West Seattle, Washington
07 Thursday
(‘Bey’ the Bald Eagle, photographed in June by Jerry Simmons)
Welcome to Independence Day 2021. Here’s what’s happening, and not happening:
CHURCHES: Many are still streaming, in place of – or in addition to – in-person services. Here are the newest links for 20+ churches’ services.
HELP PUT UP AMERICAN FLAGS IN THE JUNCTION: As previewed here, volunteers are welcome to join in placing and removing 60 American flags along the streets in the heart of downtown West Seattle. Meet outside Cupcake Royale (California/Alaska), 8:30 am and/or 4 pm. All ages welcome.
POP-UP PARADE: As previewed here, you’re invited to join in a pop-up Fourth of July parade around the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. For this too, meet on the Cupcake Royale corner, 10 am. First 50 people get mini-flags to wave as you parade. Kids, dogs, costumes welcome. (This is the only WS parade this Fourth of July – the Kids’ Parade was canceled.)
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: Changes starting this week – no more market-wide mask mandate (though individual booths may have their own rules), no more taped-off perimeter restricting entrance and exit to the southeast end – you can now move around the market freely. You also can now eat and drink inside the market. 10 am-2 pm on California between Oregon and Alaska. Scroll down the page at this link to find the vendor list and map for this week.
TODAY’S AQUATIC SCHEDULE: Open today – Highland Park spraypark (11 am-8 pm, 1100 SW Cloverdale); Delridge (noon-5:30 pm, 4501 Delridge Way SW) and Lincoln Park (noon-7 pm, 8011 Fauntleroy Way SW) wading pools.
(added) LIVE MUSIC: 3-5 pm at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), Jim Page & Orville Johnson. No cover.
(Alki Statue of Liberty, photographed earlier this week by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
NO SEATTLE FIREWORKS SHOW: Seafair called it off months ago, before it was foreseeable that events would be resuming by now. If your heart is set on a big fireworks show, the nearest city having one is Bellevue (info here)
PARK CHANGES: Reminder that four local parks/playfields will have their lights on 8:30-11 pm to deter fireworks, and Alki Beach Park is set to be closed again tonight at 10 pm.
One more Independence Day event in The Junction – along with helping to place American flags along the heart of downtown West Seattle, you are also invited to be part of a “pop-up parade”! Here’s the invitation from the West Seattle Junction Association:
Meet us outside Cupcake Royale at the All Walk on Sunday, July 4th at 10 AM for a loop around the West Seattle Farmers’ Market (no more restrictions)! You’re encouraged to dress up, bring the kids, dogs, and your independent spirit! The Junction will provide hand-held flags to the first 50 people. You’ll see the expanded American Flags too, lining California Ave! Meet us Sunday and let’s celebrate SO MUCH!
While we’re talking about fireworks … even if you don’t use them, someone else might set them off near your house or apartment. On the Fourth of July last year, fireworks sparked a large fire at the foot of Gatewood Hill:
(WSB photo from 7/4/2020)
That was a photo we took from our car as we happened onto the scene shortly after the fire at California/Myrtle had started, even before SFD arrived. The memory is fresh for local firefighters, too. We asked the Seattle Fire Department about prevention advice – in addition to “Don’t use fireworks” – and here’s what SFD public educator William Mace offered:
Every year, the personal use of fireworks cause fires and injures people in the Seattle area. Last year, the Seattle Fire Department responded to 16 fireworks-related fires including two structure fires. One significant fire happened on July 4, 2020 in West Seattle where fireworks ignited dry brush in front of a four-story apartment building which then quickly extended to the top floor balcony.
(7/4/2020 photo by Rick Cook)
Fortunately, no one was injured, but several residents were displaced and the total estimated loss was $100,000.
The recent hot, dry weather significantly increases the risk for dry grass, bark, and brush fires. A firework can easily start a fire in these conditions.
Here are ways to reduce fires caused by fireworks near your home:
Remove branches, dry grass and anything that can burn from around your home.
Make sure tree branches are not touching your home.
Clear roof and gutters of evergreen needles and leaves.
Don’t leave cardboard or loose paper recyclables outside – make sure they are in a closed bin.
Keep a garden hose with nozzle hooked up and ready to use.
Also, make sure smoke alarms are working by pushing the test button.If you experience a fire, please call 9-1-1 immediately after you are in a safe location away from the fire.
Two years ago, in unincorporated King County, a fireworks user started a two-house fire that killed a man.
(Reader photo, 2020, fireworks debris at a local park – one that did NOT have lights on)
Every year, Seattle Parks announces it’s keeping lights on for a few hours on the night of July 3rd and 4th at certain locations to try to deter fireworks use. It’s just announced this year’s list. Lights will go on around 8:30 pm and off at 11 pm this Saturday and Sunday at locations including these in West Seattle:
Delridge Playfield, 4458 Delridge Way SW
Hiawatha Playfield, 2700 California Ave. SW
Walt Hundley Playfield, 6920 34th Avenue SW
West Seattle Stadium, 4432 35th Ave. SW
The Parks announcement notes that fireworks, among other things, destroy artificial turf, which would cost more than a million dollars to replace on a full-size field. Also noted: “The fields will be monitored by security from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.”
P.S. We’re checking with other jurisdictions with local parks/sports facilities to find out about their deterrence plans, if any.
(WSB file photo)
American flags will fly along the streets in the heart of the West Seattle Junction on the Fourth of July, this Sunday – and you can be part of the volunteer power! Here’s how:
It’s another flag event Sunday, July 4th – this time we’re flying the Stars and Stripes in the Junction – with an additional 20 flags (that’ll make 60) thanks to the generosity of the folks who funded a flag (new in 2021). The funders will have plaques affixed to their flags showing their support of the program.
Volunteers always welcome too! Folks can sign up through the volunteer form for updates. Or they can simply show up! We’ll always meet at Cupcake Royale at 8:30 AM and again at 4 PM to place and remove the flags.
The photo and report are from Chad Caron:
Troop 282 supported our local veterans at Arrowhead Gardens this morning. It was an honor helping Norman out with the flag ceremony again this year. And yes, that’s our own trom-bugler who performed the calls.
No formal ceremony again this Memorial Day at Forest Lawn Cemetery (WSB sponsor) in High Point, but the Unknown Soldier memorial that’w usually the centerpiece of the ceremony is under a canopy, easy to visit. Veterans’ graves across the cemetery are marked with American flags:
Piper John Dally had just arrived:
No formal Memorial Day ceremony at Forest Lawn again this year, but they hired a roaming piper. pic.twitter.com/yomd8oMZgn
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) May 31, 2021
(WSB photos)
About 20 volunteers of all ages showed up this morning in The Junction to place the American flags that fly along the street for Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day.
Veterans were among them – above is Keith Hughes, commander of West Seattle’s American Legion Post 160.
Volunteer help is also welcomed when it’s time to take the flags down this afternoon – the meetup is at 4 pm at the northeast corner of California/Alaska.
(“Bey” the Bald Eagle, photographed by Jerry Simmons)
Good morning. Notes for the holiday:
TRANSIT
Metro: Sunday schedule
Water Taxi: Reduced schedule today
Sound Transit: Sunday schedule
TRAFFIC CAMERAS
Our page highlighting local cameras is here
SDOT’s map with cameras and alerts from around the city is here
HAPPENING TODAY
Junction flag help – 9 am and/or 4 pm, meet up with volunteers at the northeast corner of California/Alaska to help put up and/or take down the American flags commemorating the holiday.
Vietnam War veterans’ lunch – The Vietnamese Cultural Center (2236 SW Orchard) invites Vietnam War veterans and their families to a free thank-you lunch.
The Clay Cauldron open house – Noon-8 pm, come see the new pottery studio at 5214 Delridge Way SW; find out about classes and studio-space bookings.
Outdoor-movie fundraiser – The Heron’s Nest outdoor community spacw (4818 Puget Way SW) hosts a movie (“Tank Girl”) to celebrate its 1-year anniversary and raise money – details here.
Anything else? Text us – 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(WSB file photo, American Legion Post 160 volunteers placing flags in The Junction)
Quick Memorial Day reminder – volunteers of all ages are welcome to help place American flags in The Junction tomorrow, and/or help remove them. If you can help, meet up on the northeast corner of California/Alaska at 9 am and/or 4 pm. Volunteers get a souvenir mini-flag.
(WSB file photo)
ORIGINAL THURSDAY REPORT: In the spirit of the flower basket and rainbow flag “adoptions” the West Seattle Junction Association has offered for the past few years, WJJA has just launched a campaign to “Fund an American Flag.” Here’s the announcement:
Show your patriotic pride by funding an American Flag. The Junction flag partners, the American Legion, have been the wind beneath the flags for years. On the major patriotic holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day, the Legion can be found honoring all people who live in America by placing the flags on California Ave. Over time though, the American flags have been damaged or lost. Down to 40 flags, you can do your part to support the Legion by funding one of the 20 flags that have been lost over time. The cost to fund one of the beautiful 3 ft x 5 ft flags is $95 (+PayPal fee of $2.85). Your donation to the program supports this ongoing volunteer-run project. Your flag will have a permanently affixed plaque attached to the pole showing your commitment to this patriotic program. As the older flags need replacement, the Junction will reopen the Fund a Flag program. In 2021 there are 20 flags available.
We encourage you to join us to put up and/or take the flags down too on each holiday! All volunteers receive their own 4″ x 6″ handheld flag. As a Flag Funder, the Junction will remind you of the date the flags are scheduled to be placed on California Ave.
Here’s the link to Fund an American Flag. 2021 will be our greatest need; in subsequent years we’ll replace 5-7 flags per year.
P.S. Whether or not you choose to fund a flag, you’re welcome to join the Memorial Day flag-placing volunteers on Monday – they’re meeting at 9 am and 4 pm on the northeast corner of California/Alaska.
FRIDAY UPDATE: All funded!
(Photo courtesy Vietnamese Cultural Center)
That’s the Fallen Soldiers Memorial at the Vietnamese Cultural Center (2236 SW Orchard) in West Seattle. It will be the site of a Memorial Day lunch, hosted by the VCC, inviting all Vietnam War veterans and their families for a reunion and gratitude. Center director Lee Ducly Bui, a South Vietnam Navy veteran, asked us to share the invitation for the lunch at noon Memorial Day (Monday, May 31st). No RSVP needed but if you hace questions, you can call him at 206-779 6875.
(WSB photo from Memorial Day 2018)
Making a comeback this year: Holiday flags in the West Seattle Junction. They’ll go up for Memmorial Day (Monday, May 31st), says Lora Radford of the West Seattle Junction Association, with the assistance of American Legion veterans, and volunteers of all ages are welcome to help. Meet outside Cupcake Royale (northeast corner of California/Alaska) at 9 am Memorial Day to help put them up, and/or same place at 4 pm that day to help take them down.
(WSB photo, 2019 West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade)
The announcement is from organizers Nicole and Meg:
Unfortunately, due to special-event permitting guidelines and COVID-19, we will be cancelling the West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade for 2021.
Although we are sad we will be unable to celebrate together this year, we are looking forward to hosting the best parade yet in 2022!
Thank you for all your support and helping keep our community safe and healthy!
If you’re new here – the 4th of July parade involves more than a thousand kids and family members walking and rolling along a route through North Admiral neighborhoods at mid-morning on the holiday, ending with field games at Hamilton Viewpoint Park. Here’s our coverage, with video and photos, from the last one pre-pandemic (2019).
We continue spotlighting school (and other) fundraisers – here’s one from the Lafayette Elementary PTA:
Treat the special someone in your life to a beautiful Mother’s Day flower bouquet from a local farmer. In addition to helping a local flower grower, a portion of your purchase will support Lafayette Elementary PTA. For every bouquet sold, $5 will be donated back to school. For this fundraiser, we have partnered with a local Title 1 school and will be sharing our fundraising from this event.
Pick up location: 4224 Beach Drive SW. NO-CONTACT PICKUP.
PLACE YOUR ORDER BY THURSDAY, MAY 6, 3:30 pm.
PICK UP SUNDAY, MAY 9, 8:30-9:30 am
The intrepid fundraisers of the Alki Elementary PTA have a Mother’s Day plan, open now for online shopping:
Mother’s Day is coming and it is time to honor those amazing women in our lives who are our ultimate nurturers.
A day of rest, mollycoddling and appreciation for the best.But what does one do for the one who does it all?
ALKI ELEMENTARY PTA PRE-SALE TO THE RESCUE!
We are here to help you make her day nothing short of magnificent (foot rub not included).
Shop our curated collection of local goods to save time, support local, and make mother feel superior.Our Mother’s Day Shop is open – get your orders in by May 2nd!
alkipta.square.siteEverything from Breakfast in Bed bagels from Eltana, Fresh Market Flowers from Lee Lor Gardens, Decadent Chocolate from Joe Chocolate Co., Seattle Candle Company Candles, Brush + Mallet Mother’s Day Cards, And Beautiful Hand-Crafted Remembrances!
Curbside pickup offered Saturday, May 8th (bonus points for being prepared!) from:
ALAIR GIFT SHOP, 3270 California SW, from 1-3 pm
So if you support a PTA fundraiser, where does the money go? We asked Alki PTA; here’s the reply:
When the pandemic hit, Alki PTA moved swiftly, creatively, and with great purpose to help our Alki community. We have fed those on the front lines, raised money to feed and care for our families at Alki, partnered with small local businesses prioritizing support of our greater local community, brought forward a legislative initiative to increase awareness and funding around mental health services within schools, provided Alki families with multiple opportunities for family engagement, connected parents to other parents for conversation and support, encouraged healthy habits and activity through virtual events and a season-long Alki-a-thon, and provided funding to Alki Elementary for much needed support staff including a half-time social worker, academic interventionist and additional nurse staff hours.
We are extremely proud of our efforts and the people behind them. We value and appreciative all who have supported our fundraising efforts during the most challenging year we have all known in our lifetimes.
You can find fundraisers we’ve spotlighted – school and otherwise – in this WSB archive. Got an announcement? westseattleblog@gmail.com is the best way to get it to us – thank you!
Mother’s Day is less than three weeks away. If you’re interested in buying flowers and candy, you can help a local school-support group – here’s the announcement:
H.U.G.S. for Mothers & Special Others
Seattle Lutheran High School – Parent Association Fundraiser
Hope. Unity. Gratitude. Saints.Seattle Lutheran High School Parent Association is partnering with Bakery Nouveau and Moua Floral Designs to offer chocolates and flowers for Mother’s Day weekend.
We cannot embrace everyone we love with a giant hug just yet, but that does not stop us from showing them how much we care. Funds raised go toward science-lab improvements, teacher grants, and student scholarships.
ORDER HERE by Thursday, April 29th
Contactless curbside pickup or local delivery to limited zip codes on Saturday, May 8th.
See school website HERE for more information.
Those are some of the Easter Bunny’s helpers in The Junction this afternoon, at the check-in table for today’s sold-out, socially distanced egg hunts. Volunteers scattered eggs around Junction businesses between sessions, trying to place them where little participants would spot them.
The West Seattle Junction Association hasn’t done egg hunts in the past – usually this pre-Easter weekend would bring the more traditional free-for-alls at venues including local community centers. But this year, WSJA has created seasonal offerings to try to make up for that while generating more income for independent local retailers, who contributed items for special spring tote bags, as they did for Hometown Holidays and Harvest Fest boxes.
This isn’t the only egg-hunting opportunity this weekend, though. A few local churches are offering them to kids in attendance for Easter Sunday services – including Eastridge Church (39th/Oregon; WSB sponsor), indoors during the 9:15 and 11 services, and St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (3050 California SW), 10 am. And WSJA says some “low-key” egg hunting might be happening during tomorrow’s Farmers Market
Thanks to the local churches who emailed information about their services for the rest of Holy Week – from Maundy/Holy Thursday tonight, through Easter Sunday. With that and what we found on other churches’ websites, we’ve built a list with 17 churches so far – many having in-person services as well as continuing to stream. Most of the in-person services require pre-registration. Not too late to add to the list, so if you have info we’re missing, please send it to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
You might call this a hybrid Holy Week leading up to Easter (Sunday, April 4th) – some churches are having in-person services, some are continuing entirely online, some are offering both. We’re building a list, as.we do every year, and have some listings already; consider this your invitation to send info about any Holy Week/Easter services in West Seattle, online or in-person – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
It’s not St. Patrick’s Day for us without a trip to 41st SW north of Admiral Way to check on whether the mysterious green stripe has been renewed for another year. And yes, it has.
We say “renewed” because last year, someone noted that it is visible year-round, and voiced skepticism that it had actually been repainted. So we went by yesterday too for a pre-St. Patrick’s Day frame of reference. Verdict: Definitely refreshed in the past ~20 hours!
That giant rainbow bunny is looking for a new home. It will be joining the family of whoever wins a raffle that’s part of the West Seattle Junction Easter Egg Hunt, now exactly one month away, in three sessions on Saturday, April 3rd. To be part of the egg hunt, you need to buy a special tote bag from the West Seattle Junction Association for $30 – 100 have been sold, with about 200 left. The bags come with a variety of goodies including five raffle tickets for the bunny (and other prizes TBA), with the drawing planned for the day after the egg hunt. You can order a tote bag by going here, with options for pickup at a Junction merchant or the WSJA office on April 1 or 2, or delivery on April 2, or egg-hunt-day pickup.
P.S. WSJA is also hunting for individuals or groups to volunteer for the event – you can sign up here.
Though this will be a second spring without the big traditional everybody-at-once Easter egg hunts, the West Seattle Junction Association have come up with a plan for one on Saturday, April 3rd, the day before Easter.
It’s in the spirit of the Harvest Fest and Hometown Holidays “boxes” sold last year to provide community fun and support merchants: The Junction will be selling a limited number of $30 tote bags that will include an Easter craft, Easter candy (including Bakery Nouveau brownies), Easter book, and surprises in the egg-stra special eggs, as well as participation in the egg hunt, and a raffle entry for a “fluffy bunny.” Egg hunters will be able to sign up for one of three windows – 11 am to 1 pm, 2 pm to 4 pm, or a 6 pm-8 pm “after dark” hunt with glow sticks. Watch for details soon via The Junction’s website.
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