West Seattle, Washington
04 Saturday
Tonight is the final night of Hanukkah. The evening began with the lighting of eight candles on menorahs all over the world, including the one West Seattle synagogue Kol HaNeshamah brought to Junction Plaza Park for this year’s “Pop-Up Hanukkah..” The celebration included a “Dreidel Song” singalong, led by Orin Reynolds – our video shows the crowd, too:
Though this was the lone community event, the synagogue’s been busy with a variety of activities throughout the holiday, culminating in a geocaching “Dreidel Dash” that its youth group is sponsoring next weekend as a charity benefit – find out more here.
Tonight’s celebration in The Junction also included the donuts that are a traditional Hanukkah treat.
Every night, we’re featuring another West Seattle holiday display, thanks to your tips/photo. Tonight, we thank Nicholas for sending the photos and report:
Building on last year’s impressive showing, Kim Alexander and Gabe Valdez’s house focuses on vintage blow molds and collections of Christmas classics with lights and music. And they love people taking pictures.
Address: 6017 42nd Ave SW.
According to our info from last year, this is only their third year of doing this! Got someplace to suggest? Email us (with or without photos) at westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you! (Past spotlights are archived here and listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide.)
SUNDAY: You can be a holiday helper in The Junction! Until 2 pm today, you can help keep somebody warm this winter by bringing “gently used coats, hats, scarves and gloves” to the south end of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market (California/Alaska), where the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle is serving up hot cocoa as a reward. ( The cocoa was donated by Husky Deli!) Everything collected goes to the West Seattle Food Bank‘s Clothesline. So far, five bins have been filled!
MONDAY: Grand total, 335 donated items – half of them coats!
The rain stopped just in time for tonight’s tree lighting at the biggest event of the West Seattle Junction Association‘s all-season Hometown Holidays celebration. The countdown was led by Jack Menashe, the Junction entrepreneur who is also responsible for West Seattle’s brightest Christmas lights, who offered words of gratitude first – thanking everyone for supporting local businesses amid the challenges posed by the pandemic and bridge closure. He also introduced the crowd to new WSJA executive director Chris Mackay. After the countdown/lighting, Santa stayed onstage to read a story you’ll likely recognize:
Elvis was this year’s host, with duties including everything from leading Christmas carols to inviting kids up onstage to ask about their holiday wishes;
Earlier in the afternoon, stage performances included the Endolyne Children’s Choir:
Hometown Holidays highlights in the week ahead include tomorrow’s Cocoa and Coat Drive – look for the booth at the south end of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market (California/Alaska), 10 am-2 pm; bring “gently used coats, hats, scarves, and gloves” and you’ll get hot cocoa! Also ahead, the holiday edition of the West Seattle Art Walk on Thursday (December 9), 5 pm until “late.”
Thanks to Jeremy Barton for the photo! Tonight’s Christmas-lights spotlight is in the 2700 block of 45th SW [vicinity map]. “Lots of inflated decorations, many of which have motion,” Jeremy notes. We’ll be spotlighting at least one display every night through year’s end, so send your tip (with or without photos) our way – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you! (Past spotlights are archived here and listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide.)
(Jill and Kevin from the Junction Association)
4:27 PM: On SW Alaska between California and 42nd, the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Night Market is on – continuing until 7 pm, with the Junction Plaza Park tree lighting at 6 pm. Before then, Elvis is emceeing the stage show, and Santa‘s roaming:
Visit vendors and community organizations’ booths at the Night Market – say hi to your West Seattle neighbors like Sally Heit from Hope Lutheran School:
P.S. If you’re going to the Farmers’ Market tomorrow, bring a coat or other warm-clothing donation to the Hometown Holidays booth at the south end! You’ll be rewarded with hot cocoa.
Vendors are listed in our daily preview. More coverage later!
ADDED 6:48 PM: Here’s how it looked after dark:
Every year for a quarter-century, Pathfinder K-8 students and families have made and sold wreaths as a fundraiser – and they usually sell out. Pre-pandemic, the Pathfinder wreath booth was a fixture in The Junction on Farmers’ Market Sundays, but again this year, they’re only selling the wreaths online – here’s the announcement:
Pathfinder K-8 PTSA is holding our 26th annual wreath fundraiser to benefit outdoor education and classrooms at Pathfinder K-8 School. You usually see us in The Junction during Farmers Market days in December, but due to the pandemic, we have our 100% homemade wreaths available for sale online.
The evergreens in every Pathfinder wreath are foraged from downed branches from this season’s windstorms and salvaged from Christmas tree lots (thank you, Trees by the Sea on Alki, Home Depot, and McLendon), and the flowers and seedpods are clipped from our yards. Then members of the Pathfinder community build each wreath by hand. Each wreath is unique and has been made in one of our distanced, backyard workshops this past week.
Right now we have a good selection of beautiful wreaths available at www.pathfinderk8ptsa.org/shop. If you don’t see something now, check back tomorrow! The inventory is constantly being updated with new wreaths. After purchase they can be picked up at our workshop on Puget Ridge.
Thank you for supporting the kids at Pathfinder School!
If you lose track of this later, you’ll also find the wreath sale listed in the Trees/Wreaths/Greenery section of our West Seattle Holiday Guide.
11:04 AM: From today’s long list of events – Seattle firefighters’ Toys for Tots collection drive is on the road this year rather than at the fire stations, and today’s stop is Westwood Village, outside the QFC store:
That’s the crew of Engine 37 (from Station 37 at 35th/Holden). Besides new, unwrapped toys, you can donate cash/checks, too.
We asked a Toys for Tots rep what specific types of toys they need most. Reply: Toys for babies. So if you’re going shopping for a donation for this drive – on until 1 pm today – that’s an idea. If you miss this, there are also Toys for Tots bins all season long in other spots around West Seattle, including C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) at 5612 California SW.
4:21 PM: From SFD’s Carrie Brazil: “We had a great event, despite the weather. West Seattle showed up and donated 10+ big boxes of toys. Santa’s best guess is 450-550 toys plus cash donations.”
(WSB photos and video)
At ~520 feet, the big evergreen outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and School at 35th/Myrtle is the city’s highest-elevation Christmas tree this time of year. Last year, the annual lighting celebration was held online, after which the tree lights stayed on for months, not weeks, as a beacon of hope. Tonight, OLG returned to the in-person format, featuring emcee Brian Callanan, OLG pastor Father Kevin Duggan, singers The Starry Crowns and the OLG Children’s Chorus. Our video caught most of the singing and speaking before OLG student-body president Kingsley did the honors of flipping the switch:
Our Lady of Guadalupe tree is on! (35th SW/Myrtle, highest elevation in Seattle) pic.twitter.com/TQ0kABtxQB
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 4, 2021
In a nod to pandemic precautions, this was an entirely outdoor event – rather than opening the nearby Walmesley Center, they served cocoa and cookies outside, and collected food donations for St. Vincent de Paul on a table rather than in a sleigh in the center lobby.
Good turnout on a chilly but dry night:
P.S. The Starry Crowns have a Christmas concert later this month at OLG – 7 pm December 16th, in-person and streamed (that’ll be here).
(Photo by Jeremy Barton)
We intended to spotlight West Seattle’s renowned Menashe Family Lights last night, the first full-strength night of the year (as announced last month) – but then the power outage hit, so we postponed the plan until tonight. This year, the house, yard, and trees at 5605 Beach Drive are back up to full brightness after a downsized display last year so as not to draw the usual huge crowds.
(WSB photo)
Among the new features – this animatronic singing Santa:
The “real” Santa, by the way, will be there for photos (bring food to donate to the West Seattle Food Bank!) next Saturday (December 11th), 6-10 pm. In the meantime, you can go by any night to see the lights and inflatables:
(WSB photo)
Even if it’s not quite dark when you visit, still a festive sight:
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
The Menashes’ display isn’t just locally famous – it’s been on national TV multiple times over the years.
P.S. We’re showcasing holiday displays all over the peninsula as the season continues – if you have a suggestion, please email us at westseattleblog#gmail.com (with our without photos) – thank you! (Our list is in the West Seattle Holiday Guide.)
Every holiday season, The Christmas People do their best to help people in need have a happy holiday – with your help. So far we’ve heard from them about two requests this season – first, for drivers:
The Christmas People need volunteer drivers to deliver meals to homeless shelters from Wed.,Dec.22 thru Sunday, Dec. 26 – 10:30 am, 3 pm, 4:30 pm, and 8:30 pm. Areas include West Seattle, Downtown Seattle, 116th Bellevue and CCS Kent. Must have dependable enclosed vehicle to hold insulated bags and/or food transfer boxes. Clean driving record, insurance and proof of vaccination. Need warm-hearted people able to bring joy and hope to marginalized and underserved populations. Contact Fred Hutchinson, 206-719-4979 or pialley@jps.net for time slot.
They also need thousands of homemade cookies again this year – just make plans to drop yours off 9 am-3 pm December 22-24 at West Seattle Coworking (6040 California SW). They’ll be going to area shelters along with 2,300 holiday meals. The Christmas People also need cookie sorters and receivers – same contact info as volunteer drivers, if you can help with that.
For our second night of this year’s Christmas-lights spotlights, we go to Sunrise Heights, Janel emailed us to let us know about the display put up by her 83-year-old father-in-law Hans Loos. “The effort and passion he has for decorating his house, is unmatched,” she says – from the fence to the roof to the yard.
This is at 7942 32nd SW [map]. “He does everything completely on his own. Including the roof! He wants the community to thoroughly enjoy the lights and even parks on the opposite side of the street, so he doesn’t block the view.”
If you have, or see, lights that you want to share with the community, email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com, with or without photos – thank you! Every place we feature will be listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide, and you can also browse the archives (past years, too) here.
Delridge Grocery Cooperative has a deal for you – help them get a new fridge, by buying this year’s holiday basket! Here are the details:
Bring home the flavors of Washington state this holiday season with the Delridge Grocery Co-op’s second annual holiday collection of sweet and savory treats.
In addition to bringing you a specially curated selection of Pacific Northwest delights, the DGC 2021 Holiday Gift Basket is also a fundraiser — helping our growing neighborhood Co-op afford the purchase of an additional refrigeration unit.
We currently have a single, small older refrigerator that chills our locally sourced cheeses, eggs, milk, hummus, krauts, and kombucha, but its size definitely limits the amount and variety of perishable products we can carry. Adding a second, more modern refrigerator will allow us to expand our offerings and better serve our customers as we look to expand the days and hours that we’re open in the coming months.
Great for treating yourself or sharing with friends, neighbors, work colleagues, and loved ones, the DGC 2021 Holiday Gift Basket includes:
Salted Caramel Espresso Bark (Joe Chocolate Co.)
Madrona Smoked Salt (San Juan Sea Salt)
Loose Leaf Herbal Tea + Infuser (Beach House Teas)
Honey Thyme Mustard (Mustard & Co.)
Pickled Spicy Green Beans. (Seattle Pickle Co.)
Apple Cider Vinegar (Apple State Vinegar)
Raw Honeycomb (Georgetown Pantry Supply)The DGC 2021 Holiday Gift Basket is priced at $65 for both pickup and free delivery to addresses on our West Seattle peninsula. Baskets will be available for pickup starting Friday, December 17 at the Delridge Grocery Co-op retail store – we’ll be open from 3–7. Pickups can also be made on Saturday, December 18 (9:30 am–1:30 pm) and Sunday, December 19 (11–3). Deliveries will be made on that Friday and Saturday.
Go here to order.
Every year, we invite you to share locations – with or without photos – of West Seattle light displays worth a trip to see. We share them nightly, and in our West Seattle Holiday Guide, through New Year’s Eve. We’re starting tonight with the first recommended display – which we also photographed last year: Ken Arkills‘ home at 39th/Trenton in Fauntlee Hills [map].
Ken’s brother Jim Arkills emailed us to ensure we knew Ken’s display is up and shining for another year. It’s on a corner, so there’s a lot to see, on both sides! That includes many characters, both animated and static. Here’s one inspired by a famous scene in the movie “Christmas Story”:
Fauntlee Hills has other brightly lit homes, as it does every year, but none quite this bright. And our photos only show a fraction of it all.
If you have – or have seen – lights we should showcase, please email westseattleblog@gmail.com – with or without photos. Thank you!
Hometown Holidays fun in the West Seattle Junction is just beginning, but with the biggest events coming up soon, the call is out for people who can give the gift of time: Volunteers! You can help with the Night Market and Tree Lighting on Thursday, or in a variety of other ways, says WSJA executive director Chris Mackay. Just go here, see what they’re looking for and when, and sign up for whatever interests you!
Tonight is the first of eight nights of Hanukkah, the eight-night Jewish Festival of Lights. Two community celebrations are planned in West Seattle, both next Sunday (December 5th):
(WSB photo from 2019 Pop-Up Hanukkah)
POP-UP HANUKKAH: West Seattle synagogue Kol HaNeshamah invites all to Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska) at 5 pm Sunday for this year’s Pop-Up Hanukkah party, with menorah lighting, music, and donuts.
HANDS-ON HANUKKAH: Stroum Jewish Community Center will be at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market 10 am-2 pm Sunday to “celebrate the holiday with arts and crafts and tasty treats.”
DONATION DRIVE: Through the end of Hanukkah, Kol Haneshamah “is gathering warm hats, gloves, socks and scarves for our West Seattle neighbors in need. Please deliver new or gently used items to KHN at 6115 SW Hinds Street through December 5th.”
In our most-recent report on the advisory committee for West Seattle’s only tiny-house encampment, Camp Second Chance, we noted an unusual donation request: Christmas decorations. Those are among the items that are being collected in a holiday-season drive at Canna West Seattle (5440 California SW; WSB sponsor) and its Culture Shop across the street. From the announcement:
What types of items is C2C in need of? First and foremost, C2C residents have organized their own community supported, fun holiday event; a spirited contest for the best holiday door decorations for each of their tiny homes. Their contest for the “Best Holiday Door” will be held at the Tiny Home Village on December 20th, and prizes awarded to the winners.
Christmas decorations, so long as they are not perishable, can be dropped off at Canna West Seattle on California Avenue or at its sister store, The Culture Shop, which is located directly across the street. In addition to Christmas decorations, C2C is seeking the following items (camp operator LIHI’s donation guidelines included):
–Clothing Items, Towels, and Bedding: should be new or gently worn, nothing with stains or rips, and should be recently cleaned before donation. NO used underwear.
–Furniture: needs to be approved before donation, due to the size limitations within our Tiny Houses and apartment buildings, we will just need to confirm the dimensions of your items will actually fit within our spaces.
–Cleaning Supplies, and Hygiene Products: should be UNOPENED, and travel sized or relatively small, with a preference for gender neutral items so all folks feel comfortable.
–Books, Art Supplies, Household Items, Miscellaneous items: should be in good condition, gently used or new, and clearly labeled with its intended purpose (i.e. art supplies should be packaged or labeled as ‘art supplies’).
Also from the announcement, Canna owner and founder Maryam Mirnateghi explains, “There are so many different homeless programs that need community support and Camp 2nd Chance is one of those that not only needs West Seattle’s help, but also one that is making a real impact on the lives of the people it works with.” As we have reported in monthly status update, the camp at 9701 Myers Way S. is usually home to between 50 and 60 people and is supported by city funding, which is expected to cover an addition of 20 more tiny houses next year.
P.S. We’re adding this to the ongoing list of local giving opportunities in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, where updates continue through New Year’s.
Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo of the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship during its visit to Alki Beach on a rainy, breezy Saturday night, its third West Seattle stop in two days, and final one this season. It’ll be sailing to other locales through December 23rd.
Want to buy something truly small on Small Business Saturday?
Try that tiny Bluetooth-enabled device from Click! Design That Fits (4540 California SW; WSB sponsor), Click! is open until 6 tonight, with a 30-percent-off rack, special holiday items, puzzles, art, jewelry, apparel, and their usual wide selection of housewares, including some new bowls you can use for salads, soups, etc.
Click! is one of those stores with a surprise around every corner.
Some shops have special guests for Small Business Saturday – among them, Seattle Yarn (5633 California SW, open today until 5 pm):
Lovely & Dapper Desserts, known for their “tin-can cakes,” is in the house at Seattle Yarn this afternoon, among other pop-ups. You’ll find tiny treasures there too:
See other Small Business Saturday spotlights in today’s preview list – and remember your local independent businesses have something for you all your long, not just this one day.
Among the West Seattle holiday traditions returning this year after pandemic hiatus, The Junction’s having a tree lighting again this year. In case you haven’t already seen this in our Holiday Guide or on The Junction’s website, we’re publishing a reminder now that it’s just one week away. One block of SW Alaska will be closed between California and 42nd for a Night Market with local vendors and Santa Claus, 4-7 pm Saturday, December 4th, plus entertainment onstage in Junction Plaza Park, culminating in the tree lighting at 6 pm, emceed by “Elvis”! (WSB is media sponsor for Hometown Holidays. See you there!)
After a pandemic off-year, the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship set sail again tonight – and its first stop was West Seattle, where a crowd lined the shore at Don Armeni Boat Ramp
They heard The Dickens Carolers sing holiday classics from on board – we recorded part of their 20-minute performance:
As listed in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, the Christmas Ship will make two more West Seattle stops, both tomorrow night – 5:35 pm outside Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor Avenue SW; WSB sponsor), and 8:35 pm at Alki Beach Park, near the Bathhouse (60th/Alki), with a bonfire planned. That’s it for WS stops this year but you can see the entire season’s schedule here.
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West Seattle’s only charity-fundraising Christmas-tree lot is open for the season. Holy Rosary School is selling trees again this year just north of the school.
Many options – you can shop in person or online, pick it up at the lot or have it delivered for an extra fee. They have 2′ to 10′ Noble, Douglas, and Fraser firs.
If you bring five non-perishable food items for the West Seattle Food Bank, you get $5 off the tree price.
They’re also selling wreaths, as well as poinsettias from nearby Seattle Lutheran High SchoolPar.
The lot at 41st/Dakota is open 4-9 pm weekdays, 9 am-9 pm weekends, through the weekend before Christmas. Part of the proceeds go to the WSFB and to Hickman House.
All West Seattle tree sellers are listed in our Holiday Guide – if we’re missing something, please let us know!
At the Duwamish Longhouse Native Art Market and Holiday Gift Fair, you can find ornaments to decorate your tree, and/or gifts to put under it.
The work above is by Seciwa’s Southwest Native Jewelry and Crafts, one of this year’s vendors, spotlighting “the people and crafts from the Pueblo of Zuni,” described in a flyer as “the largest of the 20 ‘Pueblo’ tribes in New Mexico and Arizona.” The gift fair is a place to learn as well as to browse and buy.
It was also a popular shopping stop while we were there in late morning, with a line to get in since capacity was capped. But you have plenty of time – until 5 pm today, and again 10 am-5 pm tomorrow and Sunday.
Parking is across the street in the Seattle Public Utilities lot – and there are crossing guards to stop West Marginal Way traffic so you can safely get across. (The temporary signal and crosswalk are not ready yet – more on that in a separate story later.) P.S. You can also visit the exhibits in the Longhouse Cultural Center while you’re there, and the gift shop is open,
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