West Seattle, Washington
11 Monday
(By Christopher Boffoli)
Merry Christmas! We as usual start the holiday by presenting info you might find helpful:
TRANSIT CHANGES/TRAFFIC INFO: Metro is on a Sunday schedule … No Water Taxi service … Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is on a regular weekday schedule … Sound Transit holiday-schedule info is here … Check traffic cams here, travel times here.
RESTAURANTS THAT TOLD US THEY’LL BE OPEN TODAY/TONIGHT: Go here for the list (caveat: sometimes venues change their plan after our call, so if you find a discrepancy, please let us know – 206-293-6302 text or voice – thank you!).
GROCERY STORES OPEN TODAY: The three local Safeways are open 8 am-5 pm. Other West Seattle supermarkets are closed.
WHERE TO GET COFFEE TODAY: At least five West Seattle coffee shops are open, also noted in ourWest Seattle Holiday Guide. (You might find others – if you do, please let us know.)
CHRISTMAS DAY CHURCH SERVICES: Three churches that shared their holiday schedules have Christmas Day services; that list is also in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.
FREE CHRISTMAS DINNER: The Christmas People invite anyone who needs somewhere to go for a free Christmas dinner to join them noon-4 pm today at Alki Masonic Center. Buffet and live music. And/or if you can donate homemade cookies – drop them off starting at 9 am. (4736 40th SW)
TRASH/RECYCLING PICKUP/ETC. CHANGES: No pickup today or New Year’s Day, so Tuesday collections (and the rest of the week) slide a day this week and next.
GOING TO THE MOVIES: Admiral Theater (2343 California SW) is open today, starting at midafternoon.
WHERE TO SEE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS TONIGHT: See the Holiday Guide.
Breaking-news tips? Lost/found pets? Traffic alerts? WSB continues to operate 24/7/365 – so the best way to reach us is 206-293-6302, text or voice. Have a wonderful day!
For tonight’s Christmas-lights spotlight, we visited West Seattle Lights, the music-synched display that’s in its 10th year at 3908 SW Charlestown. Since Jim Winder created West Seattle Lights in 2009, it’s inspire thousands of dollars (and thousands of pounds of food) in donations, plus it has a spinoff in Maple Valley. Since it’s Christmas Eve, the show’s running until midnight tonight (tomorrow too) – here’s the schedule. (To see other lights we’ve spotlighted, scroll through this WSB archive category.)
Three Christmas Eve views:
Barb spotted that at Alki this morning; below, a scene we happened onto in The Junction this afternoon:
Musicians from Vashon busking at Junction Plaza Park. pic.twitter.com/XsjH961hi3
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 24, 2018
And if you missed it … it was a glorious sunset. Several sent photos, including Marc:
He watched the sunset from the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook area on Beach Drive. Thanks as always for sharing photos – westseattleblog@gmail.com or, if texting is easier, 206-293-6302!
Maybe you’ve seen this house, driving SW Morgan from Morgan Junction to High Point? It’s on the southeast corner of 37th/Morgan. As usual, the photo captures just part of the spirit … the star is animated, and both street-facing sides of this corner house are brightly lit. Scroll through this WSB archive category to see what we have featured – and check the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide for ongoing light shows like West Seattle Lights – running until midnight on Christmas Eve!
Our annual list of restaurants that told us they’ll be open Christmas Eve and/or Day and/or New Year’s Eve and/or Day (at least one of the four) is here. It’s also linked in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, which is where to go for the info we have on wrapping, shopping, churchgoing, groceries, coffee, lights … and we continue updating it until pretty much the last minute, so if you have something to add (including Christmas Eve retail hours for shoppers), please e-mail us ASAP, westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Quick note that the Seattle Public Library system will be closed Christmas Eve as well as Christmas Day, so if you have something you need to do at a library, get it done today – all branches in our area are open regular Sunday hours today, 1-5 pm.
This year, we are particularly susceptible to charming outdoor trees and stars in light displays … and this house in Gatewood has both. It’s one of several nice displays you’ll see on SW Portland; this one is on the south side of the street, west of 41st SW. Still a few nights until Christmas, so we appreciate suggestions – westseattleblog@gmail.com – and you can see what we’ve featured so far by scrolling through this WSB archive category.
Photos can’t adequately capture the brightness of Wyatt‘s display on the northwest corner of 40th and Charlestown – two sides, with the Seahawks tribute (and some moving lights) on the south-facing side, and traditional Christmas symbols (including trees and Santas) out front:
Wyatt is just a few doors west of West Seattle Lights (the music-synched show at 3908 SW Charlestown), and some neighbors on 40th are well-lit too, so if you’re out to see a lot of lights without going to multiple streets, this is a good spot. Thanks to Wyatt for emailing us! See the lights we’ve already featured by scrolling through this WSB archive.
Again this year, Metro is offering free rides on New Year’s Eve. Here’s the announcement:
For the second year, King County Metro will offer free rides on New Year’s Eve. Rides will be free from 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, to 4 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1, including DART and Access service. In addition, Metro will add buses to its night routes. The Seattle Streetcar also will be free on New Year’s Eve, and Sound Transit will extend the operating hours of Link light rail service between Angle Lake and the University of Washington.
“As we ring in another new year together, we are glad to again offer free rides on Metro to help keep the celebration safe for everyone,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “We appreciate all our customers, and hope folks who give transit a try during the holiday season will join the half-million daily Metro riders who depend on our safe, friendly, and reliable service all year ’round.”
“Access to safe and reliable transportation is a cornerstone of Metro’s mission and New Years Eve is no exception. We hope existing and future riders will utilize Metro to help them celebrate the New Year this year,” said King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, who proposed the idea in 2017.
King County Metro will operate reduced weekday schedules on New Year’s Eve on some routes, with extra buses on several routes serving destinations such as Seattle Center, Capitol Hill and downtown. New Year’s revelers can take advantage of Metro’s recently expanded Night Owl network, with added service on major routes between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Sound Transit will operate extended Link light rail service with trains running until 2 a.m. pm New Year’s Eve. The last trains to leave Westlake Station depart at 2 a.m.
The Seattle Streetcar will operate until 1 a.m.
Metro routes with added trips as needed will include 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 24, 32, 36, 40, 41, 62, 65, 70, 101, 106, 120, 124, 150, 255, RapidRide A, B, C, D and E lines, and ST 550 and ST 554. The fareboxes and ORCA card readers on Metro buses will be covered to remind customers not to pay. A regular valid fare will be required on Sound Transit Express buses.
This announcement as published on the county website also includes holiday service-change info for Christmas/New Year’s.
(January 1, 2018, photo by Robert Spears)
For everyone who’s been asking/wondering about this – Mark Ufkes has just sent the announcement: The West Seattle New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim is on again, January 1, 2019, at Alki Beach:
There is no better way to wash away the complexities of 2018 and usher in the unlimited possibilities that 2019 holds for each of us than to run into Puget Sound, while holding hands with our family and friends and screaming like crazy.
We go into the water at 10 am sharp! Don’t be late.
We gather at 9:45 am on January 1 in front of Duke’s on Alki. We spread out east and west along beautiful Alki Beach in a long line. There will be 10-minute, 5-minute and 1-minute warnings, and at 10 seconds, together, we all begin counting down; 10-9-8-7 . . .
We then yell “Happy New Year,” hold hands with those next to us, and run into the water. It is all over in less than a minute.
Last year, well over 500 participated and a huge crowd cheered us on.
Again this year, all are encouraged to wear something pink into the water. You can wear pink for whatever reason you want; be it to honor your spectacular mom, to honor a dear friend who is fighting cancer, or to celebrate that finally, in 2019, girls will be able to become Eagle Scouts too (Yeah!). For me, I will be wearing pink for all these reasons and because for the first time in U.S. history, a state house legislative body, in Nevada no less, will have a women-majority legislature.
Whatever your personal reason, if you wear something pink into the water you will earn a gift. The first 200 people who wear something pink into the water will receive a free airport-confiscated wine bottle opener corkscrew that I won at a TSA auction. And hey kids, if you wear something pink, your parents must take charge of your free corkscrew and offer you something in trade. After the swim, there will be a table at the beach full of every kind of corkscrew you can imagine. Every swimmer wearing something pink can chose one as a gift.
What you should bring: Good water shoes, a large towel, a change of dry clothes, and your hopes and dreams for 2019.
What you should leave behind: Your fears, your inhibitions, and your self-doubt.
(See our 2018 video/photos here.) Adding to the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide‘s New Year’s Day section along with the New Year’s Eve/Day walk info that’s also just come in – if you have something open to the community that’s happening in West Seattle/White Center/South Park between now and New Year’s Day, there’s still time to send it – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Just a reminder with days to go until Christmas that the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide has helpful holiday info, including the newly added link to our list of which restaurants told us they’ll be open Christmas Eve and/or Day and/or New Year’s Eve and/or Day. Plus we have grocery-store hours for Christmas Eve/Day and 11 churches’ holiday-service plans. We’re continuing to update, so if you have info to add (or change), westseattleblog@gmail.com – thanks!
‘Tis the season to sing. These West Seattle women raised more than $1,000 tonight by doing it – in hopes of saving lives. They perform together as a band called La Fawnduh and, explains member Kelly Malloy, “TWO of our dear friends (one a band member) have had young children diagnosed with brain cancer in the last 3 years.” So they decided to raise money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund. They booked some stops in advance; we caught up with them at a home in Arbor Heights, and recorded a holiday medley:
Kelly says they hoped their caroling could be not only a fundraiser but also “could help raise awareness to a cause worth knowing more about.” (Take a minute and look at these eight fast facts – then scroll down that same page to meet kids including Avery and Roarke, the two Kelly mentioned. Consider donating here.) By night’s end, she told us, they “hit 9 spots, ended at Phoenecia, also went to the fire house, and stopped at a UPS truck.”
We haven’t shown this yard in a couple years, but it was suggested for a spotlight as we continue showing West Seattle Christmas lights: This tree is in what you might know as the “Skeleton Theatre” yard, site of an amazing animatronic show every Halloween, on the southwest corner of 36th and Hanford. It’s decked with illuminated holiday characters. Thanks for the suggestions; more lights tomorrow, and you can browse the ones we’ve featured before by going here!
Members of the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps were guests of honor at a surprise Christmas party at Arrowhead Gardens on Wednesday. They visited the senior-living complex without knowing gifts awaited them. Diane Radischat explained what it was all about:
A special gift awaited Carmen Martinez, who leads the youth:
Diane explains that the residents’ sock drive is “something that anyone could afford to help with and something that was truly needed.”
We have featured this display at 36th/Roxbury a few times in the past, but the photo and note from Megan were a reminder that it’s the season to see everything through fresh eyes – she and her family are new arrivals and this caught their attention while they were out looking at lights the other night. So thanks for the suggestions (with or without photos) – westseattleblog@gmail.com – one week until Christmas Eve! (See what we’ve shown previously by scrolling through this WSB archive section.)
If you’re doing some holiday baking this week – a little extra can go a long way. The Christmas People are gearing up for their free community Christmas dinner in West Seattle, and for delivering hundreds more meals to people in need.
To make those meals merrier, they are looking for 3,400 homemade cookies! If you can bake some and drop them off, they’ll be at the Alki Masonic Center in The Junction (4736 40th SW) every day from Saturday (December 22) through Christmas Day, 9 am-3:30 pm. Questions? Fred Hutchinson at 206-719-4979, pialley@jps.net.
P.S. They’re also inviting kids to a party there on Saturday, 1-3 pm, to decorate cookies and aprons and make holiday crafts.
Our video shows the start of tonight’s Christmas Light Run, as participants headed north from West Seattle Runner (2743 California SW; WSB sponsor) in The Admiral District. It’s a holiday-season tradition – this was the 9th annual CL Run! – with the route scouted out every year by proprietors Lori McConnell and Tim McConnell:
Here’s the route they traveled tonight. The outbound end is usually West Seattle Lights (the synched-to-music display at 3908 SW Charlestown), and the McConnells encourage donation to WSL’s chosen charities, including the West Seattle Food Bank.
P.S. Another big event at West Seattle Runner this week – 6:30 pm Wednesday (December 19th), you’re invited to the next info night for the early 2019 edition of Get Fit, West Seattle, a free couch-to-half-marathon program – details are in our calendar listing.
Continuing to spotlight local lights of note: We noticed this house, on the west side of 44th SW between Lander and Stevens, when visiting the nearby Lafayette Elementary display last night. The green-lit greenery is especially eye-catching. Several other houses on the block, including one right next door, are worth a look too.
Got lights to suggest? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thanks! See what we’ve shown already by scrolling through this WSB archive section.
From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide: Looking for something to do now that the football game is over? Go visit Cocoa Cris Cringle at Easy Street Records (California/Alaska), visiting this evening for his annual photo sessions raising money for the West Seattle Food Bank.
($20 suggested donation.) He’ll be there until 8 tonight.
Despite some damage from Friday night’s windstorm, Lafayette Elementary‘s first-ever Winter Festival of Lights was a success. We stopped by last night and parent volunteer Sarah Whitehead, who came up with the idea, gave us a tour.
The rainbow walkway, built by SODO Makerspace, was a highlight – we recorded some video of the moving lights:
Sarah said her family was outside the area checking out displays like the Bellevue Botanical Garden d’Lites when she thought it would be great for West Seattleites to have more to see closer to home. So over the past year, they planned, got donations from community businesses, sponsorships, and the show was a go! “Definitely a community effort,” she told us. The displays Friday and Saturday nights included some inflatable characters, too – we stopped to admire this one:
The wind took out some planned outdoor features such as an “alley of light” leading north to Wiseman’s Appliance, but it was splendid just the same, with a few indoor features including lanterns made by Lafayette classes:
Watch for Year 2 next year!
(WSB photos)
12:02 PM: The crew from the West Seattle Helpline says it’s “exciting!” People have already filled that bin with new/gently used coats, hats, scarves, and socks multiple times, and you can help too if you get here by 2 pm. They’re on the west side of the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle tent at the south end of the market (California/Alaska) and treats await you there too – candy and cocoa.
Steps away, the Santa Bus is back, for free rides around The Junction, and photos:
(Look for the Quail Park Memory Care of West Seattle [WSB sponsor] tent.) Right across SW Alaska, on the southwest corner of Walk-All-Ways, you can support Pathfinder K-8 School outdoor education by buying one of their remaining handmade wreaths – reduced prices today!
Also until 2 – while supplies last. And this is all happening while the West Seattle Farmers’ Market fills California SW with its usual festivity north to SW Oregon.
4:44 PM: Final tally from the Helpline, shared via Hometown Holidays-presenting West Seattle Junction Association:
Together we were able to collect 371 coats, hats, gloves and scarves (and an additional 89 assorted clothing items) to help keep our neighbors warm this winter! Truly a community effort.
Just in from Holy Rosary School: Their Christmas tree lot has closed for the year and they are giving away about 20 leftover trees – find them in the median on the east side of the school (which is between 41st and 42nd and Genesee and Dakota).
Caspar Babypants is a musician for all seasons. This year his West Seattle shows included Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, SPF30 at Alki, and a holiday-season performance Saturday night at Easy Street Records. It wasn’t an all-holiday program, though – we recorded the timeless “My Flea Has Dogs“:
The not-so-silent night was sponsored by a neighbor from down the block, Verity Credit Union (WSB sponsor), as part of the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays. CB did at one point add a seasonal touch to his year-round uniform:
If little ones are on your gift list, you can check out the newest Caspar Babypants records – and new board books he co-authored with artist Kate Endle, who’s also his wife – by going here.
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