West Seattle, Washington
10 Monday
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.
(WSB photo from 2018 lighting)
From the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide: A huge weekend of holiday happenings starts Friday night at the highest point in the city, 35th/Myrtle, with Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s “Light Up the Night“ celebration – tree lighting, caroling, and a food drive! Here are full details from OLG:
The holiday season hits a high note on December 6th outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and School in West Seattle for the lighting of the “tallest” Christmas tree in the Emerald City. With its roots at roughly 500 feet above sea level, in Seattle’s well-named High Point neighborhood, the “OLG Tree” is back in 2019 to mark the holiday season in a fun, family-centered “Light Up the Night” celebration.
All are welcome to “Light Up the Night,” at the corner of 35th Avenue SW and SW Myrtle Street, at 7 p.m. on December 6, 2019.
For the past decade, OLG has hosted a “Light Up the Night” gathering, and all the old favorites are back. The event will feature Christmas carols led by the Starry Crowns, cocoa, coffee, and snacks from the Knights of Columbus, and 9,000 lights on OLG’s tallest evergreen tree—visible from the West Seattle Bridge! There is no fee to attend, and all are invited to experience this West Seattle holiday tradition. OLG’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) sports program is the prime sponsor for the tree lighting and hopes kids of all ages can enjoy the event.
“We can’t wait to host West Seattle’s best Christmas tree lighting again,” said Dan Campbell, CYO’s Athletic Director at OLG. “This has been a great way to kick off the holidays with Seattle’s ‘tallest’ tree. Everyone is welcome to join us and light up the night!”
In addition to the lighting of the tree, carols, and holiday snacks, “Light Up the Night” is asking for donations of non-perishable food items for our local food banks. Help “fill the sleigh” for those less fortunate in our community and enjoy a great evening in West Seattle!
Three weeks until Christmas Eve – so it’s time to start highlighting West Seattle displays! We appreciate your tips every year. First tip we received this season was from Jim, advising us to check out his brother Ken‘s display at 39th SW and SW Trenton in Fauntlee Hills. So we went by tonight.
Fauntlee Hills is known for more than a few extra-bright displays, but this one truly shines. No way to capture all its characters in one photo, so we recorded a video walk-by too:
Got lights we should feature, whether yours or someone else’s? Tell us where! All our contact options are here. Thank you!
(WSB photo from 2018 Night Market)
This time of year, it’s never too soon to start planning your next weekend. And this one is big. Two major reasons to be in The Junction both days (in addition to holiday shopping with your local merchants):
SATURDAY – TREE LIGHTING AND NIGHT MARKET: It’s more than a tree lighting – it’s an afternoon/evening full of music and shopping! The Hometown Holidays Night Market starts at 3 pm in the street on SW Alaska by Junction Plaza Park (42nd SW/SW Alaska), where this slate of music-and-more leads up to the 6 pm tree lighting. Here’s the updated schedue:
3:45 pm – Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor)musicians start playing in the market,then walk on stage
Welcome: West Seattle Junction Association’s Lora Radford
Emcee: Brent Amaker
4:20 pm: Endolyne Children’s Choir
4:45 pm: School of Rock West Seattle
5:15 pm: The Not-Its
5:55 pm: Santa Claus and Jack Menashe take the stage
6:00 pm: Lighting the tree
6:05 pm: Ceremony ends but Night Market continues until 7 pm
SUNDAY – COCOA AND COAT DRIVE: During the Farmers’Market, bring coats, hats, scarves, gloves (gently used) to warm up neighbors in need!
10 am-2 pm Sunday, look for the tent and bins at the south end of the Farmers’ Market (California/Alaska), and along with the warm glow of knowing you’ve done something good, enjoy hot cocoa – with whipped cream and sprinkles available.
Got a holiday wish to share with Santa Claus? Until 2 pm today, at the south end of the Farmers’ Market, visit Santa’s House, courtesy of West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays (with community co-sponsors including WSB).
Not only can you take a pic with Jolly St. Nick, free holiday face-painting is happening too. (added) That’s courtesy of Verity Credit Union (WSB sponsor), with team members visiting from the nearby (4505 California SW) branch when we stopped by:
If you didn’t get to Santa’s House today – you have another chance, 11 am-2 pm December 15th. Looking for Santa sooner? See the list of local appearances in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!
Spectators lined the shore by Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor) tonight as the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship returned to West Seattle for a second night, with the downtown skyline providing a bright backdrop. Tonight The Dickens Carolers were on board – here are two of their songs:
Full schedule for the season includes stops around Lakes Washington and Union as well as Puget Sound; see it here. There’s one more West Seattle visit, too – next Saturday, 3:05 pm at Don Armeni Boat Ramp, after a 2 pm stop at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park.
(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)
7:28 PM: We’re at Lowman Beach Park, first stop of the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship‘s 2019 season. After about 20 minutes of live holiday music for those on board and on shore, the ship – and the boats sailing with it – will head to Alki Beach, with that stop scheduled for 8:10 pm. After tonight, you have two more chances to see and hear this holiday tradition – 8:40 pm tomorrow (Saturday, November 30th), by Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor SW; WSB sponsor), and then an afternoon stop on Saturday, December 7th, at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1220 Harbor SW), 3:05 pm (following a 2 pm visit to Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park). Video later!
8:41 PM: One boat accompanied the Christmas Ship off Lowman Beach – now that we’re home and getting a closer look at the photos, we can identify it as the Baltic Sea, which belongs to Husky Deli proprietor Jack Miller. Onshore – the traditional bonfire:
(added) Video, with two songs:
The Kirkland Choral Society was singing tonight.
ADDED 9:58 PM: Two photos received by email – thank you!
That one’s from a neighbor in the Lowman Beach area. Below, from David Hutchinson, during the Alki visit:
Again this year, The Christmas People are planning to make the holiday merrier, with your help – especially if you can bake and donate cookies. We just received the announcement:
The Christmas People will gather again at Alki Masonic Center, 4736 40th Ave SW, on Monday, Dec. 23, Tuesday, Dec. 24, and Wednesday, December 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help in the kitchen during those hours; also needed, 3,000 homemade cookies, which may be dropped off.
Each day we will prepare 350 meals in full-size aluminum trays for women’s shelters in downtown Seattle. On Christmas Day we will host homeless, veterans, seniors, and those who need a meal. From noon to 4 p.m. there will be a full complimentary holiday buffet in Alki Masonic Center Dining Room. This is our 21st year. For further information, contact Fred Hutchinson at 206-719-4979 or pialley@jps.net
12:54 PM: Today is Native American Heritage Day, and the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse and Cultural Center in West Seattle (4705 West Marginal Way SW) is the perfect place to honor that. While you can visit year-round, today (and five more days this holiday season) brings an extra reason – the Holiday Native Gift Fair and Art Market. Participating artists and other vendors are lining both main public areas.
Art, apparel, jewelry, drums, carvings, teas, and body-care items are among the merchandise. The fair is on until 5 pm today, 10 am-5 pm again tomorrow and Sunday, and then a second 3-day run December 13-14-15. There’s overflow parking in the former bus lot across West Marginal, and a crossing guard.
ADDED FRIDAY NIGHT: More photos:
The art above is by Terrance Guardipee; the drums below, by Sharon Byerly of Drums and Dreams:
11:43 AM: Great morning for a parade! The Macy’s Holiday Parade downtown featured both Chief Sealth International High School (above) and West Seattle High School (below).
Though the parade also includes Santa, inflatables, costumed characters, dogs, and the Salty’s (WSB sponsor) Nutcrackers, students from all over Western Washington – Sequim to Centralia – are the stars.
ADDED 2:11 PM: Photos and longer clips. First, the cheer teams:
The bands:
And the Salty’s Nutcrackers:
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