West Seattle, Washington
29 Wednesday
Just about every night of the season, the Menashe Family Lights (5605 Beach Drive SW) draw a crowd. Tonight, an extra reason to visit – it’s the one night of the year that you’ll find Santa there for photos.
Until 10 pm, bring nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank, and get your Santa photo with a bedazzling backdrop – one that impresses all ages:
With Christmas less than a week and a half away, your Santa photo ops are dwindling – he has to get back to the North Pole sometime, after all – but we can tell you he’ll be on the Santa Bus in The Junction 10 am-2 pm tomorrow, too.
(WSB photos)
West Seattle’s biggest party venue was a wonderland of Christmas fun for four hours today. Sea Mar Community Health Centers hosted hundreds of kids and their families at its King County holiday party in the Brockey Center at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) on Puget Ridge. Each child got three presents – and a chance to meet Santa and friends:
The party also offered craft activities, food, and entertainment:
Sea Mar is headquartered in South Park and runs almost 100 clinics in 13 counties. In eight of those counties, including King, it hosts holiday parties, sending excited kids home with toys funded by proceeds of benefit golf tournaments held in Seattle and Yakima each year.
Just a week and a half until Christmas, and if someone in your family hasn’t pleaded their case yet with Santa about being naughty and/or nice, your next chance is happening right now at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) at 41st/Alaska in The Junction. Santa’s there until 6 pm. All welcome; you don’t have to be a HSB customer. If you can, bring nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank!
The Silver Belles are caroling in @wsja tonight. NOT your boring ol' carols. pic.twitter.com/mfjVVY6HCg
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 14, 2018
6:35 PM: “Sweet Christmastime,” to the tune of “Sweet Caroline,” is what the Silver Belles were singing when we found them in The Junction, where they’re scheduled to roam until about 8 pm, in honor of both Shop Late Thursday and the holiday West Seattle Art Walk.
Some of the shopping and art-admiring you can do is in the breezeway on the west side of the 4700 block of California:
Artist Stacey Sterling is there – she worked with community members to create a mural during last July’s West Seattle Summer Fest, and a short ceremony just officially commemmorated its placement in the breezeway. (More on that in a separate story tomorrow.)
6:46 PM: Photographer Karen Mason Blair is at Easy Street Records until about 8 pm, signing her book “Loud Love”:
Her photography, including Northwest rock icons of the ’90s, is on display at Easy Street all month long.
6:57 PM: Live painting – here’s Patrick Woods at Wallflower Custom Framing (4735 42nd SW):
7:33 PM: Art Walk stretches beyond The Junction … you can stop for art and wine at Viscon Cellars (5910 California SW; WSB sponsor) – Megan Simmons is showing her work tonight:
7:58 PM: Back in The Junction, Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor) is open until 9 tonight.
We asked co-proprietor John Smersh what’s hot so far this holiday-gift season. Handmade jewelry! They have an expanded selection, with two more local artists in the house tonight. One thing you can also count on Click! for – local-themed items:
And hey – we found Santa:
He’ll be back in The Junction tomorrow afternoon, for photos at HomeStreet Bank (41st/Alaska; WSB sponsor), 3-6 pm.
8:32 PM: We also stopped at CAPERS, hosting the second annual Abstract Invitational, including works by these artists:
One more Shop Late Thursday before Christmas. Two weekends, too! Lots of local independent retailers, in The Junction and beyond.
Continuing our almost-nightly showcasing of holiday lights – the photo and video are from Mark Bader in Gatewood:
“SW Austin Lights” Christmas lights are up again this year. I have a number of songs, and the lights are synced to the music. Tune your radio to 99.5 to hear the music! 3711 SW Austin St.
The lights we’ve shown so far this year – and previously! – are archived, newest to oldest, here. Got a suggestion, with or without photo? Let us know – thank you!
Before the night ends, a quick look ahead to a peak week for the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays (with WSB among the community co-sponsors)
COAT DRIVE, WITH COCOA: Set aside new or gently used coats and/or hats and/or gloves between now and Sunday and bring them to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market for this giving opportunity:
Just look for the West Seattle Kiwanis tent at the south end of the market, California/Alaska, 10 am-2 pm. And while you’re there …
SANTA BUS ENCORE! Missed the Santa Bus hosted by Quail Park Memory Care of West Seattle (WSB sponsor) last Sunday? Or, had so much fun you want to do it again? Also 10 am-2 pm this Sunday, also at the south end of the market, another round of free rides!
And before then:
HOLIDAY ART WALK: 5 pm “until late” on Thursday (December 13th), this is a fun night to browse and buy art, and enjoy food and drink specials. The official West Seattle Art Walk website has the previews.
MURAL UNVEILING: At 6 pm Thursday, be at the breezeway (west side of California SW between Puerto Vallarta and Northwest Art and Frame) for the unveiling of the community-created Summer Fest mural!
(WSB photo, July 15th)
Artist Stacey Sterling will be there.
SHOP LATE THURSDAY: Also Thursday night – second-to-last Shop Late Thursday – here’s a preview of which businesses to visit! The Silver Belles will be caroling 6-8 pm, so keep an eye (and ear) out for them, too.
CASPAR BABYPANTS: Saturday night (December 15) at 6:30 pm, Verity Credit Union (WSB sponsor) presents the family-rock powerhouse at Easy Street Records (California/Alaska), free admission.
Check the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide for even more holiday happenings!
Many Christmas-light displays use fences. Few are as creative as this one. So tonight we feature the lights on this fence along SW Admiral Way in Alki, east of 63rd SW. (Got a suggestion for other lights to showcase? Send us the location! Photos welcome but not mandatory – if you don’t have one, we’ll take one. Scroll through our archives here to see what we’ve shown already.)
Our West Seattle Holiday Guide rolls on through New Year’s Day … and that includes New Year’s Eve.
December 31st is only three weeks away, so we’re sending out the call – if your venue/group is having a public NYE event in West Seattle/White Center/South Park, be sure we know about it so we can get it into the guide! Just send the info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – we have a few already, but are ready to add more. And of course we’re still adding Christmas-season events too, from shopping events to light shows to church services, and beyond.
Thanks to everyone who’s contributed to the guide as the one-stop local list of what’s up during the most festive of all seasons!
Out scouting Christmas lights, we noticed these decorations in North Admiral. Not the biggest and brightest, but, well, the “Star Wars”-iest, with R2D2 on the left and BB8 on the right, and another droid on the ornament in front of R2:
If these ARE the droids you’re looking for, you can see them on 44th SW, south of SW Atlantic.
Got a Christmas lights/decorations sighting? Let us know – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
5:16 PM: You have until 7:30 pm to get to the only holiday shopping-bazaar-and-then-some of its kind – the St. Nicholas Faire at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle (just north of The Junction). There’s a small admission charge because this is also a fundraiser for the West Seattle Food Bank and West Seattle Helpline. The star attraction: Almost 200 gift baskets created by volunteers, and donated gift cards – the baskets address all kinds of themes and interests, from gardening to sports to kid stuff …
Bake-sale items too. And your admission includes free treats (we hear they’re dishing up some Italian food). More photos to come. The church is at 4105 California SW and if you’re driving, there’s a parking lot in back.
ADDED: FLCWS pastor Rev. Ron Marshall emceed as usual, encouraging attendees to “bid high, bid often”:
The “Tree of Ornaments” was a new feature:
Congratulations to all the winning bidders!
After all those bus rides around The Junction, did Santa Claus get to go home to the North Pole? Nope. He is at cool-stuff-for-kids store My Three Little Birds (6959 California SW; WSB sponsor) this afternoon, for one more hour. Store staffer Brittany wore her Nutcracker outfit for the occasion! Free DIY photos or $5 professional, until 4:30 pm. Santa also will visit My Three Little Birds in Burien (421 SW 152nd) 11 am-2 pm next Saturday (December 15th).
(WSB photos)
Santa Claus is not always riding in a sleigh. Right now in the West Seattle Junction, you’ll find him aboard this bus:
The Santa Bus is part of Hometown Holidays in The Junction – with Quail Park Memory Care of West Seattle (WSB sponsor) presenting today’s free rides – look for their canopy at the south end of the Farmers’ Market to catch the bus, which has already had, we’re told, about 150 riders! This continues until 2 pm (and next Sunday too, if you can’t get to The Junction today). See what else is up for Hometown Holidays (with community co-sponsors including WSB) by going here.
The Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship returned to West Seattle twice today/tonight – starting just before sunset at Don Armeni Boat Ramp, as seen in David Hutchinson‘s photo above, following an afternoon stop in South Park. After a break and a visit to Bainbridge Island, the Spirit of Seattle made its last West Seattle appearance of 2018, serenading Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor):
(WSB video/photos from here on)
The choir Emerald City Voices delivered a set with flashes of humor – as you can hear in our clip, they opened with “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and before they headed back to the downtown dock, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas“ was among the other songs. We counted 7 boats accompanying the Christmas Ship tonight.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of the season, nightly (and some daytime sailings too) through Christmas Eve-Eve.
On this seventh night of Hanukkah, West Seattle synagogue Kol HaNeshamah took the celebration to the streetcorner in The Junction. That’s KHN’s Rabbi Zari Weiss, above; she and congregation members gathered at California/Alaska for a “Pop-Up Hanukkah” earlier tonight.
Tomorrow is the final night of the eight-night Festival of Lights.
Perfect weekend to shop local! The photo is from Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor), where Eda from Boejack Design has a pop-up under way until 3 pm. Click! tells us, “She handcrafts bags in leather, vegan leather, and Japanese fabric.” More info here.
(Got a shopping spotlight? Let us know for the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!)
7:57 PM: We’re at Lowman Beach, where the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship has just arrived for its first of four West Seattle stops over two nights. The seasonal serenading, courtesy of on-board singers, will be happening here for about 20 minutes, then on to Alki for an 8:40 pm stop (near the Bathhouse). More to come!
(At the Lowman treat tent)
8:17 PM: Great crowd at Lowman.
(Photo added, by Robin Sinner: Brightest of the 8 boats with the Christmas Ship)
After a singalong of “Joy to the World,” the Christmas Ship and the 8 boats accompanying it are now Alki-bound.
8:44 PM: The Choir of the Sound is just concluding its first Alki song.
9:05 PM: Sailing back to Pier 55 – but back in West Seattle tomorrow – see our Holiday Guide for the schedule. Photos when we’re back at HQ.
ADDED 10:54 PM: Photos added above and below. As usual, the Alki stop had extra happenings onshore, with Hope Lutheran helping out.
Throughout the holiday season, the Christmas Ship sails around the region with a long list of guest choirs performing Christmas songs.
It’s free to enjoy from shore, or you can buy a ticket to sail on board the Christmas Ship or one of its follow boats – Argosy donates part of the proceeds to charity, as announced during its stops.
Though Christmas is still two and a half weeks away, some holiday gift donation drives like Toys for Tots have only a few days left – so if you can afford to buy just one more thing this weekend and drop it in a donation box, you can brighten someone’s Christmas … as easy as that. Above is Alice Kuder of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor), who sent the photo as a reminder about their Toys for Tots collection bins through Tuesday, not only in the lobby of their sixth-floor offices at Jefferson Square, but also on the first floor (4700 42nd SW). New, unwrapped toys for T4T, please! Other donation sites are listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide, as well as other holiday-giving opportunities (and if yours isn’t yet, please e-mail us the info – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!).
As the holiday season continues, we’re showcasing bright lights around West Seattle, and appreciate your sighting reports! This photo was sent by Susan, who says these lights are at 5106 SW Stevens. We’ll be adding them to the list in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide. Got a suggestion, with or without photo? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
9:40 AM: Again this year, Alice Kuder and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices NW Real Estate (WSB sponsor) colleagues Debbie Kerns, John Traweek, and Amelia Scherker are hosting a showing of “The Polar Express” (trailer above) at The Admiral Theater – and they have some tickets available to the public if you RSVP ASAP. The showing is this Saturday (December 8th), 10 am, and you can only attend by reservation through Alice, first-come, first-served – e-mail or call/text her, alice@alicekuder.com or 206-708-9800.
P.S. from Alice: “We are providing free snacks (cookies, coffee, and hot cocoa) and the concession stand will be open. We will have a Toys for Tots donation barrel at the venue, for anyone who might want to donate.”
LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Alice says all the tickets are spoken for. Have fun!
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With Christmas now three weeks away, it’s time to start our nightly look at Christmas lights around West Seattle. We want to hear from you about bright and beautiful holiday displays! Tonight, the folks at Quail Park Memory Care Residences (WSB sponsor), which opened this year in The Junction, invited us to take a look at their first display.
Photos seldom do justice to light displays, so you’ll just have to go see for yourself – 4515 41st SW. Two other Quail Park holiday notes – as noted in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, they’re offering gift-wrapping to Junction shoppers, 10 am-4 pm the next three Saturdays (December 8th, 15th, 22nd), free (but they’re accepting donations for the Alzheimer’s Association if you are so moved). Quail Park is also sponsoring the Hometown Holidays Santa Bus in The Junction the next two Sundays, 10 am-2 pm, leaving from California/Alaska.
Suggestions for lights to spotlight? E-mail us at westseattleblog@gmail.com – photos welcome too!
(WSB file photo)
If you haven’t already seen the schedule in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship visits West Seattle and South Park this week! Here’s where and when you can gather on the shore and enjoy being serenaded by seasonal sounds:
Friday, December 7th:
-7:55 pm at Lowman Beach Park (7017 Beach Drive SW)
-8:40 pm at Alki Beach Park (near the Bathhouse, 60th SW/Alki SW)
Choir of the Sound will be aboard.
Saturday, December 8th:
-3 pm at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park (7900 10th Ave. S.)
-4:05 at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW)
-9:10 pm at Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor SW; WSB sponsor)
Rainier Youth Choirs will be on board.
Each stop usually lasts about 20 minutes.
More than 20 nonprofits await you right now at the only “shopping” event of its kind this season – the third annual West Seattle Alternative Giving Fair, happening in the Fellowship Hall at Fauntleroy Church. It’s a simple idea – you make a donation to a nonprofit in the name of someone on your list, and you’ll get something to give them to explain the gift. Our preview has the list of who’s participating. You can even meet Ivy!
Ivy’s from Reading with Rover. More photos later. The fair continues until 4 pm today.The church is at 9140 California SW.
Jack Menashe – known for his family’s Christmas-lights-laden home – got to throw the switch on another set of lights tonight: The ones decking the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays tree.
Joined onstage by wife Linda Menashe and four of their 12 grandchildren, he praised West Seattleites for loyalty to their community, and Junction Association executive director Lora Radford for her hard work to strengthen the business district. The lighting event’s format was different this year – instead of packing entertainment and speeches into a half-hour or so preceding the lighting, this year the entertainment was spread across the two hours before the ceremony, which itself lasted just a few minutes, starting with Lora introducing Santa and the Menashes:
Junction Plaza Park was shoulder-to-shoulder for the countdown:
The West Seattle Junction @wsja tree is on! pic.twitter.com/WIDJMvipzS
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 2, 2018
In case you missed the performances, we recorded some highlights – here’s the School of Rock-West Seattle performers:
Endolyne Children’s Choir (whose annual holiday concert is next Saturday):
We featured The Not-Its in our earlier Night Market report; the entertainment slate opened with Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor). After the lighting, it was back to browsing the Night Market, maybe even saying hi to Santa. Lots more Hometown Holidays festivities to come – including Shop Late Thursdays – one of which includes the holiday-season West Seattle Art Walk on December 13th – and the Santa Bus on two Sundays, December 9th and 16th. It’s all in our WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, too.
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