(QUICK LINKS: Bus reroutes … music lineups … vendor & sidewalk-sale lists)

10:57 AM: Lots of people already here in The Junction as the second day of West Seattle Summer Fest begins:

That’s the latest view from the city traffic cam right over Walk All Ways, where we’re in the Info Booth all festival long. Besides info, this is also where you’ll find festival merch, and local organizations:

Left to right above, from SPD, community-service officers Phil and Janice with crime-prevention coordinator Jennifer. Find out what CSOs can help with, and/or talk with Jennifer about Night Out (coming up August 1st). And if you’re accompanied by a young festivalgoer, ask about Emery the Emergency Penguin … In Junction Plaza Park, the West Side Stage has performances today and tomorrow, starting with New Age Flamenco at 11 am, a few minutes away; the Main Stage, on California north of Oregon (by the post office), gets going at noon with a showcase by Mode Music (WSB sponsor). … Assisting with the Kids’ Area today is Hope Lutheran School – go say hi to Melanie and Sally:

11:39 AM: Here’s a sample of New Age Flamenco’s West Side Stage performance:

Some questions already at the Info Booth about upcoming events:
—Farmers’ Market. Regular hours tomorrow, 10 am-2 pm Sunday, but NOT the regular space – like last year, it’ll be on California north of Oregon (where the main stage and beer garden are until late tonight)
—West Seattle Grand Parade – California will be closed again for part of next Saturday (July 22nd) for the parade and the Float Dodger 5K that precedes it. … Back to what’s happening right now. Yes, dogs are allowed at Summer Fest, and we’re seeing more today than Friday – even dogs in backpacks. There’s a pet zone by Next-to-Nature on the west side of California a short distance north of Alaska. … We’re continuing to feature candidates who stop by the Info Booth – first one today is Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors candidate Maryanne Wood, one of three people vying for the West Seattle/South Park seat that Leslie Harris is leaving:

Your ballot should be arriving shortly if you didn’t get it already; here’s our election preview.

12:36 PM: Main Stage music has begun with the Mode Music student showcase:

That’s the band 4-Inch Devil Horns. We also photographed musicians waiting to go onstage – meet Phoebe and Archie of Velvet Photograph:

Archie comes from a musical family – his dad is Easy Street Records proprietor Matt Vaughan. … Yet another way to experience music at Summer Fest – West Seattle Community Orchestras‘ “instrument petting zoo” and demos inside ArtsWest (on the west side of California a few doors south of SW Alaska) – continuing until about 2 pm. Rob and Dawn were playing outside:

1:44 PM: If you have a question for SPD’s crime-prevention coordinator or community-service officers, they’re handing off the community space in the Info Booth shortly – Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network will be here. Meantime, we’re just back from a walkabout on the block of California south of Alaska. When you’re wandering the festival, be sure to look toward the sidewalk too – most of the year-round Junction merchants are having sales:

There are also local businesses that you might not normally see – such as the Himalayan chai stand that’s usually inside Puerto Vallarta, now out on the sidewalk for the festival:

Almost 2 pm – music continues on both stages, with new performers at the top of every hour.

2:22 PM: Seal Sitters is fully set up – with three hands-on exhibits:

Gray-whale baleen, sea otter pelt, harbor-seal pelt. One more note about the Info Booth – if you lose or find something, you can turn it in here to volunteers with the West Seattle Junction Association (which presents Summer Fest) – earlier today, for example, a festivalgoer and his lost phone were reunited. … Another festival logistics datapoint: Restrooms – two places to find the portables are in the alley off Alaska between California and 42nd, and along the west side of California just north of Edmunds.

2:53 PM: Did you see DancePowered here Summer Fest Eve? They’re scheduled to dance here in Walk All Ways at 3 pm.

3:07 PM: The dancers are finally about to start. Meantime, we’ve had another candidate sighting – Teresa Mosqueda, the at-large City Councilmember who’s running for the King County Council District 8 seat that Joe McDermott is leaving.

With her is daughter Camila. (Again, we take photos of all the candidates who stop by the Info Booth – where we’re on the north side – so if you’re running for something, stop by.)

3:55 PM: Since this is the longest day of Summer Fest, we break the day’s coverage into two – so our second as-it-happened report will start shortly!

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(TRANSPORTATION: Find bus-reroute info here, stop by stop …)

1:25 PM: West Seattle Summer Fest is on! The Kids’ Area on SW Alaska west of California is ready for sliding and bouncing:

($5 for one inflatable, $20 for an all-day unlimited pass.) The festival food stands are set up on SW Alaska east of California:

And more than 120 vendor booths line California between Oregon and Edmunds. We’re on the north side of the Information Booth – no sign yet, so just look for it in the heart of the Walk All Ways intersection – where you’ll also find Summer Fest merch sold by West Seattle Junction Association volunteers – T-shirts and totes, among other things.

You’ll also find some community organizations on one side of the info booth throughout the weekend, too. (Save the Stone Cottage is here right now.)

Meantime, music starts at 3 pm with The Potholes on the main stage (California north of Oregon – that’s where you’ll find the beer garden, too). Main-stage music is today and tomorrow; the Junction Plaza Park stage will be set up Saturday and Sunday. But as much fun as the special features are, this is also a chance to find out more about the year-round businesses – food, drink, retail. Sidewalk sales – which are how this festival began, decades ago – are happening too. More on that as the festival continues.

2:11 PM: Here in the early going, we’re catching up with some of the WSB sponsors who are also here at Summer Fest. (Our sponsors are the businesses who advertise on WSB to reach tens of thousands of neighbors. So far, we’ve seen Dream Dinners (“the original meal kit”) – their year-round HQ is on the east side of outer Jefferson Square.

Also here, Mode Music Studios and Mode Music & Performing Arts – they offer music/theater instruction, summer camps, and more from their HQ in North Delridge:

Emerald Water Anglers, which focuses on fishing but also sells all-purpose outdoor apparel, has a booth too – their year-round store is at 4502 42nd SW:

Canna West Culture Shop – just south of our spot here in the Info Booth – is the place to find out about CBD; proprietor Mimi is there right now:

(The Culture Shop’s year-round home is across California from the main Canna shop – 5435 California SW.) Camp Crockett – dog day care and services in North Delridge and Upper Morgan – has a booth, and Vanessa was there when we stopped for a pic:

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Northwest Real Estate has a booth at Summer Fest too, not far from their HQ in the Jefferson Square office tower:

We also caught up with Ross from West Seattle Coworking, whose north location is on the east side of California just north of Oregon (they also have a big new space on 35th SW just north of Barton):

Meantime, we’re now less than an hour from The Potholes kicking off music on the main stage – it’s been just under four weeks since they performed at the Morgan Junction Community Festival. More to come!

2:45 PM: Thanks to the person who stopped by with a tip – the Kids’ Area bouncy houses are shut down right now because the temperature is too high – they’re working on a way to spray them down and will reopen when they get that figured out.

3:24 PM: We’re told the bouncy toys are back in action. It’s music time, too – here’s how The Potholes got started:

Performances start at the top of the hour, every hour through 9 pm tonight. Waves Crashing is up at 4 pm on the main stage (California north of Oregon – that’s where you’ll find the beer garden too).

4:09 PM: One highly popular free item we’ve seen a lot of people walk by with – SDOT‘s SLOW THE FLOCK DOWN yard/planting-strip signs. SDOT’s booth is on the west side toward the north end of the festival zone on California. If you have any questions about West Seattle light rail, Sound Transit‘s booth is next door.

5:03 PM: We’ve had our first candidate visit of the festival at the Information Booth – Stephen Brown, running for City Council District 1. Our standing policy is to photograph every candidate who stops by to say hi:

The D-1 race – is one of four major reasons to vote in the August primary, as we reported here. … Music continues! We caught up with the 4 pm band, Waves Crashing, before their set ended:

(We’re hearing lots of excitement looking ahead to tonight’s lineup, especially the Dusty 45s at 7 pm.) Also on California north of Oregon, you can contribute to this year’s community mural:

Artist Stacey Sterling is coordinating again this year. You might recall, this is made possible by a gift from the late Dan Wiseman. … Also north of Oregon, another chance to buy Summer Fest merch from the Junction Association, which presents the festival.

6:12 PM: Randy Campbell is onstage and lots of people are here – Friday evening picks up after 5 pm. One of the truly unique booths is Author Event Network – where you’ll find writers promoting and selling their books:

This is a relatively new effort and they have dozens of members – stop by the booth on the west side of California between Oregon and Alaska and see who you meet – and what you might find to read! (Thanks to local author Susan Kemp for telling us to be on the lookout for this booth – she’ll be there Saturday and Sunday.)

6:36 PM: Here for dinner? Almost every Junction restaurant fronting California has a sidewalk café during the festival, including the new arrival Dué Cucina.

And of course there are options in the festival food zone on Alaska east of California – African, Asian, Latin American options, pizza, burgers. P.S. For dessert all weekend long, you aren’t limited to elephant ears and/or cotton candy – look for Lovely and Dapper Desserts‘ booth on the east side of California between Alaska and Oregon – they are famous for their mini-cakes.

7:12 PM: If you’ve been waiting for things to cool down before coming to the festival, lots of shade now. On the main stqge (“by the post office,” if that mnemonic works for you), The Dusty 45s are playing. (added) Here’s video, with King County Executive Dow Constantine introducing the band (as he does on occasion, memorably Mudhoney at Summer Fest 2009), plus the first song (which starts about two minutes into the clip):

Shaina Shepherd is up at 8 pm, Polyrhythmics at 9, and music is scheduled to wrap for the night around 10. Tomorrow is the longest day of the festival, opening at 10 am, with music also on until 10 pm (booths operating until 8-ish). Thanks to everyone who came by the Info Booth to say hi!

9:18 PM: One last video to add – the start of Shaina Shepherd‘s set, after her introduction by KEXP’s Troy Nelson (she takes the mic at about 1:20):

Tomorrow at Summer Fest, the stage lineups start with New Age Flamenco on the Junction Plaza Park stage at 11 am and Mode Music Showcase on the main stage at noon.

West Seattle’s biggest party of the year – Summer Fest – starts Friday, after a pre-funk in the closed Junction streets on Thursday night. Since our first preview of Summer Fest Eve, we’ve heard of two more reasons to be there:

‘BEYOND THE LENS: On Thursday night, legendary Seattle music photographer Lance Mercer will be at Easy Street Records, where a mini-doc about him will premiere, ESR’s Matt Vaughan tells us:

Ryan Cory is the director of the film, “Beyond The Lens.” Ryan is one of Seattle’s great videographers, editors, and storytellers. He’s directed pieces for Brandi Carlile, The Head and The Heart, Orville Peck, Pearl Jam, and of course Easy Street, Thunder Road Guitars, and the West Seattle Junction. When Ryan asked me what should he be his next film, his next project, muse, etc… without hesitation, I said, ”It’s time for Lance Mercer to shine, to be recognized for all he’s done for this city and the bands he helped elevate and the scene he helped create…and still creates …. and he lives in West Seattle. He’s elusive, let me get him for you, the story must be told.”

The premiere screening is expected to start around 7:30 pm. Matt adds, “This will be the debut of the Easy Street projector/screen.” And if you visit Easy Street, you’ll see more classic music photography – Charles Peterson‘s exhibit continues. Plus: “DJ Marc Muller from Emerald City Social Club will be the DJ thru the night.”

And right across Alaska from Easy Street:

AURORA AVE.: Along with previously announced music – West Seattle band Aurora Avenue will be playing on California Avenue during Summer Fest Eve. From band member Henry Parker:

We will be playing off and on from 5:30-6:50 and 7:20-7:45 and (Art Walk) is 5-8. We have a large set list of our own originals and crowd-pleaser covers. We’ll also be selling our own merchandise at the event. We’ll be playing directly across the street from Easy Street Records outside Key Bank, and the Junction main drag on California Ave. will be shut down to traffic to provide lots of dancing and watching space :)

California north of Oregon will close sometime Thursday morning, and then the rest of the festival zone – California between Oregon and Edmunds, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th – closes around 4 pm Thursday afternoon; the closure continues until Summer Fest breakdown and cleanup ends late Sunday/early Monday.

West Seattle Summer Fest is now exactly one week away – starting next Friday (July 14th)!

One of the signature features will be the Kids Zone, featuring inflatables. The West Seattle Junction Association is hiring helpers 15+ to “watch the inflatables and control how many kids are going in at a time.” Pay is $17/hour, with four shifts open:

Friday 1-8

Saturday 10-3 and 3-8

Sunday 10-5

Interested? Contact chris@wsjunction.org

P.S. Aside from the inflatables, which require tickets, the Kids Zone will offer free activities and games too.

1:22 PM: Mikey the Rad Scientist is leading audience-participation science songs as the 2023 Morgan Junction Community Festival gets under way in the park just north of Beveridge Place Pub. (It’s Father’s Day, so Mikey even brought his dad.) This is a simple three-hour festival in the park this year, with a half-dozen community-group booths (us too):

The booths have simple free activities too – as we mentioned last night, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society has rock-painting for the Save the Stone Cottage campaign.

(Photo courtesy Clay Eals, WSHS – Lauren was painting)

And just north of the park, skateboarding instruction is offered by Let the Kids Skate (once the weather dries – with giveaways, we hear – next to the Seattle Parks booth where you can revisit the park addition’s design plan as they look ahead to site cleanup later this year and park construction in 2025.

(Cove is helping out)

Coming up: The Potholes at 2 pm (sponsored by WSB) and Gary Benson at 3 pm (sponsored by Thunder Road Guitars, also a WSB sponsor). The Morgan Community Association presents the festival every year (and you can come learn about them too), with the aforementioned community co-sponsors and others.

2:07 PM: The Potholes – all young West Seattle musicians – just started their set in the park. No return of raindrops since the first few minutes. Good crowd.

If you like The Potholes – you’ll get to see them at West Seattle Summer Fest, too (3 pm Friday, July 14th)! Meantime, kids’ activities continue – including face-painting with Nichole.

And if you want a traffic-calming sign from SDOT, free, there’s a stock of them at the MoCA booth right by the entrance to the park.

2:40 PM: The Potholes have a heavy dose of what they called “dad rock” in their set – Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd – they even played a soft-rock Chuck Mangione classic. (video added)

They’ve drawn a crowd ringing the park as well as kids dancing on the lawn.

Around the periphery, some sidewalk chalking:

And we’ve had City Council candidate sightings too. Phil Tavel, former VP of MoCA, is emceeing. Rob Saka and family just stopped by to say hi. And Jean Iannelli Craciun is tabling on the sidewalk right outside the festival. (3 1/2 weeks until ballots go in the mail.)

3:04 PM: Final hour of the festival has begun. Gary Benson is performing now, with classic guitar rock/folk. (video added)

Poogooder is here with a variety of activities reinforcing their mission of helping dog owners be more environmentally friendly.

And over at the future park addition, skating is happening:

Skating will continue past 4 pm with a trick contest. The rest of the festival wraps up at 4, so come say hi before then. All ages have been coming through (chatting next to our booth are two families with babies, one just a few weeks old). And the sun’s been shining off and on, too.

3:51 PM: Everybody’s packing up – except the skaters – and Gary Benson just sang “You Got a Friend” as his finale. Thanks to everyone who sponsored and volunteered, and everyone who came by to say hi.

One month from today, the peninsula’s biggest party of the year begins – West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction, Friday, July 14th, through Sunday, July 16th. We talked about the plan recently with Chris Mackay, executive director of the West Seattle Junction Association, which presents Summer Fest (which has its roots decades ago in an annual Junction-wide summertime sidewalk sale).

Hours and festival footprint will be the same as last year – vendors will be open 1-8 pm Friday, 10 am-8 pm Saturday, 10 am-5 pm Sunday, with music and beer garden running later on Friday and Saturday. Main-stage music will again be Friday and Saturday only – if you missed the lineup announcement last month, see it here. On Sunday, the Farmers’ Market will be on California north of Oregon like last year.

Enjoy festival browsing, to shop and learn? You’ll find more vendors this year – about 150 (listed here). The food booths will be a bit more numerous this year too (list coming soon). The kid zone on the west side of the festival – on SW Alaska and in the lot behind KeyBank – will include inflatables as well as free activities hosted by local schools. A community mural will be created again at Summer Fest this year (thanks to Dan Wiseman‘s legacy gift).

And of course it all starts Thursday afternoon/evening with Summer Fest Eve – your chance to wander the streets of The Junction and enjoy Art Walk venues while Summer Fest setup happens. We’ll see you in The Junction next month!

Next Sunday (June 18th) is the day the Morgan Community Association invites you to Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW) for this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival! 1-4 pm, here’s what you’ll find:

ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP:
1:00 pm – Mikey the Rad Scientist brings science and nature to life with his creative, interactive and engaging music. From the adventures of a water molecule named Carlos to a musical journey to the center of the earth, his music strikes an chord with children and parents alike. Mikey believes we can all have a great time singing and dancing about the wonders of the world.

2:00 pm – The Potholes (sponsored by WSB) are high-energy funky fusion humans. Home of the grooviest bangers on the block, served with a side of guac and a hint of rock. West Seattle High School proud!

3:00 pm – Gary Benson (sponsored by Thunder Road Guitars) is a local folk-rock favorite at past Morgan Junction Community Festivals. A solo performer in the style of the Beatles, Shawn Colvin, James Taylor and other folk singers, Gary sings “the music I grew up with and the current songs that I love.”

FEATURED GUESTS
Inside Morgan Junction Park we’ll host local nonprofits with interactive activities for kids. Be sure to visit West Seattle HEY, Poogooder, 34th District Democrats, SW Seattle Historical Society with Stone Cottage, Emergency HUBS, and Let The Kids Skate!

NEW PARK COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Seattle Parks continues to work on the adjacent Morgan Junction Park Addition plan. The design firm Board & Vellum along and Park’s project manager are excited to be participating in the Morgan Junction Community Festival. Be sure to stop by their booth to reconfirm the park design and provide input on additional features. After the Festival, Seattle Parks will host an on-line survey to gather input from people unable to attend the event.

Special Morgan Junction Community Festival Thanks to our Sponsors, our Supporters, West Seattle Blog, O’Neill Plumbing, Beveridge Place Pub, Alki Lumber, West Seattle Minuteman Press and all our Friends. The Festival would not happen without you.

The banners are up for this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival, now exactly two weeks away! The Morgan Community Association will present the festival 1-4 pm Sunday, June 18, at Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW). Yes, that’s Father’s Day – MoCA says it’s a great place for Dad and the kid(s) to go together. Here’s the festival overview from MoCA’s Michael Brunner – starting with the three performers:

Mikey the Rad Scientist has been teaching and singing nature songs for over ten years and makes science fun by using stories, songs, props and movement to reinforce student’s learning.

The Potholes are a five piece funk-pop fusion band that performs covers as well as songs from their just released EP “Public Transportation.” The Potholes are all West Seattleites, and students at West Seattle High School. They were featured at last year’s West Seattle Summer Fest and Harvest Fest.

Gary Benson is a Seattle-based singer and acoustic guitarist who plays in the style of the iconic musical figures that he grew up listening to, including James Taylor, CSNY, the Beatles, Allison Krauss, and Shawn Colvin. His folk-based acoustic style has been very popular in the open-mic scene in Seattle, where he plays regularly, along with summer festivals and farmers’ markets. He has performed at the Morgan Junction Festival for many years.

This year we will also host non-profit booths and tables. Participants will include 34th District Democrats, Seattle Be Prepared, Southwest Historical Society, The Whale Trail, and Westside Healthy Empowered Youth. Each will offer important information updates to the community, and several will feature fun children activities as well.

Community business co-sponsors of the festival include WSB.

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 – Polyrhythmics

Saturday

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.