On the same day the Seafair Pirates stormed Alki (WSB coverage with video here), two West Seattle families were storming Green Lake for a prize-winning appearance in the Seafair Milk Carton Derby. We got the word late Sunday night from Admiral resident Sherri Chun, who also shared photos:
Here we are – West Seattle’s entry in the Seafair Milk Carton Derby on Green Lake, and winner of the Seattle’s Child award for best family boat. I don’t know if there were others, but we officially represented West Seattle’s finest milk cartons! Alki Mail and Dispatch was our unofficial sponsor, contributing hundreds of milk cartons to the effort, along with numerous other West Seattle families.
We are officially the Zarkowski and Scholten families. On the boat are Corey Zarkowski, Oscar Scholten, me, and Weston Scholten. The second picture is the night before the race – all loaded up and ready to go (Roger Scholten, Zelma Zieman, Sherri, and Paul Zarkowski).
Here’s that second photo:
Full Milk Carton Derby results are here. This is the second weekend Sherri has made news – she is also organizer of the Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade (WSB coverage, with video, here). Regarding that event, we asked her if the donation drive in conjunction with this year’s parade and postparade activities brought in enough to ensure they’ll continue next year — she replied, “We did GREAT on donations for the Admiral Kids 4th of July Parade, so yes, there will be a parade next year! A big THANK YOU to the community for making it happen!”
While most of West Seattle’s attention was on Summer Fest and/or the rain for most of Sunday, another event spun through the peninsula: Tour de Watertower, with a route including two of West Seattle’s water towers. Gatewood bicyclist Tom Furtwangler, who writes the new-ish site bikejuju.com, shared photos and a report:
I stopped by my local water tower at High Point [Myrtle Reservoir] to catch some of the Tour de Watertower bicycle racers as they came past their first stop.
Tour de Watertower is an urban bike race organized by Go Means Go. While ten thousand cyclists (were) on their way to Portland in the STP this weekend, (Sunday)’s water-tower race was a more modest affair, with 25 registrants running a 33-mile urban course that includes seven water towers. Racers started from Capitol Hill in two-minute intervals to race the clock around the course. The first two stops were in West Seattle at High Point and Charlestown.
Minding the High Point stop was West Seattle artist Karl Addison, and as we chatted between racers, we agreed we were impressed with the diversity of cyclists attracted to this event. Then I cycled down to Morgan Thriftway and back up the hill and was grateful I wasn’t racing around to six more water towers!
Just remembered we’d forgotten to mention breaking news we heard from West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival‘s Carol Winston during WS Summer Fest this afternoon — this year’s Hi-Yu float (shown above at WSSF on Friday) has won another award — “best float” at the Kent Cornucopia Days parade today. Third big award this season; you’ll get to see the float up close next Saturday in the West Seattle Grand Parade, presented by American Legion Post 160 (starts at California/Lander at 11 am and proceeds to the south end of The Junction). Meantime, lots of Hi-Yu events coming up in the next 2 weeks – Carol and husband Tim Winston, Hi-Yu president, just sent this comprehensive list:
7/13 – Monday, 7 pm, Fauntleroy Church, (Hi-Yu Senior Court) Candidate Essay Reading and Reception. This is a judged event, but open to the public. It would be great to have a large audience for the girls to stand before and read their essays.
7/14 – Tuesday, 7 pm, Hiawatha East Lawn, Concert in the Park (weather permitting). The West Seattle Big Band is always a hit. People should bring a picnic dinner and blanket and enjoy the music. Hopefully the weather will be nice.
Note on that – remember, the Southwest and Delridge District Councils along with WSB will be honoring the first West Seattle Volunteer Recognition recipients during the concert, so be there to give them a round of applause. Now, back to the list:
7/17 – Friday, 12-3 pm, Hiawatha East Lawn, Hiawatha Kids Fun Festival and Hi-Yu Junior Court Coronation. Lots of carnival games, face painting, refreshments, clowns, jump toys, on-stage children’s entertainment, etc. The Junior Court Coronation will take place at 12:45 on the main stage.
7/18 – Saturday, 11 am, (along California from) Lander-Edmunds Streets, American Legion Grand Parade. Come and see our award-winning float.
7/19 – Sunday, 9 am-noon, American Legion Hall, The Hi-Yu Community Breakfast. Always a great breakfast hosted by Don & Sheryl Bogie – open to the public. Suggested donation $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children 12 and under.
7/20 – Monday, 7 pm, West Seattle High School Theater, Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu Coronation. Tickets $10 for adults and $5 for all students and children 12 and under. Elisa Jaffe of KOMO 4 will be our MC for the evening. Come and see the young women who have been running for Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu. The candidates will each perform a stage talent and give answers for both prepared and spontaneous questions. Nine cash awards donated by local businesses and individuals will be presented in addition to the $2,000 scholarship for the Queen and $1,000 scholarships to the Princesses.
7/25 – Saturday, 7:30 pm, Downtown Seattle, Seafair Torchlight Parade. Cheer on last year’s West Seattle Hi-Yu Queen, Sivona Lingle, at the Seafair Coronation and see the West Seattle float with its lighted decorations.
All proceeds from these events not only help pay for the expenses of the event, but go toward building our next float and for educational scholarships for the young women chosen to represent West Seattle.
And we’ll add a data point we cite often: West Seattle is the ONLY remaining neighborhood in the city that still has its own float, traveling to represent the area in spring/summer/fall presents. You’ll help literally keep West Seattle on the parade/festival map by supporting Hi-Yu.
From Patti Mullen, president/CEO of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce (who’s been staffing the Information side of the big tent we shared at West Seattle Summer Fest the past three days): The Chamber’s presenting a Seattle City Council Candidates’ Forum one week from Tuesday. It starts at 5 pm July 21 with meet-and-greet, 5:30-7 pm forum, at ArtsWest in The Junction. C.R. Douglas, who you’ll know from Seattle Channel, will moderate. Some BIG decisions to make, even on the primary ballot, including two open Council seats — five candidates running for Position 4, six running for Position 8. (Election aside: Did you know you can get the latest daily updates on who’s contributed what to which city candidate by going here?)
(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):
(photo added 3:56 pm, adoptable kittens at Summer Fest) King County Animal Services sponsored WSB this past week to help promote the Super Pet Adopt-A-Thon yesterday – held in Kent but with available pets from all over the state. They’ve announced that 88 dogs and cats found new “forever homes” during the six-hour event, which drew 700 visitors, up almost 50 percent from last year. They still have home-seeking pets in their Kent and Bellevue facilities, and if you’ll take in an adult cat (1+ year old), they’re waiving the adoption fee, and you’ll only have to pay the $30 license cost – nothing extra for a pet who’s been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and chipped. More info here. Also: From the WSB Forums, local volunteers who work with feral cats will have adoptable kittens at West Seattle Summer Fest today, by Forsythe Studio (east side of California, north of Oregon).
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:
Leslie Thomson from Dream Dinners (longtime WSB sponsor) reports her Jefferson Square store was broken into late last night or early today:
Dream Dinners staff arrived Saturday morning to find the front door lock jimmied. Drawers, files and cabinets were opened; thankfully nothing was missing or destroyed. No valuables are kept at the store. The break in is suspected to have occurred sometime between 11:30 PM Friday and 7:30 AM Saturday. Business was normal for our session at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning. Any information regarding this incident would be appreciated. Please call Dream Dinners at 206 938 5999.
And of course police will want to hear from you too.
Jeannette e-mailed us about this a few days ago but at the time, the date was later in the month, so it’s not in this weekend’s calendar – now we know it’s happening TOMORROW (Sunday) and we want to help get the word out. Her 9-year-old son will have “Connor’s Lemonade Stand” set up at 40th/Oregon 11 am-1 pm. Proceeds will benefit the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Here’s a map; go buy some lemonade from Connor – that’s just a couple blocks east of the north end of West Seattle Summer Fest.
(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:
First, the West Seattle Little League 9-10 All-Stars took the district championships and are headed to the state championships – now, the West Seattle Little League 11-12 All-Stars have won District 7 as well! From Cami MacNamara:
The West Seattle Little League 11-12 (Majors) All Star team defeated South Highline Nationals twice on Saturday to become District 7 Champs! The team will now advance to the Washington State 11-12 All Star tournament in Port Orchard, WA on July 25th. Go West Side!
Just after 1 pm, with a bigger-than-ever crowd awaiting them, the Seafair Pirates landed at Alki Beach – actually, as you see in our video, a bit offshore since the tide was low and their Army craft stopped short of the sand. Also a highlight of today’s event – Seafair’s “King Neptune” this year is longtime TV-radio personality Pat Cashman, who presided at special ceremonies:
We’ll add more video as the afternoon goes on. We’re told the Pirates were last seen absconding with West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival royalty! 4:04 PM: Here’s the video proof:
By the way, two big occasions are ahead in the process of choosing and celebrating new Hi-Yu royalty: This week, Friday at 12:45, the Junior Court Coronation happens during the Hiawatha Fun Festival — and there’s still time to apply to participate – this Tuesday’s the deadline; more info here. Then the Senior Court Coronation is coming up on July 20th, 7 pm at West Seattle High School — tickets will be available at the door, $10 adult/$5 student. ADDED 8:28 PM: Beautiful photo of the Lady Washington at Alki today, courtesy of David Hutchinson:
And another shot from David Hutchinson – viewing the battle from behind the Alki Statue of Liberty:
You’ll see the Seafair Pirates back in West Seattle next Saturday, during the American Legion Grand Parade (which we’ll be talking about all week – we’re walking in it again this year in celebration of West Seattle volunteers, including those who will be honored at Tuesday’s Hi-Yu Concert in the Park – 7 pm @ Hiawatha’s east lawn – in the new Volunteer Recognition program).
Thanks to Nancy Folsom for the photo and word that the Delridge wading pool is open after all – we got a note about that yesterday but hadn’t gotten time yet today to check – as we noted earlier in the week, the Parks Department website had pushed back the opening date to next Monday, but looks like they got it going in time for this warm, sunny weekend. Hours are scheduled to be noon-7 pm; it’s the second West Seattle wading pool to open this season – later than usual because of mandatory safety upgrades. So now Lincoln Park and Delridge are open; Hiawatha is scheduled to open July 27, but neighbors might check sooner, in case it happens earlier, as it has done in Delridge.
(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.
We’ve published a lot of “door-to-door alerts” here. Many may be legitimate solicitors – but sometimes, as police confirm, it could be a cover for something illegal. We have two reports to share this morning along those lines – read on:Read More
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.)
(thanks to YuriM for sending that photo via Twitter, added 10:20 am)
If you happen to be heading toward West Seattle sometime soon – beware of some trouble on The Bridge – Scott C just called to say there’s an “upside-down car” on the westbound side, between 99 and the top of the high rise. 911 log shows a “motor vehicle accident” call there in the past hour, but it’s now closed, which means fire/medic crews’ work is done. No word on injuries. (Thanks also to those who e-mailed and tweeted – Manuel says via e-mail that the crash was blocking the 2 left lanes westbound and backing cars up as far as 1st Ave So.) ADDED 8:53 AM:Here’s the link to a photo@steveler posted via Twitter.ADDED 9:57 AM: The scene is NOT yet cleared, according to this traffic camera. ADDED 10:10 AM: Just got information from Seattle Policemedia unit Officer Renee Witt: The car is believed to have flipped after hitting a guard rail “at a high rate of speed.” She says the driver also is suspected of having been under the influence. Both the driver and passenger are at the hospital, but both have only minor injuries. The scene hasn’t been cleared yet because the “under the influence” aspect requires a more extensive investigation. 12:30 PM UPDATE: Via Twitter, we have word from @despeaux that the crash scene is clear.
Through the end of August, you can tour the Alki Point Lighthouse on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, free, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. (Their infopage even reveals a gift shop!) Full details here; also hat tip to Puget Sound Maritime and to a wall note on Facebook (find us there at facebook.com/westseattleblog) from Stacy, who toured on the 4th and called it “awesome.”
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli reports Junction streets (and sidewalk-cafe setups) are still bustling, late into the night after West Seattle Summer Fest‘s first day.
And Alki photographer David Hutchinson shares a view of that vivid pink Friday night sunset, over Alki’s Statue of Liberty:
Not far from Lady Liberty, the Seafair Pirates will come ashore in their traditional summer spectacle today; they say somewhere around noon, but activities before and after the landing go on for hours (more here).
That’s our video of Mudhoney‘s first song at West Seattle Summer Fest tonight – “The Money Will Roll Right In” – following the introduction by the West Seattleite who’s running for the biggest job on this year’s ballot, and is backed by many members of the music community, King County Executive candidate (and County Council chair) Dow Constantine. Mudhoney played more than an hour on the Alaska Stage (in the street byJunction Plaza Park). Thanks to Babs (one of many awesome WSBers we were honored to chat with during the festival today – we’re there Sat/Sun too) for sharing photos including this one:
Tomorrow’s Summer Fest live music slate starts at 12:30 pm – see the full schedule here – with highlights including Supersonic Soul Pimps on the California Stage (north end of the festival) at 8:15 pm.
ADDED MONDAY MORNING: Lots of buzz about “bodypassing,” “moshing,” “crowd surfing,” whatever you want to call it, during Mudhoney’s set. Found someone else’s video on YouTube that actually caught it on camera during the later song “Touch Me I’m Sick”- about 40 seconds in:
Talking with someone at West Seattle Summer Fest today about this afternoon’s bank robbery at Westwood Village, the subject of last year’s Admiral Wells Fargo stickup came up. Coincidentally, it turns out, there was a major court action in that case today: WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli points us to a Seattle Times report that the robber, 51-year-old Douglas Cox – who survived being shot by police in the downtown standoff that followed the stickup — was sentenced today: 19 1/2 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty in April, and had a history of at least half a dozen other robberies. (His getaway driver was sentenced last year to almost 4 years behind bars.)
(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.
From Patti Mullen, president/CEO of the 
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