11:36 AM: The Admiral Neighborhood Association wasn’t going to let a few (OK, more than a few, earlier) raindrops get in the way of this year’s Admiral Funktion street festival. It’s on right now, in the street on California SW between Admiral Way and SW College. Music starts at noon – here’s the lineup:

We’re on site at the festival – which continues until 8 pm – all day – lots of coverage to come!

12 PM: This is the place to have lunch – Admiral restaurants and bars welcome you outside or inside. Lots of specials. (Outside the festival zone, too – for example, a block south, The Good Society tells us they’ve got another smash-burger pop-up going, now until 5 pm.) And the music has begun – first up, School of Rock-West Seattle!

If you’re bringing your kid(s) to the festival, look for activities at some booths, including the Lafayette Elementary PTA:

All ages can look for festival goodies like the octopus temp tattoos from Kingtide Ink, at the ANA booth:

We’re near the Admiral Theater, between booths for two of West Seattle’s premier nonprofits. At the West Seattle Food Bank booth, you can enter their drawing for a ticket to next month’s Taste of West Seattle.

On the other side, the Log House Museum/Southwest Seattle Historical Society, where you can find out what’s new at the home of West Seattle’s history.

1:12 PM: A bit north of SWSHS, the Emergency Communications Hubs are here – they’re looking for new volunteer help with the Admiral hub, if you wat to get involved with neighborhood preparedness (check this map for YOUR nearest hub):

On the music stage, the band formerly known as Plum is just beginning their set … by announcing a new name: Slumber.

Steady stream of people here, and the National Weather Service says it’ll warm to 65 degrees.

2:14 PM: More festival freebies – go see the PCC West Seattle (WSB sponsor) booth for free snacks:

One of the major missions of Admiral Funktion is to bring together local businesses and community members. Speaking of Mission – that’s one of the local restaurants welcoming you for festival food and drink:

Admiral Pub across the street too –

And in the immediate festival vicinity, you can also check out other local faves like Arthur’s and West Wings on the west side of the block, New Leaf Bistro and Irashai on the east side. And onstage, Princess Pulpit is playing right now:

All-ages crowd!

Got a question for local police? They’re here too, at the south end of the festival zone, right by the ex-Wells Fargo corner, where we photographed Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite and Operations Lt. Nate Shopay in the early going:

3:45 PM: The summer’s busiest West Seattle band, The Potholes, are wrapping up their set:

Good crowd, too:

One of the busiest booths is the one right across from us, a sidewalk sale in front of Hosté, clothing $5 and up:

Up toward the north end of the festival zone, say hi to Julia with Honey Girl Books and Gifts – who is also an avid quilter:

Weather update – it’s drier, lighter, and a bit warmer, so if you decided not to go out earlier, might be time to reconsider!

4:48 PM: The Loveless Building has just wrapped up their set – here’s a sample:

DAD is up next at 5 pm. Speaking of “up,” the temperature’s up to 64. And in a bit of inter-neighborhood synergy, we’ve spotted a Mrs. Roper (sorry, no pic), up from The Junction (where we hope to photograph their group-pic gathering in about half an hour). This festival is on until 8 pm – most booths will be closing between 6 and 7 – so c’mon down. (And thanks to the many kind folks who’ve stopped by to say “hi” so far!)

5:31 PM: The sun has made a guest appearance!

Onstage right now, it’s DAD, doing a Nirvana cover (“In Bloom”) in our clip:

This festival is the finale to a truly event-full summer for the Admiral Neighborhood Association, after the West Seattle Fourth of July Kids’ Parade and the three-concert Admiral Music in the Parks series. Fall will bring Admiral District trick-or-treating, and the next ANA community meeting – watch connecttoadmiral.org for updates.

6 PM: Our neighboring nonprofits have departed but still lots of vendors here – and two more bands to go, starting with Novachrome.

6:40 PM: The music continues until 8, but booths are wrapping up after what’s been a fun day despite the unsummery weather! Last band up will be Secondhand Flannel at 7. Local restaurants and bars are open for dinner and beyond, too!

With today’s rain and tomorrow’s mixed forecast, we checked in with organizers of two of Saturday’s notable events – and both say they’re still on, rain or shine:

ADMIRAL FUNKTION: With the current forecast for Saturday suggesting things will get better in the afternoon, organizers of this street festival – scheduled for 11 am-8 pm on California SW between Admiral Way and SW College – are optimistic. Dan Jacobs from the Admiral Neighborhood Association, which is presenting Admiral Funktion, sent an update to festival participants (us included) saying in part, “Just so you know how optimistic I am … I bought a bunch of sunglasses for ANA swag to give out at our booth tomorrow. The stage area is covered … much of the restaurants’ outdoor seating will be covered, and we are planning for the rain to get on out of here in time for everyone to really enjoy most of the day.” From our earlier previews, the music lineup is here; the vendor lineup is here; food vendors are the ones already lining the festival zone.

WEST SEATTLE ROPER ROMP: One month ago, the caftan-clad Helen Roper aspirants wowed crowds and won an award at the West Seattle Grand Parade:

Tomorrow, everyone’s invited to join them – BYO caftan/wig/etc. – for this year’s West Seattle Mrs. Roper Romp. Organizers tell us it’s definitely on, whatever the weather. The only really time-specific activity is a group-photo gathering at Junction Plaza Park at 5:30 pm – but organizers have roped a variety of local businesses into offering discounts and specials for COSTUMED participants dining and/or shopping starting as early as brunch – mapped here, with more details in these three graphics (here, here, here).

With nine days to go until this year’s Alki Beach Pride celebration – the 10th festival organized by Alki residents Jolie and Stacy Bass-Walden – ABP volunteers say the posters they’ve put up are being torn down. It appears to be someone deliberately targeting ABP posters, as others on the same poles have been left up.

ABP volunteer Autumn Lovewell says, “This has never happened before. Makes me so angry and sad that this is happening and it’s always unsettling too.” We asked Autumn if more posters for the August 31 event are available if anyone wants to put up one to make up for the torn-down posters, and she said yes – you can contact ABP at alkibeachpride@gmail.com.

Four days until one of summer’s last festivals takes over California SW between Admiral and College for this year’s Admiral Funktion! 11 am-8 pm Saturday, the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s street party brings out music, food, and fun, including booths and tables from these organizations:

The Little Merle
PCC Markets
SW Historical Society
Seattle Yarn
Seattle Dive Tours
West Seattle Bowl
Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce
SPD SW Precinct
Admiral Neighborhood Association
Admiral Church UCC
Seattle Emergency Communications Hub
Mossy Trail Collections
MonkeyPod
Inner Alchemy
West Seattle Food Bank
Kingtide Ink
Honey Girl Books
Hoste
FoRest Wellness Collective
Bend N Move / Life in the Body
Sam Day Illustrator
Alair
Admiral Theater
Lafayette Elementary PTA
Hawthorne Massage and Self Care

We’ll be there too, as one of the community co-sponsors. P.S. If you missed the music-lineup announcement, check it out here!

One of the summer’s festival finales is also just a week away. The Admiral Neighborhood Association wraps up a busy summer – previously presenting the West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade and three Admiral Music in the Parks concerts – with the Admiral Junktion street party. It’s happening 11 am-8 pm next Saturday (August 24) on California Avenue SW between SW Admiral Way and SW College Street. There’s of course a live music lineup – as announced August 1st:

12 pm School of Rock

1 pm Plum

2 pm Princess Pulpit

3 pm The Potholes

4 pm The Loveless Building

5 pm DAD Band

6 pm NovaChrome

7 pm Secondhand Flannel

WSB is a festival co-sponsor. We hope to have a few more previews with other details in the days ahead. See you there!

(WSB photo, July)

If you went to Summer Fest – whether for three minutes, three hours, or all three days – the West Seattle Junction Association has a few questions for you. Answer their survey and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Junction gift card. Most are yes/no questions but two are open-ended, so you can provide festival feedback to help them make it better. Here’s the survey link!

We’re now three weeks away from one of summer’s last big West Seattle events, Alki Beach Pride, a street festival and beach party on Saturday, August 31. As part of the permit process, organizers have a special notice with what neighbors need to know:

On August 31, 2024, our organization Alki Beach Pride will be producing a special event in Alki Beach area called Alki Beach Pride. Alki Beach has been chosen as the location for our Annual Community event – free to all. We are thrilled to host this event in this neighborhood and it’s important to us that we are communicating clearly with you.

EVENT DESCRIPTION:
· Event hours are from noon to 9:00 PM
· We will be loading in beginning at 7:00 AM on August 31 and will load out until 8:00 PM on Aug 31
· We will leave the neighborhood as we found it: litter and recycling will be handled by Waste Management
· During the event hours, we expect between 400 and 800 attendees.
· These streets (Alki Ave. between 57th and 61st) will be closed between the hours of 7:00 AM on 8/31 through 10:00 PM =on 8/31
· We will have amplified sound during the hours of Noon to 8:00 PM on 8/31
o Entertainment Stage will be at the Bathhouse / Sand area with Speakers pointed toward the water

We are working closely with the City of Seattle Special Events Committee to minimize the impacts of the event. Our goal is to create an enjoyable and positive experience in the neighborhood.

If you or any of the surrounding residents and businesses have questions or comments about impacts of this event, please email us at:

Alki Beach Pride
Attn: Organizing Committee
alkibeachpride@gmail.com

Special Events Committee
City of Seattle – Special Events Office
specialeventsoffice@seattle.gov

Volunteers are still welcome – you can choose a task/time slot and sign up here.

One of summer’s final West Seattle festivals is four weeks away (27 days, to be precise). This year is the 10th anniversary of Alki Beach Pride, a daylong celebration founded and coordinated by Stacy and Jolie Bass-Walden. It’s a street festival as well as a beach party, as the announcement notes:

Alki Beach Pride is happening Saturday, August 31st, 2024, from 12 pm to 8 pm. Join us as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pride on the beach. The event will feature an exciting lineup of entertainment, a variety of culinary delights from food trucks, an array of offerings from local vendors, a dedicated health and wellness area, and a family-friendly space, plus much more!

Please note that Alki Ave will be closed from 57th to 61st all day, with vendor booths lining the street. Our main stage will be positioned near Alki Bathhouse. For those seeking an elevated experience, limited VIP tents near the stage are available for rent. Get ready to be captivated by performances from headliners such as Mariah Counts, LIVt, iZOHNNY, DJ Zen, and many other talented entertainers!

Also:

We really need some volunteers for the event! An organization called Gay For Good has partnered up with us. They organize volunteers for a variety of LGBTQ events. Here is the link for volunteer signup.

The annual Duwamish River Festival is a chance to get up close and personal (free kayaking!) with the waterway that many West Seattleites know mostly as the waterway over which they ride or drive to connect to/from the rest of the city. It’s so much more, and that’s why the Duwamish River Community Coalition presents the festival every year. It’s also a chance for glimpses into the many cultures who share its shore:

That video is from the Seattle Classical Thai Dance performance this afternoon – in the first hour, festivalgoers also saw the Aztec group Tlalokan:

The stage slate for the festival, which continues until 5 pm today, is in our calendar listing. The stage is at the north end of the festival zone at Duwamish River People’s Park and Shoreline Habitat (8700 Dallas Avenue S.; map)

Those dozens of booths feature community groups, environmental organizations, and government agencies offering information and activities. Seattle Parks has a booth featuring naturalists ready to talk with you about wildlife:

(L-R, Miranda, Lizzy, Marielle, Nicolasa)

DRCC, the hosting organization, can talk with you about many community projects, including an effort to learn more about the Duwamish Valley’s air-quality problems by reaching South Park and Georgetown families with children who have asthma (email joseph@drcc.org):

(DRCC’s Thuy and Van)

The Environmental Protection Agency has huge cleanup projects to discuss – and simple ways to see what’s at the heart of it all, like this little fish pond:

There’s personal action you can take – with recycling and composting items that don’t belong in the trash – look for the Seattle Public Utilities “Where Does It Go?” team:

Other city departments there include City Light, SDOT, Sustainability and Environment, Emergency Management, and the Office of Police Accountability. Got light rail questions? Sound Transit is there too:

You can also learn about community projects including Reconnect South Park and the next round of Duwamish River sewer-overflow-prevention work. The Duwamish Tribe is participating as well – Ken Workman was there to welcome everyone in Lushootseed:

At their booth, you can get stickers, buy T-shirts, and learn about the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, just across West Marginal Way from Duwamish River shores:

(Kate and Lucas)

From West Seattle, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association is represented too:

(Ranny, Louisa, April)

This is all a fairly easy walk from the heart of the South Park business district (we parked near the southwest end of the South Park Bridge), or there are shuttle locations (see our calendar listing).

The final Admiral Music in the Parks concert is ending, but the Admiral Neighborhood Association is moving right on to the runup for its next big summer event – tonight ANA announced the band lineup for this year’s Admiral Funktion block party, a little over three weeks away:

12 pm School of Rock

1 pm Plum

2 pm Princess Pulpit

3 pm The Potholes

4 pm The Loveless Building

5 pm DAD Band

6 pm NovaChrome

7 pm Secondhand Flannel

The Potholes and NovaChrome both also performed at last month’s West Seattle Summer Fest (The Potholes also played Admiral Music in the Parks and the Morgan Junction Community Festival). Admiral Funktion will happen on California SW north of Admiral, 11 am-10 pm Saturday, August 24 – see you there!

ORIGINAL THURSDAY REPORT: Thanks for the tip! A major regional festival in its second year has just changed venues – and its new location is Lincoln Park. The event is The Cantanna Fest, with three music stages, food vendors, and a car show – plus cannabis-industry advocacy – scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, August 10-11. Reached via email, organizer Scott McKinley explained to WSB, “We had this event scheduled for Snohomish for the last year and just lost our venue and the switch to West Seattle is a last-minute one. This is a political rally/music festival centered around creating a 20-point bill of rights for Cannabis in the state and searching for a candidate to run for a Senate seat.” McKinley says he and co-founder Redman launched Cantanna Fest last year, when it was held in Renton, and says the highlights will include “Shawn Kemp is main-stage host, Donald Glaude as host of the EDM Forest, and Peter Dante is host of the Robert Lang Studios Stage celebrating 50 years of music.” The music lineups are on the festival website. Because this will be a “free-speech event in a city park,” admission will be free, but they’re selling “VIP access” tickets as an option. (And in case you’re wondering, given the cannabis-industry advocacy, the festival website has the caveat, “This IS NOT an open consumption event. It is open to the public and all ages are welcome to this community event.” They are planning adult-beverage areas for 21+, though.) We asked exactly where in the park the Cantanna Fest stages will be. While the locations and map aren’t finalized, they’re focusing on several areas of upper Lincoln Park accessible from the north lot. We’re still gathering other information, including hours.

FRIDAY 4:33 PM: We asked Parks about the process by which this was permitted at the relatively last minute. Spokesperson Christina Hirsch replied, “Seattle Parks and Recreation event scheduling permitted this on July 19. We have been in discussion with the event organizer about possibly relocating the event to a different location.”

ORIGINAL REPORT, 4:58 PM: Biggest event on the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar (breaking news precluded a highlight list today) is happening right now – first day of the Alki Art Fair, on the promenade and lawn west of the sand. We’re on our way to the beach now for photos. The list of participating artists is here; the music lineup (mostly Saturday/Sunday) is here. The booths are scheduled to be open until 8 tonight, 10 am-6 pm tomorrow and Sunday, with music 12-7 pm Saturday, 11 am-5 pm Sunday.

5:49 PM: As promised, we’re adding photos – wide variety of work again this year, from visual art (Ula Nero‘s work, above, and Shelby Huff‘s photography, below) …

… to the apparel, jewelry, and basketry you’ll find at Rekik Mezenghie‘s booth:

This year’s Kid Zone focuses on giving little visitors a place to create their own art:

Again, this is on until 8 tonight, then starts up again at 10 am Saturday.

(QUICK LINKS: Music lineup … food/drink info … merchant/vendor info … Kids Zone info … bus reroutes … previous WSB coverage here)

10:20 AM: West Seattle Summer Fest‘s third and final day is on! Managing a festival involves a lot of tasks large and small – above, that’s Stacie Woods, event director for the West Seattle Junction Association (which presents Summer Fest) writing the stage lineup on a chalkboard out front of the Info Booth. We’re on the north side, WSJA volunteers with merch are on the west side, and SPD crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite is back with free steering-wheel locks (32 of them, while they last – they’re going fast!) and other swag until 1 pm.

If you don’t get to the festival today, you can email Jennifer to get one at the precinct. … If you’ve missed previous mentions, the Farmers’ Market is NORTH OF SW OREGON today, since there’s no main-stage music today, just the West Side Stage (in Junction Plaza Park) plus buskers – the band Better As Brass will be starting soon on the east side of California just north of Alaska. More coverage to come – the festival is on until 5 pm today!

11:11 AM: One more reminder – Farmers’ Market vendors are north of Oregon today – one block north of their usual spot. We just strolled through and saw all the usual favorites. Also along the way, the north face painter (there’s also one on the south block, both midblock) – busy!

Bringing your pup to the festival? They can cool off in the mini-pools outside Next to Nature on the west side of California a bit north of Alaska:

11:35 AM: Better As Brass is taking a break (after their last set included street-band versions of Britney Spears‘s “Toxic” and The Eurhythmics‘ “Sweet Dreams”) but will resume playing soon! We recorded a bit of their opening set:

12:01 PM: You have another hour and a half to go contribute to the community mural that Stacey Sterling is leading in Junction Plaza Park:

Stacey tells us you can help paint until 1:30 pm. After that, the mural-in-progress will be available for viewing only, until the festival ends at 5 pm. Also in the park, The Potholes’ second show of the festival is happening right now on the West Side Stage. … Up on the north block (between Oregon and Alaska), east side, look for the West Seattle Food Bank‘s booth to get your $10 raffle ticket that is also a discount coupon for some local venues, as we explained Thursday:

Back here at the Info Booth, SPD has now given away all the steering-wheel locks they brought (but, again, there’s more at the precinct, so contact Jennifer).

1:06 PM: Over at the Kids’ Zone, Tilden School (WSB sponsor) is in charge today:

If you’re just plugging into festival info today – new at the Kids’ Zone are the “foam party” and arcade games (courtesy of West Seattle Arcade, which is hoping to open its new Gary’s Place at 2820 Alki in September). … New shift for nonprofits here at the Info Booth – Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network on the east side….

… and WestSide Baby on the south side.

1:28 PM: Half an hour left to get to the Farmers’ Market, if you’re hoping to shop there today – their hours are the same as always today, until 2 pm, though the location is different. … On the West Side Stage this hour, we caught a bit of Cellobration – whose music is exactly what you’d guess from their name:

2:24 PM: Just two and a half hours left to get here if you haven’t already visited. We’ve enjoyed seeing so many people we haven’t seen in years – so much of our communicating is done via email and texts – and it’s been great to meet more of the people who send photos and tips, which is why we call WSB a community-collaborative news site. (westseattleblog@gmail.com and/or 206-293-6302, text/voice – we’ve had that number since launching WSB as a business in summer 2007). … Casey Freedom, second-to-last musical performer of the festival, is on the West Side Stage right now, and the final band, Annie O’Neill w/ Jim and Beth Wulff, is coming up at 3. … Roaming here at California/Alaska a few minutes ago, the robot you otherwise can visit in the Kids’ Zone (SW Alaska west of California):

The Kids’ Zone also has visitors from the Pacific Science Center today with an engineering-themed exhibit.

3:20 PM: Last musical act of Summer Fest (not counting the scattered buskers), Annie O’Neill with Jim and Beth Wulff, is onstage at Junction Plaza Park right now:

Meantime, the biggest food-related question we’ve received is where to find Dirty Dogs. They’re up near California/Oregon, where you’ll find a few additional food vendors beyond what’s in the “official” food zone on Alaska east of California. Another big food question – where to find ice cream – one local option is the Shug’s cart in the official food zone (visiting from Shug’s Mini at California/Charlestown); Seattle Pops is over in the Kids’ Zone; there are others too.

4 PM: Final hour of Summer Fest 2024! We just took one more stroll through the vendors. Stopped again at the Author Event Network booth (west side of the block between Oregon and Alaska), which – as we mentioned in Friday coverage – has been hosting independent authors all weekend. There right now – Irina Van Patten and Guy Morris.

You can read about Irina’s books here – she’s written memoirs about being an immigrant – and Guy’s books – which he describes as “intelligent thrillers” – here. … Not far from the Author Event Network booth, a nice shaded place to sit and enjoy a beverage – The Beer Junction:

If you’re here – music’s done – but the vendors and food/drink are still open for business!

4:58 PM: A final view looking north from California/Alaska:

It’ll take at least several hours to break down all the booths, cables, signage, and everything else that it took to build a festival, so the streets through the heart of The Junction will remain closed until late tonight. Thanks to everyone who was part of the festival, whether a vendor, visitor, volunteer, production crew member, and/or Junction business owner/staffer … it’s been another fun three-day extravaganza!

(QUICK LINKS: Music lineups … food/drink info … merchant/vendor info … Kids Zone info … bus reroutes … our first Day 2 report … our Day 1 coverage)

(Live view from SDOT camera at California/Alaska)

5:22 PM: Night 2 of West Seattle Summer Fest has begun! Vendors are open until at least 8; music continues until 11 on the main stage (California north of Oregon), until 7 on the West Side Stage north of the food zone (42nd/Alaska) – lineups are here. If you’re looking for dinner, the food vendors are listed here, most on SW Alaska east of California – you’ll also want to stroll the rest of the festival grounds, as some year-round restaurants and bars have temporary sidewalk cafés and/or special vending booths out front. … Community nonprofits have rotated again here in the Info Booth – we have a crew from the West Seattle and Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor):

They’re on the east side of the booth (with swag bags!) and on the south side, it’s the Morgan Junction All-Wheel Association – come talk with them about the future “skate dot” in Morgan Junction Park:

6:30 PM: We’ve been up to the main stage to get some video of Chimurenga Renaissance (added).

The beer garden, next to the stage (which is on California north of Oregon), is hopping:

Remember that there’s NO main stage tomorrow (Sunday) – that area will be the temporary home of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. …. Around the festival, just look for the picket fencing to find your nearest sidewalk café – here’s the one outside Snapdragon at California/Oregon:

We mentioned dinner … if you’re up for something from the grill, go see Jack and the Husky Deli crew:

Looking ahead to tomorrow, we said hi to Maari Falsetto from Inner Alchemy – she’s leading another free meditation session from the West Side Stage on Sunday morning, 10 am (we had a photo of this morning’s session in our first Saturday report).

Play ball! The DubSea Fish Sticks (whose season continues at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center) have reps here to talk to you about baseball:

Other festival sightings – balloon creations, delivered by multiple balloon artists:

(Photo by Curry Gibson)

7:43 PM: The West Side Stage is shut down for the tonight but tomorrow it’ll be the one and only place to find live festival music. Tonight, though, the main stage goes out big. In the past hour, we stopped by for a bit of M. Krebs:

Still ahead – 8:00, Bowie/Rex & His Boogie Army; 9:00, Walking Papers; 10:00, Sonny & The Sunsets.

8:01 PM: The Info Booth is wrapping up (as are many vendors) but we’ll be back tomorrow, 10 am-5 pm, for the festival finale. Enjoy tonight’s music if you’re staying. Thanks to all the cool folks who have stopped by to say hi!

(QUICK LINKS: Music lineups … food/drink info … merchant/vendor info … Kids Zone info … bus reroutes …and ICYMI, our Day 1 coverage)

11:11 AM: What you see in that photo is the answer to this morning’s most popular question at the West Seattle Summer Fest Info Booth so far – “where’s the foam party?” It’s part of the Kids’ Zone, in the lot behind KeyBank (and yes, there’s also an area where kids can rinse off the foam before proceeding with the rest of the festival fun). It’s one of this year’s new features. Here’s the festival map:

The main stage on California north of Oregon has just started today’s music schedule:

The A-board with both stages’ schedules is right in front of the Info Booth in the heart of Walk-All-Ways. We should note that what you WON’T find here today, since a few visitors have asked, is SPD and the steering-wheel locks we mentioned Friday – SPD is due to be here in the booth again Sunday at 10 am. Here right now, we have the Emergency Communication Hubs – learn about the one nearest to you, or how to set one up if your neighborhood.

Also, Junction volunteers continue selling festival merch – but if you want a T-shirt, those are being custom printed at the Mobile Apparel booth a short ways north of SW Alaska (you can see it from here).

Coming up at noon right by our booth – Jennifer Cepeda and the DancePowered performance! … Up at the main stage, Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) was first up with a showcase, including this group It’s All Happening:

At the West Side Stage, which is actually on the festival’s east side at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska), the schedule began with meditation led by Inner Alchemy‘s Maari Falsetto:

NOON: Important bulletin – Elliott Bay Brewing is back up and running after the power outage that forced them to be closed for the entire first day of the festival. As proprietor Todd Carden says – while trying to maintain a positive outlook – what a day to be hit like that. But they’re open now!

So go have a beer, and/or a burger, and help them bounce back. … Not far from EBB, ArtsWest is hosting the West Seattle Community Orchestras – go test an instrument!

Another popular question: Anyone have free water? Answer: Yes – Masonic Lodge #152‘s booth up near California/Oregon.

12:45 PM: Here’s our video of the DancePowered performance! (That’s leader Jennifer in the beanie.)

Next up, the Comerford School of Irish Dance, also here at California/Alaska. (Video added:)

1:23 PM: If you haven’t been to the festival for a sip or a bite yet, remember that this festival is making Summer Fest history:

Reusable cups, bowls, plates, other serviceware are in use by festival vendors plus the beer garden, in the largest-scale event yet in Seattle to do this! … We’re catching up with more WSB sponsors here at the festival. Canna is a major festival sponsor too, co-presenting the main-stage music, and you’ll find their booth just south of Walk All Ways:

That’s Canna medical consultant Kayla. … On the block north of Alaska, STS Construction Services has a booth, where we found Donavan and Kellen:

Nonprofits have rotated here in the Info Booth, so for the next few hours we have The Whale Trail – whose Donna Sandstrom points out that tomorrow is the 22nd anniversary of the event that inspired her advocacy, the rescue of orphaned orca Springer (about which she’s also written an award-winning book):

The Whale Trail is on the east side of the Info Booth – with whale cards, a species guide, and more swag – while the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is here on the south side for the next few hours.

Music continues on both stages – here’s a bit of Novacrome:

2:43 PM: More of who you’ll find at Summer Fest – the first-year pre-pro soccer club Junction FC has reps on site at the Kids’ Zone today – the day before the club’s final home match of the season:

Also at the Kids’ Zone – learn about robotics:

2:53 PM: If you’ve lost or found an item here at the festival, bring it to the Info Booth, where the official lost-and-found is (check in with the Junction volunteer/s on the west side of the booth).

4:38 PM NOTE: We’ll launch evening coverage soon.

More Summer Fest coverage to come!

(QUICK LINKS: Music lineups … food/drink info … merchant/vendor info … Kids Zone info … bus reroutes …and ICYMI, our Summer Fest Eve coverage)

1:44 PM: Our peninsula’s biggest party of the year, West Seattle Summer Fest – today through Sunday – has started! Here’s our view from the Info Booth at California/Alaska:

See the Mobile Apparel booth in the center of that view? That’s where you can get your customized Summer Fest T-shirt. Other festival merch is on sale here, on the west side of the Info Booth:

Also here on the south side of the Info Booth right now – Seattle Police Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Satterwhite with some free items including steering-wheel locks (3:03 pm update – they’re out but there’s more at the precinct):

Alice Kuder is on the east side of the Info Booth this afternoon, talking about her Just In Case Preparedness Services and the free scavenger hunt she’s presenting next month, Summer Scramble:

South of the intersection, you’ll find all the festival food (with reusable ware) – aside from what the year-round food/drink businesses are offering at (and/or in front of) their venues. In Junction Plaza Park, where the West Side Stage will have music starting at 4 pm (the main stage, north of SW Oregon, near the Post Office, gets going at 3 pm; buskers are playing music at other spots too). West of California/Alaska is the Kids’ Zone, lots of free fun as well as the inflatables (for which you need a day pass or individual tickets – you can pay online too).

2:56 PM: Most of the inflatables are actually in the parking lot behind KeyBank – if you look down SW Alaska, you’ll only see one, and the ticket booth. Also on Alaska by the lot entrance – the West Seattle Arcade game zone:

Elsewhere in festival-land, it’s almost time for the main-stage music to start, up on California SW north of Oregon:

Music is also happening inside Jet City Labs (a few steps north of Easy Street) – proprietor Derek Moon has a DJ lineup all weekend:

Or you can keep shopping – remember, this all began as a sidewalk sale way back when, and many year-round merchants have tables outside their shops, like Three Little Birds (with a guest appearance by their sister store Alair):

That’s on the east side of California south of Alaska. At the very south end of the festival zone, we found a visiting vendor with a sense of humor:

3:39 PM: Also on the Alaska-to-Edmunds section of California, one of the festival’s face painters – we just got a question about where to find them (answer: midblock raised crosswalk):

4:32 PM: Music has begun on both stages – the West Side Stage (sponsored by West Side Music Academy) is in Junction Plaza Park, north of the food vendors – we stopped by while Nathan Shafi was playing:

Among the bands scheduled for that stage in the next few hours – local faves The Potholes are playing at 6 pm. Up at the Main Stage north of Oregon (which is also where you’ll find the Beer Garden – featuring non-alcoholic specialties too), it’s Bexley right now.

Music on that stage runs until 11 tonight; vendors are open until 8 pm-ish. Some are bringing a taste of other parts of the city – like Pike Place Nuts, on the south block, with sweet and savory nuts:

5:25 PM: Summer Fest is powered by volunteers – among them, the school communities that are running the Kid Zone. Explorer West Middle School is there today – we said hi to Dawn:

Explorer West is a WSB sponsor, as are the two schools you’ll find in the Kids’ Zone this weekend, Tilden School and Hope Lutheran.

Meantime, we’ve talked a lot about music – but you can immerse yourself in books at the festival too! Not just by visiting Pegasus Book Exchange, but also via the Author Event Network‘s festival booth – they’re back this year to spotlight independent authors and their books. Among them, West Seattle’s own Susan Kemp, who has just published “The Time Philosopher,” sequel to her previous book “Climate Machine” – she’s in the network booth all three days of the festival (here’s the full list of who’s there):

5:51 PM: As usual for the first day of the festival, evening’s arrival brings a bigger crowd. The food zone, where you’ll find festival faves like elephant ears and cotton candy as well as dinner fare, is developing lines. The music is about to heat up too – we’ll be at the West Side Stage at 6 for The Potholes; Mikey Moo takes the Main Stage right about then. And if you haven’t been to The Junction yet, the temperature has been perfect all day – 15-plus degrees cooler than earlier this week, just a bit breezy.

6:19 PM: Some video from the start of The Potholes’ set:

They’re performing again at noon Sunday, also at the West Side Stage in Junction Plaza Park (just northeast of the food vendors).

7:02 PM: Vendors are here until 8, so you still have time to scope everything out in the mellow evening air. Here’s the evening view from the Info Booth:

Continuing to wander the vendor rows, we said hi to Vanessa at WSB sponsor Camp Crockett:

Camp Crockett’s places for your pups include spaces from Upper Morgan to North Delridge – but you can find out about them right here in The Junction during the festival, another bonus of visiting Summer Fest – learning about dozens of local businesses (including the year-round Junction merchants) all in one place. Another WSB sponsor, Mode Music Studios, is here – Lindsey‘s in the house this evening talking with people about their lessons and camps:

And if you still haven’t tried Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce – a Farmers’ Market fixture – Tony himself is here:

8 PM: The vendors are wrapping up (food booths usually stay longer, and of course the year-round restaurants/bars are open too) since it’s official closing time (except for main-stage music, which continues until 11ish). We’re rolling up the info booth too, but continuous coverage will continue Saturday – back tomorrow at 10 to start Saturday!

ADDED SATURDAY: WSB contributor Jason Grotelueschen sent this photo of Easy Street’s Matt Vaughan introducing The Long Winters‘ closing set:

Jason says Matt declared Roderick “the Mark Twain of Seattle.”

(P.S. – if your business, organization, performing group, etc. is doing something this weekend at Summer Fest – tell us about it, via text at 206-293-6302 or email westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!)