West Seattle, Washington
06 Saturday
9:40 AM: Again this year, Alice Kuder and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices NW Real Estate (WSB sponsor) colleagues Debbie Kerns, John Traweek, and Amelia Scherker are hosting a showing of “The Polar Express” (trailer above) at The Admiral Theater – and they have some tickets available to the public if you RSVP ASAP. The showing is this Saturday (December 8th), 10 am, and you can only attend by reservation through Alice, first-come, first-served – e-mail or call/text her, alice@alicekuder.com or 206-708-9800.
P.S. from Alice: “We are providing free snacks (cookies, 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.”
LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Alice says all the tickets are spoken for. Have fun!
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With Christmas now three weeks away, it’s time to start our nightly look at Christmas lights around West Seattle. We want to hear from you about bright and beautiful holiday displays! Tonight, the folks at Quail Park Memory Care Residences (WSB sponsor), which opened this year in The Junction, invited us to take a look at their first display.
Photos seldom do justice to light displays, so you’ll just have to go see for yourself – 4515 41st SW. Two other Quail Park holiday notes – as noted in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, they’re offering gift-wrapping to Junction shoppers, 10 am-4 pm the next three Saturdays (December 8th, 15th, 22nd), free (but they’re accepting donations for the Alzheimer’s Association if you are so moved). Quail Park is also sponsoring the Hometown Holidays Santa Bus in The Junction the next two Sundays, 10 am-2 pm, leaving from California/Alaska.
Suggestions for lights to spotlight? E-mail us at westseattleblog@gmail.com – photos welcome too!
(WSB file photo)
If you haven’t already seen the schedule in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship visits West Seattle and South Park this week! Here’s where and when you can gather on the shore and enjoy being serenaded by seasonal sounds:
Friday, December 7th:
-7:55 pm at Lowman Beach Park (7017 Beach Drive SW)
-8:40 pm at Alki Beach Park (near the Bathhouse, 60th SW/Alki SW)
Choir of the Sound will be aboard.
Saturday, December 8th:
-3 pm at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park (7900 10th Ave. S.)
-4:05 at Don Armeni Boat Ramp (1222 Harbor SW)
-9:10 pm at Salty’s on Alki (1936 Harbor SW; WSB sponsor)
Rainier Youth Choirs will be on board.
Each stop usually lasts about 20 minutes.
More than 20 nonprofits await you right now at the only “shopping” event of its kind this season – the third annual West Seattle Alternative Giving Fair, happening in the Fellowship Hall at Fauntleroy Church. It’s a simple idea – you make a donation to a nonprofit in the name of someone on your list, and you’ll get something to give them to explain the gift. Our preview has the list of who’s participating. You can even meet Ivy!
Ivy’s from Reading with Rover. More photos later. The fair continues until 4 pm today.The church is at 9140 California SW.
Jack Menashe – known for his family’s Christmas-lights-laden home – got to throw the switch on another set of lights tonight: The ones decking the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays tree.
Joined onstage by wife Linda Menashe and four of their 12 grandchildren, he praised West Seattleites for loyalty to their community, and Junction Association executive director Lora Radford for her hard work to strengthen the business district. The lighting event’s format was different this year – instead of packing entertainment and speeches into a half-hour or so preceding the lighting, this year the entertainment was spread across the two hours before the ceremony, which itself lasted just a few minutes, starting with Lora introducing Santa and the Menashes:
Junction Plaza Park was shoulder-to-shoulder for the countdown:
The West Seattle Junction @wsja tree is on! pic.twitter.com/WIDJMvipzS
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 2, 2018
In case you missed the performances, we recorded some highlights – here’s the School of Rock-West Seattle performers:
Endolyne Children’s Choir (whose annual holiday concert is next Saturday):
We featured The Not-Its in our earlier Night Market report; the entertainment slate opened with Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor). After the lighting, it was back to browsing the Night Market, maybe even saying hi to Santa. Lots more Hometown Holidays festivities to come – including Shop Late Thursdays – one of which includes the holiday-season West Seattle Art Walk on December 13th – and the Santa Bus on two Sundays, December 9th and 16th. It’s all in our WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, too.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
West Seattle holiday spirit spread 12 miles south to Tukwila early this morning, as the Rotary Club of West Seattle led a sleighful of volunteers at its annual Children’s Holiday Shopping Spree.
After the SODO Sears closed almost five years ago, the Rotary moved the event to Southcenter, where buses brought about 100 students from five West Seattle schools starting just before 7 am – Highland Park, Arbor Heights, Sanislo, and West Seattle Elementaries, and Louisa Boren STEM K-8.
Each arriving group got an ovation from the nearly 200 Rotarians and other volunteers who started their Saturday pre-dawn to provide the kids a holiday event to remember.
First school arrival at West Seattle Rotary Shopping Spree – big cheers for Highland Park Elementary! pic.twitter.com/TXiTas1xpc
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 1, 2018
The kids get to shop for practical presents like coats and shoes:
They received fun gifts too – Rotarians donated small toys for goodie bags, for example. And a hearty breakfast is always part of the “spree”:
The West Seattle Rotary has been doing this for more than 45 years. Every year, volunteers from other organizations help make it happen, from student groups to community fraternities and sororities:
Lots of logistics involved – this year’s Rotary ringleader was Gary Potter of Potter Construction (WSB sponsor):
The Shopping Spree is one of several community projects every year for the club, which has lunch meetings every Tuesday and welcomes visitors.
A fabulously festive night is under way in The Junction – midway through the Hometown Holidays Night Market, biggest one ever, with dozens of vendors on SW Alaska between 42nd and California. Kids’ activities too, courtesy of Hope Lutheran Church‘s booth:
Look who’s also here:
You can shop for gifts and treats here as well as the nearby year-round Junction merchants:
And there’s music onstage in Junction Plaza Park leading up to the tree lighting at 6 pm – The Not-Its are just wrapping up.
The Not-Its gone wild during @wsja Hometown Holidays gig that just wrapped up. Tree goes on at 6! pic.twitter.com/dZeFehRxDi
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) December 2, 2018
The Night Market’s on until 7. (We’ll have a separate report on the tree lighting later.)
While the wide view of the Menashe Family‘s brightly lit home at 5605 Beach Drive SW is iconic, we stopped on this year’s first official night Friday to notice some of the details:
There are reindeer … but there are also mice!
And a train:
As noted here earlier, the Menashe Family Lights were featured in an episode of ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight” on national TV this past Monday. If you missed it, the episode is available online right now to “verified” viewers, and should be available next week to all.
P.S. One more reminder that Jack and Linda Menashe are scheduled to join Santa in The Junction at 6 tonight, lighting the Hometown Holidays Christmas Tree.
Yet another stop on this busy Saturday – The Kenney (WSB sponsor) is welcoming visitors for a rummage sale, bake sale, and bazaar!
7125 Fauntleroy Way SW, until 3 pm.
All dressed up for a pic with “Santa Paws”! Thanks to Don for sending the photo. Pets – and/or people – are welcome to come get free pics at Windermere West Seattle in The Junction (4526 California SW) until 1 pm.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle invites you to join them for breakfast at the Masonic Center – the club’s 72nd annual Pancake Breakfast, on until 11 am.
You get not only food and drink (orange juice, coffee, etc.) but also a heaping helping of holiday spirit – Scouts and Key Club members are volunteering, Marines are collecting new, unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots, and Santa Claus is there for holiday photos.
(Chief Sealth IHS Key Club members)
(Scouts from Troops 41169 and 284)
(Cpl. Kazimir Klossowski and HM2 Mallory Michaels)
If you haven’t already bought your ticket, it’s $10 at the door for adults, and kids under 10 who are accompanying them get to have breakfast for free! You can also check out the fundraising raffle and bake sale. The center’s at 40th/Edmunds – entrance is off the parking lot. (WSB is among this event’s community co-sponsors.)
The last 2 stories we covered Friday night before the power outage both involved Christmas lights. Now that the power has stabilized – on with the reports … and the lights:
Click the “play” button in the Instagram window and you’ll see the lighting of Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s big tree outside the church for the first time in five years. Here’s another view:
The parish and school have continued to host a “Light Up the Night” celebration each year, throwing the switch on lights around the grounds and singing Christmas carols, but it wasn’t quite the same. Emcee Brian Callanan thanked the OLG CYO for bringing back the tree lights, which are brighter than we ever remember. The celebration included caroling as always:
And food donations were collected in the sleigh in the lobby of the Walmesley Center:
The tree is on the southeast corner of 35th/Myrtle, near the highest elevation in Seattle city limits, so it’s considered to be Seattle’s highest-elevation Christmas tree.
Even on a rainy night, the annual Holiday Open House at Husky Deli draws a crowd. There’s live holiday music while proprietor Jack Miller and staff serve up samples to their fans.
The open house at 4721 California SW continues until 9 pm. Lots of other holiday events this weekend, in The Junction and beyond – see the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide!
Some cool creations by crafters of all ages are awaiting gift buyers right now in the Lafayette Elementary cafeteria (California/Lander). It’s the school’s holiday bazaar (with a book fair in the library). You can even get your gifts wrapped by students, raising money for a special cause:
From left, Elsie, Maddi, Ethan, Mia, and Maggie are at the wrapping table by the stage – one of their schoolmates, Thea, had e-mailed us to explain, “We are raising funds to buy 100 pairs of socks and shoes by grade level for kids in need.” 100 because this is Lafayette’s centennial. The bazaar continues until 7:30 tonight.
(Tree and donation box at Northwest Insurance Group)
December is about to start and that means it’s peak time for holiday donation drives that have to wrap things up a bit early so they can deliver your gifts! We have three Toys for Tots reminders – where and when to donate new unwrapped toys for kids:
SATURDAY: West Seattle Kiwanis pancake breakfast, 7-11 am (December 1st) at the Masonic Center (4736 40th SW)
THROUGH DECEMBER 10TH: Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor) is collecting new, unwrapped toys in their office on weekdays. (5431 California SW)
THROUGH DECEMBER 11TH: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate (WSB sponsor) – details here. (4700 42nd SW, Suite 600)
ALSO: Harbor Insurance Services is a drop site again this year. (3922 California SW)
Throughout the season, these and other donation opportunities are listed in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – please let us know if you have a donation drive this season too!
(WSB file photo)
Last night, we featured the new entertainment schedule for Saturday night’s Hometown Holidays Tree Lighting and Night Market in and around Junction Plaza Park (42nd and Alaska) – see it here. Tonight, the vendors you’ll find at the market! The latest list from the West Seattle Junction Association includes:
Alki Beach Glass, Erose Creations, It’s Cathy Wu, Basilic, Live Inspired Jewelry, Jessica Heide Illustrations, Semilla Designs, Ramsey Chavez Art LLC, Sheetal Berg, Ranceart, Ugly Yellow House, From Where I See It, Apple Cox Design, Perch Papergoods, Angels Salon, Bakery Nouveau, Dream Dinners, Falafel Salam, Pacific Knotwest, Amarelo Bread, Chelo Cultured Cashew Crème, Timber City Ginger Beer, Patty Pan Cooperative, Seattle Canning Co, Lesedi Farm, Adrienne’s Cakes & Pies, Pinckney’s Cookie Café, La Pasta, Britt’s Pickles, Little Prague, Wilridge Winery, Whole Foods, Hope School, Flemings Lights, WestSide Baby, Trevani Truffles
The market will run from 3 pm to 7 pm on SW Alaska between California and 42nd, and you’ll find Santa there too!
(WSB file photo)
Two days away from one of the busiest days of the holiday season – and you can start it by supporting a local service club while enjoying a festive fresh-cooked breakfast! This is the 72nd year the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle is presenting its holiday-season pancake breakfast, 7 am to 11 am Saturday (December 1st) at the Masonic Center in The Junction. Buy your ticket online in advance (go here) and save $2 – it’s $8 online, $10 at the door. Kids under 10 are free with paying adults, and Santa is there for photos too! If you can, bring a new unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. The Masonic Center is at 4736 40th SW; WSB is among the breakfast’s community co-sponsors.
(2017 Alternative Giving Fair photo courtesy Judy Pickens: At this table, donations were being accepted for gift cards to help low-income families of local elementary students)
This Sunday, you’re invited to the annual “shopping” event where you can spend money yet leave with empty hands, a full heart, and gifts that count double. Stop by the Fauntleroy Church Fellowship Hall between 11 am and 4 pm Sunday (December 2nd) for the third annual West Seattle Alternative Giving Fair. As Judy Pickens explains it:
This all-ages community event will be a convenient way to select holiday gifts that keep on giving through the nonprofit programs they support.
The 20+ local and international nonprofits coming to the fair are working to reduce hunger and homelessness, enhance education, care for the Earth, and strengthen families and communities. They will welcome donations of any amount in the name of hard-to-buy-for relatives, grandparents, friends – anyone on your list – and will provide something for you to present during gift exchange.
The organizations scheduled to be there:
Compass Housing Alliance
Earth Ministry
Fauntleroy Church Homelessness Task Force
Fauntleroy Watershed Stewardship Fund
Food Lifeline
Friend to Friend America
Habitat for Humanity
Hope of Children & Women
Islandwood Scholarship Fund
Mary’s Place
Reading With Rover
Real Change Homeless Empowerment Project
SeaVuria Girls to Girls
Senior Center of West Seattle
Southwest Youth & Family Services
The Whale Trail
Tiny Homes Project
West Seattle Food Bank
West Seattle Helpline
White Center Food Bank
Winter Wear Project
YouthCare
Fauntleroy Church is at 9140 California SW.
(WSB file photo)
Just three nights until this year’s West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays Tree Lighting, Saturday night (December 1st) at Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska)! We’ve already mentioned the plan is different from years past – primarily that the stage performances will span a few hours during the Night Market, instead of being clumped together preceding the tree lighting. So here’s what’ll happen onstage and when:
4:00 pm Mode Music Studios – holiday singalong
4:30 pm The Not-It’s
5:15 pm Endolyne Children’s Choir
5:45 pm School of Rock West Seattle
6:00 pm Jack Menashe and Linda Menashe, bringing Santa and grandkids onstage to light the tree
The Night Market will be bigger than ever, with dozens of vendors/artists in closed-for-the-occasion SW Alaska by the park – we’ll preview that lineup tomorrow! (And you’ll find many more seasonal events in our frequently updated West Seattle Holiday Guide.)
Two more West Seattle nonprofits to mention briefly before Giving Tuesday concludes:
WEST SEATTLE HELPLINE: This nonprofit provides emergency assistance to neighbors in need – often keeping them from becoming homeless, ultimately a much less costly proposition than getting someone out of homelessness once it happens. WS Helpline has a year-end campaign under way to raise $12,000; if you can help with any amount, go here to donate.
WEST SEATTLE TIMEBANK: “Keep your Timebank Ticking!” is their request. While the WS Timebank is a person-to-person service organization, it doesn’t run itself, and donations help in a variety of ways, including:
Enable the Timebank to pay an annual fee to Timebanks USA for the use of the member’s database where exchanges are made – the heartbeat of your Timebank.
Continue our outreach efforts for new members to expand the variety of your exchanges of time and talents.
Expand partnerships with local, non-profit agencies and businesses to offer you a variety of meaningful volunteer opportunities.
Continue our mission to promote equality, reduce social isolation within our community and build a caring community economy through inclusive exchanges of your time and talents.
Go here to donate.
P.S. As mentioned earlier, our Holiday Guide spotlights ways to give throughout the season – including Sunday’s West Seattle Alternative Giving Fair!
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
Giving Tuesday also happens, this year, to be that day in the holiday season when Nucor delivers big gifts of donated food and money to the West Seattle Food Bank. We were there for this morning’s delivery:
The annual gifts are a partnership between the steel mill and its employees – who donate food and cash, which then is matched (and then some) by Nucor.
Above are WSFB executive director Fran Yeatts, Nucor’s Stephanie Sanchez, and WSFB development director Judi Yazzolino, who summarizes:
On this Giving Tuesday, nothing could be more generous than Nucor Steel delivering their check for $17,500 and 3520 pounds of food from their annual employee food drive. The West Seattle Food Bank has such an appreciation for everything Nucor does for not only the food bank but for all the non-profits in West Seattle. They are such a wonderful community partner. Thank you to their employees and to Omega Morgan Machinery for helping deliver and unload all of the food.
You can of course donate to the WSFB year-round – here’s how. (And keep an eye on the DONATION DRIVES list in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – there are places you can donate during the season, such as the bin out front at West Seattle Lights!)
As we head into the heart of the holiday season, here’s a reminder about what’s in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, grouped by event type (whether one-time or ongoing), including:
-Bazaars, business open houses, craft fairs, art sales, other types of special shopping events
-Gift wrapping
-Santa
-Light shows and tree lightings
-Christmas Ship visits
-Trees and wreaths
-Concerts
-Community parties
-Also a special section for West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays, which we’re co-sponsoring
And the guide has even more, such as service schedules, New Year’s Eve/Day celebrations … If your school, business, organization, etc. has something happening that’s open to the public, just e-mail us the info and we’ll get it in the guide – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
(WSB photos from 2017 Tree Lighting and Night Market)
One week from tonight – on Saturday, December 1st – you’re invited to the biggest celebration of the West Seattle Junction Hometown Holidays season – the Christmas Tree Lighting and Holiday Night Market, in and around Junction Plaza Park.
One big difference this year: Rather than an extended tree-lighting ceremony with speeches and songs, there’ll be entertainment throughout the Night Market, and then a simple, fun gathering at 6 pm with Santa lighting the tree. From the West Seattle Junction Association, here’s the schedule:
*Night Market starts at 3 pm
*Endolyne Children’s Choir, 4 pm
*The Not-Its, 4:30 pm
*Mode Music Studios, 5:30 pm
*School of Rock West Seattle, 5:45 pm
*Santa lights the tree, 6 pm
*Night Market continues until 7 pm
It’s a bigger Night Market than ever, in the street on SW Alaska between California and 42nd – more than 40 local artists/vendors selling handmade goods.
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