West Seattle, Washington
19 Wednesday
With two weeks to go till Easter, here at WSB we’re doing what we do for all major holidays – making a 
special page so you can find West Seattle-specific information all in one place. We’re gathering information from websites and phone calls but also wanted to issue an invitation: If you’re associated with a church and you have its Easter service information, please let us know so we can make sure it gets onto that page; if you’re associated 
with a restaurant and you’re having Easter brunch, same invitation applies. Best way to reach us is e-mail: editor@westseattleblog.com – and if all the info is already on a page on your own website, just sending us that link is fine, you don’t have to retype it or cut-and-paste it. We hope to get the first version of this page up within the next 24 hours, but if you don’t see this till Monday afternoon or later — that’s OK, we’ll just keep adding info, as always. (Other Easter-related activities welcome too – we’ve already got various egg hunts listed on our Events page but let us know if you know of one that’s not there.) Thanks!!!! (Photo credits: Peeps from kimberlyfaye‘s Flickr page; beach group, WSB photo from local UCC churches’ 2008 sunrise service on Alki)
On one side of Alki Ave, you’ll have St. Patrick’s Day night at Celtic Swell — on the other, a tradition from the other side of the globe. Thanks to Paige for e-mailing to share this:
CHAHAR SHANBEH SOORI tonight, Tuesday March 17 at Alki Beach Park, 7 pm-11 pm
Chahar Shanbeh Soori is the ancient Iranian festival dating at least back to 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era. The festival of fire is a prelude to the ancient Norooz festival, which marks the arrival of spring and revival of nature. Chahar Shanbeh Soori is celebrated the night before the last Wednesday of the year. On this occasion people make small fires and jump over them of good luck in the coming New Year.
Please bring as much firewood as you can and light a fire ONLY in designated fire pits – otherwise the Fire Department will be called in and our fires will be put out. Be safe and have fun. *Note: This is a community organized event and not an IACA-sponsored event.
For other Iranian events celebrating the Persian New Year/Spring Equinox, go to:
iaca-seattle.org/calendar
Photos in honor of St. Patrick’s Day – first, West Seattle’s legendary green street line, down 41st SW north of Admiral; next, a lot of green now to be seen at the Morgan Junction park site, well on its way to completion (it’s scheduled for an official dedication during the Morgan Community Festival June 13th but will be done long before then):
The city’s just sent out more reminders that the naming process for this park is under way — get all the details in our most recent report here – the deadline is April 6. P.S. Not green, but — in case you’re looking for a lucky pot of gold – might have been at the end of the rainbow that Rhonda watched move across Puget Sound during this morning’s showers:
Top o’ the mornin’ … St. Patrick’s Day events around West Seattle include corned beef, cabbage, and fiddle music at Merrill Gardens-Admiral Heights today (call 938-3964 to check if there’s still room) and Shamrock ‘n’ Roll at Skylark (WSB sponsor) tonight, including open turntables at 6 pm and karaoke at 9. Between 6:30 am and 7 pm, drop by Hotwire (WSB sponsor) for a FREE 12-OUNCE PEPPERMINT MOCHA for some green caffeine. And this evening – not holiday-related, but fighting crime is always worth celebrating, so be at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting, 7 pm, Southwest Precinct — hear about the latest crime trends, bring your crime concerns, and see Sgt. Jeff Durden explain the Community Police Team.
Just to be sure you’ve taken this all into account for Monday:
REDUCED METRO TRANSIT SERVICE: Same level of service most recently used on King Day; here’s the list of which routes aren’t operating Monday.
MOST GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND FACILITIES CLOSED: That includes libraries and community centers.
SCHOOLS CLOSED: And for Seattle Public Schools, students are off all week, for “mid-winter break.”
NO REGULAR MAIL DELIVERY: It’s a “postal holiday” for USPS.
FREE STREET PARKING IN SEATTLE: SDOT reiterates that here.
TRASH, RECYCLING, YARD WASTE NORMAL: Here’s the city news release.
STATE FERRIES ON A NORMAL SCHEDULE: Confirms WSF.
Yes, Valentine’s Day procrastinators, you can still get flowers. One option: Follow the trail of rose petals (who needs bread crumbs?) to Linda’s Flowers and Gifts at Admiral/California (map); we stopped by last Valentine’s Day to chronicle the craziness of this very busy day, and they invited us back. The shop’s namesake and owner Linda Harader was busy with what she says remains the Valentine favorite – red roses:
As you can see in the background of that photo, balloons are bouncing around the shop too. At the work table, here are Debra (left) and Virginia:
And in the other direction, with the boss in the foreground, Melody (in pink) and Wendy:
They’re there till 5:30 tonight or “until we’re done.” When we stopped in about an hour ago, they were finishing their pickup orders, but they say they’ve got plenty left for walk-ins. (There’s a flower shop on the south side of West Seattle too, Sharon’s Westwood Florist on 35th south of Kenyon.)
Thanks to Toddy Dyer for sharing that photo of the Curran-Walker Family, Spangler-Ellerbrook Family, Vuletic Family, and Dyer Family, who teamed up to clean up Alki Beach and Whale Tail Park (where the photo was taken) during today’s National Day of Service. Toddy tells WSB the kids in the photo range in age from 1 through 8. Congratulations, and thank you, to everyone who joined in today (other photos and reports welcome, too! editor@westseattleblog.com).
Today’s biggest MLK Day event in Seattle: A rally at Garfield High School in the Central District, with participants then marching to the Federal Building downtown. Thanks VERY MUCH to one of our fellow Seattle neighborhood-news-site operators, Scott from CentralDistrictNews.com, for sharing these photos of West Seattle participants – West Seattle Neighbors for Peace and Justice in the top photo, and this contingent from Fauntleroy Church (where Rev. David Kratz reflected on Dr. King in this newsletter you can read online):
See more rally coverage at CD News.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a National Day of Service and West Seattleites are doing their part. Till 8 pm, diapers are being collected at Jefferson Square Safeway for WestSide Baby — as we wrote here after hearing from organizer Katy, they particularly need sizes 4-5-6 and training pants – so buy some and drop them off! WestSide Baby helps hundreds of families in West Seattle/White Center every week and the need keeps growing; they’re also getting some help today from folks meeting at Fauntleroy Church between now and 4 pm to make blankets. We’re heading out to get pix of what’s happening and will add when we come back. (If you’re involved with another Day of Service event in West Seattle today, let us know – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!) ADDED 11:52 AM: That’s Katy and daughters Bailey (10) and Greta (7 1/2), photographed outside the east door of J-Square Safeway about half an hour ago. Katy’s lined up volunteers to handle other shifts all the way up till 8 pm as planned.
MONDAY CHANGES: Metro wants to make sure you know it’s running at reduced service levels for the MLK Day holiday on Monday. Here are the details, including a list of which routes won’t be operating that day.
SNOWSTORM FEEDBACK: In our report on last night’s post-snow open-house feedback session at Southwest Community Center, we mentioned a printed survey Metro was circulating. It’s not available online but Metro provided us with a copy to share with you – you’re invited to print it out and mail it in by next Friday, or use the e-mail address on the form to send your answers to their questions.
For everyone who missed out on some of the usual pre-holiday fun because of Snowstorm ’08 — tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday, you have four chances to make up for it, with four performances of Twelfth Night Productions‘ “Amahl and the Night Visitors” at Youngstown Arts Center here in West Seattle. Twelfth Night is sponsoring WSB through the weekend to get the word out — here’s its announcement of the show, which it has presented annually for more than a decade:
Twelfth Night Productions celebrates Twelfth Night with its twelfth annual performance of Amahl and the Night Visitors, a short opera by Gian Carlo Menotti.
This fully orchestrated production of Menotti’s brilliantly scored opera tells the story of a poor young shepherd and his mother who receive a visit from the Three Kings on their way to Bethlehem: “Amahl’s mother welcomes the royal sojourners, who rest in the small, bare house where love and faith work miracles during the night.” (Publisher’s Weekly, 1986)
“Our production has become a tradition for many families in the Seattle area. It is a beautiful way to close the holiday season,” says artistic director Mary Opland Springer. Each year many cast members, musicians, and dancers return to recreate the magic of this beautiful opera.
Twelfth Night Productions is a non-profit performing arts organization located in the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. This production features several artists from the West Seattle community as well as the greater Seattle area.
Amahl and the Night Visitors runs in a special limited engagement at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, the former historic Cooper School, in West Seattle. Showtimes are: Friday, January 2nd, and Saturday, January 3rd, at 7:30 PM, with matinees at 3:00 PM on Saturday (1/3) and Sunday (1/4). Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students & seniors, and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com), and at the Youngstown Theater on performance days.Due to the popularity of this production and limited seating availability, we recommend purchasing tickets in advance. Amahl and the Night Visitors is produced through special arrangement with G. Schirmer Publishing Inc.
Here’s the direct link to the Brown Paper Tickets page for “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” We thank Twelfth Night Productions for supporting WSB with this sponsorship, and we hope you’ll support the local performing arts by enjoying “Amahl and the Night Visitors” this weekend!
Thinking about going out to dinner? We just finished a quick drive-by tour of most West Seattle restaurant zones and can confirm the ones that are open greatly outnumber the ones that are closed. It started with this WSB Forums thread; we posted “open” sightings on Twitter (you can see them here) from the roadside, and WSBF members are adding what they’ve seen, too – if you know of one that’s not mentioned, please add it there! For pizza delivery, by the way, looks like everybody’s open (big pizza holiday, what with the bowl games on TV, as Pagliacci‘s home page notes).
Thanks to Courtney for e-mail that reminded us, we haven’t provided much information about Christmas tree recycling so far this year. We’re almost out of the post-snow-coverage daze, and heavens, we don’t want to let the scene above happen in YOUR house (or ours), so we’re rounding up the scoop. First, here’s the official city info:
Between December 26 and January 11, Seattle residents can recycle their trees and greens for free. All residents can recycle up to three trees at Seattle’s Recycling and Disposal stations. The tree sections must be cut to eight feet or less in length, and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. Only trees without flocking or decoration may be disposed of free of charge.
Seattle food and yard waste subscribers can also recycle trees and greens for free. Trees should be cut into sections, six feet long or shorter, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Bind with string or twine (non-plastic). Trunks should not exceed four inches in diameter. Flocked, plastic, or trees with tinsel will be collected as extra garbage at a rate of $6.00 per item.
Your next question, we know, will be “When will the yard waste get picked up, after all the Snowmare ’09 trouble?” From the latest city update: “Yard waste service — including Christmas tree pickup — will be resumed next week for residential customers. Check your schedule for your next yard waste pickup date. Extra yard waste will be collected at no additional charge, through Friday, Jan. 16.” If you prefer the less-cutting option and go to the Recycling/Disposal Station, the nearest one is in South Park. The city has a map here but it doesn’t address getting there from WS, so here’s a map you can use (choose the “get directions” option). Meantime, we know of one group offering tree recycling as a fundraiser – from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
The West Seattle Rainbow Girls will hold their second annual Christmas tree recycle fundraiser Saturday, January 3, 2009 at the Alki Masonic Hall, 4736 40th Ave. SW (map) from 11:00 – 3:00. Suggested donation $5.00. No flocked trees please. For more information, please contact Jan Hunter at 206-849-7906. Check out the Rainbow Girls by going to www.gorainbow.org
If you know of another tree-recycling fundraiser in West Seattle (or White Center), please let us know so we can help spread the word – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
Really, this needs no explaining. Just listen to the whoops and hollers as West Seattle Polar Bear Swim participants emerged back onto the sands of Alki from the chilly shallows of Puget Sound at midmorning today. (It’s a tradition; here’s our report from last year.)
From Alki photographer extraordinaire David Hutchinson, a photo of the Statue of Liberty Plaza‘s first New Year’s Eve — though we never got around to drawing up the traditional “Top Stories of ’08” list (too busy covering NEW news!), certainly the plaza’s construction and September 2008 dedication (WSB coverage here) would have been on it. With the photo came this message from the Plaza Project Committee:
New Year’s has arrived and the “Final Sale” of inscribed bricks for the new
Plaza is over. The Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project would like to thank all of you who have made this great addition to Alki Beach possible. The order for the new bricks will be sent to the engraving company by the end of this month and we will notify donors when their bricks will be installed as soon as Seattle Parks and Recreation sets a firm date.We wish all a Happy New Year!
Seattle Statue of Liberty Plaza Project
There’s still time to change the road you’re on — Led Zeppelin (“Stairway to Heaven”)
A good line for this day of renewal, of starting fresh. We heard it while driving back from going downtown to see the Space Needle fireworks up close ‘n’ personal (viewing spot, 6th/Denny, shown at left in ’08’s final moments) after a decade-plus of watching them on TV after stepping out the front door to holler HAPPY NEW YEAR! while half the neighborhood did the same). Took the long way home; amazed to see eastbound traffic on Harbor/Alki backed up all the way to Duwamish Head, still, at quarter till 1 — having cocooned for so many years, didn’t realize that many people watch the Needle fireworks from West Seattle shores. Anyway, before the New Year gets too old, and the Old Year gets too far in the rear-view mirror, we want to thank you for being part of WSB in 2008, and for being here to start what we truly believe cannot help but be — for so many reasons — the best year yet.
-The liquor store closes at 8 pm. Closing time is 7 pm at West Seattle Cellars.
-Several West Seattle restaurant/bar parties are listed on the WSB Holidays page, as is the Emerald City Wanderers‘ New Year’s Eve walk through West Seattle – start and finish at your own pace..
-Across the bay, Space Needle fireworks are planned, as usual, unless really bad weather gets in the way. (The day after Thanksgiving, it was too breezy for the downtown fireworks that accompany the lighting of the Macy’s star, so here’s hoping the weather doesn’t get in the way of tonight’s show too – per the TV preview, the Fire Department makes the call. Last year, a computer glitch threw things off a bit.)
Wanted to let you know that while holiday fun went on the back burner during Snowmare ’08, a list of West Seattle New Year’s Eve happenings is well under way on the WSB Holidays page, from church services to restaurant/bar parties – even a walk! (If you know of one [or more] WS NYE events we’re missing, please e-mail us a few details, editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!)
(added later, 12/28/08 WS Farmers’ Market photo, courtesy JayDee)
Two things that were supposed to happen in West Seattle last Sunday but didn’t, because of the snow, ARE happening today:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET – Back after an extremely rare cancellation. 10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska. Here’s the link to the latest Ripe ‘n’ Ready Fresh Sheet.
ADMIRAL SINGS CHRISTMAS – Feel like you missed out on the usual dose of Christmas music because of being snowbound? This West Seattle holiday-singalong tradition was postponed a week – and you’re welcome to join in at 4 pm today at Admiral Congregational Church, California/Hill (here’s a map). Read more about it here.
(view from aboard the carousel at Westlake Park downtown, which is operating through Wednesday)
Just back from the outside world (as in, outside West Seattle) for the first time in who knows how many days. A few notes:
–Just saw a UPS truck in front of the apartment block on California in Morgan Junction south of McDonald’s et al, 8:41 pm. It was pointed north. There may be hope for others tonight.
–While downtown, we saw a trash truck emptying sidewalk containers at 5th/Denny. After missing two weeks of pickups, we are suddenly impressed by the sight of a trash truck. Impressed enough to pull out the camera:
–Also while downtown, we walked into Pacific Place just after 6 pm, when fake snow falls night from the atrium, accompanied by snow-idolizing holiday music, in what’s meant to be a show of “holiday magic” inspiring joy, but was met tonight mostly by weary glowers.
–Downtown, the streets are clear, with massive mountains of dirty snow on all sides. Colorado native co-publisher Patrick says this is what it looks like in Snow Country from January through March, and cautions that those piles will be self-sustaining for days if not weeks.
–Heading back into West Seattle, we did see a few signs of clogged drains – a couple puddles along Fauntleroy Way, for starters. Checking comments that have come in recently, we see someone has relayed a great idea for finding your storm drain IF you are on a major street — check Google Street View. To do that, start at maps.google.com and put your address in; if you were surveyed for Google Street View, you will see a “street view” button inside the little info balloon that points to the address, as well as a thumbnail photo; click the “street view” link and it will bring up a larger version of the image. Once that image is up, you can use your mouse or touchpad to drag it around and look at the scene from anywhere in the 360 view. (Wondering when they traveled through West Seattle? Click here to see a scene that reveals EXACTLY when they went through California/Edmunds in The Junction.)
If you need some entertainment tonight (or just need to get out and go SOMEWHERE) – the Admiral Theater does show movies. Christmas-specific schedule is on the Admiral’s website – click each movie for its showtimes. (Shows start with “Religulous” at 3:50 pm.)
This is not necessarily a comprehensive report but we’re just back from a trip to Hotwire, followed by an expedition up the rest of California to Admiral, then back down Admiral to Alki/Harbor, up Avalon, up Fauntleroy, back home. Here’s what we saw open, in case you are wondering about restaurants: Ho-Win Chinese Restaurant (California/Juneau; its menu is even online), Be’s Restaurant (Junction, California just south of Oregon), Pepperdock on Alki, Redline Music/Sports (35th just south of Avalon). Again, this is not necessarily comprehensive, but what we could tell from our driving tour. It’s been snowing/sleeting on and off for most of the hour and a half we’ve been out. Best moment: Hearing the Junction church bells at noon after leaving Hotwire. Roads: All the majors have at least one lane open each way, and those big medians of dirty snow. Only stretch we traveled that still had some slush in the main lane — Harbor Ave between the Duwamish Head turn and The Bridge. ADDED NOTES: We’re checking websites for any definitive sign of dinnertime open or closure, beyond what we observed. So far: Endolyne Joe’s in Fauntleroy, closed all day/night. JaK’s Grill, closed all day/night. Spring Hill (per phone recording), closed tonight. We also got a note via Facebook that Abbondanza is definitely closed tonight.
The last holiday event we made it to before Snowpocalypse ’08, Snowmare ’08, whatever you prefer to call it, was the Christmas Ship at Seacrest on December 13th. We went to that one to get video, intending to bring it back to WSB HQ, publish it (which we did), and then go see the Lowman Beach/Alki stops later that night, just for fun (which we didn’t). The snow started (around 7 pm as chronicled here), and so did the WSB Collaborative Continuous Community Coverage (just made that one up). With most of us largely snowbound (except for essential runs like food or work), we’re not the only ones who missed out on some holiday traditions, including ones that happen outside West Seattle. So in the days ahead, we’ll make special note of anything you can catch up on. For starters, the WSB Holidays page has the new dates for a couple Christmas performances that were postponed because of the snow; also, we are noting that what we consider to be Puget Sound’s most wonderful Christmas lights display, Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo/Aquarium in Tacoma, has extended its run — it’s usually closed Christmas but is reopening tonight, and also adding an extra early-January weekend (see full details on the PDZA website). We have a favorite way of getting there – take the Fauntleroy ferry to Vashon, drive down Vashon to the Tahlequah/Point Defiance ferry. Not sure if the roads on Vashon are all clear yet, but in another few days, we might brave it. Our second-favorite lights display, Garden D’Lights at Bellevue Botanical Garden, says online that it’s hoping to reopen tomorrow. Stay tuned for other notes about extended chances to catch up on holiday cheer, and if you know of New Year’s Eve/Day events, please let us know, as the WSB Holidays page is in action till then – editor@westseattleblog.com. (Junction Christmas tree photo by Marybeth Coghill)
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