West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
In a week with few other official government events, Mayor McGinn briefed the media tonight on the status of the “Nightlife Initiative“ he announced in July. The full status report is here (PDF). Many of the components only affect other parts of the city, but of note citywide, the proposal to pursue “flexible liquor-service hours” – such as later cutoff times – is still in play. Discussing the results of 2,400 comments tallied on the initiative, the mayor’s report says “… more than 80 percent of online respondents agreed or strongly agreed that, ‘Extending service hours will make our streets safer.'” The city acknowledges it would need to develop a proposal to present to the state, and says that the guidelines for “exploring” the idea would include:
Conditional license
1. Privilege for bar owners
2. Started as a pilot
3. Use of data throughout the process
4. Reduces police resources
5. Resolution of City Council needed for adoption
As for existing rules, the report includes an update on what the city’s interdepartmental Code Compliance Team is finding. Citywide, the number of businesses where sales/consumption of alcohol is allowed rose 18 percent in 2010, the report says, from 1,497 in 2009 to 1,766 in 2010. Fewer than 1 in 7 had “noncompliance issues”; of those, the Southwest Precinct (West Seattle/South Park) area had the smallest number – 10 – and the report says 9 of those fixed the problems, with 1 still a work in progress. Meantime, the report also notes a new law that’s about to take effect:
The Nighttime Disturbance Ordinance was passed by the City Council on August 2, 2010. It creates a new civil infraction for loud noise, threats or fighting that occur in a public place in a commercial or industrial zone between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. The noise provisions of the ordinance were approved by the Department of Ecology in November and SPD is currently conducting officer training on the ordinance. Enforcement will begin in January 2011.
Again, you can read the entire Nightlife Initiative report here.
(Photo by Christopher Nelson)
West Seattle/Los Angeles filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin is shooting a new rock ‘n’ roll film – explained here. He shared the photo from a shoot last week at Morgan Junction’s own Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), adding, ” We will be shooting around West Seattle and downtown over the next several weeks.” In fact, you could find yourself part of it, if this announcement he included sounds like you:
CASTING CALL:
LOADED feature film shooting Wednesday 29th in Seattle. Looking for interesting characters in unique attire. If interested, e-mail:
theloadedproject@gmail.com
Though the film centers on rocker Duff McKagan‘s current group Loaded, it’s not a documentary – Chamberlin shared his synopsis, and you can read it after the jump:Read More
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
As promised, a few more of the West Seattle business windows painted with holiday scenes – seemed to us like there were more than usual this year, so we thought it would be fun to showcase some on Christmas Eve/Day; we showed the Talarico’s tribute to Bob Ross earlier. In this roundup, the top and below photo are from the display that’s generated the most buzz in The Junction – Puerto Vallarta‘s fun-loving, thong-sporting holiday entourage:
Those are by Sign Savant, Japhy Witte with Z. Rockstad; SS also painted the tamer scenes at West Seattle Coins and Courtesy Tire:
At Northwest Art and Frame, a rare non-Sign Savant window creation. This one’s by TJ Swier of TJ Grafix:
We’re planning to show a few more windows tomorrow.
After noticing so many festively painted store windows in West Seattle, particularly in The Junction, we asked WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen to photograph some of them for us to feature Christmas Eve/Day. We’ll publish a few installments tonight/tomorrow but this one kicks it off – the Bob Ross tribute in the windows at Talarico’s, by Sign Savant‘s Japhy Witte and Z. (Zach) Rockstad (who painted the vast majority of what we spotted). P.S. If you don’t remember Bob Ross – think public TV, painting, gentle voice, big hair. A closer look at some of the scenes:
No Bob in this one, but it’s cute just the same.
More holiday window art later!
If you were among the hundreds at the West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting earlier this month, you’ll remember the Endolyne Children’s Choir. When they resume their Tuesday practices post-holidays, they’ll be welcoming new members – here’s the invitation from L. Medina:
The Endolyne Children’s Choir is wrapping up a busy Fall Session where we were able to perform for the West Seattle community at the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, Mt. St. Vincent’s, Park West, the December 4th Christmas Tree Lighting, and our annual holiday concert @ St. John’s Church. We are a non-audition choir, led by music director Maria Johnson, and we are pleased to welcome our new Encore and Debut choir director; Amy Stagno for the winter Session which starts January 4th. Our Debut Choir (grades K-2), Encore Choir (grades 3-5), and Advanced Ensemble Choir (grades 6-8) all practice Tuesday nights at St. John’s Church next to the West Seattle High School. Our purpose is to teach the joy of singing in a community setting that fosters self confidence, teamwork, and a lifelong appreciation for music. To learn more or sign your child up for our next session visit us at: www.endolynechoir.org
Here’s some music for your morning: Video/photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux produced 16 minutes of highlights from several of the student groups — vocal and instrumental — who rocked the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium during the music program‘s Winter Concert last night.
It’s been on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar a while, and now program highlights have just been sent by the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle for the free Seattle Symphony concert they’re presenting at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center at 7 pm January 12th:
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Eric Garcia, conductor
Andrew Brady, bassoon of the Seattle Symphony
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Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191
Honegger: Pastorale d’été
Haydn: Symphony No. 47 in G major
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Again, the concert’s free; more info on the Kiwanis website at kiwaniswestseattle.org.
Holiday favorites resounded through the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium last night as the Westside Symphony and West Seattle Big Band teamed up for a holiday concert. Our top clip features the symphony performing four selections from “The Nutcracker” – conducted by Rob Duisberg (who you may also know as the Lincoln Park bee rescuer). This is the first year for the group to perform as part of the West Seattle Community Orchestras, the new umbrella name for what was Westside Symphonette – this is the older group (the younger groups performed their holiday concert last week). One more selection from last night: WSBB and symphony musicians played several crowd-singalong songs together, including “Winter Wonderland” under the direction of the orchestra group’s founder Toni Reineke:
You can find out more about the WS Big Band here; the WS Community Orchestras are always welcoming new musicians and usually practice Tuesdays at CSIHS – find out more about them here.
Quick preview of a highlight tomorrow night from the WSB West Seattle Holidays page – Christmas classics from The Westside Symphony AND West Seattle Big Band, all on one bill, 7 pm Tuesday in the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium (2600 SW Thistle). According to Toni Reineke of the West Seattle Community Orchestras (which include the symphony), the program will include “Nutcracker” selections, “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland,” and the song everybody knows as “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” $5 adults, $1 kids, and there will be singalongs!
Special shoutout to photographer Machel Spence, who not only has sent photos of the C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) Holiday Bazaar before we and our cameras could even hit the road, but also is one of the most prolific contributors to the West Seattle Blog photo pool on Flickr – take a look and see her beautiful photos of local fungi and forests. She’s among the artists and other vendors at C & P till 3 pm today. (Other bazaars are happening around West Seattle right now too – as listed here, with other holiday – and non-holiday! – happenings.)
ADDED 4:39 PM: Two more photos from the C & P event – which drew quite the crowd!
That’s the overview from just one of C & P’s rooms – we also snagged a shot of artist Barbara Noonan, of Mornin Noonan Night Studios downtown:
C & P is a hub of activity many days/nights of the week – from live music to art classes to monthly poetry readings; you can check out the calendar here. (And remember a diaper drive is under way for WestSide Baby and food-bank drive, with donations welcome for both!)
Those are youth musicians from West Seattle Community Orchestras, rehearsing last night at Chief Sealth International High School for the holiday concert they’ll be part of tonight – same place – 6:30 pm. Adults $5, children $1, but as the poster says, extra donations are always appreciated! … Tonight’s lineup also includes your chance to find out why the Duwamish River cleanup “feasibility study” matters to everyone in our area – find out about it, and have your say, 5:30-8:30 pm at Concord Elementary in South Park. … The Senior Center of West Seattle presents “Spirit of Salsa,” 10-10:45 am, for fun and exercise, no partner necessary, $10 drop-in … Enjoy your West Seattle Community Centers (WSB sponsor) to the fullest – sign up for winter classes (Southwest Pool, too) starting at noon today – find the info online by going here. … And remember our special holiday links: Events list here, shopping guide here.
(WSB video and photo by Ellen Cedergreen)
And our third and final report on a Thursday night full of showcases for local student creativity – Winter Jazz Night at Chief Sealth International High School. In the clip above, Jazz Band II, which opened the night, performed “Emergency Stopping Only,” featuring Jesse Torres-Cruz on drums, Jazz Band II was led by Marcus Pimpleton, who, WSB contributing photographer Ellen Cedergreen reports, talked onstage about how exciting it is for Sealth to have two Jazz Bands, since as an alum he remembers when there were none. Also performing last night, Jazz Band I, led by Debbie Meyer – sorry we don’t have video of this group too (next concert!), but here’s a photo:
Jazz Band I performed six songs, after Jazz Band II’s five-song set. Thanks to the community members on- and off-campus who share the news about events like this and the others we covered last night; if you have school/community/etc. news/event notices to share, please let us know, any time!
(WSB photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Thursday night, we covered three events showcasing student creativity – and here’s the first report. Above, that’s Denny International Middle School student Jasmin Fredriksson proudly displaying “Through Our Eyes,” a first-of-its-kind compilation of Denny students’ personal narratives. She wrote “Bow to the 8th Grade,” about a bullying incident. Jasmin told WSB she’d love a career as a writer. We met Jasmin and other young writers during an event at C & P Coffee (WSB sponsor) celebrating the debut of “Through Our Eyes”:
Language Arts teacher Nehaya Dashti happily reported that it was the first time she could recall students outnumbering parents in the crowd at an event like this.
You can buy a copy of “Through Our Eyes” ($30) by contacting the teacher at 817-602-9378 or nadashti@seattleschools.org.
For a second consecutive year, West Seattle’s David Miles Huber is a Grammy Award nominee – again in the “Best Surround Sound Album” category, but this time for “Parallax Eden,” . The album is described by one reviewer quoted on Huber’s website as “a study in minimal relaxed electronic instrumental music that becomes more and more compelling with every listen.” The video above features the artist – who describes himself as based in Berlin as well as West Seattle – talking about, and demonstrating, his work. You can also hear samples on the “Parallax Eden” webpage – and via Huber’s YouTube channel. Grammy winners are scheduled to be announced February 13th.
(Photo courtesy ArtsWest)
Your double dose of West Seattle onstage live-theater holiday goodness is about to arrive, courtesy of ArtsWest and Twelfth Night Productions (both WSB sponsors). First – award-winning “A Tuna Christmas” opens tomorrow night at ArtsWest – running through December 24th as it tells the tales of the townspeople of tiny Tuna, Texas, “where the Lions Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies,” on the day before Christmas, with catastrophes looming like a holiday theater production gone awry and a sabotaged decorating contest. Tickets are available online (showtimes are posted there too).
Then on Friday, it’s opening night for Twelfth Night Productions’ “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play” – and the venue this time is Kenyon Hall:
(Photo courtesy Twelfth Night Productions)
You know the “Wonderful Life” story. But that’s not all that’s in store for showgoers. Twelfth Night says you’ll find pre-show caroling this weekend with the Chief Sealth International High School Honors Choir raising money for its Carnegie Hall trip, and the second weekend in a singalong with Kenyon Hall ‘s Lou Magor, plus the first two Fridays will include a “7-minute Nutcracker Suite adaptation by local dance troupe Van Glam.” The shows are at 7:30 pm December 3-4 and 10-11, and 3 pm December 11-12; tickets are available online here.
“They take music seriously, but also have serious fun!” says Monica, explaining the photo of Chief Sealth International High School‘s Jazz I group at the recent Mill Creek Jazz Festival. She sent it to accompany this invitation:
Please come join the Chief Sealth community for an evening of Jazz performed by our two Jazz ensembles.
Jazz Night at Chief Sealth
Thursday, December 2nd, 7 pm
Free, but donations always gratefully accepted
The school’s at 2600 SW Thistle. Another concert just announced :
Bells of the Sound performs at 7:30 pm Friday, December 10th, at Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor):
Choirs singing on the Christmas Ship, ballerinas dancing to The Nutcracker, and rain pattering on an umbrella-these are just some of the sounds of Christmas in the Puget Sound. And bells-what would Christmas be without the sound of bells? Bells of the Sound, the premier handbell group in the Puget Sound, will present The Sound of Christmas, a delightful program that offers a new take on several holiday favorites, including O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Pat-a-Pan and Feliz Navidad. Join us as we ring in the season!
Tibbetts is at 3940 41st Avenue SW; admission is a suggested donation, $10 adults, $8 children/seniors. Adding this one to the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, where several other concert listings await (make sure we have yours!).
Some of the news we share from local schools is quickly summarizable – a photo, a few words. This report is more verbose – because it’s about words. Just before what became this snow-extended Thanksgiving break (most students have been out since noontime Monday, if not earlier), West Seattle High School language-arts teacher Kira Hopkins shared her news about WSHS and Writers in the Schools, working with her ninth-grade students. Here’s what WITS writer-in-residence Katie Ogle writes about her experiences so far – including a sample of student work:
Writers in the Schools at West Seattle High School
Writers in the Schools, a program of Seattle Arts and Lectures, employs local teaching artists to bring creative writing into King County public schools–and I, Katie Ogle, am delighted to be a 2010 writer-in-residence at West Seattle High School.
I visit Kira Hopkins’ four 9th-grade Language Arts classes each Friday. The early morning classes are usually still waking up and the afternoon classes are sprinting toward the imminent weekend, and yet they still are able to give me astute observations about published work I bring in to examine and push themselves to create stunning responses to my challenging writing prompts.
So far we are learning about the autonomy the writer has over language, the efficacy of literary devices, and how to develop honest, interesting poetry and writing. In keeping with Mrs. Hopkins’ course-theme, Identity, we have written self-portrait poems, odes to cherished objects, and poetic memoirs. I am so pleased to share one of many sharp and well-crafted poems that has come out of our short time together:
Click ahead to read that “well-crafted poem,” and a bit more from Katie Ogle:Read More
There are many reasons to head over to the Duwamish Longhouse in eastern West Seattle (4705 West Marginal Way SW) this afternoon – and one of them is Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen‘s famous frybread. She and her granddaughters were in the longhouse kitchen working on it when we stopped by earlier to get photos from the Native Art Fair, continuing till 5 tonight. Close to the main entrance, you’ll find Duwamish artist Virginia Nelson and husband Tim:
She has fuzzy purses and wallets, among other items, while he’s selling an eclectic doorstop made from a paver, decorated like a snowman – and you can even get them in Husky or Cougar garb. (The Cougs outsell the Huskies, the Nelsons insist.) Next to their table, you will find Duwamish Designs by DeAnn – including dolls made from cedar bark and cattails:
She told us, “I’m not a patient person … but making these has taught me patience,” as she shepherds the entire artistic process, starting with harvesting the cattails and bark. (In the left corner of the photo are beaded bookmarks she is also selling.) You’ll also find hats, wall-hangings, even tribal-art Christmas stockings.
Not snow, nor sleet, nor rain, etc., will deter … not only postal carriers, but also artists. Above, that’s Linus Von Moos, who’s visiting West Seattle all the way from Switzerland. This afternoon, despite the snow and chilly wind, he’s out painting a mural in front of Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction. He’s a traveling artist, Twilight co-proprietor Erin explains, who’s been couch-surfing, including a stay at co-proprietor Mary’s place: “He was itching to leave his mark in Seattle, so we offered TwAC’s wall outside, under the main window.” While he was inside the gallery/shop taking a break, we asked him about the mini-project:
You can see more of his work on his website.
Also from The Junction: If you’ve been there lately, you might have noticed the work going on along the sidewalk on the north side of Alaska, between the Cupcake Royale corner at California SW and the Junction Plaza Park corner at 42nd SW:
Several people have asked us about it or even sent photos; we took that one when we spotted the SDOT truck there on Saturday. According to Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association, the crews are installing more “decorative lampposts” along Alaska, and are working hard to finish the job before Thanksgiving. (Junction Plaza Park is where West Seattleites will gather for the Christmas Tree lighting in less than two weeks – Saturday, December 4th, 5 pm.)
By Christine Johnson-Duell
Special to West Seattle Blog
“Literary Fires,” tomorrow (Wednesday) night at C&P Coffee (WSB sponsor), is a poetry and prose reading on the topic of fires, real and conjured.
The firestarter is poet Susan Rich (left), who won a 2010 CityArtist grant to write about her experiences in Spain during the 2009 wildfires. This reading is part of the grant project.
To help her fan the literary flames, Susan invited award-winning writers Harold Taw and Elizabeth Austen to read with her. All three writers live in West Seattle — and all three have had a literary year that was, well, on fire; Rich’s invitation to Taw and Austen might serve an additional purpose: To mark the achievements all three have enjoyed this year.
The posters are up, all over the hallways inside West Seattle High School – but the invitation extends to the rest of the community, too: The WSHS Drama Club is two nights away from opening its fall production, the jury-deliberations drama “12 Angry People” (known in earlier incarnations as “12 Angry Men”). Drama teacher and “12 Angry People” director Andrew Finley allowed WSB to sit in on dress rehearsal Monday evening, so we grabbed a bit of video during one of the production’s most-emotional scenes:
“What I love about (this play) is that it’s a character study,” Finley told us during a quick chat on the sidelines while the student actors continued their run-through. “The playwriting term is ‘an elevator play’ – the characters are locked in a room, and have to work things out.” For Finley, teaching drama (along with other subjects he teaches) isn’t just a career – it’s in his blood, truly, considering that both his parents are actors, and there’s so much theatrical involvement on his family tree, he jokes that an uncle who is an “international businessman” is considered the “black sheep of the family.”
His cast for “Twelve Angry People” spans the class roster at WSHS – for example, he notes juror #3 is a senior who’s been in the Drama Club for years, while juror #8 is a freshman. (If you’ve never seen a variation of this half-century-old play, it follows the jurors through their debate over a verdict in the case of a young man accused of murdering his father.) Here’s the full cast, from the official website:
FOREMAN: Taylor Schuler
JUROR NO. 2: Matthew Carlson
JUROR NO. 3: David Ramirez
JUROR NO. 4: Flannery Denison
JUROR NO. 5: Nanna Darden
JUROR NO. 6: Matt Bohl
JUROR NO. 7: Johnny Le
JUROR NO. 8: Kayla Swedlow
JUROR NO. 9: Kaily Irons-Fuda
JUROR NO. 10: Sterling Espinoza
JUROR NO. 11: Biruktawit Mengistu
JUROR NO. 12: Mackenzie Jennings
BAILIFF: Margie Alamario
So if you’re not associated with WSHS, why come see a student play? Finley – in his ninth year at WSHS – thinks for a moment, then suggests that one thing setting this apart from other student productions – “I have almost unreasonably high standards,” because of his background. And indeed, as our visit to dress rehearsal wraps up, the actors take a break, and Finley briskly points out one major glitch they’d just displayed – but in a tough-coach sense, not a berating-tyrant sense. They continued working into the night, and will be ready to show their stuff for you and other audience members, Thursday-Saturday this week (Nov. 4-6) and next (Nov. 11-13). Showtime at the WSHS Theater is 7:30 pm nightly; admission is $7 with a reservation, $12 without (all explained online) – to make a reservation, call 206-252-8834. (And stay tuned within the next few weeks for the announcement of two more WSHS productions to come!)
That’s one of the stars of Skeleton Theatre 2010 – “The Death of Rock” (here’s our report from last night; here’s our earlier preview) – with a glass pumpkin left courtesy of West Seattle Art Attack (remember them? if not, read this). The photo’s from Maia Low, part of the Skeleton Theatre team, who wanted to let everyone know THE SHOW WILL GO ON TONIGHT AS PLANNED, rain or no rain. Maia added, “We’re also hoping to add more videos to tonight’s show!” and, regarding the WSAA surprise (which we have independently confirmed), she wrote, “While bagging up the skeletons for the night, we found a wonderful glass pumpkin on our front porch. We were thrilled to find it and it makes me feel like we’ve won an Academy Award! It means a great deal to us to receive such a lovely sign of support from our neighbors (beyond everyone’s willingness to come out and see our shows).” 36th and Hanford (map), 6-9 pm tonight, the animatronic-skeletons-plus-bigscreen-video show runs continuously (with a few minutes’ break between performances), no admission charge but if you want to donate $ to help with expenses, there’s a PayPal link on the ST website.
Till 9 pm, it’s Skeleton Theatre 2010 – “The Death of Rock” – West Seattle’s own animatronic Halloween extravaganza, at 36th/Hanford (map). Thanks to the WSB’er who just texted that photo … we’re heading over shortly to check it out and hope to add video here later.
ADDED 11:59 PM: Two clips – first, a bit of the “Beyond the Music” story of the band Bonaparte, shown on a big screen above the stage, punctuating the songs:
And a bit of Bonaparte’s quite-original, quite-appropriate musical artistry:
Even in a bit of mid-evening drizzle, an appreciative crowd filled the lawn:
Side note – if you walk up 37th along the block south of Hanford, you might see this lovely lass who looks like she should be hanging out with the band:
P.S. If you missed it tonight, Skeleton Theatre is scheduled to run continuously 6-9 pm again tomorrow (Monday) too. This is the fifth year Chris Walker and friends have put on an animatronic tour-de-force … explore the official website for the background (and to find a button to chip in a few bucks if you enjoyed the show!).
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