West Seattle, Washington
21 Tuesday
Artist Ryan Fedderson is in search of selfies.
He’s creating a temporary mural for the building shown above, which is at Delridge Community Center/Playfield, and wants to use the faces of up to 50 people, as rendered from selfies they photograph and send to him, with priorities given to photos taken at Delridge CC, Playfield, or Skatepark. But he’s turning this around fast and accepting selfies only through Friday (October 26th). And they have to be submitted through Facebook (we asked about an e-mail address or alternate means – no). The project is about change and evolution in the neighborhood and titled “White Out Delridge” – explained in part:
…Prior to the installation, the artist will collect selfies from park goers that represent the community in the Delridge neighborhood. From these selfies the artist will create drawings that will be applied as stencils to the building prior to a temporary white washing, whiting out the stencils and the building itself. After a brief period, the artist and the public will work together to unveil the portraits by picking and peeling the stencils away. For the remainder of the installation, time and weather will corrode the piece allowing the colors and complexities of the building to re-emerge. …
Full details, including the link for your photo if you’re interested in participating, are on his website, here.
6:25 PM: Just under way in The Junction – a fashion show!
Youth models, designers, and production crew members are all involved as the show takes to the runway at the West Seattle Christian Church Activity Center (4400 42nd SW), with an enthusiastic audience here cheering them on.
Two groups of models are scheduled to appear – the Little Royals are modeling right now, with The Reign of Fashion scheduled around 7 pm, with the TKG Dance Crew performing inbetween (photo added):
The show (free admission) is scheduled to continue until 8 pm, so you have lots of time to get here.
The nonprofit Unified Outreach (headquartered across the street at Ginomai arts center) has organized it with the help of a grant from the city’s Work Readiness In The Arts program.
7:43 PM: Back at HQ now, and we’ve added more photos.
If you missed “Blood Wedding/Bodas de Sangre” Saturday night at Roxhill Park – you have another chance to see it Sunday night. And “see it” doesn’t go far enough, as it involves audience participation – in our top photo, those in attendance learned a dance they would get to do during the show. (As the announcement we published last week explained, “Each performance will preclude with a professionally-taught latin dance lesson, the learning of a song from the show, and an an invitation for the audience to participate in the wedding scene.”) We were only able to stay for a few minutes, but they included the opening moments of the play:
This bilingual drama/dance/music production is the first by 1-Off Productions, “a joint venture between Seattle theatre artists Tina Polzin, Ana Maria Campoy, and Matt Sherrill“; Polzin is the director. The second and final West Seattle presentation is tonight (Sunday, August 14th), 6 pm at Roxhill Park (29th/Barton), free; it will also be performed in nearby South Park at 6 pm, Saturday, August 27th, in Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Ave. S.)
Total Experience Gospel Choir is here with longtime accompanist Lou Magor, who you might know from Kenyon Hall. pic.twitter.com/prwLHbv644
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 12, 2016
If you need an energy boost, get yourself down to the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (along Walnut, south of Lander) and catch the rest of tonight’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha performance by the Total Experience Gospel Choir, led by Pastor Patrinell Wright:
On piano is TEGC’s longtime accompanist Lou Magor, who you might know for his West Seattle venue Kenyon Hall!
They’re just a few songs into the show, which should go until at least 8 pm. Free – just bring a blanket or chair, lots of folks here but still lots of room. The Admiral Neighborhood Association presents the series, and we’ve co-sponsored it since the start – great place to be on a summer night.
ADDED: A few more photos. Including this one – part of the crowd that the ANA tallied at 600+!
Plus, we should mention that next Thursday (August 18th) is this year’s second-to-last concert: Duke Evers (here’s a sample).
(Production photo)
We just found out about this unique, free performance coming to Roxhill Park next Saturday and Sunday nights, “a bilingual multidisciplinary telling of the Spanish play ‘Blood Wedding/Bodas de Sangre‘ by Federico GarcÃa Lorca, with live music and dance.” Here’s the full announcement:
Rural Spain. A story of love, longing, and bitter revenge. Families in a small village are divided, rankled with old grudges, but their children, despite it all, seek love instead of acrimony. A classic since its inception, Federico Garcia Lorca’s play Blood Wedding demands that we ask: Is it up to us or fate in deciding who we love?
This inaugural production by 1-Off Productions, Blood Wedding, is translated by Caridad Svich and directed by University of Washington graduate Tina Polzin. Through collaborative work done by Polzin and a cast of bilingual actors, Blood Wedding will be presented bilingually, using Lorca’s original text alongside Svich’s translation.
1-Off Productions is a joint venture between Seattle theatre artists Tina Polzin, Ana Maria Campoy, and Matt Sherrill. Its intent is to bring professional theatre to communities with limited access, to represent diverse stories onstage employing a multidisciplinary approach, to create theatre reflective of the community artists serve, and to build and strengthen community through shared theatrical experiences.
As a core tenant of 1-Off’s mission of creating community through a shared theatrical experiences, all performances will be free of charge.
Each performance will preclude with a professionally-taught latin dance lesson, the learning of a song from the show, and an an invitation for the audience to participate in the wedding scene. Â The live music will continue post show, allowing the audience members to meet and greet with the actors and each other.
Blood Wedding features a diverse ensemble of Christen Gee (Brooklyn Bridge), Jordan Taylor (American Idiot, Bad Apples), Michael Blum (Blood/Water/Paint), Angela Maestas (The Passion As Told by AntÃgona Pérez), Marissa Castillo (The Brothers K), Meg Savlov (Electricidad), Carolynne Wilcox, Maddy Noonan, Alex Huffman, and Miranda Sieg. Creative team includes Jonathan Shue (music director), Amy Johnson (choreography), Danielle Pekus (stage management), Brandon Estrella (scenic design) and Melinda Hare (costume design).
It’s described as suitable for all ages, and it’ll be performed at Roxhill Park (2850 SW Roxbury) at 6 pm Saturday and Sunday (August 13-14). You can also see it at South Park’s Duwamish Waterway Park (7900 10th Ave. S.) at 6 pm August 27th.
Junior All-City Band kicks off Band Jam at SW Athletic Complex. Free & fun! 7 bands schefuled. pic.twitter.com/aHaR6zRev5
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 30, 2016
6:46 PM: We’re at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle, across from Chief Sealth International High School), where Band Jam 2016 is happening for at least the next hour and a half – more than half a dozen marching bands in a showcase originally organized in 2009 by All-City Band director (and new Denny International MS assistant principal) Marcus Pimpleton, meant as a tuneup for tomorrow night’s Seafair Torchlight Parade but having expanded into much more. As he said in opening remarks to the hundreds of spectators who are here for the free show, it’s also a chance for the participants to see other musicians, including adult bands like the Sounders’ Sound Wave, participating tonight. Above, the Junior All-City Band was the opening band; the 8- through 17-year-olds of Pacific Northwest Drumline are next:
Pacific NW Drumline up 2nd at Band Jam pic.twitter.com/yEZXDQE1L9
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 30, 2016
This drumline has become a regional parade favorite:
7:04 PM: Kennedy Catholic High School‘s Summer Marching Band, from just a few miles away in Burien, is on the field now:
Now on the field at Band Jam … @KennedyCathWA Summer Marching Band pic.twitter.com/xz5L2VaGSl
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 30, 2016
They won the band category at the West Seattle Grand Parade last Saturday.
Sumner High School‘s massive marching band is up next.
As announced, this band includes both middle- and high-school students.
8:07 PM: After Sumner, the All-Star Drumline from Poulsbo (Band Jam debut!):
And now Sounders FC‘s Sound Wave is rocking the stadium:
Now it's @SoundersFC Sound Wave at Band Jam! pic.twitter.com/zplz4URCc5
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 30, 2016
Show-stopper choreography as well as musicianship:
Up next: The hosts and stars of the show, All-City Band (who were the overall winners at the West Seattle Grand Parade last Saturday):
And of course … @AllCityBand as the Band Jam grand finale pic.twitter.com/9qvg0TDTAp
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 30, 2016
8:33 PM: ACB is still wowing the crowd.
ADDED EARLY SATURDAY: More photos and video added inline above – and bonus photos below: Read More
The Banner Days at Summer Concerts at Hiawatha – free! Until 8 pm-ish. pic.twitter.com/0srQlRSo3x
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 29, 2016
6:42 PM: We’re on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center (Walnut/Lander), where you can come enjoy a free concert on this warm, clear night until ~8 pm. The Banner Days are performing the second of this year’s six Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association. See the full season lineup here!
8:47 PM: Photos added. The band:
And the crowd:
Next week (6:30 pm Thursday, August 4th), Vicci Martinez!
(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
Maybe it was traffic, maybe it was the clouds gathering to the west … took a while for the crowd to build at tonight’s season kickoff for Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, but eventually, they were there. Along with Smokey Brights, the first of this year’s six acts:
Smokey Brights is a Seattle quintet, together since 2011.
Summer Concerts at Hiawatha go back even further, now in their 8th year, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with sponsors including WSB. Next Thursday (July 28th) at 6:30 on Hiawatha’s east lawn, bring your chair/blanket to see and hear The Banner Days. Full season lineup is here.
P.S. In the meantime, lots of outdoor music this weekend at the Alki Art Fair, which we’re also co-sponsoring this year – see the lineup here – and remember the free shuttle!
7:21 PM: Clear sky over Hiawatha Community Center‘s east lawn right now as the West Seattle Big Band headlines the annual Hi-Yu Concert in the Park.
The WSBB, directed by Jim Edwards (above, during trombone solo), is featuring vocalists Sarah Ackers and Jeff Carter as well as talented soloists.
Sarah Ackers and Jeff Carter duet with @wsbigband at @wshiyu Concert in the Park. pic.twitter.com/g93lHcgKaB
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) July 20, 2016
It’s a free concert, for all ages – kids are running around at the back of the crowd, while devoted band fans are listening intently up front.
Sometimes these concerts have even been known to inspire people to dance. It’s on until at least 8 – come on over if you can. We’ll have video later. (Added – Here’s the WSBB with Glenn Miller’s “St. Louis Blues”:)
8:01 PM: During a quick break for the band, Hi-Yu royalty and Youth Ambassadors spoke to the crowd, and current Hi-Yu leaders Joanne and Jim Murray did too.
As they point out, Hi-Yu runs on volunteers … and needs more help if it’s to continue. While Hi-Yu no longer runs the West Seattle Grand Parade (it’s now presented by the West Seattle Rotary Club Foundation), it creates and operates the traveling parade float, and without the Hi-Yu float’s participation in other parades around the region, other areas’ floats wouldn’t come here for our parade – the reciprocal arrangement is how it works. Find out how to get involved via westseattlehiyu.com.
And now, another tradition during the Concert in the Park intermission – awarding of the Orville Rummel Trophy for Service to the Community. This year’s recipient, as announced in June, is Clay Eals of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. He’s here to accept it.
“This is a big honor … a time for gratitude,” Eals said, describing himself as the “Pied Piper” who’s been able to attract more people to get involved with SWSHS in recent years. “And whether you’ve lived here for 30 days or 30 years … you have reason for connection to West Seattle … why do you choose to be here, why do you continue to choose to be here? … Something ties it all together: The reasons we all have to be connected to this area do not have to do with us – they have to do with the people who came before us and built the community that we choose to be in. Literally we stand on the shoulders of giants,” including many whose names are on the trophy he’s holding. He invited everyone to come to the SWSHS’s Log House Museum (61st/Stevens, open Thursdays-Sundays, noon-4 pm).
More music coming up soon, too, so you still have time to get here.
Something extra on the Alki Beach promenade west of Statue of Liberty Plaza today – a piano that you’re invited to see, and play!
The piano will be there until 7 pm, as part of this year’s Pianos in the Parks; it’s one of 10 “artistically enhanced pianos” that have been placed, mostly for one-day stops, in parks around the region. This one is by artist Brittany Carchano and titled “Nostalgic Tides“; she says it was inspired by growing up in West Seattle.
(WSB photos. Above, Benu Rising from Eugene)
Looking for something to do this afternoon? Go to Hiawatha Community Center and see the dancers at the 29th Mediterranean Fantasy Festival!
The performances are close to continuous – here’s the schedule – inside the gym and on the outdoor stage to its south, up until 7 tonight. And browse dozens of vendor booths/tables:
You’ll meet interesting people from near and far, like dancer/artist Dina Lydia Johnson of Highland Park:
Admission is free, and the festival continues with another full slate of performances 11 am-5 pm tomorrow.
The place to be on Monday night was Delridge Community Center – for three events, inside and out:
Inside, a celebration of Eid al-Fitr – the end of Ramadan – a party that was part of the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association’s Cultural Events Series. Above, DJ Sam and friend; below, facepainting for kids:
DNDA’s next Cultural Event will be part of the Delridge Day festival on August 13th – also at DCC, but outside this time – on August 13th.
Outside the center, the North Delridge Neighborhood Council barbecued as part of their July meeting:
At center are NDNC’s Nancy Folsom and Michael Taylor-Judd. NDNC meets second Monday, most months, with locations varying in the warm season – watch for updates at ndnc.org.
Across the park from the meeting, Trio Camellia performed in Seattle Chamber Music Society‘s second “Music Under the Stars” concert:
Concertgoers from toddlers to seniors sprawled out across the grassy lawn and slope to listen until the trio made way for a live stream from Benaroya Hall.
Here’s our video of the first section of the trio’s performance in the park, as introduced by Noel Evans from SCMS:
Bach, Haydn, Schubert, and Mozart were part of the program. Two more chances to enjoy live chamber music outside Delridge Community Center in this free series – 7:15 pm the next two Mondays (July 18th and 25th).
7:26 PM: That’s the Lenora Trio, being introduced by Noel Evans just before their live performance that’s happening right now in the first of four “Music Under the Stars” events that the Seattle Chamber Music Society is presenting at Delridge Community Center Park for the first time. They’ll play until 8 – “Serenade for Strings” by Ernst von Dohnanyi and Beethoven‘s “String Trio in C minor” comprise tonight’s program – and then a concert will be streamed live from Benaroya Hall. It’s free, including refreshments (lemonade, coffee, and popcorn). Come on down – lots of room for you and your blanket/chairs on the lawn on the northwest side of DCC, along 26th SW south of SW Genesee.
P.S. If you miss tonight’s event – the series continues for the next three Mondays.
8:33 PM: As scheduled, the trio wrapped up at 8, and the (excellent) sound system switched to the broadcast from Benaroya. We recorded the trio on video and will add it to this story when it’s uploaded. (Added: Here it is!)
(WSB photo, 2015 Band Jam)
Summertime means Seattle Public Schools‘ mega-marchers, the All-City Band, are on the move. We have three West Seattle events to tell you about, all later this month. First, ACB is celebrating its 65th anniversary with a fundraising dinner/auction on July 22nd:
This year, All-City Band celebrates 65 years of Entertainment, Excellence, & Pride by gathering friends, families, and past & current members of ACB with a dinner and auction. We will gather together to celebrate this amazing accomplishment by holding an auction dinner fundraiser followed by an Alumni weekend.   Â
You can join us by attending the 65th Anniversary Auction and Dinner on Friday, July 22nd. The event will be held at the South Seattle College Brockey Center (6000 16th Ave SW). The event will begin at 6 pm with a cocktail hour and silent auction, followed by dinner, a live auction, and entertainment.Â
Tickets are $45 and can purchased using this link.  Ticket prices will increase to $50 after July 5th.
Band alumni can also use the link to register to participate in the alumni weekend. The Alumni weekend will include an all-band rehearsal on Saturday, July 23rd, and marching in the Seafair Chinatown Parade on Sunday, July 24th. Â
All proceeds from this event will directly fund items for All-City Band and the students such as purchasing new equipment, purchasing music, and helping with student scholarships for tuition and travel. If you have questions, or need additional information, please email them to foacbpresident@gmail.com.
Â
Thank you very much for considering All-City Band, and attending our function. The auction is sponsored by the Friends of All-City Band, (FOACB), a 501(c)(3) with tax ID #20-23354444.
The next day, on Saturday, July 23rd, you’ll see the All-City Band (directed by Marcus Pimpleton) in the West Seattle Grand Parade (11 am start at California/Lander in Admiral, heading southbound on California to Edmunds in The Junction).
And on Friday, July 29th, the ACB will again host and perform in Band Jam, an annual pre-Torchlight Parade tuneup for marching bands (and special guests) – always free and fun, at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle) – more details (including confirmed start time) are promised soon.
Thanks to Don Brubeck for the photo and report: “Four WSHS band members were practicing at Alki (Playfield) just now. Getting ready to head to the beach for busking to raise money for a new tuba.”
Tucked away in a corner of western Gatewood, The Building holds many delights. Among them is the ProletariYacht Club, where, as featured in today’s West Seattle Saturday calendar-highlights list, live music is happening right now. We stopped by just before sunset.
On the bill tonight, as announced by the PYC, “Blake Musselman (aka Moogie Man), who’s performing “a theatrical rock-based show, Marko Reyes-Jech with soul/funk crooning, and Tim Scallon with rock-based looping.” (updated) That’s Tim in our photo above; (added) video:
Just wander into The Building, off SW Othello (at 4316) just west of the Westside Unitarian Universalist church, and downstairs – follow the signs.
(WSB photo from Caspar Babypants @ Summer Concerts at Hiawatha in 2015)
About an hour into summer, we have the news music lovers have been awaiting – the lineup for this year’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with sponsors including WSB, one month before the start of the six-Thursday-night outdoor-show series. Coordinator Katy Walum says it was “a big challenge to review the work of so many talented artists who applied,” but they had to settle on a half-dozen, and here’s the result:
July 21st: Smokey Brights – video here
July 28th: The Banner Days – video here
August 4th – Vicci Martinez – video here
August 11th – Total Experience Gospel Choir – video here
August 18th – Duke Evers -video here
August 25th – Caspar Babypants – video here
The concerts are all free, on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center – bring your own chair/blanket/etc. – and start at 6:30 pm.
In our photo, broadcasting live this afternoon from the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center parking lot, are KEXP’s Becky (at laptop), Evie, and DJ Quilty 3000. It’s the second year in a row that West Seattle has been home to KEXP’s Hood to Hood victory party – the prize for the neighborhood whose residents raise the most money during a special fundraising drive for the radio station. The afternoon included live performances, food trucks, a beer garden, and vendors, but though the Youngstown party wraps at 6 pm, the Hood to Hood revelry isn’t over – a live-music showcase starts at The Skylark at 6:30 pm, hosted by West Seattle-residing KEXP DJ Troy Nelson, who then moves to Shadowland in The Junction for a DJ set during the Hood to Hood afterparty at 9.
In the chapel at Providence Mount St. Vincent tonight, worldwide celebrities drew a crowd. They are the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, best known for a documentary titled “Landfill Harmonic.” As the website about the documentary explains, they are a “Paraguayan musical group of kids that live next to one of South America’s largest landfills. This unlikely orchestra plays music from instruments made entirely out of garbage.” Like this violin, made from paint cans, kitchen baking pans, wood from pallets, and a fork:
And this cello, also made from pallet wood and an old oil can:
Here’s video with an introduction, translated, from their leader, followed by tango music starting at about 2:45 in:
If you missed the Recycled Orchestra in West Seattle tonight, they have two Seattle performances tomorrow – 3 pm at the Royal Room in Columbia City, and 7 pm at Hearthstone in Green Lake.
If you don’t go to Alki today to sit on the beach … go to see Milo‘s watercolor paintings. Milo is a 9-year-old third-grader at Pathfinder K-8 who started painting cars less than two months ago, and is already having his first exhibition – on the walls at Ampersand Café. His proud mom Sarah sent us these images of some of his work.
Sarah tells us Milo is “passionate about cars” but “also plays piano and is a decent chess player.” Milo’s paintings just went up at Ampersand (2536 Alki Avenue SW, open 6:30 am-5:30 pm daily) and will be up for about a month; if you like his creations, they’re featured on a poster that’s available for purchase.
Just announced – the plan for this year’s celebration of West Seattle’s latest win in KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood Challenge neighborhood-vs.-neighborhood fundraising competition. This time, it’s not a Junction street party like last year, though a Junction venue is part of it:
After winning KEXP’s annual Hood-to-Hood Challenge in 2015, West Seattle will host KEXP’s Hood-to-Hood Day on Sunday, June 5th. KEXP welcomes music lovers from all neighborhoods to join us at Youngstown from noon to 6:00 PM for a live broadcast of DJ Quilty and DJ Stevie Zoom, featuring live performances by Greys, Acapulco Lips, and special guests, plus a free street festival with bands, food trucks, and a beer garden in collaboration with Redhook.
This event is FREE, all ages, and open to the public!
After the live broadcast, Skylark Cafe will host a West Seattle Music Showcase and the music continues at Shadowland’s Hood to Hood After Party with DJ Troy Nelson.
KEXP Hood to Hood Live Broadcast
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center hosted by DJ Quilty and DJ Stevie Zoom
Noon to 6:00 PM
12:30 PM: Live set by Greys
3:30 PM: Live set by Acapulco Lips
5:00 PM: Live set by special guestsKEXP Hood to Hood Live Music Showcase
Skylark Cafe Hosted by Troy Nelson
3803 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, WA 98106
6:30pm- 9:00pm
21+, $5 door
Featuring:
Detective Agency
Dre’zy & Too Smoove
special guestsHood to Hood After Party
Shadowland DJ set by Troy Nelson
4458 California Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98116
9:00pm
21+
Featuring: DJ Troy Nelson
(Photo courtesy Seattle Chamber Music Society)
Just announced – a new outdoor-music series in West Seattle this summer!
For more than twenty years, the Seattle Chamber Music Society has presented a series of free, family-friendly summer concerts in various parks around town. This year — for the first time — we will be coming to West Seattle.
In partnership with the Delridge Community Center, these events will take place on Tuesday, July 5th, and then three successive Mondays (July 11th, 18th, and 25th). Each event begins at 7:15 pm with a live performance by an outstanding student ensemble, followed at 8:00 pm with KING-FM’s broadcast of that evening’s Seattle Chamber Music Society concert, streamed live direct from Benaroya Hall.
Here’s the lineup for the live ensembles:
July 5th: “An eclectic program of music for guitar and violin, performed by an ensemble from Cornish College of the Arts”
July 11th: “Trio from UW”
July 18th: “Quartet from the Seattle Youth Symphony”
July 25th: “An eclectic program of music for guitar and violin, performed by an ensemble from Cornish College of the Arts”
Delridge Community Center is at 4501 Delridge Way SW.
While ArtsWest Playhouse in The Junction wraps up its 2015-2016 season this month, it’s just gone public with what’s planned for 2016-2017. Here’s the announcement:
ArtsWest Artistic Director Mathew Wright [photo at right] has announced his second season, running September 2016 through July 2017. Opening with acclaimed dramatist Terrence McNally’s MOTHERS AND SONS, the six production season will include the magical story telling of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER based on the novel by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson; an Olivier Award winning new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s GHOSTS; a piercing glimpse into the teen-age world in Kirsten Greenidge’s MILK LIKE SUGAR; Byrony Lavery’s unflinching drama FROZEN; and the Stephen Sondheim musical thriller SWEENEY TODD.
“Through a variety of lenses, periods and styles, we are looking at the ways in which parents and children navigate the seemingly uncharted path out of childhood and into adulthood.” shares Wright.
In addition to the six-show season, ArtsWest is pleased to announce a co-production with ACT and Circle X Theatre Co. in the presentation of an incendiary new rock musical, BAD APPLES, directed by ACT Artistic Director John Langs at ACT’s Falls Theatre in the fall of 2016.
Read the shows’ details, after the jump:
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