West Seattle, Washington
16 Sunday
Just two months until West Seattle’s biggest party of the year, Summer Fest, July 14-16. The West Seattle Junction Association presents Summer Fest and has just announced the main-stage music lineup:
Friday
3:00 – The Potholes
4:00 – Waves Crashing
5:00 – Once For Kicks
6:00 – Randy Campbell
7:00 – Dusty 45’s
8:00 – Shaina Shepherd
9:00 – PolyrhythmicsSaturday
12:00 – Mode Music Showcase
1:00 – School of Rock
2:00 – Warren Dunes
3:00 – Mikey Moo
4:00 – Memphis Radio Kings
5:00 – Final Body
6:00 – Acid Tongue
7:00 – Jarv Dee
8:00 – Sandrider
9:00 – The Cave Singers
DJ Yo Adrien
As shown above, music is just on Friday and Saturday again this year. Festival hours will be 1-8 pm Friday (music later), 10 am-8 pm Saturday (music later), and 10 am-5 pm Sunday (including the Farmers’ Market). More Summer Fest previews in the weeks ahead!
(WSB photo, 2019)
Since 2019, the West Seattle Junction has put up Pride flags, but there’s been no accompanying festival. That’s about to change. This year, the Junction area will have its own Pride Fest, the result of a city grant program (mentioned here in February) that will help launch that and two other new events. Here’s the announcement from the Junction Association:
The West Seattle Junction Association has been working with the City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture (ARTS) on a funding program for cultural activations in the Junction. With $56,950 to distribute, we requested proposals and convened a awards panel of West Seattle arts and business professionals. We saw many excellent proposals and wished we could have funded them all!
We are delighted to announce that funding was awarded for the three following projects:
West Seattle First Fridays, a dynamic art and retail experience beginning in May at Jet City Labs, with an emphasis on creating opportunities for BIPOC makers, artists and entrepreneurs.
Sounds from Around the World: two free community concert events produced by Urgent Africa – one all day in Junction Plaza Park on June 3, one in the Senior Center on May 31 – of live world music featuring at least 25 performing artists in total.
West Seattle Pride Fest: our community’s long overdue first Pride Fest, held throughout the West Seattle Junction on June 17, bringing the community together to celebrate LGBTQ Art and Culture with music, comedy, drag shows, and more.
We are looking forward to the continued revitalization of arts, culture, and community in the Junction!
We’re reaching out to the respective events’ organizers to find out more about the plans.
(WSB/WCN photo, June 2022)
Again this year, White Center Pride is inviting neighbors far and wide to a daylong block party – this time set for noon to midnight June 3rd. WCP asked us to publish their call for volunteers, vendors, and performers:
White Center’s annual Pride Block Party is less than two months away! We are looking for volunteers, entertainers, and vendors to celebrate with us. On June 3rd , we will block off 16th Ave SW between Roxbury and SW 100 th St, and fill the street up with music, shows, wrestlers, local businesses, food and beer gardens, and our first ever kids area with the White Center Library’s book mobile, face painters, storytellers, and more.
Please visit our website at whitecenterpride.org/white-center-pride-festival to learn
more. We need volunteers to assist with all types of activities for the day. We are also looking for local businesses to help fill out the street with booths and food trucks. And finally, we want to put out the call for entertainers that want to celebrate our region’s LGBTQIA+ community. Any questions, feel free to email info@whitecenterpride.org. Thank you!The White Center Pride Committee
501c3 Nonprofit
(WSB file photo: Bee spotted during a past West Seattle Bee Festival)
Another date for your spring calendar: The West Seattle Bee Festival is returning this year as a full-fledged community celebration, on Saturday, May 20th, in and around High Point Commons Park/Amphitheater and the Bee Garden [map]. Here’s what you’ll find that day, as announced by organizers:
The Bee Festival is back and everyone is invited! The fun starts at 9:30 AM and will last until 3:00 PM on Saturday, May 20th so make sure to put this on your calendar! Below are some of the exciting programs and activities already planned with more to come! Be sure to grab a brochure at our information booth on Lanham Place near Graham Street during the festivities for more information!
Buzz Run – 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM. The trail will start at the Bee Garden and will loop you around the hill to the finish hive. A special prize if you’re the first person to make your way back! If you joined us last year for the run, that pesky Bee Gnome trapped some of our bee friends in jars again and we need to save them! Along the running route, there will be jars filled with bees hidden in Commons Park for you to save. The person that saves the most bees and returns them back to the hive gets a special prize. If you find the Bee Gnome and bring it back to the hive, you will also get a special prize!
Community Clean Up – 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM. We partnered with Seattle One Day of Service to provide the best volunteering opportunities for you here at High Point! We’ll be cleaning up the community one block at a time, but you are also invited to help if you don’t want to register! Stop by the volunteer tent to pick up a picker and trash bag and help our community be squeaky clean. If you do register with Seattle One Day of Service, you’ll get a nifty T-Shirt provided from the city. More information on registration coming soon.
Bee Festival – 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Ella Bella Bee will do a performance at the amphitheater and will be on stilts to pass out seeds during the day. Seattle Rec’N’The Streets and UPower will take over Commons park for activities and yard games along with 20 other organizations from Seattle talking about environmental and bee-focused information. Want to see a fire truck up close? Fire Station 37 will attend the Bee Festival for you to ask questions! Puget Sound Beekeepers Association will be on site with their honey near the Bee Garden!
Here’s some backstory on the West Seattle Bee Garden, founded 10 years ago.
(2017 Alki Art Fair from above, photographed by Long Bach Nguyen)
Another major West Seattle summer event has announced the dates for this year – and is accepting applications now for participants, volunteers, and an assistant director. Here’s the announcement sent to us:
The Alki Art Fair has been set for July 21 – 23rd this summer. Applications are currently open so make sure to apply before the end of the month!
As with all big events, planning has to start months in advance, so the Alki Art Fair is sending out the call for help now!
Alki Art Fair brings people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds together to celebrate local art and music on beautiful Alki Beach. Our goal is to promote art appreciation by creating opportunities for community involvement and cultural diversity through the arts.
Seeking Volunteers, Board Members and an Assistant Director
As spring is here and planning has begun, we are looking for volunteers to join the Board; a new president, and fundraising specialists as well as volunteers to help with planning the music and the kids area for the fair.
If you would like to get involved with the planning of the fair please email info@alkiartfair.org or visit alkiartfair.org/volunteer and fill out the volunteer contact form.
Alki Art Fair is also hiring a stipend volunteer position – Assistant Director.
For more information on the Assistant Director position, please contact Giovannina Souers at president@alkiartfair.org
(Screengrab of California/Alaska traffic cam during event’s final hour)
4:18 PM: It’s happening now in The Junction, where California and Alaska are closed to traffic and open to winter fun at the expanded Hometown Holidays Festival, culminating with the tree lighting in Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska, scheduled to follow the lights-costume contest, which is around 6 pm). Here’s the schedule:
4:00 – Festival begins. Night Market and Beer & Wine Garden are open. Endolyne Choir, School of Rock, and Mode Music Studio perform on stage.
5:00 – G.L.O.W.S. Costume Promenade on streets. Elvis performs on stage.
6:00 – Costume Contest on stage.
6:30 – Lighting of the tree in Junction Plaza Park, followed by Santa reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and leading a carol sing-along.
7:00 – Dancer and Prancer perform on stage.
8:00 – Night Market and Beer & Mulled Wine Garden close.
Our preview, which includes more info on the contest, is here. See you there!
5:24 PM: The Night Market and light-costume promenade are happening on California.
The beer/wine garden is happening, and Elvis is performing, on Alaska.
(added) He was preceded by community musical groups including the Endolyne Choirs:
The tree lighting is an hour or less away!
6:50 PM: The tree is lit, and the festival continues:
(added) Here’s how the countdown went – first Jack Menashe, members of his family, and Santa took the stage:
Then, tree time:
The band Dancer & Prancer is closing out the entertainment, and the market and beer/wine continue until 8.
8:41 PM: We’ve added photos and video inline above (and still adding). One more highlight – the costume contest, with winners chosen by audience acclaim, after attendees were nominated by the light-costume artists who had been chosen to stroll, Here’s how it went, starting with the artists themselves onstage:
Winners got Junction gift cards – $500 for group, $250 for individual, $100 for pet. Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay promised the new feature – GLOWS (Glorious Light of West Seattle) – would be even better next year. As for this season, the next Hometown Holidays event – next Thursday night’s Art Walk, enhanced with holiday extras including carolers and Santa.
We’re now just one day away from an expanded Hometown Holidays street festival in The Junction, centered on the Night Market and tree lighting, also featuring the first-ever GLOWS (Glorious Lights of West Seattle) celebration. That includes artists promenading in light-decked costumes they designed – West Seattle Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay shares a photo she received showing one of the works in progress:
You’re invited to create your own costume of light to be part of a contest at the festival – the costumed artists will be judging the people they see promenading on California SW, which will be closed for the festival. The categories are Best Group, Best Individual, Best Pet; each artist will nominate one entrant in each category by handing them a light wand. If you get one, you’ll then be on stage at 6 pm for audience judging. Prizes are $500, $250, and $100 in Junction gift cards!
The festival runs 4-8 pm, with the Night Market and beer/hot-wine garden – sponsored by Elliott Bay Brewing and Darby Winery – open the whole time. You can also buy this limited-edition mug for your beverage (or future use) if interested:
For kids, Hope Lutheran will have free hot cocoa. Other things to know – here’s the festival schedule:
4:00 – Festival begins. Night Market and Beer & Wine Garden are open. Endolyne Choir, School of Rock, and Mode Music Studio perform on stage.
5:00 – G.L.O.W.S. Costume Promenade on streets. Elvis performs on stage.
6:00 – Costume Contest on stage.
6:30 – Lighting of the tree in Junction Plaza Park, followed by Santa reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and leading a carol sing-along.
7:00 – Dancer and Prancer perform on stage.
Community co-sponsors of Hometown Holidays include WSB. The streets will close in the morning, and a variety of other events are happening all day at and around The Junction (see our Holiday Guide!), so come down early and enjoy the festivities.
Speaking of holidays … Saturday, December 3 – just three weeks from today – is the date to set on your calendar for the biggest event of the season in the West Seattle Junction. What started as “just” the tree lighting is expanding to include not only the return of a Night Market but also GLOWS – Glorious Lights of West Seattle. We had a bit of information about it when the call for artists opened last month, but you have a role in this too – here’s more, from West Seattle Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay:
The West Seattle Junction is adding to its annual Hometown Holidays this December 3rd by creating a festival of lights for all to enjoy. Our beautiful lighted trees will be the backdrop for a light-costume parade where community members are encouraged to promenade around the Junction dressed in outfits decorated with lights. We will have our streets closed to traffic, so everyone can enjoy seeing each other and the artists. Many of our local merchants will be decorating their store fronts with lights, and we will be lighting our Christmas Tree as well. Enjoy strolling around, shopping at the merchants and the night market, and enjoy a mug of hot spiced wine or a beer in our beer garden.
Prizes: Gift cards to Junction Merchants for Best Group-$500, Best Individual-$250, and Best pet-$100.
Contestants will be tagged by the artists during the promenade from 5 pm-6:00 pm, entering them into the competition on stage where the crowd will vote for their favorite at 6:30 pm.
Applications are still open for artists to create a costume – go here. Chris adds, “Each year we will build on our GLOWS Festival. Next year we will be adding an interactive community AI light show. Don’t miss it! Always the first Saturday in December.”
(Festival schedule is here)
11:50 AM: That’s the costume parade (led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band) that kicked off the first full-strength West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival in three years. It’s happening right now on California SW between Alaska and Edmunds, and on Alaska between 44th and 42nd. Trick-or-treating is happening now, wherever you find candy (and it’s going fast). Lots of free fun activities too:
Plus, the first mainstage performance, by the 8-Bit Brass Band, starts soon. The chili cookoff also gets going at noon – $10 gets you tastes of every contender (benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank), and a vote.
More to come as the festival continues until 5 pm, whatever the weather does.
12:24 PM: The chili cookoff is literally a hot ticket – it’s drawn a line. Servers are busy!
Over at the main stage – which is ground-level – the 8-Bit Brass Band is playing:
Following the band, the mural created at Summer Fest is scheduled to be unveiled.
1:19 PM: That’s artist Stacey Sterling, who led community participants in creation of the mural. She was followed on the main stage by the pie-eating competitions, presented by nearby A La Mode Pies:
We’ve made a few trips to the nearby stores for candy replenishment, so trick-or-treating is still on here at the Info Booth. Lots of little ones who are trick-or-treating for the first time, getting parental coaching.
1:49 PM: The Heebie-Jeebies are playing now – perfect Halloween music.
And all around the festival zone, the first-ever Harvest Fest cornhole tournament is in the heat of competition:
32 teams are playing; winners will be announced when the festival wraps at 5 pm.
The @WSJA Harvest Festival rolls on. Jump-rope demo right now! pic.twitter.com/M2gV1Onivw
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 30, 2022
2:17 PM: Lots going on at the community activity booths, sponsored by local organizations, schools, and businesses. Westside School (WSB sponsor) had a line of festivalgoers:
The Farmers’ Market is keeping regular hours, so it just closed. (That means vehicles are coming in for market breakdown, on California north of Alaska.)
The Heebie-Jeebies have just finished playing; next up in the stage area, square dancing at 2:30 pm. But first, the chili cookoff results …
#1 – Husky Deli
#2 – The Bridge (just one vote behind)
#3 – Easy Street
WSFB promises an update tomorrow on how much the cookoff raised to support their work preventing hunger and homelessness. (MONDAY UPDATE: $3,820!)
2:45 PM: Some booths are folding up early, so if you haven’t been here yet, hurry! At the stage, square dancing has begun.
3 PM: With the scheduled activities wrapping up (aside from The Potholes performing at 3:30) and rain moving in, Chris Mackay of the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association has given the clearance to fold this up, so our coverage is concluding. Thanks to everyone who stopped by them Info Booth to say hi! For the rest of today, and tomorrow, see our West Seattle Halloween Guide.
ADDED SUNDAY EVENING: Some additional photos. First, these owls caught a lot of attention – photo sent by Laura Goodrich:
Holli Margell sent the next four, starting with two more looks at the WSHS band leading the costume parade:
And we caught more costume creativity:
Set your calendar for the next big seasonal fun in The Junction – Tree Lighting, GLOWS, Night Market, more on Saturday, December 3!
Two notes as we wrap up this first night of the extended Hallo-weekend … first, a reminder about Sunday’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Fest:
That’s the map for Sunday’s in-the-street festival, which runs 11 am-5 pm; just north of the top of the map, on California between Alaska and Oregon, you’ll find the Farmers’ Market as usual, regular time (10 am-2 pm). Note all the cornhole-court locations – the tournament is new this year, with 32 teams set to compete. One thing West Seattle Junction Association executive director Chris Mackay wants to stress – the festival is RAIN OR SHINE – if we get rain, just incorporate an rain hat or umbrella into your costume! The costume parade starts it off at 11 am; line up at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). Right after that, trick-or-treating and other activities start at businesses and booths at 11:30 am. Almost everything is free, but if you want to taste, and vote in, the chili cookoff, bring $10 (which benefits the West Seattle Food Bank). See the full schedule on the official website.
And more home decorations to show tonight – Heather sent this:
Happy Halloween from The Dyers on 17th! (Between Myrtle & Holly)
Spiders, Webs & Skeletons….oH mY eYeballs!
The Rube Goldberg Candy Machine will be up and giving out candy Sunday and Monday.
Come on by and check out the Spooky neighbors too!
PS…just spooky enough for the little during the day. Extra creepy lights at night for the bigs.
Thanks again to everyone who has sent decoration photos – so much Halloween spirit around West Seattle! Lots going on the next few days – check out the listings in our West Seattle Halloween Guide.
(WSB photo from 2019 West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival)
Next weekend will be part of a four-day Halloween celebration, Friday through Monday, and the biggest event of all will be on Sunday (October 30th) in The Junction – the return of the full-fledged Harvest Fest. In the first pandemic year, 2020, the West Seattle Junction Association assembled and sold Harvest Fest boxes so families could enjoy seasonal fun at home; last year, The Junction hosted in-person trick-or-treating. This year, all the festival fun is back – costume parade, trick-or-treating, activities, chili cookoff, pie-eating contest – and new fun has been added, including a cornhole tournament, mainstage music, and square dancing. The West Seattle Farmers’ Market will still be happening at its regular time in its regular location – California SW between Oregon and Alaska – and the street closures will expand to California between Alaska and Edmunds and Alaska between 42nd and 44th. The festival hours will be 11 am-5 pm Sunday (the Farmers’ Market is 10 am-2 pm as usual). If you’re interested in the cornhole tournament – prizes! – team registration is still open last we heard; use this form. For everything else, just show up (all the spots in the pie-eating contest are taken, by the way). Even more Harvest Fest details are in our most-recent preview. (And you can plan your whole Hallo-weekend with our West Seattle Halloween Guide!)
2:16 PM: Until 5 pm – you’re invited to the return of the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, free fall fun on both sides of the 9100 block of California SW, inside and outside Fauntleroy Church/YMCA and Fauntleroy Schoolhouse/Hall at Fauntleroy.
The activities list is here; the event schedule (for performances and competitions) is here. Photos and more to come!
2:40 PM: Those are three of the decorated cakes for which you can vote in the cake-decorating contest on the lower back level of The Hall at Fauntleroy; at 3 pm, you can compete in the cake walk. Just outside the room where that’s happening, it’s a fall photo booth with West Seattle photographer Holli Margell – lots of families stopping for that.
And steps to the west, The Falconer is here with amazing birds.
Over in the lot outside Fauntleroy Church/YMCA, the festival traditions include pumpkin-painting:
Birdhouse-building:
And making salmon hats – celebrating the return of coho to Fauntleroy Creek (any time now!):
Sun’s out right now, too. More to come!
3:15 PM: A first-time feature, bunny-petting (replacing the “petting zoo” of years past), is a hit – you’ll find it in the “lower playground” area behind The Hall at Fauntleroy:
Nearby, The Don’t Ask Band is playing:
The Don't Ask Band pic.twitter.com/vSfAOOpJkw
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 23, 2022
There’ll be live music inside The Hall shortly too, with the West Seattle Big Band scheduled at 3:30 pm.
West Seattle Big Band! pic.twitter.com/SyLK29ncXb
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) October 23, 2022
3:48 PM: And there they are, playing timeless tunes. Back out in the church/Y lot, it’s a great day to climb:
Or to talk with some of the community organizations that are there – including the Fauntleroy Community Association, debuting this new banner:
One more hour to go – we’ll add more photos later!
ADDED SUNDAY EVENING: Also seen at the festival, Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network, educating festivalgoers about wildlife on and off our shores:
If you see a marine mammal on a West Seattle shore, alive or not, or one offshore that appears to be in distress, call Seal Sitters’ hotline at 206-905-7325. … From the Emergency Communication Hubs, the Fauntleroy area’s new volunteer hub captain Chris Jaramillo was at the festival:
The hubs are places you’d go to get and share information if disaster strikes and the usual methods are unavailable out of service – check this map to find the location of the hub closest to you (and if there’s not one nearby, get involved and start one!).
P.S. Speaking of getting involved, many people did that to make today’s volunteer-staffed, donation-funded festival, led by coordinator Reed Haggerty, a successful comeback. Like many events, the festival was on pandemic hiatus in 2020; last year, a drive-up/ride-up version was offered.
Tonight we have full details of what’s happening at the Fauntleroy Fall Festival on Sunday (2-5 pm)! Here’s the activity list:
And here’s the schedule of time-specific performances and events:
Among the highlights – a performance by Endolyne Children’s Choir:
Endolyne Children’s Choir is thrilled to celebrate fall and the return of the Fauntleroy Fall Festival this year on Sunday. Led by director Megan Callaghan Booth and staff instructor Maya Adams, all choir levels will perform and show off what they’ve been working on since the start of the fall session.
ECC is a no-audition, secular choir welcoming all singers in grades K-12. There are 21 West Seattle schools represented in our choir. Come join us and enjoy all the free activities that the festival has in store!
The photo above shows the choir performing exactly where you’ll find them at 2 pm Sunday, inside Fauntleroy Church, one of the festival venues – all on both sides of the 9100 block of California SW, as shown on the official map. Everything’s free at the festival except food/beverage concessions. See you there!
(WSB file photo)
For the first time since pre-pandemic, the Fauntleroy Fall Festival is returning this Sunday (October 23) as a full festival! 2-5 pm on Sunday, the grounds of Fauntleroy Church/YMCA and The Hall at Fauntleroy/Schoolhouse will host myriad free all-ages activities. They include longtime festival favorites like pumpkin painting and birdhouse building. The climbing wall will be back. And new this year – a bunny “petting zoo.” The activities are free (supported by voluntary donations, at the festival and throughout the year), and the festival is an all-volunteer operation – which brings us to the “Can you help?” part. They still have some volunteer spots open – and if you can spare as little as one hour on Sunday, that could be a big help. See the volunteer tasks and times, and sign up if you are interested, by going here!
P.S. If you haven’t been before, the festival sites are across the street from each other in the 9100 block of California. There’s always a crossing guard for festivalgoers – in fact, that’s a volunteer position too!
(WSB photo, kids’ pie-eating contest at 2018 Harvest Fest)
More details tonight about the expanded West Seattle Junction Harvest Fest, 11 am-5 pm Sunday, October 30th – but first, registration just opened tonight for two of its biggest events, and space is limited, so you’ll want to sign up if you’re interested:
CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT: Starting at noon, the tournament begins on courts spread out on California and Alaska. Registration is limited to 32 teams – first-come, first-served. The cost per 2-person team: $45. Find prize details and more info on the registration form.
PIE-EATING CONTESTS: At 1 pm, A La Mode Pies will host adults’ and kids’ pie-eating contests. It’s free to register, but only 10 kid spots and 10 adult spots are available. Kid registration is here; adult registration is here.
Here are other festival details:
FESTIVAL FOOTPRINT: Almost as big as Summer Fest – SW Alaska will close from 42nd to 44th, California SW will close from Oregon to Edmunds (the Farmers’ Market will be in its usual spot on California between Oregon and Alaska),
COSTUME PARADE: 11 am, led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band – line up at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska) pre-parade.
KIDS’ ACTIVITIES AND TRICK-OR-TREATING: 11:30 am-3 pm. Activities will be in booths all along California; businesses participating in trick-or-treating will display orange and black balloons.
CHILI COOKOFF: Noon-2 pm; $10 tickets get you tastes and votes, and benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. Competitors include Husky Deli, Shadowland, Pecos Pit BBQ, The Westy, Baker’s Dozen Catering, Margie’s Café, and NW Texas BBQ.
MAIN STAGE MUSIC: 8-Bit Brass Band at noon, Heebie Jeebies at 1:30, Potholes at 3:30.
MURAL UNVEILING: On the main stage at 12:45 pm, your first look at the completed Summer Fest mural created by community members led by artist Stacey Sterling.
STORYTELLING: 1:30 pm with Dolly Warden
SQUARE DANCING: 2:30 pm with Caller Andy Garboden.
Updates before festival day will be at wsjunction.org.
(WSB photo from 2019 Harvest Festival)
Last year, trick-or-treating returned – this year, the West Seattle Junction Association is ready to put on a full-fledged Harvest Festival for the first time in three years! Sunday, October 30th is the date. And while Harvest Fest will again share the streets of The Junction with the Farmers’ Market, the festival will feature new features this year – including live music and a cornhole tournament. Some traditional favorites will return: The costume parade at 11 am, the chili cookoff at noon, for starters. The festival will run longer than years past, too. Trick-or-treating will run 11 am-2 pm; a pie-eating contest is planned at 1 pm; square dancing at 2:30 pm, and music continuing into the afternoon, with the announcement of the cornhole-tournament winners planned to end the festival at 5 pm. Stay tuned for more details as it gets closer!
If you are looking for something low-impact to do this afternoon, the Seattle Chinese Garden‘s Kite Festival is on until 5 pm. You can make a kite ..
fly yours and/or watch someone else fly theirs …
listen to guzheng music by Angell Li …
Happening at @SeaChineseGrdn – Kite Festival, with music pic.twitter.com/UJ1gCwuodp
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) September 10, 2022
and enjoy the garden, which is on the north end of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus at 6000 16th SW, just east of the Arboretum. ($5 suggested donation for entry.)
(WSB photo, 2019)
This summer of returning events isn’t over yet – this Saturday (September 3rd), the Vietnamese Cultural Center in West Seattle brings back the Children’s Moonlight Festival. It includes a kids’ lantern parade – as shown above in our 2019 photo, that doesn’t actually happen in the moonlight, as the festival will take place 3-6 pm with a variety of activities for all, including treats, games, entertainment, and a lion dance. All free! The center is at 2236 SW Orchard (just north of Home Depot).
For the first time ever – or at least the first time we can recall – you can wander California Avenue SW north of Admiral Way today, during the first-ever Admiral Junction Funktion, continuing until 9 pm. Local businesses welcome you to come shop, dine, drink, and play!
Face-painting, too:
And did we mention entertainment? Here’s the lineup. (Added) And here’s a short clip of one of the first bands, Princess Pulpit:
Businesses from beyond the immediate area have joined in, too – Alair Gift Shop brought some of its West Seattle-appreciation merch:
And if you live/work/study in Admiral, you’ll want to go meet your Admiral Neighborhood Association reps:
Today’s event also offers at least one chance to give back to your community – in front of Pizzeria 22 (4213 SW College) we found Anna collecting diapers for WestSide Baby:
While you’re there, look for beer gardens at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), Mission Cantina (margarita garden – 2325 California SW), Arthur’s (2311 California SW), and Yen Wor Village (2300 California SW). Three of those venues – Admiral Pub, Mission, Yen Wor – are planning afterparties tonight too, along with the nearby Benbow Room (4210 SW Admiral Way).
SATURDAY, 2:04 PM: The cars are of course a big draw at the 2nd annual Lowrider Block Party, happening until 6 pm on 17th SW between Delridge and Roxbury – we spotted a two-wheeler too:
Art is a centerpiece as well, creating it as well as admiring it:
The custom cars are works of art in their own way:
Nearby Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery is presenting the Lowrider Block Party again this year.
Along with cars and art, vendors and entertainment are part of the party too.
ADDED SUNDAY NIGHT: Thanks to Yma for sharing these photos with some of the cars’ intricate details:
A partner in the Lowrider Block Party was Eazy Duz It Car Club, seen on Alki last weekend.
(WSB photo – Joyas Mestizas at Seattle Folklorico Festival)
Dance and music isn’t all you’ll see at the Seattle Folklorico Festival, happening at Westcrest Park (9000 8th SW) until 4 pm.
As noted in our calendar listing, you can shop and snack too.
Local organizations are there too – from the Highland Park Improvement Club to the Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs, whose booth offers this info for the youngest members of the family too:
The Seattle Folklorico Festival is coordinated and presented by the youth folkloric-dance group Joyas Mestizas (who are scheduled to perform again at 2:30 pm). Performances are for and by all ages!
Another big event in West Seattle this Saturday! We’ve already previewed the Admiral Junction Funktion and Lowrider Block Party street-closing events, Now we have word of the Seattle Folklórico Festival, 11 am-4 pm Saturday at Westcrest Park [map]. It’s hosted by the youth folkloric-dance group Joyas Mestizas, whose members also will perform, along with other groups – here’s the list/schedule:
For more information on the performers and vendors, go here.
We have more information tonight about this Saturday’s Admiral Junction Funktion street party, which will close California SW just north of Admiral Way before, during, and after the noon-9 pm event. It’s a joint presentation of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Admiral Business District, City of Seattle Office of Economic Development Neighborhood Economic Recovery Fund, and PCC Community Market – West Seattle (WSB sponsor). The free event is described as “Shopping, dining, drinking, beer gardens, and dancing to live music.” The revelry actually starts – unofficially – the night before, Friday, with a Pre-Funk Bar Crawl (here’s the participant list/schedule). Then on Saturday, you’ll find beer gardens at Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), Mission Cantina (2325 California SW), Arthur’s (2311 California SW), and Yen Wor Village (2300 California SW). And here’s the entertainment schedule:
12 pm Alina Ashley Nicole
1 pm Princess Pulpit
2 pm Yen Wor Karaoke
3 pm Otter on the Rocks
6 pm Surf the Pines
7 pm Queen Andrew Scott
8 pm Boogie Boyz
Hosts throughout the day will be Brent Amaker and VJ Lacefront. Then once the Admiral Funktion wraps up at 9 pm, it’s afterparty time:
-Admiral Pub ’70s funk/disco party with drag performances by Queen Andrew Scott. –
-Mission Cantina will feature live bands
-Benbow has 2 DJs Back to Back going on all night
-Yen Wor Karaoke Party
Thanks to Alex Garcia from Admiral Pub for the entertainment-lineup info. Alex says organizers intend to ensure this is an annual event,
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