West Seattle, Washington
31 Friday
Stopped by Admiral Bird‘s kid-friendly New Year’s Eve party around 7:30 pm – moving toward watching the East Coast ball-drop at 9 pm our time – and it was already shoulder-to-shoulder, at kid height and adult height. Kind of like the Times Square experience! We ducked back out quickly so as not to take up space that could be used by the would-be partiers who were still showing up at the door. More West Seattle NYE coverage to come.
(WSB photo from last year’s Rainbow Girls tree-cycling event)
The West Seattle Rainbow Girls just announced they’ll have a by-donation tree-recycling dropoff again this year, on the day after New Year’s: Next, Saturday, January 2, 9 am-2 pm, in the parking lot outside the Alki Masonic Hall, 4736 40th Ave SW. Cash donations accepted. No need to cut your tree into sections – as is requested for city tree-cycling – but no tinsel or flocking, please.
(Last year’s Space Needle fireworks, photographed from West Seattle by David Hutchinson)
This year’s edition of the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide, launched in mid-November and updated all season long, has its grand finale coming up at week’s end – New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. You’ll already find listings from the Highland Park Improvement Club “Not So Silent Night Parade” to the Admiral Bird‘s kid-friendly dance party to the just-confirmed Polar Bear Swim on Alki, but we’re also putting out one last call for anything you want to add, like bar parties/live music, NYD coffee-shop hours, etc. Just e-mail the info ASAP to editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
If you’ve walked past the West Seattle Junction Christmas tree in the past few days, maybe you noticed that single shiny ornament. It was placed there by Wesley and Jacqui, who shared the photos, saying they hope to inspire others to do the same next year and beyond:
We just wanted to share our new tradition of adding our personal ornament to the Junction Plaza tree. We look forward to adding our ornament as soon as the tree is lit next year and hope other West Seattleites can add their ornaments as well.
The West Seattle Junction Association arranges for the lights on the tree and the smaller trees in the park, as part of Hometown Holidays, which WSB co-sponsored again this year. We’ll make a note to get the ornament idea into next year’s holiday coverage; the tree is usually lit on the first Saturday night in December (here’s our coverage from this year)!
(2015 Polar Bear Swim photo by Craig Young)
For everyone who’s been asking: Organizer Mark Ufkes confirmed this morning that the annual New Year’s Day West Seattle Polar Bear Swim at Alki Beach is on:
10 am January 1, 2016 in front of Duke’s on Alki. We line up along the beach, hold hands, and after a short count down, we all run into the water. Last year, more than 500 participated. We go into the water at 10 am sharp after the count down, so get there a little early. Bring water shoes, towel, change of clothes and your hopes and dreams for 2016. Duke’s clam chowder is generously provided by Duke and his crew. This is a great way to wash away the complexities of 2015 and welcome the unlimited possibilities of 2016.
Here’s our coverage from last year.
In case your post-Christmas attention has turned to practical matters: The city’s window for tree recycling is a lot longer this year, as announced by Seattle Public Utilities:
Seattle residents can put their Christmas trees and holiday greens out next to their food and yard waste carts on their regular collection day at no extra charge from Dec. 26, 2015 through Jan. 31, 2016. Multi-family buildings may put out one tree next to each food and yard waste cart per collection day at no extra charge during this time.
Trees should be cut into sections no longer than six feet, with branches trimmed to less than four feet to fit into the collection trucks. Sections should be bundled with string or non-plastic twine. Metal, plastic and ornaments in trees and wreaths must be removed.
Customers may continue to set out holidays greens after Jan. 31 with a fee charged for any that are outside the food and yard waste cart.
Flocked or plastic trees, or trees that have tinsel or ornaments on them, will be collected with the garbage. Customers will need to cut these trees into three-foot pieces and will be charged extra garbage fees if they are outside the garbage can.
Seattle residents can also drop off holiday trees and greens for free at Seattle Public Utilities’ South Transfer Station from Dec. 26, 2015 through Jan. 31, 2016. Tree sections must be cut to eight feet or less in length and the trunk must be four inches or smaller in diameter. The limit is three trees per vehicle. Only trees and wreaths without flocking or decoration may be composted free of charge.
The South Transfer Station is in nearby South Park – here’s a map. It’s open 8 am-8 pm until January 15th; closing time changes to 5:30 pm starting January 16th.
You might recognize that as part of a photo circulated on Reddit and Facebook earlier this week. The backstory went like this: The wrapped gifts fell off a truck on the West Seattle Bridge. The person who picked them up asked for help finding their rightful owner(s). Long story short, the connection was finally made. We heard about it and asked if we could share the story of the happy ending, for all the people who tried to help. Elissa Sommer from Hope Lutheran confirms the gifts finally got to their intended recipient:
Hope Lutheran Church and School was helping a family this Christmas. In the process of delivering the packages, one bag fell off of the truck. The driver was unaware. Two vehicles swerved to avoid the bag but the third vehicle had to stop because he was a large truck. Instead of just pushing the bag to the side of the road in the pouring rain, the driver, Nick, pulled the packages into his vehicle. After trying to find the driver of the truck the packages fell from and not seeing them anywhere, he headed back to work at Plants Northwest in Redmond. He then proceeded to post a picture on both Facebook and Reddit to try and find owners of the packages. Well, we all know that West Seattle people are awesome and many posted ideas to find the owner. Several people from Hope Lutheran Church and School recognized the wrapping. They were soon able to identify and retrieve the packages from Plants Northwest. The gifts made their way to the intended recipient just in time for Christmas. Thanks so much to Nick for being a Good Samaritan and finding the owners of the packages. You truly saved Christmas for this child.
Thanks for the photos!
Karyn shared the photo of the full moon rising over Fauntleroy, seen from the ferry.
Not far from there, a Christmas tree in the wild, photographed by Terri:
She described it as a “nicely decorated and mulched new tree on the bluff at Lincoln Park.”
(From left – Jacob Fay, Jerry Lusher (JB’s grandfather), Eric Bauman, Brandon Lulow)
Thanks to Jennifer Lulow for sharing the photos and story of holiday giving:
Three Seattle Lutheran High School seniors – Eric Bauman, Jacob Fay, and Brandon Lulow – cooked Christmas breakfast for the homeless in memory of their football coach JB Lusher, who passed away earlier this year.
JB did this for his high school senior project and continued serving the homeless every Christmas.
These young men wanted to keep the tradition going to honor him.
They also put gift bags together with hats and gloves that they gave out when they served breakfast.
Thank you to the Lusher family for making this possible!
The trio’s plan was mentioned in this Seattle Times story last month about the football team’s triumphant year as they coped with losing not one but two mentors.
(From the WSB Flickr group – photo by Brian Wirt; click image for full-size view)
Merry Christmas! From our all-season-long West Seattle Holiday Guide:
RESTAURANTS THAT TOLD US THEY’LL BE OPEN TODAY/TONIGHT: Go here for the list (and please note the disclaimer!).
GROCERY STORES OPEN TODAY: Go here for the list of holiday schedules.
The following three types of info can be found by going directly to our guide:
WHERE TO GET COFFEE TODAY: At least five West Seattle coffee shops are open today.
WHERE TO FIND A CHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE: At least four West Seattle churches have services today.
WHERE TO SEE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS TONIGHT: The biggies, plus several other brightly lit homes about which we received tips – thanks!
Here are the transit changes for today:
METRO: Sunday schedule
SOUND TRANSIT: Weekend schedule
WATER TAXI: No service
WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES: Regular schedule for Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth, but some changes on other routes
TRAFFIC CAMERAS: See the West Seattle-relevant cams & links here.
Want to go to the movies?
ADMIRAL THEATER: Open this afternoon/evening (2343 California SW), showing “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Sisters” – here’s the schedule.
Breaking news tips? Lost/found pets?
YES, WSB REALLY IS 24/7/365: Best way to reach us with breaking news, traffic alerts, any changes to the holiday info we’ve mentioned above, etc. – 206-293-6302, text or voice. Have a wonderful day!
On this Christmas Eve, we have a few scenes to share – first, from West Seattle Lights, the music-synched show at 3908 SW Charlestown:
Tonight is special – with free hot chocolate served up starting at 6 pm.
That’s Debbie, who described herself as “sidekick” to WS Lights mastermind Jim Winder, who we talked into posing for a photo while we visited.
He was busy answering questions about the lively display – including one about how he knows how many lights are involved – “do you count them?” we heard him asked. Why, yes, he does. West Seattle Lights continues through New Year’s – see the schedule here (running late tonight, until midnight!) – and you’re invited to show your appreciation by helping out the two nonprofits it benefits, West Seattle Food Bank and Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation. You can bring nonperishable food to drop in the bin in front of the house and/or donate money to WSFB and/or NWPF via the WSL website.
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If you were out and about before sunset – last-minute shopping was busy as ever. Especially grocery shopping, which is where our anonymous Arbor Heights correspondent found this elf and her folks:
Check the reindeer socks on 3-month-old Veda, spotted at Roxbury Safeway. Also this morning, shoppers at Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) were serenaded:
West Seattle Christmas Eve photo to share? editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks as always!
(Menashe Family Lights panorama by Mike Swartz)
Christmas Eve is here. Here’s how to find lots of info you might find useful:
RESTAURANTS OPEN TODAY/TOMORROW: Our list is here.
GROCERY-STORE HOURS TODAY/TOMORROW: Our list is here.
Those two lists have proven to be of the most interest over the years, so we devote a significant amount of time to gathering the information (which generally requires a lot of phone calls). For the next two lists, we put out an open invitation, “send us your schedule and we’ll include it,” so if there’s someplace you don’t see, it’s because they didn’t send theirs:
CHRISTMAS CHURCH SERVICES: In the guide, if they sent their schedule.
COFFEE FOR TODAY/TOMORROW: Same.
Also in the guide:
LAST CHANCES TO SEE SANTA: Three today.
HOLIDAY LIGHTS: Our guide has a list including West Seattle Lights (3908 SW Charlestown), where they’ll be offering hot cocoa tonight, starting at 6. Throughout the season, WSL collects food for the West Seattle Food Bank, so bring something to drop in the bin! (And/or donate to WSFB and the NW Parkinson’s Foundation via the WSL website.)
P.S. If you’re interested in Christmas Eve swimming, Southwest Pool has two sessions this afternoon.
We published a question earlier today, on behalf of a reader who asked, and anyone else who might be wondering: Who’s still accepting toys for Christmas gift donations in our area? Alice Braverman replied:
Navos, a nonprofit organization located in West Seattle and Burien, serves the most vulnerable children and youth in our community. Our clients include school-age children who have been removed from their homes due to neglect and abuse as well as older youth with serious mental health issues. We also serve all ages of low income children and youth with outpatient services in their homes and in over 40 schools. We would be pleased to accept donations of toys to distribute to our clients. We can arrange to pick them up tomorrow morning before noon if anyone in our community would like to donate to Navos and the children we help. Contact us at development@navos.org. Community support is vital to sustaining our programs and services so thank you for your consideration.
If you know of anyone else also still accepting toy donations (or other gift items) tomorrow, please e-mail us and/or comment.
Most of the gift drives we had featured in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide are over now, so that the recipient organizations have time to get everything wrapped and delivered for Christmas. So after getting a reader note asking what to do with unwrapped, unopened toys, we’re asking you: Anyone still in need of donated items for Christmas gifts, toys or otherwise? If so, please let us know what/who and when/where dropoffs can be made. You can e-mail us at editor@westseattleblog.com – we’ll add to the story – or, you can comment below. Thanks!
Three days before Christmas, and just in case you’re wondering, the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide now includes links to our list of restaurants open on Christmas Eve and/or Day, as well as our list of grocery-store hours for those two days. The restaurant list is here; it’s the result of dozens of phone calls, and we know businesses sometimes change their plans at the last minute, so if you have a change or addition, please let us know – editor@westseattleblog.com. Meantime, the supermarket list is here. (If you still haven’t browsed the guide, note that it also includes Christmas Eve/Day church services, as well as New Year’s Eve/Day info, and we’ll continue with daily updates until 2016 is here.)
With lights twinkling and bells jingling, dozens headed out on the ultimate holiday-season fun run tonight – the annual Christmas Lights Run organized by West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), whose proprietors Lori and Tim McConnell led the decked-out way (with Myrtle the greyhound):
This was the first Christmas Lights Run since they moved WSR north to 2743 California SW, but the route included its traditional highlight, the West Seattle Lights/Helmstetler Family Spectacular music-synched light show at 3908 SW Charlestown.
SIDE NOTE: For another on-your-feet holiday tradition, see the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide‘s New Year’s Eve/Day section for the walks organized by the Emerald City Wanderers.
We’ve been looking, and asking, but haven’t come up with much of a list of must-see Christmas-lights displays this year. One theory: With so few breaks in the rain earlier this month, some people missed the usual windows for putting up lights. But we’re still looking – and last night we happened onto a stretch to add to the (short) list in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide: 30th SW between Roxbury and Barton has a lot of spirit, including the home in our photo above. If you have any recommendations – either a spirited street, or a particular house – please comment here or e-mail (editor@westseattleblog.com). Especially in the next few nights ahead before Christmas Eve, looking at lights is a long-held tradition, and we’re always happy to help, so we’ll add whatever turns up. Thanks!
Junction Santa is in the house! It’s a festively decked tent – lots of holiday greenery – on the southwest corner of California and Alaska. Above, Elizabeth was visiting Santa when we stopped by. DIY photos are free but bring a diaper donation if you can for WestSide Baby – right outside the tent, helpful elves are waiting to collect what you bring.
This is all happening as part of Hometown Holidays, until 2 pm today.
P.S. If you miss Junction Santa and are looking for last-minute Santa photo ops in the next few days, keep an eye on the ongoing list in the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.
Today’s final one-time Santa event is under way right now at Easy Street Records – as previewed here earlier this week, Cocoa Cris Cringle is making his seasonal appearance. He might just be the jolliest Santa you’ll see all season; as shown in the photo above, featuring Atticus and Mark, you can be a character too – with hats and props in CCC’s “Theatrical Holiday Photo Funomenon.” And it’s a benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank – good time for a good cause – ESR in The Junction at California/Alaska until 9 pm.
Until 7 pm, “Cartooning Santa” is making his annual appearance at Luna Park Café (2918 SW Avalon Way), not just listening to Christmas wishes but also drawing! With him in our photo above, that’s Mickey. Cartoons and DIY photos are free, by the way – your holiday gift from Luna Park.
(WSB photo: Santa at Emerald Water Anglers, with Nessa and friend)
This afternoon brings multiple Santa Claus sightings in West Seattle – three of them one-time-only, starting with this one at Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor), 42nd SW & SW Oregon in The Junction. Santa’s at EWA until 4 pm, free DIY photos (note the shop’s cool mural as a backdrop!), but they are accepting donations to the Wild Steelhead Coalition if you’re so moved.
With one week until Christmas, if you’re still thinking about helping nonprofits before the holidays, the sooner the better. This morning we have word from WestSide Baby that its holiday closure is coming up fast:
Please note – WestSide Baby is closing for the holidays, including donation dropoff.
In order to perform an inventory and to give staff and volunteers a much deserved break, WestSide Baby will be closing its sites in \ White Center and the Central District for the holidays from December 20th, reopening January 5th.
This means that they will not be accepting donations during this time. Please do not leave donations outside as there are no guarantees they will remain before the sites reopen. If you are interested in donating to WestSide Baby, feel free to bring any items on or after January 5th.
If you’re wondering what WS Baby needs before then – its holiday donation drive info is in the GIVING OPPORTUNITIES section of the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide.
Those are the cheery carolers who showed up this afternoon outside a house near Madison Middle School, to make the season brighter for a seriously ill neighbor. We mentioned the call for carolers here late last night; Marcia wanted to surprise her friend Harold, a retired police officer who loves Christmas. We counted at least 25 people of all ages:
Marcia was going in and out of Harold’s house to be sure he was seeing the carolers – and thto show him some of the singing that she recorded on her tablet. She reports he was touched and called it the best Christmas gift he’d ever received.
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