The West Seattle Church of the Nazarene in Morgan Junction is hoping to get opinions from families with young kids but says the topic is “not about religion.” Here’s the message they asked us to share:

Are you a parent in our community with young kids? We want to hear from you!

A small group from our church is working on a neighborhood improvement project, and we need your input. We’re applying for a grant to make our community more family-friendly, and we believe your perspective as a parent is crucial.

We’d love to chat with you for about 30 minutes over a cup of coffee (our treat!) to discuss what it’s like to be a parent, the challenges you face, and what improvements you’d like to see in our neighborhood. This interview is not about religion; it’s about understanding your experiences as a parent.

Our focus is intentionally a bit vague. Our hope is that these conversations with the community will guide us in identifying the best ways we can positively impact the West Seattle community.

We are open to new possibilities, but current areas that could benefit from these conversations include Play Space (an indoor play area for children and their caregivers), a future coffee shop within the church building, Maarten Park (a green space being developed for neighborhood use), Movies in the Park, Open Mic Nights, and a Community Vegetable Garden.

Your participation is confidential, and any information shared will only be used for our grant application. If you’re interested, please email us with your availability. Let’s work together to create a better place for families to thrive! Thank you for being a part of our community’s growth!

You can contact associate minister Sarah Emerson; her contact info is here.

Scouts from West Seattle traveled to Florida for summer adventures that included important lessons. Jay Brock sent the photos and report:

What an exciting and adventurous summer for West Seattle Crew 282 with members from Troop 282 (Boys), Troop 8282 (Girls), Troop 284(Boys) and Troop 22 (Girls – San Francisco) at Sea Base Florida! Here’s a closer look at their remarkable achievements:

Advanced Open Water Course: Completing the Advanced Open Water course is a significant accomplishment. It suggests that the members of both troops are skilled and experienced in scuba diving, having undertaken more than 10 dives in the Florida Keys, including night dives. These experiences allowed them to explore the mesmerizing underwater world and encounter a variety of marine life.

Scouting Centers of Excellence in Nature and Environment (SCENE) Project Award: Earning the SCENE project award demonstrates their commitment to environmental stewardship and nature preservation. It signifies that they have not only enjoyed the natural world but also actively worked to protect and conserve it.

PADI Project Aware Coral Reef Conservation Project: Participating in a PADI Project Aware Coral Reef Conservation project in Florida is an admirable contribution to marine conservation. Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that require protection, and the effort put into this project will help restore and maintain the health of these reefs.

This summer adventure was not only thrilling but also educational and environmentally responsible. It’s evident that the scouts are dedicated to both adventure and making a positive impact on the environment. This experience will likely leave a lasting impression on all the participants and inspire a sense of responsibility towards preserving our natural world.

Two months ago, West Seattleite James Boutin invited community members to join him for a “civic conversation” about artificial intelligence (AI), which has seemingly suddenly burst into the spotlight for so many industries and other facets of life. He’s doing it again tomorrow, so if you’re interested in talking about AI, join him at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor) 5-7 pm tomorrow (Wednesday, August 23). He explains, “Advances in artificial intelligence technology are occurring at lightning speed – much faster than the general public can keep up with. … I believe civic conversations about AI can help us practice democracy, build community, and improve our understanding and humane use of AI.” You can register to save a spot, free, by going here.

THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE: The missing teen mentioned here yesterday has been found safe.

Earlier:Read More

This year’s Alki Beach Pride is set for August 20th, but a big event in preparation for ABP is happening next Saturday. Here’s the announcement sent to us to share with you

Seattle PrideFest has shared their gigantic 130 ft by 70 ft Pride flag to be unfurled and held by 40+ LGBTQ volunteers on Alki Beach as a celebration of Alki Beach Pride, West Seattle’s biggest Pride event happening, later in August (Sunday, August 20th). Here is a video of the flag in Yakima so you can see how big it is!

This gigantic Pride flag has been used at Seattle’s Pride celebrations and has traveled to many Pride events throughout the state of Washington, including the Tri-Cities and Spokane, which were its most recent stops. This will be the first time the flag will be in West Seattle!

We’re looking for LGBTQ-identifying West Seattle residents of all ages to come and help us out! Meet at Alki Playground/Whale Tail Park at 10:30 am Saturday for a practice run and photo ops. Then we’ll fold it up and take it over to the beach for the ceremony. There will be drone footage and photos taken with the Seattle skyline in the background for this historic event.

-Saturday, August 5th at 10:30 am for practice at Alki Playground (59th/Lander)
-11 am to 12 pm for the ceremony on Alki Beach
-40+ volunteers needed that are LGBTQ+
-Post-ceremony celebration will be held at Arthur’s restaurant 1 pm to 3 pm
-Allies are totally welcome to come and celebrate!

There’s no need to sign up, just show up!

The August 20th Alki Beach Pride celebration includes a street party and outdoor movie.

Back in mid-May, we published Shelby‘s photos and story about a little lost stuffed penguin that turned up in Metropolitan Market in Admiral. The ultimate hope was that somebody in Carrot‘s human family would hear about the penguin’s whereabouts and come rescue it. Shelby says that didn’t happen – but as of this week, Carrot has found a new home:

As promised, here is an update on Carrot. He joined his foster family (this week) and it is going well. This is Carrot and his new brother, Ice Cream, hanging out. Ice Cream had been staying with us so that I could perform some minor surgery to repair a hole, so he was able to tell Carrot all about D, who is 9 and very kind-hearted, and the rest of the family. Carrot really wanted to be with a child again, and I think he looks pretty happy now. He’s getting lots of hugs and snuggles and has been learning to play Kirby on the Switch. Life does not always take you where you wanted to go, but sometimes the new place is pretty good, too, and you can be loved and find happiness again. Thank you to everyone in the WSB-sphere for your good wishes!

Been seeing the seemingly endless headlines about AI – artificial intelligence – but not sure how you feel about it? Or, maybe you’re already using it, and excited about its possibilities. Or, perhaps you’re somewhere between worried and terrified of where it might take us. However you feel about AI, if you’re interested in a facilitated “civic conversation” about it, your West Seattle neighbor James Boutin is hosting one this Wednesday evening (June 28th), 5-7 pm, at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor). When James sent us the announcement for the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, we asked why – what’s his stake in AI? He replied that first and foremost, “I’m a citizen who cares a great deal about democracy and believes the public is in desperate need of public spaces to talk openly about the speed at which AI technology is advancing (among many other issues important to our world).” He also is “an educator and facilitator who is hoping to get more practice under my belt in facilitating these types of conversations. I just completed a master’s program on facilitation and conflict studies at the Processwork Institute of Portland, OR, and I’m dedicated to practicing the skills I learned about holding open forums out in the world.” (His website is here.) James suggests a $15 donation “to help me cover the costs of preparation and spreading the word, but folks are also welcome to donate less or come for free.”

Surprise sunshine graced the route as more than 100 people of all ages walked in this year’s West Seattle Pride March, founded and again organized by local entrepreneurs Autumn Lovewell and Monica Colgan, who invited another couple to be the first-ever grand marshals, Stacy Bass-Walden and Jolie Bass-Walden of Alki Beach Pride.

Autumn reminded the crowd that Pride started as a protest, more than half a century ago, led by queer Black women, and that inspired their decision to honor the Bass-Waldens.. The march then proceeded peacefully and cheerily on the sidewalk along California, from Morgan Junction Park to SW Findlay, across at the newly signalized crossing, then back down California to Youngstown Coffee for an afterparty (and Alki Beach Pride fundraising).

Lots of car-horn honking and waving along the way.

The celebration was concluding with a Pride Story Time at another Morgan Junction business, Paper Boat Booksellers.

P.S. If you’ve missed our other mentions, the ninth annual Alki Beach Pride is happening in late summer, August 20th, with a noon-7 pm street/beach party (including closing a few blocks of Alki Avenue) – watch alkibeachpride.org for details.

(WSB photo)

In advance of tonight’s Pridefest, the heart of the West Seattle Junction is decked with more than four dozen rainbow flags. Alex Garcia, who is producing Pridefest, sent photos and word of the volunteer duo who put them all up this afternoon:

(This photo and next, courtesy Alex Garcia)

At noon Billy Conwell (Admiral Pub) and Phil Tavel put up all 49 pride flags in the Junction ahead of the West Seattle Pride events.

While this is the first year for Pridefest – which starts at 6 pm and spans seven venues during the evening – it’s not the first for the flags. The West Seattle Junction Association first placed them in 2019 after an “adopt-a-flag” fundraising campaign.

The Mount got a facelift inside and out on Friday from a big group of volunteers. Thanks to Scott Nelson for the photos and report:

On June 9, nearly 100 volunteers gathered at West Seattle’s Providence Mount St. Vincent (lovingly called “The Mount”) with wheelbarrows, shovels, and work gloves in hand. It was the annual Day of Service where Deloitte and Providence volunteers joined hands to show the West Seattle residents how important they are.

For 6+ years, this collaboration has benefitted the elderly residents and young children enrolled in learning programs who can better enjoy their common spaces, gardens, and each other as part of an intergenerational facility. This year’s Day of Service event is helping The Mount spruce up the grounds for their 100-year anniversary come January 2024.

Molly Swain, Foundation Director for The Mount, welcomed volunteers that morning, explaining that “The Mount is about community and people coming together to help make the end of life as extraordinary as the beginning of life.” Providence Group Vice President, Frances Chao, values the effort because it is “about connecting with each other and nature while carrying forward the spirit of Providence.” Randy Bush, Principal at Deloitte, and his Deloitte colleagues joined in recognition of Deloitte’s Impact Day and praised the opportunity to come together to give back to the community.

Two major Pride events in West Seattle are set for next weekend. On Saturday (June 17), the first Pridefest in The Junction is planned at seven venues. The lineup, from organizer Alex Garcia:

Our goal is to celebrate diversity, pride, community, LGBTQ culture and our local businesses. 1 night, 7 amazing FREE events in Alaska Junction. Click on links to RSVP and learn more

6-9 pm: Queer Art Show @ Revelry Room Jet City Labs

8-9:30 pm: Trivia Night Pride Edition @ Camp West

8-9:30 pm: LGBTQ Comedy Show @ Great American Diner

8-10 pm: Pride Bingo @ Supreme Pizza

9-11 pm: Queer Rock Show @ Poggie Tavern

9-11:30 pm: Queer Drag Show @ Shadowland

9 pm-1 am: Pride Fest Dance After Party @ The Alley

Organizer Alex is co-proprietor of Admiral Pub, which is hosting a pre-funk the night before – Friday, June 16th – 9 pm-midnight. Like last weekend’s Sounds From Around the World Festál, Pridefest is one of three grant-funded events happening this summer in The Junction, as first noted here.

Then on Sunday (June 18th):

(WSB photo, 2022 Pride March in Morgan Junction)

Autumn Lovewell and Monica Colgan of Youngstown Coffee, HeartBeet Organic Superfoods Café, and Launchpad are again organizing the annual Morgan Junction Pride March. 11 am, meet up at (updated) Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW) – the march’s mission is to celebrate families and youth so all ages, and allies, are welcome.

After more than 30 years with local cooperative preschools, Teacher Kylene has touched countless families’ lives. In honor of her career, a celebration is planned this Saturday (June 10th), 10 am-noon at Highland Park playground (1100 SW Cloverdale). Organizers have this invitation for families past and present: “Join us in celebration of Kylene’s teaching career and let her know the impact she’s had on your family!” They also are requesting any photos you might have – (updated) upload them here.

(WSB photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

After 35 years with Southwest Youth and Family Services, executive director Steve Daschle is saying goodbye.

This Wednesday (May 24th) will be his last day on the job.

Even if you’ve never met him, his work likely has touched your life in some way – if not his work with SWYFS, then certainly his many other community endeavors.

First – about SWYFS, if you’re not familiar with it. “We’re sort of a quiet organization, but effective,” Daschle summarizes. It’s a regional human-services nonprofit headquartered in a blink-and-you-miss it beige building at 4555 Delridge Way SW. That’s adjacent to Delridge Playfield, which Daschle’s office overlooks. But SWYFS wasn’t there when he started in 1988 – it was at 35th/Henderson, and then moved to Delridge, in a former Parks building, in 1996 (the building was vacated when Delridge Community Center’s current building opened in 1994).

Read More

Were you among the estimated 4,000+ volunteers who pitched in for “One Seattle Day of Service“ today? We have pics from two West Seattle sites. First, Sally Heit tells us about the cleanup at the former Seattle Lutheran High School campus on the north edge of The Junction:

On the One Seattle Day of Service, a bunch of volunteers and I spent the morning really cleaning up the Landscaping around the former Seattle Lutheran High School campus and parking lot.

Craig Bowen, parishioner of Hope Church, provided a Cedar Grove Composting truck so we could take down some overgrown trees as well as other debris.

The truck holds 25 yards and we filled it! We still have more to do but hopefully we have made the area around the campus more open and friendly to the neighborhood and those who walk.

It was exciting to see the progress!!

In High Point, one of the “opening acts” for today’s West Seattle Bee Festival was a neighborhood cleanup with a swarm of volunteers. We saw a couple still on patrol during the heart of the festival:

And we noticed the results of volunteers’ work:

If you missed the chance to help today, there are many other opportunities throughout the year – we put them in our Event Calendar when we get word of them, and you can also connect with the prolific group A Cleaner Alki, for one.

The Westside Friends program, offered by the Senior Center of West Seattle, has plenty of volunteers – but is looking for people they can help! Maybe you or someone you know? Here’s the announcement the SCWS asked us to share:

The Westside Friends program matches West Seattle seniors and people with disabilities (“WSF Friends”) with volunteers for companionship, help with projects, and assistance with tasks like grocery shopping.

Many of our WSF Friends and their volunteers create deep, long-term connections that are both meaningful and fun. If you decide you’d like to be matched with a volunteer, the same person will visit with you each time.

Our volunteers will meet with you in your home and do things like listening and sharing stories, taking walks, occasionally driving to errands or appointments, going with you to a movie or out to lunch, sharing a cup of coffee, planting flowers in pots, and watching sports on TV.

Westside Friends volunteers are kind and interesting people from your neighborhood. They’ve been interviewed, oriented, background-checked, and are fully vaccinated.

Interested or Have Questions? Contact ~
Michele Fawcett-Long, Senior Center of West Seattle
206-928-1730 or michelef@soundgenerations.org

We’ve reported before on Bettie Williams-Watson, the West Seattleite who runs Multi-Communities, which works toward goals of “ending domestic and gender-based violence against Black girls and women while centering collective healing for our whole community.” She has just been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, in the annual Purple Ribbon Awards. These are national awards presented by an organization that catalogs domestic-violence shelters and programs across the U.S. According to Multi-Communities’ annual report (read it here), Williams-Watson’s organization assisted more than 2,000 people last year. This is work that she’s been doing for more than 35 years now; she tells WSB, “I still haven’t quite figured out the meaning of ‘Retirement’ and ‘Taking Time Off,’ but I am getting there. I feel so blessed in my ‘rocking chair years’ to still be able to keep busy helping to serve others, and to have such a fantastic board and other community supporters, who are the main community ingredients in making a positive impact on those we are privileged to serve.”