West Seattle, Washington
27 Sunday
That’s an award-winning photo titled “Withered Lotus,” the work of West Seattle High School photography student Hao Cheng. WSHS Art Department head Michelle Sloan shares the news that Hao received an Outstanding Achievement in Photography award at the Puget Sound Educational Service District’s Regional High School Art Show:
Hao accepted the award at a reception on Sunday. Congratulations!
P.S. You can see the entire art show online – photographs representing 96 entries – just go here.
(WSB video of Mudhoney at WS Summer Fest, July 2009)
Were you at Mudhoney‘s legendary West Seattle Summer Fest performance in 2009? The band is coming back to the West Seattle Junction for an in-store performance at Easy Street Records on April 1st, according to an announcement on the Easy Street website, dated Saturday and shared late last night by the Junction Association via Facebook. Almost looked like an April Fool’s joke if you check the ESR Twitter stream – but it’s also on the Mudhoney website, scheduled at 8 pm one week from tonight. (And the poster’s on Mudhoney’s Twitter feed.) We hope to find out more from ESR today.
8:28 AM UPDATE: Easy Street’s Rod Moody tells WSB it really is true – and they’ll have even more information on their social-media channels today (Facebook here, Twitter here).
Big competition at the Denny/Sealth campus today, in an academic/cultural area in which both schools take great pride. Denny principal Jeff Clark shares the photos and this report:
Chief Sealth International High School and Denny International Middle School were proud to host today the 4th annual Chinese Exploration Scholastic Competition 2013 华盛顿州中文学艺竞赛.
This event, which was sponsored by the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington, was a venue for students from around the region to come together to share their knowledge of Chinese language. More than 110 schools with students in grades K-12 were represented today, competing in multiple events. Randy Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, congratulated all the student participants and thanked the 93 volunteers who helped to organize it all:
I would like to extend a special thank you and congratulations to Denny and Sealth Chinese teachers Ms. Lin, Ms. Wang, and Ms. Li, and the 83 scholars from Denny and Sealth who participated today!
This page on the Confucius Institute website shows the categories in which the students competed.
WSB reader Marcia sent us the link to that poem video recently, with no explanation other than saying poet Austin Mansell‘s parents are friends of hers from West Seattle and she thought it was a “wonderful poem” worth sharing with WSB-land. After watching it, we knew she was right. There’s a twist, so we’re not including “spoilers”; after watching it, if you are interested in finding out more about the author/reader and why he wrote it, click here to read what he told us when we contacted him to find out more. (Turns out he too is a West Seattle native.)
Meander’s Kitchen in White Center says it is canceling the plan to host a show by singer Michelle Shocked next month, because of Shocked’s reported homophobic remarks in San Francisco last night. Via Facebook, Meander’s proprietor Miranda Krone made the announcement about an hour ago. The concert had been set for April 26th. The online reports about Shocked’s show at a San Francisco club include this one reporting that she used a phrase best known as the slogan of an anti-gay fundamentalist church, “God hates f-gs” and that she said same-sex marriage puts the world at risk of Biblical-scale destruction. This report says venues elsewhere in the country have canceled her shows as a result. We have not, however, seen any day-after quotes from Shocked herself, so far.
TUESDAY NIGHT NOTE: Update from Miranda – she says Meander’s will host a cabaret benefit for queer youth that night, instead.
Sunday night’s not usually the most bustling time at a coffeehouse – particularly on a St. Patrick’s Day when it seemed everyone was out drinking green beer and/or marking the end of an era – but Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) was crawling with people last night.
The occasion: A shoot for the in-production time-travel online series “Causality,” which just debuted this trailer at Emerald City Comicon downtown earlier this month:
They’ll be filming at another West Seattle location later today, we’re told.
Since Legacy Partners announced a year and a half ago that it was taking over an approved-but-dormant development site in North Delridge, the ~200-apartment project renamed Youngstown Flats has had art in the plan – ultimately, works by 14 local artists. What we believe to be the biggest piece was delivered today: A corten-steel sculpture titled Continuity II, by Whidbey Island artist Jan Hoy. It’s a centerpiece at the courtyard fronting 26th SW. The building itself is weeks from completion.
The West Seattle High School PTSA has just announced that tickets are on sale for the annual “Taste of the Arts” on April 5th. Here’s the announcement sent by Lisa Clark from the WSHS PTSA:
This annual event celebrates the art programs at WSHS; culinary, visual and performing. The evening starts with the culinary art students preparing and serving delicious appetizers as attendees view the visual art (Student photography, ceramics, painting, drawing, and wood shop) on display that has been judged by 4 local artists. The musicians and cast of the spring musical, “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” are present for a short time to mingle before the attendees are escorted to the high school theater for the evening’s 8:00 pm performance. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 at the door, and include appetizers, 2 beverages, and entrance to the spring musical.
The night starts with the tasting and arts viewing, 6-7 pm at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church Hall next to WSHS, and then moves on to the school theater for the spring musical at 8 pm. You can buy tickets right now online – just go here.
P.S. The students’ art will be judged by four well-known local artists: Twilight Artist Collective‘s new owners Tracy Cilona and Christine Heidel; RobRoy Chalmers; and Stephanie Hargrave.
If you are, or know, a sculpture artist interested in the following project, Seal Sitters is looking for you:
Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network is seeking a sculpture artist for our educational outreach project, The Year of the Seal. The project will culminate with the installation of a largely realistic bronze work depicting a harbor seal mom and pup. Harbor seals are considered by biologists to be an indicator species for the health of our waters. The sculpture will raise awareness of our fragile marine ecosystem and all marine life that calls Puget Sound home. The artwork, which will reside at West Seattle’s high-visibility Alki Beach, is funded by a grant from Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods.
Artists from the Pacific Northwest are invited to submit a Statement of Qualifications. Submission deadline is March 22, 2013, and selected artist will be notified on March 26, 2013. The target date for installation is late August with a dedication ceremony on September 7th. Artists must have a proven track record of public art installations.
Download the RFQ (by going here).
And you’ll find more information about the Year of the Seal project here.
When promotional e-mail comes in from West Seattle’s Kenyon Hall, it’s usually an enticing bit of information about upcoming performer(s) and what showgoers can expect. But the story told by today’s e-mail from Kenyon Hall’s Lou Magor caught our attention – not just because the performer is someone you’ll likely recognize. With permission, we republish the announcement:
A few weeks ago I received a call from Seattle songwriter and Kenyon Hall patron Lainey Ballew, who needed a favor. It seems that, while on a trip to Los Angeles, she attended a show featuring Ronny Cox, and was so enchanted by his performance that she asked him if he’d ever consider bringing his act to Seattle. His positive reaction led to his being booked by Lainey in a Seattle area venue for March 9, this Saturday.
Unfortunately, the venue had a scheduling problem that caused them to cancel the performance. And since the date was already set, and the flights from Los Angeles had already been booked, Lainey asked me if Kenyon Hall would be available to Mr. Cox and his band. I watched the YouTube video produced to introduce his show, and immediately called Lainey to offer the hall for this Saturday at 7:30. (Above is) that video, titled Songs, Stories, and Out & Out Lies.
I hope you’ll consider coming to this unique, very entertaining evening. Ronny Cox has been in countless movies and television shows. Remembered best as the moral-minded and ill-fated Drew who instigates the legendary “Dueling Banjos” sequence with a mountain boy in Deliverance, he was Captain Edward Jellico in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the bad guy in Robocop. As a matter of fact, if you visit his biography on the Internet Movie Database, you’ll find yourself wondering just which movies and TV shows he hasn’t been in!
When he’s not in front of the cameras, Ronny Cox can be found touring and demonstrating his musical talents at various music festivals and theatre shows and, to date, he has released five CDs—an eclectic mixture of jazz, folk, and western tunes.
You can make a reservation by e-mailing kenyonhall@earthlink.net. Lou writes that tickets are $20/$18 (seniors/students), “a little more” than usual, but concessions are included, “including our renowned free-range Root Beer Floats.”
The popular “Chinese Corner” program is coming back to the Seattle Chinese Garden on Puget Ridge, starting one week from today! There’s still space, so the garden’s getting the word out today:
你好! Learn basic Mandarin Chinese conversation and culture in a fun, relaxed environment with our experienced Chinese teachers and student assistants. All ages and abilities levels are welcome. Participate in activities like playing mah jong, painting, and talking about food! 7 sessions are every other Wednesday from 4-6 pm on 3/13, 3/27, 4/10, 4/24, 5/8. 5/22, and 6/5. Free, but donations to the Seattle Chinese Garden are welcome.
For more information, e-mail Jennifer at ciwa@uw.edu – to register, go here.
That’s the trailer for what West Seattle writer Michael Stusser calls the “digital-detox documentary” he made with fellow West Seattleite Marty Riemer – a short film that’s about to make rounds on the film-festival circuit. It’s part of the work Stusser did for his much-discussed Seattle Weekly story “Sleeping With Siri,” about the tech takeover of our lives. As described on the YouTube page for the trailer you can watch above:
Inspired by a high school’s “Digital Blackout” campaign, where students went without Facebook, e-mail or texting for an entire week, journalist Michael Stusser explores both sides of the technological divide in “Sleeping with Siri.” Jumping first into the digital madness with a Techno-Gorge, Stusser explores every single technological opportunity available, 24 hours a day, Foursquaring at every location, Skyping in the car and Tweeting, Pinning and “Liking” everything in sight. He then dropped out entirely for a second week, with no computer, e-mail or social networks, availing himself of the now lost icons of a by-gone era, including phone booths, land-lines, libraries, paper maps and letter writing.
So far, Stusser says, they’ve made it into festivals including the Big Easy International Film and Music Festival March 22-24 in New Orleans and the American Documentary Film Festival in April in Palm Springs. Will we see it on a big screen in Seattle? Stusser says they’ve applied to SIFF.
As our photo shows, Hey Marseilles drew a crowd to Easy Street Records in The Junction tonight, the first of three live in-store concerts in six nights. Here’s what’s coming up, per Easy Street online guru Rod:
Pickwick – March 4 – 7 pm
*Our #1 soul brothers Pickwick are celebrating the release of their first full-length, Can’t Talk Medicine at Easy Street West Seattle March 4 at 7 pm! We’ll be selling their record early too and who knows, they might even stick around to sign some copies. This one’s also free and all ages!Cave Singers – March 5 – 7 pm
*Get out of your cave and come into ours when we host the release party for the Cave Singers‘ great new record, Naomi! Free and all ages at 4559 California Ave SW.
(Monday photo by Mark Wangerin, who says the bird is a double-crested cormorant)
Highlights for today/tonight from the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar:
TRAFFIC REMINDER: This is day 2 of one lane southbound/two northbound on the Timber Bridge section of Highway 99, south of the West Seattle Bridge, which will be rebuilt over the next year-plus.
SEALTH TOUR: School tour this morning for prospective Chief Sealth International High School families coming from independent schools, 10-11:30 am (2600 SW Thistle)
PATHFINDER MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: Pathfinder K-8‘s open house for prospective 6-8 students and their families at 6:00 pm in the library (1912 SW Genesee).
BLOCK WATCH CAPTAINS VS. MAIL THEFT: How can you prevent mail theft/fraud – and what do you do if you discover/suspect it? Federal and city law enforcers will be guests at tonight’s monthly meeting of the West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network, and you’re invited too: 6:30 pm, Southwest Precinct (Delridge/Webster).
SEATTLE SYMPHONY, FOR FREE, IN WEST SEATTLE! The orchestra’s series of free community concerts returns to West Seattle tonight, 7:30 pm at the auditorium of Chief Sealth IHS (2600 SW Thistle). No tickets required – just be there! Presented by the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle; details in the calendar listing.
NIGHTLIFE: Live music at Locöl and OutWest; trivia at Feedback; karaoke at Skylark; singer/songwriter night at Shadowland … individual listings for all of the above, on the calendar.
Dozens of young local musicians are back from a big weekend. Ethan Thomas from West Seattle High School‘s music department reports on achievements by students from 3 local schools:
The West Seattle High School, Chief Sealth International High School, and Denny Middle School Jazz Ensembles traveled together over the weekend to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival at the University of Idaho. The bands had an opportunity to perform and receive feedback from adjudicators, attend workshops and evening concerts by such internationally acclaimed musicians as Maceo Parker, Jeff Hamilton, Regina Carter, Take 6 and the Lionel Hampton Big Band. Three students from our group (Annabel Foucault from WSHS on bass, Cameron Nakatani from CSIHS and Ben Orlin from Denny IMS on trumpet) received honorable mention recognition for their performance. All three groups (WSHS under the direction of Ethan Thomas; CSIHS and Denny under the direction of Marcus Pimpleton) performed very well.
Congratulations to all!
You might recall our note January 29th about TV/film actor Thomas Haden Church sighted at Admiral Safeway, while the film “Lucky Them” was shooting in West Seattle. It’s coming back, according to notes from WSB’ers both north and south who both had received visits from production-crew members alerting them to the impending shoots in the next few days: One on Alki, one in Gatewood/Sunrise Heights. So if you see a film crew in either of those areas – that’s what they’re here for. Here’s the iMDB page for the movie, which is directed by Seattle’s Megan Griffiths and also stars Toni Collette.
(January 2011 photo)
Two years after the last Kiwanis Club of West Seattle-presented free concert by the Seattle Symphony, the orchestra is coming back next week – Tuesday, February 26th. Here’s the announcement:
The Seattle Symphony will perform a free Community Concert this month as, part of the Orchestra’s ongoing commitment to provide free opportunities for West Seattle to experience the transformational and inspiring impact of live music. The program, while sure to delight symphony fans of all ages, should have special appeal to youngsters.
The evening concert will take place at West Seattle’s Chief Sealth International High School, 2600 SW Thistle St. at 7:30 pm on February 26. Ample parking is available onsite. Admission to the Community Concert is free and tickets are not required.
Assistant Conductor Stilian Kirov will lead the Orchestra in a charming program of 19th- and 20th-century masterworks, including Béla Bartók’s Rumanian Folk Dances for Orchestra; Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin; and Johannes Brahms’ popular Hungarian Dances Nos. 5 & 6.
Talented 16-year-old violinist Amelia Sie, who hails from Bellevue, will also perform the first movement of Sergey Prokofiev’s virtuosic Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor.
The announcement continues ahead, including the full program:
Read More
Local artists are invited to come sell their creations at the next “Homemade Brigade,” March 2nd at Freshy’s in The Admiral District, according to Krystal Kelley from event partner Mind Unwind:
The Homemade Brigade is a community partnership between Mind Unwind and Freshy’s Coffee. The Brigade is comprised of artists who create goods and art pieces in small batches by hand. Most of the artists featured in the past use recycled and reused materials, but this is not necessary.
For artists, come sell your wares. Entrance fee includes table, you keep all your sales…there is no commission. Table fee is $15 per artist. Register early, space is limited!
Follow this link to register.
For art enthusiasts, come buy local art that is creative and inspiring. Support local art and business!
That just-published video shows a winning performance – the Chief Sealth International High School Percussion Ensemble, led by student leaders Farhan Vohra and Francisco Leon, under the direction of CSIHS band director Marcus Pimpleton – as they won the Elliott Bay Music Educators‘ Solo and Ensemble competition last weekend at Seattle Pacific University. In April, they will represent the Seattle area in the large percussion category at the WIAA/WMEA State Solo and Ensemble competition in Ellensburg. Congratulations!
(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB. Above, the Au Lac Vovinam Dance Team)
With a lion dance, firecrackers, and even a mayoral appearance, all graced by sunshine, West Seattle’s Vietnamese Cultural Center celebrated the Lunar New Year on Saturday afternoon. But there is more to the celebration than those bright and loud elements:
That’s the center’s director Lee Bui, after lighting incense. Another tradition: A tray of five fruits, as an offering:
Lanh Bui prepared it …
… and placed it on the outdoor altar:
There were photos with their guest, Mayor McGinn:
And time to admire the center’s growing complement of tributes and temples:
What looks like garlands hanging in the foreground of that view were actually strings of firecrackers, waiting to be lit:
That’s Duong Tan setting them off. And of course there was dancing:
From the Au Lac Vovinam team, which performed, here’s Doan Dinh in the foreground:
The celebration was about ceremony, but also about people – like Phuoc Huynh, who spoke:
And Chi Nguyen:
And the uniformed veterans often seen at Cultural Center events, like Len Hua, photographed saluting during the national anthems:
And this time, a special guest:
You’re welcome to visit the center on Saturday afternoons, when it’s open to the public, noon-3 pm at 2236 SW Orchard. The iconic statue on its grounds depicts the 13th-century hero Gen. Tran Hung Dao.
Big news for the little dancers of Gildenfire and their leader Jenna Lutton. They’ll soon have a permanent studio, reports Megan Kelton-Rehkopf (who also shared the photo from their latest performance):
On Neighborhood Appreciation Day (Saturday), Jenna Lutton’s Gildenfire Dance held their annual performance for the residents at The Kenney. At the end of the performance, Jenna announced that Gildenfire has found a permanent home and she’s launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $5500 for a dance floor and mirrors to transform the space into an amazing dance studio. The new home of Gildenfire will be in White Center, located behind McLendon’s.
Here’s the link to the Gildenfire fundraising page on IndieGogo – as of this writing, already two-thirds of the way to the goal!
From the Total Experience Gospel Choir (above) to the Chief Sealth International High School Choir (below) …
… to student/pro collaborations like Septimus with the Denny International Middle School Jazz Band:
… last night’s third annual “Soul Jambalaya” (free, with donations benefiting the Denny and Sealth music programs) “was truly incredible,” reports Denny principal Jeff Clark (who also shared the photos):
Congratulations to the Denny and Sealth Jazz Band and Choir students! A huge thank you to our guests from Septimus and the Total Experience Gospel Choir!
This musical celebration is the creation of our inspirational band director, Mr. Marcus Pimpleton. He described the thinking behind this amazing event this way:
“Three years ago, I had the opportunity to take a group of Denny students to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival’s ‘Jazz is Blues and Sacred Roots Concert.’ That concert, through the language of music, provided students with a musical history lesson connecting the jazz music our students study in their school ensembles to its musical roots in the blues and to the spiritual songs of hardship and struggle that grew initially out of the experience of negro slaves … My primary hope in organizing Soul Jambalaya is to recreate that synergy that I felt that night at Hampton, to expose my students to the music they may have limited experience with, and in the tradition of Black History Month, to celebrate the influence of African-American music styles to the musical landscape of America.”
Thank you, Mr. Pimpleton, for bringing that synergy and celebration to our scholars and our community!
Will the third time be the proverbial charm for West Seattle-based musicmaker David Miles Huber, when the Grammy Awards are announced tomorrow? He’s been nominated for the third time – this time, “Chamberland” is up for Best Surround Sound Album. The video above shows Huber’s in-studio performance of “Emerald,” one of the album’s cuts. His previous nominations, also in the Best Surround Sound Album category, were announced in 2009 and 2010.
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