West Seattle, Washington
03 Wednesday
TONIGHT: The 34th District Democrats‘ annual holiday party. Among the highlights – two deep-fried smoked turkeys to be provided by outgoing chair Ivan Weiss, whose farewell message on the 34 Dems’ site is a must-read. (The organization elects new leadership next month.) Party’s at 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy, bring a potluck item to share; more info here.
TOMORROW: West Seattle Democratic Women celebrate their holiday party at their monthly luncheon, 11:15 am, West Seattle Golf Course. Lunch costs $10 and there’s still time to RSVP; all the info (including e-mail and phone for reservations) is here.
Heading home from the School Board work session in Sodo (one more report to come, including video from the concurrent Arbor Heights Elementary meeting), we spotted two nicely lit homes along 35th (two of many, actually), so since we’ve slacked a little on lights lately, here’s a double dose. The one above is on the west side of 35th just south of Findlay (map); the one below is on the west side of 35th just south of Edmunds (map):
Got memorable lights (and quality certainly counts as much as quantity)? Seen some? E-mail us the address, and pix if available: editor@westseattleblog.com … and remember, holiday fun with and without lights is listed on the WSB Holidays page!
Updates on Hometown Holidays in The Junction – First, looking to next Sunday, not only will you get another chance to get Santa photos at Cupcake Royale – the photos (provided by the West Seattle Junction Association [WSB sponsor] but with donation requested, proceeds to WestSide Baby, West Seattle Food Bank, and West Seattle Helpline – last Sunday brought in $500!) come in these two looks, full color and “classic aged,” taken by pro photographer Donna Ryan. And there’s a special feature at Hometown Holidays HQ (in front of Key Bank at California/Alaska) next Sunday – there’ll be an open holiday mike for musicians, coordinated by Patrick Small (of Patrick and Danny, who played at last Saturday night’s Tree Lighting) — Susan Melrose of WSJA says, “West Seattle musicians of all genres are invited to play holiday tunes, lead a sing-along, or come up with a holiday act that’s all their own. Musicians must coordinate with Patrick in advance at patrick@laststarrecordings.com.” One more Junction note – this Thursday is the Holiday Art Walk, 6-9 pm – of course, it stretches beyond Junction borders (for example, in the Admiral District, WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits is having a late-night shopping event in connection with the Art Walk) – but if you want to get in on the free child care in The Junction, you need to sign up now – call Dan at West Seattle Christian Church, which is providing the service in connection with this month’s Art Walk only – 206-932-2098 x. 102. This Art Walk isn’t to be missed – how about tacky sweaters at Twilight? and more – read all about it here.
That’s Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor) with Sustainable West Seattle president Bill Reiswig and daughter Linnea at tonight’s SWS Money-Free Shopping Spree holiday party at Camp Long — where handmade/sustainably produced gifts were exchanged as were gift certificates for experiences/services:
Guest speakers included West Seattle Chamber of Commerce executive director Patti Mullen, who reminded everybody that “shopping local” means “shopping sustainably” because the more local businesses survive and thrive, the less we’ll all have to cross the bridge to find … anything!
Also discussed: The “Celebrate Local” pledge (still time for you to take it!) – the deals offered by King County Waste-Free Holidays are part of that campaign. Sustainable West Seattle usually meets the third Monday of each month; you’ll find SWS online at sustainablewestseattle.org.
Westside Symphonette director Toni Reineke let us sneak in to the orchestras’ rehearsal tonight at the West Seattle High School theater as they prepared for tomorrow night’s Holiday Concert. The “Jingle Bell Rock” rendition above — with the combined junior and senior groups — is just one of many holiday singalongs you’ll get to enjoy, so bring your caroling chops (and your Messiah score if you have one, since “Hallelujah Chorus” is on the program too!). The lineup has got a few non-holiday selections as well; conducted by Nse Ekpo, the Junior Orchestra practiced Larry Clark‘s “Engines of Resistance” while we were there, and WSB Junior Member of the Team, Torin, got the whole thing on cinema-verite walking video:
Admission to tomorrow night’s concert — 7 pm at WSHS — is free, but donations are appreciated, as Westside Symphonette is self-supporting. Musicians of all ages are always welcome to join the Westside Symphonette – contact Toni Reineke at tonireineke@comcast.net or 206-243-6955. Meantime, the next week-plus is prime time for holiday concerts, and you’ll find them all listed on the WSB Holidays page (if you know of one that’s NOT there, please forgive us for missing it, and e-mail us to let us know!).
It’s festive … it’s sustainable … it’s affordable … it’s 24 hours away! Tomorrow night is Sustainable West Seattle’s Money-Free Shopping Spree, and you are invited – 6-9 pm, Camp Long Lodge. It’s a potluck and gift-swap occasion, and while SWS is hoping people will bring handmade gifts — the full list of what to bring (food and gift-wise) is on the SWS website — their latest bulletin also notes:
… if you don’t have time to pull together a gift between now and Monday, it is good to purchase something made by hand locally and give that OR better yet please consider offering a service/skill for 1-2 hours: gardening, bike repair, a foraging tour in West Seattle, wormbox 101, beekeeping 101, tutoring, a meal, making a dinner, kayak tour, etc. The possibilities of what you can give of some time to a neighbor are limitless …
In addition to the money-free gift swap, the event also features food, music by West Seattle acoustic guitarist Gunnar Goelitz, and guest speakers — West Seattle Chamber of Commerce executive director Patti Mullen (did you know the C of C is heavily involved in promoting sustainability? It’s even got a Green Team!), Sustainable Seattle executive director Sean Schmidt (who’ll talk about the Celebrate Local campaign that’s under way citywide this season), and WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand with a few words about the wonderful sense of community we’ve been seeing and reporting on throughout the year. That’s tomorrow, 6-9 pm, Camp Long Lodge (map), check out the complete details here.
They’re the biggest and brightest Christmas lights in West Seattle – the mega-display at the Menashe Family home on Beach Drive. We took a WSB video tour again this year — that first clip is a 2-minute walkthrough; next, Josh Menashe tells us what’s new this year:
Here’s a closer look at the mailbox he mentioned:
The Menashe display is along the southern stretch of Beach Drive – no direct access from the east but you can either hit Beach Drive from the Lowman Beach area and head north, or from the Jacobsen Road end and drive south. Here’s a map.
Santa Claus isn’t just comin’ to town – he’s here, till 4 pm (and noon-4 pm the next two Sundays) at Cupcake Royale, with photographer Donna Ryan, for Santa photos provided by the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor); donations are suggested, and go to three West Seattle nonprofits that have a heavier-than-ever load to bear this year – West Seattle Food Bank, WestSide Baby, and West Seattle Helpline. Meantime, kitty-corner via the Walk All Ways intersection at California/Alaska, the Hometown Holidays Headquarters tent is where you’ll find wreath sales for Pathfinder K-8:
Volunteering at the booth today for Pathfinder, Lashanna Williams and Jen Kocir. The school’s fundraising wreaths will be on sale at the HHH tent the next two Sundays (noon-4 in front of Key Bank) too. P.S. They’re doing face-painting too.
1. We have a list of all West Seattle tree lots (with maps and a price sampler) here.
2. West Seattle Nursery is one of the 12 WSB sponsors participating in our first-ever coupon offering, and one of those coupons is for $5 off any one of their cut trees. Get the coupons here.
That’s the view from the stage in the Farmers’ Market parking lot a couple hours ago, as your WSB co-publishers joined an eclectic crew of performers and guest tree-lighters for what turned out to be a double tree lighting (maybe not such a surprise if you saw the lights being tested last night) – the little “official” Junction tree, and the big tree right on the 44th/Alaska corner. Hope you enjoyed it; having sat through too many long events featuring endless speeches, we managed to make it through what was envisioned as an hour-long program in about 40 minutes. Of course, the nailbiting part is ahead of time, when you wonder whether anyone will show up – here’s the view from the refreshment-tent-to-be around 4:30:
Even around 5 till 5, almost no one was there, but we all chanted the mantra: No one in Seattle EVER shows up early for ANYTHING. And sure enough, before long, hundreds were on hand. Our pix are all from the stage/backstage view, but one group that provided a particularly festive view from any angle – the “Plaid Tidings” guys from ArtsWest‘s holiday show:
OK, now as for the actual tree-lighting – everyone was watching the small “official” tree, but instead, the big tree on the corner lit up – followed shortly afterward by the little one — Junior Member of the Team got both:
We’ll add some more video later – the Endolyne Children’s Choir did a great job too, as well as the plaid guys. Meantime, The Junction (WSB sponsor) is a hot place to be tomorrow, too – the first Hometown Holidays Sunday brings Santa photos at Cupcake Royale, noon-4 pm, along with mule-carriage rides and special in-store events (more here). SUNDAY NIGHT P.S.: Nice photo gallery by the fab M&M at Incremental Updates (one of the 100 West Seattle-based blogs whose automated feeds power our Blogs page) – get past the first couple showing us, and there are lovely shots of lots of nice folks having a great time. See it here.
Last reminder, join us in The Junction — Farmers’ Market parking lot at 44th/Alaska — from 5 till about 6 pm tonight, for the West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting event … including music from Endolyne Children’s Choir, a sampler of “Plaid Tidings” from ArtsWest, singalongs with the band Hazelwood Motel, and lots more – see you there!
Made it over to Highland Park Elementary (10th and Trenton; here’s a map) to check out the holiday bazaar – lots on sale, plus kids’ activities too – a chance to “fish”:
The Highland Park Elementary bazaar continues till 3. Under way till 4 pm, it’s the Southwest Community Center bazaar (on Thistle a few blocks east of 35th; here’s a map); another reminder, all the rest of what’s happening today/tonight, and tomorrow, is in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup!
While out covering the early-morning events (see preceding reports), we just had to stop by the Junction Christmas tree – which is decked with lights and awaiting tonight’s lighting. The event starts at 5 pm in the Farmers’ Market parking lot – we’ll be introducing performances from the ArtsWest “Plaid Tidings” cast, West Seattle’s own Endolyne Children’s Choir, and the band Hazelwood Motel, as well as drawing the first winners in The Junction’s $5,000 Holiday Giveaway (WSB sponsor). As for the weather – what a difference from last year, when the tree was lit amid sleet, snow, and slush (WSB coverage here)! P.S. If the weather has you considering a car wash today – get over to West Seattle High School for a fundraising car wash in the parking lot, 10 am-2 pm, full details in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
Also up early and volunteering their time early this morning: The Rotary Club of West Seattle. This is the day for their annual Christmas Shopping Spree at Sears in Sodo – when Rotarians team with local kids to share breakfast and lunch, shop for clothing and shoes, take photos with Santa, and more. The kids will go home with the items they’ve chosen and tried on – items they desperately need this time of year, including coats and socks:
… but there’s holiday fun later this morning too, and we’ll have pictures of that later. Rotary volunteers were there just after 6 am; the kids arrived around 7. West Seattle Rotarians have been doing this since 1972, and this year, they’re shopping with 90 kids from six West Seattle elementary schools (more background is on the Rotary Club’s website, where you can also find out more about the group, which meets Tuesdays most weeks – meeting info is in the left sidebar on the club’s home page).
With bright red chef hats and bright yellow Kiwanis Club T-shirts, chefs are turning out the pancakes and ham fast as they can, as the Community Pancake Breakfast continues till 11 this morning at the Masonic Hall (on 40th SW between Alaska and Edmunds, lots of parking). Local Scouts are helping serve; decorations abound; Christmas music is playing – here’s a short video clip surveying the scene:
West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival‘s fundraising blown-glass ornaments are on sale too – dress up your tree while helping Hi-Yu fund its next float (as reported here last week, the theme, just chosen, is “Hi-Yu 75 Years: How Sweet It Is”):
Gift baskets are being raffled, too. All in all, the mood is festive and bright, and it’s a warm way to kick off a day of holidaying – shopping, tree-buying, whatever. $6 adults, $3 kids, proceeds go to the charitable work the Kiwanians do. Nice folks too, and we thank them for greeting us cheerily so early in the morning!
Most mornings, we can just write one roundup that highlights several notable events happening in the ensuing 12 hours or so. Today – so much going on (as listed in our current West Seattle Weekend Lineup), we’re just starting with the morning highlights:
PANCAKES, SANTA, ROYALTY, MORE: 7 am-11 am, Masonic Hall (4736 40th SW – here’s a map), the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle‘s long-awaited Community Pancake Breakfast – a great deal ($6 adults/$3 kids) for good food, and it goes to benefit Kiwanis charitable work – bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots too. Along with breakfast, you can get Santa pix plus meet West Seattle Hi-Yu royalty (and another chance to buy those beautiful glass ornaments they’re selling).
SAFETY: The weather’s been so calm lately, you may have forgotten about the potential treachery of fall/winter rain. Don’t let that keep you away from the city’s landslide-awareness workshop – free! – 10 am-noon at South Seattle Community College (as previewed here last month).
GOLF: As announced back in October, today’s the day for the West Seattle version of the Parks Department open house to update the city’s Golf Master Plan and hear from local course users. Drop by the West Seattle Golf Course between 10:30 am and noon.
HIGHLAND PARK ELEMENTARY HOLIDAY BAZAAR: This isn’t just a chance for holiday shopping, but also an opportunity for family fun – 10 am-3 pm, you’ll find carnival games, raffles, craft items and more at Highland Park Elementary.
More later on what’s ahead tonight – though we have to mention, of course, the top of the ticket is the West Seattle Tree Lighting, with musical and theatrical entertainment as well as a holiday singalong and the first drawings in The Junction’s $5,000 Holiday Giveaway (entered yet?). 5 pm, Farmers’ Market parking lot, we’re helping emcee and we hope to see you there! (Dozens more events are listed here.)
While out admiring the sunset (photos of that are up next), we scouted Christmas lights – and happened onto this house on SW Spokane, east of 58th, on Charlestown Hill (map). The tree is covered with green lights on its trunk, purplish-pink through its branches, echoing one of the prettiest areas of the Point Defiance Zoolights display, so we’re featuring it here. We’ll be out looking at many more in the nights to come; got tips, and/or pix, please e-mail us!
Hope we will see you in The Junction tomorrow night for the West Seattle Tree Lighting – 5 pm, Farmers Market parking lot (44th/Alaska), your WSB co-publishers get to help emcee, and there’s an all-star lineup of fun including the Endolyne Children’s Choir, ArtsWest‘s “Plaid Tidings,” and the first drawings in The Junction’s $5,000 Holiday Giveaway. Also this weekend – the Kiwanis Community Pancake Breakfast tomorrow morning, 
a variety of artists’ open houses, myriad holiday concerts, a holiday wine tasting at SSCC, and even Sunday is jampacked – like an auction to benefit Habitat for Humanity, plus Taproot Theatre with “It’s a Wonderful Improv Life” and the Rainbow City Band‘s holiday concert — all part of the more than 70!!!!! (busiest weekend in MONTHS!!!!) West Seattle-and-vicinity events on our handy list ahead:Read More
That’s Kelsey, who’s selling her glass ornaments at the holiday bazaar that’s under way till 8 pm tonight at Arbor Heights Elementary – and modeling the new fashion statement that you’ve seen in our photos from meetings in the past few weeks, with AH fighting a district proposal to close its “program” and relocate Pathfinder K-8 to the AH building. But this bazaar has been in the works a long time, long before the closure proposal started drawing on the community’s time and energy, and it’s a biggie – this is just one of two jampacked rooms full of merchandise, activities, and treats:
Some of the merchandise is kid-made, like Kelsey’s very professional painted-glass ornaments, but there are adult vendors here too – we were especially enchanted by these “presents” that are really crystal-clear sculpted plastic with lights inside:
Some whimsy, too – at this table, the “fish soap” looks from a distance like those little plastic bags of goldfish in water that we all brought home from carnivals a hundred years ago:
Again, the bazaar’s on till 8 o’clock tonight; if you live in north West Seattle, you may not even have been to Arbor Heights before (we lived on Beach Drive our first 2 years in WS and hadn’t ventured south of California/Fauntleroy till we were house-shopping!), but it’s worth the trip (here’s a map) – check the view we got after parking our car before walking to the bazaar pre-sunset:
Other schools’ holiday events are on our Holiday Happenings calendar (tomorrow night, for example, Lafayette Elementary has a craft fair, and everyone’s invited!).
The wreaths and ribbon on the lampposts were just the start. Right now, work crews are putting up garlands of greenery across the awnings and facades of Junction businesses – delivered literally by the truckload:
The finishing touches, bright-red bows:
All this, just in time for the first round of Hometown Holidays weekend festivities presented by the West Seattle Junction Association (WSB sponsor) – including the Tree Lighting at 5 pm Saturday (your WSB co-publishers are helping emcee, to present a jampacked one-hour lineup of everything from music to theater to the first drawings in the $5,000 Junction Giveaway, which you can enter for free at any time at any participating store), and the first big Sunday noon-4 pm slate of holiday fun – professionally photographed Santa pics at Cupcake Royale (donation suggested, to benefit WestSide Baby and other local nonprofits), draft-mule carriage rides, in-store events.
Kick off the whole weekend with the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle‘s pancake breakfast, 7 am-11 am Saturday at the Masonic Hall on the east edge of The Junction; here’s a map – then wrap up the weekend with the Taproot Theater dessert-theater production of “It’s a Wonderful Improv Life” at West Seattle Christian Church [WSB sponsor], more info here.
From Arbor Heights, a cheerful display, 12000 block of 39th SW (map). Gratuitous reminder – Join us for the annual West Seattle Community Christmas Tree Lighting, 5 pm Saturday in The Junction (Farmers’ Market parking lot), with your WSB co-publishers helping emcee an all-star lineup for one hour of holiday fun — including the Endolyne Children’s Choir, “Plaid Tidings” cast members from ArtsWest, singalong holiday caroling, and the first drawings in The Junction’s $5,000 Holiday Giveaway (multiple chances to win gift certificates! – have you entered yet?). And in the meantime, please send us Christmas lights photos and/or addresses!
We’ve been looking for something like this in West Seattle — hoping to practice our creaky remembered-from-high-school choir alto line in “Hallelujah Chorus” — so thought we’d pass along what we just got from Seaview United Methodist Church music director Dell Gossett (it’ll be on the West Seattle Holiday Happenings calendar momentarily, too):
Seaview United Methodist Church is hosting the second “Messiah” Sing-along on December 14 at 2 pm. All who love to sing (or hear) this glorious musical expression are invited. Bring your own score if you have one, and if you don’t, we will have extras. Accompaniment will be with professional string players. If you think you can’t carry a tune in a bucket, we will even provide buckets!
Seaview UMC is at 46th SW and Graham (map).
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