West Seattle, Washington
03 Tuesday
Sunday evening, wrap up your weekend with a West Seattle tradition: Gathering at the Fauntleroy Creek fish-ladder overlook for drumming, singing, and dancing to call the coho home. Just show up at 5 pm, atop the embankment that’s across Fauntleroy Way from the ferry terminal. All ages welcome, and if someone in the family made a “salmon hat” at the Fauntleroy Fall Festival last Sunday – that’s what the little person in our 2014 photo is wearing – bring it along! New? Not sure what to expect? Check out our past coverage – 2013, with video, for example.
P.S. Whether or not you’ll be there Sunday evening, you are also welcome to volunteer for the Salmon Watch that starts Monday.
(2012 WSB photo)
How does this sound for a volunteer gig: Sit and watch the water! That’s exactly what you’re invited to do:
If you’d like to experience coho spawners up close, consider joining Salmon Watch 2015 on Fauntleroy Creek. We’ll begin Monday, Oct. 19, with veteran watchers, then fold in newcomers if/when we start seeing fish. To learn why West Seattleites eagerly get wet and cold to document fish, contact Judy Pickens at judy_pickens@msn.com.
Hard to tell how exciting (or not) this’ll be this year – last year saw 19 spawners, two years earlier, a record 274. Salmon watch starts right after a community event this Sunday – the annual gathering to drum, sing, and dance to call the coho home. To be part of that (all ages welcome!), be at the creek overlook (across the street and up the embankment from the ferry dock) at 5 pm Sunday (October 18th).
3:17 PM: At the 2015 Fauntleroy Fall Festival, the sound of birdhouse building (video above) is mingling with the sound of music (video below):
Lots to do AND lots to see – kids can also make salmon hats (don’t forget to wear them to help drum the salmon home next Sunday – more on that later):
As is the petting area, behind the schoolhouse:
The festival is in full swing, until 5 pm, with a huge array of fun for all ages, in the 9100 block of California SW.
4:26 PM: The afternoon has gone by in a blink. Still half an hour for you to get here – and, among other things, hear and see the West Seattle Big Band:
And you can grab a snack – maybe call it early dinner! WSB sponsor Endolyne Joe’s is here, with pork sliders, in the church/Y parking lot:
We couldn’t resist buying a bowl of the curried butternut-squash soup that Tuxedoes and Tennis Shoes is dishing out outside The Hall at Fauntleroy (its event venue) – awesome. The full festival menu is here. More photos later!
ADDED 8:41 PM: As promised, more photos! The Seattle Fire Department brought Engine 37 from Sunrise Heights:
The Fauntleroy Community Association booth had bubbles:
Pumpkin-decorating is a festival tradition:
So is salmon-hat-making, as mentioned above – here’s Judy Pickens, wearing her “Fauntleroy Creek watershed steward” and “volunteer” hats, helping a young festivalgoer put on her salmon hat:
If you brought home one of those – wear it to the next big Fauntleroy event, at which you’re certain to see Judy – the annual drumming to call the salmon home, at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook (across from the ferry dock), 5 pm next Sunday, October 18th. Judy, by the way, also was a winner in the cake-decorating contest:
Along with her autumn-leaves cakes, other winners included Charlie Perry, with this spider:
(Spiders were a popular theme, but none quite like that one.) Ann Dawson‘s scarecrow cupcakes were winners too:
As was Abigail Dwyer‘s basket of Reese’s Pieces:
And the beginners’ award went to Claudi Levy, for banana bread – sorry we didn’t get a photo! By the way, if you want to vote on the cakes, be sure to get to the festival early next year:
A whole ‘nother batch of cakes was available for the subsequent Cake Walk – kind of like musical chairs, but with cakes:
The festival is volunteer- and donation-powered. This was the festival’s 13th year; see even more of the fun at the official FFF FB page.
(WSB photo from 2014 Fauntleroy Fall Festival)
One week from today, you’re invited to spend Sunday afternoon, October 11th, at the Fauntleroy Fall Festival, three hours full of fun for all ages. As usual, the venues are in and around the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, Hall at Fauntleroy, and Fauntleroy Church/YMCA, 9131 and 9140 California SW. Here’s the official schedule, forwarded by Judy Pickens:
P.S. If you’re interested in contributing a cake to the Cake Walk – go here to see how that works. And if you haven’t been to the FFF before – check out WSB coverage from last year.
Were you part of last Sunday’s Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church? Another big turnout – someone new every minute! – and big haul, reports Judy Pickens:
The Sept. 27 Recycle Roundup relieved 360 West Seattle households of 9 tons of appliances, electronics, and all manner of other stuff for responsible recycling. The 12 roundups sponsored by Fauntleroy Church since 2010 have returned at least 142 tons to the resource stream. We’ll do it again in April.
The date will be in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar as soon as it’s announced. If you absolutely have to get something recycled before then, check here to see what you can do with it.
Two more hours to get your recycle on – the stuff you can’t just put out in the bin – at the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee‘s fall “Recycle Roundup.” Check this “what they will and won’t take” list and then head to the parking lot at 9140 California SW for easy dropoff, with help from the 1 Green Planet crew, who were filling up two trucks when we stopped by at midmorning.
5:08 PM: Via Orca Network on Twitter and Facebook, “Washington State Ferries reports a large whale, probably a humpback, off the Fauntleroy dock in West Seattle.” Please let us know if you see it (and which way it seems to be heading)!
6:50 PM: Sheri reports, via Twitter, that she just saw it dive off Lincoln Park, and that it’s heading north.
9 am-3 pm tomorrow, it’s the twice-a-year event that gives you the chance to recycle, for free, what you can’t just put out at the curb – the annual Fauntleroy Church Green Committee-presented “Recycle Roundup.” If you haven’t already checked the list and sorted your stuff, take a look:
Every Recycle Roundup brings in tons of recyclables. That means hundreds of people. Organizers have one BIG word of advice to get your dropoff done in the least amount of time – GO EARLY. There tends to be a rush toward the end, so if you can get there in the first few hours instead, you’ll save time and be able to get going with the rest of your Sunday. The church is at 9140 California SW; here’s a map.
Another West Seattle church has just announced new leadership. Here’s the announcement from Fauntleroy Church:
A quorum of members voted unanimously Sept. 20 to select Rev. Leah Atkinson Bilinski as senior minister of Fauntleroy Church UCC. The 335-member congregation has been engaged in a nationwide search for new pastoral leadership since Rev. Dr. David Kratz retired in January 2013.
“Rev. Bilinski comes to us with a wealth of experience in preaching, youth programs, service and outreach, pastoral care, and administration,” said Sarah Finney, moderator of the congregation. “We know Leah will be a wonderful addition to our church and to the wider community.”
When asked why she had applied, Rev. Bilinski said she has longed to serve what she found at Fauntleroy Church – “a well-engaged, thoughtful, and very aware congregation.”
An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Bilinski received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology alongside an elementary teaching certificate from Grinnell College in 1999, then a masters of divinity from Eden Theological Seminary in 2007. Her experience includes six years as copastor at St. Peter’s UCC in Washington, MO, and four months as acting pastor of Ebenezer “Stone Church” UCC in Gerald, MO. She has also had leadership and administrative roles in UCC youth programs and chaplaincy experience in hospital and elder settings.
She currently lives with her husband and two-year-old daughter in Washington, MO, southwest of St. Louis, and will move to West Seattle to start her new pastorate on Nov. 29, the first Sunday of Advent.
SIDE NOTE: One of the church’s most popular community events, the twice-yearly Recycle Roundup, is coming up this Sunday (September 27th), 9 am-3 pm, in the lot outside the church at 9140 California SW; our recent preview includes information on what can and can’t be dropped off for recycling, for free.
(Silkscreener Shino Mikami, right, was one of 15 West Seattle artists at last year’s Fauntleroy show)
The photo and final reminder are from Judy Pickens – please note, if you’re interested, that the deadline is TOMORROW:
September 15 is the deadline for West Seattle artists and creative crafters to apply for the eighth annual Fauntleroy Fine Art & Holiday Gift Show Nov. 6-8. Details and application form are at www.fauntleroyucc.org.
Any other shows/bazaars/etc. accepting vendor applications, please let us know so we can share your announcements too. We’re also already adding holiday-season events to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – follow that link to see not only listings but also guidelines for sending information about announcements year-round … bottom line is always, the sooner the better!
Incidents we’ve been tracking tonight:
11:13 PM: Police are responding to the Westside Unitarian Universalists Congregation church in Gatewood (7141 California SW) right now after a report of a possible burglary/theft. The Guardian One helicopter is in the area and offered to help search for a possible suspect, so you might hear it shortly. No description at this point beyond “unknown race male” in a hoodie.
11:20 PM: The helicopter’s in the area now.
11:29 PM: And it’s moved on, while police continue investigating on the ground.
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11:50 PM: **Separate incident** but while we have this Crime Watch report open, we’re adding it. Police are investigating a report of someone being robbed at Roxhill Park. No aerial search in this case – the trail was quite cold, as the victim did not report it until getting home about half an hour later. (We have no further info on this one but more often than not, street robberies have a reporting lag because the robber[s] take the victim’s phone.)
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12:44 AM: **Separate incident** Police rushed to Fauntleroy after multiple calls about someone screaming for help. After trying to figure out where exactly it happened, they found a victim in the 8600 block of 46th SW, a 21-year-old woman who is reported to have been assaulted. SFD is en route to evaluate her injuries. Police are trying to sort out what happened.
(WSB photo from 2014)
Staying home this holiday weekend and doing a little (pre-)fall cleaning? Reminder: Next edition of the popular twice-yearly Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy UCC Church is only three weeks away: Sunday, September 27th, 9 am-3 pm (9140 California SW). Each spring and fall, 1 Green Planet takes away tons of recyclables via this free-to-all dropoff event. You can plan ahead because, thanks to Judy Pickens, we have the list of what will be accepted (free dropoffs!) this time around – see it here.
Traffic-safety issues are high on the priority list for the Fauntleroy Community Association, and FCA shares the photo with word of one more safety feature in place. From Gordon Wiehler: “The FCA installed a convex mirror at Roxbury, Marine View SW and 45th Ave SW to better see what’s coming down the hill, typically at high speed.”
P.S. The FCA is another of the community councils that’s getting back to regular meeting schedules now that summer’s ending. Its board meets at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW) next Tuesday, September 8th, at 7 pm.
3:31 PM: Seattle Fire and Police are at the scene of a collision at Fauntleroy and Cloverdale, toward the south end of Lincoln Park. According to @smokeycretin9, it involves a car and motorcycle. Our crew is en route; we’ve heard a call for a private ambulance to the scene, suggesting injuries are not life-threatening.
(WSB photo)
3:43 PM UPDATE: Our crew at the scene has learned that the man riding the motorcycle was taken to the hospital via that ambulance, with what are described as minor injuries. The driver was not hurt. The car and motorcycle are both off to the side and Fauntleroy is reopening to traffic.
Thanks to the Fauntleroy ferry dock neighbor who shared a notice that’s just been circulated in the area: “Noisy overnight work” is planned four nights next week, Monday through Thursday, 7:30 pm to 5:30 am, to fix pavement problems on the dock. (If you live nearby, you are probably aware of some work this past week – we don’t know yet if that was related.) See the notice here; it says in part, “Existing asphalt pavement around deck drains is failing, exposing underlying timber deck to rain water and potential rotting.” No WSF website alert about this yet.
That’s Pablo and he’s one of the Fauntleroy Children’s Center students who helped “Stuff the Bus“ when WestSide Baby‘s diaper drive made a stop at historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse today.
These might just be the youngest bus-stuffers to participate in this year’s drive.
We’re told that the FCC community gathered 4,000 diapers to contribute! The young donors got a chance to hang out in the bus a bit, too.
The heart of this year’s drive started with last Sunday’s donation event at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor) in The Junction and – since WestSide Baby serves families outside this area too – continues on Capitol Hill this weekend (9 am-2 pm Sunday at St. Joseph’s, 732 18th Ave. E.). If you haven’t donated yet, go here to find out how to help.
P.S. Congratulations to Fauntleroy Children’s Center for recently getting re-accredited for five more years by the National Association for the Education of Young Children! Director Kim Sheridan says, “We have been accredited since 1987 and are currently the only center in West Seattle with NAEYC accreditation.”
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
What a beautiful day to celebrate the return of a West Seattle beach to the public domain. This is Cove Park, adjacent to the north side of the Fauntleroy ferry dock, closed for three years because of King County’s expansion/upgrade of the Barton Pump Station – now open again, with a ribbon-cutting celebration today:
Cutting the ribbon were King County Wastewater Treatment Division director Pam Elardo and our area’s King County Councilmember Joe McDermott. But the celebration was even bigger for the Fauntleroy community, which stewards the Cove Park area and has been working closely with the county (some backstory in this 2011 WSB report) to ensure that the beach and its treasured public art would make a comeback – with additions!
That’s the path from Fauntleroy Way to the small beach, where you will find works by artist Thomas Jay – some familiar, some new. A brochure provided by the Fauntleroy Community Association shows nine things to look for, including these:
As this warm weekend continues, come to Cove Park and see for yourself.
This afternoon’s celebration at the park also included tours of the pump station. You can find out more about the project here.
More reminders about all the cool stuff happening in West Seattle this weekend – this one’s at the top of our list tomorrow afternoon between the West Seattle Grand Parade and West Seattle Outdoor Movies: Ribbon-cutting celebration for the restored pocket-beach Cove Park and upgraded Barton Pump Station, just north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock. 2-4 pm, including tours of the pump station (wear closed-toe shoes if you’re interested in taking the tour). Thanks to Phil Sweetland for the photo of posters made by local kids to remind everyone about tomorrow’s celebration!
ORIGINAL REPORT, 4:38 PM: On Tuesday afternoon, southbound traffic on Fauntleroy Way backed up as if it were a weekend, and the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth ferries are running behind again today, so here’s an alert just in case it happens again: Most of it is because a repair project has resulted in single-lane loading at the Vashon Island terminal. The Fauntleroy Community Association board notes that this weekend might be even more intense with both the Vashon Strawberry Festival and Saturday’s reopening of Cove Park. They were planning to ask SPD for traffic-management help, “including creating the center turn lane as a southbound vehicle lane where backed-up traffic must sit in the roadway as it passes parked cars on the curb” and also noted that Vashon ferry users had requested weekday afternoon parking restrictions along Fauntleroy Way. We’ll be checking for the status of those requests, but in the meantime, keep in mind that southbound Fauntleroy between Morgan Junction and the ferry dock might be worth avoiding if you can. You can check dock-area webcams here.
5:31 PM UPDATE: WSF has just announced that because two of its larger boats will be out next Monday through Wednesday, it will shuffle boats and schedules on those dates, including Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth. So July 20-22, the “triangle route” will be on a two-boat schedule, with M/V Issaquah and Cathlamet supplemented by the 34-vehicle Hiyu.
The new state budget will restore funding for traffic control at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal, according to City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. Ever since budget cuts did away with the help four years ago, it’s been a sore spot for terminal users, neighborhood residents, and people who travel through the busy terminal zone just south of Lincoln Park – more than 5,100 vehicles a day, in addition to hundreds of people on foot and on bikes. The new “transportation package” brings back $496,000 for use of off-duty law enforcers to “manage the loading and off-loading of ferry commuters,” according to Rasmussen’s announcement, which you can read in full ahead:
Two West Seattle Crime Watch reports:
(City-provided photo of one of the stolen fish)
FAUNTLEROY CREEK OVERLOOK ART THEFT: Fauntleroy Creek steward Judy Pickens tells WSB that someone has stolen part of the art installation at the fish-ladder overlook across from the ferry dock:
I’m sorry to report that someone cut through the base of both the bronze coho
salmon and cutthroat trout that have been part of “Stream Echo” since its installation at the fish-ladder viewpoint in 1998. … The city’s Office of Cultural Affairs has contacted artist Tom Jay to request replacements. Because Tom is very involved with art installation at Cove Park, we have no idea when he can recast the fish.If the thief still has the fish, we would welcome them back, no questions asked, on our front porch – 4539 SW Director Place.
Judy’s husband Phil Sweetland discovered the theft yesterday, but she says it could have happened any time in the past several days. Though this is on a smaller scale physically, we still couldn’t help but be reminded of the as-yet-unsolved Walking on Logs sculpture theft, which happened almost exactly a year ago.
MOONDROP COFFEE & TEA BREAK-IN: Proprietor David Livingood from the little coffee shop across from Seacrest sent word this morning that someone broke into their shop late last night. They’re still trying to assess what was stolen but wanted to get the word out. (We were headed that way this morning when diverted by the crane fire and are still planning to go over and find out more – we’ll update when there’s more information.)
(WSB photo of Cove Park, taken from the bluff across Fauntleroy Way at midday today)
Exactly three years ago, on June 22, 2012, we reported the closure of Cove Park – the pocket beach just north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock – for what was at the time described as about two years of work to upgrade the Barton Pump Station next door. Cove Park’s beloved art installations were taken away for storage, but now the crow and canoe are back … the beach is being restored … and new art will be in view when the beach reopens soon. Thanks to Judy Pickens for the heads-up that the big celebration is set for 2-4 pm on Saturday, July 18th (as she first reported in the Fauntleroy Community Association newsletter): “Festivities will include remarks from community, county, and artist perspectives, music created for the occasion, refreshments, and tours of the upgraded and expanded Barton Street wastewater pump station.” Perfect timing that day, between the West Seattle Grand Parade and the first of this year’s six West Seattle Outdoor Movies!
Thanks to Ben Ackers for the photos from Friday night’s “Swing Into Summer” dance/concert with the West Seattle Big Band at The Hall at Fauntleroy. Lively crowd out on the floor!
Your next chance to see/hear the West Seattle Big Band – and dance if you want (the littlest concertgoers usually do) – is the annual Hi-Yu Concert in the Park on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center, 7 pm Tuesday, July 14th. Bring the family, blanket/chairs to sit on, picnic dinner – it’s free!
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