West Seattle, Washington
14 Monday
Just out of the WSB inbox – a news release sent by West Seattleite Keith Bacon announcing an event at Easy Street a week from tonight — a book launch party with two members of R.E.M. in attendance. Read on for the full details:Read More
Colman Pool at Lincoln Park (photo above from our feature on its pre-season opening day last month, also gorgeously sunny) is now in 7-day-a-week mode, which means you can still go after work – it’s open till 7 pm (full Colman schedule here). And that’s your only city-run option, since Southwest Pool — as reported in this WSB feature last Friday — is now closed for 3 1/2 months of renovation work. (There are some non-city-operated indoor pools in the area too – including West Seattle Family YMCA [WSB sponsor] and Allstar Fitness.)
The first West Seattle wading-pool opening of the season MIGHT be tomorrow @ Lincoln Park, but there’s a hitch – gotta be 70 degrees and sunny – not looking much like there’s a chance of that. (SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: We just went down to check – the pool IS filling, and it WILL be open both days this weekend no matter what.) Nonetheless, we’ll hold out a good thought, and include that possibility in the list of 40 events ahead, from bellydancing tonight to the West Seattle Moms of Tots benefit Bake Sale on Alki tomorrow morning to the WSB Forum Community Happy Hour Meet-Up tomorrow afternoon and beyond – and if you MUST leave West Seattle, there’s the first-ever Capitol Hill Community Garage Sale Day — it’s all ahead:Read More
Online and in “ballot boxes” placed at West Seattle businesses, hundreds of people offered suggestions for the Sidewalk Cinema Movies on the Wall series in The Junction coming up in July and August — now Lora Lewis, proprietor of Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), which is next to the courtyard with the big screen you see above, confirms the slate is set — read on:Read More
Full list in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup; couple of highlights — Freedom Church (35th/Roxbury) is throwing a party 10 am-4 pm and you’re invited — there’s a lot percolating at the ex-Safeway-turned-church site as it builds a “Village of Hope” that eventually is envisioned to include housing and community services; today’s event celebrates their ownership of the site and vision of the future. Meantime, another notable event happens outside West Seattle — City Councilmember Sally Clark (whose recent Junction walking tour was covered here) convenes her “Townhomes – Can the Patient Be Saved?” forum on Capitol Hill at 10 am today (original WSB report here; details from Clark’s site, including location and map, here). Our favorite excerpt from the description on her site — “The morning will start with a few examples of the good, the OK and the fatally wounded.”
Pardon the tardiness — here are the West Seattle weekend highlights, 43 of them:Read More
Thanks to “Alkiguy” for sharing these photos from low tide at Alki yesterday – lowest of the year (-4.1 per this chart), but today’s low tide is almost as low (-4.0 at 12:39 pm).
The sun’s coming back someday. Maybe even this afternoon, the forecast suggests. So we’re adding three outdoor-fun chapters to the West Seattle 101 (note the “tab” link on our header) section here on WSB. WS 101 
is the all-things-West-Seattle book written by Lori Hinton, who’s been sharing selected chapters here on WSB for the past few months. Today, we add Lori’s stories about Westcrest Park Off-Leash Area for dogs and their people, the blazing beach fires of Alki, and historic Colman Pool (which reopens Saturday for its third and final preseason weekend); the full WS 101 on WSB archive is here.
FIRST CHANCE: The second of two Nia classes to raise $ for earthquake relief in China is this morning at Youngstown Arts Center, 10 am. Jill Pagano from NiaDivas says the first one on Saturday brought in more than $200!
SECOND CHANCE:
That video shows the Seattle Swing Dance Club in action when we checked them out a couple weeks back at the Masonic Hall in The Junction. That’s where they dance the first and third Sunday of each month — and that means today. As explained on the SSDC website, there’s lots going on when they get together on those Sunday afternoons/evenings — workshops, social dancing, and competition. Beginners are just as welcome as experts. This weekend they’re hosting a renowned guest instructor, Mary Ann Nunez (more on her workshops here). If you watched the video but are still trying to figure out this dance style, it’s explained here.
“A.L.L.” stands for Art Lending Library, which is debuting at Delridge Day (under way till 4 pm at Youngstown Arts Center). We’re heading out and about to more of today’s events but thought we’d post that as well as this photo of Kore Ionz, one of the groups performing today (you’ll find fun outdoors as well as indoors @ Youngstown):
Lots more later, from this event and others (the West Seattle Weekend Lineup list has the full lowdown on everything that’s happening today — and tomorrow).
That photo shows the trial run last year for a lemonade stand you’ll find 10 am-4 pm today at 31st/Henderson (map), raising money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation to fight childhood cancer. Also at 10 – the first of two weekend Nia classes to raise $ for earthquake relief in China. Those are two of myriad events happening in West Seattle today — full list here in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup — Delridge Day at Youngstown Arts Center and the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Business Expo at SSCC are the biggies — two businesses are having anniversary celebrations today (Revolution Coffee in Admiral and Coastal on Alki) — and in the middle of it all, Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott is having a Town Hall meeting at the Admiral library branch at 2 pm.
Thanks to Friends of Ercolini Park for that photo from last weekend’s fun in the sun at the new park – though it hasn’t had an official “grand opening” event yet (still in the works), it is now truly open (west of The Junction, 48th and Alaska). This is also the second weekend of preseason operations for Colman Pool (see our coverage from last weekend here), and lots more going on, including the big Gatewood Elementary centennial, Delridge Day, and West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Biz Expo events tomorrow — 45 listings in all, straight ahead:Read More
Two really big FREE events happen this Saturday in West Seattle – we’ve told you about Delridge Day at Youngstown Arts Center (11 am-4 pm) and now we have many more details about the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Biz Expo @ South Seattle Community College, 11 am-3 pm, including free workshops with experts on everything from gardening to food to fitness – read on!Read More
On behalf of West Seattle Little League, Alki’s Cami MacNamara e-mailed WSB to let you know:
West Seattle Little League has completed regular season play. Congratulations to the Minors division (ages 8-10) Diamondbacks and the Majors division (ages 10-12) Orioles for finishing in first place! Tonight, End of Season (EOS) Tournament play begins for the Minors at Bar-S Field (6464 SW Admiral Way) at 6 pm and runs through June 10th. Majors take the field on Friday, May 30th also play through June 10th. The winner of each division will move on the the District 7 Tournament of Champions on June 13th-16th, hosted by the South Highline Nationals at City Hall Park in Normandy Park. Come down to Bar-S and enjoy the fun! To view the complete tournament schedules, go to westseattlelittleleague.com.
Here’s a map to Bar-S; here are photos from the season-starting Jamboree two short months ago.
You sent in your suggestion(s) via our special page here on WSB or via ballot boxes in local businesses — now organizer Lora Lewis from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) has unveiled the list of finalists from which the “Movies on the Wall” outdoor-film lineup in July and August will be chosen. Read on, then leave a comment about which ones you’d most like to see:Read More
If you didn’t get the “combined summer brochure” for all West Seattle city-run community centers and pools by mail, you can download it here (44-page PDF). One thing that caught our eye while browsing the brochure: If you too have ever rued being too old for “American Idol” — there’s an “Over-40 Talent Showcase” in August, described as follows:
Discover the unique talent of West Seattle residents in a fantastic talent showcase. The performance will feature song, dance, and instrumentals that will surely have you up on your feet. For audition information and sign-ups to perform call Sheree
Seretse at 684-7438.
Location: Southwest Community Center 8/23 Sat. 8 pm
One other community-center note – the sign outside Delridge CC says it’s closed tomorrow through June 15th. (And don’t forget the Southwest Pool closure for major work, 6/14 through late September.)
Next weekend, West Seattle’s “NiaDivas” plan 
two special classes at Youngstown Arts Center with all proceeds going to China earthquake relief. Their announcement includes the latest sobering numbers from Northwest-based MercyCorps: More than 62,500 deaths, more than 32,000 people missing, more than 430,000 homes destroyed. Read more about Nia at the NiaDivas’ website; the hour-long classes are at 10 am each day next Saturday-Sunday at Youngstown Arts Center, $14 donation, with 100% going to MercyCorps’ relief work in China. (Right after the Saturday class, you can segue into the Delridge Day events that will be happening at Youngstown 11 am-4 pm that day.)
With the bright sunshine, sapphire sky, and warm turquoise salt water, the season’s first public swim at Colman Pool this afternoon really did feel almost tropical. And even with the summery weather, the crowd wasn’t overwhelming. Colman will be open tomorrow and Monday, then the following two Saturday-Sunday weekends before beginning 7-day summertime operations on 6/14. Do note (this one almost tripped us up) that the “preseason” weekend/holiday days through 6/8 have a different schedule (NOT reflected in this online schedule, but it IS in the brochure), with public swim 3-4:45 (instead of the “regular” 1:45-4:45) and another late-afternoon lap swim 5-7 (during the “regular” season, that’s half lap swim, half family swim). Colman is one of only two outdoor pools in the city system; it’s a few blocks’ walk from either side of the Lincoln Park waterfront. Here’s a good map of the park; if you don’t live close enough to walk from home, park in the Lowman Beach area and walk southwest down the end of Beach Drive (map) and onto the Lincoln Park beach walkway; park in the central Lincoln Park lot and walk through the wooded area to the trail down to Colman; or park near Lincoln Park’s south end and follow the paved waterfront walkway north to the pool. Note that the Lincoln Park parking lots fill up fast on sunny days, and neighborhood parking near the park’s south end (closest to the ferry dock) has new rules because of RPZ restrictions.
(photo by WSB contributor Matt Durham; prints of his work are available at MattDurhamPhotography.com)
We’re including Monday events too, as well as Monday information (like government closures, Water Taxi/bus/ferry schedule changes, etc.), since this is it … the kickoff of summer … and as we type those very words, in fact, filtered sun is starting to wash over Upper Fauntleroy … 41 events and other notes listed ahead:Read More
Guess it won’t be TOO horrible if this forecast holds and Memorial Day is something like today (photo above shows an afternoon sunbreak along Lincoln Park’s north shore). At least Colman Pool will be open (we were so desperate today to get a glimpse, despite the plywood over the plexiglass on the west and south sides, we took our young assistant up on his offer to sneak a photographic peek through the drainage openings at the bottom of the brick wall):
Colman Pool’s opening day is Saturday (schedule here).
Sun’s out, first holiday weekend of summer is a week away, and you might be starting to think about summertime outdoor swimming in West Seattle. As mentioned previously, Colman Pool in Lincoln Park — one of the city’s two outdoor pools — opens this Saturday for the weekend-only preseason (schedule here); daily operation starts June 16, same day Southwest Pool (West Seattle’s only city-run indoor pool) closes for 3 1/2 months of work. West Seattle also has five city-run wading pools: Hiawatha, Delridge, Hughes, Lincoln Park, and Highland Park. They’re all on a clickable map on this city webpage with opening dates and operating hours; the first to open will be Lincoln Park, on June 14 (it’s in the northeastern section of the upper park area).
We caught those young women and their penguin pal staking out The Junction to promote the nearby Hope Lutheran rummage sale, raising money for a summertime mission to Mexico. (They’re going till about 2 pm; another rummage sale at nearby West Seattle Christian Church [WSB sponsor] has a similar goal, and it’s continuing till 5 pm; you can hit both in the span of about a block.)
Thanks to John Smersh from Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) in the Admiral District for that photo from nearby Admiralty House Antiques, which he says is open today for the first time in a long time, selling tools at 50% off on outdoor tables (you’ll recall it “closed for remodeling” in January; WSB coverage here). Now, to the other side of West Seattle, and the High Point Community Center:
The women in the blue shirts are nursing students from Seattle University standing by to help you get healthier at their High Point Health Fair, under way till 4 pm at High Point CC. Door prizes and refreshments, too, all free – plus some educational exhibits:
That exhibit about indoor air quality was manned by Abby Suplizio, who we introduced you to here in our recent feature about the West Seattle chapter of CoolMom.org, which she leads. She teaches a twice-yearly course about indoor air quality and other safety concerns through the American Lung Association of Washington (more online here). We’ve been out covering many of the day’s other events too, including JP Patches at the Admiral Theater; more coverage coming up later.
That’s the start of a trail into the West Duwamish Greenbelt — which covers many acres of eastern West Seattle but isn’t nearly as well-known as the trails of Lincoln Park, Camp Long, Schmitz Park, and so on. From that trailhead at 14th SW and SW Holly (map), we joined a group Friday afternoon on one of the free guided monthly hikes offered by the West Seattle-based Nature Consortium, whose executive director Nancy Whitlock led the way:
More photos, video, and what we learned about this semi-secret stretch of greenery that’s not very far off the beaten (and driven) path, ahead:Read More
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