High-thin clouds, not too hot, not cold, it’s the “just right” final afternoon of West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction. Belly dancing’s on the “informal stage” here at California/Alaska (by our HQ in the Information Booth) right now; it was TILA Real Estate’s “Minute to Win It” a bit earlier:

(No, that’s NOT Guy from the Food Network. Excellent lookalike, appearing here for his second consecutive year.) And we just heard from Stu Hennessey of Alki Bike and Board with a reminder that his electric-bike/conversion demo is coming up in the GreenLife area at 2 pm (west side of California, just north of Edmunds). Police tell us it’s been a trouble-free Summer Fest from their standpoint. Whether you’ve already been or not, c’mon down for the final hours – booths till 5, music till 5:45. P.S. Shoutout to the North Andover, Massachusetts, family and friends of Alex Young, who is enjoying Summer Fest with West Seattle relatives and dropped by to say hi. Farmers’ Market is on till 2.

2:17 PM UPDATE: That’s Evergreen Tang Soo Do Academy, putting on a martial-arts demonstration a few minutes ago. The sun’s back out, and the blue sky is winning the battle over the clouds. We’ve seen some other sights – they went by too fast even for us to photograph, but we saw someone pushing a dog in a stroller.

3:34 PM UPDATE: The photo’s from WSB contributor Stephanie Chacharon, who explains, “Visit Team Red Footed Boobies outside the post office! Passing out bottled water and boobie cookies in return for a donation to the Susan G Komen Foundation. (And keep an eye out for them at Alki on a sunny day soon!)” Meantime, before the festival ends, we had to go get a photo of this year’s single most-talked-about food item:

That’s the deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It had the buzz all weekend long. Its creators are online, here. (And of course, they’re on Facebook.)

4;24 PM UPDATE: There is a medical emergency right here at California and Alaska – a man collapsed and medics have been giving him CPR ever since they rushed over moments later (we’re told a citizen had started CPR before their arrival). Tables were quickly cleared on the east side of SW Alaska to clear a patch for three fire units that are here. They are about to take the man to the hospital; we will write more about this separately.

4:39 PM UPDATE: Medic 32 has left with the patient, with three other fire units following. Efforts to save him were continuing.

4:53 PM UPDATE: The festival’s wrapping up for vendors; even the info booth will be broken down close to 5, so we’ll have to move on. The last music act starts at 5 – The Fuzz.

Third and final day of West Seattle Summer Fest is about to begin. Vendors are scheduled to be open 11 am-5 pm; music goes till 5:45 pm. Below the map, some highlights:

MUSIC – ALL ON THE CALIFORNIA-NORTH-OF-OREGON STAGE: Here’s the lineup. The live music starts at noon with the 85th Street Big Band, and runs through The Fuzz at 5. The official Summer Fest beer garden is up near the stage, too, by the West Seattle Eagles‘ aerie.

LIVE PERFORMANCES AT CALIFORNIA/ALASKA: Not in the festival guide, but you’ll find a list at the Information Booth. We’ll update this when we’re back on site in a bit, but we know it starts with TILA’s “Minute to Win It” at noon, and later, there’s another Sugar Rush cake-eating contest (above, our photo from Saturday’s edition).

SUMMER FEST KIDS’ AREA: Open 10 am-5 pm today. The rides are at SW Alaska and 44th SW, mostly in the Wells Fargo parking lot but a few actually on Alaska, next to the Farmers’ Market. Here’s our earlier report listing the rides and the pricing. Free activities too – like art!

SIGN UP FOR WEST SEATTLE IN MOTION: WSB is media sponsor for West Seattle In Motion, as noted earlier this week. The “drive a bit less and get fun incentives for keeping track” program, running through fall, officially launched with Summer Fest, and if you sign up at the In Motion booth, we understand you’ll get your free bus tickets and access to other deals on the spot. In Motion is in booths 26-28, on the east side of California, midblock between Alaska and Edmunds

HACK-CYCLE: Last chance to check this out in the corral by Junction Plaza Park (Alaska between 42nd and California). And bring your neglected/no-longer-needed bike, to get a crash course in tool-wielding while transforming it into something new … or show up and help human-power the project. It’s explained here.

GREENLIFE: The sustainability zone is in a parking lot on the south end, just past Bikram Yoga, and east of the 44th/Edmunds Chase drive-thru. Today’s demonstrations start at 11 am with “Green Cleaning Materials,” and continue till “Making Beer at Home” at 5 pm. Full schedule here.

INFORMATION BOOTH:More reps from neighborhood groups will be there today, along with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and WSB (hi!) – we have festival guides and other info about not just Summer Fest but also other big events in the weeks ahead as well as West Seattle in general, come say hi – can’t miss it in the heart of the festival zone, California/Alaska (right under the traffic signals).

(Photos by Stephanie Chacharon for WSB, unless otherwise credited)
Before we roar into West Seattle Summer Fest Day 3, one last round of photos from Day 2. Top photo – a reminder that some of what you’ll see and hear just isn’t on the schedule. For example, WSB contributor Stephanie Chacharon caught up with that musician and reports: “One-man-band Francis Brennan came all the way from Centralia to perform at this year’s Summer Fest. He stumbled upon the final day of the street fair last summer and had so much fun that he decided to return. Keep an eye out for Francis, tapping his feet to the tune of his trusty ‘contrapparatus.’ Like what you hear? He can be reached at onemanbandseattle@gmail.com.” She also spotted this balloon artist outside Petco:

And that’s another reminder to see what the Junction retailers are up to, outside and inside their stores – as the next few photos show!
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If you haven’t browsed the Art Dive at West Seattle Summer Fest 2011, come back and take a look. WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz found Jon, above, with … coyote, um, memorabilia. Not from here, he insists, from NY. Another sight not to be missed, even if you’re not participating – Hack-cycle, which has yielded some creations, like this one we saw circling around by Junction Plaza Park:

Now that Night 2 of Summer Fest is under way, the people are the sights – whether artists, vendors, performers, or festivalgoers. One of the final activities of the day in the informal California/Alaska performance area was belly-dancer Nadira:

Hers was the second belly-dancing performance of the day; one more is scheduled tomorrow (1 pm), after the noon “Minute to Win It” presented by TILA Real Estate. Meantime, music goes till midnight tonight – Curtains For You is up at 7:30, The Bend at 8:45, The Staxx Brothers at 10 pm, and Head Like A Kite wraps up the night at 11:15 pm. And you never know when you might see performers just wandering in the street – it happened just a little while ago:

Food stands are open till 8, but lots of Junction restaurants are open longer, and many have outdoor seating. Most of the vendors have rolled up too. We’ll have some more photos/video to add later, including many more sights from Day 2!

(Scroll down for updates – we’re adding photos and video as the afternoon goes on)

As several of the many awesome people we’ve been able to talk with here at the West Seattle Summer Fest Information Booth (California/Alaska) have observed – the weather is PERFECT. Sunny but not hot. The spirited breeze from yesterday hasn’t kicked up so far, either. The activity area near here has just revved up too – Rob Roy from Fresh Bistro won the veggie-dog-eating contest; Troupe Hipnotica‘s belly dancing is happening now.

Afternoon-long coverage, in the hours ahead; check out our Day 2 “guide” here if you haven’t already. And look closely at booths and stores’ outdoor tables as you wander along – you’ll find drawings as well as freebies – here for example is something for which you can buy a raffle ticket outside the Senior Center of West Seattle (California/Oregon):

WSB contributor Deanie Schwarz took the photo and reports, “Jan Haring and Kim Roper are at the Senior Center Stop and Shop. They and 20 or so other WS seniors made their annual group quilt for a drawing at Rainbow Bingo Night at the Center on Oct. 28th. The 78″ x 92″ textile art ‘Alki Sound’ will be on display at the Senior Center until the drawing.” Deanie also checked out the Art Dive (California SW north of SW Oregon), where she found acrylic artist Hoogen – whose work, she notes, is currently on display at Zippy’s Giant Burgers in White Center:

Nice shirt! (That’s the back of the Lowman Brau T-shirt, a popular item of West Seattle garb we’ve seen here – you can now get Summer Fest T-shirts just SOUTH of the Verizon booth that’s south of the info booth, instead of here in the info booth.)

2:36 PM: Uh-oh, Jeff Gilbert from Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), the Lowman Brau brainstormer, just popped down and told us only 10 of those T-shirts are left, up at the beer garden by the stage/Eagles aerie (California between Genesee and Oregon). Meantime, also stopping by, city Chief Technical Officer and West Seattleite Bill Schrier, who tweeted a pic of your editor here. In the house with us at the moment, the Admiral Neighborhood Association and Fairmount Community Association reps at the “community/neighborhood table” next to ours on the east side, and the West Seattle Be Prepared team is still in the house next to us on the west side.

3:20 PM: That’s the popular Rat City Brass, one of this afternoon’s featured acts up on the stage (remember, there’s ONE music stage). And if you’d like to watch somebody paint, “live,” go see Joseph outside Twilight Artist Collective (SW Alaska just west of California):

4:05 PM: We checked in on the kid zone – Lashanna from Pathfinder K-8 is there; they’re coordinating the free art activities again this year:

Good turnout!

And Clowns Unlimited brings the bouncy rides and climbing wall (if you missed it earlier, here’s the pricing info and hours):

The bouncy rides are scheduled to be in operation till 8 tonight. And keep your eyes peeled to see who’s circulating – the reigning Hi-Yu senior court stopped by the booth (we just missed a photo of them asking a little girl to show her ‘princess wave’):

Also roving to check out the Summer Fest scenes, WSB contributor Stephanie Chacharon – who spotted these two:

Stephanie explains, “We caught Tilo and Imari Calkins dancing in the street while manning the T-shirt booth for David Groves of Seattle Logo Pro. The sisters, who live near Alki, attend Summer Fest every year. If you need to get your hands on a tee, look for these ladies — we bet they’ll still be dancing.” (Note the “West Side” tees, too.)

At 10 am, the biggest of West Seattle Summer Fest‘s three days begins in The Junction. Vendors are scheduled to be open till 8 pm; music goes till 11 pm. Above, the map. Below, some highlights:

MUSIC – ALL ON THE CALIFORNIA-NORTH-OF-OREGON STAGE: Here’s the lineup. The live music starts at noon with Eight Legs to Nowhere. Continues till midnight (Head Like a Kite at 11:15 pm is the last group) – with longtime faves including Rat City Brass at 2:30 pm, Rachel Harrington at 3:45, Massy Ferguson at 5.

LIVE PERFORMANCES AT CALIFORNIA/ALASKA: These are not in the festival guide – but the first ones of the day are a hot-dog-eating contest at 1 pm, Troupe Hipnotica belly dancing at 1:30 pm, Evergreen Tang Soo Do martial-arts demonstration at 2 pm, Sugar Rush cake-eating contest at 3 pm, “adorable child dancers” at 4 pm, Nadira at 5 pm, West Seattle Hi-Yu at 6 pm.

SUMMER FEST KIDS’ AREA: Open 10 am-8 pm today. The rides are at SW Alaska and 44th SW, a few on Alaska, the rest in the Wells Fargo parking lot to the north. Here’s our earlier report with full details on the rides and the pricing. But there are free activities too – like the art zone coordinated by Pathfinder K-8.

ART DIVE: Look for the big tent on California SW north of SW Oregon. Too many participants to list in the guide, but we got a sneak peek from coordinators Twilight Artist Collective in this earlier report (hair extensions!).

HACK-CYCLE: Bring that neglected/no-longer-needed bike, and use cool tools to make something new (and hopefully still rideable) out of it. The Hack-cycle zone is on SW Alaska east of California, across from Junction Plaza Park. Here’s our preview story, with metal artist Rusty Oliver explaining what it’s all about (or if you don’t have a bike, drop by to help provide human power!).

GREENLIFE: The sustainability zone is in a parking lot on the south end, just past Bikram Yoga, and east of the 44th/Edmunds Chase drive-thru. Today’s demonstrations start at 11 am with “Green Cleaning Materials,” and continue till “Making Beer at Home” at 5 pm. Full schedule here.

FESTIVAL FOOD: Most of the food booths are on SW Alaska on both sides of California – but note that many of the area restaurants in The Junction to serve you day in, day out, night in, night out are offering something special, like in more than a few cases, outdoor seating … so wander the whole area to have a look BEFORE you get hungry!

INFORMATION BOOTH: If you just can’t find someone – or have another question – or want to say hi to reps from neighborhood groups, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, West Seattle Junction Association, and WSB (hi!) – you’ll find them all in the info booth is in the heart of the festival area, Walk-All-Ways at California/Alaska.

Before we move on to West Seattle Summer Fest 2011 Day 2, we have a multitude of photos still to share from Day (and Night) 1 – above, of course, The Fastbacks’ reunion, and below, the crowd:

Summer Fest was full of unscheduled moments – like a Seattle Police sergeant atop Seattle Fire’s Ladder 11 as its ladder was extended during its visit alongside Junction Plaza Park:

Also extended: The arms of Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) co-proprietor Jeff Gilbert, in the midday sunshine:

Many more photos, after the jump:

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The first evening of West Seattle Summer Fest 2011 is under way and we still have sunshine here in The Junction – lots of people, too. Everybody’s asking about The Fastbacks – they play at 8 pm at the main music stage, California SW just south of the post office (between Genesee and Oregon). Except for Caspar Babypants at 6:30 pm, right here at California/Alaska by KeyBank, all the music acts are on that stage. (After The Fastbacks, it’s The Cops at 9 pm.) The spot where CB will play in an hour is hosting a jump-rope demonstration by champion jumper René Bibaud and her Ropeworks business, right now (video added):

6:25 PM UPDATE: Big crowd already before Mr. Babypants even starts playing.

If you’re coming to the festival tonight, bring a sweater – there’s a bit of a breeze. P.S. Looking for the trash cans? Keep an eye out for the Zero Waste stations first and foremost – this is one in the middle of the Alaska-to-Oregon block:

If you don’t make it here tonight, Summer Fest revs up at 10 am Saturday.

7:02 PM: Caspar Babypants is still playing. Here’s a bit of video:

Every 10 seconds or so, someone stops by to ask us where The Fastbacks are playing. 8 pm, the main stage up by the beer garden/Eagles aerie/post office. See you there!

8:26 PM: Hanging out just north of the stage. Here’s a quick clip of The Fastbacks (we’ll substitute a longer one when we get back to HQ, music takes a while to upload in the field):

The Cops are up around 9 pm, and that’s the last scheduled music for the evening, though the party will go on at some of The Junction’s regular venues.

9:50 PM: Here’s the long Fastbacks clip, including their intro by Easy Street Records owner Matt Vaughan (joking that he was filling in for Dow Constantine, a nod to the King County Executive’s famous intro for Mudhoney at Summer Fest two years ago):

*NOTE – Even if you don’t see a screengrab, we tested, and the video DOES play, just click the arrow* Wondering about tomorrow’s music? Schedule’s here. It’s *all* on the one stage on the north end of the festival zone, California between Genesee and Oregon – Caspar Babypants was the only performer scheduled for the “informal” area in the heart of The Junction.

We’re into hour three of day one at West Seattle Summer Fest already – and we’ve had sunshine, though the clouds are coming and going too. It’s not too hot, not too cold, just right. Kicking back has begun – earlier, we caught Dave and Dean from West 5, with Dean’s fiancee Quinn, at the Elliott Bay Brewing outdoor area:

It’s not all play and no work, though – as chair of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board, Dave is currently pulling a shift in the Information Booth at California/Alaska, where we are embedded throughout the festival as well. Among the changes this year – food stands on both sides of Alaska:

Thinking about the food you cook at home – longtime WSB sponsor Dream Dinners is here, and if you place an order during the festival, you get a special salad bowl – at left is DD’s Leslie Thomson, with her visiting cousin:

And if you have any concerns about safety – no worries, the police are here:

From left, Southwest Precinct’s Lts. Ron Rasmussen and Ron Smith. When you come to Summer Fest, remember to check out the GreenLife zone down on the south end, presented by Sustainable West Seattle and West Seattle Nursery. That’s where we found Donna Sandstrom from The Whale Trail, showing off one of their new whale-viewing kits:

Want to find out about backyard cottages? Ncompass Cottage Company (WSB sponsor) is there too:

Remember there’s one main music stage this year, California near Genesee, where Ali Marcus was scheduled as the first act, 12:45 pm. There’s one exception – Caspar Babypants will be here at California/Alaska at 6:30 tonight. Much more coverage to come (and other news too) … we’ll be adding to this as the afternoon goes on.

From the SDOT traffic camera pointed north along California SW from SW Alaska – a “live” overview as West Seattle Summer Fest is now officially open! A few more reminders and preview notes, including info from businesses and organizations that shared information when we issued an open invitation, are ahead – but first, the basics:

TODAY’S HOURS AND HIGHLIGHTS: 10 am-10 pm, with vendors till 6 pm and food till 8 pm. The music schedule is here – Caspar Babypants is at California/Alaska (informal performance area) at 6:30 pm and the long-awaited The Fastbacks reunion is at the California-north-of-Oregon stage at 8 pm. The vendor list and map are here. Kid-zone rides/pricing/hours here.

HACK-CYCLE – BRING THAT NEGLECTED/OUTGROWN BIKE: If you missed our story about metal artist Rusty Oliver‘s participation in Summer Fest to help you transform a neglected/outgrown bicycle into a work of hopefully rideable art – see it here. Just make sure the bike you bring is still intact. The Hack-cycle area is on the east end of the SW Alaska festival zone, by Junction Plaza Park (next to bicycle parking and other recycling).

HELP SUMMER FEST BE AS GREEN AS IT CAN BE: Just in case you missed this call for volunteers, one more time – the Zero Waste effort at Summer Fest could use a few more bodies:

Volunteer Friday 3 pm-8 pm or Sunday 11 am-2 pm. Help educate festivalgoers on how to recycle and compost. Help make the festival a Zero Waste event! Contact Liz@wsjunction.org ASAP …

ONE MORE WAY TO BE GREEN – CORK RECYCLING AT BIN 41: Got wine corks? Bring them to Bin 41 wine shop, on the west side of California just south of SW Alaska:

Many of you are aware (and have been contributing, thank you!) to our cork recycling efforts at the bin. We’re teamed with Recork of Amorin, serving as a Public Collection Partner. Cork is a renewable, fully reusable natural material. Let’s join together to keep the life cycle of this amazing product in action. WE WANT YOUR CORK. This weekend we’ll have our collection box outside at our table to get the word out. Bring in a minimum quart size bag of corks (natural only, sorry no synthetic / plastic) and enter your name into our cork-a-thon raffle. We’ll draw the winner of a wine accessories medley on Sunday before we close.

SPEAKING OF WINE (AND BEER): Tastings in The Junction during Summer Fest – Bin 41 has its regular Friday night tasting tonight, 6-7:30 pm (details here) … The Beer Junction (4707 42nd SW) has Friday and Saturday tastings this week – 5-7 pm tonight, it’s 21st Amendment Brewing.

SALES, SALES, SALES: Honoring Summer Fest’s origins as The Junction’s “sidewalk sale,” many merchants are offering deals – be sure to shop the stores that line Downtown West Seattle 365 days a year, in addition to browsing the festival booths. Among the sales: Summery items at WSB sponsor Click! Design That Fits (detailed on their blog-format website) … Again and A Gain children’s consignment store on California SW just south of SW Edmunds is offering this sale: “$5 off Keen Sunport sandals, 20% off Giggles dance / costumes and Half Off selected Girls Dresses, Boys Tops, Toys, Crib Aquariums & Bedding, Baby Baths and Maternity Wear!” … WSB sponsor J.F. Henry has its big sale under way too, as detailed in our official “welcome” story yesterday … And Easy Street Records has its traditional megasale too.

HEALTH FREEBIES: Freebies at Summer Fest include this one that West Seattle Whole Health Center e-mailed to tell us about – free acupuncture and Pilates lessons, on this schedule:

Free acupuncture: Friday 10 am – 1 pm, Saturday 10 am – 2 pm, Sunday 2 pm – 5 pm* – Free Pilates: Friday 1 pm – 4 pm, Saturday 2 pm – 6pm, Sunday 11am – 2pm

You can look WSWHC up on the vendor list (which links to a clickable map), booths 155-157.

KIDS’ ACTIVITIES: We just snapped that photo of Laurie Paul, director of Bright Horizons-West Seattle at Summer Fest – BH is a major sponsor of the kids’ area in the Wells Fargo parking lot at 44th/Alaska. We published pricing/ride info in this story yesterday, but remember there’s plenty of free fun too, including art activities coordinated by Pathfinder K-8.

LOTS more to come – we’re live on site at the Summer Fest information booth at California/Alaska, along with reps from the festival-presenting West Seattle Junction Association, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood groups, and more). (But no worries, we’ll be covering lots of OTHER West Seattle news throughout the day too.)

(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
You can’t have a festival without … relief. So this was one of the most important arrivals in The Junction tonight, after the West Seattle Summer Fest zone was closed to traffic and open for both festival setup and general WSSF eve revelry:

In the street outside Elliott Bay Brewing, the Bubbleman is an annual Summer Fest Eve tradition. During the festival itself, you’ll see fun performances in a not-quite-a-stage area set up right at California and Alaska:

And while there are long rows of booths for vendors and groups both local and non-local, remember your West Seattle Junction businesses are really bringing it for the big weekend too:

One of The Junction’s newest businesses, the Tuscan Tea Room, was putting up a banner for its new features. Just down the block, West 5 hosted the band Diminished Men – outdoors, of course:

We’ve received info from other local businesses, and that’s going into our morning preview on the other side of dawn, along with a reminder of some of what we’ve already previewed over the past couple weeks – Summer Fest starts up at 10 am Friday; Team WSB is in the Information Booth at California/Alaska once again this year, wave as you walk by! (Music schedule, vendor list, GreenLife demo schedule, maps, and lots more can all be found at wsjunction.org/summerfest.)

As the West Seattle Summer Fest motto goes, “Let’s close the streets and see what happens.” And as of this evening, till sometime Sunday night, closed they are – California SW between Alaska and Edmunds, and Alaska between 44th and 42nd. Setup is under way, but so is fun – The Junction’s third Shop Late Thursdays of the summer (till 9 pm – participating businesses are listed here), and more. We’ll have a full report later, but just wanted to remind you about the streets, for starters. P.S. Can you help make Summer Fest as green as green can be? There’s a need for volunteers on two shifts:

Volunteer Friday 3 pm-8 pm or Sunday 11 am-2 pm. Help educate festivalgoers on how to recycle and compost. Help make the festival a Zero Waste event! Contact Liz@wsjunction.org ASAP …

P.S. Our favorite pre-Summer Fest photo thus far:

Summer Fest officially opens tomorrow morning at 10 – we’ll be in the information booth again this year (at California/Alaska); come by and say hi!

The kids’ activities for West Seattle Summer Fest – in The Junction tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, with co-sponsors including WSB – are headquartered in the Wells Fargo parking lot along 44th SW, north of SW Alaska. You’ll find art activities coordinated by Pathfinder K-8, which are free, and you’ll find the bouncy rides, which are not. For your planning purposes – the West Seattle Junction Association shared the pricing information from Clowns Unlimited, which provides the inflatable rides/activities. All-day and three-day passes are “unlimited use”:

General Info – We will be featuring 10 rides this year – Dual Lane Slide, Tub’s O Fun, Bounce Slide Combo, Circus Train, Wacky World, Swing Chair Ride, Carousel Bouncer, Fire Truck Slide, All Star Obstacle Course and Climbing Wall. To play on all of these rides one time would cost the participant $23.75. …

Friday – Hours: 10 am to 8 pm
1) All Day Pass = $17.00 per person
2) Three Day Pass = $35.00
3) Individual Tickets = $1.25 per ticket (Each ride takes one to four tickets each)

Saturday – Hours: 10 am to 8 pm
1) All Day Pass = $17.00 per person
2) Two Day Pass = $27.00
3) Individual Tickets = $1.25 per ticket (Each ride takes one to four tickets each)

Sunday – Hours: 10 am to 5 pm

1) All Day Pass = $15.00 per person
2) Individual Tickets = $1.25 per ticket (Each ride takes one to four tickets each)

Yet another Summer Fest preview in the pipeline for later. Reminder, road closures in The Junction kick in at 6 pm, and that means some bus changes too.

Two days till The Junction is alive with festival fun as West Seattle Summer Fest 2011 takes over the streets for three days (and two nights), this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Actually – if this is your first summer here – keep in mind the streets are scheduled to close at 6 pm tomorrow (Thursday) evening for setup, so the stirrings of Summer Fest are even closer. The basics are on the Summer Fest website – the vendor list/map here, music schedule here, GreenLife live-demo schedule here, kids’ area info here, etc. But we’re also checking around for more preview tidbits. Here are a few:

ART DIVE! Again this year, The Junction’s own Twilight Artist Collective is organizing the tent full of artists showing and selling their work. We asked Twilight co-proprietor Mary Enslow who’s hot/new – overall, she says, “We’ve got a great lineup.” From that lineup, she mentions Lady Plume’s Hair Designs, specializing in the hot new trend of adding dyed-feather extensions to your hair. “With Lady Plume, customers will be able to customize their feather combos and get them added to their manes on-site.” Mary also says that jewelry designer Lyndsay Brown will be back with Idle Hands Designs: “Her one-of-a-kind pieces are made from sterling silver, semi-precious stones and vintage elements.” And Solstice Designs, “Twilight’s former floormate from our days in the Pike Place Market … will be selling a variety of handmade goods locally made including lots of hair embellishments.” Overall, according to Mary, “At Art Dive, patrons can meet the maker and buy paintings, clothing, jewelry, magnets, photographs and more!” Look for the tent on California SW north of SW Oregon.

WHILE YOU’RE ON THE NORTH END OF SUMMER FEST … stop by Hotwire Online Coffeehouse, WSB’s inaugural sponsor. Proprietor Lora Swift tells us she’ll have a “special Summer Fest menu,” with West Seattle-themed offerings. Hotwire is at 4410 California SW, just south of SW Genesee (with the courtyard that’s home to West Seattle Outdoor Movies, starting the weekend AFTER Summer Fest; 1st movie is Saturday night, July 16th – full schedule here!).

BUBBLEMAN IS BACK ON SUMMER FEST EVE: We confirmed with Elliott Bay Brewing today that, as has become a pre-Summer Fest tradition, the legendary Bubbleman (recently seen at the Morgan Junction Community Festival) will be in front of the restaurant/pub on Thursday night, always a treat for families enjoying wandering the shut-down streets while festival setup gets under way. This year, it’s a Shop Late Thursdays night, 6-9 pm, participants listed here – and Diminished Men will be playing outside West 5 at 7 pm, too.

If you’re a business with a Summer Fest sale, we’re collecting that info for our next preview, and you’re welcome to share a few datapoints so we can include them! editor@westseattleblog.com

Less than a week till West Seattle Summer Fest 2011 (with co-sponsors including WSB) rocks The Junction … and there’s more information online now, so you can start planning your time there:

GREENLIFE AT SUMMER FEST: Exhibits and live demonstrations will be the highlights of this year’s sustainability expo on the south end of the festival zone – and the list of demonstrations is now live on the Summer Fest website; find it here. For example – 4 pm Friday (July 8th), Connie from West Seattle Nursery has the (s)coop on raising backyard chickens; 5 pm Saturday (July 9th), Micah from the West Seattle Tool Library shows you how to make beer at home; 1 pm Sunday, Stu from Alki Bike and Board shows you how to make your bike electric-powered … and lots more before, after, and between all those.

REMEMBER, STREET FESTIVAL MEANS STREET CLOSURES … If you’re new, or otherwise in need of reminding, Summer Fest setup, enjoyment, and breakdown means the streets in the heart of The Junction will close starting this Thursday evening and will stay closed till next Sunday (July 10) night. The north edge of the closure tends to vary slightly year to year but keep in mind that the blocks of California from Oregon to Edmunds and Alaska from 44th to 42nd are closed no matter what.

… WHICH MEANS A FUN CHANCE TO EXPLORE ON SUMMER FEST EVE: Come down and wander those closed streets during Shop Late Thursday in The Junction, 6 pm-9 pm.

YES, THERE’S ONLY ONE STAGE, BUT … one act on the Summer Fest music list (see all 24 acts listed here) will be in the informal performance area at California/Alaska (by the Information Booth, where we’ll be helping out again this year). That would be Caspar Babypants, performing at 6:30 pm Friday, and you’ll see other types of fun performances and demonstrations in that area throughout the festival. P.S. The official stage for the other 23 performers/groups is on the north end of the festival zone, California SW between SW Oregon and SW Genesee (see the map above).

REMEMBER THE ‘HASHTAG’ … if you use Twitter, include #wssummerfest with your Summer Fest tweets.

Next Summer Fest update, we’ll explain what “Hack-Cycle” – which you might have noticed on the map – is all about, and introduce you to the artist who’ll be helping you do it!

One week from Friday, West Seattle Summer Fest begins its three-day run – the peninsula’s biggest party of the year. WSB is a co-sponsor again this year, and as we count down to the festival, we’ll bring you daily infobits, like these:

FESTIVAL MAP ONLINE: There’s more being added to the Summer Fest website just about every day. We’ve already told you about the music schedule and the vendor/exhibitor list; today, there’s a map. (The vendor/exhibitor page also includes this zoomable PDF on which you will be able to cross-reference, by number, whose booth is where – handy for plotting your course ahead of time if there are particular vendors/groups you don’t want to miss.)

DO YOU TWEET? HERE’S THE HASHTAG: If you use Twitter, the Summer Fest-presenting West Seattle Junction Association hopes you’ll share Summer Fest tweets via the hashtag #wssummerfest – which you’ll see prominently displayed around the festival; it’s now on the website, too. (Hashtags provide a way to collect messages around a single topic.)

PARENTS’ REST STOP: Donna Ryan from City Mouse Studio and Store is providing a “parents’ rest stop” again this year in her storefront at 4218 SW Alaska, right in the heart of Summer Fest territory. Donna says, “We welcome families with babies and young children to drop in to the studio space to feed, change or get a little break from the heat (wishful thinking here).”

If you’re a participating organization/business/performer/etc., we welcome your Summer Fest preview info too, to include in our countdown – here’s how to share the news.

(Our earlier festival coverage is here.)

We’re starting a new story for the last few “sunny, finally!” hours of today’s Morgan Junction Community Festival. Above, that’s the 2nd vendor/exhibitor area added this year, next to Washington Federal Savings on the northeast corner of California/Fauntleroy. Among those you’ll find there – Eric Thomas and West Seattle-based Solar Epiphany:

On the west side of California, there’s great music live in the park and alongside Beveridge Place Pub, free, all ages, all the way up till 7 pm. We hear many of the “Bite of Morgan” free food sample participants have run out, and festival organizers hope the participating restaurants will see you here for breakfast/lunch/dinner sometime soon – part of the point of today’s free festival is to showcase Morgan Junction, one of West Seattle’s fun little neighborhoods (not just someplace to drive through on the way to or from the ferry dock). Community groups and businesses (including us) are tabling behind Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor)/Zeeks Pizza and alongside Washington Federal Savings across the street, so come listen to music, meet new friends …

5:04 PM: Speaking of music – one of the midafternoon acts, Gary Reynolds and the Brides of Obscurity:

Performing now – Tongan musicians and dancers from nearby Seaview Methodist Church:

5:58 PM: The music continues for another hour – but the vendors have the green light to pack up, since the wandering crowds have dwindled. We’ll be here another 15 minutes or so. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi – great to meet so many people, as well as to see all the community advocates and others who spent their day tabling here. Just two weeks till West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction (July 8-10) – we are looking forward to seeing you there too!

The sun’s not here just yet but the people are. C’mon down to Fauntleroy/California for the 2011 edition of the Morgan Junction Community Festival. We’re with the booths behind Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor)/Zeeks Pizza on the northwest corner; we’ll be updating with photos and video Music and performances are under way in the park just north of neighboring Beveridge Place Pub – with The Bubbleman coming up at 11:15. His trademark purple van is already here:

The park is also where to get your “Bite of Morgan” tickets – free but there’s a limited quantity of booklets, first-come, first-served. Look for the info booth with the whiteboard:

Festival’s on till 7 pm.

12:06 PM: The sun is appearing intermittently. It was out for Bubbleman’s tour de force in the park:

Be sure to wander south of the park toward Feedback Lounge – not just because we’re hanging out in the vendor area behind it, along with cool people like Steve Louie and Ed Pottharst, two of this area’s coordinators from the Department of Neighborhoods:

… but also so you can buy raffle tickets to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank – Shannon‘s at the booth right now:

And on the north side of the Feedback, you’ll find a booth with Full Tilt Ice Cream:

(Sorry, they’re not part of the free “bites” – so bring a few dollars. And West Seattle Thriftway across the street is selling barbecue lunch with all proceeds benefiting the festival!) The music/entertainment lineup is here.

2:01 PM: The free live music is at centerstage – literally – as the afternoon goes on (see the lineup link above). There are performances in the park and at a stage alongside Beveridge Place Pub. Steady stream of visitors overall – people are here with their dogs, too, lots of families with kids, and thanks to everyone who has stopped by to say hi! We’ll launch a second report within the hour with some of what else is going on – including the vendors on the other side of the street.

Just two days till the Morgan Junction Community Festival, 10:30 am-7 pm Saturday in and around Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW), with free music, food, kids’ activities, neighbors to meet (we’re co-sponsors and we look forward to seeing you there) … It’s presented by the Morgan Community Association, an all-volunteer community council, and they are looking for a bit more volunteer assistance to set up and take down. From Becky, the volunteer coordinator:

We need 1-2 strong bodies to assist with stage set-up at 6:45 – 8:00 am and stage take-down from 7:30 to 8:30 pm … 4-6 people to assist with traffic control between 10 am and 6:00 pm (assigning people to 1.5 hr shifts) and another 4-6 people to help with trash pick-up, and breaking down tables, chairs and tents between 6:00 and 8:00 pm.

Can you help with any of that – or think you might be able to, but have questions? Please contact Becky ASAP at beckbick@yahoo.com or 206-407-7618.