(SDOT camera at California/Alaska, a section of street that’ll be festival-filled Thursday night-Sunday)

Three days to West Seattle Summer Fest 2017, coming up in The Junction this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! We’ve talked a lot about Summer Fest Eve/WS Art Walk on Thursday night – including updates in last night’s preview – so in this update, we’re pointing you to more information about who and what you’ll find during the festival.

SHOPPING & MORE: You need all three days of the festival to see/shop/meet everyone you’ll find there – both the vendors and organizations with booths, and the year-round merchants, many of whom are offering sidewalk sales (after all, that’s what the festival used to be – the summertime sidewalk sale!). Some people like to show up at the festival and discover who’s there, but if you would rather plan ahead, or at least get some hints, the list is now online, including links you can use to find out more about who they are and what they do. Find it here.

FESTIVAL FOOD: Also online, the food list – not just which festival-only vendors will be there, but also the year-round restaurants, including those that’ll be serving up specialties on the sidewalk. See them here.

RETURN OF THE ART DIVE: It’s back this year! Find the artists at California/Oregon.

GREENLIFE SCHEDULE: We’ve talked about the mayoral-candidates debate (13 confirmed candidates now!) on Saturday, but that’s just part of what Sustainable West Seattle’s offering at the GreenLife expo, in Junction Plaza Park (42nd/Alaska). Here’s the schedule.

KIDS’ ZONE SCHEDULE: Kid stuff at Summer Fest is more than just the rides – lots of fun activities. See the list and schedule here.

And that’s STILL not all … watch for more previews coming up! Festival hours, by the way, are 10 am-6 pm Friday and Saturday, 11 am-5 pm Sunday, with the beer garden and mainstage music (both on California between Genesee and Oregon – here’s the festival map) running until late Friday and Saturday nights.

We’re continuing the countdown to West Seattle Summer Fest 2017 with some updates:

FIRST, THE BASICS – WHEN & WHERE: In The Junction, on California between Genesee and Edmunds, and Alaska between 42nd and 44th. Also, Kid Zone along 44th north of Alaska.

Summer Fest Eve/West Seattle Art Walk: 6 pm (also when the streets close) to ? on Thursday night.
Summer Fest Day 1, Friday: 10 am-6 pm; music/beer garden until late
Summer Fest Day 2, Saturday: 10 am-6 pm; music/beer garden until late
Summer Fest Day 3, Sunday: 11 am-5 pm everything
Farmers’ Market: Festival weekend only, it’s in the parking lot behind KeyBank, 10 am-2 pm

SUMMER FEST EVE ENTERTAINMENT/ART UPDATES: Bubbleman‘s location is set, 7-8 pm Thursday at Walk All Ways (California/Alaska) … West 5 will host Big Band Blue outdoors, 7-9 pm (see our calendar listing) … Easy Street presents Shabazz Palaces, in-store at 7 pm …

YOU OF COURSE HAVE SEEN THIS … the lineup for the festival itself, Friday-Sunday.

AND BY THE STAGE … new this year, a band-merch tent.

AT THE BEER GARDEN BY THE STAGE … larger this year, thanks to the West Seattle Eagles; you can play giant Jenga and Cornhole, also new.

GO BEHIND THE SCENES – VOLUNTEER AT SUMMER FEST: Not too late to sign up to give some time and get a unique view of the festival – go here.

MORE PREVIEWS … tomorrow!

It’s almost here – West Seattle Summer Fest 2017 starts one week from today. Lora Swift, executive director of the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association, just sent word of a new feature – but there’s a catch – you need to sign up, in person, THIS weekend to get a chance to be part of this NEXT weekend:

We’re planning a pie eating contest during Summer Fest sponsored by A la Mode Pies. People can sign up at A la Mode now through the weekend. Winners will be picked on Monday, July 10th. There are two contests, Saturday and Sunday, 3 pm. We’ll be setting up (during the festival) at the corner by Key Bank.

10 people per contest
-Saturday, adults
-Sunday, kids 8-12 years old

Winners will receive free pie classes and swag.

A la Mode Pies is right in what will be part of next weekend’s festival zone – 4225 SW Alaska, open until 11 tonight, 9 am-11 pm on Saturday, and 9 am-10 pm Sunday. Much more Summer Fest preview info (including Summer Fest Eve) to come!

Just a week and a half until West Seattle Summer Fest 2017 – the peninsula’s biggest party of the year, in the heart of The Junction. While much of the lineup is locked in – like the main-stage music schedule – some of the fun takes shape during the festival, like the street entertainment, aka busking. Here’s the invitation, from the West Seattle Junction Association:

Summer Fest Dates and Times:

Thursday, July 13: 6 pm – 9 pm (Summer Fest Eve/Art Walk night)
Friday, July 14: 11 am – 6 pm
Saturday, July 15: 11 am – 6 pm
Sunday, July 16: 10 am – 5 pm

The organizers at Summer Fest invite you to join one of Seattle’s most vibrant street parties of the year. Buskers of many types perform at Summer Fest each year. We welcome performances with instruments and tools ranging from acoustic instruments, performance art, odd instruments, puppets, bubblesm to magicians. Buskers enrich the already busy streets at the festival by adding to the overall festive feeling.

There are two locations at Summer Fest where performers can entertain the crowds for 90 minutes at a time. Due to the crowds, amplified music is not permitted. All Summer Fest performers are required to wear a performer’s name tag and log into the official busker book. You may place a tip jar on the street. To perform at Summer Fest, visit the information-booth manager who is located at the info booth. You’ll find the info booth at the cross section of the “Walk All Ways” at California Ave and SW Alaska St.

Busker spots are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Any busker who plays outside of the designated spots or performs outside of the rules will be removed by festival staff.

For questions, please email the festival at info [at] wsjunction [dot] com

(WSB photo from 2016 Seafair Pirates Landing – the crowd can be as much fun as the Pirates!)

As mentioned a bit earlier in our continuing coverage counting down to big summer events, the Seafair Pirates Landing is one week from tomorrow, 10 am-6 pm Saturday, July 8th, on Alki Beach. This year, the Pirates are expected around 2 pm, but the music starts at 11 – here’s the lineup we just received:

11 am – North Seattle Ukestra – they’ll be rockin’ tiny instruments in a big way!

12 pm – Skates! – infectious, original punky power pop!

1 pm – The Delridge Boys – rockin’ the classics from the ’50 through the ’80s!

2 pm* – Pirate Landing and Revelry – *Timing is approximate – tides and pirates, you know!

3 pm – Queen Anne’s Revenge – bringing on the upbeat R&B, rock, blues, and other favorites!

Also from the announcement:

Alki Beach will be filled with mermaids, kids activities, live music, and craft and food vendors to celebrate the Pirates’ arrival in style. Additionally, the Alki merchants will be on hand up and down the street with their fabulous food, beverages, and wares available. The event is free, family friendly, and open to the public!

If you’re new – this all generally happens around the Alki Bathhouse, at 60th SW/Alki SW. But exactly where the Pirates storm ashore in that vicinity tends to vary year to year.

11:20 AM: A bubbly start to the Morgan Junction Community Festival, thanks to one of today’s first performers, the legendary Bubbleman. Until 5 pm, here’s what you’ll find in and around Morgan Junction Park (and behind Zeeks Pizza [WSB sponsor] and Whisky West):

*Entertainment and food

*Kids’ activities

*Vendors, local businesses, community organizations

We’re here too, on the north side of the festival zone. The Morgan Community Association makes the magic happen every summer and it’ll continue until 5 pm. Updates ahead!

11:56 AM: Lunchtime! Our top recommendation – wander over to West Seattle Thriftway, kittycorner from the festival zone, and get a fresh-grilled lunch – proceeds go to help cover the festival costs. Michele is at the grill, as always:

You’ll also find food carts/trucks in the festival zone, too – The Tamale Guy, Das Brat Wagen, Mini the Dough-Nut, Sweet Bumpas Ice Cream.

Meantime, Soyaya is playing in the park

12:15 PM: Two more reasons to come by – First, as we reported earlier this week, David Graves from Seattle Parks will be there starting around 12:30 pm to talk with people about the Lowman Beach seawall situation. We’re told he’ll be in space 3 in the vendor zone behind Zeeks/WW. See the alternatives, and tell him what you think. Then 1-2 pm on the north side of the festival zone (right behind where we are!), 1-2 pm, you can join in the Spatter of Morgan – getting paint all over the future park expansion zone.

Speaking of paint, kids can have their faces painted until 3 pm, which is also when craft activities are continuing until. Lots of other fun stuff at booths including, right next to us, West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs (do YOU know where YOUR hub is?) with the Wheel of Disaster.

Don’t miss it. This side of the festival, north of the park, is also where you’ll find the Westside Neighbors Network, the West Seattle Timebank, and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. That’s a strength of this festival, a chance to talk up close and personal with lots of your neighbors outside the more formal settings of meetings, etc.

12:52 PM: Same goes for the Southwest Precinct police who are here all day with the Mobile Precinct (Mounted Patrol officers are likely to stop by at some point too) – this is your chance to talk with them in a non-emergency, non-meeting situation. It’s a very mellow festival – Gary Benson is performing some classics right now, just his voice and guitar.

1:12 PM: The Mounted Patrol’s here now, we just found out.

That’s Justice. The Mounted Patrol is based near Westcrest Park here in West Seattle; one of their ranks, Harvest, just retired.

2:19 PM: Balloon artist Kevin just wrapped up – he got lots of raves today:

Other creativity happening – you can paint the Spatter of Morgan:

That’s on the fence around the future Morgan Junction Park expansion site at the north end of the festival zone. And kids’ crafts are on until 3 pm:

Over in the vendor zone, you can talk to Dr. Ryan and Dr. Wendy from GoodMed Direct Primary Care (WSB sponsor) to find out more about staying healthy via their unique membership-based care:

The crew from Seattle Fire Engine 37 – the closest one to Morgan Junction – was here for a while, and we got this photo before they had to head out to a medical call:

The festival continues until 5 – onstage it’s the Brian and Janie Show right now, with Yesod following at 4 pm.

3:35 PM: The Brian and Janie Show just ended their set. And light rain just started. Most of the activities are over but vendors and community groups are still here if you haven’t stopped by yet.

4:40 PM: The rain hasn’t stopped, and we’re all packing up. Thanks to everyone who came to the festival today!

Feeling super? Then this year’s Westwood Village Street Fair is the place to be until 6 pm. It’s superhero-themed, and we hear some supers will be stopping by. In the meantime, there are super-sized games (top photo) and bouncy rides, plus of course the traditional train:

While some merchants/vendors have booths in the festival zone (the central parking lot between Ulta Beauty and Bed Bath Beyond), don’t miss the year-round merchants like Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) right across the road, offering a variety of fun freebies:

Free jewelry cleaning inside the shop, too. And bring diapers for WestSide Baby!

There’s mainstage music and other fun too, plus food carts on the south side including fire-roasted corn, close to year-round eateries including Giannoni’s Pizza.

We’re just hours away from the 2017 Morgan Junction Community Festival, presented by the Morgan Community Association, 10 am-5 pm Saturday. We’ve already featured the entertainment and food (here), kids’ activities (here), and now, one more sneak peek – the vendors and community groups you’ll find at the festival:

The festival features more than 40 vendors – some new, many returning, who are mostly from West Seattle southern neighborhoods. They will be in the parking lots behind Zeeks Pizza and Beveridge Place Pub, and on Eddy Street. Handmade jewelry and crafts by local artisans make up the majority of for-sale items. A variety of commercial vendors will be there to provide information on their services and/or products. Community and local government organizations are eager to educate festival attendees about their activities and how interested citizens can get involved.

Morgan Junction Businesses

Super Supplements
Madrid Frame, LLC
Second Gear Sports
Good Med Direct Primary Care

Handmade Jewelry/Crafts

Ginger Jewelry Design
Flying Feather Designs
Maureen’s Jewelry and Photographs
Penguina Designs
Beadz-N-Mor
Lia’s Jewelry and Art
Queen Beads
Snooter-doots
DabbaWalla Bags
Endolyne Children’s Choir – with a music-themed craft activity
The Community General Store
Nepenthe Massage and Boutique – on-site massage therapy
West Seattle Electric and Solar
West Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Seattle in Color

Edibles

Dolcetta Artisan Sweets – handcrafted chocolates, caramels
Italian Ices
Puddles Barkery – Homemade dog treats

Meals and Food Services

Smith Brothers Farms
Hello Fresh
Dream Dinners

Community/Government Organizations

West Seattle Democratic Women
34th District Democrats – voter registration, community information, and outreach
Southwest Historical Society
Seattle Emergency Hubs – emergency preparedness
Seattle Public Library
West Seattle Food Bank
Westside Neighbors Network
Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
West Seattle TimeBank
Urban Homestead Foundation

Also

Eldercare Consulting, LLC
Daystar Retirement Village
The Kenney
Church of the Nazarene – Morgan Junction
Hopelink – information on King County transportation options and resources

As always, we’re among the festival sponsors, and we’ll be at the festival and publishing updates throughout the day, so come say hi. It’s all happening on the west side of California SW, north of Fauntleroy Way, in and around Morgan Junction Park.

P.S. See the full schedule in the official festival program on the MoCA website.

Thanks to the Morgan Community Association for the photo – its banners are up with days to go until the MoCA-presented Morgan Junction Community Festival this Saturday! It’s happening in and around Morgan Junction Park (west side of California SW half a block north of Fauntleroy Way), 10 am-5 pm on June 17th. We previewed the food and music earlier – today, the kids’ activities, as announced by MoCA:

Jennifer Young, owner of My Three Little Birds in the Morgan Junction, is coordinating the children’s activities.

Chief entertainment for the kids is The Bubbleman, of course. He begins his always-pleasing wild and colorful show at 10:30 am in Morgan Junction Park. Craft activities start at 10:00 at the north side of the park. Face painters and a balloon twister artist will be on hand between 10:00 and 2:30. (Sponsors for kid activities include Counseling West Seattle, O’Neill Plumbing, West Seattle Vision Clinic, Pillar Product Design Group, Peel & Press, and Daystar Retirement Village.) LuLu Cakes mini-cupcakes will be offered free from 12:30 to 1:30 in the kids activity area.

My Three Little Birds, O’Neill Plumbing, and Peel & Press are also WSB sponsors. And we’re among the festival co-sponsors, too. Find even more info in our calendar listing, and we’re expecting more before festival day, including vendor highlights. See you at the park!

West Seattle Summer Fest is just a little over one month away – Friday-Saturday, July 14-16, in the heart of The Junction. The one-sheet embedded above (PDF version here) is the official community notification that the West Seattle Junction Association-presented festival (with co-sponsors including WSB) is coming up. We’ve of course been looking ahead to it for a long time now, including first word of the music lineup in mid-May. Here’s the official festival poster:

Summer Fest is West Seattle’s biggest party of the year, in the heart of The Junction, in the middle of the street, from California SW north of Oregon (where you’ll find the main music stage and the beer garden) south to Edmunds, and SW Alaska on both sides of California. Be sure your calendar also sets aside Summer Fest Eve – Thursday night, July 13th – because as soon as the streets close for setup, it’s West Seattle Art Walk night and special pre-festival fun. Lots more festival info coming up in the days and weeks ahead – and watch westseattlefestival.com!

(WSB photo: Bubbleman at 2015 Morgan Junction festival)

The first big neighborhood festival of summer is now only eight days away – the Morgan Junction Community Festival, in and around Morgan Junction Park, on the west side of California SW just north of Fauntleroy Way, 10 am-5 pm on Saturday, June 17th, presented by the Morgan Community Association. Here are some entertainment and food highlights, from Susan Madrid with the festival-organizing committee:

The music kicks off with the Endolyne Children’s Choir at 10 am. Soyaya, featuring exciting African rhythms, performs at 11:15, right after the Bubbleman (10:30). Gary Benson, local solo guitarist, plays at 12:30. The Brian and Janie Show, rocking out with top 40 dance/pop hits and classics, comes on at 2:15. The music wraps up with Yesod, a three-piece eastern/western string and percussion ensemble, from 4:00 to 5:00.

Food offerings are:

The Tamale Guy, who was very well received last year. They will offer three different fillings, served with their excellent Mexican slaw.

Das Brat Wagen will grill up a variety of German style gourmet dogs, including two kid-friendly items.

Mini the Dough-Nut will be serving cooked-to-order doughnuts with traditional or create-your-own toppings.

Sweet Bumpas Ice Cream, our local ice cream guys, offer 100% homemade ice creams and sorbets with a creative and creamy touch. Flavors are inspired by the seasons and always have a special twist.

West Seattle Thriftway will be grilling burgers in front of the store from around 11 until 3. Proceeds from sales go to funding next year’s festival.

An Italian Ice cart will be set up behind Zeeks Pizza in the vendor area. The rest of the food vendors and eating area will be in the Beveridge Place Pub parking lot.

That’s just part of what you’ll find at the festival – we’ll have more previews next week!

West Seattle Summer Fest 2017 (with sponsors including WSB) is just five and a half weeks away, July 14-15-16. Two notes today:

VOLUNTEERS: West Seattle’s biggest party of the year needs volunteer power! If you can help – an orientation event is planned tomorrow night, 6 pm at the West Seattle Junction Association offices (4210 SW Oregon, above Shadowland). What kind of volunteer help is needed? WSJA’s Lora Swift replies, “The Summer Fest opportunities range from pre-festival activities like the SF street team – placing posters around West Seattle. I’m also looking for people who would like to write some content about the festival and bands. Maybe do some interviews. Before the festival, we’ll need help setting up. During we’ll need volunteers in the kids zone, info booth, sponsorship stewards. All kind of soft serve jobs, I want to make this a fun experience for the people who are giving their time.” You can sign up by going here.

BAND-LINEUP POSTER: We brought you first word of the Summer Fest band lineup back on May 17th. Today, WSJA is out with the official poster:

Here’s a YouTube playlist so you can get into the mood!