As we first reported last month, the West Seattle Junction Association is turning what used to be the Harvest Festival into two events starting this year – and the first one is now a week away: The Fall Festival is planned for 11 am-2 pm Sunday, September 24th. It features just about everything you loved about Harvest Fest (except the trick-or-treating, which happens closer to Halloween) – chili cookoff, cornhole tournament, pie-eating contest, live music. (Signup links for the contest and tournament are on this page.) The Farmers’ Market will be on as always, in its usual spot on California SW north of SW Alaska, while the block between SW Alaska and SW Edmunds will also be closed to traffic and will be the site of festival fun. (Meantime, the trick-or-treating celebration is set for Sunday, October 29th, including the traditional costume parade!)

(WSB file photo)

If you’re staying in West Seattle this holiday weekend, we have a few special events to spotlight – first, the Children’s Moonlight Festival at the Vietnamese Cultural Center (2236 SW Orchard, just north of The Home Depot) on Sunday (September 3rd). Despite its name, this celebration happens during the day, 2-4 pm,; it’s full of free activities and treats, plus a lantern parade (with kids carrying lanterns they just made) and a lion dance. All are welcome; here’s the flyer with more details.

12:19 PM: The second annual Admiral Funktion street party is on!

(WSB photos, video unless otherwise credited)

Until 10 tonight, you can come enjoy this warm late-summer Saturday and walk/roll in the street along California SW between Admiral Way and SW College, The festival is presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, whose booth is toward the south end of the festival zone:

They’re in front of the gas-station car wash, ready to talk with you about what’s going on in north West Seattle (and as festival media sponsor, we’re on-site right next to them). Visit their booth for tchotchkes, too – and balloon animals (get here sooner rather than later to get in on those).

Admiral Neighborhood Association’s booth is also accepting $25 (or more) donations to support the festival, for which you get a special wristband good for discounts at local venues. (The ANA is an official nonprofit, so your donation is tax-deductible.) The music just started up, too, toward the north end of the festival zone (update – here’s video from the first band, School of Rock:)

Here’s the scheduled band lineup:

12 pm – School of Rock
1 pm – Princess Pulpit
2 pm – Michael Pearsall
3 pm – Matlock and the Keys
4 pm – Midnight Gallo
5 pm – Radium Girls
6 pm – Tennis Pro
7 pm – (update: mystery act)
8 pm – The Loveless Building
9 pm – The Ancient Robotz

More coverage to come!

1:03 PM: If you have questions for your Seattle City Council District 1 candidates – both have festival tables, so this is a great place to come meet them/talk with them in person:

The election is November 7th; voting will start when ballots are sent out in mid-October. … Other opportunities for community involvement that you can find out about during Admiral Funktion include learning about Neighborhood Emergency Communication Hubs – preparedness expert extraordinaire Cindi Barker is set up in front of (updated) Ralph’s Barber Shop (close to the festival water-filling station):

Speaking of restaurants, a fun part of the festival street closure is a chance to enjoy expanded outdoor cafés today/tonight at many of the year-round Admiral food/beverage establishments – from West Wings …:

…to Mission Cantina:

… to Arthur’s:

1:35 PM: Princess Pulpit is on stage right now (added: video courtesy Jason Grotelueschen).

Lots of people have stopped by the booth to say hi (thanks!) – and we also wanted to mention that you can learn about community organizations during Admiral Funktion as well as local businesses. Elizabeth and Clay opened the day at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society booth (where you also can find out about the Save the Stone Cottage campaign):

2:43 PM: Here’s Michael Pearsall, on stage a short time ago:

Lots of kid activities, too – Clay sent this photo from the Stone Cottage/Historical Society booth, with 4-year-old Ellie Piersall doing some stone decorating:

3:37 PM: Onstage right now – Matlock and the Keys:

We’ve taken another spin through the booths – Seattle Yarn, moving to Admiral soon, is here:

Inner Alchemy, which has a storefront in South Admiral, is here too:

Inner Alchemy’s Maari Falsetto is having a sound bath to raise money for Maui fire relief – 6 pm Wednesday (August 30th) at Me-Kwa-Mooks (more info here).

3:55 PM: We should note that “Dan the Balloon Man,” who spent hours making custom creations at the Admiral Neighborhood Association booth, has departed. But many booths/vendors are here until 6, so it’s still a great time to come down and walk around. … Another community organization you’ll see here is the West Seattle Food Bank. You can find out about the next Taste of West Seattle – returning this year to its pre-pandemic format – set for September 28th:

4:35 PM: Midnight Gallo is onstage this hour.

This festival – only in its second year and bound to be even bigger next year – is just one of the events the ANA coordinates; Summer Concerts at Hiawatha and the Admiral stops on the West Seattle Art Walk are among the others, plus they’re taking over the West Seattle Fourth of July Kids’ Parade starting next year. Regular community meetings, too – next one is on September 12th, where guests will include City Attorney Ann Davison.

5 PM: Last hour for booths (some have broken down already) – but again, the music’s on for a few hours beyond, and the street closure continues, so you might consider coming down for dinner at one of the venues with outdoor cafés.

5:31 PM: This hour’s band, Radium Girls:

ANA is about to draw the winner of its prize pack, with items donated by local merchants:

This Saturday, the second annual Admiral Funktion street party, presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, will take over California SW between Admiral Way and College Street. You’ve seen the music lineup. Today, we have the vendor lineup – the businesses and organizations you’ll see in booths along the street:

Alair
Southpaw Barber Shop
Inner Alchemy
Seattle Dive Tours
SW Historical Society/Save the Stone Cottage
West Seattle Food Bank
Papa Tony’s Hot Sauce
Admiral Church
Pearsall Properties
The Little Merle
Hawthorne Massage and Self Care
CrossFit West Seattle
Seattle Yarn
Row House West Seattle
Admiral Neighborhood Association
Honey Girl Books
Ma’ono

ANA says Seattle City Council District 1 candidates Maren Costa and Rob Saka will have booths too. And the year-round local businesses in the festival zone, and nearby, will be happy to welcome you, both during the Admiral Funktion and afterward.

The forecast looks sunny and warm as the festival starts at 11 am Saturday (August 26th); it will continue until about 10 pm. The festival is free, but if you can afford to support it – permits and production are costly – the ANA is crowdfunding, with wristbands good for discounts at local venues if you donate $25 (or more) – go here. (The ANA is an official nonprofit, so your donation is tax-deductible.) See you in Admiral on Saturday!

Looking ahead to next weekend, West Seattle’s biggest event will be the second annual Admiral Funktion street party on Saturday (August 26th), presented by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, with community sponsors including WSB. We’ve already published the music lineup – in case you missed that, here it is again:

12 pm – School of Rock
1 pm – Princess Pulpit
2 pm – Michael Pearsall
3 pm – Matlock and the Keys
4 pm – Midnight Gallo
5 pm – Radium Girls
6 pm – Tennis Pro
7 pm – Frond
8 pm – The Loveless Building
9 pm – The Ancient Robotz

That’s a bigger lineup than last year. The festival starts earlier (11 am) and ends later (10 pm). The festival is free, but if you can afford to support it – permits and production aren’t cheap – the ANA is crowdfunding, with wristbands that’ll get you discounts at local venues if you donate $25 (or more) – go here. (The ANA is an official nonprofit, so your donation is tax-deductible.) California SW will be closed between Admiral Way and SW College for the festival, which also will feature outdoor cafés and beer gardens at local venues so you can enjoy lunch, dinner, and inbetween! Vendors – stand by for that lineup in our next preview – and games, too. See you in Admiral on Saturday!

It’s all about love at the beach today, with Alki Beach Pride welcoming hundreds of people to a big vendor/resource fair with live entertainment – Issa Man performed while we were there:

Here’s the day’s full lineup, hosted by (updated) Dominique Stephens. The stage is on the lawn east of the bathhouse; the vendors stretch along the promenade as well as onto the sidewalk, and food vendors are in the street (Alki Avenue is closed between 57th and 61st):

Lots of treats – donuts, shave ice, elotes, more. Other vendors span a wide variety, from services to merchandise to art to health information, and local nonprofits including the Southwest Seattle Historical Society and the Senior Center of West Seattle. We found a few WSB sponsors there too, including Mode Music:

And Canna West Seattle:

One vendor even has a portable hot tub and is selling beachfront soaks. In addition to vendors, ABP is again partnering with local businesses, selling a $5 wristband that’ll get you discounts during the festival. This is all on until 7 tonight.

Right afterward, it’ll be time for an 8 pm outdoor movie, “Little Richard: I Am Everything“ at Alki Playground. It’s the ninth year that Stacy and Jolie Bass-Walden have presented Alki Beach Pride (they even carried on during the pandemic, with safe events such as a car parade!).