During West Seattle Summer Fest coverage last Sunday, we showed the West Seattle High School cheerleaders who were raffling off a barbecue while tabling outside TrueValue in The Junction. The winner — Matthew Mors, who sent that photo of the prize delivery, and this info:
The proceeds of this event will help the cheerleaders with their expenses for camp and uniforms. The cheerleaders would like to thank Junction True Value for the partial donation of the barbeque, and for allowing them space in front of their store for the three days of the street fair. The cheerleaders would also like to thank everyone that donated and really appreciate the support of the West Seattle community.
(scroll down for the latest photos and ongoing updates)
(Summer Fest organizing gurus with West Seattle Farmers’ Market flowers West Seattle Summer Fest is scheduled till 7 pm today – and while it’s off to a showery start, you know how fast the weather can change around here. One big reason to come today: Support the organizations and businesses that make West Seattle a great place to be. Dozens of groups are having raffles, selling T-shirts and providing other offers to entice you to help them get the $ to do what they need to do. And some are there to get the word out about big events ahead – like WestSide Baby‘s Stuff the Bus diaper drive (which WSB is proud to co-sponsor this year), just one week from today! Bring an umbrella – or wait a while till things change (we see a break in the clouds to the southwest) – see you there.
12:35 PM UPDATE: The sun has JUST come out! Lt. Ron Smith from the Southwest Precinct is supervising police here again today and just told us a great story – Somebody lost their spine at the Street Fair and has just been reunited with it. It started late last night when security guards spotted someone on the run with one of those plastic spines that chiropractors set up in their booths. The guy dropped the spine and kept running. The folks at West 5 took the spine under their wing, so to speak, and kept it till someone came looking for it today. And now – the lost spine and its owner are reunited. More common for police to be reuniting lost kids with parents here – although last night a service dog and its owner got separated, and you’ve never seen someone so happy as the owner on the way to the reunion. A West 5 side note – out front, you’ll find a booth selling items including these popular “West Seattle … More Cowbell” T-shirts:
12:51 PM UPDATE: We were asked on Facebook (find us there as WS Blog) if the bouncy toys in the kid zone are open despite the rain. Short answer – yes. They’ll be closed in case of MASSIVE downpour, or lightning, or high wind, but right now, open, and lots of kids are sporting rain gear. We wanted to add a thanks here – to the folks who’ve kept us hydrated during three days of tabling – including the Fresh Bistro team, which has been selling KILLER strawberry lavender lemonade at the booth just south of us, where they’re co-housed with Mural Apartments (WSB sponsor) — and Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor). Lots more candidate sightings already today, by the way – including Mike McGinn, the Seattle mayoral candidate co-endorsed by the 34th District Democrats this past week (along with Mayor Nickels, who we haven’t seen yet, though that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been here):
Supporter Christi Stapleton says they’re planning to set up a silk-screening station here shortly for people to bring their own T-shirts and get McGinn logos added to them. Also spotted, City Council candidate David Bloom:
He’s running for the same council position for which the 34th District Democrats co-endorsed Sally Bagshaw, who’s here today for the second consecutive day, and Dorsol Plants, who was also here yesterday.
1:51 PM: The crowd has REALLY picked up. West Seattle Farmers’ Market is wrapping up for the day shortly but we had some interesting sightings there too – like Kimberly Johnsen with live crabs from Quil Bay Seafood:
And your food options continue to be plentiful. Melody shares a photo of Isabella Sarkies with a giant slice of pizza from Talarico’s:
3 PM: As mentioned even before Summer Fest began, this is a big weekend for Junction Plaza Park – it’s getting a share of the proceeds from the beer garden at the park site (which we’re told did especially well on Friday night in connection with the nearby Mudhoney concert) and donations in several collection boxes – including one here at the center tent (California). One very young donor collected up all her spare change and decided to give it to the park – her name is Sophia and she got a boost up to the donation slot courtesy of Erica Karlovits, president of Junction Neighborhood Organization, who’s here as a volunteer for Friends of Junction Plaza Park:
When it comes to youth in action, some may be a little too young to volunteer – so they’re just having fun. Here’s video of Nathan (who incidentally is the son of Seattle’s Poet Populist Mike Hickey and his humor writer/photographer wife Mona), puddle-jumping around noon, just a few feet from our side of the big central JUNCTION/PARK/INFORMATION/SURVEY tent:
3:48 PM: Some kids are here with candidates – who happen to be their parents – like Sydney, who’s campaigning with dad Marty Kaplan, who’s in the City Council race with Nick Licata and Jessie Israel (who are the 34th District Democrats’ co-endorsees):
4:11 PM: We mentioned this on Facebook and Twitter but didn’t get a chance to add it here till now – West Seattle High School cheerleaders were raffling off a barbecue over at TrueValue – they were only there till 4, though:
4:21 PM: Just started raining again. Hope it’ll be shortlived. Folks are fleeing for cover and/or umbrellas at the moment.
4:35 PM: However, it’s not dampening spirits. Big crowd watching a dance troupe between us and the Alaska Stage. We’ll be adding video of that and of the downpour. The rain’s lightened now and more people have resumed walking around. (added 5 pm – here’s that video)
(added 6:43 pm – the downpour from two hours ago, looking toward Easy Street)
4:52 PM: Green Pajamas has started its set on the Alaska Stage, as scheduled.
(here’s video, added 9:14 pm)
Summer Fest continues till 7. Right by our tent, Easy Street Records just announced low-low-low prices on its sidewalk/tent sale, some items as low as $1.
5:31 PM: More candidate sightings – Norman Sigler, who’s running for mayor:
David Miller, City Council candidate co-endorsed by the 34th District Democrats along with Robert Rosencrantz:
6:24 PM: 35 minutes left in Summer Fest – definitely quieter but the music’s still going. Overall, even though the crowd was bigger (particularly during the Friday-Saturday sunshine), police tell us things have been relatively quiet. The booths are technically open till 7 (we’re here till then) but the packing-up process has definitely begun at some we just walked past. Time to start looking ahead to some of next week’s big events – starting with the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park next Tuesday (7 pm, Hiawatha, with the West Seattle Big Band, free, bring a blanket and/or chairs, and help us celebrate the West Seattle Volunteer Recognition recipients!) — and more along the way, with next weekend’s highlights including the West Seattle Grand Parade presented by American Legion Post 160 at 11 am Saturday (preceded by the Kiddies Parade – presented by the Rotary Club of West Seattle – at 10:30 am, all kids welcome to participate, gather at Genesee and California), the Alki Car Show all day Saturday, and the West Seattle Garden Tour all day Sunday ($15/person with kids 12 and under free, find out at westseattlegardentour.com where to get your tickets).
6:49 PM: Junior Member of the Team got a few closing shots – a booth wrapping up, and a young climber who wasn’t going to pass up one last chance to head for the top:
6:55 PM: With five minutes to go, the biggest question: How soon till cars are allowed through The Junction right now? We’re getting the answer from Lt. Smith and his team right this moment … Answer: Technically the streets are posted closed till midnight, but Lt. Smith says, “They’ll open sooner if they’re ready to.”
ADDED LATE SUNDAY NIGHT: Video of the last announcement of the festival – the guy outside Easy Street with a megaphone (and a siren):
The first two aren’t even ABOUT West Seattle Summer Fest (day 3, hours away, 11 am-7 pm) but we have posters on our side of the tent so we’ve been asked…
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SUMMER OUTDOOR MOVIES ON THE WALL? The series, co-sponsored by WSB and other fine local businesses, starts next Saturday, in the courtyard between Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) and Dr. Wolff. Here’s the official site with the full list and the cool poster (both in the right sidebar).
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SUMMER OUTDOOR CONCERTS AT HIAWATHA? We’re also co-sponsoring this new series, which starts Thursday, July 23. The lineup is on the series’ new website. (but you can get a taste of tunes on the Hiawatha east lawn THIS Tuesday, 7 pm, at the traditional West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park featuring the fabulous West Seattle Big Band AND the celebration of the first honorees in the new West Seattle Volunteer Recognition program). Next:
WHERE ARE THE RAT CITY ROLLERGIRLS? On the north end of the festival, not far from the California Stage, is where you’ll find their dunk tank, east side of the street. Now to the east-central part of the festival, the “community tent”:
WHERE’S THE DELRIDGE PLAYGROUND BOOTH? Holli sent that photo along with this explanation, after some folks saw the preview about the (heart) Delridge T-shirts and rushed over in hopes of buying:
Our booth is located on Alaska Street beside Supper Supplements, facing Cupcake Royale and Swee Swee Paperie. The confusing part is that our generous sponsor providing the booth, WS Nursery, has a huge banner along the top of the booths. We had several gardening questions today that we couldn’t answer …
Our volunteers will be there Sunday from 11am – 7pm. You can still buy T-shirts ($15). We have all our building volunteers, but could use some help preparing food.
The big playground-building day is this Friday! Next Summer Fest question:
(scroll down for frequent updates, till about 9 pm)
(Caspar Babypants – aka Chris Ballew of The Presidents etc. – live at Summer Fest this afternoon)
6 pm already. The West Seattle Summer Fest Street Dance is coming up around 8:15 – both stages, with Supersonic Soul Pimps on the California Stage, Thee Sgt. Major III at 8 pm on the Alaska Stage followed by 70 Proof at 9:30. You might have already been here today and are looking ahead to tomorrow – we recently found a few of the things folks have been asking us about. First, cotton candy is down on the south end by the kids’ fun zone:
And for the folks who asked us about hanging plants – Julius Rosso Nursery has a booth along the western corridor on California, near Husky Deli and Taqueria Guaymas:
A light cloud cover has just moved in and the temperature out here is perfect. Dinner time for a lot of folks – we’ve been asked multiple times about restaurant recommendations – rest assured, we’re offering plenty – the most recent folks to stop by the table went ding-ding-ding when we mentioned the Pagliacci $2 slices (as noted here a few days ago when they wrote to tell us they’d be offering that deal). Let us know about any deals you’ve spotted worth sharing for people coming tomorrow! Beverage deals abound all over the place – for healthy drinks, stop by the table outside Pharmaca (WSB sponsor):
7 PM: Light rain – nobody’s running for cover, not too serious, just summer rain. Also another candidate sighting – mayoral candidate James Donaldson is here.
Other sightings – “the wizard guy with the snake” is a staple at many festivals we’ve attended, and he’s here tonight:
8:05 PM UPDATE: The booths have closed for the night but the music is going strong – with the Street Dance getting going at both stages. Lots of people still here, including a sizable contingent of police – who tell us things overall have been even quieter than last year, despite what appears to be higher attendance – we caught a photo during “Summer Fest roll call”:
Uh oh – some lightning and thunder, just a bit to the northwest. Probably not a great idea to be sitting here with laptops and lots of cords, so we’re going to wrap it up and head north to get some video of the Supersonic Soul Pimps before taking refuge at WSB HQ. Will add that video and more pix a bit later. Summer Fest hours tomorrow are 11 am-7 pm – and remember the West Seattle Farmers’ Market is happening as usual too – Chipotle Mexican Grill plans a promotion at the WSFM, first 100 shoppers at 11 am get some freebies – they’re also delivering burritos to merchants.
ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: As promised, the Soul Pimps clip:
(Balloon artist Miriam FitzPatrick, who’s set up outside Petco) West Seattle Summer Fest has begun for its second day. Official hours today are 10 am-8 pm, but music continues after that, with the Street Dance at both stages kicking off around 8:15 pm. One note: The video arcade in the former northern half of Capers WILL be open today, according to Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association. More to come! (But if you have friends heading this way soon, please remember, there’s still traffic trouble on the WESTBOUND West Seattle Bridge because of the rollover crash we’ve been covering – here’s our updated report.)
11:16 AM UPDATE: Adding the first photos of the day. We’re told the video arcade should be open around noon or shortly afterward:
11:50 AM UPDATE: First candidate sighting of the day – City Council candidate Sally Bagshaw, who just got the dual endorsement of the 34th District Democrats last Wednesday night for Position 4 along with West Seattle’s Dorsol Plants. She and supporters are here with signs and flyers.
Also happening right now – Westside Dermatology, right around the corner from Summer Fest on 44th north of Edmunds, is having its Skin Care Fair today – lots of freebies (you’ll need sunscreen here today – they’re giving it away!) – and advice on keeping your skin healthy. Jon and Jennifer from Westside Dermatology (which is a WSB sponsor) stopped by our HQ at the Information/Junction/Park/Survey tent at Alaska/California (we’re facing KeyBank) to spread the word:
The Skin Care Fair continues till 4 pm. Live music also is about to start – earlier today since it’s now officially the weekend – as noted earlier this morning, Caspar Babypants (the children’s-music sideline of Chris Ballew from the Presidents of the United States of America) plays at 3:30 pm; tonight at 8:15, it’s the Street Dance, both stages.
12:16 PM: Just got a report from co-publisher Patrick at Alki Beach – TONS of traffic for theSeafair Pirates’ Landing (hard to believe because so many people are here at Summer Fest, but hey, it’s a big peninsula). Look for photos/video later (the Pirates hadn’t yet materialized as of a few minutes ago). Speaking of Alki, Shari Sewell from West Seattle-based Northwest Hope and Healing is here to get the word out about the second annual Alki Beach Run, coming up in September:
12:39 PM: We have word that the crash on the bridge we covered earlier is finally clear, so that opens up traffic to everybody heading this way (Summer Fest continues till 8, and beyond with the Street Dance starting right about then). Speaking of traffic – while you’re here, if you have a question about the Viaduct/Tunnel project and other components of what’s changing in the “corridor,” stop by the official booth, just a bit north of Petco on the east side of the street – we found Katie and Lara there this morning:
Tons of info online, by the way, atalaskanwayviaduct.org. Second candidate sighting of the day – now standing alongside our booth before working the crowd, City Council candidate Dorsol Plants, who chaired the Highland Park Action Committee during the first intensive wave of the jail-sites fight. Also here to work the crowd with him, Dina Lydia Johnson and her husband, previous HPAC chair Blair Johnson. Here’s Dina with Dorsol:
One question we’ve fielded several times – when will the Delridge Playground volunteers be in the Community Tent (which is on Alaska just past the stage) – the schedule shows them here 2-8 pm today, so you can get a raffle ticket, buy a (Heart) Delridge T-shirt.
1:07 PM UPDATE: Dave Montoure from West 5 just came by en route to deliver veggie dogs for the “dog-eating contest” coming up at 1:30. Lots of little fun moments like that throughout the day/evening. If you don’t get a festival guide somewhere else, stop by our table at California/Alaska, facing KeyBank/food court/Easy Street (we’ve got the first-ever WSB T-shirts on sale, $15, with $6 of that – past our $9 cost – going to local nonprofits). P.S. We have word now the Seafair Pirates landed after 1 pm. Co-publisher Patrick will be back with photos and video for a separate story.
1:32 PM UPDATE: Lots of other neighborhoods representing – besides Erica Karlovits from Junction Neighborhood Organization (whose next meeting is this Tuesday, July 14, 6:30 pm, Ginomai), Chas Redmond from Morgan Community Association (whose Cindi Barker was last seen heading for the Community Tent near the Alaska Stage), Mark Wainwright and Jim Del Ciello from the Admiral Neighborhood Association, Sharonn Meeks from the Fairmount Community Association; yesterday we talked with Bruce Butterfield of the Fauntleroy Community Association … there’s a list of all West Seattle community groups with websites. We also have information here about some of the upcoming events we’re co-sponsoring – Outdoor Movies on the Wall, starting a week from tonight with “The Princess Bride” (courtyard between Hotwire Coffee [WSB sponsor] and Dr. Wolff, at dusk) and ANA’s Summer Concerts at Hiawatha, which start a week from Thursday (July 23) with Alma Villegas. Here at Summer Fest, the entertainment’s happening everywhere, and demonstrations too, like the Evergreen Tae-Kwon-Do Academy right by our tent a bit earlier:
3:32 PM: Caspar Babypants is under way at the Alaska Stage, right behind us and by Junction Plaza Park and its park-construction-benefiting beer garden – whimsical music, geared for kids but fun for grownups too.
SUMMER FEST DAY 2: 10 am-8 pm, West Seattle Summer Fest will be in high gear for day 2 after day 1’s Junction jam – busier than day 1 last year by many accounts, and not just because of the Mudhoney crowd. Remember you can browse the vendor list here, the music slate here, other entertainment here, if you want to have a plan before you go – or come to the big tent in the California/Alaska intersection to get the official festival guide (available elsewhere around the site too) – look for the JUNCTION/INFORMATION/SURVEY banners. Junction Plaza Park information (and a donation “keg”) and the West Seattle Junction Association, which brings you the festival (and is selling Junction-logo T-shirts), are on the north side of the booth. Speaking of T-shirts, after noon today, we will have a limited amount of the first-ever WSB T-shirts available at our spot on the west side of the booth – $15, checks only; $6 goes to local nonprofits (beyond the $9 each shirt cost to make). But the really big deal on our side of the tent is a quick online survey for WSJA asking what you think of Summer Fest – please stop by, say hi, sit down at a laptop for five minutes to share your thoughts, and you get entered into a drawing for a $100 Junction shopping spree. We’ll report live from Summer Fest again all day and into the night (via Twitter, too, including cameraphone photo links, at @westseattleblog – also check the WSB Twitter page for other folks mentioning Summer Fest – some interesting tweets and photo links last night from the big concert – and bound to be some tonight for the Street Dance at both stages). Note (and thanks to Howie for the reminder), today’s music includes Caspar Babypants – Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United States of America doing kids’ tunes – as seen here on YouTube:
Caspar Babypants performs at 3:30 pm on the Alaska Stage (previewed here though the time was different then). Now, westward from The Junction to Alki:
(2008 Seafair Pirates’ Landing photo by David Hutchinson) SEAFAIR PIRATES’ LANDING: Huge day at Alki Beach, too. The Seafair Pirates themselves say they’ll land between 11:30 and 12:30 – here’s their official page for the event – but there’s lots to do before and after – kids’ activities, food and crafts, entertainment. Someone stopped by the Summer Fest booth last night to say they’d never been and wanted to know exactly what happens. It’s a little different every year but let’s just say, lots of pageantry at sea – keep an eye on the water and the assembled group of vessels because you never know exactly what’s going to happen before the Pirates show up and storm the shore. Remember our state’s official ship, the Lady Washington, is part of it this year too. Now, on to High Point:
(Thanks to Daniel for this photo from Marination Mobile’s 4th of July visit) HIGH POINT STREET FOOD: Marination Mobile is back at 35th/Graham today, 11 am-2 pm, after its debut last week on the 4th of July. Read about ’em here.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE … The West Seattle Weekend Lineup has the full rundown for today and tomorrow – see it here. (And if you’re wondering – yes, the West Seattle Farmers’ Market happens tomorrow during Summer Fest too; more on that later.)
(The Full Tilt Ice Cream bicycle, staffed by Greg, roaming earlier)
The sun’s still up but it’s after 5:30 so we’re hereby declaring this Friday night. A nice breeze is blowing through the main crossroads of the West Seattle Summer Fest festival grounds. The much-awaited Mudhoney performance is a little more than two hours away. We’re still headquartered at the big tent at California/Alaska (look for Information/Junction/Survey signage). More to come!
Ladder 11 – based in Highland Park – is here as are firefighters collecting for the Muscular Dystrophy Association “Fill the Boot” drive – you might have seen the donation drive elsewhere in West Seattle earlier today (we passed them at California/Fauntleroy in Morgan Junction). They’ll be here throughout the evening, so if you’re coming down for Mudhoney, keep an eye out for them. Lots of other unique fundraisers here – like this one:
Michelle Joan is with the quilt that West Seattle Sound View Quilters are raffling in October – buy tickets here now! They’re in front of Stop n Shop on the ground level of the Senior Center of West Seattle. Thanks to Louise for e-mailing to make sure we came by for a photo – we’d love to hear from anybody else with fundraisers or cool deals here – we’re roaming for photos but there’s so much here, we won’t see it all, no matter how hard we try. And of course you’ll see so many great local businesses here, including more than a few WSB sponsors — such as the Dream Dinners crew:
The official end time for Summer Fest tonight is 8 pm, but that’s when the Mudhoney concert starts, so it’ll be rolling for a while past 8. We’ll be here in the central tent, too, since we’ll be covering what’s expected to be quite the crowd for the concert.
7:10 PM UPDATE: It’s been busy much of the day but this is the busiest yet. No trouble though, and just in case, there’s a sizable police contingent on hand — just feet away from us (and close to the “Alaska” stage where Mudhoney will be playing in an hour or so) — this photo gives you an idea of the sunshine we’re looking into (hey, we’re not complaining):
Reminder that in addition to the food vendors, many local restaurants have sidewalk cafes set up, expanding their capacity, like West 5:
7:56 PM UPDATE: Minutes till Mudhoney’s scheduled performance and we have answered the question “where’s the Alaska stage?” about a hundred times, as the last people remaining in the info tent. Of course we’re also staked out over by the stage in hopes of capturing some of the show on video too. Another big question here at this hour – restaurant recommendations. And we’ve had more than a few non-West Seattle visitors ask whether they could walk to Alki from here. (Well, you CAN, but it’ll take you a while.) Oh dear, a little boy who got separated from his parent/s just showed up – the police are chatting with him – remember that if (heaven forbid) you get separated from a child here at Summer Fest, come to the Information (etc.) Booth here at California/Alaska. Nearby, Fitness Together has an old-fashioned “test your strength” setup – here’s a bit of video:
8:15 PM UPDATE: Mudhoney’s playing now, after an introduction by King County Council Chair (and County Executive candidate) Dow Constantine. Video shortly. (By the way, the aforementioned lost child has been reunited with his family.)
9:06 PM: Here’s our crowd-shot video, and you can hear Mudhoney playing. We have a longer clip – their first song, and the Dow C intro – that we’ll upload upon arrival at WSB HQ (video via middle-of-the-street wi-fi tends to take a while):
Sounds like Mudhoney is wrapping up. Still a lot of people hanging out, and not just the crowd for the concert. The booths are shut down, though, and we’re rolling up our spot for the night – back in the morning. More coverage (and other news) to come, though, here on WSB — we’re just changing locales. Oh yeah – there’s the Mudhoney encore.
(scroll down for frequently updated info and photos)
We’re here, facing KeyBank and the Food Court, and ready to cover the first afternoon of West Seattle’s biggest summer event. Come say hi and take the Summer Fest survey (only one page of questions and you’ll be entered for a $100 shopping-spree drawing). Above, a look down the Food Court. Much more to come! Full festival rundown here.
1:07 PM UPDATE: Time for more photos! GORGEOUS day out here. Lots of people but not too crowded, sunny but not too hot. Toward the north end of the Summer Fest zone, on California north of Oregon, near JF Henry, you’ll find Greg Whittaker from Alki Kayak Tours – modeling the rubber sunglasses he’s got on sale for $1 (down from $5!):
Not far from there is Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) – thanks to Lora for sharing her phone so we could participate in KUOW’s “The Conversation” this afternoon, during another of their roundtables with neighborhood-news site editors (we were asked about the King County Water Taxi and the Conner Homes Junction project). Check out Hotwire this weekend for free samples of a frosty drink!
Also on the north end, you’ll find the Art Dive tent just north of Oregon – on the south side of the tent, this metalcrafted mermaid is keeping watch:
2:07 PM UPDATE: Live music will be starting soon – remember there are two stages, the California stage at the north end of the festival, and the Alaska stage east of California, near the Junction Plaza Park site. We’ve talked to lots of great people already – the Hi-Yu Junior Court has come by, as they patrol the festival selling Hi-Yu buttons (help support what is arguably Seattle’s most robust summer festival – and the only one that still has a float that travels to represent its community). If you’re walking north, just look for the gingerbread house:
The steel-drum band, by the way, is The Toucans, and they just declared that they and Mudhoney are the only two bands at Summer Fest that started in 1988. (Mudhoney performs tonight after 8 pm, same stage that The Toucans are on right now.)
2:38 PM UPDATE: Alan Harrison from ArtsWest just dropped by with word of the deal they’re offering during Summer Fest – buy season tickets here, in person, during the festival, and you get $42 worth of goodies thrown in – a ticket to “Plaid Tidings” this holiday season and a $10 gift certificate. (Season tickets are $159 for six plays.) We’ve also gotten a visit from a multimedia class at the Delridge Community Center, youth 14-18 – you’ll be seeing some of their work here on WSB soon, and we’re really excited about that!
3:26 PM UPDATE: Lots of fun to be had on the fly – there’s been a cake-eating contest over by the Community Tent on the east-central side of the festival – tomorrow, we’re told, they’ll do it again with chocolate cake, so plan on that. Meantime, here’s video of the unicyclist who’s been doing stunts – and just keeping your balance on one of those contraptions seems like stunt enough – near our HQ:
5:19 PM UPDATE: We’re going to start a separate evening update with more photos – the live music is really rocking over here in the center of the festival – the Alaska stage (near the Junction Plaza Park beer garden, proceeds from which benefit the park construction fund) is just east of California.
On Alaska east of California, that’s the “Alaska Stage” where Mudhoney will headline tonight, and many others during the three days of West Seattle Summer Fest (sponsoring and co-sponsored by WSB), which starts at 10 this morning. It takes a village to put on a street festival – and the streets are abuzz this morning with people setting up – on California north of Oregon, here’s the Art Dive tent:
Festival guides will be available on site – you can also use the vendor, music and entertainment lists and maps on the Summer Fest website to make a plan before you come down. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, The Junction’s the place to be — hours are 10 am-8 pm today and Saturday, 11 am-7 pm Sunday.
That may be the most exciting sight in the pre-West Seattle Summer Fest hours: Posters at Easy Street for the live music that’s sparked regional buzz – Mudhoney headlining Friday night’s live music (part of a slate on the Alaska stage, east of California, that starts at 6; Mudhoney’s expected after 8). By early Thursday evening, with tents and road barricades up, The Junction already looked like Festival Central:
And the relocated kid-fun zone (in front of Curious Kidstuff) already sports its climbing wall:
That’s a key point to remember about this year’s Summer Fest: The kid zone’s now in the Alaska-Edmunds block; the stage that was at that end of the festival is now the “Alaska” stage by Junction Plaza Park and its fundraising beer garden. There’s still another stage and beer garden on the north end. Individual restaurants/bars are setting up sidewalk cafes, too, like this one:
Elliott Bay spilled out into the street tonight, and like last year, brought in The Bubbleman to enchant kids of all ages – here’s video of his “countdown to bubbles” (and then of course, the bubbles too):
Also happening in The Junction (and elsewhere) Thursday night – the West Seattle Art Walk – check out muralist Jimmy Gersen painting to the beat inside the former north-side-of-Capers space (which as shown here Wednesday will be a video arcade during Summer Fest):
We found live outdoor music too – here’s video of The Spoils playing outside West 5:
Now, to the art. Most of the Art Walk displays are also continuing at the venues through the month, so you can drop by even if you missed it. At Keller Williams Realty, work by Cara Granger Astorquia:
Look for a separate feature later today on the exhibit at The Kenney. Of course, there’s art aplenty at Summer Fest Friday-Saturday-Sunday as well – look for the Art Dive, organized by Twilight Artist Collective, north of Oregon.
10 am tomorrow, West Seattle Summer Fest kicks off, with three days of celebration in the heart of The Junction. Just in — Steve Huling is opening up his site along Fauntleroy, south of the Shell station, for extra Summer Fest parking. Meantime: The beer gardens are in the works, including the one by Junction Plaza Park that’ll raise money to finish its construction (photo above). And tonight at 6, the street closures kick in, which means a fun time to walk in the middle of the street – during the monthly West Seattle Art Walk (6-9 pm) and afterward – but also means detours (and Jonathan French tells us parking-enforcement officers are on the prowl already). A few more notes: When you stop by to say hi at WSB Summer Fest HQ at the northwest corner (facing Easy Street) of the big tent in the center of California/Alaska, take a minute to fill out a survey (just one page, on a laptop!) about your Summer Fest experience, and that’ll get you entered in a drawing for a $100 Junction shopping spree. … See the T-shirt at right? You’ll be able to buy it from the Delridge Playground project volunteers at Summer Fest, $15. They’ll be in the “community tent” near Super Supplements, raising money to feed volunteers during the big playground-building day July 17 (a week from tomorrow!), also raising money by selling $1 lemonade and $2 raffle tickets (prizes including a sunset sail cruise and a walk-on role for a child in the national show “BizKid$”). You can stop by and see the playground design, too … Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) will be down from the Admiral District to have a Summer Fest presence. From the Click! website: “You can come to the Click! booth and get 20% off Smersh Design Jewelry and Orla Kiely Handbags, and take home a coupon for 15% off your next purchase at Click! Design That Fits.” … Junction retailer Capers sent word of Summer Fest deals too: Owner Lisa says, “Capers encourages everyone to ‘represent’ the neighborhood with their new shipment of West Seattle hats and t-shirts. They are featuring outdoor furniture at 50% off list, selected pillows $9.99, and ‘Mary’s Deals’ all weekend. Hope to see y’all at the Festival.” Hmm, there’s two T-shirt mentions so far. Ready for a third? We may have a T-shirt announcement of our own tomorrow. Stand by. Meantime, if you’re at Summer Fest late Saturday, hang around to check out the Home Alive! benefit at Rocksport (more details on Facebook). Keep sending the Summer Fest scoop – we’ll write more tonight and we will start previewing when the sun rises tomorrow, as well as packing up to be based on site from the moment it opens at 10 am Friday. Official Summer Fest website – with vendors, music, entertainers, maps, more — is here. P.S. Just as we were finishing this, we got a note about these folks:
Jessica sent the note, saying:
I wanted to send you a quick heads up about a unique West Seattle group that will be performing at Summerfest tomorrow on the California Stage at 3 pm. They’re called Pillow Army, and they are an avant chamber-pop group that includes cello, violin, and flute. They have unusual, complicated musical parts that would be of interest to anyone curious about the merger of classical and pop sensibilities. They also have somewhat daring and unconventional lyrical content, such as the song “Chicken Wants Her Beak Back”‘ which is a fun, upbeat song with a sneaky message decrying factory farming. They also do a mean cover of the Walrus, by the Beatles (which has beautiful string parts).
“Chicken Wants Her Beak Back” is the song in the video. Pillow Army’s MySpace site is here. Live music starts 2 pm tomorrow – all listed here (including Mudhoney headlining tomorrow night at 8:10!).
Yet more from the West Seattle Summer Fest preview files tonight, with the three-day festival less than two days from kickoff (10 am Friday) … At left is West Seattle’s most fashionable designer/barista, Blayne, photographed at Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) this afternoon and also among the amazing artists, merchants, performers, vendors and others you’ll find at Summer Fest. … Erin at Edie’s Shoes, which also happens to be one of four local stores in the new City Stimulus promotion, says that for Summer Fest, “We will be having a promotion for the festival. Buy one pair of full-priced shoes, get a second pair half off, of equal or lesser value (excludes sale) …” Pete Spalding from the West Seattle Food Bank board of directors sent a reminder that the always-popular WS Food Bank raffle tickets will be on sale at Summer Fest – $5 each. We mentioned the tickets when they went on sale last month – grand prize, 2 unrestricted Alaska Airlines tickets! (More in the second half of this WSB report) … Also another note about the beer garden raising money to complete the construction fund for Junction Plaza Park — it’s the beer garden AT the park site — not only is Elliott Bay Brewery making a special beer for the occasion (which Washington Beer Blogwrites about here), but we’re also reminded that sales of the other beers available at that garden will chip 25% into the park fund too. And the beer cups will be compostable! … We’ve also heard from Sorensen Orthodontics in Burien, which will have a booth near the kids’ area, and says, “We will be handing out information regarding the Invisalign Orthodontic Treatment and signing up prospective new patients for our Burien and coming soon to West Seattle offices. Summer Fest patrons can also take a guess on how many retainers we have on display with a chance to win a I-Pod Nano!” Free lip balms, too … The full lineup of Summer Fest participants is here – with live music here and other entertainment here. We’ll be publishing more previews so if you’re part of Summer Fest, please e-mail to let us know what you’ll be doing/offering! We’ll be reporting live from WSSF the whole time, too, so we’ll see you there …
(photo added 2:20 pm – note, they’re still early in the set-up phase)
Two quick notes re: e-mail we just received – First, Stevewrote to ask why video-game machines are being moved into the space that’s been open since Capers consolidated. Answer: West Seattle Summer Fest! Blinky’s Time Warp Video Arcade will occupy that space during the festival (Friday-Saturday-Sunday – read about it here). Second, a coyote alert – Michael just saw one on Genesee Hill near the now-closed school: “Bold as brass, trotting slowly up our driveway … sorry I was too slow to get a pic. Small pet warning!!” (All WSB coyote reports – some with pix and/or video – are archived here, newest to oldest.) ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: Going through e-mail from the incredibly busy holiday weekend, we realize that last Friday night we failed to add this (suspected) coyote report:
At 3:00 AM on July 3, a probable coyote (according to Animal Control, who said it was definitely not a raccoon) killed an orange cat between Walker and Hill on 48th AVE SW.
If you haven’t been to The Junction within the past week or so, you’ll notice something new when you go for West Seattle Summer Fest this Friday-Saturday-Sunday: More of the free-parking spaces converted to diagonal spaces. (Photo at left, the stripers in action last week.) That means more parking spots. One more transportation-related note – remember the streets close on Thursday night for setup in the general Summer Fest zone, Oregon to Edmunds on California, 44th to 42nd on Alaska. Also note that the music lineup – first announced here way back in May — is now in chronological order on the revamped Summer Fest website. … On the WSB Facebook page, Dawn notes that the Alki Wildlife Habitat Project (whose big celebration we covered last month) will be at Summer Fest, in a booth she says will be the place for “lots of info and to see how YOU can help out!” … Business/vendor notes: Clementine has a sidewalk sale during Summer Fest and is previewing it on Thursday (p.s. you can become a fan of Clementine on Facebook) … Donna Ryan Photography (booth 17 – you can use the zoomable Summer Fest map to find vendors and organizations) e-mailed to share the news that they’ll be selling “kitschy cool photostrip” style photos, custom-processed and sent to you, $15 for 2 (here’s the flyer). Donna adds, “Everyone who participates in this promotion will automatically be entered into a raffle for a portrait session and package with me – valued at $300.” … Speaking of raffles, when you come see us in the central tent at Alaska/California, take a minute to take a quick survey on one of two laptops that’ll be in our area, and get an entry in the West Seattle Junction Association‘s raffle for a $100 shopping spree … One more merchant note: Kathy from Authentic Home says, “We are offering our Buy 2 Get 1 Free Promotion for any gallon of Authentic Home COLOR Paint. We will also have 3 color-coordinated samples of COLOR Cups on sale for $10 plus tax. 3 COLOR Cups normally sell for $13.50 plus tax. Authentic Home COLOR Cups are 2 oz of paint in our Buffed or Eggshell finish.” … And another note on the Junction Plaza Park fundraising beer garden we re-mentioned this morning — in its newest e-newsletter, Elliott Bay Brewery notes that it’s brewing a special beer for the event! … Also heard from Troupe Hipnotica, which is one of the groups listed on the “Other Entertainment” rundown (2008 photo at right courtesy Donnelly Images) – check out the page for some surprises (like the video arcade)! … Are YOU selling, performing, informing, or ??? at Summer Fest? Please let us know so we can mention it ahead of time AND stop by for pix while we’re covering it live, wall to wall – see you there!
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it’s the peninsula’s biggest party of the year – West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction (sponsoring, and co-sponsored by, WSB). For the duration, we’ll be there reporting “live” from the big tent at California/Alaska; till then, we’ll be sharing more tidbits about the highlights. (If you have something to share about what your business/group will be doing at Summer Fest, let us know ASAP!) A few miscellaneous items for starters: Artist Glenn Case – whom we caught up with for a quick photo op [left] as he worked outside Craze in The Junction late today – will be painting a mural during Summer Fest (you have seen his work all over West Seattle, including the Easy Street wall and “Zetta” on the south side of Cafe Revo [WSB sponsor]). … The kids’ area in front of Curious Kidstuff not only will include all sorts of family activities, but on Saturday, you’ll even find mini-martial-arts classes for kids, taught by Angel Kimball. … West Seattle Helpline is getting the word out that if you bring clothes to donate, you’ll find a dropoff bin at its location in the Community Tent, which will be home to a variety of other nonprofit groups along Alaska east of California … Among the many Summer Fest food choices will be Pagliacci Pizza, which e-mailed to note that its new West Seattle general manager Mine Niznik will be out meeting people and helping his team sell $2 slices, right in front of their location on California north of Oregon. … Plus, if you missed the earlier reports on this, remember that the Summer Fest music slate is getting buzz around the city, especially with headliner Mudhoney at 8:10 Friday night … Though West Seattle Summer Fest officially begins at 10 am Friday, fun in The Junction starts when the street closes on Thursday night, just before the West Seattle Art Walk (6-9 at more than 50 venues around West Seattle; get the new map here).
Counting down now till the summer’s biggest West Seattle event, Summer Fest in The Junction (WSB sponsor) July 10-11-12, and we just got word its brand-new website is up, with even more details on the music, art, vendors, family fun, food, and other features we’ve been telling you about. Here’s the home page; vendors (with maps to their individual locations) here; music here; other entertainment here – and even more to explore.
That’s the magician who drew a crowd of kids here at the Westwood Village Street Fair with tricks including that bit of doll levitation earlier this afternoon – live entertainment is about to rev up in a big way with Theatre Sports comedy improv onstage at 4 (a taste of what they’re doing at the Admiral Theater tonight at 9) followed by three bands: Nekkid Frankie, Reckon Yard, Morris Can Fly. If you haven’t been here yet, the stage is right in front of Bed Bath Beyond – booths are in the same parking lot as well as down the Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor – and giving away a gold/diamond pendant at 6:15 pm if you enter the center-wide drawing) and 24 Hour Fitness breezeway, as well as over in front of QFC and the neighboring restaurants. The fair continues till 7 pm; more photos/video to come – and you can see our first report here.
4:17 PM UPDATE: Here’s that Clifford the Big Red Dog photo we promised earlier:
Nekkid Frankie – a teen-girl band – is on stage right now (video added 5:36 pm) – turns out they swapped spots with TheatreSports, which will do its improv comedy afterward, followed by more bands.
5:03 PM UPDATE: The bouncy houses are being deflated – so looks like the kids’ activities are done for the day. Music continues, with band #2 playing now.
5:46 PM UPDATE: More of the other booths are folding up. Just got a chance to talk to someone else who dropped by the WSB table (we’ll be here till at least 6:15) – guide dog-trainer Ruth, whose event last Tuesday was publicized here on WSB. She visited with puppy-in-training Amos, whose photo we will add later – he even has his own training card. They’re working to get the word out that Guide Dogs for the Blind are provided free of charge to the visually impaired, but they don’t have guaranteed funding forever, so they need support, as well as volunteers. ADDED 8:01 PM: A snippet of Morris Can Fly, the third and final band of the night:
The bouncy toys are up and the Westwood Village Street Fair is officially under way, with giveaways, freebies, food, entertainment and more continuing till 7 pm tonight. We’re there too and will be adding more photos and video as the afternoon goes on – drop by to say hi! 12:01 PM UPDATE: We are here in the gorgeous sunshine right outside Dress Barn – and discovered another fun feature that’s taking kids on rides around the Westwood Village site – this train:
A workout demonstration is happening on the stage by Bed Bath and Beyond right now – video shortly. 12:17 PM: Here’s the clip:
Chico’s fashion show followed the fitness demo. By the way, there’s quite the variety of bouncy toys, including one with a Sesame Street theme over by Pier 1:
Great to meet the fine folks who’ve stopped by so far – some we’ve met before, some we haven’t. We’re about to check out what’s happening on the QFC side – food, and also pet adoptions by All the Best Pet Care – stand by for those pix! ADDED 1:12 PM: Just talked with Nancy Woodland from WestSide Baby and Audrey Zemke from White Center Food Bank – both are here – two major agencies helping local families – here’s a photo of Audrey at her table, which is over on the Pier 1 end of the parking lot:
At the QFC food booth, the sausage they’re dishing out as free samples, along with the salmon bake:
Near QFC, you can check out adoptable pets:
Then up in the breezeway across from 24 Hour Fitness, our newest WSB sponsor Wyatt’s Jewelers is joining in the fun too –
You can enter a drawing for a gold/diamond pendant that Wyatt’s is giving away – the drawing’s not till 6:15 so there’s plenty of time to get here – you can get a drawing ticket with any WV purchase (be sure to drop it by the stage by BBB). And next to Wyatt’s, John L. Scott offers the chance to plant sunflowers – appropriate for this spectacularly sunny day:
Just saw Clifford the Big Red Dog still circulating, much to kids’ delight – we’ll see if we can snag a pic. We also have video of the magic show that was onstage a short time ago. (3 pm) That’ll be in the next update – going to post a bit more news first – less than an hour away from comedy and music onstage here, and the free kids’ fun (bouncy toys) continues too.
11 am-7 pm today, Westwood Village transforms into more than a shopping center – community groups and entertainers join its merchants for a daylong Street Fair. QFC‘s offering a free Salmon Bake, Wyatt’s Jewelers (a new WSB sponsor) is among the merchants offering raffles, live music starts in the late afternoon, family fun goes all day including Clifford the Big Red Dog at 11 am, free child-protection kits are available … see more on the schedule here. You can help other families, too, by donating diapers to WestSide Baby, which will be on site too (a prelude to next month’s huge annual Stuff the Bus diaper drive July 19th at West Seattle Farmers’ Market). Much of today’s activity will be in the parking lot area bounded by Bed Bath and Beyond to the north and businesses from Eats Market Cafe to Pier 1 Imports on the east; that’s where we’ll be too, reporting “live” from the WSB table all day – hope to see you there. A full slate of events around the rest of the peninsula too – the West Seattle Weekend Lineup lists all the highlights.
(2008 Summer Fest photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Just two and a half weeks till West Seattle Summer Fest (WSB sponsor), the July 10-11-12 three-day street festival in The Junction (almost a 4-day event, with the West Seattle Art Walk happening after the streets shut down the night before) – and Susan Melrose at the West Seattle Junction Association has just sent word of a money-making opportunity that might interest you:
The Junction Association is offering community groups an opportunity to earn some money while providing a public safety service at West Seattle Summer Fest. Your group can earn a stipend of $300 for a half day of work at the festival. Groups can sign up for multiple shifts to earn more money. This is a great opportunity for youth teams and booster clubs.
What: Act as cross walk guards at intersections at Summer Fest. Festivalgoers might accidentally walk into the street and the guards will remind people to stop at lights.
How Many: Each shift requires 8-10 volunteers at all times. Your group must be able to fill the entire shift.
Who: Must be 16 years old to volunteer. Safety vests provided.
Shifts are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact Liz Schroeder with the Junction Association at liz@wsjunction.org.
As noted here previously, this year’s music lineup is all set (see it here); more online info about the festival’s offerings is in the works but we’ve also had a sneak peek (WSB story from 6/8) at some of this year’s improvements, including the “kid zone” moving to California SW by Curious Kidstuff and one of the music stages moving to SW Alaska near Junction Plaza Park (where you’ll find a park-fundraiser beer garden) from its old location at the south end of the festival zone.
The next festival in West Seattle is the Westwood Village Street Fair, coming up this Saturday. Here’s the latest official flyer; we also got word from Stuart Crandall in WV management about an addition to the lineup: “We just added CHIPS (Child Identification Program) to come in with 500 free child-identity kits, which will include video, audio, DNA, and dental records of your child just in case kidnapping or other such incident occurs.” The festival is scheduled to run 11 am-7 pm; as with this summer’s other big events in West Seattle, we’ll be reporting “live,” so hope to see you there!
ADMIRAL THEATER: This Saturday night’s “Listening Room” show is also a benefit for the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank (which serves West Seattle from SW Myrtle southward) — Admiral entertainment director Dinah Brein McClellan says one thing the WCFB really needs, for example, is bathroom tissue! More on what to bring, who’s performing and how to get tickets here. The show’s at 9 pm and includes live painting as well as music – full details here.
WEST SEATTLE SUMMER FEST: We’ve been updating you on all the plans for West Seattle’s huge three-day summer street festival (a WSB sponsor), coming up July 10-11-12 (most recent update here – another big-name addition to the music slate), including the fact that the beer garden at the Junction Plaza Park site will help raise money to finish the park project. Now Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association sends an update on that – the percentage has been finalized: 25 percent of the beer garden’s proceeds will go to the park. She’s also looking for volunteers to help staff the park’s booth at Summer Fest – susan@wsjunction.org if you can help.
and that’ll get you entered in a drawing for a $100 Junction shopping spree. … See the T-shirt at right? You’ll be able to buy it from the Delridge Playground project volunteers at Summer Fest, $15. They’ll be in the “community tent” near 
Yet more from the 
If you haven’t been to The Junction within the past week or so, you’ll notice something new when you go for 
Authentic Home COLOR Cups are 2 oz of paint in our Buffed or Eggshell finish.” … And another note on the 
till then, we’ll be sharing more tidbits about the highlights. (If you have something to share about what your business/group will be doing at Summer Fest, 
Counting down now till the summer’s biggest West Seattle event, 
11 am-7 pm today, Westwood Village transforms into more than a shopping center – community groups and entertainers join its merchants for a daylong Street Fair. QFC‘s offering a free Salmon Bake, 
ADMIRAL THEATER: This Saturday night’s “Listening Room” show is also a benefit for the
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