Just in from Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) and West Seattle Outdoor Movies mastermind Lora Swift: Tonight’s “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” showing is CANCELLED – rescheduled for August 27th – because even though the weather’s been OK for a few hours, radar shows another wave of rain headed this way. So here’s hoping for better weather NEXT week, when “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” is scheduled (Saturday, July 23rd, dusk).

While you’re in The Junction for West Seattle Summer Fest this Friday-Saturday-Sunday, you’ll see the poster for West Seattle Outdoor Movies, which, like WSSF, we’re thrilled to be co-sponsoring again this year. Above, the official poster (by Riverbed) – you might remember the robot from last year, and now, there are two! The movie series opens Saturday, July 16th, with “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”; second week (June 23rd), it’s “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.” If you haven’t been in years past, the movies are on the big screen on the wall in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), with pre-show entertainment (movie’s at dusk, but come early!) and concessions. All free; bring your own chair/blanket, and bring a few dollars for raffles that raise money for local nonprofits. And if you’re on Facebook, “like” the West Seattle Outdoor Movies page for behind-the-scenes tidbits – find it here.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to suggest ideas for this summer’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies lineup. The advisory committee met today with movie mastermind Lora from Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), next to the courtyard that converts to a theater for these six Saturday nights each summer – and here’s the plan, which includes some classics:

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off [trailer above], July 16
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, July 23
Airplane, July 30
Despicable Me, August 6
Jurassic Park (1), August 13
Toy Story 3, August 20

Plus: The call’s out for

Call out for musicians, entertainers, comedy or anyone who loves to perform in front of a crowd:

The West Seattle Outdoor Movies series starts July 16th, 2011 and runs for 6 Saturdays during the summer. We are looking for folks who can perform for an hour prior to the movies beginning at dusk. This is a nonprofit community event but we do have a stipend for each act. To be considered, please e-mail the West Seattle Outdoor Movies committee at westseattlemovies@gmail.com, or click on the link on the movie website www.wsmovies.org with a short bio, website link, MP3, or whatever you think would showcase your talent. Acts will be picked the week of May 16th and deadline is May 15th.

Keep in mind, this would be entertainment that’s harmonious with a friendly crowd gathering before the movie to stake out seats and chat – no, oh, say, death metal. See you at the movies!

Thanks to everybody who answered the first call for suggestions for this summer’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies (a six-Saturday series in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse [WSB sponsor]). Organizers are getting ready to sit down and look ahead, so they asked if we would put out one more call, in case you missed the first one. Since the movies are a free, all-ages event, they need to be somewhat family-friendly, but that does not mean they have to be kid-geared or even G-rated. Here’s the direct link to the comment area with the suggestions that came in earlier this month; here’s the movie list from last year – the biggest crowd was for the kickoff movie, “Mamma Mia!” You can make a suggestion via comments here or via the Outdoor Movies Facebook page – thanks for your help! (August 2010 photo by Christopher Boffoli for WSB)

(WSB photo from 7/18/2010, biggest opening-night crowd ever for WS Outdoor Movies)
Drippy, murky weather, and just one easy antidote (unless you have a private plane you can take to the tropics at a moment’s notice) – dream of summer. Here’s one way to do it: Suggest a movie for this summer’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies (with WSB again among the sponsors)! If you are a new arrival, here’s the backstory: Every summer, the parking courtyard alongside Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) in The Junction turns into an outdoor moviehouse for six consecutive Saturday nights – concessions are sold as fundraisers, there’s always some kind of wacky pre-movie entertainment, you bring the chairs and blankets. And when spring arrives, you suggest the movies! Every year there are some licensing-terms constraints, so even if something seems like the absolute popular choice hands-down, there might be an obstacle, but don’t let that get in your way – if there’s something you would love to enjoy under the stars (and one night last year, hardy souls even stayed through some rain), suggest it now! (If you’re worried about being redundant, here’s last year’s lineup.)

P.S. Two more Hotwire notes, while we’re at it – the Peeps drinks are back (there’s another way to beat the gray-sky blues) – read more about them in the latest Hotwire newsletter – and Hotwire is offering table space for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (May 14th, 9 am-3 pm, sales all over West Seattle – 200 last year! – registration opens Monday). If you don’t have room for your own sale, e-mail Lora to reserve a free courtyard spot: info@hotwirecoffee.com. (And if you use Facebook, you can “like” the WSCGSD page for updates and for the chance to post wall info about your own sale when May 14th gets closer!)

The weather was perfect tonight for Star Trek, the final movie of this year’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies. That’s Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora Lewis who modeled a chicken-themed bag from which she drew tonight’s winning raffle tickets before the movie unspooled:

After the raffle prizes (which included baked goods, music lessons and other gift certificates) were distributed, Lora told the crowd that this year’s raffles raised more than $1,000 for local non-profits; including West Seattle Helpline, WestSide Baby, The Nature Consortium and Family Promise of Seattle.

Though the posters and postcards all say August 21st was the last West Seattle Outdoor Movies show of the summer – it was NOT! Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) proprietor Lora wants to rocket out the reminder that there’s actually one more to go: Since “Star Trek” (trailer above) was rained out on 8/7, it’s rescheduled for THIS Saturday night, August 28th , in the Hotwire courtyard (4410 California SW)! Featured sponsors for the night: Martha L. Davis, Highline Therapy Services, and West Seattle Music Studio. The movie’s at dusk and admission is free; bring your own blanket/chair, and a few dollars so you can buy tickets for raffle prizes, which always benefit local nonprofits, as do the concession sales. The forecast for Saturday so far is “cloudy”; if movie night arrives and it looks iffy, you can check the West Seattle Outdoor Movies Facebook page (here) and Twitter account (here) for status updates.

FIRST AS-IT-HAPPENED UPDATE AT 7:34 PM: Still some room in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) for tonight’s West Seattle Outdoor Movies presentation of “Up,” starting at dusk – second to last movie of the season (this was scheduled to be the grand finale, but “Star Trek” was rained out two weeks ago, so it was rescheduled for next Saturday). Speaking of rain, yes, we know clouds are moving in, but Hotwire’s Lora Lewis has been watching the forecast all day and so far it looks like any rain won’t arrive till very late – cross your fingers. If you’re coming, bring a few bucks for the raffle, raising money tonight for Family Promise of Seattle (which has had to put its homeless-families-sheltering work “on hiatus” as first reported here). FP’s Laura Bermes talked to the crowd briefly about the agency’s mission and hopes of reopening:

Looks like there’s also still some burgers/dogs left at the free barbecue presented by West Seattle Christian Church/Preschool, if you get here fast!

POST-MOVIE NOTE AT 10:08 PM: Though it started sprinkling shortly after the movie began, and escalated for a while into a steady shower (concurrent with a thunderstorm scene onscreen!), the movie continued to its conclusion (by which time the rain had stopped). Dozens of hardy moviegoers pulled up their sweaters, or even popped up an umbrella, and stayed. Lora thinks that might be the first time in her years of overseeing the movie series that rain didn’t stop the show. The projector was manned as usual by WSCC pastor Dan Jacobs, who managed to put up a rain shield (leading, toward the movie’s end, to a “danger, projector is overheating” onscreen warning, quickly dealt with) and kept things running. Be there next Saturday night for the rescheduled “Star Trek,” and think clear skies!

“Up” is Saturday night’s feature at West Seattle Outdoor Movies – remember this is now the second-to-last one of the summer, rather than the last one, because “Star Trek” was rained out two weeks ago and is rescheduled for August 28th. This Saturday night, not only will you see “Up,” if you come a bit early you’re also invited to a free barbecue provided by West Seattle Christian Church. Pastor Dan Jacobs says they’re planning on “hot dogs, burgers, veggie burgers, chips, bottled water… serving beginning at 6:30 until it’s all gone!” (WSCC is part of the regular volunteer crew that makes the movies happen – they’re just steps from the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse [WSB sponsor] courtyard that’s home to the big screen. They also sell classic movie concessions to raise $ for charity.) WSCC and its preschool are among the sponsors for this Saturday’s movie, with the rest of the roster including WSB sponsors Ventana Construction and Jackson, Morgan & Hunt, PLLC, plus Bakery Nouveau and Doug Baldwin/Windermere Real Estate. One more note: Seattle Tilth is bringing kid-friendly activities like worm bins, interactive games, and “light microscopy,” according to movie mastermind Lora Lewis of Hotwire. See you there!

Got your seat at West Seattle Outdoor Movies (courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse [WSB sponsor]) yet? “Wayne’s World” is onscreen at dusk; live music before the movie; and if you bring a few bucks for the nonprofit-benefiting raffle, you get a chance at prizes including the one you see above – a framed “Wayne’s World” poster donated by Wallflower Custom Framing! As of right now, there’s still room – so bring your own chair/blanket and we’ll see you there.

Here’s the official word: West Seattle Outdoor Movies‘ plan to show “Star Trek” tonight is canceled because of rain – there’s no indoor backup. Even if it stopped raining by dusk, it would still be soggy after the all-day rain. “Star Trek” will be rescheduled for Saturday night, August 28th, stretching out the WSOM season beyond the previously scheduled 8/21 end date.

Update: If the weather doesn’t lift, tonight’s showing of “Star Trek” for West Seattle Outdoor Movies in The Junction is at risk – Lora Lewis from Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor), your emcee and host for the movies, tells us the “on or off” call will be made at 4:30 pm. If it IS rained out, Lora says it’ll be rescheduled for August 28th (currently, August 21st is the last scheduled movie). We’ll have the latest here at 4:30, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

That’s one of the official trailers for last year’s “Star Trek” movie, which is tomorrow night’s big feature at West Seattle Outdoor Movies (co-sponsored by WSB) in the courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor). There’s music before the movie, Dream Date with Paul Fischer, “performing his original pop songs with the help of Steve Moore,” according to Hotwire’s Lora Lewis. Featured sponsors for the night: Martha L. Davis, Highline Therapy Services, and West Seattle Music Studio. The movie’s free, but bring a few dollars so you can buy tickets for the raffle benefiting forest-restoring Nature Consortium, with prizes donated by Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), Shadowland, Elliott Bay Brewery and Hotwire, and also for concessions, which also are nonprofit fundraisers. The movie’s at dusk – which keeps getting earlier, but you don’t want to show up at the last minute, anyway – the crowd’s usually pretty big; come stake out a spot sooner rather than later. One note: IF it rains or threatens to – there is NO indoor backup this year, so a rainout is possible; if the weather looks dicey, we will have the latest info here on WSB (as well as updates on our Twitter and Facebook pages).

Tomorrow night should be a truly fantastic edition of West Seattle Outdoor Movies (dusk in the courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse [WSB sponsor]) – with the animated “Fantastic Mr. Fox” as the feature (the clip above is its official trailer). Come early to stake out a spot (bring your own chair/blanket), check out the concessions, buy raffle tickets (both of the preceding are nonprofit fundraisers – also, this week, the West Seattle and White Center Food Banks are in the spotlight, so please bring a nonperishable food donation – Dream Dinners [WSB sponsor] also is co-sponsoring) – the movie itself is free,

In the courtyard between Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) and Drs. Wolff/Horwitz, you might call it ’80s night for the second of six Saturday night editions of >West Seattle Outdoor Movies. When it gets a bit darker, tonight’s movie will start – the specially decorated cupcakes from Coffee to a Tea with Sugar, above, provided something of a preview. Good crowd tonight, filling the courtyard but a little more elbow room than last week’s standing-room-only showing of “Mamma Mia!”

That’s how it looked about 20 minutes ago – more moviegoers have arrived since then. Every week, there’s a special pre-movie activity, and tonight, it’s ’80s trivia, hosted by Jessie SK from Skylark Café and Club:

Skylark is one of tonight’s business co-sponsors (along with Pagliacci Pizza – which provided free slices earlier – Nicholson Kovalchick Architects, and WSB – we’re also the overall “media sponsor” for the whole series). The activity and movie are always free; raffle tickets (with donated prizes, which tonight included Hotwire and Pagliacci cards!) are sold before the movie – $1/ticket or $2 for three – to raise money for a local nonprofit (tonight about $100 has been raised for West Seattle Helpline) – and charity-benefiting concessions are sold by West Seattle Christian Church, so bring a few dollars next time you attend. Next Saturday’s movie is “Fantastic Mr. Fox“; the full season slate is on the official West Seattle Outdoor Movies website.

“War Games” is the movie – ’80s trivia is the preshow activity – and the courtyard next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) is the place to be this Saturday night for the 2nd of this summer’s six West Seattle Outdoor Movies. Not only is Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) co-sponsoring the evening, but Skylark proprietor Jessie SK is hosting a mini-round of ’80s trivia, and we’re supplying the prizes (WSB is another of the night’s co-sponsors, as are Nicholson Kovalchick Architects and Pagliacci Pizza, which we’re told will have some of its fabled pies on hand too). Come early – last week the courtyard was jammed long before the movie began at dusk (check the photo in this report!) – and bring money for the raffle – last week’s raffle raised more than $250 for WestSide Baby. (The full season lineup is on the official West Seattle Outdoor Movies website.)

Not only was the centennial-celebrating courtyard by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) wall-to-wall with West Seattle Outdoor Movies-goers by the time the preshow fun began, Hotwire’s Lora Lewis says a few dozen people had seats staked out by 5:30 (about three hours early). Covering the series extensively, and participating as a sponsor, for the past few years, we can declare the turnout for “Mamma Mia!” the biggest opening-night crowd ever, if not the biggest crowd ever. Raffle-ticket sales raised more than $250 for WestSide Baby – donated prizes included cards for beverages/food at Hotwire, Elliott Bay Brewery, and Pagliacci Pizza, as well as a Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) T-shirt. And then it was time to dance:

Therese from The Body Bar, one of the movie’s sponsors, isn’t in the shot, but she led the “dance party,” in the spirit of the night’s movie (a musical, if you’ve never seen it). The preshow shorts included a WC Fields classic:

The main feature started around dusk, 9 pm last night, but obviously that’ll get a bit earlier each of the next five weeks as the series continues, so our best advice is, come early (4400 California SW) and stake out a spot (BYO chairs/blankets). Next Saturday night, the movie is the ’80s classic “WarGames” – here’s the trailer:

That’ll be an ’80s-themed event (with a geek subtext, pocket protectors and all!) with sponsors including WSB, Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor), and Nicholson Kovalchick Architects. (You’ll likely see our favorite geeklet, aka Junior Member of the Team, assisting again with raffle-ticket-selling and raffle emceeing, though he prefers ties and vests rather than pocket protectors.) To review the full list of what’s ahead the next five Saturday nights – free! – go to the official WS Outdoor Movies site.

It’s the West Seattle mantra on those beautiful sunny (but not too hot) summer days – “This is why we live here.” And on six usually-clear-and-pleasant summer nights, something else that makes West Seattle special: Free Outdoor Movies on the wall next to Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) in The Junction. Tomorrow (Saturday) night’s season opener is extra-special for a variety of reasons. The photo above hints at one: It’s the 100th anniversary of the screening site – the buildings where Hotwire and neighboring Drs. Wolff/Horwitz are housed was built in 1910 as the home of Seattle Lighting Company (later Seattle Gas Company), later a WPA office, then West Home funeral home till 2001. You can read all about the site’s history in this document shared by Hotwire proprietor Lora Lewis. Now back to the movies:

“Mamma Mia” is the main feature. In honor of the site’s centennial, the W.C. Fields short “Trip to the Dentist” will also be shown, along with the famous YouTube clip “David After the Dentist.” And before the screen fires up at dusk, there’ll be a dance party led by Therese from the nearby Body Bar, one of the night’s sponsors. You might want to join in to work off calories from free cotton candy, popcorn and ice cream (not a regular feature – special for the big anniversary!) – there also will be fundraiser concessions sold by West Seattle Christian Church (candy and soda) as well as Coffee to a Tea cupcakes, and hot dogs. Come early to ensure your spot in the courtyard – bring your own chair(s)/blanket(s), and money for fundraising raffles. The entire season slate is on the official West Seattle Outdoor Movies website – a week from tomorrow, WSB co-sponsors what’s shaping up to be an ’80s night of sorts, with “War Games” as the main feature!