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Festival followup: Morgan Junction thanks the “Bite” participants
June 17, 2009 11:48 pm
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Of all the photos we didn’t get around to using during our coverage of the Morgan Junction Community Festival last weekend, that’s our favorite – one of the many festival-going families stopping by to see Anne from Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor), though the youngest member of the family turned her attention elsewhere. This was the fourth time the Morgan Community Association (MoCA) has presented the festival, but the first time for the free food feature “Bite of Morgan” – get a coupon book and walk to area eateries to swap coupons for freebies including pizza and coffee. “Bite” organizer Kate Stineback wanted to share this message of thanks to the participating businesses:

Thank You “Bite of Morgan” Businesses!

Last Saturday the Morgan Junction Community Festival coordinated the first ever “Bite of Morgan Junction”. As part of the annual Festival, the “Bite” was intended to not only feed festival-goers, but to encourage attendees to walk around the Morgan Junction, patronize businesses and get to know their neighborhood.

This year we had eight businesses participate in the event, each donating a substantial amount of food or beverage. Kokoras Greek Grill; Feedback Lounge; Zeeks Pizza; Tully’s Coffee; Abbondanza Pizzeria; Domino’s; Caffe Ladro; and Thriftway.

The Morgan Community Association (MoCA) is happy to report that the “Bite” was a huge success. After tallying up the coupons from all participating establishments, we nearly hit 50% coupon usage – pretty good for a new event! (Caffe Ladro handed out their own coupons at the Park Opening and Thiftway donated proceeds from their BBQ to the Festival!)

MoCA would like to extend our sincerest thanks to these businesses for participating in the “Bite”. In particular, we want to thank them for donating during such a precarious time in the economy. It says a lot about our little business district that eight establishments, both large and small, as well as local and corporate, would come together to serve our community in this way.

As a big neighborhood thank you, MoCA would like to encourage anyone who attended the “Bite” to patronize these restaurants in the coming months. Let’s make sure they know how much we appreciate them!

Click ahead to see Kate’s photos of the friendly folks at six of the venues:Read More

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Another big-name addition to West Seattle Summer Fest music
June 16, 2009 12:10 pm
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Just got word that one of the final TBA slots on the music slate at West Seattle Summer Fest (WSB sponsor), the three-day festival in The Junction that starts three weeks from Friday: Caspar Babypants, the family-music act launched by Chris Ballew, who you probably know best as lead singer of The Presidents of the United States of America. They’ll perform at 2:15 pm Saturday 7/11 (currently listed as “TBA” on the official Summer Fest music-lineup page). They also have a new CD out (more info here; more videos here) and we’re told that this is yet another West Seattle link to the Summer Fest slate – because Ballew has just bought a house in West Seattle. Read on for the list of Summer Fest bands with West Seattle ties (besides Caspar Babypants):Read More

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You’ve been warned: Seafair Pirates Landing banners are up
June 15, 2009 12:53 pm
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 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

Light poles along Alki Avenue are now festooned with promotional, er, we mean warning signs that a pirate invasion is near. The annual Seafair Pirates Landing is July 11th – and according to the Pirates’ website (yes, they sail the digital seven seas too), they’ll hit the beach around noon, with a variety of other events before and after turning it into an all-day party. Usually quite the turnout – here’s a pan of the crowd awaiting their landing last year:

This is happening on Day 2 of West Seattle Summer Fest (WSB sponsor), which will continue into the evening, so once you’ve snagged your treasure at the beach (the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle sponsors a kids’ pirate lookalike contest, for example), you can sail up the hill to the fun in The Junction.

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Morgan Junction Community Festival, report #2
June 13, 2009 5:05 pm
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

The West Seattle Teeter Tots (with kids born in – or “around” – 2007) are among the dozens of groups and businesses we’ve spent the day with here at the Morgan Junction Community Festival. Still an hour left before everybody packs up from the park and the booth area behind Zeeks/Feedback, where it’s been a perfect day – brilliant sunshine but not too hot, lots of people but not too crowded. Also here – the Lazy Locavores – edible-garden consultants (also known as the Shibaguyz) — that’s Shannon in the background:

We’ll be adding a few more pics and some video to one last report here; this is the first time in about two years that the Morgan Community Association has presented this festival, and it’s been a smash hit – particularly the “Bite of Morgan” food sampling, with 400 coupon books handed out (the entire stock) by midway through the festival – and the slate of local musicians, spanning a wide variety of genres, assembled by MoCA’s Chas Redmond. Here’s video of Soul Machinery:

(next clip added 7:54 pm) And here, a minute of The Slags:

(next clip added 8:30 pm) Last but not least, the cover band 4 outta 5, with the disco classic “I Will Survive”:

Special thanks to everybody who dropped by the WSB table to say hi – those we’d met before, those we knew only through e-mail, and those we hadn’t met yet either way but have been out there in WSB-land … thank YOU for being part of WSB. (Including MargL, who sent us this pic from Engine 37’s visit to the festival — Engine 29 was here earlier too – and apologies if we’re omitting any other fire teams who visited, but they were over by the park area and we’ve spent most of the day in the booth area.)

If we didn’t see you today, we’ll see you at the Westwood Village street festival in two weeks, and West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction July 10-11-12.

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Happening now: Morgan Junction Community Festival, report #1
June 13, 2009 12:51 pm
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | West Seattle video

That’s Sheila Brown from Camp Long, wearing coffee-filter art as a hat – in the newly dedicated Morgan Junction Park itself, you’ll find the Parks Department booth where you can make some too – and the park is also where the legendary Bubbleman put on a show as the festival began – here’s a snippet of video:

(Note: The Bubbleman will be in The Junction the night before West Seattle Summer Fest – Thursday 7/9, 7 pm, after the streets close for festival prep, right in front of Elliott Bay Brewery.) But MJ Park’s not the only place you’ll find things to do and people to meet (like us!) – right behind the Feedback Lounge/Zeeks building is where more than two dozen booths are set up. Just walk southwest from the back of the park, behind Beveridge Place. Good turnout so far, and we’ve had some great conversations – chatted with Larry Carpenter and Ron Richardson from the Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum – just finished talking to the first campaigning candidate sighted today, City Council hopeful Jessie Israel (who is running against incumbent Councilmember Nick Licata) — the primary election is just a little more than two months away. Remember to stop by the Morgan Community Association booth in front of the park to get your coupons for the “Bite of Morgan” freebies – and if you want even more, you can cross California SW to West Seattle Thriftway, with $7 for a barbecue lunch till 4 pm (proceeds going to MoCA for future festivals):

You can enter the festival from the park on California north of Fauntleroy, or through the booth area on Fauntleroy just west of California – it continues till 6 pm.

2:56 PM UPDATE: Adding a few more photos. And candidate sighting #2 – David Ginsberg, High Point resident running for City Council. And by all indications, the festival’s a smash hit – 400 coupon books gone already, with three hours left to go … right now we’re talking with Jeff Gilbert from Feedback Lounge about those pulled-pork sliders that folks have mentioned in comments on this post – he says lots of folks who’ve never been in FL before have stopped by because of the “Bite.” A couple quick photos from the booths closest to us:

That’s where you can find out about the Communication Hubs around West Seattle – the places you can go just in case of disaster, to get information. (More info at westseattle.bepreparedseattle.info) Right next to the Hubs, more info about Orchard Street Ravine, a natural area just about half a mile southeast of here:

And next to that, the Friends of Lincoln Park P-Patch are having a fundraising bake sale:

More to come – we’re here till 6.

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Morgan Community Festival today: What’s happening when
June 13, 2009 9:34 am
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

Just hopped down the hill to Morgan Junction Park and vicinity to check on setup for the Morgan Junction Community Festival, 11 am-6 pm today (that’s MoCA’s Cindi Barker in pink, checking on things in the booth area, right behind Zeeks/Feedback/Beveridge). It kicks off (after the park dedication) with the legendary Bubbleman 11-11:30 am, a family fave. And there will be music – lots of music, coordinated by MoCA’s Chas Redmond – here’s a look at this morning’s stage setup:

And here’s the full music slate, from a preview we published earlier this week:

11:30 am-12:15 pm
Seattle’s Own High Country
4-piece band playing Up-tempo Classic Country and Country-inspired originals

12:45-1:30 pm
Primo and Friends
4-piece band playing Rock and Blues originals
website: http://primorosario.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/primoandthetranzzplantz

2-2:45 pm
Soul Machinery
4-piece band playing New Orleans Funk
website: http://myspace.com/soulmachinery

3:15-4 pm
The Slags
4-piece band playing Punk, Rock and Reggae originals
website: http://slagsband.com or http://www.myspace.com/theslagsband

4:30-5:30 pm
4 outta 5
4-piece band playing Rock covers
website: http://www.4outta5.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/4outta5

Here are the food/beverage outlets participating in the Bite of Morgan – free samples, just pick up a coupon book first at the Morgan Community Association booth:

Kokoras Greek Grill
Feedback Lounge
Zeeks Pizza
Tully’s Coffee
Abbondanza Pizzeria (after 4:30pm)
Domino’s
Caffe Ladro (handing out coupons at the park opening)

And even more festival information is here. Among the dozens of businesses and community groups you’ll find there (including WSB!) you’ll find the West Seattle Teeter Tots with a bake sale to raise money “to keep the group free to join” – organizers asked if we’d share a little info about them:

Our group is for parents and their children born in 2007(or close to it) and their younger siblings. We are a group that likes to have a good time, enjoys getting out and about with our kids to enjoy all that Seattle has to offer. We often meet at each other’s houses, play at parks, take field trips, and go out once a month for a much deserved Mom’s Night Out. We are an open-minded, casual group with not a lot of rules that is free to join. If you are looking to get out of the house, meet other local moms and kids to socialize and have fun, come join us!

We’ll report live all day – so check back for a look at what’s going on – and no matter what part of West Seattle you’re in, come on over to check out Morgan Junction — just head about a mile south of The (Alaska) Junction on California and you’re there.

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“Bite of Morgan” at Saturday’s Morgan Junction Festival: Freebies!
June 11, 2009 1:30 pm
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | West Seattle restaurants

Just two days till the next big West Seattle festival, the Morgan Junction Community Festival this Saturday, in and around the new Morgan Junction Park (which will be dedicated at 10 am, right before the 11 am-6 pm festival), and we have more details now about one brand-new component of the festival, the “Bite of Morgan” — from Kate Stineback:

Several restaurants have agreed to participate in the first annual “Bite” by donating bite-sized goodies for festival attendees throughout the day…the restaurants participating are:

Kokoras Greek Grill
Feedback Lounge
Zeeks Pizza
Tully’s Coffee
Abbondanza Pizzeria (after 4:30pm)
Domino’s
Caffe Ladro (handing out coupons at the park opening)

We are so excited about this and hope that people will come on down, grab a coupon book and travel around the (Morgan) Junction to these businesses to pick up a yummy “bite” of something inside each establishment. It should be great! And it says a lot about our businesses that they would be willing to do this at such a precarious time in the economy. Let’s show them our love and come out to the festival to celebrate our great little commercial business district!

You’ll be able to get the coupon book for the free “bites” at the Morgan Community Association booth. We’ll be there reporting live throughout the day too – hope to see you there! Earlier in the week, we mentioned the music lineup – read on for a few more details on the bands, courtesy of Chas Redmond:Read More

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4th of July at High Point: Booths available at Diversity Festival
June 10, 2009 5:13 pm
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 |   High Point | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

The heart of festival season is getting closer – the Morgan Junction Community Festival is coming up this Saturday, with the new park’s dedication at 10 am, followed by festival fun 11 am-6 pm – and now another festival that’s just a few weeks away is putting out an invitation to participants: The High Point Diversity Festival has booths available for businesses and community groups. Read on —Read More

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Next 2 festivals: Morgan Junction 6/13, Westwood Village 6/27
June 8, 2009 8:48 pm
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 |   Fun stuff to do | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | Westwood

We’ve been talking a lot about West Seattle Summer Fest – but two more major festivals are between now and then: This Saturday, it’s the Morgan Junction Community Festival, starting with the 10 am ceremony to dedicate the new Morgan Junction Park (just north of Beveridge Place Pub), continuing 11 am-6 pm with food, music and performances; the “Bite of Morgan” food offerings include Abbondanza, Caffe Ladro, Domino’s, Feedback Lounge, Kokoras Greek Grill, Tully’s and Zeeks Pizza. Entertainment will be in the park, while booths will be in the Zeeks parking lot just south. Here’s the schedule of events:

10:00 am Park Opening Ceremonies
11:00 am The Bubbleman – fun for kids, bubbles galore
11:30 am Seattle’s Own High Country 4-piece band playing Up-tempo Classic Country and Country-inspired originals
11:30 am start of sidewalk chalk art contest
12:30 pm announcement of results of sidewalk art contest
12:45 pm Primo and Friends 4-piece band playing Rock and Blues originals
1:30 pm entertainment in the park: belly dancing by “najma”
2:00 pm Soul Machinery 4-piece band playing Chicago-style Blues
3:15 pm The Slags 4-piece band playing Punk, Rock and Reggae originals
4:30 pm 4 outta 5 4-piece band playing Rock covers

Two weeks later, on June 27th, Westwood Village is having a street fair – 11 am-7 pm, with live performances, carnival games, a fashion show and food. (The shopping center also is promoting a new website address — WhereWestSeattleShops.com — which takes you to a page on its parent company’s site, including a list of its stores.) It’s free, but they’re asking that you bring donations for organizations including the West Seattle Food Bank and WestSide Baby.

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West Seattle Summer Fest: Want to show off? Step up now!
June 8, 2009 9:28 am
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

3o2t9977.jpgWest Seattle’s biggest summer festival is now just a month away — West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction, Friday 7/10 through Sunday 7/12. It’s more like a three-and-a-half-day festival, since Thursday 7/9 is the monthly Art Walk and the streets will be closed that night for setup (as well as for some pre-festival fun – we hear the Bubbleman will be out by Elliott Bay Brewery that night as he was last year – he’ll be at this Saturday’s Morgan Junction Festival too). This year’s festival will have some new elements and a different configuration; perhaps the biggest, the southernmost music stage will move to SW Alaska east of California, and the south end of the festival zone on California will be the family-fun zone, right in the section of the shopping district that most West Seattle families already know well as home to Curious Kidstuff (WSB sponsor). Besides ticketed attractions (bouncy house, slide, etc.), this area also will feature more free family fun and performances this year, according to Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association. With so many great school and youth performance groups and clubs around West Seattle, liondancetrio.jpgshe wanted to put out the call to any who might be interested in showing their stuff during Summer Fest, so it’ll have even more West Seattle flavor. If you’re involved with a school or youth group that might like a turn in the Summer Fest spotlight, contact Susan at the WSJA office (susan@wsjunction.com or 206-935-0904). Meantime, keep an eye on the Summer Fest website; as reported here last week, the full music schedule is now published there (that relocated stage by the Junction Plaza Park site – where you will find a beer garden, too – is the Alaska stage, while the one on the north end of the festival zone is the California stage). And remember Twilight Artist Collective has put out a call for Art Dive participants too – see it here. (Photos from Summer Fest 2008 – crowd shot by Christopher Boffoli, Lion Dance by TR)

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West Seattle Summer Fest: Art and music updates
June 4, 2009 11:34 am
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

Feels like July already, so it’s the perfect time for some West Seattle Summer Fest updates, since the three-day festival in The Junction is just five weeks away. We’re expecting even more updates later today but for starters, we actually got these last night, and wanted to share them now: First, that tent in the photo above is the Art Dive, which debuted at last year’s Summer Fest. The team at Twilight Art Collective is putting out the word now to get artists signed up:

CALLING ALL ARTISTS

Come ART DIVE @ Summer Fest July 10th, 11th and 12th!!

If you are a local artist interested in selling your goods at this year’s Summer Fest, ART DIVE is for you. Art Dive was hatched last year as a way of making participation in the festival affordable for YOU! For $125 you will be allotted an 8 x 2 foot table under one of the large tents that house Art Dive for the duration of our awesome 3-day community festival. You take home all proceeds! Twilight Artist Collective facilitates this portion of the festival but we do not curate it, what this means is EVERYONE making goods in the USA is welcome to be part of Art Dive, SO spread the word and get your spot in the tent!

APPLY HERE: www.twilightart.net/artdive.html

This morning’s other Summer Fest note: You got first word here last month about the impressive list of music acts that are signed up to perform, topped by legendary grungesters Mudhoney. But at the time, most of the dates/times for the performances hadn’t been firmed up. Now they have, according to this page on the Summer Fest site.

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Delridge Day tomorrow: Full (packed!) schedule now online
May 29, 2009 8:06 pm
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 |   Delridge | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

It’s the next big festival of the pre-summer – and it’s happening tomorrow at Youngstown Arts Center: Delridge Day, 11 am-5 pm. We’ll have a table there, and we’re inviting kids and teens to write short messages to share online with the WSB world – we’ll also be reporting “live” on the events throughout the day. But we’re just a tiny part of the event – there’s food, live music, dancing, gardening, mural-making, skateboarding, a plant sale to raise $ for the new Delridge Community Center playground, and one thing we’re particularly looking forward to finally seeing in person – the work of Mandy Greer, who is crocheting a fiber river that’ll be installed at Camp Long this summer. Indoor AND outdoor fun at Youngstown for Delridge Day tomorrow – we look forward to seeing you there! (Here’s a map to Youngstown, if you’ve never been there.)

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1st look at almost-final music lineup for West Seattle Summer Fest
May 18, 2009 6:23 pm
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 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Less than two months now till West Seattle Summer Fest, the street festival in The Junction. We’ve already reported on the big-name headliner for Night 1, Mudhoney – but now, the rest of the music slate is “nearly complete,” and booker Jason Fitzgerald — who enthuses, “This is by far the best lineup yet!” — is sharing the news on who will be playing during the festival’s three-day run July 10-12:

Mudhoney (www.myspace.com/mudhoney)
Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands (www.myspace.com/markpickerelandhisprayinghands)
The Magic Mirrors (www.myspace.com/themagicmirrors)
The Dimes (www.myspace.com/thedimes)
McTuff (www.myspace.com/mctuffmusic)
70 Proof (1970’s guitar rock cover songs performed by Andrew McKeag & Jason Finn of The Presidents, Mike Musburger of The Posies, Kurt Bloch from The Fastbacks, Ben London from Alcohol Funnycar and special guests!)
Thee Sgt Major III (www.myspace.com/sgtmajortheband)
Super Sonic Soul Pimps (www.myspace.com/intellijamus)
Black Panties (www.myspace.com/blackpantiesrock)
The Tripwires (www.myspace.com/thetripwires)
Team Gina (www.myspace.com/teamgina)
Derby (www.myspace.com/derbyrock)
We Are Golden (www.myspace.com/wearegoldenmusic)
The Lonely Forest (www.myspace.com/thelonelyforest)
Kim Virant (www.myspace.com/kimvirant)
Trombone Cake (www.myspace.com/trombonecake2007)
Kristen Ward (www.myspace.com/kristenwardmusic)
Capping Day (www.myspace.com/cappingday)
Green Pajamas (www.myspace.com/greenpajamas)
Carrie Clark & The Lonesome Lovers (www.myspace.com/carrieclark)
Strange Jerome (www.myspace.com/strangejerome)
Mighty Shiny (www.myspace.com/mightyshiny)
Half Light (www.myspace.com/halflightseattle)
Olympic Sound Collective (www.myspace.com/olympicsoundcollective)
Hurricane Chaser (www.myspace.com/hurricanechasermusic)
Swamp Soul (www.swampsoulband.com/music.html)
Gunbunny (www.myspace.com/wearegunbunny)
Pillow Army (www.myspace.com/pillowarmy)
Ranger & The Re-Arrangers (www.myspace.com/rangerandtherearrangers)
The Toucans (www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1559701-toucans-steel-drum-band)
Supermassive (www. supermassivemusic.com)

Fitzgerald adds, “The dates and times for these performances will be published later. And, as always, it’s all FREE!”

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Sustainable West Seattle Festival report #2: Video, more photos
May 4, 2009 4:56 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle festivals

(our first SWS Festival report, with as-it-happened coverage and photos, can be seen here)

The second annual Sustainable West Seattle Festival closed Sunday afternoon with a singalong chorus of “This Land Is Your Land,” mostly in honor of folk-music legend Pete Seeger‘s 90th birthday (celebrated a short time later at the Admiral Theater a few miles north), but also as a reminder of what the festival was all about: This peninsula is your peninsula — and while it may still be a place where many people leave to go to work, ultimately we need to keep building a self-sustaining, resilient West Seattle economy and ecosystem. SWS president Bill Reiswig expounded on that theme in his opening remarks Sunday morning:

WSB was among the co-sponsors of the festival, which included more than 75 organizations as well as dozens of speakers and musicians, even Green Living Workshops at the nearby Senior Center of West Seattle. Back on the festival grounds, a “green living” theme even extended to real estate, with GreenWorks Realty‘s Wendy Hughes-Jelen (and CityDog Magazine cover dog Sophia) on hand:

More photos and video from the festival – just ahead:Read More

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Sustainable West Seattle Festival: Reporting live, till 3 pm
May 3, 2009 9:53 am
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 |   Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news

(scroll down for the latest photos and updates)

(Sustainable West Seattle president Bill Reiswig)
Till 3 pm today, West Seattle Blog headquarters moves to the Sustainable West Seattle Festival in The Junction. Above is a photo sent via Twitter by festival organizers, who’ve already “tweeted” lots of great info and photos (follow SWS at @sustainablews – or check the updates via the Web at twitter.com/sustainablews). We’ll be adding our own soon. Our table is by the east side of the Wells Fargo drive-through (where we were last year), west of the “main stage.” We’ve got the first 200 copies of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map – which doesn’t go live online till tonight or early tomorrow (if you think you’ve seen a map online already, it’s from a previous year, because this one is NOT yet published online). Great weather for a festival, lots of booths, entertainment, panel discussions (we’re on one at noon) – see the schedule, site layout, exhibitors list, all here. More to come!

10:26 AM UPDATE: Congressman Jim McDermott is speaking on the nearby main stage right now. Great weather, lots of people and lots of incredible exhibitors.

A highlight for kids of all ages – costumed characters – including not just one, but two “Bagmonsters” crafted from plastic bags …among other characters:

We’re right across from Camp Long, Longfellow Creek Watershed, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Nature Consortium booths … more of the great groups working to keep West Seattle green, and in many cases make it even greener through their restoration work. By the way, if you pick up a festival program while you’re here, it’s good for reading later – several articles by festival participants including us, talking about the topic that will be the subject of a panel we’re on at noon, “Sustainable Community Through Media” – one of the most important parts of WSB is YOU – without your presence, your collaboration, your ideas, your news tips, your event announcements, your photos, there wouldn’t be much here. Meantime, we’re also monitoring the SWS Twitter feed, from which this photo of the “backyard chickens” booth comes:

Over at the main stage next to us, CoolMom is about to put on a puppet show.

11:50 AM UPDATE: Pete Spalding, president of the West Seattle Food Bank board, just stopped by. (added later, here’s a photo of Pete in the WSFB booth)

He told us Friday night’s Instruments of Change fundraiser WSFB was a smash hit – sold out, more than 200 people, former Mayor Norm Rice gave a great speech, and the “dessert dash” led by County Council Chair Dow Constantine raised $11,000. (Pete adds that WSFB served more people last month than in any other month in its history.) Constantine just spoke here at the festival:

Also here – Mayor Greg Nickels:

12:52 PM UPDATE: Just back from the media panel, with Kery Murakami from Seattle Post Globe (former P-I employees who started up a new news site), Chuck Taylor (formerly of crosscut.com), and Jonathan Lawson of Reclaim the Media. Great discussion – and thanks to the folks who came to listen (Yes Magazine was tweeting it – see highlights at twitter.com/yesmagazine):

Thanks to Jake for that photo of us on the panel – from left, Chuck, Kery, me (WSB editor TR), Jonathan – next photo is our iPhone snap of the audience area:

We thought we’d added this earlier but apparently not – some of what else is happening in The Junction – the Skillet trailer at Seattle Lutheran High School (we’ll be checking after today whether it’ll be back next week – this was on a trial run basis):

They’re there till 2 pm, and there are some menu changes from what’s online – including a pulled pork sandwich instead of the fried spaghetti sandwich. And if you’re walking that way from the heart of The Junction, drop by the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) courtyard for the Furry Faces Foundation plant sale to raise money for animal rescue – they’re there till 4 pm.

Now back to the Sustainable West Seattle Festival – here till 3 pm in and around Wells Fargo in The Junction (44th/Alaska, across from the Farmers’ Market) – two stages with panels and performances, lots of great places to learn about living sustainably.

1:51 PM UPDATE: Just talked to Gene, who’s tweeting today for @sustainablews – check out that Twitter feed not only for festival notes, but also some photo links. Meantime, more of our photos – WSB sponsor Clean Air Lawn Care is here (that’s owner Adam):

And of course, lots of different ways of getting around, sustainably:

The Westenders Scooter Club is one of dozens of exhibitors here. Meantime, we’re almost out of West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day maps but the map will be online late tonight/early tomorrow, in printable and clickable forms! And we’ve had many more great conversations – political candidates have stopped by our table including mayoral candidate Michael McGinn and West Seattle-residing City Council candidates Dorsol Plants and David Ginsberg.

3 PM UPDATE: The festival’s ending, though some festivalgoers are still lingering as things wrap up – we have some folk music over at the main stage – festival coordinator Brian Allen‘s running around pointing participants to an afterparty:

Congratulations to Brian and everybody at Sustainable West Seattle for putting on another huge, successful, fun festival. We’ll be jumping back into the news stream. Look for a followup report later tonight with more photos and video from today’s festival. P.S. Stu Hennessey (Alki Bike and Board), another of the Sustainable West Seattle leaders working hard on the festival, stopped by to say they want to say again how much they appreciate the local business support in this area for and during the festival. And speaking of business support, we mentioned earlier that WSB sponsor Clean Air Lawn Care is here – spotted a couple more of our sponsors along the way – Mural Apartments (just about open, across from Jefferson Square):

And also, Envision Homes:

Some of the people who stopped by to talk with us asked what they can do to support the continued growth of 24/7 community news, information and discussion at WSB – our #1 request, support our sponsors; close behind, keep sharing your news tips, photos, announcements, stories, etc. – you can reach us any time, a variety of ways – all listed here (but most importantly, make sure our number is in your cell-phone list so you can call if you have an urgent sighting or question – 206-293-6302). More photos and video from the festival later!

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Happening today: Viaduct, Farmers Market, SWS Festival, Seeger
May 3, 2009 7:06 am
|    Comments Off on Happening today: Viaduct, Farmers Market, SWS Festival, Seeger
 |   Admiral Theater | Alaskan Way Viaduct | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle festivals

(photo by Janna Silverstein)
The top deck of the Alaskan Way Viaduct will be full of people instead of cars this morning – the northbound section will be closed to traffic approximately 9-10:30 am, according to WSDOT, for the March of Dimes March for Babies. By the time it’s over, back on this side of the bay, The Junction will be bustling for two reasons:

(photo by JayDee)
Tulips are just part of what you’ll find at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, 10 am-2 pm. Here’s the fresh sheet. And across the street, it’s the second annual Sustainable West Seattle Festival:

That video is from the festival opening by Duwamish Tribe members last year – and this year, the Duwamish will do the honors again. 10 am-3 pm, there will be TONS going on — performances, discussions, demonstrations, involving dozens of organizations and businesses from all over the area, focused on community resilience (here’s the official program). WSB will be there – look for our table near the main stage (here’s the layout) along the east side of Wells Fargo – we’ve got the first 200 copies of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day Map, first come, first served! Then about an hour after the festival, it’s the start of the Pete Seeger 90th birthday celebration at the Admiral Theater:

The event has two main components – a documentary screening at 4 pm (“The Power of Song,” which includes that video clip), a “hootenanny” with performances and singalongs at 7 pm. See our preview here.

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Got a local business? Discount space at West Seattle Summer Fest
April 29, 2009 3:59 pm
|    Comments Off on Got a local business? Discount space at West Seattle Summer Fest
 |   West Seattle businesses | West Seattle festivals

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(WSB photo from West Seattle Summer Fest 2008)
Only two and a half months till West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction, and while that may sound like forever, if you’re a business, musician, food vendor or artist thinking about participating, now’s the time to nail down your plans. When we heard Susan Melrose from the West Seattle Junction Association mention that local businesses are offered the best rates for space, we said “tell us more” – so here’s the scoop:

The 27th annual West Seattle Summer Fest planning is under way and local West Seattle businesses are invited to participate at special neighborhood rates. The community event draws over 30,000 people and is a great way to meet your neighbors and showcase your business. Depending on your type of business, spots in vendor row can cost as much as $1500. But all West Seattle businesses will be charged only $300 per 10×10 spot. Artists can join the Art Dive for only $125. West Seattle musicians, we’ll pay you! Details at www.westseattlefestival.com.

And West Seattle businesses get a discount on sponsorships too! There are several sponsorship levels. The minimum to get your logo on the poster is $1000 for West Seattle businesses. Note that it’s $3500 for “across the bridge” sponsors.

Why the deal? This is a community-wide event and we want to encourage all of West Seattle to benefit from and participate in this festival. Many of us enjoy living in West Seattle because all of our needs can be met in our own neighborhood – so let’s show it off!

Dates are July 10, 11, 12.

To reserve a booth, visit www.westseattlefestival.com, download the vendor application and put “West Seattle Business – $300!”

To sponsor, please e-mail Susan Melrose at susan@wsjunction.org or call at 935-0904.

Hope you can join the fun!!

And Summer Fest is bound to be bigger than ever – as reported here earlier this month, Mudhoney will headline the music slate for night one on June 10th.

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Updates from Delridge Produce Cooperative, as it grows
April 27, 2009 10:13 am
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Delridge | Gardening | West Seattle festivals

This ongoing volunteer campaign aimed at helping get more fresh food for sale in Delridge has sent a few updates this morning – including Delridge Produce Cooperative‘s upcoming participation in the next two weekend’s biggest West Seattle events, the Sustainable West Seattle Festival (Sunday 5/3) and West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (Saturday 5/9), as well as one more chance to enter a contest — read on!Read More

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Happening now: Sustainable West Seattle Festival “preview”
April 26, 2009 1:13 pm
|    Comments Off on Happening now: Sustainable West Seattle Festival “preview”
 |   Environment | West Seattle Farmers' Market | West Seattle festivals

That’s Chas Redmond, who’s with Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market right now, handing out programs and signing up volunteers for the Sustainable West Seattle Festival, which happens one week from today, right across SW Alaska from the market. Chas also showed off small-scale versions of maps that will be at the Feet First/West Seattle Trails Alliance booth at the festival, with sharpies and sticky dots you can use to “visually vote” for the kind of transit you would like to see, and how you think transportation dollars should be spent:

The Farmers’ Market continues till 2 pm; Chas and Stu are along the alley, on the east side. If you don’t catch up with them, the schedule and map for the festival can be seen online here (including our spot in the media zone near the main stage, where the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day maps will debut at our table); the festival runs 10 am-3 pm next Sunday (5/3).

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Sustainable West Seattle Festival, May 3: Preview it online!
April 24, 2009 3:54 pm
|      3 COMMENTS
 |   Environment | Fun stuff to do | Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle festivals

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(WSB photo from 2008 Sustainable West Seattle Festival)
The full website is now up and running for the 2nd annual Sustainable West Seattle Festival (which is sponsoring, and co-sponsored by, WSB), coming up Sunday, May 3, in The Junction, 10 am-3 pm. You can see the schedule here – the Duwamish Tribe will open the festival again this year, and speakers immediately afterward include Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott; there’s a long list of schedules, workshops and panels, including one that’ll feature your editor here (Local Media Panel: “Communities as Contributors, not Readers” – as we put it, WSB doesn’t have “readers”; you’re a collaborator). We’re also among dozens of organizations and businesses that will have tables or booths, all listed here – at our table, you can be among the first to get a free copy of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day map, which will go public that day (tomorrow’s the deadline to sign up a sale for WSCGSD – westseattlegaragesale.com). The Sustainable West Seattle Festival’s official website starts here.

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Mudhoney to headline first night of West Seattle SummerFest
April 17, 2009 10:56 am
|      9 COMMENTS
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

(2007 Mudhoney photo via Flickr, by DaigoOliva)
With less than three months to go till West Seattle Summer Fest — the huge three-day street festival in The Junction — a big-name music act has signed on: Dave Montoure from West 5 and the West Seattle Junction Association confirms that Seattle’s own Mudhoney (which has at least one member with WS ties) will headline the first night of the live music slate, Friday night, July 10th. Some other big changes/improvements are on the drawing board for this year’s festival (July 10-12) too, with details to be made public soon. By the way, if you’re a vendor, performer, artist, or food seller, you can find applications for Summer Fest at the festival website.

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Application time for Sustainable West Seattle’s 2nd Festival
March 6, 2009 1:46 pm
|    Comments Off on Application time for Sustainable West Seattle’s 2nd Festival
 |   Environment | Fun stuff to do | Sustainable West Seattle | West Seattle festivals

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(Westenders Scooter Club representing! Just part of the 2008 Sustainable West Seattle Festival)
Also just out of the inbox, word that Sustainable West Seattle is taking applications for vendors and sponsors through March 23 for its second annual Festival, 10 am-3 pm Sunday, May 3rd, in The Junction. Last year’s first-ever SWS festival was a huge hit. Go here to get the application and find out more. (They’re looking for volunteer help for the festival too – call Stu Hennessey at (206) 767-9366 or volunteer@sustainablewestseattle.org)

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Think Summer Fest: Junction street festival applications
February 5, 2009 9:44 am
|    Comments Off on Think Summer Fest: Junction street festival applications
 |   West Seattle festivals | West Seattle news | WS culture/arts

Video thumbnail. Click to play.
Click To Play

That’s a quick clip of one of the hottest tickets at last year’s West Seattle Summer Fest, Green Pajamas, and we’ve pulled it out of the archives to let you know that application forms are now available online for bands that want to play in this year’s Summer Fest. So are applications for prospective food and craft vendors. The forms are all linked from the Summer Fest home page, which you can find here; the festival’s set for July 10th-12th. (We got first word of this at last night’s Southwest District Council meeting; more headlines from SWDC are coming up a bit later.)

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