With nine days to go until this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival (10 am-4 pm Saturday, June 22nd), it’s time to rev up the previews. First, a longtime hallmark of the free festival – chances to get creative. Here are some of the highlights, as announced by organizers:

New! Art Zone specifically created for tweens, made possible by a SPARKS Department of Neighborhoods grant.

For the past 12 years, the Festival has offered arts and crafts activities geared to younger children with around 100 children participating each year. The festival committee explored expanding art activities to appeal to middle-school kids and applied for and received the grant, which will pay for the art materials and art zone setup.

K-8 art teacher Dani Myers from St. Francis of Assisi School in Burien has designed a program of six fun art projects and encourages all tweens and teens to participate. These projects are: paint pouring, a mesmerizing technique that creates designs as you pour specialized paint on a surface to create beautiful colors and designs; watercolor painting, discover basic techniques to paint small landscapes and skyscapes; printmaking, make multiple copies of an image you’ve created using a simple block printing process; use plaster gauze and paint to create a simple sculpture; and create a work of art you can play with too with fluffy colorful slime. And the best news is, no prior art experience is necessary, just get involved and have fun!

Also:

The arts and craft zone with projects for younger children starts at 10:00 and continues until 4:00.

The Spatter of Morgan starts at 1:15 and wraps up at 2:30 in the park expansion area. Festivalgoers can blast away with pressurized water toys filled with paint to create a colorful, chaotic “mural.”

The festival is held in and around Morgan Junction Park (6413 California SW). WSB is among the community co-sponsors. More previews to come – next up, why dogs are very welcome at this festival!

In our continuing series of summer event reminders, today we want to be sure your calendar is set for June 22nd – just four weeks away – when the 2019 edition of the Morgan Junction Community Festival takes over Morgan Junction Park and vicinity, just north of the Fauntleroy/California intersection. The 10 am-4 pm festival presented by the Morgan Community Association includes performances – including the ever-popular Bubbleman – art, kids’ activities, vendors, and the Bark of Morgan pet parade/competition, all free thanks in large part to community sponsors (which include WSB again this year). More info as the festival gets closer!

The peninsula’s biggest party of the year, West Seattle Summer Fest 2019, is in view just over the horizon – July 12, 13, 14 – and the plan is taking shape now, so you have to take action fast if you want to be part of any of this:

(WSB photo from Summer Fest 2016 – community tabling at the Info Booth)

COMMUNITY GATHERING TENT: Nonprofits and neighborhood/community groups are invited to apply for a free spot on the lineup, so Summer Fest visitors can stop by to find who you are and what you do. There may be two tents this year but even all those spots will fill up fast, so don’t wait, go here to sign up.

NEW STAGES! Summer Fest 2019 will bring more ways than ever for people to perform or present, including a Community Stage in Junction Plaza Park and a Wooden Instrument Stage at the south end of the festival zone. That’s in addition to the Main Stage at the north end. Interested in a spot on any of those stages? Here’s how to apply.

PARTNERSHIP/SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: While the West Seattle Junction Association presents Summer Fest, countless community sponsors/partners help make it possible. (WSB is among them.) These opportunities remain open until May 19th; this one-sheet (PDF) has more info.

(WSB photo from 2018 West Seattle Car Show)

Another West Seattle summertime tradition is in danger of driving into the sunset.

The West Seattle Car Show needs new presenters – or else what was the 11th annual WSCS will have been its last.

If you’re interested in taking the wheel, it’s ready to go without much groundwork, promises Todd Ainsworth, who with Chris Christensen (they own Swedish Automotive and West Seattle Autoworks, both WSB sponsors) took over the show in 2014 after the sudden death of its founder, West Seattle Junction entrepreneur Michael Hoffman, who launched the WSCS in 2008. It quickly became a popular late-summer event. In 2015, the show moved to the campus of South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), whose Automotive Technology program is the beneficiary of money raised by the show (admission has always been free, while participating car owners pay a nominal entry fee, and there’ve bee additional fundraising opportunities such as drawing tickets).

After five years, Todd says, for a variety of reasons, they have to hand it over to somebody new. “We’ve already got the date reserved at the school and whoever it is will basically receive a ‘car show in a box’ to work with,” he says – definitely a strong jump start. He adds that, “Ideally, it would be a local car club or other community-based group” but so far a quiet circulation of the availability hasn’t brought anyone forward so now they’re going wide.

POTENTIALLY INTERESTED? Contact Todd at 206-938-8685 or via email at wscarshow@gmail.com.

(West Seattle Summer Fest photo by Leda Costa for WSB, 2017)

With warm, sunny weather making a guest appearance, spring and summer are on many a mind. If you’re thinking as far ahead as West Seattle Summer Fest – only four months away – this Wednesday afternoon gathering might be of interest. Received from the West Seattle Junction Association, which presents Summer Fest:

If you’re an artist, crafter, interested in Vintage Alley, or have questions about vending at Summer Fest, we’re holding an info sesh on Wednesday, March 20th, 2 pm at the Junction Windermere. Join the Junction as we answer your vendor questions about the biggest festival of the year. If you’re new to festivals or would like additional information about Summer Fest, join us as we answer your top FAQ’s.

The meeting location is 4526 California Ave SW.

(WSB photo from 2017 Arts in Nature Festival)

Another big West Seattle summer event has an announcement: Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association will present the 20th annual Arts in Nature Festival early in the summer, rather than the usual August dates. Here’s the announcement to get it on your calendar:

20th annual Arts in Nature Festival
June 29-30, 2019 at Camp Long
(5200 35th Ave SW)

The 20th Arts in Nature Festival: Harmony exists at the nexus of art, nature, and community.

The festival offers an eclectic experience of art and performance in the woods of Seattle’s only campground, Camp Long. Rather than rows of vendors and merchants, you’ll find four intimate performance stages, mixed media art installations in 8 rustic cabins, interactive hands-on activities, and winding hiking trails through the great outdoors. Local artists are celebrated for their creativity, ingenuity, and invaluable contribution to Seattle culture.

Past elements of the Arts in Nature Festival have included live musical performances, poetry and spoken-word workshops, interactive dance performances, instrumental workshops, nature printmaking stations, Indigenous crafts and storytelling, educational nature walks, live mural painting, theater in nature, and many more. Each year a new cohort of local artists takes up residency in Camp Long’s rustic cabins to create durational, interactive art installations. Transforming each cabin space into a unique adventure, the Arts in Nature Festival provides a weekend of family-friendly activities and performances across a variety of artistic disciplines.

Join us on June 29-30 at Camp Long!

We’re working to update the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar with the big spring/summer events as well as what’s happening in the nearer future, so we welcome any advance info you can send – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!

(WSB photo from West Seattle Summer Fest 2018)

West Seattle Summer Fest 2019 (July 12-14) is less than five months away, and that time goes fast, so the West Seattle Junction Association has just opened applications for:

Vendors
Food Vendors
Vintage Alley
Pet Junction
Community Booth
Sponsorships!!
Volunteers
Musician and performers
Buskers

Links you can use to apply can be found on this page of the Summer Fest website.

WSJA executive director Lora Radford explains a few changes: “New this year, we’re emphasizing and encouraging local artists and craft makers to apply. We’ll have a new area of the festival, Vintage Alley – we’re prioritizing people who deal in vintage or collectables to apply. We’re also working together with the Junction merchants to make the Famous West Seattle Sidewalk Sale a big deal.”

Plus – “Also new this year, based on community feedback, a change-up in the kids’ area. More fun for the younger and elementary crowd plus we’ll have skills games for the older middle-school kids. Also, you can buy kids-ride tickets in advance this year through Brown Paper Tickets.” Find out more about the kids-area plan here.

And last but by no means least – something long requested – extended hours! Vendors will sell until 8 pm on Friday and Saturday of Summer Fest, and will open at 10 am on Sunday. So if you’re interested in being part of it, start here!

Photos by Leda Costa for West Seattle Blog

As promised – more views from the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, which filled the streets in the heart of The Junction with four hours of fun on Sunday. (Here’s our as-it-happened coverage.) Costumed canines were part of the fun:

The festival began as a fusion of the Farmers’ Market and Junction business trick-or-treating – and has continued to grow, but both of those components are still part of it:

The Farmers’ Market can take on a sort of town-square character, where you see your friends and neighbors. The Harvest Festival, like Summer Fest, is something of a supercharged version:

Read More

(LOOKING FOR BUS REROUTE INFO? Go here)

10:39 AM: One of the changes for this year’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival – the chili cookoff started earlier than usual, so if you head here right now, it’s awaiting you! On the southwest corner at California/Alaska, $10 donation to the West Seattle Food Bank gets you a flight of chili tastes by all the contenders, and a vote.

More chili than last year too. Also happening now – free activities presented by dozens of local businesses and organizations, including Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor):

And Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor):

Somehow this fish escaped being hooked:

Costume parade is at 11:30 am (starts from the park on the northwest corner of 42nd/Alaska) but costumes are already here in abundance. Activities are on California between Alaska and Edmunds; the Farmers’ Market is on California north of Alaska; the Root Beer Garden ($3.50 for root beer with Husky Deli ice cream) is on Alaska west of California, next to chili. More coverage to come!

11:02 AM: Costumed adults aplenty, too. Above, masquerading as an emoji, is Jennifer Danner, SPD’s Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator. Family costume themes are everywhere:

11:30 AM: The costume parade is starting!

Overheard on the parade sidelines: “Santa? What’s Santa doing here?”

11:45 AM: The parade has circled back to Alaska/42nd, with the WSHS Band wrapping up with “Thriller.” Now it’s almost trick-or-treat time.

12:15 PM: Above, the Junction Association volunteers with whom we’re sharing the Info Booth during today’s festival have candy – so if you’re trick-or-treating at California/Alaska, see them on the south side of the booth. WSJA’s executive director Lora Radford is here, in costume of course.

Thanks to Steve Thiele for the photo. Besides our as-it-happens pics, we have photographer Leda Costa roaming for festival scenes and we will publish a separate gallery later.

12:41 PM: Bulletin – the Chili Cookoff is sold out. And that’s with more this year than past years! Winner (a flight got you a vote) will be announced shortly. Meantime, our vote for best Farmers’ Market vendor costume – a murder of crows at Whistling Train Farms:

And sunshine!

1:08 PM: The chili-cookoff votes were tallied and announced a little earlier than planned. Duos in a landslide:

For the win – a trophy, medal, and apron.

Meanwhile, though the election is just nine days away, we’ve had only one political sighting today:

I-1631 is one of four state initiatives on your ballot. Whomever and whatever you’re voting for, Tuesday, November 6th, is the deadline.

1:40 PM: Last scheduled event of the festival – kids’ pie-eating contest – just wrapped up!

Festival concludes at 2, same time as the Farmers’ Market. Great turnout – thanks to everybody who’s been part of it! Gallery later! (Added: Here it is.)

(2013 WSB photo)

The forecast for tomorrow looks less rainy than tonight, but still probably showery. That’s no obstacle to the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival (10 am-2 pm Sunday). Just look how much fun it was in soggy 2013. Many activity providers are under canopies anyway. The list of who’s doing what is here (and you’ll find a few more by festival time). Here’s the map of the festival zone, expanded beyond the usual Farmers’ Market footprint:

Activities are free – bring $ if you’re interested in the chili cookoff ($10 donation for a flight of tastes, goes to the West Seattle Food Bank and gets you a vote – availability starts at 10 am this year) and/or Root Beer Garden. If you only show up for one thing, the Costume Parade (11:30 – start gathering at 11:15 am at Junction Plaza Park, 42nd/Alaska) would be our pick. We’re a festival sponsor and we’ll be in the Info Booth at Walk-All-Ways tomorrow – see you there!

(WSB photo from 2017 West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival)

Only three days until our area’s biggest fall celebration, the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, 10 am-2 pm on Sunday, with the Farmers’ Market plus Applepalooza, Chili Cookoff, Costume Parade, Root-Beer Garden, Trick-or-Treating … and free activities offered by local businesses and organizations! Here’s a list with most of them (a few participants were still finalizing their plan):

ArtsWest – Coloring contest
Be Smart for Kids – Coloring with superheroes
Child Evangelism Fellowship – TeaLight Lantern-making
Dream Dinners (WSB sponsor) – Pumpkin placemat to color
Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) – Fly casting for kids with practice rods
Endolyne Children’s Choir – Musical beanbag toss, music-themed coloring sheets
FIT4MOM West Seattle – Beanbag pumpkin toss; making ghosts with tissue paper
Full Circle – Coloring
Holy Rosary School – Giant Plinko game; hand-turkey decorating
Lil’ Bug Studio – Create a jack o’lantern on a foam pumpkin shape with stickers
Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) – Tiny Modes demonstration (musical instruments and Caspar Babypants music) and a wheel for older kids to spin for prizes
Outer Space Seattle – “Moon sand play area” sensory tables
Pagliacci Pizza – Learn to toss pizza
PCC (WSB sponsor) – Trail mix
Pecos Pit Barbecue (WSB sponsor) – Paint the piggies
Quail Park Memory Care Residences of West Seattle (WSB sponsor) – Coloring activity
School of Rock – Button-making booth, free short guitar lessons
Snip-it’s Haircuts for Kids – Temporary hair color for kids, giant Connect 4 game
Southwest Lacrosse Club – Tent with a taped “goal” to target a beanbag or “dead” ball
The Little Gym of West Seattle – Obstacle Course if weather permits.
Verity Credit Union (WSB sponsor) – Costume Contest
West City Rope Ninjas – Jump-rope demos and learn-to-jump activities
West Seattle Christian Church – Photo backdrops and props for pics
West Seattle Eagles – Fishing booth for kids
West Seattle Junction – Cornhole game
West Seattle Performing Arts – Photo cutout of a dancer for photos, cutout station for coloring a ballerina and hip-hop dancer
Westside Collaborative Law – Hula hoop contest

(Plus free – tips encouraged – face painting!) Most of the activity booths will be south of the Farmers’ Market, on California SW between Alaska and Edmunds. The costume parade starts at 11:30 am from Junction Plaza Park at 42nd/Alaska, led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band. And trick-or-treating at booths and businesses begins at noon. A new pie-eating contest will be at 1:30 at the info booth – which is where you’ll find us (co-sponsoring the festival again this year and reporting as-it-happens). See you there, rain or shine! Activities are free; bring $ for food/beverages (the Chili Cookoff flights, for example, are a $10 donation that goes to the West Seattle Food Bank – that starts right at 10 am this year and is on while supplies last).

Just in – the map of what’s happening where at the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival this Sunday! Even if you’re not planning to go, remember that the festival “footprint” is close to West Seattle Summer Fest – the streets will be festival-filled (and off-limits to motorized traffic) on California SW from Oregon to Edmunds and on SW Alaska from 44th to 42nd. The festival runs 10 am-2 pm, concurrent from the Farmers’ Market (which will be on its usual block, California between Alaska and Oregon), and one popular feature will start earlier this year- the Chili Cookoff “flights” go on sale just as the festival begins, 10 am on the KeyBank corner. (More flights for sale, too – 400 this year – $10 donation to the West Seattle Food Bank gets you a taste of the contenders‘ chili offerings plus a chance to vote!) Other times are the same as past years, costume parade at 11:30 am (start gathering by Junction Plaza Park at 42nd/Alaska at 11:15) and trick-or-treating at noon. We’re a Harvest Festival co-sponsor and will be reporting as-it-happens from the Info Booth at Walk-All-Ways – see you there, rain or shine.

P.S. In our next preview, get a sneak peek at this year’s lineup of free festival activities!

(2017 photo by Leda Costa for WSB)

With a week and a half to go until this year’s West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, here’s one last call for your business/school/organization to be part of it by offering an activity! More options mean more fun for the festival, which happens in the heart of The Junction 10 am-2 pm Sunday, October 28th – an ever-growing extravaganza involving not only activities, but also a costume parade (11:30 am), trick-or-treating (noon), the Farmers’ Market, chili cookoff to raise money for the West Seattle Food Bank, a root-beer garden, and more. A few booth spaces remain – here’s where to register for one.