West Seattle, Washington
25 Thursday
(WSB photo from 2018 Fiestas Patrias parade)
You only have to head a short distance east tomorrow morning to enjoy South Park’s Fiestas Patrias parade, a celebration of Latin American cultures. It starts at 11 am Saturday southbound from Sea Mar HQ on 12th Avenue South north of Henderson, then east on Henderson to 14th Avenue South, north to South Cloverdale, west on Cloverdale to 8th Avenue South, north on 8th to the South Park Community Center, where a festival starts at 1 pm and continues all afternoon (here’s the schedule).
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
It’s not summer in South Park without the masked wrestlers of Lucha Libre Volcánica putting on a show. Today was the day.
Their ring has popped up in multiple South Park spots in recent years – from Duwamish Waterway Park to a closed street to, today, the future South Park Plaza. The performances, however, haven’t changed – the luchadores work the ring in the Mexico-born style. Like so many variants of pro wrestling over the years, there are characters – heroes and villains – costumes, stage names. Like Santa Muerte:
Here she is in action against Nick Wayne:
Nick and Jet Knight ended that bout triumphant over Santa Muerte and her partner (accomplice?). The opening bout featured Rey Jaguar, El Tapatio, Alcatan, and Dragon Quetzal:
Here’s Rey Jaguar in mid-air:
And Alcatan from the same bout:
Lucha Libre has a lot in common with acrobatics. Check out these moves from Kid Cuervo, Spartano, and Halcon Negro‘s bout:
All the while, the announcer keeps up the running narration, and if not directly involved at the moment, the luchadores will encourage cheering – this is sport/theater that thrives on crowd engagement.
Today’s show was part of the first-ever South Park Barrio Party, which also included vendors, food, and music. Lucha Libre Volcánica – which is a school as well as a troupe – also performs around the region; you can check their schedule here.
(WSB photo, July 2018)
It’s not summer without a Lucha Libre (Mexican-style masked wrestling) show in South Park, and this year’s date has finally been announced: 3-5 pm Saturday, August 31st. If you’ve never seen Lucha Libre, it’s more theater than sports, with costumes, characters, and plotlines (heroes vs. villains). It’ll be part of a daylong open-air market festival (noon-8 pm), with vendors and other entertainment, at the future home of South Park Plaza, on the west side of the 14th Avenue South/Dallas intersection just before the South Park Bridge.
(WSB photo from 2018 Duwamish River Festival)
Kayaking will again be part of the Duwamish River Festival this year. It’s happening next Saturday (August 17th) at Duwamish Waterway Park on the river in South Park (7900 10th Ave. S.), noon-5 pm. This will be the 13th annual festival, and it’s always educational as well as entertainment, with information about the river’s history and the ongoing cleanups. Live music and cultural presentations are planned too, according to the festival coordinators at the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition – with performers/presenters including Hurati Mana, NW Tap Connection, Amigos de Seattle, Kalpulli Tlaloktekhuhtli, Angeles de MX, Thai Classical Music and Dance, among others. A free boat tour of the river is scheduled post-festival, 6 pm from Harbor Island Marina; preregistration has already maxed out but the boat-tour ticket page says, “A limited number of additional tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis” at the festival – check at the City of Seattle booth.
(Photo from spl.org)
If the South Park Library is your nearest branch, good news – the renovations are done and it’s about to reopen. Here’s the announcement:
The South Park Branch of The Seattle Public Library, 8604 Eighth Ave. S., 206-615-1688, will reopen at 1 p.m. Monday, June 10, after being closed for two months for refurbishing and improvements. Patrons who picked up their holds at another branch during the closure should talk with a staff member if they need help to restore their holds pickup location to the South Park Branch.
A public celebration with refreshments and entertainment is being planned for the afternoon of Sunday, July 21.
“Our priority is to make sure our libraries meet the needs of the community,” said Chief Librarian Marcellus Turner. “These improvements will allow the branch to more effectively serve a growing, diverse community and support a wide variety of patron uses, services, and partnerships.”
About the Project
The 12-year-old branch closed April 15 for repainting and recarpeting. While the branch was closed, the Library made additional improvements to support the changing ways that patrons are using libraries and to make the branch a more enjoyable space to read, study and collaborate.
To meet the needs of the South Park community, this refurbishment delivers flexible, collaborative spaces with additional electrical outlets and more mobile shelving and furniture. These newly designed spaces will allow students to work together, while providing the Library and the community an opportunity to creatively use these flexible spaces for a variety of programs.
(WSB photo: One Love)
In three spots around the heart of downtown South Park, you can enjoy bold, brassy bands until 9 pm during the first night of HONK! Fest West, which moves to White Center tomorrow and Columbia City on Sunday. We’re just back from a quick trip to South Park to check out the early going:
(WSB photo: Filthy FemCorps)
This is HONK! Fest’s SP debut; tomorrow’s WC slate (1-6 pm) will be an encore from last year. Maps to the informal “stages” are in the festival guide (PDF); schedules are here.
(WSB photos. Above, mayor with Duwamish Tribe member and local historian Ken Workman)
Once word got out two days ago that Mayor Jenny Durkan had scheduled a pop-up town hall/resource fair in South Park, the Duwamish Tribe sent a request to supporters:
Come and stand in solidarity with the Duwamish Tribe and add your voice to those requesting Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan support the Duwamish Tribe and acknowledge them as the first people of Seattle.
The mayor did just that, twice, while speaking and answering questions at the South Park Community Center. We recorded her entire appearance on video:
No open-mic questioning at the town hall – city staffers invited attendees to write questions on cards, and chose which ones to ask the mayor, who spoke with Spanish interpretation. We estimated at least 100 in attendance.
The subject of affordable housing came up multiple times. The mayor acknowledged concerns about displacement, insisting that she wanted to ensure that redevelopment “doesn’t push people out of the community … we want to help keep the community here and be your partners.” She invoked the plan to include “community preference” in some housing developments as an anti-displacement tool. (She also acknowledged the presence of two city councilmembers who have led on the issue, Lisa Herbold – whose district includes South Park – and Kshama Sawant.)
The mayor said that while “we want to build as much (housing) as we can, we wan it to be for the people in this community in a way that doesn’t add to gentrification and displacement.” She also said it’s important to have a “pathway for the community to own property in South Park.”
Asked about improving bus service to South Park, she acknowledged the concern but made no commitments, noting only that she had met a day earlier with new SDOT director Sam Zimbabwe to discuss how to “improve transit, biking, pedestrian” conditions “in every part of the city.”
What about a police precinct for South Park (which is served by the Southwest Precinct)? The mayor said that wasn’t anything she had discussed with SPD Chief Carmen Best, but she agreed a “consistent presence” mattered. Asked a bit later about a specific unsolved murder, she brought up Deputy Chief Marc Garth Green (at left in our photo with SW Precinct Capt. Pierre Davis):
Garth Green said the case in question was mostly awaiting DNA-evidence analysis and noted that some other cases already had resulted in arrests.
Community concerns were the subject of other questions, such as the hopes for a community-centric plaza and uncertainty about the South Park Neighborhood Center‘s future. Again, acknowledgments from the mayor, but no promises.
She repeated the Duwamish Tribe acknowledgment while answering a question about South Park’s pollution challenges, particularly air quality, saying air and water had been clean before their lands were taken away.
After a few more questions – including one about “missing middle” housing, which she said could be encouraged in a variety of ways – she wrapped up, cheerily declaring, “Let’s have a great summer!”, then lingering a while for one-on-one conversation.
(2018 WSB photo)
Another quick weekend preview: Tomorrow night, HONK! Fest West starts three days of fun, free music in the streets in three nearby neighborhoods: 5-9 pm Friday at three spots in South Park, 1-6 pm Saturday at four in White Center, 2-6 pm Sunday at two in Columbia City. Bands, times, locations are all listed here. Haven’t been to HONK! Fest West (which visited West Seattle back in 2010)? It’s explained here.
Mayor Jenny Durkan is visiting nearby South Park for a town-hall-style meeting this Thursday, around 6:20 pm after a pop-up city resource fair starting around 5:45 pm. The event set for the South Park Community Center (8319 8th Ave. S.) was just announced today, according to South Park reps at tonight’s District 1 Community Network meeting in West Seattle. The announcement says the departments to be represented include Finance and Administrative Services, Office of Economic Development, Seattle Police Department, Parks and Recreation, Human Services Department, Department of Neighborhoods, Department of Transportation, Seattle Public Utilities, Office of Planning and Community Development, Office of Housing, and Seattle Fire Department.
The photo and report are from Sarah Blum with the Duwamish Rowing Club:
Jyvon Camarillo and Alek Gastmans from Duwamish Rowing Club won bronze Friday 5/17 in Men’s Youth Novice Doubles at Youth Regional Rowing Championships, Vancouver Lake, WA.
There were over 750 crews competing from over 30 teams including singles, doubles, fours, quads, and eights in both Novice, Jr Varsity and Varsity levels. Duwamish Rowing Club had one single, four doubles and two fours.
All the youth worked hard through the winter and spring to prepare and gave each race their best.
You can cheer the DRC on their home river during the Dieter Hotz Regatta on July 27th.
(Photo from spl.org)
In case you use the South Park Library – the nearest one for some in easternmost West Seattle – we’re reminding you that today (until 5 pm) and tomorrow (1 pm-8 pm) are your last chances to use it for up to 2 months. During the closure, the 12-year-old building at 8604 8th Ave. S. will “be recarpeted and repainted inside” and SPL will “add electrical outlets, new furniture, circulation desk modifications, mobile shelving and furniture, and collaborative spaces,” as announced last month.
The photo is from Lisa at Tin Dog Brewing on the west side of South Park, just across Highway 509 from southeast West Seattle. It’s one of many West Seattle, South Park, and White Center venues that send listings for the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, and the photo is from an event we featured yesterday. Lisa wanted to share this followup: “Thank you to all those West Seattleites who came to see the baby goats at Tin Dog Brewing! We had so much fun. If you want to contact the goat farm, it is Left Foot Farm, 31510 44th Ave East, Eatonville.” (You might also know LFF from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market.)
A big announcement tonight from the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition:
As we move into the new year, DRCC/TAG is excited to announce that Paulina López will be our new executive director, effective January 1, 2019.
Our coordinator, James Rasmussen, is stepping into a new, part-time, technical lead role within the organization as he moves toward retirement in a few years. James has truly been an inspiration for his work on the river. He has provided a powerful voice for the river, wonderful leadership for the organization, and has always strived to put the community first. With James at its helm, the organization has grown and thrived. We are not only very thankful that he will continue to provide insight and guidance to DRCC/TAG but also thrilled that he will be able to ensure that the EPA RoundTable and other initiatives will be responsive to community needs and vision.
Originally from Ecuador, Paulina has made Seattle her home over the past 15 years and has been with DRCC/TAG for eight years. Paulina has over 25 years of experience working with issues of civil rights, social justice, equity, education, and diversity. She has and continues to demonstrate commitment and engagement in the community through the advocacy of multiple important civic policies including access to a safe, clean environment for families in the area. Paulina has worked on numerous initiatives and campaigns that have focused on building political power and advancing policies related to issues surrounding race, immigration, the environment, and social justice. She has thrived by pushing for inclusive processes that place those most impacted and affected by issues of inequity and injustice at the center of decision-making.
Paulina created and co-led our Duwamish Valley Youth Corps Program and worked as a Community Engagement Director, advocating for community members to participate in the complex cleanup process and to have a voice. She has served as an expert on the City of Seattle’s Equity and Environment Agenda, Port of Seattle’s Near Port EJ Project, Equity Cabinet of the King County Land Conservation, and on Public Health Seattle and King County’s Health Impact Assessment, among others. Paulina is passionate about community engagement and advocacy for human rights issues especially for underrepresented communities and the issues that affect them. Paulina graduated from St. Thomas University with an LLM, Master of Law in Intercultural Human Rights. She has been an organizer, advocate, full-time volunteer and the mother of three boys under the age of 13.
“My eight years working at DRCC have been an incredible journey and I’m excited to take this next step. When I first got to know this organization, I was impressed by the deep history of the work, the clarity and vision to advocate for environmental justice issues. Also, most of all the inspiring people giving so much of their time to engage the most impacted in my own neighborhood of South Park. It has been an honor to serve here and one of the most important experiences of my life where I learned to appreciate existing networks and bring peoples’ voices to complex systems of government. I look forward to continuing to work together for justice and equity to mobilize resources for the Duwamish Valley as we build collective power to make our community, our cultures, and our ecosystem thrive. Together we will continue our unique and powerful legacy” — Paulina López
We are elated to make this announcement and look forward to the continued growth of DRCC/TAG building on the hard work of James, Paulina, and all of the staff, board, community advisory committee, volunteers and most importantly neighbors and community members.
New Seattle Public Schools superintendent Denise Juneau‘s “listening tour” now has two local stops:
-This Wednesday (October 10th), she’ll be at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW) for a 6 pm town hall with students, followed by a 7 pm community-wide town hall.
-On October 18th, she’ll be at Concord International Elementary in South Park (723 S. Concord), 6-8 pm, for an event that the co-sponsoring Concord PTA tells us will be “conducted in Spanish with English translation.” Child care and dinner provided.
(Photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand – Superintendent Juneau at 9/4/18 Roxhill @ EC Hughes ribboncutting)
(Photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand, unless otherwise credited)
It was a community-wide, continent-spanning celebration in South Park this morning as 2018 Fiestas Patrias parade participants danced, walked, rolled, and rode. The Latino Riders were on two wheels – sometimes one:
The Easy Duz It car club was a parade on its own, on four wheels and sometimes two:
The parade also featured the original kind of horsepower:
Lots of music, including Mariachi Huenachi from Wenatchee:
Joyas Mestizas, who you might have seen in the West Seattle Grand Parade, was another participating folklorico group:
Other groups represented individual Latin American nations, including El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Here’s the Grand Marshal, United States District Court Chief Judge Ricardo Martinez of the Western District:
Another dignitary – newly confirmed Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best:
In the SPD entourage accompanying the chief was Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Pierre Davis, whose jurisdiction includes South Park:
Local schools were in the parade too, including West Seattle’s own Denny International Middle School, whose principal Jeff Clark sent photos and a report:
Congratulations to all of the Denny scholars and staff who proudly represented their culture and school marching in the annual Fiestas Patrias parade in South Park today!
Thanks to Mr. Albanes, Mr. Garcia, and Ms. Olsen, the Dolphins had the chance to show great leadership and pride as they waved to family and friends lining the streets of South Park. This parade is always a highlight of the year — this year, the tradition was as strong as ever! Go Dolphins!
Our photographer spotted the principal photographing the group:
South Park’s own Concord International (Elementary) also walked the parade route. The Fiestas Patrias parade is presented by Sea Mar Community Health Centers, whose headquarters in South Park were the start of the route, which ended at South Park Community Center, site of an afternoon-long festival and health fair.
(WSB photo from 2017 Fiestas Patrias parade in South Park)
In case you haven’t peeked ahead to the weekend via the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – Saturday brings a big late-summer parade: This year’s Fiestas Patrias parade in South Park. The parade and festival afterward are presented by Sea Mar Community Health Centers, which explain:
Seattle Fiestas Patrias commemorates the independence of Latin American countries, many of which celebrate their national independence day in the month of September. Sea Mar Community Health Center festivals are held at both Seattle Center and the South Park neighborhood of Seattle to celebrate the Latino community living in the Pacific Northwest.
Fiestas Patrias is an expression of Latino culture: music, dance, food, folklore and many other traditions that have accumulated over the centuries. This is a fiesta to celebrate our history while taking pride in the new generations of Latinos that now call the United States home.
The parade starts at 11 am Saturday (September 15th), with Chief United States District Judge Ricardo Martinez as Grand Marshal. See the route here (PDF), leading from Sea Mar to the South Park Community Center (8319 8th Ave. S.), where the community festival begins at 1 pm.
As Mayor Jenny Durkan did last fall, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best took her oath of office multiple times today. One ceremony was in Southwest Precinct territory, at the South Park Community Center, after the Seattle Police Pipes and Drums opened the ceremony:
Chief Best’s other ceremonies were at City Hall and at the Northwest African American Museum in the Central District. Here’s her bio; she’s been with SPD for 26 years.
(August 7th photo courtesy SW Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Danner)
Newly confirmed Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best was in South Park two weeks ago for Night Out, and she will return tomorrow for one of three swearing-in ceremonies around the city. Here’s the announcement from the mayor’s office:
On Tuesday, August 21, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best will participate in three swearing-in ceremonies, including a large community ceremony at the Northwest African American Museum.
Last week, City Council confirmed Chief Carmen Best, who is a 26-year member of the Seattle Police Department. Best was integral in helping the department navigate the Federal Consent Decree, eventually leading to “full and effective” compliance. She is the first African American woman to lead the Seattle Police Department in its 149-year history.
When: Tuesday, August 21 at 11:30 am
Where: Ceremony in Bertha Knight Landes at City Hall, located at 600 4th AvenueWhen: Tuesday, August 21 at 1:00 pm
Where: South Park Community Center, located at 8319 8th Avenue SWhen: Tuesday, August 21 at 4:30 pm (reception immediately following ceremony)
Where: Northwest African American Museum, located at 2300 S Massachusetts St
Still time to get to this year’s Duwamish River Festival (at Duwamish Waterway Park, 7900 10th Ave. S., until 5 pm), where you can learn about the river by getting out onto it, or talking to people about it.
That’s James Rasmussen, coordinator of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, from whom we found out there’s a community meeting Wednesday about June’s barge fire on the river. (More on that in a separate story.) Along with information, the festival is also a cultural celebration:
Dancers from the Somali Youth Community Center were onstage while we were there – we published the full entertainment lineup in today’s daily highlights list. They were followed by Vietnamese community performers, including a dancer who specializes in cha-cha:
And the many organizations and city departments there include Seattle Parks, with some hands-on education about river wildlife:
Go learn, play, and watch!
(Junior doubles’ race. Photo courtesy Duwamish Rowing Club)
The Duwamish Rowing Club reports it was a beautiful day for their 3rd annual Dieter Hotz Regatta. Sarah Blum sent the report and photos from the July 21st event:
Entries from Eastside Prep, Lake Union and Lake Washington clubs rounded out the field with singles, doubles, coxed and coxless quads, plus coxed fours took off about every ten – fifteen minutes to race up the 1000-meter course to cheering crowds in the park overlooking the finish line. There were both youth and master’s races throughout the morning. Rowing on the Duwamish is alive and well!
It was a youth rower from Eastside Prep that took the coveted Boeing trophy for her race in a single scull.
Lake Union Crew took the overall points win for the Dieter Hotz trophy and a good time was had by all.
One of the most exciting races was the coxless quad race between Lake Union and DRC (Duwamish Rowing Club).
As the boats neared the finish line Lake Union was in the lead, the crowd was cheering on the DRC boat and in the sprint they passed the LUC boat by about 8 inches at the finish.
Anyone can learn to row. DRC had learn-to-row classes through June and one of the new rowers, Matt White, raced in the master’s four like a pro. Matt’s daughter is in the youth program at DRC.
Winners of the ECOSS trophy for 2018 was the Lake Union Crew:
The DRC is our area’s only rowing club, based in South Park but also serving West Seattle and other communities along and near the Duwamish River.
It’s becoming a summertime tradition – a Duwamish Waterway Park exhibition by Lucha Libre Volcánica, the Renton-based troupe specializing in Mexican-style masked-wrestling – and the luchadores were there today during the Water Festival.
The performers are usually heroes or villains – during our ringside visit, we saw heroes …
And villains:
When all was said, done, thrown, and pinned …
… the heroes won. As did the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, sponsor of the Water Festival, which continued into the evening.
(WSB photo by Leda Costa, from 2017 regatta)
Our area’s only rowing club invites you to its biggest annual event on Saturday! The Duwamish Rowing Club is hosting its third Dieter Hotz Rowing Regatta at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park, 8 am-2 pm:
All are invited to this free event which features singles, doubles, fours, and quads from Duwamish Rowing and small clubs in the area, e.g. Eastside Prep. Renton Rowing, Lake Stevens and more.
Races will include youth from all the clubs and masters (adults of all ages). Boats will launch from Duwamish Waterway Park at 10th and Elmgrove in South Park, and spectators can view the finish line of the 1000 meter races at 12th and Elmgrove.
Here’s a map to the park.
(WSB photo from February)
The suspect in February’s South Park murder of a 16-year-old boy was arrested in the area where it happened. That’s part of what we’ve learned from the probable-cause documents made public this morning in connection with 27-year-old Juan J. Macias‘s bail hearing. As we noted in the report on his arrest, he was already wanted on a $250,000 warrant after being charged in June with assaulting his girlfriend. The new documents say officers saw him Saturday evening at the Chevron station on 14th Avenue S. in South Park – same one in our photo, above, from the night of the shooting – and recognized him from a bulletin about that warrant. He was in the driver’s seat of a red Impala that they discovered had been stolen in Kent; the report says its engine was running and that officers found two “large fixed-blade knives” and two hatchets in the car. It does not say what led police to identify Macias as a suspect in the murder, but attributes that description to detectives. He is due back in court tomorrow afternoon, by which time there may be a charging decision in the case. Meantime, he’s being held in lieu of $2,250,000 bail.
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