West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB) is almost here – and our countdown continues with more miscellany:

CLOSING THE STREETS: In the heart of The Junction, the no-parking signs take effect at 4 pm Thursday; California between Genesee and Edmunds and Alaska between 44th and 42nd will be closed by 6 pm and will stay that way until cleanup is over late Sunday night.

SUMMER FEST EVE/ART WALK ON THURSDAY: Along with Bret Wiggins‘ Elvis stylings outside La Romanza Bistro (WSB sponsor), The Bubbleman outside Elliott Bay Brewery, Yada Yada Blues Band outside West 5, there’ll be music at Click! Design That Fits, too – 44th and Morgan, with Alex, Maya and Conor, playing 6-8 pm. (And browse the Art Walk highlights – not only The Junction – on the official website.)

GOT LITTLE ONES? Once again this year, Donna Ryan will open her City Mouse Studio and Store (4218 SW Alaska, just east of Cupcake Royale, as “a space for parents of little ones to nurse, feed, change, relax, and break from the heat.” And on the south end of the festival zone, the Early Days moms’ support group plans a changing/feeding area in the Nurturing Expressions (WSB sponsor) booth, which should be by Northwest Art and Frame, between Edmunds and Oregon on California.

SIDEWALK SALES: There’ll be plenty! A couple notes –
*JF Henry & Co. starts 8 am Thursday.
*Easy Street Records‘ sale during Summer Fest goes like this:

Used CDs – $1/ea
Used DVDs – $3/ea OR 4 / $10
Used Vinyl – $1/ea OR 12 / $10

BENEFIT SALE: Nyla at Cherry Consignment, at 4142 California SW just north of the festival zone, will have this going on Saturday:

The Ruby Room is having its annual Dresses for Divas sale this Saturday, July 13, 2013 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m, at Cherry Consignment. Come buy a $10 party dress and support The Ruby Room send a low-income teen to her school dance in style.

PIZZERIA 22 HEADS SOUTH: Once again this year, Cary Kemp will be at Summer Fest – with “wood-fired pizzas all weekend long at our booth: Margherita, Pepperoni, and the Primavera.”

SEATTLE MOBILE RETAIL TOUR: Second stop for these six mobile retailers, with West Seattleites among them – full details on their Facebook page; they’ll be in the 7-11 parking lot at Edmunds/Erskine/California throughout the festival.

More to share Thursday morning – and it’s not too late to let us know what your business/organization/etc. is up to during West Seattle Summer Fest! E-mail editor@westseattleblog.com ASAP. We also want to know for our continuous live coverage, anchored again from the Information Booth at California/Alaska – see you there! Basic links to EVERYTHING Summer Fest are in our previous preview.

When you’re wandering West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB) this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, don’t miss GreenLife, the sustainability expo that’s tucked in the lot north of Technical Analysis and east of the Chase drive-thru. Sustainable West Seattle and West Seattle Nursery present GreenLife; this year its stage is sponsored by Alki Bike and Board, whose proprietor Stu Hennessey has just released the full three-day schedule of GreenLife demonstrations, from bicycling to cooking to gardening to chicken-raising, as well as sustainable energy, and more! See the schedule here – or embedded below:

West Seattle Summer Fest GreenLife 2013 schedule

As for the rest of Summer Fest – quick links here:

*Summer Fest music lineup
*Summer Fest vendors/exhibitors directory (use the column titles to sort alphabetically or numerically)
*Summer Fest vendors/exhibitors map (PDF; we’re not listed because you’ll find WSB in the Information Booth for the 6th consecutive year)
*Summer Fest kid zone is on Alaska WEST of California, where the food used to be
*Summer Fest food zone is on Alaska EAST of California (sort the vendor list by “location” and click ahead to the pages starting 151 and 176 for the “F” as in “food” entries – earlier in the list, note a few “Sidewalk Cafes” too)
*Other specialty areas – GreenLife is back on the south side of the festival area; Art Dive is back on the north side
*West Seattle Farmers’ Market will be ON during Summer Fest, 10 am-2 pm as always

Festival hours will be 10 am-8 pm Friday and Saturday (with music running later) and 11 am-5 pm on Sunday.

(Our first report can be seen here)

(1st, 2nd, 4th photos by William Morgan)
Scurvy dawgs! Those two begin a gallery of more sights we want to share before Alki’s big Seafair Saturday is too much further away in the rear-view mirror – both community-contributed photos and a few more from our crews at the scene. And then there’s the aerial view of the pole-vaulting alongside the Seafair Pirates‘ Landing festivities:

(Photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
The Pirates of course came in with cannon fire, just like their landlubbing parade sailings:

And they had many a welcoming delegation – by sea…

(Photo by David Hutchinson)
… and by land …

… as they “barged in”:

14 more photos ahead – including pirate portraits!

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11:34 AM: Cannon fire can be heard offshore as the Seafair Pirates make their way toward Alki Beach – with landlubbers awaiting them. (added) Listen to the cannon blasts in our video:

11:44 AM UPDATE: They’ve arrived, wading ashore as usual, after the Global Diving and Salvage craft brought them as far in as it could. (added) This year’s Captain Kidd is West Seattleite Rusty Harper:

Onshore festivities commence now!

ADDED 12:13 PM: Above, the Pirates accompanied ashore by the West Seattle Hi-Yu delegation; below, the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle‘s been here handing out special pirate hats, and Kiwanian Mike LaFranchi shares smiles with a recipient:

More to come. Events on the beach continue into the afternoon, including bouncy toys for the kids.

You might not be counting the days yet, but we are – West Seattle’s biggest festival of the year, the Junction Association-presented West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB), is now exactly one week away – Friday, Saturday, Sunday (July 12-14). Or you might say it’s six days away, if you count what we call Summer Fest Eve, Thursday night, July 11th, when California and Alaska close in the heart of The Junction starting at 6 pm and Summer Fest setup begins, concurrent with the July edition of the West Seattle Art Walk, and featuring street performances (we’ve already mentioned Bret Wiggins bringing his award-winning Elvis styling to the street outside La Romanza Bistro Italiano [WSB sponsor] that night).

Quick links and notes:

*Summer Fest music lineup
*Summer Fest vendors/exhibitors directory (use the column titles to sort alphabetically or numerically)
*Summer Fest vendors/exhibitors map (PDF; we’re not listed because you’ll find WSB in the Information Booth again this year)
*Summer Fest kid zone is on Alaska WEST of California, where the food used to be
*Summer Fest food zone is on Alaska EAST of California (sort the vendor list by “location” and click ahead to the pages starting 151 and 176 for the “F” as in “food” entries – earlier in the list, note a few “Sidewalk Cafes” too)
*Other specialty areas – GreenLife is back on the south side of the festival area; Art Dive is back on the north side
*West Seattle Farmers’ Market will be ON during Summer Fest, 10 am-2 pm as always

Festival hours will be 10 am-8 pm Friday and Saturday (with music running later) and 11 am-5 pm on Sunday. More details to come as our countdown continues in the days/nights ahead! And if your business/organization has something special to spotlight, please let us know ASAP so we can include it in countdown coverage – editor@westseattleblog.com.

(2012 photo by Nick Adams for WSB)
Now that it’s July, the big events of summer are sailing our way at top clip – including this Saturday’s Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki. From today’s Seafair update:

Join Seafair for a Pirate-style party at Alki Beach in West Seattle on July 6. In accordance with the Legend of Seafair, the cutthroat Seafair Pirate crew has made a deal with their new Captain Kidd and is coming to collect the bounty they left behind last year. The Seattle Seafair Pirates will sail in from the seven seas and will storm Alki Beach in West Seattle to kick off the 64th Seafair. Exhibitors and interactive booths will line the beach and participants can shop, eat and dance along with the Pirates throughout the day! The Seattle Seafair Pirates will land at Alki Beach between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The event will feature a music stage with local bands, dancing and storytelling. Kids can play on inflatable rides and participate in a Pirate look-alike contest to win prizes sponsored by the West Seattle Kiwanis. 2012 Miss Seafair Veronica Asence, the Seafair Foundation Scholarship Program for Women participants and the West Seattle Hi-Yu princesses will make appearances! Dress in your favorite pirate costume and meet us out on the beach – Ready, Aim, Fire!

P.S. According to the Pirates’ website, this year’s Captain Kidd is Rusty Harper, whose home (port) is right here in West Seattle.

A followup to our report Monday afternoon about the announcement of the West Seattle Summer Fest music lineup: Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association says the originally published schedule has a big error – Caspar Babypants is actually performing on SATURDAY, not Friday. His show will be at 11 am Saturday, July 13th, in Junction Plaza Park. While Susan says the website will be fixed, a “pocket guide” that’s already been printed will include the error – so please make a note on your personal calendar and/or anywhere else you can – CB’s on Day 2, not Day 1. (Meantime, as also noted in our Monday report, the Summer Fest website now has the vendor list and map too – we’re not on the list because, as always, you’ll find us helping out in the information booth – see the big question mark on the map above at California/Alaska – we look forward to seeing you there!)

Announced today by the West Seattle Junction Association – the music lineup for this year’s West Seattle Summer Fest (co-sponsored by WSB), coming up July 12-13-14; see it here. Kicking it all off, Caspar Babypants at 11 am Friday 7/12. Other highlights include Not Dead Yet, Hobosexual, and the Rat City Brass. Meantime, you can find the vendor/organization list here (you’ll find us in the Information Booth at the heart of the festival zone again this year). As always, West Seattle Summer Fest is a three-day extravaganza that’ll be out in the street on California SW between SW Edmunds and points just north of SW Oregon, as well as on SW Alaska between 44th SW and 42nd SW. And there’s a pre-funk too – the night before Summer Fest, on Thursday, July 11th, the streets will close for setup and it’s a great time to wander while enjoying the West Seattle Art Walk‘s Junction venues.

ADDED 3:38 PM: Some other notes – starting with, the food. This year the food court is on SW Alaska east of California, instead of west as in past years. And yes, deep-fried PB&J sandwich provider Peanut Butter Goodness is back.

(Festival performance schedule here * Pet parade/contest schedule here)

Big smiles not only from festivalgoers of all ages, but from the Morgan Community Association as this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival gets under way in bright sunshine – one year after a relentless downpour ended things early. No chance today! And this year, the festival covers more ground than ever – from California/Graham (food trucks and the game “cornhole” behind the future home of The Bridge and behind the business building across Graham), to three sides of the California/Fauntleroy intersection (including where we are behind Feedback Lounge, with dozens of other businesses and vendors).

Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Flores stopped by to offer a peek inside an SPD cruiser. Lots to look at and listen for; Bubbleman is performing in the park right now, and will be back at 4 pm – check whether he’s in the park or across California in the kid zone, when you get here. Lots of live music The kid zone, meantime (next to Washington Federal), is hosting one of the four food trucks here today:

Fez is West Seattle-based and newly launched. Lots of food options here today, including Morgan Junction’s year-round restaurants, many of which are sponsoring the festival, plus you can buy barbecued lunch at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) on the southeast corner of California/Fauntleroy – here are Michele and Reid from Thriftway with (at left) Cindi Barker from MoCA:

Today’s barbecue proceeds go to MoCA for next year’s festival; they should be grilling till about 4 pm.

12:51 PM UPDATE: Still lots of time to get here for the Bark of Morgan pet parade at 2 pm at the park (and competitions at 2:15 pm in the Washington Federal lot) – just might see Cooper there:

Cooper’s person is John Moore, whose Northwest Insurance Group (WSB sponsor) is located in Morgan Junction, in the new building on the northwest corner of California/Graham. Which is “paws” for another reminder – this is a sprawling festival, multiple venues across two-plus blocks, most NOT visible from California SW (except for what’s in the park), so don’t just pass by, walk or ride or drive and come wander both sides of California just north of Fauntleroy.

1:59 PM UPDATE: First candidate sighting at the festival, State Sen. Ed Murray.

His run for Seattle Mayor was endorsed last week by the 34th District Democrats, who also are boothing here at the festival – you’ll find them right behind Zeeks, next to the Full Tilt Ice Cream stand. This is a two-level area – about a dozen booths in the lot right behind the building, including Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) with their “West Seattle Chamber Business of the Year” banner, plus their trio making and selling duct-tape creations:

Next to Ventana you’ll see Animal Aid and Rescue Foundation and Madrid Frame; we’re across from them, next to Karen and Deb from the West Seattle Block Watch Captains’ Network. on the lower lot west of us, a dozen more booths, including everything from art to the West Seattle Democratic Women to Morgan Junction-relocated Super Supplements to a King County team with more information on the ongoing Combined Sewer Overflow control projects in the area.

Festival’s on till 7; Bark of Morgan dog-parade coverage coming up next. And thanks to all the awesome people who have stopped by to say hi and chat so far; glad to see everybody out on a sunny afternoon.

2:55 PM UPDATE: Video from the dog parade:

By the way, over at the kid zone by California Federal, there’s open-mike time, if you know any youth interested in performing, reading, etc. – last chance per the festival program is 6:15 pm. That’s also when the last band of the day will perform in the park – Matt the Hoopla, “an electrifying ’70s rock experience” – don’t miss ’em. Right now, the Tongan Choir is performing – sounds great from here, and we’ll be adding video later.

Though the music continues till 7, the booths usually pack up by 6, so if you’re thinking of coming down and checking out the vendors/organizations, don’t wait too much longer!

4:18 PM UPDATE: Chas Redmond, MoCA vice president and music-lineup organizer, stopped by – this year, as he reminded us, there’s a speaker pointed toward the vendor area so we can hear the music too. He is also putting together the music for the Alki Art Fair next month and says it’ll have more than 40 acts! Meantime, here’s the picture of the day:

That’s Rita Dixson from The Bridge, Gary Sink from Beveridge Place Pub, and Jeff Gilbert from Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), future semi-neighbors, once The Bridge remodels and moves into the ex-Chuck and Sally’s, a site which became part of the festival this year, for the first time. (Here’s our Friday story with new renderings for the draft concept of its future look.)

5:13 PM UPDATE: Some of our fellow boothers have started packing up; visits to the back lot here have slowed down. And we’ve just been told this area will clear out at 5:30. Music in the park continues, as promised. And so does the unofficial afterparty in the local restaurants/lounges, who will get their parking back once we’re out.

5:33 PM UPDATE: Before we pack up – just saw Donna Sandstrom of The Whale Trail, and chatted with her about the speaker series just wrapped up. She tells us TWT will be at West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction this year – so look for that chance to learn more about our local whales. We’ll be there in the information booth as usual; the dates this year are Friday-Sunday, July 12th-14th.

ADDED SUNDAY: In case you missed the closing band, ’70s-inspired Matt the Hoopla, here’s a sample:

Hope we’ll see you tomorrow at the Morgan Junction Community Festival (co-sponsored by WSB), 10:30 am-7 pm Saturday, in and around Morgan Junction Park (above), including the lot behind Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) and, across California, next to Washington Federal. We just confirmed a couple of updates: First, in addition to the Bite of Morgan food sampling at area restaurants, four food trucks are scheduled to be there, per Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker:

Fez on Wheels: Modern Middle Eastern Food – Bank parking lot

Waffle Wagon: Gourmet sweet & savory waffles – CPA parking lot

Fish Basket – Home of the Famous Fish Taco – CPA parking lot

Xplosive – Filipino & Vietnamese Fusion – Bridge parking lot

P.S. Fez on Wheels is West Seattle-based – we met its owner by chance last week. The “CPA parking lot” is the north side of California/Graham. On the south side of that intersection, “Bridge parking lot” means the old Chuck and Sally’s Tavern at California/Graham, future home of The Bridge, as first reported here last month. And it’s become a de-facto fourth location for tomorrow, since Deb adds: “Also at the Bridge parking lot, owner Rita Dixson will be hosting a ‘Corn Hole Derby’ and handing out water bottles!”

As for the rest of the festival – including the Bark of Morgan pet parade/contest and music/performance lineup – that’s all in our preview from earlier this week. See you there!

With the Morgan Junction Community Festival (co-sponsored by WSB) less than a week away, here’s an update on this free, one-day community event, including the performance schedule, with two shows by the famous Bubbleman, and open-mike spots for all ages. The festival is next Saturday (June 22nd) in the usual 3 spots just north of California and Fauntleroy: The lot west of Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor), in Morgan Junction Park, and alongside Washington Federal on the other side of California. Browse the schedule here:

All well-behaved leashed dogs (over the age of 4 months) are invited to bring their owners and join the Pooch Parade and the Contests.

2:00 – Pooch Parade: A parade of pooches will line up starting at 2:00 pm north of the Morgan Junction Park on SW Eddy Street. Look for the signs. We will parade through Festival to the Washington Federal Bank Stage. Costumes are optional.

2:15 – Contests: Join us for the following contests:
1) Cutest Puppy (4 months up to 9 months),
2) Best Trick, and
3) Best Dog/Owner Look-Alike

First- and second-place contestants will be selected via the ‘audience applause meter’ as monitored by the MC and awarded commemorative medallions. All “Bark of Morgan” participants will receive a special prize.

Sponsors of the second “Bark of Morgan” are The Wash Dog (WSB sponsor), Pet Elements, and Stella Ruffington’s Doggy Playcare

Then there’s the Bite of Morgan – food samples from WSB sponsors Feedback Lounge, Zeeks Pizza, and Harry’s Chicken Joint, plus other participants Kokoras Greek Grill, Domino’s Pizza, and McDonald’s. Also, you can support festival finances by buying a freshly barbecued lunch at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), with proceeds donated to festival-presenting Morgan Community Association. A few food trucks plan to be there too – confirmation’s expected within a day or two. See you in Morgan Junction on Saturday!

If your community group or nonprofit would like some space during our area’s biggest festival of the year – Teri Ensley of Furry Faces Foundation has an invitation for you:

Furry Faces Foundation is pleased to be partnering with the West Seattle Junction Association in offering the FREE Community Tent at West Seattle Summer Fest – July 12, 13, and 14. The purpose of this area in the festival is to allow our small neighborhood non-profits and community groups easy access to the event and their community – free of charge! Did we mention free of charge?

Furry Faces Foundation is selecting the non-profits and community groups who strive to benefit our community and fit the spirit of our West Seattle neighborhoods.

Here are the Community Tent details:

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Note the promise on the poster for June 22nd’s Morgan Junction Community Festival:

If you went last year, you’ll remember why: That brought the first rainout in its history. Some of the activities happened despite the showers that were eventually followed by a long-running downpour (and then, too late to save the day, some sun):

That was the rain-dampened Bark of Morgan last year. For this year’s “rain or shine!” festival, the Morgan Community Association‘s bringing it back, hoping it’ll be in bright sunshine (as the festival has been OTHER years). There’ll be a pooch parade at 2 pm, followed at 2:15 by competitions for Cutest Puppy, Best Trick, Best Owner/Dog Lookalikes. Here’s the schedule (PDF).

Local eateries will participate again in the Bite of Morgan during the festival, and organizers have several food trucks lined up too. We’re still awaiting final word on that lineup and on the music schedule, but wanted to remind you for starters to save the date – Saturday, June 22, 10:30 am-7 pm in and around Morgan Junction Park (on the west side of California, half a block north of Fauntleroy). WSB is a festival sponsor again this year and we’ll be reporting “live,” so we look forward to seeing you there.

11:39 AM: Till 5 pm, Alki Avenue SW is off-limits to motorized vehicles – open curb to curb for walking and bicycling and skateboarding and more – between 56th SW and 63rd SW, for the annual “Summer Streets” celebration. As is usually the case, the weather in the early going isn’t terribly summery, but we have hopes of sunshine a bit later; bring a sweater for starters. Come say hi – we’re boothing this year, across from the alley between 61st and 62nd, in a row of booths with the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs, West Seattle Block Watch Captains Network, and West Seattle Democratic Women. The big costumed bike parade is coming up at 1 pm – that’s a don’t-miss. Full activity map/schedule is here.

12:56 PM: The bike parade starts soon – and we’ve seen so many bikers (some in costume as invited!) go by our booth en route to the starting line, it’s going to be a sight to see! (added) And it was – here’s the start of the pack:

Celebrity parade starter: Tracy Dart, leader/namesake of the famous cancer-fighting-fundraising Team Tracy:

Dozens of bicycles later:

(Added – video!)

(back to original report) We hear Mayor McGinn joined in the ride – will add a photo if we find him in any of ours. Back at 63rd SW, starting line of the parade, DIY Bikes is helping riders with tune-ups, repairs, and general advice – go check ’em out.

1:37 PM: We finally caught up with the mayor to confirm that was him. Shortly thereafter, Eric stopped by our booth to share his photo of the mayor meeting his son Ike:

(The mayor stopped by our booth later and explained that he enjoys showing kids the correct way to shake hands. If anybody’s going to be well-schooled in that, it’s a politician! Ike’s dad also verifies that the mayor offered a lesson. Ike, by the way, is a 10-year-old Holy Rosary student.)

Meantime – either we’re getting used to it, or it’s starting to warm up. Everything continues till 5, so lots of time for you to come check it out. Zumbathon coming up at 2!

2:18 PM: Local singer Sarey Savy (video above) was onstage before the Zumbathon, which is being led by local instructor Jennifer Cepeda. Even the youngest participants were having fun:

3:17 PM: The sun is finally out! As one more photo from the Zumbathon verifies:

Just now adding some photos from the past hour or so. Here’s the legendary Bubbleman:

If you haven’t come to Alki yet today, this is the time … at the very least, come have fun walking in the middle of the street. Or, of course, riding – and on the side of the road, learn about safety with folks from groups including West Seattle Bike Connections:

4:41 PM: And so quickly – the clouds have moved back in, and Summer Streets is wrapping up. More photos/video to be added once we’re back at HQ.

After a one-year hiatus, the Arts in Nature Festival at Camp Long really will be back this year, the West Seattle-based Nature Consortium affirmed in an announcement this afternoon. Dates are set, and so is the headliner – read on for the news release:

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