West Seattle, Washington
26 Thursday
We’ve been enjoying music drifting over from the Delridge Day main stage, into the Sustainable West Seattle Festival exhibition area, here at ReFRESH Southwest (grounds of Delridge Community Center till 5 pm). Above, drumming and dancing early in the afternoon. Right now, the Vicious Puppies Crew – breakdancers that rocked the festival (Delridge Day) last year too – are over at the main stage. 4:05 PM UPDATE: Final hour – here are more of the scenes – City Council President Richard Conlin dropped by, wearing the I (Heart) West Seattle T-shirt we remember from his visit to the Morgan Junction Park dedication this time last year (the Morgan Festival is coming up hext Saturday, in and around the park, 11 am-6 pm):
4:24 PM UPDATE: It’s been an afternoon full of workshops, too – here are some of the stars – urban ilvestock!
We also caught up with the Highland Park group that we mentioned in a separate story earlier – as they joined in Delridge Walks, heading to the festival on foot:
Again, this is on till 5 – performances by the Delridge Community Center building, sustainability exhibits (and other ‘tablers’ like us) in the parking lot. (video added 6:26 pm – there were also workshops inside, like this one)
5:07 PM: It’s all wrapping up, and we’re packing up. Lots more going on this weekend, of course – and next weekend, two festivals: Morgan Community Festival on Saturday, the West Seattle Junction Health Fair on Sunday (both of which we’re co-sponsoring). We’ve got some more video and photos to add to coverage of ReFRESH Southwest – once we’re back at HQ. Thanks to everybody who stopped by to chat, and everyone who worked hard to make this happen! ADDED: A few more pix, as promised – you saw the chickens above – here’s the chicken workshop!
The year-old Delridge Community Center Playground was a big draw:
West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen stopped by in the festival’s final moments:
And for even more photos – digital pix from Usnaps, a portable, rentable, digital photo booth created by West Seattle-based entrepreneurs – Usnaps’ Kim Schwarzkopf stopped by the WSB table to say hi; they’ve traveled the country with Usnaps in recent months. See the ReFRESH SW Usnaps pix here.
All over West Seattle, so much happening today – The Kenney has welcomed people of all ages to its ‘Family Reunion’ festival – we dropped by for some of the indoor activities, on a quick side trip from tabling at the Sustainable West Seattle Festival section of ReFRESH Southwest. Above, the Raining Sounds sang for the crowd; below, face painting was a hit
Still time to get over to the grounds of The Kenney – and bring some disposable diapers for the WestSide Baby diaper drive, till 4 pm in the main lobby.
We’re here in the bright sunshine at Delridge Community Center, with a rainbow-striped cloth over our table, across from ZipCar, next to the North Delridge Neighborhood Council (selling their (Heart) Delridge T-shirts! as seen in our photo above), southeast side of the parking lot (which is where all the tents are set up), kitty corner from the West Seattle Food Bank (whose past board president Pete Spalding is walking around handing out (No) Hunger stickers). There’s “street food” too – we’ve heard about a taco truck and a hot-dog truck so far. See you here – free workshops, performances, family fun till 5.
2:10 PM UPDATE: So sunny and gorgeous, we’re just sitting here talking with folks – right behind us is a bike booth, with Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board showing off “e-bikes” among other things. We’ve taken some more photos, too:
King County Executive Dow Constantine stopped by a while ago … Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association director Derek Birnie’s here:
Lots of sustainable businesses – here’s Adam from Clean Air Lawn Care (WSB sponsor):
In our morning preview, we mentioned the Bucket Brigade, a project of Urban Land Army – Highland Park’s Becca Fong is here:
More to come! Look for the info booth on the south side of the parking lot – you can get a map that also has a schedule of performances and workshops – an electric-vehicle demonstration is about to begin. If you’re driving (and of course you’re encouraged to bike, walk or take transit), note that since the parking lot has festival booths, you’ll park somewhere on the periphery of the Delridge Community Center grounds – side streets have parking too.
2:39 PM: Want a free ticket to the Green Festival downtown? Drop by our table – or the Sustainable West Seattle table – we just got a batch. If you can’t make it there today, you can go tomorrow!
As a prelude to this afternoon’s ReFRESH Southwest mega-event (full listing of performances/workshops/tables/booths here), people were invited to walk to Delridge Community Center – perhaps taking photos and/or cleaning up along the way – and we caught up with part of the Highland Park group doing the latter. (By the way, that’s 34th District State House candidate “Mac” McElroy in the background – we’ve seen him at the last few Highland Park Action Committee meetings, along with many of the other community-council meetings we routinely cover. Any candidates coming to today’s festival, be sure to come see us at table 26 – as we did last year during the summer of city campaigns, we’ll photograph everybody who stops by!)
Hope to see you at tomorrow’s ReFRESH Southwest – the umbrella name for this year’s combined Delridge Day and Sustainable West Seattle Festival events, all happening tomorrow at, in, and around Delridge Community Center, 1-5 pm (after the Clean and Green cleanup and Delridge Walks events in the morning!) — here again is the outdoor exhibitors’ map (WSB is #26), and now for the first time we have the full schedule of indoor and outdoor events, from arts to games to the sustainability workshops and beyond, just forwarded by SWS Festival coordinator Christina, after the jump:Read More
You’ve seen the poster promising “Hot Local Bands” … now we have the details. From Jason Fitzgerald at The Workshop, which works with the West Seattle Junction Association on West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored again this year by WSB), here’s first word of the live-music lineup:
Here’s the 2010 West Seattle Summer Fest band line-up so far:
FRIDAY, JULY 9TH:
Hell’s Belles
The Tom Price Desert Classic
The Fixers
Kim Virant
Trombone Cake
(added) Midnight Idols*and a special, secret, surprise band announced later…
SATURDAY, JULY 10TH:
Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands
Caspar Babypants
Massy Ferguson
Whalebones
Curtains For You
Kristen Ward
Marc Olsen
Memphis Radio Kings
Gunn & The Damage Done
Bend
Rat City BrassSATURDAY, JULY 10TH EVENING – FAMILY STREET DANCE:
Cherry Cherry (a 10-piece Neil Diamond tribute band)
All Mixed Up (a Cars tribute band)SUNDAY, JULY 11TH:
Billy Joe & The Dusty 45’s
Kris Orlowski
Shelby Earl
Capping Day
The School Of Rock All-Stars (performing Live Aid Remade, with songs by David Bowie, Queen, Judas Priest, U2 and more)More bands will be added, and as always, all of this music is ALL AGES and ABSOLUTELY FREE
(Last year’s big Friday night super-mega-attraction was of course Mudhoney – we published video here.) If you’re trying to remember who else played last year, here was our 2009 preview.
Counting down to the next big festival – ReFRESH Southwest, combining Delridge Day and the Sustainable West Seattle Festival – this Saturday, 1-5 pm at Delridge Community Center – we’ve got new information tonight. First: SWS, which is handling exhibitors, has provided the map of who you’ll see where (hope you’ll stop by to say hi – WSB will be next to North Delridge Neighborhood Council, where, as reported here yesterday, the cool (Heart) Delridge T-shirts will be on sale, and we’re told you do NOT have to pre-order!). Here’s that map – we’re #26. Meantime, SWS Festival coordinator Christina provided the list of workshops during Saturday’s festival:
1:30 – 2 pm – Keeping Goats by Jennie Grant, Goat Justice League
2:30 – 3 pm – Electric Vehicles by Craig Vinton
3:30 – 4 pm – Keeping Chickens by Jenifer McIntyre, Seattle Farm Coop
4:30 – 5 pm – Keeping Bees by Puget Sound Beekeepers Association
One more new tidbit tonight – the flyer’s out for the city-supported Clean and Green cleanup that will precede the festival, 9 am-noon, centered around Southwest Youth and Family Services, whose HQ is south of Delridge Community Center. Here it is as a 1-page PDF. And you can still sign up online for Delridge Walks – as an individual or group – to walk to the festival from your part of West Seattle.
Last year at West Seattle Summer Fest, the then-new (Heart) Delridge T-shirts were a hit – at the information booth, we fielded multiple queries on where people could find the North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s table so they could buy one. Just got word from Holli Margell of NDNC (who’s modeling the shirt in the 2009 photo at right) that they’re selling them at this Saturday’s Delridge Day/Sustainable West Seattle/ReFRESH Southwest Festival – but you need to preorder, so that yours will be waiting for you at the NDNC booth:
We have a new batch of Heart Delridge T-shirts ready to sell to raise money for the North Delridge Neighborhood Council. Sized from kids 2T to XXL, they cost $15. You can reserve one of them by e-mailing heartdelridgetee@gmail.com with your name and desired size and it will be waiting for you at the booth.
The festival is 1-5 pm Saturday on the Delridge Community Center grounds; several big events will precede it in the morning, including community-cleanup activities and Delridge Walks – there’s still time to get a group together to walk to the festival, and potentially win a prize! You can sign up here. Meantime, there’s more festival info here, including activities/music highlights.
WSB is proud to again be among the co-sponsors of the peninsula’s biggest event of the year, West Seattle Summer Fest, coming up July 9, 10, 11 in The Junction – and we just got this copy of the newly released poster art you’ll be seeing soon all over West Seattle, as the summer’s biggest festival gets closer. (See the full-size PDF version here.) You’re probably wondering who’s on the slate of “Hot Local Bands” – the full slate is still being finalized, and you’ll see it as soon as it’s ready, but a few acts have independently announced they’re on the list (here’s a Facebook invite just tweeted by Massy Ferguson and one from Cars tribute band All Mixed Up – but don’t mark your calendar just yet, nothing’s final till it comes from the West Seattle Junction Association). Lots of newness ahead this year – features like the GreenLife sustainability/gardening expo, and also Junction Plaza Park, under construction now, to be dedicated June 29th, in plenty of time for Summer Fest.
The folks at West Seattle Nursery have just announced a new West Seattle Summer Fest event they are co-sponsoring with Sustainable West Seattle: It’s called GreenLife at Summer Fest. GreenLife is a sustainability and gardening expo to be set up in the Diamond lot south of the Chase drive-thru at Edmunds/44th (map) throughout West Seattle Summer Fest’s entire 3-day run (July 9-10-11). As the brand-new info sheet for the event says:
We are looking for local businesses to showcase merchandise, products and services related to the goal of this new special area – to raise awareness and equip our community with tools, knowledge and capabilities to create a more sustainable West Seattle.
There’s also room for organizations to showcase info/demonstrations/products on gardens, composting, permaculture, beekeeping, backyard chicken-raising, community fruit harvesting, and local waterways including Puget Sound and West Seattle’s creeks. Here’s the full info-sheet on the WSN website. Whether you’re a business or nonprofit, the deadline’s coming up fast: You must sign up by June 15th. Get the application here.
No big festivals in West Seattle next weekend since it’s Memorial Day – but here are updates on the first two in June:
WALK TO ReFRESH SOUTHWEST (DELRIDGE DAY/SUSTAINABLE WEST SEATTLE FESTIVAL), JUNE 5: The festival itself (info here) is 1 pm-5 pm, but other activities precede it, including a contest to encourage you to walk to Delridge Community Center to join the fun. Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles has forwarded the info:
You can win $50 and other giveaway items by forming a group to walk to the festival … It’s simple. Five categories to win:
Group with the largest number of walkers
Group taking the nicest photo of the Delridge area
Group taking photo of most distressed area needing special attention
Group that picks up the most litter on their journey to the event (we”ll provide bags and grabbers)
Group that visits the most Delridge “Points of Interest” (we’ll provide you with a location map, and bus passes if needed)
Bus passes will also be provided to participants to return to their original starting points.
You can sign your group up right now by going here (and you can sign up as an individual, too). Then, one week after ReFRESH …
MORGAN JUNCTION COMMUNITY FESTIVAL, JUNE 12: The schedule of major events is out, from bands to Bubbleman (he’ll be there 5:15-5:45; the festival itself runs 11 am-7 pm). Here’s the full flyer/poster; the start times for all the bands are listed on the MoCA website. Another popular feature returns, too – the Bite of Morgan, with neighborhood eateries participating. It’s all headquartered at and around Morgan Junction Park, which was dedicated before last year’s festival. (Here’s some of our coverage of last year’s event.)
For all the Patches Pals – and pug fans – in WSB-land, one more photo from Saturday’s Westwood Village Street Fair, shared by Karen. She says, “My friend Kristi worked the Seattle Pug Rescue booth at Westwood Street Fair on Saturday. She got JP to pose with her pugs Viola and Suzy.”
(scroll down for newest updates and pix)
First major outdoor West Seattle festival of the season, and the sun decided to defy the forecast! Dog show under way till 1 pm, JP Patches expected noon-2 pm, raffles (including a big prize from WSB sponsor Wyatt’s Jewelers), come down and say hi – you’ll find us next to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, with lots of West Seattle info. The street fair’s on till 7 pm, headquartered in the lot between Bed Bath Beyond and Pier 1 Imports.
12:12 PM UPDATE: Finally adding photos. It is a spectacular day and there are plenty of people here – great to meet everyone who has stopped by our table to say hi! Lots of dogs too – this is a dog-friendly event, and not just because a dog show has been under way:
If you stop by our table, we have a list of summer events around West Seattle that you can pick up if you’d like something to tack up to remind you of the highlights – plus some flyers about other things happening around the area. Meantime, JP Patches has just arrived as well and is onstage now – he posed for pictures as he walked toward the stage – here you see him with West Seattle Chamber CEO Patti Mullen, who’s tabling for the Chamber next to us:
1:11 PM: This is also a good chance to come down and learn a little more about local nonprofits – White Center Food Bank is here, as are reps from WestSide Baby:
If you come down, be sure to enter the drawings – we have entry forms at our table (across from Sleep Country and Radio Shack, under the red/white canopy, rainbow tablecloth, bouncy slides behind us). Right next to us, there’s a booth for the newly reopened Evergreen Community Aquatics Center in White Center. And among the many folks who’ve stopped by to say hi were a couple of young ladies handing out info about ReFRESH Southwest – the Delridge Day/Sustainable West Seattle Festival that’s coming up two weeks from tomorrow (June 5th, 1-5 pm, Delridge Community Center).
1:31 PM UPDATE: Here’s a full schedule of what’s ahead for the rest of the day/evening here:
Right now: Active X (sponsored by 24 Hour Fitness)
2 pm: Drawing
2:30 pm Fashion show (presented by Chico’s)
2:55 pm: Drawing
3 pm: Stephen Clark (magician)
3:25 pm: Drawing
3:30 pm Video Arcade Bus arrives
3:50 pm: Pizza-eating contest (presented by Giannoni’s Pizza)
3:55 pm : Drawing
4 pm: Live music – Another Perfect Crime
4:25 pm: Drawing
4:30 pm: Live music – Memphis Radio Kings
5 pm: Drawing
5:30 pm: Drawing – Wyatt’s Jewelers gold/diamond pendant
5:35 pm: Live music – Red Hot Blues Sisters
ADDED 2:45 PM: More scenes from the fair so far, starting with JP Patches signing autographs:
Toby Matasar from Eats Market Cafe, which is selling drinks and treats including popsicles:
And this is the Wyatt’s Jewelers pendant that a lucky winner will get after the 5:30 pm drawing:
The Chico’s fashion show is under way right now. Here’s a shot from the early going (Heather is the model):
3:15 PM: We also have some photos from Highland Park photographer extraordinaire Dina Johnson – these are some of the more unusual dogs spotted at the event:
Reminder that we have the schedule of events higher up in this story – live music starts at 4 pm.
4:38 PM: Thanks to Tiffany for sharing that photo of her Jetson, with the news that he won 1st for Best In Show at the Westwood Village dog show earlier here at the Street Fair. She explains, “He’s a 4-month-old Deaf Double Merle Australian Shepherd Mix” and says you can find him on Dogster, here. We’ll be publishing a wrapup story late tonight with more Westwood highlights (including some video). Meantime, it’s music time:
5:08 PM: The Memphis Radio Kings – who performed at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) last night as part of KEXP Hood-to-Hood – are onstage now (the stage is at the Bed Bath Beyond side of the lot).
As just forwarded by Delridge’s Neighborhood District Coordinator Ron Angeles, that’s the official poster for ReFRESH Southwest, the umbrella name for the combined Delridge Day/Sustainable West Seattle Festival event set for June 5 at Delridge Community Center. It was an agenda item for the North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s monthly meeting last night; Angeles asked the group for ideas on where to focus cleanup efforts for the Clean and Green event that’s also part of the day. Suggestions included spots where blackberry and ivy vines have overgrown sidewalks, particularly in front of vacant homes; Angeles plans to scout locations with fellow city employee Ron Harris-White. One other NDNC update: Nancy Folsom said the group’s ongoing Adopt-A-Street efforts will soon be recognized with a street sign, location TBA.
North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month, Youngstown Arts Center, 6:30 pm.
(Photo from June 2009 Westwood Village Street Fair)
If you’re looking to start scheduling your summer – more dates are rolling in. Last night, we noted that Sustainable West Seattle is taking exhibitor applications for its festival, to be held in conjunction with Delridge Day on June 5th. The Morgan Community Association announced last week that its 2010 festival is set for June 12th. And the West Seattle Junction Association started planning months ago for this year’s West Seattle Summer Fest, July 9-11. Now, today, we have word that Westwood Village will have a festival again this year too – but earlier than last year. According to WV general manager Stuart Crandall, the date’s set for May 22. Full details to come, but they’re working on activities for not only kids, but also pets! 8:47 PM UPDATE: More details of the festival were revealed at tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting (separate meeting story to come) – including the fact they’re expecting an appearance by beloved clown J.P. Patches! The news was shared by Evie Knoke, who had advance copies of promotional flyers for the festival. Also planned: Live bands, magicians, inflatable bouncers for the kids, hourly raffles including a diamond pendant from Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor), and an amateur dog show – you can sign up now at Pet Pros in WV.
This year’s Sustainable West Seattle Festival is being held in conjunction with the Delridge Day celebration, June 5 at Delridge Community Center – and organizers are taking applications right now. Here’s the form – May 15 is the deadline for applications. (This is a change for the festival – it’s been held in May in The Junction the past two years – but this year, Delridge Day is a bigger-than-ever event, and the SWS Festival is part of it.)
The party has started – and it’s a raucous one! Starting at the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard and heading southward, HONK Fest West is bringing more than five hours of marching-band style music to venues around The Junction – free! – starting with Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band from Boston (seen and heard in our iPhone clip above). Schedule and maps here. ADDED 4:41 PM: We just took another spin, north to south, along California and caught up with several bands. We’ll break most of the video into a separate story later – including our short march alongside one of the bands – but in case you still haven’t made it down (some accounts say there’ll be music till 6) – here’s the exuberance of the Hungry Marching Band on the north side of the Walk-All-Ways intersection, in front of Cupcake Royale (WSB sponsor):
That’s one of many videos you can find on YouTube from last year’s Honk Fest West – which didn’t include West Seattle, but this year, as previously reported, it will. Just heard from organizer David Stern, who says more than 20 marching bands will be in The Junction for Honk Fest West on April 11th (other parts of the city earlier in the weekend). They’ve got a permit to shut down California SW that day between Alaska and Oregon, he says, and while bands will play in the closed-to-traffic street, they’re also still looking for other places the bands can perform – if you have a suggestion, please e-mail HonkWestBooking@gmail.com.
West Seattle pride is at the heart of West Seattle Summer Fest – T-shirts like that one, photographed at Summer Fest ’09, are one way to show it; if you’re a local business, even better, be part of the festival! Now that it’s March, Summer Fest is a scant four months (and change) away, and the West Seattle Junction Association reminds us all that the first deadline’s rolling up: Local businesses interested in being part of Summer Fest need to get their applications in by March 15 (as first announced here); make sure you write “West Seattle Local” in the comment area on your app. Get the forms here; see you there!
From last night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting at Youngstown Arts Center, lots of updates, including new information about what’ll be the biggest Delridge Day event ever, as well as this fall’s Gathering of Neighbors. Read on for the full report:Read More
Our clip from July 10, 2009, captured the iconic moment of last year’s West Seattle Summer Fest – Dow Constantine talking about his eventual-landslide King County Executive campaign as he introduced Mudhoney, who performed for thousands in the heart of The Junction. Now the dates are set for this year’s Summer Fest – July 9, 10 and 11. And the five months between now and then will go fast, so Susan Melrose at the West Seattle Junction Association has an announcement to share:
I know it’s early, but we’re already planning for Summer Fest. There has been a steady stream of phone calls all month from regional craft and food vendors wanting to apply to this event. The good news is that West Seattle businesses get top priority!
In order to have a stronger West Seattle event, we are offering West Seattle businesses priority over non-West Seattle businesses if they apply by March 15th. If you’re a West Seattle business and want to apply for Summer Fest, visit www.westseattlefestival.com, download the appropriate application and write “West Seattle Local” in the comment section to be given priority. Applications received after March 15 will be handled like any other applicant.
Curious about Segways? Ride one at the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, continuing till 6 tonight outside Fauntleroy Church/YMCA and Fauntleroy Schoolhouse across the street (here’s a map). Another adventure – kids can climb one of those portable walls:
Crafts too:
It’s not all fun and games – you can find out more about what’s happening in Fauntleroy these days – like the deal to purchase the schoolhouse and part of its site, which Fauntleroy Community Services Agency‘s Kevin Wooley will be happy to discuss with you at his table:
And if you live in Fauntleroy, the Fauntleroy Community Association would love to have you in its membership ranks – look for the balloons, where we found Gary Dawson and Marty Westerman nearby:
Even if you can’t get there till the last hour or so, there are music and dance performances on tap too, plus bratwurst for dinner. Although we’re not sure if the dancing stilt-walker will appear again – we did get some video:
From tonight’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting: Two big events coming up this weekend – Saturday morning, 9-noon, the Cove Park cleanup, volunteers welcome (it’s the little beach park on the north side of the Fauntleroy ferry dock). Sunday afternoon, the FCA is among those involved in the Fauntleroy Fall Festival (schedule details here), 2-6 pm at multiple venues in the heart of Fauntleroy (Church/Y, Schoolhouse). FCA also is looking all the way ahead to next year, discussion this year’s membership event/Food Fest and who to invite next year. FCA president Bruce Butterfield recapped last week’s meetings on the Combined Sewer Overflow projects (our reports are here and here); Vlad Oustimovitch reported back on last week’s Southwest District Council meeting (our coverage, here). P.S. Remember FCA is on Facebook – with detailed listings of upcoming events – you can “fan” them by going here. (Then be sure you’re connected with WSB on FB here!)
| 4 COMMENTS