West Seattle’s June weekend wildness, second installment
The forecast may not be so hot as of this point, but our West Seattle weekend roundup includes plenty of indoor options if needed … including the world’s most famous all-female AC/DC tribute band, late-night comedy, an all-city “jam” for independent business people, the Rat City Rollergirls’ rummage sale on Alki, plus your chance to help beautify North Delridge … Those events and more, a click away:Read More
Raw deal?
This week’s Stranger gives another mention to a West Seattle mini-controversy that got surprisingly little attention earlier this spring (we only linked to it in passing): the city’s decision to deny a nudist group’s request to rent Colman Pool for a swimsuitless swim. At least The Stranger mentioned the group by name (Body Freedom Collaborative, site NSFW); the original account didn’t. So do you think the city should have said yes? (We can’t help thinking they would have been able to handle it by charging extra to put the plywood back up for a few hours.)
A big thanks to WSB readers
That “thank you” comes from Ercolini Park project organizers, who are working to transform a big beautiful empty lot west of The Junction into a real park. They say WSB readers have stepped up to commit dozens more volunteer hours to the project since our last update earlier this week. And they just got great news from the city — pending mayor and council approval, they’ll get a $90,000 grant, to complement $10,000 in “volunteer time and cash” that they will have to nail down by Halloween. They’ll also be teaming up with the folks working on Junction Plaza Park (on Alaska between Cali and 42nd) for fundraising efforts, with a joint meeting set for June 13.
Dizzyingly busy WS weekend
From 130-plus yard sales in 1 day, to a wild hour to try the Water Taxi, to women’s tackle football, to bellydancing, there is so much to do this weekend, you’ll wish you could just skip sleep. Full list is one click away:Read More
First weekend of May
Even without the Cinco de Mayo wildness at your favorite drinking spot, it’s a BIG West Seattle weekend. Click for the full (and “full” is an understatement) list!Read More
The BIG WEEKEND arrives
The Water Taxi and Farmers’ Market, both returning on Sunday … Easy Street’s new “afterhours” shows continuing tonight … your chance to help shape a West Seattle landmark’s future … all part of the weekend preview roundup, a click away:
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Hang on — it’s going to be a wild weekend
As we hinted a few times already, SO MUCH happening in West Seattle this weekend, you might as well not bother going anywhere else. World-class shows (like the members of COTR appearing at Cafe Rozella), free swimming, Earth Day celebrations galore, and … how can you pass up the first-ever Pet Rodeo and Snooty Walk? Full list with links, a click away:
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WS weekend: Friday the 13th and beyond
We actually consider 13 a lucky number, so this is bound to be a great weekend. Garden plants for sale, free family fun courtesy of the WS YMCA, tons of tunes, and surprises as always — one click away:
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Birth of a park, the latest
A few weeks after our last update on the neighborhood organizers determined to take Ercolini Park west of The Junction from purchased parkland to bonafide park by summertime, there’s more news. Organizer Bill Barna says they’re almost halfway to their goal of getting 1,000 hours of volunteer time pledged; find out more about what’s up and how you can help, at the park website or e-mail Bill directly.
Early alert for weekend family fun
This isn’t happening till Saturday, but you need to pre-register, and organizers say space is limited, so here’s an early alert: People for Puget Sound is kicking off a kids’ art contest with a “beach treasure hunt” and low-tide walk at Lincoln Park this Saturday afternoon. Go here to find out more (including contact info for signing up).
CG in WS
The Coast Guard returned to Don Armeni at midday today, launching at least three of their inflatables, with another hovering offshore. Still wondering why they often turn up here, instead of launching from their convenient downtown base across the bay?
Too soggy for sports
The city parks department has just issued an alert — it’s closing all grass ballfields around the city because they’re just too soggy, with rain most of the weekend and more on the way. That includes Alki, Fairmount, High Point, part of Hiawatha, Highland Park, Roxhill, and West Seattle Stadium, among others.
Parks in progress
Our side of the city has an amazing amount of parks in progress … land is set aside, names are assigned or assumed, “development” is all that’s left. Much of this is around The Junction — Dakota Place Park to the north, Junction Plaza Park to the east, the Ercolini site to the west. Though some $ for acquiring the land came from the 2000 Pro Parks Levy, citizen assistance is required to finish the process of turning set-aside land into full-fledged parks. Right now, Ercolini neighbors are gearing up for a push to get its metamorphosis finished by summer; as one organizer wrote in a note to us, “After you cut through all the requirements, politics, and whatnot, the bottom line is that we need to find volunteers and $$$.” So they’re planning to doorknock and leaflet, and they’re working on a website (not much there yet except a link to the latest park plan).
Nameless no longer
A city press release is out with official names for two West Seattle parks. No surprises, though — the site known as Junction Plaza will be Junction Plaza Park, and the site in the Delridge/Cottage Grove area is Cottage Grove Park.
3 (projects) in 1 (update)
-Guess who’s surfaced in the growing push to keep Charlestown Cafe from being replaced by a standalone Petco store: Former City Councilman Charlie Chong. His letter to the current council members is in one of the latest posts on the Our Town/West Seattle group site, as it moves to organize the fight.
-Also stepping up their fight: The Morgan Junction/Gatewood neighbors who say the construction across the street from Gatewood Baptist shouldn’t have sneaked through the permit process as a group of small projects instead of the one semi-big project it really is. One neighbor has just posted a new comment on this WSB page, contending the project is clearly illegal, and also wants everyone to know project updates are on the ORCA site.
-And one last reminder regarding a (so far as we know) noncontroversial project: As we mentioned Sunday, tonight’s the third and final public meeting to talk about what’s going to be done to transform the “Ercolini property” (photo below) into a park.
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