West Seattle, Washington
31 Thursday
Thanks to JenV for adding a comment to our previous post, pointing out that you can donate a turkey to the West Seattle Food Bank today by buying it for just $5 at Jefferson Square Safeway. Two other food drive/fundraiser events for WSFB are happening tonight in the general Junction vicinity — the Beer Church‘s annual Turkey Bowl, starting at 5:30 pm at West Seattle Bowl (the TB lanes are full but you’re welcome to drop by, bring food and/or money for WSFB, and hang out) — and at 8 pm, a live-music benefit, Serve It Up, at Rocksport, with the toplines as follows:
Features Fall from Grace, To the Glorious Lonely, Memphis Radio Kings, Down with People, Something Vital and unplugged sets from Owen Wright, Martin Chandler, Tom Gunn and Dudley Taft. Door goes to Food Bank. $10.00 cover. Bins to donate non-perishable foods as well as raffles for prizes!
It’s the ultimate multitasking — having fun while doing good. P.S. If you can’t join in any of the above, you can still help the two food banks that serve West Seattle, right now without even leaving your computer/tucking away your iPhone/whatever — donate $ to WSFB by going here; donate $ to White Center Food Bank by going here.
That’s the scene at the Camp Long Lodge, where the first-ever CoolMom.org Toy Swap/Sale is happening till 1 this afternoon (added later: everything’s been marked down till sale’s over!) — the “swapping” happened in advance with donations taken in exchange for sale credit, so today, just bring your $ – proceeds benefit WestSide Baby and West Seattle Food Bank as well as CoolMom. Not far away, it’s the second and final day of the Holiday Bazaar at Providence Mount St. Vincent:
You can shop the bazaar till 3 pm. Overall, it’s a great day to get a jump on holiday shopping – it’s also the final day of the Square 1 Books (WSB sponsor) everything-21%-off anniversary sale; another WSB sponsor, West Seattle Nursery, has its annual open house; Capers and Friends and Company have special events in The Junction; Snap Fitness on the 42nd SW side of Jefferson Square (run by longtime WSB’ers) has its grand opening; browse the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for the full list of EVERYTHING happening today — including playoff games for Seattle Lutheran‘s football (1 pm vs. Naselle) and girls’ soccer (4 pm vs. Liberty Bell) teams, both at Sammamish High School.
The photo at left is from “Bullshot Crummond” — which Twelfth Night Productions (WSB sponsor) is presenting at Youngstown Arts Center tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday afternoon — and as you’ll see in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, to be published a little later today, it’s one of THREE live-theater productions on the peninsula this weekend: 
In addition to this being the second and final weekend for “Bullshot Crummond,” it’s also closing weekend for “Black Gold” at ArtsWest, and the first of two weekends for a West Seattle High School Drama Club production — plus many local merchants are having special events this weekend to kick off holiday-shopping season – that’s all among more than 50 (!!!!) West Seattle and WS-linked events on our handy list ahead:Read More
Two quick mentions — part of what’s making this a hot Thursday night in West Seattle, even with fall chill in the air: 6-9 pm, West Seattle Art Walk, more than 40 venues, get the map and the details – lots of artists’ receptions and other fun features – by going here. Then at 9:30 at Bamboo on Alki, it’s the second-to-last week for “Alki Idol” – Tonight the field is cut to 6 finalists who then compete next Thursday night for more than $1,000 in prizes. Tom Hutyler hosts, DJ Christopher Mychael does karaoke.
The next West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day — which’ll be the second one presented by WSB, after the late great Megawatt sponsored the first three — is exactly six months from today! Just wanted to mention that so you could be sure to mark your calendar. Last year was a blast, with more than 140 sales all around West Seattle (browse our coverage archive at westseattlegaragesale.com); if you don’t have an ’09 calendar yet, set an Outlook reminder or whatever it takes – Saturday, May 9, 2009, is the date. (But first, let’s savor what remains of ’08 … including the holidays … we’re continuously adding more West Seattle holiday events to our Holiday Happenings page, by the way.)
Sunday morning’s here, so it’s time for the link to the latest “ripe and ready” list of what you’ll find at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market – 10 am-2 pm, SE corner of 44th/Alaska.
Two big names on the roster tonight. Frances Farmer’s Revenge (read our in-depth preview here) at the Admiral, and Twelfth Night Productions‘ “Bullshot Crummond” (WSB sponsor) opening night. Then tomorrow is Green Seattle Day and there are ways you can help (yes you can!) – a cat adopt-a-thon at Southwest Community Center too … Those are part of the 41 West Seattle events, from live music to work parties to a FREE dinner (with just one catch), on our handy list ahead:Read More
Post-election and pre-(potential) weathermania, are you ready for some laughs? We’re welcoming a new sponsor – Twelfth Night Productions, opening “Bullshot Crummond” tomorrow night at Youngstown Arts Center. Here’s the official announcement:
“Before there was Austin Powers, before there was James Bond, there was … Bullshot Crummond! International man of action! … well … British man of action! … well … he certainly is British. Twelfth Night Productions presents Bullshot Crummond, a parody of the British pulp hero Bulldog Drummond, written by Ron House, Diz White, John Neville-Andrews, Alan Shearman, and Derek Cunningham. Bullshot Crummond was before James Bond and before special effects, providing much of the fun in this hilarious send up of 1930s low budget “B” action movies. The action opens with Teutonic villain Otto von Brunno and his evil mistress Lenya as they crash their plane in the English countryside and kidnap Professor Fenton, who has discovered a formula for making synthetic diamonds. Bullshot Crummond is called to the rescue and hilarity insues. Come see Bullshot Crummond as he saves the world one blunder at a time. Bullshot Crummond runs for a special two-week engagement at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (map) in West Seattle, formerly historic Cooper School. Showtimes are: November 7, 8, 14, 15 at 7:30 PM, and November 9, 16 matinees at 3 PM. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students & seniors, and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (brownpapertickets.com/event/46871) and at the Youngstown theater box office one hour before showtime on performance days.” We wish the Twelfth Night Productions crew a jolly good run for “Bullshot Crummond,” and thank them for sponsoring WSB to get out the word; the complete current list of sponsors is on this page along with info on how to join them!
Reminder that just ’cause Halloween’s over, the fun isn’t. Right now, till 6 pm, Furry Faces Foundation invites you to go play casino-style recreational games at Beveridge Place Pub, which has been transformed into Catsino for the occasion (animal-advocacy fundraising). And Skeleton Theatre (see our clip in this Halloween roundup from last night) has encore performances tonight between 6 and 9 pm. Plus – live theater, anyone? “Black Gold” is at ArtsWest, 7:30 tonight, 3 pm tomorrow – here’s a production photo by Matt Durham, followed by a plot synopsis:
“Black Gold,” which is in its world-premiere run at AW, is described as: “What happens when an African-American man in Detroit buys an oil rig on eBay and discovers oil right under his own backyard? Will the poor get rich or will the rich just get richer? Six actors play over 80 roles in this fast-paced, political satire of class, race and government-gone-berserk.” Many more entertainment opportunities for today/tonight/tomorrow on our West Seattle Weekend Lineup list.
If you weren’t already aware of this – the Senior Center of West Seattle is lots livelier than the senior centers of yesteryear. Take a look at that photo shared by Cindy Gwinn – that’s the sold-out crowd that jammed the SC for Halloween Rainbow Bingo a week ago. Cindy tells us the next bingo session will be in February – we’ll let you know when the date is finalized. Meantime, we’ve mentioned before that the Stop ‘n’ Shop store on the center’s ground floor is closed for remodeling; a grand reopening party is planned for November 15th, and before then, Cindy says: “We are looking for helpers! We need people to help assemble shelving this coming weekend, the 8th and 9th of November. We are also looking for volunteers to work in the store. Anyone that can help or that would like to volunteer, please call 206 915-5595.”
They wouldn’t give us their names — it was a masquerade, after all — but they were ghoulish greeters for tonight’s West Seattle Helpline fundraising wine-tasting and silent-auction event at The Sanctuary at Admiral. Look at the lineup of wine glasses:
Once we get past Halloween, there’s a big fundraiser for Furry Faces Foundation this Saturday at Beveridge Place Pub in Morgan Junction; we first told you about “Catsino” when F3 announced it at Summer Fest and promoted it in the Grand Parade. Tonight, F3’s Teri Ensley (photo right) and volunteer helpers met at BPP for some preparatory work:
Here’s the scoop on Catsino, 2-6 pm Saturday. The day after, Furry Faces also is involved with the Morgan Junction Pet Adoption Stroll — noon-4 pm Sunday, check out Pet Elements, Stella Ruffington, and The Wash Dog for adoptable pets you might want to take home.
That’s probably the only front yard in West Seattle with not one, but two pirate ships (and our photo doesn’t even show the BIGGER one). It’s the scene of the third annual edition of the 36th/Hanford Halloween hit Skeleton Theatre; the final stages of construction were going fast and furious when we stopped by last night to check in with its creators, and what they’re assembling sounds more Hollywood than ever. The skeletons themselves were still in semi-hiding; more on them in a moment. During our visit, Chris Walker, wife Maia Low and a continually growing cast of friends, neighbors, and family members (meet some of them here) were toiling away to finish transforming the front yard into the stage for the free show that is bound to delight visitors Friday and Saturday nights – video clips just ahead, starting with the skeletons themselves (and the explanation of one skeleton’s mysterious origins):Read More
Straight from the semi-fabulous vinyl collection at WSB HQ, that’s some of what co-publisher Patrick hopes he might get a chance to spin during the second monthly “Open Turntables” night tonight at Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor) – and if you have those old school things known as “records,” you’re invited to come down too. As proprietor Jessie Summa-Kusiak explained in her initial announcement: “You’ve got a lonely collection of vinyl — from hand-me-down gems to awesome yard sale finds. We’ve got the Technics turntables, atmosphere, and late night happy hour prices to turn your secret DJ dreams into reality. It’s easy and fun!” Bring “half an hour’s worth of vinyl and some friends to witness your debut”; signups start at 9 pm, the spinning continues till Skylark closes at 2, and the “late-night happy hour” is from 9 till 1. Skylark’s at 3803 Delridge (map).
Just out of the WSB inbox from the West Seattle High School Alumni Association: They are hoping to organize a bus for alumni to attend Friday night’s WSHS-Eastside Catholic conference title game at Memorial Stadium downtown – and they would need to have 25 people confirmed for the bus ASAP to secure the bus. Cost would be $5 per person; the bus would leave WSHS parking lot at 6:30 pm, back around 10:30. If you’re interested, call Christy Rowe ASAP – 206-932-6953 – or if you can’t call, e-mail carowe@blarg.net (also ASAP).
DOGA AT TWILIGHT: Got word from Twilight Artist Collective in The Junction that Barking Buddha Doga is headed their way; Brenda Bryan will teach a special class in what Twilight has dubbed its “lovely back gallery” on November 20th, $20, with part of the proceeds supporting Twilight and the arts. Space is limited; sign yourself and your canine companion up ASAP — you can do it right now by clicking the button at the bottom of this post on the Twilight blog. Speaking of dogs:
“BASSETS FOR OBAMA” UPDATE: We told you last week about that sweetly goofy little campaign video made by Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area volunteer steward Stevo McElhenney, starring his basset hounds Barkley and Buddy. Now we get word from Stevo that the video has made the Air America Top 10 video contest this week, with a $500 prize up for grabs – but he, Barkley, and Buddy need your vote; go here and look for the voting box in the lower right sidebar.
NIA CLASS TO BENEFIT NORTHWEST HOPE AND HEALING: At 10 this morning at Youngstown Arts Center, you can multitask by working out while helping breast-cancer patients: The NiaDivas are presenting their second annual Nia breast-cancer-benefit class: Proceeds go to West Seattle-based Northwest Hope and Healing. The class will be led by Lesley Tinker; the fee is $15, with $5 raffle tickets offered (raffle items include lingerie and a tote bag). Read more about it here.
FARMERS’ MARKET TODAY: Starting right when the West Seattle Farmers’ Market opens at 10, and continuing till the pumpkins run out, WSFM managers say: “Folks are encouraged to use paint, glitter, feathers, glue, leaves and all types of accessories to make the scariest and most beautiful pumpkins on the planet. All pumpkins and supplies will be provided.” The market’s open 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska; also, as always, here’s your Sunday morning link to the weekly “fresh sheet” of what’ll be on sale there.
Meredith sends word (and photo) of something new at solar-powered Red Cup Espresso: “Friday Night Dominos game night starting at 7:00 p.m. (This week) at 9:00, a table of four was still at it and the drive-thru was open for business. Community members welcome to come play any Friday, or ask for a set of dominos to play any time you actually come in and sit.” Now, on to a Saturday night scene:
11 pm at Seacrest, the Elliott Bay Water Taxi was about to take off on its last run of the last Saturday night of the year. As reported here the other day, morning commuters will get special thank-you treats this Friday, and Water Taxi supporters are invited to let the county know they’re behind the service, as King County Ferry District reauthorization nears. Last but not least, from WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham, a scene that followed all this: “A day of trick or treating ends for this little rescue hero as he strolls away from the Alaska Junction Saturday afternoon.”
Prints of Matt’s work are available through his site, mattdurhamphotography.com.
(WSB video of the entire 4-plus-minute Pioneer Square dance, added 1:33 pm)
The “Thriller” zombies have finished their invasion of Pioneer Square, and now it’s on to West Seattle: You can see their encore at Easy Street at 2 pm this afternoon (during Junction trick-or-treating); their official group dance as part of the worldwide record attempt is in the books. Or the coffins. Now atop the post, video from the Thrill the World/West Seattle crew joining the rest of the Seattle Thrillers — 166 total dancers — at Occidental Park this morning. (They’re also dancing at 9 pm at The Admiral tonight, while the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival [WSB sponsor] showings there have moved on to the “horror” theme including a special late night “Rocky Horror” screening.) Couple pre-dance pix:
The West Seattle contingent spent weeks rehearsing, and they also collected donations for local nonprofits including West Seattle Food Bank and WestSide Baby. ADDED 9:50 PM: According to this site, Seattle had the third-biggest group of participants.
Fresh pies and Christmas bunny, spotted at The Kenney‘s holiday bazaar/bake sale, which continues till 4 pm today and then again tomorrow, 10 am-4 pm. To the east, across Fauntleroy SW, Gatewood Elementary is awash in greenery today for Earth Summit III, continuing till 3 pm – we popped by a little while ago to have a look at some brand-new trees and the people getting ready to plant them:
Last year during Earth Summit II, kids from Gatewood and other West Seattle schools planted trees with the help of a Nobel laureate (WSB coverage here).
Not only is it Hallo-weekend — a weekend full of Halloween events, even though the actual day isn’t till NEXT Friday – today and tomorrow mark the first-ever West Seattle screenings for the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (WSB sponsor), plus there’s a parliamentary workshop Saturday, a Nia class Sunday to raise money for Northwest Hope and Healing‘s work helping breast-cancer patients, drumming to call the salmon home to Fauntleroy Creek on Sunday — and a holiday bazaar happening RIGHT NOW — those are among 48 West Seattle events on our handy list ahead:Read More
Thanks to Melissa for that photo of her window decorations on 42nd north of Fauntleroy in Morgan Junction. You’re welcome to send us a pic of yours – and/or your jack-o-lantern – westseattleblog@yahoo.com – meantime, this gives us an excuse to remind you that the big wave of West Seattle Halloween events starts TOMORROW, continuing through this weekend, and on to the “real” Halloween in eight days. On the WSB Holidays page, you’ll find the times/locations for events for all ages, including three different sessions of business-district trick-or-treating – The Junction this Saturday, Admiral and Westwood Village on Halloween. (P.S. A recent addition is the West Seattle Helpline Fall Masquerade and Wine Tasting a week from today; RSVP by tomorrow.)
Friday-Saturday, SLGFF (WSB sponsor) has its first-ever West Seattle showings, at the Admiral Theater; again tonight, we’re giving away two tickets – read on for the how-to:Read More
They’ve been practicing for weeks (see video of their latest dress rehearsal here) – and now it’s almost showtime for the Thrill the World/West Seattle crew, joining forces with the citywide group in the collective attempt to help set a world record this Saturday for dancing to the Michael Jackson classic “Thriller.” Tonight they have one last rehearsal, and then organizer Lora Lewis from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) says they’ve gotten final approval for the official on-the-record-for-the-record dance to be in Pioneer Square’s Occidental Park at 11 am Saturday – then you have two chances to see them in West Seattle: 2 pm at Easy Street in The Junction, 9 pm at the Admiral Theater. (This is all in the Halloween section of the WSB Holidays page, too.)
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