West Seattle, Washington
11 Wednesday
Thanks for the tips. In our photo, that’s muralist Desmond Hansen, out at 35th/Alaska this afternoon restoring his signal-box portrait of Chris Cornell. As noted here last Sunday, it was defaced (literally, with black paint over the face) about the same time as Easy Street Records‘ south-facing multi-mural wall, which also included a portrait of Chris Cornell. That one, by a different artist, was restored on Labor Day; now this one is restored too. Hansen originally painted it four and a half year ago.
The last West Seattle Art Walk of summer had musical highlights again tonight – two performers for The Art of Music, curated by John Redenbaugh. We got short clips of both – above, Taylor John Hardin outside WEND Jewelry in South Admiral; below, Trevor Ras at KeyBank Plaza in The Junction:
West Seattle Art Walk – with or without music – happens every second Thursday, so set your calendar for the next one, October 13th.
It’s the first day of business for this week’s Alki Arts pop-up in the former Bellevue Rare Coins space on the Senior Center of West Seattle‘s ground floor at California/Alaska. As we showed you last week, murals mark the spot:
The murals are on the plywood covering the storefront’s still-to-be-replaced windows. Above is the one Brooke Borcherding was working on last week; below is the one Steffanie Lorig painted more recently:
Both murals will be for sale after the windows are replaced (with half the proceeds benefiting the Senior Center). Meantime, Alki Arts’ Diane Venti will open the pop-up daily through Sunday (September 11th), noon-5 pm each day except Thursday, when they’ll be open until 8 pm for the West Seattle Art Walk.
Artist Reeve Washburn (who also happens to be Art Walk coordinator) will be doing some live painting inside the pop-up this week too.
(WSB photos)
A vandal’s damage to the mural wall on the south side of Easy Street Records didn’t stand for long. The wall, including its portrait of Chris Cornell, was restored this afternoon by its artist, Son Duong, with whom we caught up as he was close to finishing:
He and his daughter worked all afternoon to restore the art. (Thanks to the texter who tipped us that the restoration work was under way.) In an odd side note, he mentioned that this mural and the Desmond Hansen signal box at 35th/Alaska weren’t the only Chris Cornell portraits that had been vandalized – one by Silver Platters in SODO had been defaced too.
SW Holden, between 16th SW and Highland Park Way SW, just might be the West Seattle street most burdened by bridge-detour traffic these past 2 1/2 years. But a group of artists affiliated with the Highland Park Improvement Club (1116 SW Holden) chose to try to lighten the spirits of pass-through drivers and riders rather than resenting them, by installing roadside A-board art. Now – exactly two weeks before the bridge’s scheduled September 18th reopening – they’ve done it one more time. Here’s the announcement and photos:
we did a low key install this morning of our final set of A-frame reader signs before the High Bridge detour ends.
We have been consciously staying away from any bridge mentions during the hard times of the detour, but now we want to have a celebratory note on bridges and connections restored.
Highland Park poet Judith Camann penned our “Burma Shave” style message:
Life is a bridge
a Connection
Without taking sides.
The “B-sides” are drawings of some fantastical bridges, hiding the HPIC initials.
We have had a great time expressing for our neighbors hosting the detour traffic, and writing and painting together – and look forward to seeing you all down the road.
Kay Kirkpatrick
Monica Cavagnaro
Kelly Lyles
Judith Camann
If you missed the previous displays, here are some of the stories from our archives:
March 2022
April 2021
October 2020
August 2020
The first pop-up is on its way to the former Bellevue Rare Coins space on the ground floor of the Senior Center of West Seattle – and mural-painting is happening outside, to get ready! The announcement is from Diane Venti:
Alki Arts is doing a pop up art show in the West Seattle Senior Center Annex at 4500 California Avenue next week.
The shop will be open Tuesday September 6th through Sunday September 11th from Noon to 5 pm each day, plus Art Walk Thursday evening the 8th from 5 to 8 pm!!
Since the window replacement has been delayed for the Senior Center, I have enlisted the help of 2 local artists to paint the plywood on the windows:
Brooke Borcherding is here today painting the SW Oregon side window (photos attached) and on Mon the 5th artist Steffanie Lorig will be painting the window on California Ave.
If anyone is interested in purchasing the panels after the windows are replaced they can contact me at dianeventi@gmail.com Proceeds from the art panel sales will be split between the artist and the Senior Center! Yay for fundraising while neighborhood beautifying! 😁
We will pack a lot of local music and art demos into our one-week stay at the Pop Up! Artist Reeve Washburn will be helping me run the shop and doing live painting inside on several days!
(WSB photo, 2019)
This summer of returning events isn’t over yet – this Saturday (September 3rd), the Vietnamese Cultural Center in West Seattle brings back the Children’s Moonlight Festival. It includes a kids’ lantern parade – as shown above in our 2019 photo, that doesn’t actually happen in the moonlight, as the festival will take place 3-6 pm with a variety of activities for all, including treats, games, entertainment, and a lion dance. All free! The center is at 2236 SW Orchard (just north of Home Depot).
(WSB photo – Joyas Mestizas at Seattle Folklorico Festival)
Dance and music isn’t all you’ll see at the Seattle Folklorico Festival, happening at Westcrest Park (9000 8th SW) until 4 pm.
As noted in our calendar listing, you can shop and snack too.
Local organizations are there too – from the Highland Park Improvement Club to the Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs, whose booth offers this info for the youngest members of the family too:
The Seattle Folklorico Festival is coordinated and presented by the youth folkloric-dance group Joyas Mestizas (who are scheduled to perform again at 2:30 pm). Performances are for and by all ages!
Looking for music lessons? Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) is looking for you – and offering an incentive to sign up now:
It’s almost back-to-school season and that means it’s time to fill up those after-school hours with activities for the kids – and if you’ve got some aspiring rock stars/singer-songwriters/composers in the family, there’s no better after-school activity than private music lessons at West Seattle’s Mode Music Studios.
Through the end of August, the team at Mode will be offering a free tee shirt or tank top*, featuring a limited edition design by Seattle’s own Make Don’t Break Co, to any new student who signs up for lessons starting in the fall!
Mode offers lessons in instruments from guitar and piano to melodica and oud, and all Mode teachers are professional working musicians. You might have seen them at West Seattle Summer Fest, where they not only had a booth but also were proud to have two student bands, K.A.M.P.S. and It’s All Happening, open for former Mode student band THEM and Mode teacher/mentors Naked Giants, respectively.
Mode is proud to provide music education for interested subjects of all ages and experience levels, so don’t hesitate to sign up today! Just fill out the sign up form on their website and you’ll hear from one of Mode’s welcome team members, who can help you decide on the perfect lesson plan and instructor for you.
*sizes adult XS-XXL, while supplies last
Go here to find out about lessons and registration!
On Monday we published an invitation for singers to join the Endolyne Children’s Choir. Today, an invitation for adult singers – from Northwest Associated Arts. Their choirs are based in Burien but seeking singers from surrounding areas, including West Seattle. Here’s the invitation:
Have you always wanted to sing with a group? Do you miss a time in your past when you were part of a vibrant community of singers? Now that many of the limitations placed on choral activities during the pandemic have lifted, Northwest Associated Arts is looking forward to a new season of in-person rehearsals and performances. Our choirs are growing, and we encourage new singers and singers who have sung with us in the past to come join one of our choirs.
ChoralSounds Northwest is a friendly, cohesive group of dedicated adult musicians who are drawn together by their love of singing. We are a Burien-based mixed community chorus under the baton of Artistic Director Dr. Ryan Ellis. Combining traditional choral music with the fun of other modern styles, ChoralSounds offers a musical home to area singers who want to experience the challenge, musicianship, and camaraderie of performing with a professional group.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Paula Hawkins, SilverSounds Northwest is a mixed chorus of mostly-retired seniors who believe that “you are never too old to rock and roll!” Known for their clever, themed concerts, SilverSounds Northwest loves to entertain audiences with solos, small ensembles, narration, acting, dance, and choreography.
We will be holding ChoralSounds auditions for the 2022-2023 season primarily on September 6th, but may create some additional audition times. SilverSounds auditions can be arranged individually with us. We invite you to fill out this form if you are interested in joining either one of our choirs. We will follow up with you by email. Please visit the NWAA website for more information on the choirs and the audition process.
NWAA’s programs are supported in part by member dues, and financial aid is available to any singers who need assistance.
After West Seattle musician and educator Lou Magor died in April of last year, there was a promise his life eventually would be celebrated in grand style, once it was safer for people to gather. Now, Kenyon Hall – the historic West Seattle venue he ran and championed – is inviting people to that celebration:
Time to Remember
Seattle Artists/Kenyon Hall presents —
An Open House to honor the memory and legacy of Lou Magor.Hosted by – Casey McGill & Orville Johnson
Join us for good food, musical tributes, sharing of memories & good stories.
Saturday, September 17, 2022
12:00 pm-4:00 pm
Kenyon Hall
7904 35th Ave SW, Seattle WA 98126
Email: kenyon@kenyonhall.orgPlease Note: If you want to attend, and share, in person – masks are required inside the hall for the immunocompromised among us.
If you are unable to join us in person, we invite you to share memories, words of tribute, photos or videos of Lou with us. Send them to the hall’s postal address or email address as soon as possible. We will do our best to share your words and memories during the afternoon.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Seattle Artists’ board of directors is working on a memorial marker for Lou to be placed in a W Seattle location. Donations to fund the marker will be collected at the open house or can be sent via the usual channels to Kenyon Hall — ATTN: Lou Magor Memorial Project
Seattle Artists is the nonprofit that operates Kenyon Hall and, as we reported here, has worked to continue to keep it alive as a place where people can find joy.
If you have a young singer in the household, West Seattle’s Endolyne Children’s Choir welcomes their participation this fall! Here’s the announcement:
Join us for Endolyne Children’s Choir’s 20th season! We’d love to sing with you.
Endolyne Children’s Choir is a secular, non-audition, community choir, open to any child in grades K-12 who loves to sing. We offer a safe, equitable, inclusive environment that supports children’s emotional, social, and musical development.
Rehearsals take place in the Admiral Junction at 3050 California Ave SW on Tuesdays starting September 6:
Debut Prep (grade K): 4:30-5:15
Debut (grades 1-2): 4:30-5:30Encore (grades 3-6): 5:45-6:45
Advanced Ensemble (grades 6-12): 7:00-8:30
Registration ends August 29. Choose your tuition tier when registering. Discounted tuition and scholarships available to anyone. Register at form.jotform.com/222254668243154
As part of the West Seattle Best Seattle effort related to the impending reopening of the West Seattle Bridge, a scavenger hunt is about to launch. Here’s the announcement we just received:
For the first time ever, the West Seattle community will participate in what we’re calling The Great West Seattle Float Hunt! From the fiery kilns of Avalon Glassworks are born unique glass floats, each emblazoned with the spirit of West Seattle. Beginning today and going until they’re all found, these prized floats will be hidden all around West Seattle in retail stores and public spaces, secured with netting and accompanied by an instruction card. While only one per family is permitted, these floats are valuable well beyond their monetary cost since they are each singular in nature and represent the beauty of West Seattle.
Participating areas include:
Alki, North Delridge, South Delridge, Highland Park, Endolyne/Fauntleroy, South CA Ave (Edmunds and south), North CA Ave (between Admiral and AK Junctions), Avalon Way, North 35th (by the golf course), The Triangle, Alaska Junction, Admiral Junction, Morgan Junction
Organizers say they’ll be dropping hints online.
ADDED: Commenter M asked about the floats’ size. That’s part of this descriptive information just circulated by Shannon Felix of Avalon Glassworks:
Hand blown by Avalon Glassworks, the West Seattle Float is a decorative glass sphere inspired by a vintage fishing float that once buoyed a net. This sturdy ball is sealed with a Heart ❤️ WS commemorative stopper button. The design of this glass float is inspired by the West Seattle shore. Predominantly blue, the ball has spots of white creating a rocky beach foreground with ocean waves beyond. A band of transparent aqua blue represents the sky, on which sparkly blue aventurine glass shines like stars. This gazing ball is suitable for indoor or outdoor decoration and will float in a water feature, if you choose. The West Seattle Float is approximately 4.25″ in diameter.
(Wednesday night photo by Kanit Cottrell)
Here’s what’s happening for the rest of today/tonight – there’s even more on our West Seattle Event Calendar:
BLOCK DROP DIY CLEANUP SUPPLIES: Until 6 pm, today’s Block Drop is at Fairmount Park Elementary (3800 SW Findlay).
HELP WITH MEDICARE: Got questions? Need guidance? Patrice Lewis is at the Senior Center of West Seattle (4217 SW Oregon) to offer help, 11 am-12:30 pm – our calendar listing has info on how to call first to register.
WADING POOLS, SPRAYPARK OPEN: The city plans to open the wading pools, including Delridge (4501 Delridge Way SW), noon-5:30 pm, and Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW), noon-7 pm. Highland Park Spraypark at 1100 SW Cloverdale will be open as usual, though – 11 am-8 pm.
COLMAN POOL OPEN: Noon-7 pm, go swimming in the saltwater pool on the shore at Lincoln Park (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW).
‘FUN WITH WATER’: Family-friendly games, art, and other fun (including free lunch for those 18 and under) at Roxhill Park (2850 SW Roxbury), 12:30-2:30 pm.
ART AT THE COFFEEHOUSE: Cam’s Art Show, with new work plus a West Seattle Food Bank fundraiser, 5-7 pm at C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor).
ULTIMATE AT FAIRMOUNT: 6 pm, Thursday night summertime Ultimate pickup games are back at Fairmount Playfield (5400 Fauntleroy Way SW).
PIANO MUSIC: Solo piano with Betty Spangenburg at Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral Way), starting at 6:30 pm.
BENBOW GOES COUNTRY: Thursday “Nashville Nights“ continue at the Benbow Room (4210 SW Admiral Way), 9 pm. 21+.
Have something to add to our calendar? Email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
A unique outdoor concert that delighted parkgoers last summer is back this summer for an encore: Flutes in the Forest. You can enjoy it free this Saturday at Schmitz Park. Here’s the announcement:
Enjoy the sounds of the JBC Rose Flute Trio on Saturday afternoon, August 20, from 2:00-3:00 pm in Schmitz Park: Jennie Goldberg, Barb Cotton, and Carolyn Hoppe-Denend.
Bring your own chair or blanket; stay as long as you’d like.
Enter Schmitz Park off SW Admiral Way and SW Stevens Way. Walk the paved road 300 feet to the sound of flutes in the forest. Plenty of street parking along SW Stevens.
Concert is FREE and open to the public.
Note: there are no restrooms in the park.
We first told you back in June about plans for the first-ever West Seattle Art Hop & Shop, a peninsula-wide event that’s now exactly one month away – 10 am-5 pm Saturday, September 17th. Organizers are still signing up artists to participate. Here’s what it’s all about and how to be part of it:
The Art Hop & Shop is a neighborhood-wide event for local artists and makers to show and sell their work. Artists can host a pop-up in their yard, or “borrow” a yard. The West Seattle Art Hop & Shop publishes an online mobile map for shoppers to find and visit the pop-ups, as well as an artist list on our website.
The Art Hop & Shop boundaries are West Marginal Way to the east, the Seattle city limits to the south, and the water to the north and west. If you do not live in the area, find another artist who does live in the area who can host you. Live in an apartment or condo? Need a place to pop-up? Find a host. Connections made between hosts and artists is one of the wonderful aspects of this event. Please click here to see the do-it-yourself tool for finding match-ups.
An interactive map shows the locations of the sales on September 17th. Artists and makers will enter their own information (including photos and links) on the map. You will receive information about how to add your point to the map when you register. Each artist is responsible for entering their own map information.
How do I sign up?
Visit our Registration Page. The cost is $10, and is non-refundable. The fee covers administrative and promotional costs. This is a “rain or shine” event. You will need a location before you register.
Organizers of the West Seattle Art Hop & Shop are all volunteers. But if you have a question, they’ll be happy to answer it – email wsArtHop@gmail.com. Registration deadline is September 2nd.
If it’s not already on your calendar for tomorrow night – consider the August West Seattle Art Walk, featuring two free live musical performances as The Art of Music returns:
The Art Walk itself starts around 5 pm and includes venues all around the peninsula – you can preview who’s participating by going here. The Art of Music features an hour and a half of live music – with a 15-minute midpoint break – at two venues. As shown on the poster above, Nathan and Roz Duo will be at KeyBank Plaza (California/Alaska in The Junction), promising a “musical getaway across the US, the Caribbean, and South America,” while Epiphany of Time will be at Antico Soprano’s (2348 California SW) in The Admiral District, offering “pop-modern blues, dreamy originals, and funky tunes.” Deciding who to go see? Video previews are on the Art Walk website.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society is bringing back its speaker series Words, Writers, & Southwest Stories, this Thursday (August 11) with Jake Prendez, artist and proprietor of Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery in South Delridge. Here’s the announcement:
The Art of Rebellion: Social Justice and Chicana/Chicano Visual Arts
‘Words, Writers, & Southwest Stories,’ a speaker series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, is excited to announce that it is hosting Jake Prendez for a live Zoom presentation on Thursday, August 11 at 6:00 PM. Prendez will deliver a presentation titled “The Art of Rebellion: Social Justice and Chicana/Chicano Visual Arts.” Registration is required. Register here.
How has art has been used to mobilize communities and disseminate messages of social justice? Is art just a commodity that is only accessible to the elite? How has the idea of “art for the people” shifted the way we look at art?
In this talk, Chicano artist Jake Prendez traces the history of social-justice art, from the rise of Mexican muralism to its influence on American artwork from the civil-rights era and the modern era. Explore how the means of production and new technologies made art accessible worldwide, and join Prendez as he deconstructs his own artwork to show how it relates to this greater narrative.
Jake Prendez (he/him) is a renowned Chicano artist, and the owner and co-director of Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery in West Seattle. His work is an amalgamation of his life experiences — a representation of his Chicano background and a reflection of his time living in both Seattle and Los Angeles.
This program is part of the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau. The Historical Society is grateful to Humanities Washington for their support. This talk is also made possible by the support of our partner The Seattle Public Library and our sponsors 4Culture, The City of Seattle Arts & Culture, Luna Park Cafe, Alki Beach Academy, and HomeStreet Bank.
Not too much going on around the city aside from Seafair this weekend – so if you love live music, you might consider sailing over to Vashon Island for a benefit show tomorrow (Saturday, August 6th) to boost youth music education via West Seattle’s own nonprofit Mode Music and Performing Arts. Here’s the announcement:
Bric/Brac Fest and Mode Music and Performing Arts are so excited to bring this event to Vashon Island and help create ongoing opportunities for youth music education!
Join us Saturday, Aug. 6th for a benefit for youth music education on Vashon with generous partners and sponsorships by Mode Music Studios, Open Space for Arts & Community, Orbit at Open Space and The Vera Project.
Secure your space on the green for an evening of food, drink, and amazing bands for a great cause. Bring your chairs and blankets for:
NAKED GIANTS
CAITLIN SHERMAN
JULIA SHAPIRO (CHASTITY BELT)
IT’S ALL HAPPENINGOpen Space For Arts & Community
18870 103rd Ave SW, Vashon [map]4 pm doors
Suggested donation:
$20 Adult
$10 under 18
No one turned away for lack of funds (NOTAFLOF)
You might have seen Naked Giants and/or Caitlin Sherman at West Seattle Summer Fest just three weeks ago.
Thanks to Alex Garcia from Admiral Pub for sending word of that new mural, painted on the alley side of the building the pub shares with Yen Wor Village. The artist is in the photo – Stevie Shao, hailed here last year as “Seattle’s breakout muralist.”
(Photo courtesy SDOT)
Thanks to Kate for the tip, via a question about a big circle in the intersection of 21st and Genesee on Pigeon Point – too big to signal a future traffic mural, as she described it. SDOT tells us they’re planning to repaint the mural that community members painted in that intersection in 2015 (WSB coverage here), with “durable, long-lasting paint.” SDOT says they “got in contact with the original artist and have been working with her to design a refreshed version of the artwork that can be installed with more durable paint that will last for years to come.” Here’s that design:
The repainting is expected to happen within the next month or so; some prep work will be done this Sunday – grinding the road to “create a smooth surface for the plastic-based paints to stick to.” As noted in this flyer for the project, which is on the Delridge-Highland Park Greenway, they also plan some paving work, “filling cracked pavement,” and “improved trail lighting” along the greenway.
if you’re looking for somebody to sing with – the Boeing Employees Choir might be the group you’re looking for, even if you’re not a Boeing employee! Here’s the announcement:
After a two-year pandemic-related hiatus, the Boeing Employees Choir is singing again and planning a fun and challenging musical concert season! We typically provide 6-8 afternoon concerts to retirement homes and community centers each winter and spring. We are looking for adult singers who read music and have some choral experience. A low-stress audition is required (after you have checked out a few of our open rehearsals). It’s not necessary to be a Boeing Employee to sing in our 75-year-old choir. We invite you to attend an open full rehearsal on Tuesdays, 9/13/22, 9/20/22, and 9/27/22 from 6:30 – 9:00 pm at the West Seattle American Legion Hall, 3618 SW Alaska Street, in West Seattle. Be prepared to laugh, sing, and make new friends! Please bring your updated Covid vaccination card.
(WSB photos)
You’ll find art everywhere you look at the Alki Art Fair, where day 1 continues until 8 pm. Dozens of artists are on the promenade west of Alki Bathhouse (60th/Alki), showing and selling their work – including West Seattle neighbors like oil painter Rance Holiman:
And collage artist Linda McClamrock:
You can also learn about sea life from volunteers at the Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network booth:
They’re near the booth where you can say hi to Canna West Culture Shop‘s Tricia and Mimi – Canna is an Art Fair sponsor (and WSB sponsor too):
This is a bonus day for the festival, continuing all weekend – some features, including the Kid Zone, silent auction, and live music, don’t start up until tomorrow. Find the artist lineup, music lineup, and more on the official festival website.
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