West Seattle, Washington
05 Sunday
(Lincoln Park photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Even before the snowfall, closures were planned for today because of the holiday observance. So this list covers both. Please let us know if you have something/someplace to add:
CLOSED
–Senior Center of West Seattle
–West Seattle Food Bank
–Delridge, Admiral Seattle Public Library locations
–Most Seattle Parks facilities
-City residential solid-waste pickup (all collection days put out double next week)
OPEN BUT WITH CHANGES
–West Seattle YMCA open until 4 pm
City-run COVID testing site at Nino Cantu SW Athletic Complex opens at 10:30 am
(We’ll add a business list if needed but so far we have no new closure/change info.)
(January 1, 2018, photo by Robert Spears)
For everybody who’s asked about the plan for New Year’s Day 2022 Alki Beach Polar Bear Swim – this is just in from organizer Mark Ufkes:
We go in the water at 10:00 am sharp, so don’t be late. According to Washington State regulations; three simple requirements:
Adults must be vaccinated and boostered for Covid 19.
Everyone must wear a mask.
You and your group must be Covid-free, be in good health, and distance yourselves 6 feet from others while on the beach.For over 15 years, the Alki Beach Polar Bear Swim has been about “washing away the complexities of the previous year and bathing in the unlimited possibilities that the New Year provides”. All while pushing us all out of our comfort zone. Prior to Covid, we had over 700+ swimmers. In 2022, we need this event more than ever.
So, go over the three simple requirements listed above. Bring a large, warm towel, a coat to put on after you get out of the water, good water shoes, and your hopes and dreams for a spectacular 2022. Holding hands and wearing bright colors as you go into the water also seems to help.
I wear Goodwill pink every year, to celebrate the day in the not-too-distant future when over 50% of our Members of Congress will be women and/or People of Color. Imagine the message that would send to the world and how much more empathy we will have in our national governance.
When you arrive, you’ll see the gathering madness across from Duke’s. Stay in your group of family and friends, spread out down quarter-mile Alki Beach, and allow six feet between your group and your Polar Bear neighbors to your left and right.
Just before 10:00 am, you will hear the megaphone countdown begin; 10, 9, 8 . . . At “one “ in the countdown, we all run, screaming like the children we are, into 47-degree Puget Sound. The water will be warmer than the air this year, so it will be much more pleasant that one might expect. The mild insanity is really quite fun, and we are in and out of the water so fast that we barely get goosebumps. And like everything in life, your attitude, and belief in yourself, will keep you warm and successful.
(Photo by Mike Jensen)
Christmas is almost over … so we close out the holiday with one more look at West Seattle’s most dazzling display, the Menashe Family Lights at 5605 Beach Drive SW [map]. We’re planning to continue spotlighting West Seattle lights until New Year’s Eve, so if we haven’t shown your favorites yet, let us know where they are – westseattleblog@gmail.com. (The two-dozen-plus we’ve already showcased can be seen here.)
(17th/Cloverdale – photo by Troy Sterk)
Merry Christmas! Here’s information you might find helpful on this holiday:
COFFEE SHOPS OPEN TODAY: We found seven – here’s the list.
RESTAURANTS AND BARS OPEN TODAY: Twelve are on our list – see it here.
GROCERY STORES OPEN TODAY: Only the three Safeways (Roxbury, Admiral, Jefferson Square) are open (8 am-5 pm) – all other West Seattle supermarkets are closed.
TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION: Metro is on a regular Saturday schedule … No West Seattle Water Taxi service … Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route is on the Saturday two-boat schedule, and is likely to be extra-busy because the South Vashon route (Tahlequah-Point Defiance) is not operating today … Sound Transit buses and light rail are on varied schedules … No charge for street parking in areas of the city with pay stations … West Seattle-relevant traffic cameras are here; see all cameras citywide via this map.
OTHER NOTES: No USPS mail service (except Priority Mail Express delivery) … Seattle Parks closure info is here … Libraries (city and county) are closed.
AFTERNOON BIRD WALK: 1 pm at Lincoln Park – details are in our calendar listing.
SEE A MOVIE: The Admiral Theater (2343 California SW) is open this afternoon/evening.
If you see/hear news, please text/call 206-293-6302 – we appreciate your tips 24/7/365!
For your Christmas Eve viewing/listening – a video that Bells of the Sound invited us to share with you. The group rehearses at Tibbetts United Methodist Church in West Seattle, and performed on the peninsula many times pre-pandemic. Here’s their message:
Merry Christmas from Bells of the Sound. We took advantage of a concert-less pandemic season to make this feature video to share. This jazzy, off-kilter arrangement of “We Three Kings” has been a longtime favorite of ours. We hope you enjoy the grooving bass, right rhythm section, and sauntering melody!
Cameras: Sean MacLean & Nikhil Sarma | Editing: Nikhil Sarma | Audio: Matt Ogaz
Three King Swing – composed by John Henry Hopkins and arranged for handbells by Sondra Tucker. Streaming rights provided by the copyright holder, Laurendale Associates.
Bells of the Sound is proud to receive support from the 4Culture / King County Lodging Tax Fund.
Tonight’s featured Christmas lights represent another approach to holiday lighting … projection. Thanks to Devin Liddell for the photos of their display at 4028 40th SW [map], between Dakota and Andover.
A Merry Christmas Eve to all! Scroll through all the displays featured here since November 30th (and previous years) by going here; we’re still welcoming tips/photos at westseattleblog@gmail.com.
The photo is from Mel, dropping off homemade cookies Thursday for The Christmas People, who are including the cookies in holiday meals for people in need. Today’s your last chance to contribute some too – take the cookies to West Seattle Coworking (6040 California SW) between 9 am and 3 pm. (Last year they received more than 7,000 cookies!)
Need to know what’s open in West Seattle on Christmas? For easier access, we’ve now created calendar pages for the Christmas info lists that were previously only on our Holiday Guide page. They are:
*Restaurants/bars open Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day – here
*Coffee shops open Christmas Day – here
*Grocery stores’ closing times Christmas Eve (and hours for the ones that are open Christmas Day) – here
If you’re looking for churches with Christmas Eve/Day services, the ones we’ve heard from are still in the Holiday Guide, as is other info, including our list of spotlighted Christmas-lights displays, plus some last-minute local-shopping hours for Christmas Eve. Got anything to add (or change)? Email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
If you had to choose just one West Seattle neighborhood to visit for Christmas lights sightseeing, Fauntlee Hills would be a good choice. That’s where we started the season – and that coverage-launching display’s creator, Ken Arkills, points us again this year to a nearby home that also shines bright, at 40th/Donovan [map]:
Ken says Joey and Myung Haugen are the creators here, with a giant star among its features. “They are really into it and I am so happy to see a lot of fellow West Seattleites really going all out this year with their displays!” We’ve shown more than two dozen this season and we’re not done yet – keep the suggestions (with or without photos) coming, via westseattleblog@gmail.com. You can browse everything we’ve shown by going to this WSB archive; they’re also listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide.
Thanks to Monica Zaborac for tonight’s photo. She says this display is at 40th/Charlestown [map], right next to Wyatt‘s house, which was featured here last week. It’s a corner so bright, it was even on the map for this year’s West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor)-organized Christmas Lights Run! Got lights for us to spotlight? Please let us know, with or without photo(s), via westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302 … see this season’s list in the West Seattle Holiday Guide, and scroll through the pics here.
Thanks to Marco for the photos. The open field at Myrtle Reservoir Park was a field of light last night for the candlelight labyrinth set up by the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation to mark the winter solstice. WSUU also gathered for singing:
P.S. WSUU is one of the local churches that have sent info for the Christmas Eve services listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide – not too late to add, westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
One more reminder that it’s not too late to let us know about retailers and food/drink businesses’ hours on Christmas Eve/Day. All the info we have compiled so far – including the complete grocery-store hours list for Friday/Saturday – is toward the end of our West Seattle Holiday Guide page (which has a list of church services, too). We’re still checking around today for additions before cross-referencing it all on our Event Calendar too; if you can help by providing info, please email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Thanks to prolific photographer Jerry Simmons for tonight’s photo – a rainbow of lights in the 5400 block of (corrected) 41st SW. (Here’s a vicinity map.) This is the 24th display showcased here on WSB this season, thanks entirely to reader tips – you can scroll through them all here, and see the list in our West Seattle Holiday Guide. We’re hoping to keep showing lights nightly through New Year’s Eve – tips, with or without photo(s), are appreciated – email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Baking holiday cookies? Add an extra dozen or two and take them to The Christmas People! For three days starting tomorrow, they’ll be accepting cookie dropoffs in West Seattle to include in the meals they’ll be delivering to people in need. Every year, community members have stepped up to fill the order. (Homemade only, please.) You can drop cookies off any time between 9 am and 3 pm Wednesday through Friday (December 22-24) at West Seattle Coworking (6040 California SW)
The home of West Seattle’s history is closed until the new year. Here’s the announcement from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum:
The Log House Museum will be closed through January 2nd, 2022 for the holiday season. We will reopen Friday, January 7th during our normal operating hours: Friday-Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!
The museum at 61st and Stevens on Alki is no longer “by appointment only,” so once it reopens, you can just drop in during the aforementioned hours.
A grass-roots West Seattle holiday event was a winning activity again this year both for the winning teams and for the businesses and redidences that volunteered to be part of it. “Winter Wander” scavenger-hunt creator Alice Kuder organized it for a second year and calls it a “huge success.” She sent a wrapup report:
Last year, 12 teams played and sent in 198 selfies. This year, 24 teams took part and sent in 460 selfies and 6 social-media posts. 7 of the 24 teams solved all 25 clues.
The team of Rick & Morty (aka Steve and Charlie Bierman, above) won the $100 Grand Prize Gift Card, good at local businesses. I fully intend to make Winter Wander an annual event, and hopefully a West Seattle holiday tradition. Next year it will take place from December 2-11.
The 15 participating businesses were (in alphabetical order):
Ampersand Cafe on Alki
The Bridge
C & P Coffee
Cactus Alki Beach
Daystar Retirement Village
Fire Station #32
Fresh Flours Bakery
HeartBeet Organic Superfoods Cafe
(Small family, team Frosty Jingle Head)
Husky Deli
Mountain to Sound Outfitters
(Lars Gesing and Katelyn Moga Gesing, team ‘Go Gesings’)
Pegasus Book Exchange
Row House
Salvadorean Bakery and Restaurant
Sea Pines Physical Therapy
Seattle Auto LicensingThere were also 5 private homeowners who agreed to let us feature their holiday yard decorations as solutions to clues. (Much harder to find than businesses.)
Two more West Seattle displays to see …
That’s from a texter who says. “Magical ‘tunnel’ of Xmas lights to walk through at Hanford & Belvidere SW! What a way to lift one’s spirits!” (Here’s a map.)
And from Nicole in the 9200 block of 30th SW:
Nicole says her block has “lots of lights” this year, and sent the pics. (Here’s a map.)
We welcome tips without pics too – email westseattleblog@gmail.com – and to see what we’ve already spotlighted, see the list in our West Seattle Holiday Guide and/or our archive – thanks to everyone who’s contributed!
Lots of questions this weekend about who’s open for Christmas Eve/Day dining. As we’ve replied, we used to make that list early, and then found out on the holiday that establishments had changed their plans since we checked. So we’re working on the list now. If you run a restaurant or coffee shop, please take a moment and let us know your plans – westseattleblog@gmail.com. What we have so far is in the CHRISTMAS EVE/DAY section of our West Seattle Holiday Guide. Also, we’re featuring last-minute shopping hours for local businesses in the SHOPPING SPOTLIGHTS section – thanks to those who’ve already sent their info – we’ll add whoever else we hear from, same email address! Christmas Eve hours in particular, but we’ll also note special days/times in the next four days, too.
Doubling up again tonight in case you’re going out to look at lights on this non-rainy night:
Lots of brightly lit apartment/condo balconies in West Seattle, particularly along Alki and Harbor Avenues. Josh sent photos/video of this one: “Awesome!! On Alki Ave & 56th.” [map] Note the video in the display:
In Gatewood, Yma‘s photo comes with a story:
Santa rides again! My favorite blow-up, Santa riding a polar bear, went kaput at the end of last December. I thought he was a goner – but family urged me to try & fix him. I ordered a new motor/blower, carefully did a replacement & voila! Come see him & his buddy Mariachi Santa at 4116 SW Portland [map].
Thanks again to everyone who’s contributed locations/photos (westseattleblog@gmail.com) – still time to get more in, as we hope to keep it going through New Year’s Eve – every place we’ve shown is archived here and listed in our Holiday Guide.
As noted on Saturday, the Holy Rosary School tree lot at 42nd/Dakota is now closed for the season. This morning, an update: “Free trees and garland behind Holy Rosary School, while supplies last.”
Continuing our double features – we have two TV-inspired displays tonight:
In Admiral, Don Rice is again presenting West Seattle’s own “Charlie Brown Christmas.” He sent the photo and message: “Charlie Brown and the gang are happy to be back for the 46th year at this location: 2128 47th SW.” (Here’s a map.) P.S. If you’re a fan of the annual special, tomorrow night’s the only time this season that it’s on over-the-air TV – 7:30 pm Sunday, PBS channel 9.
Also in North Admiral, a display for “Doctor Who“ fans:
The photos are from Alex – “Tardis and Daleks for Christmas. SW College St & 41st.” (Here’s a map.)
We’ll keep showcasing lights through New Year’s Eve – let us know what you have or what you see, location (with or without photo) – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you! Past spotlights are archived here and listed in our West Seattle Holiday Guide.
With a lot of light-viewing likely this weekend, we’re stepping up to two featured displays per night. Tonight – two set to music!
In Gatewood, Mark and Jo are again presenting Austin Street Christmas Lights – here’s a sample:
They explain, “We have a number of songs synced to music – just tune your car radio to 100.9 as you get close, and you’ll hear the music. This year, we added some new spotlights that make the house even more colorful, and a button to hear the music from the sidewalk. We’ll have the music on from 4 pm to 10 pm. You can find us on SW Austin Street between 37th and 39th.” [map]
Meantime, Brian tells us about a display in the 3800 block of 36th SW [map] and sent the link to this:
Brian says, “My neighbor has a great musical Christmas light show set up. Music is playing on FM 99.5.”
Got lights? Seen lights? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you! (Every place we’ve showcased is listed in our Holiday Guide and archived here.)
(West Seattle branch manager Ginger Wasylik with Santa)
With Christmas Eve one week away, Santa will soon have to focus on preps back up at the North Pole, so today is one of your last chances for photo ops. Until 6 pm, he’s at HomeStreet Bank in The Junction (4022 SW Alaska; WSB sponsor), all welcome to stop by for DIY pics – and cookies.
Bring a nonperishable-food donation for the West Seattle Food Bank if you can! (See the rest of Santa’s pre-Christmas schedule in our West Seattle Holiday Guide.)
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