West Seattle, Washington
12 Thursday
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.
Starting in exactly one week, work will be under way to convert the heart of The Junction into a festival zone for West Seattle Summer Fest!
The festival itself doesn’t officially start until 1 pm Friday (July 14th), but the night before has become Summer Fest Eve, a fun night to come to The Junction and walk in the closed-to-motorized-vehicles streets before the weekend wildness begins. Summer Fest Eve also coincides with the monthly West Seattle Art Walk, which is not a Junction-only event but has many Junction participants. You can preview them here – and if you’re up for live music that night, one of two Art of Music performances, 6 pm-7:45 pm, will be in The Junction:
Hopscotch will perform in the pop-up ground-level Senior Center of West Seattle space on the southeast corner of California/Oregon. Also planned for Summer Fest Eve – DancePowered‘s flash mob at the Walk All Ways crossing around 7:15 pm, buskers at KeyBank Plaza, and “tons of colored chalk lying around” for sidewalk/pavement art. See you in The Junction next Thursday! (Festival previews start tomorrow – you can also browse the festival website to preview vendors, activities, and of course the Friday/Saturday music schedules.)
Many big West Seattle summer events are still to come – and many run on volunteer power. Among them, Alki Beach Pride, which is sending out this call:
Alki Beach Pride is on Sunday, August 20th and volunteers are needed for the day of. Short shifts are available throughout the day for a variety of tasks. Find out more at alkibeachpride.org – here’s where to sign up!
This year’s festival includes activities closing a section of Alki Avenue that afternoon/evening.
(2016 Mini-STP group; photo courtesy Don Brubeck)
West Seattle Summer Fest is headed our way fast – weekend after next – starting with Summer Fest Eve fun in The Junction on Thursday night, July 13th, then continuing with the full festival Friday through Sunday, July 14-16. If you have a bicycle, you can join a fun way to get to Summer Fest on the final day – the annual “Little STP Ride” with West Seattle Bike Connections! If you haven’t already seen it in our Event Calendar, here are the specifics;
Have you ever wanted to do the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride, but forgot to sign up – or train? Here is your big chance! Do it in 2 hours! Same weekend as Cascade’s big STP, so you can brag and post pix like the other one-day riders. Join West Seattle Bike Connections on a Cascade Bicycle Club free group ride starting at Hamilton Viewpoint Park. We will be riding from SW Seattle Street to SW Portland Street, and back north to Summer Fest at the West Seattle Junction, for a fabulous finish-line party. After an hour or two there, participants can ride home independently, or ride with a leader back to the start. 10-mile, somewhat hilly route at a leisurely pace. We invite and welcome everyone, including people of all ages, languages, ethnicities, genders, races, and abilities.
Online registration is required and is free. See more information and register at cascade.org/node/81260.
See this year’s festival map here.
The only West Seattle park that’s home to a climbing rock is celebrating that and more today. Until 5 pm, you’re invited to Mountain Fest at Camp Long (5200 35th SW).
Not an experienced climber? No worries. They’ll show you how. If you’d rather keep your feet on the ground, there’s still lots to do. The Falconer is there – we got to see Junebug the falcon:
Kids’ craft activities are an option too:
Our preview includes the map of what’s happening where around the park.
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.
Tomorrow’s forecast has improved from “rain” to “chance of showers” – but both of Morgan Junction’s big Sunday events are “rain or shine,” and we have extra info about both.
PRIDE MARCH: The first big event is at 11 am Sunday, the Pride March presented by Autumn and Monica, owners of Youngstown Coffee, HeartBeet Organic Superfoods Café, and Launchpad. Here’s their update:
Our 4th annual Pride March in Morgan Junction is happening rain or shine on Sunday, June 18th Meet up at the starting point Morgan Junction Park (next to Beveridge Place) at 11 am. Our first-ever grand marshals – Stacy and Jolie, founders/organizers of Alki Beach Pride – will lead the way on this easy 3-block walk up to Findlay and back down California, where we’ll end at Youngstown Coffee for a Pride celebration. We’ll be offering specials on our menu and special treats to raise funds for Alki Beach Pride.
We’ve partnered with Paper Boat Booksellers for a Pride Edition story time led by local nanny Ms. Lacey. Story time starts at 12:30 inside the bookstore. Bring your little ones for story time.
MORGAN JUNCTION COMMUNITY FESTIVAL: 1-4 pm Sunday, also at Morgan Junction Park, presented by the Morgan Community Association. We’ve previewed the entertainment lineup; here are three more things you should know about:
Seattle Parks continues to work on the adjacent new Morgan Junction Park plan. The design firm Board & Vellum along and Parks’ 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 online survey to gather input from people unable to attend the event.
Also, Let the Kids Skate Morgan Junction will offer basic skateboard instruction during festival hours and will hold a Best Trick Contest starting at 4:00 pm. Look for the signs.
The festival’s participating nonprofits plan interactive kids’ activities, including this one from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:
(Photo by Clay Eals; inscriptions by Shari Sewell)
SWSHS’s Clay Eals explains, “The activity is for kids to paint decorated stones that promote the Save the Stone Cottage campaign. Kids will be able to paint the reverse side of the rocks.” SWSHS and other participating organizations will all have booths/tables in the park. See you in Morgan Junction on Sunday!
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.
High Point Commons Park and Lanham Place to its west [map] are a hive of activity for this afternoon’s West Seattle Bee Festival. At the WS Bee Garden, north end of the park, Puget Sound Beekeepers are selling honey and answering lots of questions.
The entertainment is in keeping with the theme – Ella Bella Bee and the Pollinators performed in the first hour.
Not far from the Amphitheater, toward the south end of Lanham, we found Chance (below) and Blue, Seattle Police horses (based in West Seattle, on the southwest side of Westcrest Park):
Other city departments and services are there too – including the Seattle Public Library Bookmobile:
You can find out about local nonprofits, too – among those with booths/tables are the West Seattle Food Bank, West Seattle Cooperative Preschools, and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (whose work includes lots of nature stewardship). The festival continues until 3 pm.
(WSB file photo from past Bee Festival)
Another look ahead to one of this weekend’s big events – the West Seattle Bee Festival returns to High Point on Saturday (May 20th)! As previewed here in April, it’s happening in and around High Point Commons Park/Amphitheater and the Bee Garden [map], with components including:
Buzz Run – 9:30 am: A casual run/walk for youth, starting at the Bee Garden.
Community Cleanup – 10:30 am-noon: Part of One Seattle Day of Service; stop by the volunteer tent to pick up a picker and trash bag to help.
Bee Festival – Noon-3 pm: Activities, games, performances, and chances to learn about bees (with participants including the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association). Highlights include Ella Bella Bee at the Amphitheater at noon, beehive demonstration at the Bee Garden at 1 pm, and Soul Line Dancing at 2 pm. More than a dozen community organizations will be there to meet you, too.
This is all family-friendly and free!
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:
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!)
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