West Seattle, Washington
19 Wednesday
Along Beach Drive just before sunset, we caught this scene – West Seattle’s most famous holiday light display, in the process of being put up, all the way up to the big star on the tallest tree. If you’re new to the area – it’s the Menashe Family display; we’ve done video profiles each of the past two years (2008 here, 2007 here) and will be checking in with them this year as soon as the display is done. We’ll also feature Christmas lights from all around West Seattle, as we’ve done the past few years (here are our archives; last year was sidetracked in mid-December by snow) – we welcome your photos and/or addresses if no pix – if you’ve already shared the pix via Flickr, Facebook or somewhere else public, just let us know (and tell us it’s OK to republish) – we’ll include the list on the West Seattle Holidays page, too.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm as always. New items include parsnips, pears and matsutake mushrooms, according to the new Ripe ‘n’ Ready list.
HOTWIRE FREEBIES: The first two of four new coupons from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) runs through tomorrow – free latte’ or americano – get the coupons here, then hop up the street while you’re in The Junction for the Farmers’ Market.
CONTEST ENTRIES: Hotwire’s among the more than three dozen places you can enter (no purchase necessary) the $6,500 Junction holiday giveaway. First drawing’s at the tree lighting next Saturday night!
Note the barrel in the foreground of our shot from Santa’s House in Westwood Village – it’s not just a place for the little ones to share their holiday wishes, it’s also a place for you to help make somebody else’s holiday dreams come true – Santa photos are free with a nonperishable food donation; there’s also a diaper drive for WestSide Baby, and giving trees large and small:
Noon-4 pm, Saturdays and Sundays till Christmas, you’ll find Santa in his own storefront on the Westwood Village breezeway across from 24 Hour Fitness. (Santa photo opportunities start in The Junction next weekend; info on that, and lots more holiday happenings, abounds here.)
The gate swung open at noon, though the final touches are still in progress, for the Holy Rosary School Christmas Tree Lot behind Admiral Safeway (map). Through December 20th, it’s open 9 am-9 pm Saturdays and Sundays, 3 pm-9 pm Mondays-Fridays. Holy Rosary’s official announcement notes, “As in years past, 15% of the proceeds support local charities including the West Seattle Food Bank, West Seattle Helpline and Hickman House of West Seattle.” For your full range of options, we’ve listed all the local treesellers we know of on the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, plus a link to U-Cut tree info (outside the area), which came up in the WSB Forums. Plus lots of new listings for other holiday events – tree lightings, Santa, Hometown Holidays in The Junction (co-sponsored by WSB), concerts, plays, bazaars, more – have been added too. (Click “Holidays” in the tabs atop any WSB page, any time.)
Compared to the next three pre-Christmas weekends, this one is relatively quiet. Nonetheless, if you’re ready to start emerging from the post-Thanksgiving/Black Friday haze, you’ve got some choices today and tomorrow: Some are holiday-related – the Holy Rosary Christmas Tree Lot opens today, as does Santa’s House at Westwood Village. Some are changes: Marination Mobile is taking the long weekend off, so no West Seattle visit today. Some are charitable: There’s another “Turkey Bowl” fundraiser at West Seattle Bowl today, and this afternoon, you can make holiday cards at a unique fundraiser that also includes dessert! More than 20 events/activities today and tomorrow, brought to you by Skylark Cafe and Club:Read More
WEST SEATTLEITES IN MACY’S HOLIDAY PARADE DOWNTOWN: Reminder, if you’re going downtown to see it (here’s the official parade-route map; it’s NOT on TV this year), look for the Denny International Middle School and Chief Sealth High School bands marching together (they’re scheduled to be the 22nd entry in the parade). And it’ll be West Seattleite Greg Nickels‘ last parade as mayor.
METRO: “Reduced service” – explained here.
MOST GOVERNMENT OFFICES: Closed.
TRASH/RECYCLING/YARD WASTE: If you have Friday pickup, it’ll be on Saturday, as crews catch up from the holiday.
LIBRARIES: Open.
STREET PARKING: Where there are city pay stations/meters, this is NOT a holiday, so be sure to pay up.
MAIL DELIVERY: Yes.
BANKS: Open.
CHRISTMAS TREES: We’re working on our official list. So far, we’ve seen them at West Seattle Nursery, Tony’s (35th/Barton), TrueValue in The Junction, and both RiteAid stores. (The Holy Rosary lot opens tomorrow.)
Our biggest trip away from HQ on this quiet (so far, knock wood) Thanksgiving took us to The Junction, where the Easy Street Records marquee carried the traditional message. Two blocks up California SW, we peeked in on the West Seattle Eagles reviving their free-holiday-dinner tradition:
We have a tradition of not photographing people who likely would prefer to enjoy holiday dinner without a camera in their face, so we don’t have a view of the dining room, but if we did, you would have seen a HUGE screen showing football. A few doors north of the Eagles’ aerie, we visited one of the many West Seattle coffee entrepreneurs working the holiday, charter sponsor Hotwire Coffee‘s proprietor Lora Lewis, who incidentally makes a mean Mexican Mocha:
Now on to Black Friday – we’ll have a few West Seattle-specific notes in our next update.
One more pitch, Hotwire’s holiday coupons are still good – first two through Sunday, the other two for longer; here’s a direct easy-print link.
One of many things we can be thankful for – spectacular scenery like that image David Hutchinson captured a few weeks ago from Seacrest. Here we are, on Thanksgiving Day – the first of the Major Winter Holidays is here. So is our compilation of information that might be helpful today – all previously published, but today, all in one place:
And then we have word of FOUR free Thanksgiving feasts, open to EVERYONE:
*The Hall at Fauntleroy (map), noon-3 pm (more details here)
*West Seattle Eagles (map), 2-5 pm (more details here)
*Freedom Church (map), 3 pm
*Admiral Pub (map), starting at noon
But perhaps you’d like to work out first? See our West Seattle Holidays page‘s Thanksgiving section for workout opportunities this morning at the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) and 8 Limbs Yoga.
As for what/who else is open – we didn’t catalog businesses beyond the categories mentioned above, but there are some. For example, Easy Street Records‘ retail store is open 9 am-1 pm, while their cafe is open for *coffee only* 7 am-noon; some local drug stores are open, in case all the holiday hoopla gives you a headache … and if you still need dessert, Shoofly Pie in The Junction was planning to have a limited amount available for walk-in customers 10 am-noon today – note there was a line when they opened yesterday with the same plan:
As for the rest of the news – we hope you’ll be able to unplug today, at least for a while. We’re going to try to, too. But if you feel the need to read, no worries, we’ll be publishing several feature stories as the day goes on, and we are on standby for breaking news – we’re committed to 24/7/365 coverage.
Have a HAPPY holiday! And THANK YOU for being part of WSB – your collaboration, participation and support keep the information flowing.
Coffee and cooking just seem to go together. So once again this year, we’ve compiled a list of which coffee shops will be open Thanksgiving (and when). Click any spot on the map and you’ll see the name, address, and hours. These are the ones we have confirmed – by phone or in-person visit – are OPEN tomorrow; those we know are closed, are not listed. Note that the green arrow marks WSB sponsor Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, which is offering coupons for freebies during the 4-day holiday weekend (see them, and print them from, our Coupons page). Use the plus sign on the left side of the map to zoom in, and to go to the fullpage Google Map (including a text list on the left side), click the VIEW LARGER MAP link under the map above. Thanks yet again to Sue Scharff (who works with the zesty Zippy Dogs) for research assistance. There are a few places that didn’t pick up the phone and didn’t have hours posted – so if you know of one we missed, please leave a comment or e-mail us, and we’ll add it. This will also be linked from the WSB West Seattle Holidays page, where you’ll also find standing links (through tomorrow, anyway!) to the list of West Seattle restaurants open tomorrow and the list of West Seattle grocery stores open tomorrow.
Continuing our pre-Thanksgiving info roundups (yesterday, we published the restaurant list — and have made some additions/changes since then; thanks to everyone for collaborating!) – now, here’s the West Seattle grocery store list, with who’s open/who’s not on Thanksgiving:
METROPOLITAN MARKET , Admiral
Open till 2 pm Thanksgiving Day
PCC NATURAL MARKET, West Seattle (WSB sponsor)
Closed on Thanksgiving Day
QFC in The Junction
Open till 6 pm Thanksgiving Day
QFC in Westwood Village
Open till 6:30 pm
SAFEWAY (all 3 West Seattle locations)
Open 24 hours as usual
WEST SEATTLE THRIFTWAY
Open 5 am-6 pm on Thanksgiving
P.S. Amazon Fresh (WSB sponsor) is NOT making Thanksgiving Day deliveries. Still to come – the coffee map; all Thanksgiving info will be linked from the WSB West Seattle Holidays page too (as well as the growing-daily array of other activities between now and New Year’s!).
Didn’t get to photograph the most spectacular intervals of fog this morning, but this view looking south from the top of Genesee Hill shows some of the lingering fog as it drifted over the water. Nothing extraordinary in the holiday weekend forecast – a break right now, but then some rain, some breezy conditions, according to the “forecast discussion”. (If you’re going downtown for the Macy’s Holiday Parade on Friday morning (the Chief Sealth High School and Denny International Middle School marching bands are in it! here’s the route map), looks like rain is possible.)
Guaranteed to make you want to stand in the middle of Walk-All-Ways, join hands with your fellow West Seattleites and sway gently (or not-so-gently depending on what you’ve been up to) while singing along … it’s “We Are The Junction” – as announced/explained by Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) proprietor Jeff Gilbert:
A Christmas album compilation made by West Seattle musicians for West Seattle
CD Release Party, Saturday, December 5th, 8 PM, The Feedback Lounge, right after the West Seattle Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Conceived by Jeff Gilbert, Steve Adams and Dave Blackburn, “We Are The Junction” is a West Seattle Christmas compilation featuring West Seattle musicians/bands. All proceeds from sales of the album are being donated to the West Seattle Food Bank.
Featuring all original holiday songs, the participating artists/musicians are…
Kirk Dubb/Dynomite D
The Pleasure Elite
Urban Squirrel
The Bend
Stumbletown Steve Adams
Gunn & The Damage Done
Jay Cates & Jefferson Bennett
Mr. Holmes
Earth, Wind & SteveThe album will be for sale at Easy Street Records, West 5, Shadowland, and The Feedback Lounge December 5th and will sell for $10.
We Are The Junction continues with two more charity albums planned for 2010, including a two-disc summer CD.
We’re still checking around so this is probably NOT the final list. But this is who we know so far will be open at least part of the time on Thursday – at least as of our research done Monday. Thank you to Sue Scharff for volunteering to help with research! (Sue, by the way, is with the lively Zippy Dogs. No, not a hot-dog cart, not pet-walkers, rather, “your logo on fun stuff.”)
Admiral Pub: Serving a FREE DINNER from noon ‘til 5 pm!
Be’s Restaurant: 7 am ‘til 2 pm
Brickyard BBQ: 5 pm ‘til close
Charlestown Café: 7 am ‘til 5 pm
Christo’s on Alki: 8 am-3 pm (breakfast/lunch)
Easy Street Café: COFFEE ONLY 7 am ‘til noon
Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor): 4 pm till close (limited food menu)
Mac’s Triangle Pub (Delridge/16th/Roxbury): opening 7 pm, serving food till 1 am
Taco del Mar (Junction): 10 am ‘til 5 pm (depending on customers; may be open later)
Tacos Guaymas: 11 am ‘til 3 pm
Tha Thaitan: 11 am ‘til 9:30 pm (formerly Boontin/Olarn, across from West Seattle Nursery)
Salty’s on Alki: (call to check if reservations are still available)
Note, we are NOT listing who’s closed – just who’s open. Anybody else serving on Thanksgiving? Please let us know (or add a comment here). We’re also just about done with the Thanksgiving coffee map and will have that on the Holidays page later today. And another reminder – there are also two FREE community meals in West Seattle on Thursday: The traditional Fauntleroy gathering at The Hall at Fauntleroy (old schoolhouse), noon-3 pm; West Seattle Eagles in The Junction, reviving an old tradition, 2-5 pm, plus Full Tilt Ice Cream in White Center is having a community potluck Thanksgiving at 4 (announced in the WSB Forums).
Quick note about Thanksgiving coupons added to the WSB Coupons page, where six WSB sponsors now have special offers – $5 off when you let PCC Natural Markets do the cooking for Thanksgiving, and four newly added coupons for Hotwire Coffee – two for free drinks Thursday-Sunday, two offers that are good from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve. See the Coupons page here – and note, we have a special link there for printing the holiday coupons on one regular sheet of paper, so you don’t waste paper printing out the header and the sidebar. (Speaking of Thursday coffee, we are almost done checking to see who’s open on Thanksgiving – Hotwire’s there 8 am-2 pm – and we’ll add the list to the WSB Holidays page as soon as it’s done.)
We’re updating the WSB West Seattle Holidays page daily – everything holiday-related in West Seattle and vicinity that we’ve heard about, seen, been told about, etc. – and wanted to mention some of what’s been added: For starters, 
the West Seattle Junction Association now has more details about what you’ll find at Hometown Holidays celebrations in December – our links are updated, and this one takes you directly to the HH info page on the WSJA’s newly remodeled/expanded website. Also, the events we’ve added – thanks SO much to everyone who’s sent information! – include not only more holiday fun (more holiday-music performances, for starters) but also additional ways to help: Two involve Barnes and Noble, which has the ongoing Page Ahead drive (buy and donate at the store) and also a Bookfair this Friday-Sunday to raise money for West Seattle High School Grad Night (voucher # is on the Holidays page); Dec. 2, you can make tree ornaments in a drop-in workshop that’s benefiting Scholastic Journeys, helping educate Third World kids; Dec. 6, First Lutheran Church of West Seattle has a St. Nicholas Faire, a fundraising bazaar on behalf of West Seattle Helpline and West Seattle Food Bank. And did we mention the Full Tilt Thanksgiving potluck, in addition to The Hall at Fauntleroy and West Seattle Eagles free dinners on Thursday? Keep checking the Holidays page for new highlights – and let us know what we’re missing – our whatever-works-for-you contact options (e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, phone, text) are all here. (2008 photo of a Pigeon Point hummingbird, from Jim & Laurie)
The Admiral Theater invites you to help choose a free movie for the holidays. Dinah from The Admiral sends the pitch:
We would love to host a free holiday movie for our neighbors and want your suggestions! Last year we showed, the perennial favorite, A Christmas Story. Please suggest something you can’t see on TV i.e. (It’s a Wonderful Life). Maybe it’s a charming foreign Christmas film or maybe it’s Naughty Santa. The only thing we can’t do is play something that’s currently out in
the theaters. You can either e-mail me at dinah@admiralentertainment.com, or fill out a slip and put it in our Christmas box at the theater and let me know what you’d like to see on our big screen! Admission is free but we ask that you bring some needed donations for our food banks! We will announce the film the first week of December and we will show the film on Saturday, December 19th at noon!
Next time you go to the movies at The Admiral, also look for their candy contest – a suggestion box of sorts where you can suggest a type of candy you’d like to see make a comeback.
West Seattle Chamber of Commerce members and guests were at Westwood Village tonight as WSCC president/CEO Patti Mullen and WWV manager Stuart Crandall cut the ribbon for Santa’s new digs in the original Wyatt’s Jewelers [WSB sponsor] storefront across the breezeway from 24 Hour Fitness during the chamber’s After-Hours event tonight. Santa listened to holiday wishes, too – including the ones shared by Rick Jump from White Center Food Bank and Nancy Woodland from WestSide Baby:
Rick asked for enough food to feed the 1,000 people his agency (which serves part of WS too) will see in the next week; Nancy asked for enough diapers to make life pleasant for the hundreds of little ones whose families get help through her agency. (WC Food Bank REALLY needs turkeys, by the way – their website has info on how to donate – they’ll be there on Saturday this week too; while WestSide Baby has specifics on its site too.) As for the rest of the event – Wyatt’s proprietors Joni and Kirk Keppler opened their new storefront in the heart of the center (by Chico’s, north of Barnes & Noble) to visitors:
Other Westwood Village merchants participated too (with treats from eateries Giannoni’s Pizza, Eats Market Cafe and Sub Shop), as the shopping center gets ready for the holidays. Back to Santa, we’ve got his schedule on the new WSB West Seattle Holidays page; he’s all about doing good in the community – photos are free with a food donation, there’s a Giving Tree for the Salvation Army, a place to drop off diapers (preferably sizes 3-6) for WestSide Baby, and gift wrapping is free but anything you donate will go to local nonprofits. More Chamber info, by the way (disclosure – WSB is among the many local businesses that are members), at wschamber.com.
Thank you to everyone who has shared news so far of holiday events around West Seattle – we’ve put it all together in Version 1.0 of the WSB West Seattle Holidays page. Events start with the Canape Chef Services (WSB sponsor) cooking class tonight, continue through Thanksgiving (including the Eastridge Christian Assembly turkey giveaway on Saturday), and we’ll add New Year’s when those events roll in. Keep in mind, these are just the holiday events we’ve found out about so far – PLEASE send word of whatever you’ve heard of, too, and we’ll keep adding – thanks!
Just out of the WSB inbox, from Sean McGrath:
For over a hundred years the Fraternal Order of Eagles have been offering Thanksgiving meals across the country. The Eagles of Washington State will be holding free or low cost dinners at 24 of their 97 locations across the state. This is the first year the Eagles have put together what they are calling “A Thanksgiving To Remember”. Every year the Eagles offer these free meals, but have never put together a statewide effort to encourage as many locations as possible to participate and to get the word out. The hope is that it will be a time to remember what we have to be thankful for. A dinner to remember for those who attend, and a warm memory for those who volunteer to make it happen.
In West Seattle the Eagles offered a Thanksgiving dinner for many of the years since they opened here in 1948. The last time was about ten years ago. This year West Seattle Eagles will revive the tradition and offer a completely free meal on Thanksgiving Day from 2-5 at their hall. The hall will be open to anyone who would like to attend. There is no fee or any donation to being asked for. The Eagles motto is “People Helping People” and a portion of our mission statement is: “international non-profit organization, unites fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills, and by promoting peace”
The West Seattle Eagles hopes that anyone who wants to share a good meal and good company will join us in a traditional family friendly dinner. We hope that anyone who does not have family plans this thanksgiving will come down and share the holiday with us.
The menu will be turkey with all the trimmings and desert. We are planning on serving at least two hundred people. No reservations needed.
4426 California Avenue SW (next to the Post Office)
206-938-4426 or aerie2643@westseattleeagles.org
This is in addition to, and separate from, the traditional annual free Thanksgiving dinner noon-3 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, mentioned here just this morning.
Salty’s on Alki sent out a media invite about a fancy dinner to taste holiday fare and see the popular nutcrackers. We e-mailed back and said, never mind the dinner, can we just see the nutcrackers? And this morning, they obliged, as the fabled decorations arrived. (The music in the background of the video, by the way, wasn’t added by us – exterior speakers provided the soundtrack.) Inside, ballerinas Wisten Klein (in white) and Andi Bryzinda (in red) from Evergreen City Ballet greeted the first nutcracker:
They’ll both be in “The Nutcracker” next month at the Ikea Center for the Performing Arts and the Auburn Performing Arts Center. Oh, and we peeked inside the truck for a look at a few of the others:
In case you’re wondering – Salty’s tells us they still have a few reservations available for Thanksgiving at Alki and Redondo. They’re also offering “Thanksgiving to go” (explained here).
(WSB photo of a table set for last year’s free Fauntleroy feast)
From e-mail to Facebook, we’ve had several inquiries about whether there’s any place to help serve others this Thanksgiving (a week from Thursday!). We don’t have the definitive answer to that question so far, but we did confirm with Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes that the traditional free holiday dinner is on again this year and they do need a bit of help:
The free community Thanksgiving meal is on Thanksgiving Day, November 26th, from 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM at The Hall at Fauntleroy. All are invited to this traditional turkey meal with all the trimmings prepared with love by our executive chef, Mike Chase. For anyone who has attended before it is a wonderful mix of folks from the neighborhood and the surrounding area.
This is the 11th year that Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering owners David and Meg Haggerty and David Meckstroth have opened up their hearts and the Hall at Fauntleroy for this fantastic meal and event. It really seems to usher the season in with warm beginnings.
We have enough volunteers this year; however we do accept pies, whipped cream and cookies for desserts. People can bring them to the Hall at Fauntleroy the day before Thanksgiving or that morning after 10 AM. For information or directions please call our office at 206-932-1059 or go to our website www.tuxedosandtennisshoes.com
Before (and after) Thanksgiving, of course, our two local food banks – West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank (which is tracking turkey prices!) – welcome your donations, too. Any other Thanksgiving-related service opportunities? Comment here and/or e-mail us so we can help get the word out too.
First: Our video shows part of a solemn tribute at the start of tonight’s 34th District Democrats meeting (as-it-happened coverage here). After the Pledge of Allegiance, veterans Dorsol Plants and Skip Dreps rang a bell 12 times, both in honor of Veterans Day, and in memory of the people killed in the Fort Hood massacre last week. Next: While at the meeting, we received e-mail from DFC, forwarding a link to a Flickr gallery on behalf of management at the Tug Inn (just west of Delridge/Orchard). Flags and balloons waved in the afternoon sunshine; rather than just picking out one photo, here’s a slideshow of their gallery:
And if you missed it in comments on an earlier WSB Veterans Day story today – this link was shared, showing a West Seattle Cub Scout helping place flags on veterans’ graves at Evergreen Washelli in the north end.
Until a short time ago, that tattered flag was flying over VFW Post 2713 in The Triangle. Sharonn Meeks of the Fairmount Community Association – the nearest neighborhood group, covering the area just south of The Triangle – organized an effort to present the post with a replacement for Veterans Day, and less than an hour ago, she and West Seattle veteran Ron Zuber went up on the roof to take down the old one and raise the new one:
(If you’ve never been there, the VFW Post is at 36th/Alaska.)
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