West Seattle, Washington
12 Saturday
Over the past few months, we’ve brought you advance notice of registration season for several West Seattle-based youth-sports groups, and now it’s time for one more: The Southwest Athletic Club (SWAC) will host early-registration sessions at Westwood Village for football and cheering this Saturday and three other Saturdays this month and next. Here’s what they want you to know:
Registration will be held on four Saturdays (March 8th and 15th, and April 5th and 12th) from 11 am to 1 pm at Big 5 Sporting Goods in Westwood Village.
The Southwest Athletic Club (SWAC) is a West Seattle-based nonprofit organization with the purpose of teaching youth teamwork, discipline and self-esteem through participation in youth football and cheer activities. They serve youth between the ages of 7 and 14, providing a safe structured and positive environment that stresses dedication, teamwork, and sportsmanship, which teaches as much about life as it does football and cheer. Practices start on August 1st with weekly games starting the third weekend of August. Practices and home games are held at the Southwest Athletic Complex at 2600 SW Thistle.
Lee Newgent, the SWAC Board President, is proud of last season and looks forward to next season: “We congratulate last year’s participants on a very successful year, and we look forward to seeing them next fall.†Regarding new players, he added: “We also look forward to seeing any young people and their families who are considering participation in football and cheer at Big 5. Coaches will be on hand to meet the children and answer any questions parents may have.â€
The registration fee for cheer is $100 and football is $200. Early registrants will receive a SWAC water bottle.
More information about SWAC can be found at www.swaccougars.org
The folks behind PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) have just announced Little PEPperS, starting this spring in West Seattle, for parents with babies and toddlers (through 3 years old). Ahead, the full announcement, including how to sign up:Read More
Prime rib, puppets, yachts, health, discount comedy if you mention WSB, classic-rock tributes, a book sale, live theater, and lots more — 49 West Seattle weekend events listed ahead:Read More
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham of mattdurhamphotography.com)
We’re happy to welcome back ArtsWest, which sponsored WSB during the run of its holiday production “O. Henry’s The Gifts of the Magi” and has rejoined us for the play that continues its opening week with a 7:30 pm performance tonight — the Seattle premiere of Rebecca Gilman‘s “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball.” ArtsWest executive director Alan Harrison describes it as “a play about success and failure and the pinnacles and pitfalls of each.” Here’s the official ArtsWest plot synopsis: “Dana Fielding is a successful artist whose latest exhibition completely flops. As does her personal life. To dig herself out of her crisis, she is admitted to a psychiatric hospital and seeks inspiration from – and takes the identity of – the bad boy of baseball, Darryl Strawberry. ‘The Sweetest Swing in Baseball’ is a funny, biting tale of insanity, health insurance, and being all that you can be (even when you’re being someone else).” Dana is portrayed by Heather Hawkins, shown above with castmates Trick Danneker and Gavin Cummins; Shana Bestock directs. ArtsWest is producing “The Sweetest Swing in Baseball” in association with Seattle Public Theater. After tonight’s performance, it continues Wednesday-Saturday nights for the next 3 weeks at 7:30 each night (tickets available online here). Thanks again to ArtsWest for supporting WSB — you’ll find their ad in the exclusive banner spot atop our Crime Watch page, a special sponsorship spot that we’ve made available on all our extra-content pages (the newly reformatted Other Blogs in WS update page, plus our Events list page, the Pets news/pix page, as well as Traffic cams and info, Schools, and the brand-new More page) — find out how to join them and our other sponsors, by going here.
*If you are coming here from the Sustainable WS newsletter, welcome, and please click the West Seattle Weekend Lineup category link beneath the headline to find the current WSWL … thank you!*
The last full weekend of February is full of fun … from a pancake breakfast to a soup and chili cookoff, from a pruning workshop to an open house for the Fire Station 37 project, from Parents’ Afternoon Out and Parents’ Night Out child-care offerings to Sunday fundraisers to help a brave child and a beloved pet. We’ve listed 39 events:Read More
Another reminder that summer (not to mention spring) is getting closer: Just got a note asking us to tell you that the dates are set for this year’s Alki Art Fair (photo above is from last summer’s event) — July 26-27 — and organizers have set up a website too (check it out here) with info on how to register to participate this year as an artist or craftsperson vendor.
FOR TEENS: Think you can find anything online? Delridge Library invites you to test your skills – and win prizes! – at the Teen Internet Scavenger Hunt this Wednesday, 4 pm. Find out more here, including how to preregister.
FOR ADULTS: The Madison Middle School PTSA is extending an open invitation to anyone interested in attending its next meeting featuring two UW researchers who are looking into how teens use tech — specifically, instant messaging and blogging, and video games. After the presentations, Madison PTSA co-president Adrian Lee tells WSB, “the researchers will lead a discussion of youth and emergent digital technologies.” That meeting is 7 pm March 12 @ the Madison library; more info here.
If you lose track of either of these events, just keep an eye on the WSB Events page, where they’re listed along with dozens of other West Seattle events for the days, weeks, months ahead.
That short clip gives you a quick look at meteorites, and more, on display again tomorrow as part of the Presidents’ Gemboree rock and gem show that the West Seattle Rock Club (WSB sponsor) is presenting at the Masonic Temple in The Junction – one of four West Seattle events we checked out today and tonight – more video and photos ahead from all four events:Read More
Didn’t find about this till after publishing the West Seattle Weekend Lineup – free preview of Seattle Opera‘s presentation of Puccini’s “Tosca,” 7 pm tonight @ The Kenney. Organizers tell WSB that chorus maestro Beth Kirchhoff will be the speaker and will bring singers! (“Tosca” opens a week from today.)
(Photo left is by WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham from the West Seattle Rock Club‘s 2005 annual show, as then-president Lyle Vogelpohl demonstrated cutting and polishing stones for use in jewelry.) Regardless of whether the weather clears (it’s supposed to), you’ve got options today, as detailed on our West Seattle Weekend Lineup list; highlights include this year’s Presidents’ Gemboree rock and gem show (WSB sponsor), admission free, 10 am-5 pm at the Alki Masonic Temple (which despite its name is in The Junction, map here); Clay Martin’s Puppet Theater @ Alki Bathhouse, 1 pm; a Vietnamese/English New Year’s celebration with bilingual culture “discovery zone” for kids at High Point Library, 3-5 pm; the Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) “Meet Your Sweetheart” campaign concludes with a Sweetie Party (everyone’s invited!) 5-7 pm; and at Youngstown Arts Center at 6 pm, it’s the 2nd annual Black History Project, a 2-hour all-ages show featuring live performances and presentations honoring four local leaders.
Not just rock ‘n’ roll (which you can see at several venues), but the West Seattle Rock Club‘s annual Rock & Gem Show (Saturday & Sunday; WSB sponsor) is also among 29 listings ahead:Read More
When former Skylark manager Matthew Darling left that North Delridge hotspot, we asked him to let us know where he wound up next. This week, he and friend Tracy Dart (both pictured at left) are launching a new events/PR firm called The West Seattle Scene; they’ve got an event happening tonight, in fact, and it’s not too late to get in on it, Matthew says:
The Valentines Day Bitter Hearts Junction Bar Crawl
Thursday Feb 14th 2008
All are welcome…singles…couples…group scenes (eww)!
We’re gonna crawl up and down the Alaska junction hitting all the bars we can. There will be a set crawl map available at the first bar, and many of the bars will offer a drink special to help us celebrate.
The ultra cool west seattle tattoo logo t-shirt will be available!!!
Please rsvp to westseattlescene@gmail.com
You will be sent a confirmation email with all the details and disclaimers!
That’s also the address where you can find out more about Matthew and Tracy’s new company … as well as the “ultra-cool West Seattle tattoo logo T-shirt” he mentions – logo shown at right. (And of course, as we’ve already said a dozen times today, the West Seattle Art Walk is happening in The Junction tonight as well … should be a wild night.)
Time to toss out that old mental image of your local public library as a hush-or-else quiet temple of bookshelves. Today’s libraries have a lot more going on. Last weekend, for example, we told you about an adult Wii-gaming class at Delridge Library — nice turnout, we’re told, and now we have another activity at that branch — one of four Seattle Public Library branches in West Seattle – that we want to tell you about: “Wonderful Ones.”Read More
Fun events to help students at Chief Sealth and West Seattle High Schools … an endless array of opportunities to do good tomorrow, even before you caucus … animal adoption … lots of live music … much more in the 41 West Seattle weekend events listed here:Read More
5 pm. Cafe Rozella info here. Any other West Seattle Super Tuesday parties? Post ’em!
If you’re watching the Super Bowl this afternoon/evening, we would wager you already know where you will be. 
(West Seattle has two official “sports bars” – Redline and Rocksport – and of course, many other establishments with TVs, including WSB sponsor Garlic Jim’s with tableside TVs, plus some organized Super Bowl parties such as the one the West Seattle Eagles are having.) But if you’re looking for something else to do (or if the game and the commercials get so boring you just have to move on) — our West Seattle Weekend Lineup holds a few options: A “Souper Bowl” lunch/games event is under way right now at Tibbetts Church; plus, C and P Coffee offers live music 3-5 pm (and some WSBers are planning a meetup there @ 4 pm); WSB sponsor SoundYoga has a free yoga class @ 4 pm; or how about a midwinter swim? Family swim at Southwest Pool is 2-3 pm; public swim 4-5 pm (full schedule here). Any other SB alternative events we’re missing? Leave a comment.
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Wii is not just for kids, and the Delridge Library will show you why at 10:30 this morning; other one-time-only West Seattle events today/tonight include the Seattle Majestics‘ karaoke contest — see the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for the full rundown on what’s up.
TRAFFIC REMINDERS: SDOT will be doing significant work today at two sites in West Seattle, as announced yesterday afternoon: California/Othello paving here, Admiral medians here.
LOOKING AHEAD TO VALENTINE’S DAY? The latest newsletter from Skylark offers this: “Skylark is hosting a Valentine’s Day ‘Cheap Date Night,’ filled with free music; homemade spaghetti & meatballs; garlic bread and a bottle of red or white wine all for just $32 per couple from 5 pm to 10 pm.” Read more here.
PICTURES WE’VE BEEN MEANING TO SHARE: During a busy week full of news, they wound up on the back burner, but if you’ve got a minute, take a look:Read More
Tonight we welcome the newest WSB sponsor: The West Seattle Rock Club, advertising here to let you know about their biggest event of the year — free to the public! — the West Seattle Rock and Gem Show, coming up February 16-17 at the Alki Masonic Temple in The Junction, featuring not only displays of rocks and gems, but also demonstrations and family activities. (Read more here.) The club’s been in West Seattle since 1965, and meets monthly, with other activities including rockhounding field trips. But you don’t have to be a hobbyist or any kind of expert to attend and enjoy the annual show; check out photos from last year’s Rock and Gem Show on this page of the WSRC’s website. We thank the WSRC for choosing to promote the Rock & Gem Show by advertising on WSB; if you’re interested in joining them and our other sponsors, please visit this page.
(Photo by Emeline Chabanne, courtesy Gansango Music & Dance [2007])
The Gansango show tonight at SSCC is one of 31 West Seattle weekend possibilities you’ll find listed ahead (including free yoga as a Super Bowl alternative, a fundraising bake sale this afternoon, a free Wii class for grownups, a karaoke contest, and more):Read More
As you may recall, the community-building organization Megawatt decided last month to disband, but its leaders were hopeful that its legacy, and its best-known events, would carry on, with new organizers. As just officially announced in Megawatt’s last e-mail bulletin, that’s going to happen:
Megawatt’s Legacy Lives On
Megawatt is thrilled to announce that the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day and the Gathering of Neighbors will continue in 2008 and beyond under new leadership.
The West Seattle Blog is the new organizer of the West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day. Tracy Record and Patrick Sand have a lot of creative ideas for this beloved West Seattle event. Check out the West Seattle Blog at www.wsb.blackfin.biz for ongoing updates.
The Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association will take on leadership for the Gathering of Neighbors. DNDA is a trusted West Seattle steward and under their guidance GON will continue as an inspired community event. Contact Derek Birnie at www.dnda.org for more information.
Megawatt is officially signing off. Thank you for making all of this important work possible.
Here’s to community. Here’s to West Seattle.
Congratulations to Megawatt founder Mary Ellen Cunningham, her board, and their colleagues for everything they’ve accomplished. And to DNDA for taking on Gathering of Neighbors, which is an awesome way to find out more about community resources and opportunities. And now, about those garage sales — We are thrilled that Mary Ellen and the Megawatt board decided to trust WSB with Community Garage Sale Day. It’s something that truly and literally all of West Seattle can be part of – as sellers and/or shoppers (and we’re hoping for some community partners in other roles too) – and something that also can draw people from other areas to come visit our fabulous peninsula. Plus, we can all talk a lot about it online before, during, and after. Megawatt created an instant tradition by launching this event in 2005, and we hope you will help make the 4th Annual West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day ’08 a ton of fun. If you were a seller or buyer last year, and you have a thought on what you hope won’t change and what you think would make it an optimal experience, please leave a comment here or e-mail us any time at a special mailbox we’ve set up: garagesale@wsb.blackfin.biz. Oh, and mark your calendar – we want to continue the Megawatt tradition of scheduling this for the second Saturday in May – that’ll be May 10th, 2008! We’ll talk more about this soon, and we’ll set up a forum topic when it gets a little closer.
Not the kind of potluck you’re probably thinking of – though there will be cookies! It’s a writers’ reading and music event tonight at Cafe Rozella (on the southern edge of West Seattle, 9434 Delridge), 7-9 pm. Here are more details, forwarded from Cafe Rozella’s Ricardo Guarnero:
This Spanglish Potluck features readings in Spanish & English by Hedgebrook alumnae Wendy Call & Maria Victoria. Also featured will be traditional Cuban music from Irene Mitri & her Charanga Danzón. This will be a reading like none other. There will be live words & music along with freshly-made Hedgebrook cookies and an opportunity to sing Las Mananitas (the traditional Mexican Birthday Song) to Wendy’s godchild. So come, bring a friend, bring your family and be a part of the fun!
If “Hedgebrook” doesn’t ring a bell – it’s a writers’ retreat on Whidbey Island (read more here).
Can you believe Christmas was a month ago? Anyway, here are 44 ideas for now through Sunday:Read More
Two highlights tonight, from the WSB Events list:
-It’s the second Wednesday night for the Sidewalk Cinema Rainy Night Movies series @ Kenyon Hall (never mind the rainlessness). And these are movies you probably haven’t seen before (maybe never even heard of); the list is here.
–“The Retreat from Moscow” continues at ArtsWest tonight; we don’t currently do entertainment reviewing here but once in a while a reader sends something out of the blue – Lynn Taylor e-mailed to say she attended this last week and wanted to let other WSB readers know, “This is a really top quality piece of theatre – both the writing AND the acting, especially the mother and father roles. Very poignant yet with humor sprinkled in. We’ve seen all range of quality from Arts West – and this is right up there with the best we’ve seen.”
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