. Admission is free.
Find out the haunted history & twisted lore of Nightfall (as well as dates, times and information) at NightfallOrphanage.com.
Open: (2130 Alki SW)
Saturday, October 16 (Soft Open)
October 22, 23, 29, 30 & 31st
7 pm – 10 pm
Rain or ShineCovid-19 Information:
– All guests who are of eligible age MUST BE VACCINATED against Covid-19 for the safety of the community, other guests and Nightfall Staff
– Please do not attend if you are experiencing flu- or cold-like symptoms
– All guests MUST WEAR MASKS inside and directly outside the event
– Maintain social distancing, even outside the event
– Hand sanitizer stations have been provided for convenience
– All hanging set dressings, effects and doors have been removed from pathwaysCheck the website as dates and times are subject to change.
Sponsored by Easy Street Records and Nightfall Imaginarium
Got (or seen) Halloween decorations and/or events? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
New this Halloween: Alki Beach businesses are launching a trick-or-treat event!
Outer Space Seattle proprietor Caitlin Huertas says it’s happening 10 am-noon the day before Halloween – Saturday, October 30th. Her business is one of at least six that will be participate – they’ve set up a website with the map of who’s in so far.
That’s just part of the setup at a home in Gatewood – they’re among the West Seattleites who have answered our call for Halloween decoration locations. With 2 1/2 weeks to go until the spookiest night of the year, we’re ready to build our annual Halloween page, so we wanted to make the request again: If you have, or know of, a memorable display, let us know about it at westseattleblog@gmail.com – photo appreciated but not required, and please mention whether it’s best viewed by day or night (or both!). P.S. At the house above (3714 SW Austin), you’ll actually find a show Friday and Saturday nights through Halloween (which is on Sunday this year), 7-9 pm (“if it’s not raining”).
It’s mid-October and – not to rush things, but … – the holidays aren’t that far away. Here’s a chance to do some advance planning while supporting a local school. From the WSB inbox:
We are excited to announce our annual Seattle Lutheran High School Parents Association Greenery Fundraiser!
The sale will run through Friday, October 29th, with pickup of paid orders scheduled for Saturday, November 20th.
Please visit form.jotform.com/212747568275164 to place your order today!
Some of the ways your purchase will help support SLHS are by funding teacher grants and Saints Leadership Award scholarships, helping to offset facility grants and continuing education opportunities for staff, as well as funding student-based activities/needs.
Speaking of candy … The Admiral District will have trick-or-treating after all! Just in:
The organizers of the Admiral District Halloween regretfully cancelled this year’s event earlier this month. The decision was made out of caution since no guidelines had been given from the CDC, and Covid trends were unclear. While some of the businesses in the Admiral District were in favor of hosting the event, others were not. With a lack of a consensus, the event was cancelled.
This week we received new information. On October 12th, Dr. Fauci made the announcement that Halloween events should be safe as long as they are held outdoors. Given this new information, we are proud to bring this fun family event back to our community for 2021!
We are very excited to announce that the Admiral District Halloween event will be held on Friday October 29th from 3pm to 6pm! Event posters will be distributed to Admiral District Merchants this week. Kids and their parents can look for the sign in the window of participating businesses and Trick or Treat!
Happy Halloween!
At least two other business-district trick-or-treat events are planned – the West Seattle Junction on October 31st, 10 am-2 pm, and downtown White Center, also on Halloween, starting at 3 pm.
Now less than three weeks until Halloween! Another chance for spooky fun – and/or treats – is offered in one of the latest school fundraisers to hit the WSB inbox. This one’s from the award-winning Alki Elementary PTA:
Alki Elementary PTA is back this year with some spooktacular Halloween items guaranteed to send shivers down your spine! Our Halloween Pre-sale is HERE! Get your spell books ready because YOU DON’T WANT TO SLEEP ON THIS PRE-SALE https://alkipta.square.site
–Vampire Boo Buckets – drinks for kids and adults with all the fixings!
–Witches Slime and Elephant Toothpaste Potion Kit – get your slime on and make elephant toothpaste for your cauldron or have ooze out of your carved pumpkin!
–Exclusive spooky goodies from Ampersand: Franken-ookies, Monster Rice Krispies, and Halloween Hot Cocoa Bombs
–Pumpkin Carving Kit – complete with everything you need to carve your pumpkins and ingredients for roasting those seeds!
–PUMPKINS!!!!
–10-pack bulbs from Roozengaarde – tulips and daffodils carefully handpacked from our friends at RoozengaardeOur pumpkin patch will be at Ampersand on Alki again this year for order pickup Friday, October 15th 4 – 6 p.m. Thank you for supporting our school community! Alki PTA’s mission is to support an engaged community that partners with our school to advocate for every child.
(WSB photo – seen in Gatewood)
With Halloween three weeks from tomorrow, we’ve heard from some readers wondering if we’ll be spotlighting decorations again this year. Answer: Yes! We’re already seeing some excellent examples, from cute to funny to spooky. So if you have – or are going to have – or see someone else with – a well-decorated house/yard/apartment window/business … let us know. Photos are great, but not required; with or without a pic, please describe whether it’s a lit display (so people know the optimal viewing time, before or after dark). westseattleblog@gmail.com or text our hotline, 206-293-6302 – thanks!
Though this year’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival is again scaled down from the full pre-pandemic in-the-street celebration, one activity will be back this year – business-district trick-or-treating.
While the West Seattle Farmers’ Market continues in its usual spot on Sunday, October 31st, 10 am-2 pm, participating businesses will offer trick-or-treating along the sidewalks during that same time period. The West Seattle Junction Association plans additional candy stations, too.
While the ore-pandemic tradition of Harvest Festival activities and games on a bonus block of open street will NOT be back this year, WSJA is again offering you a chance to support local businesses by ordering tote bags – kid and adult versions are available here until they sell out. WSJA thanks tote-bag buyers from previous pandemic-era festivals – so far those sales have “infused $95,000 back into the local Junction businesses in 2020-21,” the organization says.
P.S. Harvest Fest plans also include a Scavenger Hunt and Trivia Night – details on the official webpage.
Just in from The Admiral District’s businesses:
(Graphic sent last year, applicable again this year)
Admiral District businesses regret to announce that the annual trick-or-treating event will once again be cancelled for 2021. With the rise of the delta variant, the decision has been made to err on the side of caution. Our businesses are concerned that many children are unvaccinated and the activity of going door-to-door for treats would pose an unreasonable risk to the health of our community. Currently the vaccine is only available to children 12+. We look forward to hosting the event again in 2022.
(Duwamish River, photographed from the West Seattle Bridge last month)
Good morning! Holiday notes:
TRANSIT/TRAFFIC
–Metro is on a Sunday schedule
–West Seattle Water Taxi is also on a Sunday schedule
–Sound Transit buses and light rail are on Sunday schedules too
-If you’re going to an area of the city with pay-station street parking, note that there’s no charge today
-Check traffic cams here
HAPPENING TODAY
Duwamish Longhouse Art Market – 10 am-5 pm, 4705 W. Marginal Way SW.
Art Glass Seconds Sale – The annual sale at Avalon Glassworks (2914 SW Avalon Way) is back after 2 years, 10 am-2 pm.
Final day of the season for city aquatics – After today, city-run wading pools, sprayparks, and outdoor pools are all closed until next year. Our reminder from yesterday lists what’s open today, where, and when.
Benefit barbecue – Highland Park neighbors invite you to a four-grill cookoff raising money for the White Center fire recovery, starting at 5:30 pm on 10th SW between Barton and Henderson, as previewed here.
WEATHER
The sun is expected to prevail today, with a 70-ish high.
Again this year, we asked for photos of fireworks debris/trash encountered by readers this morning. What you see above is from Kay, who reported fireworks aftermath at Lincoln Park, “from the south parking lot to the pool.” And while we can’t say for sure whether fireworks are to blame, just before 5 am, this fire broke out in trees on the park’s west-facing slope:
Andrew saw it from a ferry; the SFD log shows two engines and a ladder truck were sent. The aftermath of another brush fire is part of Kim‘s report from High Point:
I just went up to Walt Hundley Park with a bucket and garbage picker. There is so much small fireworks debris in the park and street at 34th and Myrtle, I could not pick it all up. I concentrated on picking up the bigger stuff.
It appears there was a brush fire last night across from the park on the weedy slope next to Guadalupe. There is a burned area and the resulting messy mud in the road must be from the water used to extinguish the fire. (I reported this to the city’s Find It Fix It app, along with some big garbage dumped there that was too much for me to manage this morning.)
It’s too bad that the people who create the mess don’t clean up after themselves. But I encourage neighbors to get out and help clean up their neighborhoods today. If this street is any indication, it’s a mess out there.
The SFD log does show a brush-fire call at 1:22 am in that area. Also from High Point, Codrin sent this photo from Viewpoint Park:
Here’s a texted photo from EC Hughes Playground:
Heading north, from Leigh at 36th/Lander:
On my morning walk saw this. Helped a neighbor clean up.
Just one of several photos sent by Pat, at Don Armeni Boat Ramp:
And from Kristina, at Whale Tail Park:
At least they cleaned up the trash? Sounded like a war zone for hours last night.
Thanks again to those who sent photos and/or were out cleaning up this morning – we will add any other photos we receive – westseattleblog@gmail.com.
ADDED 2:28 PM: From Brooke, at Highland Park Spraypark:
It’s not so bad as others but the kids are playing barefoot in/around it. Also the Roxhill park and parking lot were covered with fireworks debris, so much that my kids decided not to play there this morning.
The sun has set. As in past years, we’ll keep a running narrative of what happens in the hours ahead.
ROXBURY/OLSON: just got a text that westbound is blocked. This might be related to a gunfire investigation in the area. No injuries but there was a report of someone firing from a car at/near 5th SW and SW Cambridge.
FIRE CALLS SO FAR: 10:50 pm, and we’re hearing the first one in West Seattle since a “brush fire” call before 8 pm in the Highland Park Way/2nd SW vicinity – 2600 block of 37th SW, a “bark fire” call.
11:05 PM. – ‘LARGE HEDGE ON FIRE’: That’s the call in the 8800 block of 22nd SW [map], with four SFD units headed that way. … On arrival, they confirm a “brush fire” and they’re evacuating the house. … Scratch that, firefighters say neighbors tell them the residents aren’t home.
11:30 PM – 5-WAY CRASH: Crash affecting traffic at the Chelan/Spokane/W. Marginal/Delridge five-way. Possible DUI, police told dispatch.
11:54 PM – BRUSH FIRE: Now it’s on to a reported brush fire near Bar-S Playfields, 64th/Admiral.
11:57 PM – CRASH: A “rollover” crash is reported in the 4800 block of California SW. … The road isn’t entirely blocked; they’re talking about letting southbound buses “squeeze through.”
12:37 AM – FIREWORKS-THROWING: On the police channel, a report of someone in a car throwing fireworks at homes in the vicinity of 12th SW/SW Webster.
12:55 AM: If you find fireworks debris/trash in a park or other public space Monday morning, consider sending us a photo – ee document this every year with the help of reader photos.
1:01 AN: Police are being dispatched to a fireworks call in the 4700 block of Delridge Way SW, where multiple callers have complained that the fireworks users are “damaging cars” among other things.
The pop-up parade in The Junction this morning was like a mini version of the West Seattle Fourth of July Kids’ Parade (which will be back next year!) – lots of kids in strollers and wagons:
Dogs too:
The Junction had 50 little flags to hand out to paraders – and by our count, that’s about how many participants showed up.
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