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West Seattle Grand Parade aftermath report #1: Side notes
July 18, 2009 2:56 pm
|      13 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

Now, the followup to our as-it-happened West Seattle Grand Parade coverage (which you can see here – be sure to follow the photo links!) – we’ll do this in several installments. First: We told you weeks ago that designer/barista/Project Runway star Blayne was going to be the Grand Parade Grand Marshal – but just how grand, managed to stay a secret till Parade Day. That photo’s from shortly after Blayne showed up with his “unicorn” in tow. We heard from Lora at Hotwire weeks ago that Blayne had the idea of riding a unicorn but they weren’t sure they’d find a white horse to fit the bill – they did. Blayne told us that when he showed up to check in, the parade coordinators were impressed, saying they hadn’t had a horseback rider in years. WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli caught him further down the route:

Speaking of design, from the staging area, here’s a famous car – the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) bug, promoting Pencil Me In for Kids, and the car wash at West Seattle Eagles tomorrow – that’s Heather behind the wheel:

Also photographed in the staging area where we all waited along Lander by Lafayette Elementary, the Pathfinder K-8 unicyclists:

West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival president Tim Winston and wife Carol Winston got to make two tours of the parade – after they accompanied the float, royalty and candidates, they circled back to ride in our entry, celebrating West Seattle Volunteers (they are among the first West Seattle Volunteer Recognition honorees announced at the Concert in the Park just this past Tuesday):

Honoree Beth Grieser walked with us too. Other unsung heroes of the parade include the police who keep everything orderly and watch the closed streets – but perhaps the most unique officer on view was Officer Lumpy:

He’s actually a Seafair Clown who lives in West Seattle, and is seen there checking the cab of the concrete mixer that led the clowns’ series of vehicles. Many non-clown officers were IN the parade, too, including the motorcycle drill teams from Seattle Police and Vancouver, B.C., Police – one of the latter got an offer of a cool-down shpritz about mid-route – thanks to Luckie for the photo:

Of course, our favorite parade people of all include YOU! – everybody who lined the parade route. We have loved the parade for so many years and walking in it is a real kick – great to see everybody still out there after more than two hours (we were toward the end of the lineup)

Back toward the start of the route, here’s the smoke clearing from the very first Seafair Pirates cannon blast of the parade – the crowd whooped mightily afterward:

Then back to the end of the route – after you’ve walked 2 miles or so in hot sunshine, the adrenaline can start to wear off – as it did for Junior Member of the Team, who assisted our Volunteers of West Seattle entry mightily by handing out candy to parade watchers all along the way – Christopher caught him in the home stretch:

We’re expecting word shortly of who the judges chose for Grand Parade awards – we’ll publish those in another update as soon as they’re in! P.S. Thanks to Rhonda from The Mortgage Porter (WSB sponsor) for adding tons of parade photos to the West Seattle Blog Flickr group pool – if you’re uploading parade photos to Flickr, please consider doing so too – that way we all have a HUGE pool of great pix!

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West Seattle Grand Parade updates via Twitter
July 18, 2009 9:27 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

What you should see above this paragraph is a box with our latest posts to Twitter – which is easier for us to access while mobile than the site itself, though if any major news happens, we do have access and will publish it separately. When you see a Web address in one of the “tweets” above, it IS clickable, and will lead you to one of the photos we’re sending from the parade (and preps) via iPhone. You can scroll through the latest posts by using the vertical scroller on the right. (Also, if there’s major non-parade news, we’ll include it in the stream above – it’s showing whatever we’ve sent to Twitter most recently, regardless of the subject.) If you just see a big black square above, try refreshing the page. POST-PARADE NOTE: The widget remains “live” and has a buffer limit so if you see this sometime after oh say Saturday night, all our parade stuff may be out of reach, replaced in the widget by newer “tweets,” but you can always look at Twitter online (just go directly to our feed page at twitter.com/westseattleblog and keep clicking “more” at the bottom of the page to go back in time!).

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West Seattle Grand Parade and Kiddies’ Parade today!
July 18, 2009 8:02 am
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

Almost 80 groups/floats/vehicles are on the list for today’s West Seattle Grand Parade – and that means you’ll see hundreds of people participating, from the very low key (like us and those we’ll walk with again this year to honor West Seattle Volunteers) to the bold and brassy – cannon-deploying Seafair Pirates, loud and proud marching bands like the Seattle All-City Band, which got in some practice at school district HQ yesterday:

And remember, there’s more than one parade!

KIDDIES’ PARADE: This happens before the Grand Parade and there’s still time for participants to get back to their seats along the route and enjoy all the sights and sounds. You can walk or ride – just be at California/Genesee and look for the organizers (Rotary Club of West Seattle).

KEEP YOUR TOES OUT OF THE ROAD: The Grand Parade begins with two motorcycle drill teams – Seattle Police and Vancouver (B.C.) Police – and they use almost every inch of the road, so don’t plan on putting your blanket on the street. Here’s another reason you’ll want to stick to the curb:

BE READY TO APPLAUD, SALUTE, CHEER: Plenty of opportunities. You’ll see amazing performers like the Pathfinder K-8 unicyclists and more than a few drill teams. You’ll see the Honor Guard from Fort Lewis. You’ll see famous faces – like Grand Marshal Blayne and the Seafair Clowns’ special guest Jim Dever from Evening Magazine. And you’ll see some of the folks you don’t get to thank for the hard work they do every day, including the police and firefighters (Engine 29 is in the lineup).

ON THE SIDELINES: The official parade lineup is only part of the story. For example, the list only includes three politicians, but we’ve seen notes from several more who plan to be working the sidelines, since this is a big election year for local offices.

FREE, BUT BRING MONEY: With the route on California passing so many West Seattle businesses, you’ll find opportunities to spend. And fundraisers too, like the annual Dogs 4 Cats at Hotwire Coffee just north of The Junction (right at the start of the Kiddies’ Parade route), benefiting Furry Faces Foundation:

3rd Annual Dogs 4 Cats wiener sale this Saturday outside of Hotwire from 11 am to 1 pm. Grab a delicious Hebrew National hot dog or veggie dog and support animal rescue. Cost is $4.00 per dog and we’ll have all the toppings too including the usual stuff plus sauerkraut and even coleslaw. While you’re grabbing lunch browse the tie-dyed shirts made locally or pick up a handmade magnet by WeeJess Buttons.

Hotwire is of course the spot where you’ll want to be back this evening for the first Summer Outdoor Movies on the Wall presentation, “The Princess Bride” – more here.

PHOTO TO SHARE? As always, we’ll have photos and video, but if you’re taking pictures, you may capture a moment that we’d completely miss. We’d love to add that moment to post-parade coverage – editor@westseattleblog.com (or share to the West Seattle Blog Flickr group).

FOLLOW VIA TWITTER: We’ll share photos and tidbits from the staging zone – and from the parade itself (though texting might be a little tough while carrying a big sign) – follow us on Twitter at @westseattleblog or check it from the Web at twitter.com/westseattleblog. (Send us a message if you plan to tweet too!) We’ll also add our “latest tweets” widget here before leaving the house – it usually lives toward the bottom of the WSB Twitter page.

Remember that by 9 am, California will be closed from just south of Admiral to the south end of The Junction – so approach from the side to find parking (or take a bus).

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West Seattle Grand Parade tomorrow: The route & road closures
July 17, 2009 12:07 pm
|      6 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news


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That’s our very simple Google Map showing (top) where the American Legion-presented West Seattle Grand Parade starts tomorrow at 11, (center) where the Rotary Club-presented West Seattle Kiddies’ Parade starts tomorrow at 10:30, and finally, where both end (California/Edmunds). Note that the streets (which are already posted for “no parking”) close around 9 am, according to police – and there are restrictions on a few side streets too, particularly 44th near the start and end of the route, and Lander on both sides of the route because of staging (as we showed last year, which was our first time ever walking in the parade – we’ll be doing that again tomorrow, in celebration of West Seattle volunteers, and some of the newly announced West Seattle Volunteer Recognition honorees have promised to join us) – here’s a staging photo from last year:

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Also in the parade tomorrow, almost 80 entries, including three marching bands (Seattle All-City Band, led by Denny Middle School music director Marcus Pimpleton; Kennedy High School; Sumner High School), two motorcycle drill teams (Seattle PD and Vancouver, B.C., PD), more than a dozen drill teams and cheer squads, plus four good old-fashioned floats (including West Seattle Hi-Yu), and as we reported Tuesday morning, JP Patches is back! Other parade favorites on the list include Art and Gloria, “still married” (2008 photo):

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If you want to get a taste of the past few years’ parades, here’s our archived coverage, newest to oldest.

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West Seattle Grand Parade: JP Patches, another “clown,” more
July 14, 2009 9:21 am
|      7 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

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American Legion Post 160 has finished the lineup for the West Seattle Grand Parade this Saturday – and “Patches Pals” will be pleased to hear that the legendary JP Patches is back! He’s been fighting cancer and wasn’t in the parade last year (our photo above is from 2007), but the lineup says he’ll be riding with Bill and Cynthia Reid again this Saturday just like old times. Speaking of clowns, the Seattle Seafair Clowns announced they’ll have a special guest:

That’s West Seattle’s own Jim Dever from Evening Magazine, clowning around, upside down, in a behind-the-scenes video he posted to his Twitter feed (@jimdever) – Calling Jim “a clown in his own right,” the Seafair Clowns’ news release also notes, “Although not substantiated, Dever claims to be an accomplished concert cellist, foot model and president of the National Association of Male Contortionists.” The Seafair Clowns themselves also have a brand-new vehicle – thanks to West Seattle-residing “Officer Lumpy” for sharing the news (and this link to a look at the vehicle). As for OTHER officers in the West Seattle Grand Parade — with almost 80 entries in all this year, as always, they start with not one but TWO motorcycle drill teams – the Vancouver, B.C. Police right after Seattle’s finest:

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As we reported here a month ago, the parade’s Grand Marshal is designer/artist Blayne, known both for his “Project Runway” season and for his work at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor). The parade starts at California/Lander (by Lafayette Elementary) at 11 am Saturday and continues south on California to the end of the main Junction business district, so stake out your spot anywhere along the way. And all kids are invited to be in the Rotary Club of West Seattle-presented Kiddies’ Parade, which starts at 10:30 from California/Genesee (shorter route and plenty of time to get back to your spot to see the “other” parade!).

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Invitation to join the Rotary Club of West Seattle Kiddies’ Parade
June 3, 2009 12:01 pm
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 |   Fun stuff to do | Rotary Club of West Seattle | West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

That’s WSB video from last year’s West Seattle Kiddies’ Parade, presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle right before the American Legion Grand Parade down California SW. Hard to believe it’s a little more than six weeks till parade day (Saturday, July 18) – but the Rotary has just sent its official invitation to local families to plan to be in the Kiddies’ Parade. It travels a shorter segment of the parade route, starting at Genesee/California [map]; full details, including who to call or e-mail with questions, are on this flyer.

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West Seattle Grand Parade report #6: The winners
July 20, 2008 7:17 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

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From the other side of the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferry run – and a few miles’ drive beyond that – came the winners of both the Float and Overall categories in Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, the Port Orchard Fathoms O’ Fun float (check out the royalty’s dance moves). Our parade coverage continues (previous installments are archived here) with the full list of winners, and more photos, just ahead:Read More

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West Seattle Grand Parade report #5: The pets
July 20, 2008 5:03 am
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

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Thanks to Meredith K. Hailey for sharing her West Seattle Grand Parade photos, including that great close-up of one of the dogs that accompanied the Luna Park Cafe contingent (who won second place in the Commercial category) toward the end of the parade. No cats in the parade, but the next best thing — video of Furry Faces Foundation promoting its fall “Catsino” fundraiser:

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A few more pet sightings from the parade – including the inanimate kind – just ahead:Read More

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Parade report #4: Kids, and the people who help them
July 19, 2008 8:05 pm
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 |   How to help | West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle video

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The kids in that video clip were among the participants in the Kiddies’ Parade presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle right before the Grand Parade — it’s open to all who show up, on a shorter route. There also were many young participants in the bigger parade, as well as entries promoting events coming up to help local kids:

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On the hood of the Illusions Hair Design (WSB sponsor) VW Bug, you’ll see a logo for Pencil Me In For Kids — the pink sign on the car’s sign was a reminder about a car wash tomorrow, 10 am-2 pm at the West Seattle Eagles parking lot, with Illusions staffers scrubbing vehicles to raise money for PMIFK, which buys school supplies for kids in need. And a week from tomorrow, it’s the annual WestSide Baby “Stuff the Bus” diaper drive:

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WestSide Baby‘s Nancy Woodland broke the news to WSB during Summer Fest last weekend, right after First Student offered her organization space on that bus (which took second place in the Community Floats category!) to promote “Stuff the Bus” during the parade (right after the WestSide Baby marching unit) as well as a bus for the diaper collection on July 27. All you have to do is show up at the bus that day – it’ll be parked right next to the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on 44th south of Alaska – with one or more packages of disposable diapers, to help “Stuff the Bus.” Meantime – yet more parade coverage later tonight!

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Parade report #3: The citywide parade stars, in West Seattle
July 19, 2008 4:49 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

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From sword-scraping to cannon-lighting (and firing), that clip captures the essence of a Seafair Pirates parade appearance – the West Seattle Grand Parade is part of a busy summer slate of parade appearances for these swashbucklers. Here’s a snapshot of that cannon-lighting moment (look close and you’ll even see the blue lighter):

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After the jump, video of another multi-parade attraction, the Seattle Schools All-City Band — led by Denny Middle School music director Marcus Pimpleton — and a few other biggies, including a visiting group you DON’T see in most other local parades, the Vancouver (B.C.) Police motorcycle drill team:Read More

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Parade report #2: Before it all begins
July 19, 2008 4:41 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news | West Seattle people

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So before the parade gets to you – whether you’ve set up a creative seating area like those folks we snapped as we walked down the parade route, or whether you’re just standing at curbside – there’s months of behind-the-scenes work, and hours of same-day setup. Participating in the West Seattle Grand Parade for the first time, we got a closer look at some of that setup – and what it’s like to be in the staging area before the fun begins.

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That was the pre-parade view westward down Lander, where we were staged on the south side of Lafayette Elementary School with other “community” entries. Same street, other side of California, is where some major marching entries queued up:

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The flag-twirlers are from the Calgary Roundup Band, which won first place in the Bands category (and would have won “came from farthest away” if that category existed!). More preparade scenes ahead:Read More

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Parade report #1: Art and Gloria, “still married”!
July 19, 2008 2:56 pm
|    Comments Off on Parade report #1: Art and Gloria, “still married”!
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle people

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Back from The Parade. We’ll be presenting coverage in various chunks – photos and video, and with two perspectives – covering it from the sidelines, and participating in it. From the latter viewpoint, we were fascinated to see how everything happens “behind the scenes” BEFORE the parade. Participants are staged in several groups radiating like sun rays from the intersection where it all begins (California/Lander); one of the entries near ours was the couple you see above, Navy veterans Art and Gloria Peters — since we have mentioned them in our parade coverage the past few years, we had to go up and say hello. Art and Gloria have been married 61 years; as the sign on their truck noted, Art’s now 82 and served in WWII and Korea. They live in White Center — “same house, 53 years, it’s all paid for now,” Art notes — and spend some of their time visiting schools to offer history lessons. They’ve been in the parade “four? five years now?” Gloria believes, and participate in other parades too (like the 4th of July parade two weeks ago in Burien) – here’s our video of them from today’s parade, an hour or so after our chat:

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While we were talking with Art and Gloria, one of the Seafair volunteers who help American Legion Post 160 coordinate things on Parade Day came up, gave them a hug, and said it’s good to see them again this year because it reminds her we’re all living longer these days. That occurred to us, too. Many more parade vignettes and pix to come.

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West Seattle Grand Parade today! Here are the basics
July 19, 2008 8:07 am
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 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle Grand Parade

THE ROUTE: At 10:30 am, from the purple marker to the lower green marker, the Kiddies’ Parade travels southbound from California/Genesee to California/Edmunds. At 11 am, between the two green markers, the Grand Parade travels southbound from California/Lander to California/Edmunds:


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WHAT YOU’LL SEE: More than 70 entries, including floats, marching bands, clowns, the Seafair Pirates (who are in a class of their own) – and at the start of the parade, two motorcycle drill teams that perform a block or two at a time, Seattle Police followed by Vancouver (B.C.) Police. Very different styles, and at the end of the parade route, the Seattle officers usually come over to the sidelines to watch their Canadian counterparts.

HOW LONG IT’LL LAST: Lots of variables. Count on about two hours. The traffic restrictions could be in place till about 3 pm at the latest.

WHO PUTS THIS ON: American Legion Post 160 in The Junction presents the Grand Parade. While it is a major highlight of the peak time of the West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival, and Hi-Yu has a unit (float, royalty, volunteers) in the parade, it is not officially presented BY Hi-Yu. The Kiddies’ Parade is presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle.

IF YOU’RE READING THIS BEFORE 10 AM, TWO WAYS TO BE PART OF IT: All kids are welcome in the Kiddies’ Parade; sign up starting at 9:45, California/Genesee (purple marker on the map above). Everyone who’s ever done volunteer work is welcome to join the West Seattle Volunteers Grand Parade Marching Unit (walking the route between a Mini-Cooper), gathering at 10 am at California/Lander (top green marker on the map; more info – and freebie incentive! – here), call 206/293-6302 if you can’t find us.

NEWS DURING THE PARADE: We’ll be setting up an entry atop the WSB home page with the capability for short updates via Twitter, as we did on the 4th of July, so that we can keep you up to date even while we’re covering the parade inside and out.

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West Seattle Grand Parade countdown: Photos from the past
July 18, 2008 9:11 pm
|      2 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle history

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Thanks to Gina Terrana for sending those undated photos of West Seattle Grand Parade scenes in years gone by, taken by her grandmother, Alice Webb. Unless you’re very new to West Seattle, it’s fairly easy to tell where they were taken (though the signage certainly has changed):

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Gina explains that her grandmother was active with Eastern Star, so most of the photos involved Masonic parade entries:

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Gina tells us a little bit more about her grandmother, who died in 1986:

Alice Webb was also the wife of Arthur J. Webb. and the mother of Arthur C. Webb; both owned construction companies that did quite a bit of building in West Seattle. A.C. was the builder behind Fauntlee Hills. A.J. built the brick duplex next to the P.C.C., that was his basic construction style. Both styles of construction look the same to me, but my mother was always able to tell, “my father built that. my brother built this.” Grandma Webb thought that they had built everything, everywhere by the time I knew her.

Now go make your own history and check out the parade tomorrow – watch it from anywhere along the route (map in this post last night) OR if you’ve got some volunteering in your past/present (who doesn’t?) you can join the fun little group that West Seattle community volunteer/organizer extraordinaire Cindi Barker is rounding up, with support from WSB (your editor here will walk with the group, and Junior Member of the Team will be handing out candy on the sidelines – no throwing candy, we’ve been warned, but handing it out is OK). We’re scheduled to be about a third of the way down the lineup of 70-plus entries. The Rotary Club of West Seattle presents the Kiddies’ Parade (all participants welcome) at 10:30 am (sign in @ California/Genesee starting at 9:45 am), American Legion Post 160 presents the Grand Parade immediately afterward, starting at California/Lander.

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West Seattle Grand Parade countdown: Traffic alerts
July 18, 2008 8:14 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Transportation | West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle news

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Though the West Seattle Grand Parade (and the Kiddies’ Parade preceding it) follows a straight line down California (see the map in this post from last night), other streets are affected, as you may have discovered if you came home to signs tonight (if not sooner). We asked one of the lead parade organizers, Jim Edwards – who along with others put in ENDLESS volunteer hours to make this happen – for a general outline of what you need to know tomorrow, from early morning through mid-afternoon – note this is an anecdotal sort of description but hopefully helpful:

Edmunds is open across California, I believe, but Southbound California is still closed to Dawson St East approach.

Northbound California (from south of The Junction) is open to Edmunds, but limited to the curb lane.

Oregon and Alaska will have emergency vehicle access. a soft enforcement of the crosswalks essentially.

44th Ave will be cleared to allow a north south detour between the Junction and Stevens, then it is diverted down to 45th through to Admiral Way

Assembly will close:

44th from Stevens to Lander

Lander from 45th to 41st

42nd from Admiral to Lander will be local access only (Safeway)

41st will be cleared to permit a Metro bypass between Admiral and Kander

Stevens from 44th to California will be local access only (PCC/McDonald’s)

The three blocks between Admiral and Hanford on California are closed first thing in the morning.

If you try to drive through you put in danger the many volunteers who bring this parade to you each year.

and dozens, ….. DOZENS of cars do this every year.

If you must get to Safeway to do your morning shopping…. Follow the detours down to Admiral Way starting at Hanford, (44th and 45th) then up Admiral to 42nd to get to Safeway.

It is well posted. but every year people drive by all these signs, claiming they have to get to Safeway.

We designed this assembly area to keep Admiral Way open throughout the parade, and to keep access to the major businesses open throughout the parade.

Jim also believes Metro will start diverting around 7 am, based on what they’ve done in years gone by. More parade countdown coverage a bit later tonight – including some photos from the past – fun to see what the businesses looked like, as well as parade spectators/participants. And note that everything will be open again by tomorrow night, when Saturday night Movies on the Wall begin in the courtyard next to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) – bring a nonperishable food donation for West Seattle Food Bank – come enjoy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” starting around dusk (stake out your spot sooner); concessions are offered by West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor), with proceeds also benefiting WSFB.

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West Seattle Grand Parade countdown: Less than 36 hours away!
July 17, 2008 11:36 pm
|      4 COMMENTS
 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival

If this is your second or third summer as a WSB’er, you know we are huge fans of the West Seattle Grand Parade, presented during the Hi-Yu Festival by American Legion Post 160 (many call it the Hi-Yu Parade but it’s been pointed out that while Hi-Yu participates, the festival does not PRESENT it, the Post does). We’re now just a day and a half away and thought we’d put together some parade notes of interest. First, the route – California and Lander (Admiral District) to California/Edmunds (The Junction); the purple marker denotes the start of the Kiddies’ Parade at California/Genesee (which also continues to Edmunds):


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The Kiddies’ Parade is presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle (all kids welcome to participate; here’s the flyer with details) and starts at 10:30 am – here’s one entry from last year:

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The Grand Parade follows immediately after the Kiddies’ Parade. Next, if you missed it the first time around, here’s the list of parade highlights, as announced by parade organizers (and we’ve just learned of some late additions, including a Charlestown Cafe entry!). Among the many star attractions: If you thought the Seafair Pirates were a blast on the beach, wait till you hear their cannon fire echo down California Ave!

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That’s just one of the photos we published last year. You’ll find the rest in this 2007 post and the links with which it ends – pointing you to all installments of our parade coverage from last summer. This year’s parade has about 70 entries (including the one we’re helping coordinate; you’re invited to be part of it) – and even if you aren’t so sure you’re “the parade type,” it’s another occasion for West Side Pride, since this is the oldest community parade in Seattle. Tomorrow, the countdown continues (as do the previews of other weekend excitement, including the first “Movies on the Wall” showing on Saturday night — “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”).

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Scenes from Hi-Yu Parade Day ’07: Final installment
July 22, 2007 12:41 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival

Hi-Yu festivities aren’t over yet. The community brunch just wrapped up; the coronation of the next Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu is tomorrow night. But this is the last of our parade reports — a few loose ends, including the list of award winners, a few more pix, and links to other parade-photo galleries out there in WSB-land, after the jump:Read More

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Scenes from Hi-Yu Parade Day ’07, 5th installment: The people
July 21, 2007 11:59 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival | West Seattle people

While we sit back in our fold-up chairs and enjoy the parade, we can’t forget how many people it takes to make it happen — not just the hundreds of participants, but the others behind the scenes. Kudos to the Hi-Yu and American Legion folks, among a legion of others. Now, another group of photos — focusing on people. We start with the Hi-Yu royalty and other Hi-Yu folks (red shirts), who held court on the SW corner of Cali/Alaska (the camera crew you see behind/above them involved Art Institute students who have been shooting video at Hi-Yu events as a project):

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Click ahead for more parade people, from the famous to the oughta-be-famous:Read More

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Scenes from Hi-Yu Parade Day ’07, 4th installment: The wheels
July 21, 2007 11:07 pm
|      1 COMMENT
 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival

Cars, trucks, floats, you name it — if it had wheels, you probably saw it in the West Seattle Grand Parade. Including boats with wheels, like the Seafair Pirates‘ fabled Moby Duck:

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More parade wheels — human-powered, gas-powered, even 100% electric-powered (or so it said), after the click:Read More

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Scenes from Hi-Yu Parade Day ’07, 3rd installment: The enforcers
July 21, 2007 10:16 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival

As always, the West Seattle Hi-Yu American Legion Grand Parade began with two very different police-motorcycle drill teams: Seattle Police and Vancouver (B.C.) Police. Our favorite sight is this one, where the SPD officers stand at Cali/Alaska after their performance so they can watch their VPD counterparts:

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To see the officers actually on their motorcycles — click ahead:Read More

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Scenes from Hi-Yu Parade Day ’07, 1st installment
July 21, 2007 2:10 pm
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 |   West Seattle Grand Parade | West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival

Many more to come later. But for now, four photos, starting with deep-fried disappointment: The Spud Fish & Chips mascot did not show off The Calves (quoth one WSB Team Member, “at this rate, next time the mascot will be in a burqa”):

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We did spot a letter carrier in shorts before the parade, but we were not photographing him for his legs, but rather, his scarf in honor of Literary Phenomenon Du Jour:

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Here’s the parade-watcher with the best seat in over the house:

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Finally (many more pix later), WTG to the Hi-Yu folks who urged the crowd in The Junction to do a “no rain” chant before the parade. Except for a one-minute spray of light mist — it worked. Later tonight, we hear, it could be a different story, so we hope we won’t have occasion to see this parade entry back in WS for something less festive:

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Links to our other parade photo posts:
Second installment (The Kids)
Third installment (The Enforcers)
Fourth installment (The Wheels)
Fifth installment (The People)
Sixth/final installment (The Winners)

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Complete notes from The Parade
July 22, 2006 11:44 pm
|      8 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle Grand Parade

Maybe next year we’ll live-blog it (or live-vlog it?) just for fun. Sadly, we’re not wireless-Internet-enabled just yet. Here are the highlights from our analog notes:

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The coolest two people at The Parade
July 22, 2006 7:40 pm
|    Comments Off on The coolest two people at The Parade
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle Grand Parade

Not going to get to the Mega-Post till the dead o’night. So here’s one more thing:

A lovely senior-citizen couple in their military uniforms, with a banner on their car, “ART AND GLORIA/WWII AND KOREA/STILL MARRIED!” and a smaller banner, “ART’S 80 TODAY!”

Don’t know their backstory but they got lots of applause. And deserved it.

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