West Seattle, Washington
03 Wednesday
That’s part of the pile of Toys for Tots donations dropped off at the office of Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor) this season. John Moore sent the photo and these words of gratitude: “HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE IN OUR WEST SEATTLE NEIGHBORHOOD for their generous contributions to the toy drive. We were overwhelmed and thrilled to be able to deliver these toys to kids in need.”
P.S. Got a donation drive/giving tree/etc. still in progress? Let us know if it’s not already in our West Seattle Holiday Guide‘s “Giving Opportunities” list!
(WSB photo from 2018 St. Nicholas Faire)
One of this weekend’s big events is the St. Nicholas Faire, a one-of-a-kind holiday shopping event and nonprofit benefit, with one major change this year: It’s happening on Sunday afternoon instead of evening. The Faire is at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle, just north of The Junction at 4105 California SW, 1-4 pm Sunday (December 15th). Its central event is a silent auction of a huge variety of custom-made gift baskets with themes including:
Children’s Books
Air Fryer
Children’s Science Gear
Beer & Wine
Gardening
Baked Goods
Seahawks Gear
Olive Oil/Vinegar
Framed Photos
Kitchen Gadgets
Tools
U of W Gear
Holiday Items
Barware
Baking Tools
Storage Containers
Art Supplies
Tea & Coffee Items
Also gift certificates/cards for local businesses. The St. Nicholas Faire has a small admission fee that benefits local nonprofits, and it’s less if you bring nonperishable food for the West Seattle Food Bank. P.S. If you’ll be driving to get there, the church has a big parking lot in back.
Though West Seattle Lights is no more, the neighborhood near that show’s former site is still full of holiday spirit – including Wyatt‘s house at 40th and Charlestown. Wyatt notes, “Our whole block is also very festive again this year.” Thanks for sending the photo! More tips – with or without photos – appreciate at westseattleblog@gmail.com; you can scroll through our archive of Christmas-lights coverage by going here.
(WSB photos)
For tonight’s West Seattle Christmas lights spotlight, we head back to the north half of the peninsula – Doug and Diane Hintz sent word of their display at 3403 SW Manning.
They’re on a corner, which means multiple sides to admire!
We’ll keep featuring lights nightly through Christmas – now just two weeks away – if you have a suggestion, whether your own display or one you’ve seen, let us know – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you! (Our archive of previously shown lights is here.)
Another fun-filled holiday weekend is days away, featuring two unique events in The Junction:
(Photo courtesy West Seattle Junction Association)
PAJAMARAMA, SATURDAY AM: That mug is one of the potential bonuses to a new West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays event – shop in your jammies this Saturday from 9 am to noon! Junction merchants invite you, “Gather friends and mugs, as we’re having a pajama party. Shop in your pajamas, enjoy free cocoa, whipped cream, and sprinkles at the cocoa filling station. Why stop at home in your pajamas when you can shop here! When you shop in jammies and spend $20 or more, you’ll receive a limited-edition diner mug too. Supplies are limited, so come early.”
Imagine the photo opportunities. Speaking of which, before the weekend’s out:
(Photo courtesy Cocoa Cris Cringle)
COCOA CRIS CRINGLE, SUNDAY PM: There’s no Santa photo like a photo with Cocoa Cris Cringle at Easy Street Records (California/Alaska), and he’ll be there Sunday (December 15th), 4-7 pm: $20 includes the use of hats, props, and candy canes. Proceeds benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. Bonus: “This year we have live musical accompaniment with keys by Hugh Sutton; I will be singing some holiday classics!” P.S. Pets welcome.
We’re now one week from winter solstice, eight days from the start of Hanukkah, two weeks until Christmas Eve, three weeks until New Year’s Eve. So another reminder – please keep sending listings for the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, which is a living document, with frequent additions as info comes in and deletions after events are over, all the way through January 1st. It includes holiday-season performances, church/synagogue services, shopping events, donation drives, New Year’s Eve bar/restaurant parties, and much more – no fancy “press releases” or flyers required for a listing, just send us the basic what/where/when/who info, westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(WSB photos)
They were making a list and checking it twice as honorary Santa helpers very early this morning – the Rotary Club of West Seattle and hundreds of volunteers, teaming up for the Rotary’s annual Children’s Shopping Spree.
It meant a very, very early start to the day for all involved, but smiles prevailed – here’s West Seattle Rotary president Dave Nichols:
The Rotarians and volunteers converge on Sears-Southcenter (the nearest one since the SODO closure five years ago) to await the arrival of kids from local schools chosen as this year’s recipients:
This year, five schools had students participating – Gatewood, Lafayette, Roxhill, and West Seattle Elementaries, and Pathfinder K-8.
The kids were accompanied by grownups to go shop for practical items like shoes.
But there’s always some fun too, and food:
This is one of the biggest projects every year for the West Seattle Rotary, which has been sponsoring the Children’s Shopping Spree for almost half a century!
(WSB photos/video)
Nowhere near freezing at tonight’s West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays tree lighting, but it “snowed” anyway! That’s Junction Association executive director Lora Radford above with the proof. She got a shoutout tonight from Jack Menashe, founder of Menashe and Sons Jewelers (WSB sponsor), in his short speech before he and Santa Claus lit the tree:
He also expressed gratitude for the West Seattle community – with hundreds there to hear it. Here’s another angle, short version, just the lighting:
He was joined onstage not only by Santa, but also by wife Linda Menashe and some of their grandchildren:
Hometown Holidays festivities continue through Christmas Eve – tomorrow during the Farmers’ Market, it’s the Cocoa and Coat Drive – bring gently used coats and/or other warm-clothing items like scarves to the booth at the south end of the market, 10 am-2 pm Sunday.
Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo. That’s what the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship – aka Spirit of Seattle – looks like by day. He photographed it during its final West Seattle visit of the season, this afternoon at Don Armeni Boat Ramp. You can still catch it at other stops around Puget Sound and Lakes Union and Washington – here’s the schedule. Our reports on its previous 2019 West Seattle visits are here (November 29, Lowman Beach and Alki) and here (November 30, Salty’s on Alki [WSB sponsor]).
4:36 PM: If you’re not already here, c’mon down to the West Seattle Junction and wander SW Alaska east of California …it’s the Hometown Holidays Night Market until 7 pm (with the tree lighting at 6). 40 vendors, arranged in pockets in the street – food, drink, art, apparel:
Above right, a booth with bowties might be the most unusual one we’ve seen. Also look on the north side of the street for cocoa and children’s activities. We’ve seen Santa wandering, too. And onstage, live music:
Endolyne Children's Choir onstage in Junction Plaza Park pic.twitter.com/mD9sFhpM0k
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 8, 2019
The Not-Its are back this year, due up around 5:15 pm. More to come
5:29 PM: The sparkly Not-Its, rocking the park:
6:10 PM: The tree is lit! Separate report on that later. The Night Market continues until 7.
ADDED: More video from the musical performances – first, a few bouncy moments from The Not-Its, as they invited the grownups to join the kids in jumping to the beat – with a promise of prizes:
More to come ….
More local, handmade items to shop this weekend – Tibbetts United Methodist Church (WSB sponsor) has a Makers’ Market until 3 pm today and 11:30 am-1 pm Sunday. All the proceeds benefit the West Seattle Helpline.
Tibbetts UMC is at 3940 41st SW.
Wander into C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) today, you will also find one of the many community events for which the coffeehouse is renowned – the holiday-season Artt and Crafts Fair. Look closely as you browse; for example, Dianne‘s creations, above, include a quilt with proceeds going to an animal rescue. Other items you’ll find at tables around C & P’s biggest room include cards and jewelry.
The fair’s on until 2 pm.
C & P is at 5612 California SW.
8:59 AM: Volunteer helpers from Scouts to West Seattle Timebank members are with the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle until 11 am in the Alki Masonic Center, for the annual Pancake Breakfast! Pancakes, ham, beverages, $10 at the door, kids under 10 free – and it’s sit-down service. Santa photos, raffles, Toys for Tots too. Be part of a 70+-year West Seattle tradition (backstory here). More photos later!
ADDED 10:14 AM: Here’s a look at some of the people making this happen – above and below, the kitchen crew:
Volunteers:
The Kiwanis Club works closely with local high schools’ Key Clubs. Here’s Kiwanian Shari Sewell with Azlin from the West Seattle High School Key Club:
That club is also selling handmade ornaments at today’s breakfast:
And if you bring a Toys for Tots donation … two Marines are here to receive them:
With Santa are Cpl. Kazimir Klossowski and Sgt. Thomas Ledesma. And here from the Timebank, Tamsen and Jacqueline:
The Masonic Center is at 40th/Edmunds.
The tree at the top of the city is shining bright tonight, after
He and other OLG students were part of the festivities – some of the Christmas classics sung tonight were led by 4th and 5th graders:
Also singing tonight, the Starry Crowns – and of course, the crowd!
Brian Callanan emceed, and the crowd heard briefly from OLG’s new-this-year pastor, Fr. Kevin Duggan. The night is also a celebration of giving, with lots of volunteer power going into the event, plus donations collected for local food banks:
After caroling wrapped up outside, everyone was invited inside the Walmesley Center, where cookies enhanced the holiday cheer:
You can enjoy the big tree, and the other lights on the church grounds, at 35th/Myrtle throughout the season. (About that elevation … 512 feet!)
From the lights-and-lightings section of the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide: East of The Junction, music-synched West Seattle Yuletide is bigger and brighter this year.
” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>As explained here, the show will run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, 5-9 pm, until December 20th, when it’ll go nightly. You can find West Seattle Yuletide on the east side of 38th SW between Genesee and Dakota; the soundtrack, audible if you’re on the sidewalk, is broadcast on 101.9 FM if you’re in your car.
(WSB photos/video)
Every holiday season, Nucor Steel – the mill by the bridge – and its workers deliver a big gift to the West Seattle Food Bank, donating food and money. This year, after an internal competition between teams at the plant, the gifts weren’t just big, they were huge. We usually cover the delivery at WSFB HQ; this year we were invited to visit Nucor as they prepared for the delivery, too.
The food totaled almost five tons – 9,501 pounds (double last year’s total) – and required multiple trucks to be loaded for transport to WSFB:
The money donated by employees totaled $1,720. And the company’s match multiplied all that in a big way.
Nucor matched the donation with $2 for each $1 donated and each pound of food donated, so the company gave WSFB $22,442!
Here’s how the Nucor internal competition broke out:
Admin/Sales – 3,351 pounds plus $1,000
Rolling Mill/Shipping – 3,675 pounds plus $430
Melt Shop – 1,295 pounds plus $290
Connex/Emergency Trailer – 1,180 pounds
The Admin/Sales team will be presented with a trophy next week.
P.S. You can help the Food Bank in a variety of ways this season – some are listed in the Giving Opportunities section of the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, and you can also donate food and/or money directly to WSFB!
Before and after the 6 pm tree lighting at Junction Plaza Park tomorrow, you’ll be able to shop a bigger-than-ever Night Market in the street on SW Alaska between California and 42nd. We talked with West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Radford for a quick preview:
You’ll find 40 vendors, 15 of them in partnership with the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, some others in partnership with the Alki Art Fair – “nice combination of local makers and artists.” A couple Junction favorites, too – Bakery Nouveau will have a booth. Meantime, music starts in the park just before 4 pm with Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) – see our previous tree-lighting preview for the full entertainment schedule. Also at the Night Market: Santa! (P.S. Note that this section of Alaska will close to traffic about 11 am for setup.)
Just added to the “Giving Opportunities” section in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide:
John L Scott Westwood has teamed up with the Southwest Boys and Girls Club of King County to ensure 100 in need teenagers will have a Happy Holiday.
Join John L Scott Westwood in helping make the holiday season brighter for this often forgotten age group. Visit John L Scott Westwood (2600 SW Barton St., Suite A6), between NOW and December 18. Take a wish from a needy teenager and deliver your unwrapped gift back to John L Scott Westwood, no later than Wednesday, December 19.
Our teenagers have dreamed big; however, we ask that you keep your gift to $40-$75.
The John L. Scott Westwood (WSB sponsor) office is in the Westwood Village breezeway, across from 24 Hour Fitness.
P.S. Got a “giving tree” or other community-giving drive too? Send us the info so we can include it in the Holiday Guide!
(Photo courtesy West Seattle Community Orchestras)
Two free concerts in five nights! That’s what the West Seattle Community Orchestras have in store for you this season. The first is tomorrow (Friday) night, with the WSCO Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra in concert, 7 pm at the Chief Sealth International High School auditorium. The program includes classical and holiday music, ranging from part of John Williams‘ “Home Alone” score to selections from Georges Bizet‘s “Carmen.” Then next Tuesday (December 10), also in the CSIHS auditorium but with a 6 pm start time, WSCO’s Debut and Concert Orchestras present a holiday salute, including a combination performance of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” inviting you to sing along! All are welcome to enjoy one or both concerts. (For a full lineup of holiday concerts and other performances, see our WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!)
(WSB photos)
On this first Shop Late Thursday of the season, it’s Holiday Open House night at Menashe and Sons Jewelers (4532 California SW; WSB sponsor).
(Jack Menashe and sons – left, Josh; right, Jack Jr.)
Big sale – storewide 40% off (except Rolexes), with selected 60%/70%-off cases – and treats:
We found some VIP visitors – including Santa Claus and West Seattle Junction Association executive director Lora Radford:
You’re invited to visit too – this is on until 9 tonight.
P.S. As the holiday-shopping season continues, keep checking the list in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!
Grab your minions and get to Lafayette Elementary (California/Lander) before 7 pm to enjoy the first night of the Winter Lights Festival!
Cute outdoor displays include this pathway lined in lights:
It’ll be open Friday night, 5-7 pm, too. Cookies, cocoa, coffee available too!
P.S. And note that Friday night at Lafayette, you’ll also be able to shop the Craft Fair and Book Fair.
9:40 AM: Again this year, members of the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices NW Real Estate (WSB sponsor) are hosting a showing of “The Polar Express” (trailer above) at The Admiral Theater – and they have some free tickets available to the public if you RSVP ASAP. The showing is this Saturday (December 7th), 10 am, and you can only attend by RSVP’ing through one of the sponsors, Alice Kuder, first-come, first-served – email or call/text her, alice@alicekuder.com or 206-708-9800. Alice adds, “There is a limit of 5 tickets per family/group. We are providing free snacks (cookies, tangerines, coffee and hot cocoa) and the concession stand will be open. We will have a Toys for Tots donation barrel at the venue, for anyone who might want to donate. We have 10 co-sponsoring agents this year: Debbie Kerns, John Traweek, Karen Grace, Christian Jacobson, Larissa Wilson, Chariti Powers, Nadine Bivins, Darryl Eng, Ken Knoke, and me.” We’ll update this announcement when the tickets are gone.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: All tickets taken!
(2018 WSB photo)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Saturday is the busiest day of the holiday season in West Seattle.
Why fix your own breakfast when somebody else is ready to cook for you, with the (low) price you pay achieving more than simply filling your belly?
Any time between 7 and 11 am Saturday, you can walk into the Alki Masonic Center in The Junction, sit down, and enjoy fresh-made pancakes (secret recipe!), ham (not just ANY ham – more on that later), and more. Beverage included! If you pay in advance – online – it’s only $8, though even the at-the-door price of $10 is a deal. Kids under 10 accompanying a paying adult get to eat free and get a photo with Santa Claus, too.
This is all thanks to the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle. It’s not only a bargain breakfast, but one with a backstory – three-quarters of a century worth. Looking ahead to this year’s breakfast, we talked with the club’s historian Denis Sapiro. He’s the “default” historian, he explained, now that he’s been a member for 40+ years.
We talked about logistics too – breakfast for hundreds over the course of four hours. But in some parts of the country, he notes, there are pancake breakfasts serving thousands! (Rodeo days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, among them.)
Here in West Seattle, the Kiwanis pancake breakfast is a tradition for kicking off the heart of holiday-shopping season in The Junction (lately, the shopping starts much earlier, but this is still a huge day of event, including the Junction Tree Lighting). It’s changed venues over the decades. The Masonic Center (which has a big room that’s a popular event venue, with a sizable parking lot) is just the latest in a long line. One past venue was on the second floor of the old Hancock Fabrics store, part of what used to be on the 39th/Alaska site that holds Spruce (LA Fitness plus apartments) now. Another past venue was at the time home to the West Seattle YWCA, just south of the Masonic Center, current home to Origins Cannabis. “People would line up even in the rain and snow,” and Kiwanians took hot coffee around while breakfastgoers waited patiently to get in.
While attendance is lower, the fundraising – which benefits programs such as the Kiwanis-sponsored high-school Key Clubs – is higher. That includes money raised through sponsorships offered to local businesses/organizations. (Again this year, community sponsors include WSB.)
(WSB photo, Kiwanis board members)
Selling advance breakfast tickets is a weeks-long activity. Along with the online sales, you can buy discount tickets from club members on several Sundays – you’ve probably seen their hot-coffee booth at the south end of the West Seattle Farmers’ Market. In years past, some members have been star sellers – Denis will tell you the story of Oscar “who used to walk the streets and go into every business and sell tickets, he could sell a thousand!”
Along with fundraising, the pancake breakfast is also a toy drive – bring new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots. The Kiwanis added it more than a decade ago “because people want to give more than the cost.” They also offer a few tables in the room to nonprofits; the now-defunct West Seattle Hi-Yu used to be there each year, selling Christmas ornaments. This year, you’ll have an opportunity to meet West Seattle Timebank members.
The volunteers who help make it happen include Boy Scouts as well as Kiwanis and Key Club members – the students helped by Kiwanians, giving back. Though Kiwanis is part of a larger, worldwide organization, Denis explains, “we really can quickly change our focus to the need of the community as our members see it … we can get projects from the parent organization but can also do our own thing. We decided working with the high-school kids was really important.”
Now to the logistics: “Because we’ve been doing it for so long, we have a well-organized method,” Denis explains. Two longtime members do the shopping, once they’ve estimated the turnout. The pancake recipe is secret (though we’re told it involves Krusteaz mix), and they use two pancake-batter dispensers made in White Center by a company that sells them all over the world, Food Equipment Design (read about its co-founder Yvonne Belshaw here).
About the ham – it’s from Husky Deli! Though that business’s always-big holiday open house is the night before, Denis says, Jack Miller himself warms and slices it for them by 6:30 am so it’s “ready for us to pick up and take down” to the breakfast site.
They serve breakfast with “real” plates and silverware, so this is a more sustainable event than you might expect. And thanks to the volunteers, there’s table service; it’s NOT a buffet-type setup. But getting to work in the kitchen is the prized duty that morning – “always competitive,” says Denis. “It’s fun to be there cooking with your buddies.”
(2018 WSB photo)
That includes former club members who come back just to help out with this special event.
So special, Santa himself has been part of it since the 1980s, when they had to use Polaroid cameras for instant photos, in the pre-smartphone days.
Ready to buy your ticket? Scroll down this page. Then just show up at 4736 40th SW between 7 and 11 am on Saturday (December 7th) and enjoy breakfast, knowing you’ve just become part of a longtime West Seattle tradition.
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