West Seattle, Washington
02 Friday
Yes, the title’s a little grisly, but that’s how movies go sometimes. What’s above is a teaser for the first chapter of “Bloodbath in Palookaville,” a film currently in production, which will be shown during a fundraising party this Saturday. Here’s the announcement we were asked to share with you:
This Saturday, March 9, a local film production company, Guerrilla House Productions, is having a screening and fundraiser for its latest production, “Bloodbath in Palookaville.” The filmmakers are both longtime West Seattle residents – Jerry Howard (video production teacher) and Mark Bauschke (photographer/videographer).
The event will be held at Beveridge Place Pub at 6:30 pm. In addition to screening the first chapter of “Bloodbath in Palookaville,” other shorts by Guerrilla House Productions will be shown. There will be a silent auction and opportunities to purchase a credit in the film to raise funds to complete the movie. Everyone 21 years or older is welcome!
That’s the West Seattle Big Band, guest-starring again this year at the West Seattle High School music-program-supporting Big Band Dinner Dance, 6-9 pm Friday, March 15, in the WSHS Commons (3000 California SW). Here’s the announcement:
Tickets are now available for our annual community dinner dance! Come and listen to the high school music students perform – not just our jazz band, but the band, orchestra, and choir too! And a wonderful dinner will be prepared by the WSHS Culinary Department. Come and see what our fabulous students are up to!
Featured Performance by the West Seattle Big Band, under the direction of Jim Edwards.
Dinner/Dance tickets are $30 when preordered, or $35 at the door (if available)
Dinner/Dance tickets for students, staff, or seniors are $20
Dance-only tickets are $10.
Go here to find the ticket link.
West Seattle videographer Mark Jaroslaw shares that video as a reminder of an anniversary – 10 years ago, Lezlie Jane‘s sculpture “Luna Girls on Alki” was installed between the heart of Seacrest Park and Salty’s on Alki (WSB sponsor). It’s a reminder of West Seattle waterfront history a century earlier. The artist has many other works along the peninsula – check them out via the MORE tab on her website.
(Full ‘Snow Moon’ setting this morning, photographed by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
The arrival of the full “Snow Moon” brings an end to two weeks of Lunar New Year celebrations. Tomorrow (Saturday, February 24) you’re invited to the final community event announced for West Seattle – the Lunar New Year Lantern Festival at the Seattle Chinese Garden. The garden borders the north edge of the South Seattle College (WSB sponsor) campus at 6000 16th SW on Puget Ridge. The festival is set to start at 11 am and continue through 3 pm, with music, dance, crafts, story time, tea, and more – the full schedule is here. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.
A parent asked us to share this with you: A donation drive is under way to support music programs at Denny International Middle School. Organizers say, “Your support will help us offer a higher quality experience for our students in Band, Choir, & Orchestra.” If you can chip in, go here.
During a visit to historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, we found out the Kindie West family-music concert series is returning this spring. On seven Sunday mornings, March 24 through June 16, the Kindiependent musician collective is presenting this lineup:
March 24th – Brian Vogan and his Good Buddies
April 7th – Eli Rosenblatt
April 21st – The Highlight Quartet
May 5th – Johnny Bregar
May 19th – Paul Chiyokten Wagner
June 2nd – The Harmonica Pocket
June 16th – The Not-It’s
Shows will start at 10:30 am and will last about an hour. They’re ticketed shows – ticket required for everyone six months and older – and season-tickets are already available.
Lunar New Year festivities continue, here and around the world. This afternoon, a lively lion dance by Vovinam Burien was the highlight of this year’s Tết celebration at the Vietnamese Cultural Center of West Seattle.
The Tết celebration here also included flag-raising, with veterans of the South Vietnamese military:
Ducly Bui runs the center at 2236 SW Orchard, which hosts several public celebrations each year:
Family members assist, including Lanh Bui:
It’s a regional draw, all ages:
If you haven’t visited the Vietnamese Cultural Center, it’s usually open to the public noon-3 pm Saturdays.
Big turnout for a two-part Lunar New Year celebration at West Seattle High School tonight – coordinated by students, with performances and demonstrations in the WSHS Theater, followed by a cultural fair, with food, in the Commons. The theater performances included a dragon dance (the new year is the Year of the Dragon):
Also a lion dance:
Martial-arts demonstrations and poetry (read by poet Koon Woon, introduced by his nephew, instructional assistant Henry Deng) were featured too. The highlight was a student fashion show of “amazing cultural outfits,” as emcee Mika described them:
Althea Chow from the Madison MS PTSA – which co-sponsored the student-led event along with the WSHS PTSA – told us some of the outfits were from a collection of traditional outfits belonging to her designer mom, and others were from students’ families. Her Madison PTSA colleague Chau Pho Tung, meantime, was helping out in the post-show fair – serving up food including chow mein and egg rolls:
Student musicians played nearby:
And cultural displays ringed the room:
The students who coordinated the event are from the WSHS AAPI Club and Chinese Program.
P.S. Two more Lunar New Year events are on our calendar – previewed here.
We have news of statewide honors for two local students – and an opportunity for you to support them. The announcement is from Denny-Sealth Performing Arts:
Two Chief Sealth International High School students have received top honors by being selected by the Washington Music Educators Association to participate in prestigious WMEA High School All-State performing groups.
Please join us in celebrating senior Tyler Peace Jones (pictured on the right), who has been selected to play viola in the All-State Orchestra, and senior Dylan Sagahon Smith (pictured on the left), who was selected to play guitar in the All-State Jazz Band for the Jazz Choir.
Nearly 1,900 students applied for this opportunity. From those, the finest high school musicians will rehearse and perform in concert under the direction of world-renowned conductors. These WMEA All-State musicians were selected through auditions to participate in this outstanding event, which is sponsored by the Washington Music Educators Association.
Many professional musicians credit their All-State experience as crucial in their decision to choose music as a career. Thousands of others whose career paths took them in other directions have great memories of participating in this inspiring and motivating musical experience and claim that it was a life-changing experience for them.
Tyler plans to pursue a career in music as an orchestral conductor. Dylan plans on studying music along with entrepreneurial business and technology. We are so proud of their achievement and can’t wait to see how it launches them forward!
The WMEA High School All-State Honor Ensembles will meet in Yakima, February 15-17, 2024. But registration and the cost of making this trip are not covered by school funds. Help us celebrate Tyler and Dylan by contributing to the Denny Sealth Performing Arts Scholarship Fund to support their participation: PayPal “Denny Sealth Performing Arts” or Venmo @DennySealthPerforming Arts, and indicate “scholarship.”
Support Tyler and Dylan. Support the arts. Be a part of their journey!
5:44 PM: For the next few hours, it’s all about art, all over the peninsula, during the monthly West Seattle Art Walk!
Our first stop is Alki Arts (6030 California SW; WSB sponsor), hosting a “reunion show” tonight, with proprietor Diane Venti (at right in our photo) featuring “10 of the artists that we had when we first started out 14 years ago on Alki Beach at our first gallery space!” With her above, from left, are three of those artists – Brooke Borcherding, Karen Dedrickson, and Joanne Shellan. Tonight’s reception is scheduled until 8 pm.
6:40 PM: Heading north, we stopped to say hi to photographer Jamie Kinney (above), who has often shared photos on WSB – he’s at Windermere West Seattle (4526 California SW) tonight. From there, we continued north to The Admiral District, where West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor) is hosting artist Splicy:
Visitors are collaborating with her on a community collage:
More to come; see the full list of venues – including times, addresses, featured artists, plus restaurants/bars with food/drink specials – by going here.
8:54 PM: Our final two stops were in The Junction – Alex Guyon is showing his work at Rush Hour (4517 California SW):
And last but not least – Brent Amaker and The Rodeo‘s show at Easy Street Records, celebrating their new album Philaphobia:
Next month’s West Seattle Art Walk will be on March 14.
That’s the official poster for the winter West Seattle Art Walk events – with art by Suzanne Uschold, one of the artists you can meet tomorrow night during the February Art Walk. She’ll be at Hawthorne Massage and Self-Care in North Admiral (2237 California SW). We asked Art Walk director Mia Manzulli for some Thursday night suggestions; in South Admiral, she says, you’ll find Magdalena Cooney featured at Forever Young Aesthetics (3813 California SW). In The Junction, one of the newer businesses to join the Art Walk is Rush Hour (4517 California SW), spotlighting artist Alex Guyon “in their sweet little gallery space at the back of the store,” Mia tells us. Also in The Junction, ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) is having an artist reception for their new show, Scott Coffey‘s “Friend of Achilles.” Among the other Junction venues, as previewed here earlier this week, Easy Street Records has art and music (the latter, with West Seattle’s own Brent Amaker & The Rodeo at 7 pm). In Morgan Junction, Diane Venti is hosting a “reunion” show at Alki Arts (6030 California SW; WSB sponsor), with 10 artists from her original gallery space on Alki Beach. Nearby West Seattle Cellars (6026 California SW) is hosting artist Steffanie Lorig and tasting Portuguese wines. Those are just a few places you can stop; official Art Walk hours are 5 pm-“late,” but individual venues’ hours may vary. Be sure to check the walking map/full preview list, which also notes the venues with food/drink specials you can get by mentioning you’re there for Art Walk night.
That’s “Wanted,” from what West Seattle musician Brent Amaker calls the “first proper album in 10 years” from him and his band The Rodeo, titled Philaphobia. This Thursday (February 8), 6-9 pm, Brent Amaker & The Rodeo will perform at Easy Street Records as part of a West Seattle Art Walk slate; it’s the kickoff to a West Coast tour that will also take them to Oregon, California, and Nevada before they return home to Seattle. If you haven’t seen them before – every member performing in black cowboy gear – Amaker describes their genre in the album announcement as “cowboy music” and “Western performance art,” filling Philaphobia with “tracks that span from rollicking motivational romps, to criminal confessions.” Thursday’s show at Easy Street is free, and the evening also will feature DJ Aleens and an art-print show by Bella Petro and Chicle de Uva.
Thanks for the tips! We just caught up with West Seattle artist Desmond Hansen finishing this new signal-box portrait, on the southwest corner of California/Frontenac south of Morgan Junction. It’s a portrait of Mike Starr, original Alice in Chains bassist, who died in 2011 at age 44. Hansen estimates he’s painted about 75 boxes – in and outside of West Seattle – since starting in 2018 with Jimi Hendrix at California/Fauntleroy. You can see many of them, and some of his other work, on his website. We asked him what’s next; nothing specific yet, but he said there’s a lot of maintenance to be done this spring.
(WSB photos. Above, Consul General Zhang Jianmin and wife Zheng Xin with WSHS Chinese teacher Ying Yu)
“I’m sure that if we work together, both sides will be better off, the world will be better off.”
China’s San Francisco-based Consul General Zhang Jianmin offered that thought toward the end of a short speech in West Seattle High School‘s theater today, following a presentation by students from the WSHS Chinese Program. It was the highlight of the short visit by the Consul General and wife Zheng Zin to learn about the program. The area inside WSHS’s south entrance was decorated to welcome them:
During the program in the theater, several students talked about what the Chinese-language program meant to them – “one of those classes you look forward to every day” – and one detailed what he’d learned about China, noting the combined economic power of the U.S. and China. And with the Lunar New Year approaching, students presented cultural performances including a lion and dragon dance:
Other performances spotlighted music and martial arts.
The consul general then took the stage to say he found it a “joy” to meet teacher Ying Yu and her students on the eve of the Year of the Dragon:
He told the students that while the U.S. and China have different cultures, that’s “not to be feared as long as you … reach out to understand.” He noted last year’s U.S.-China presidential summit in California, saying it’s important for the two nations to “jointly share our responsibilities as major powers.”
He also told the students they had many counterparts in his nation learning English, which he started studying at age 12.
He invited them all to apply to visit China through a program of the Institute for International Education. (They might not find it so foreign, he noted as an aside, given that China has about 9,000 Starbucks stores.)
P.S. This wasn’t the Consul General’s first West Seattle visit – we noted this online report of a trip last week including a stop at the Seattle Chinese Garden on Puget Ridge.
The next production at ArtsWest (4711 California SW; WSB sponsor) is about to open. The preview night for “Born With Teeth” – by Liz Duffy Adams, directed by Mathew Wright – is tomorrow, and the official opening night is Thursday (7:30 pm both nights). ArtsWest notes, “‘Born with Teeth’ features Michael Monicatti as Kit Marlowe and Ricky Spaulding as William Shakespeare. The two actors went to college together at the University of Washington and are now featured on stages all over Seattle and beyond. ArtsWest welcomes both to our stage for the first time.” More about the play – including the link for tickets – is on ArtsWest’s website.
Today we’re welcoming Alki Arts as a new WSB sponsor. When new sponsors join us to advertise their local businesses to you, they get the opportunity to tell you about themselves – here’s what Alki Arts would like you to know:
Alki Arts proprietor Diane Venti says her mission at her new location in Morgan Junction, at 6030 California Avenue SW, remains the same as it’s been since her first gallery opened on Alki in 2010 – to provide original art from local artists at a reasonable price. She says that if you’re looking for something to put over the mantle that makes a statement, she can help you do that without breaking the bank.
To find art for Alki Arts, Diane tours shows in the Pacific Northwest to find the highest caliber of professional art created by people who aren’t necessarily famous, but have years of experience creating work for shows and art tours. Diane says that means you’ll find art at Alki Arts from established artists with impressive resumes. Every month, Diane brings in new groups of artists to exhibit at Alki Arts. Some of the featured artists have been showing at her galleries for more than a decade; she also brings in new and upcoming artists.
Alki Arts is also an event space, and you can go there to enjoy music, too – Diane has launched an “Intimate Concert Series” (see the schedule on the website).
Alki Arts is open 12 pm-6 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays and by appointment; it’s closed Sundays and Mondays. Diane also works with private clients.
We thank Alki Arts for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here; email patrick@wsbsales.com for info on joining the team!
We are exactly five months from the 2024 West Seattle Garden Tour, set for June 23. But you’re invited to daydream about that summer day now, with the announcement of this year’s poster-art winner:
Each year, West Seattle Garden Tour provides an opportunity for one talented artist to showcase their original artwork on tour marketing materials and to take home a $750 cash prize. We are pleased to announce Sammamish artist Pam Lustig as the winning artist for our 2024 tour.
Garden Pose (18”w x 24”h; watercolor and pen) will be featured on the 2024 West Seattle Garden Tour’s official poster and ticket book. Ms. Lustig will also receive a $750 cash prize. West Seattle Garden Tour will conduct a silent auction of the artwork beginning at the May 2024 West Seattle Art Walk (at Capers Home) and concluding on the day of the tour, Sunday, June 23, 2024. Bids will also be taken on tour day in one of the gardens from 9 am to 5 pm. Proceeds will benefit this year’s designated grant recipient nonprofit organizations.
Garden Pose, along with works by four West Seattle Garden Tour Art Competition finalists, will be on view at Capers Home during the West Seattle Art Walk, 5-8 pm, May 9.
The Garden Tour usually sells out; you can order tickets right now online (in-person retail sales start in mid-May).
(WSB photos)
The line for tonight’s rock-star guests wound throughout the warm confines of Easy Street Records, so customers didn’t have to wait in the cold. Here’s who they were here to see:
Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein are carrying on as Sleater-Kinney, the band they founded in Olympia 30 years ago (naming it after a street in Lacey that’s an exit off I-5). Tonight’s Easy Street meet-and-greet provided a preview of their about-to-be-released album “Little Rope,” displayed below by Archie Coltrane Vaughan, one of the youngest members of the family that owns the shop:
The album’s official release date is this Friday – but the vinyl version was available tonight at Easy Street, as were the musicians’ autographs for album-buyers:
Sleater-Kinney relaunched in 2014 after an eight-year hiatus; during that hiatus, Brownstein gained TV fame for co-creating and co-starring in the satirical series “Portlandia.” That ran 2011-2018; all the while she and Tucker kept making music. “Little Rope” is their first album in two and a half years; they’ll be touring (here’s the schedule) starting in late February, with two gigs at The Showbox in early April. You can check out their music here.
It’s a warming thought in the winter chill … time for families to book summer camps. West Seattle’s own Mode Music Studios (WSB sponsor) and Mode Music and Performing Arts have opened registration for theirs – here’s the info:
MODE MUSIC STUDIOS SUMMER ROCK BAND CAMPS
ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!
It’s time for a summer of Rock Bands with Mode Music Studios! We’re offering camps for ages 6-11 and 12+ this time around. Camps run 9-12:00 for our 6-11 crowd and 12:30-2:30 for our 12+. Finish up the week with a Saturday live performance at our favorite neighbor venue, The Skylark, next door!Turn it into a full day of camp for our 6-11’s by signing up for an afternoon of music and theatre classes at our nonprofit MMPA – keep scrolling for more info and sign up for a rock band at the link below!
MMPA PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN MUSIC AND THEATER SUMMER CAMPS
LET’S GET CREATIVE!
All of our MMPA camps are offered as half and full days at a pay-what you can rate, so they’re accessible to everyone. Half day camps run 9-12:00 and 12:30-3:30 and are available for grades K-5. Hang with us for lunch in-between and double up for a full day of fun!Don’t miss out on another creative summer with us. Click the link below to sign up!
modemusicandperformingarts.org/camps
Summer’s closer than you think!
Northwest rock legends visit Easy Street Records in The Junction on Tuesday (January 16th) – Sleater-Kinney will be signing their 11th studio album, “Little Rope,” three days before its official release date. Easy Street’s Matt Vaughan calls them “one of the most essential bands to ever come out of the NW … queens of the riot-grrrl movement.” To get in to the signing, Easy Street says, you have to buy the album – pre-orders are available here, and the store will sell copies of the album on the day of the event, which will start at 6 pm. The band is going on tour next month, including dates at The Showbox in April.
P.S. Even if you don’t know Sleater-Kinney, you might know one of its members, Carrie Brownstein, as co-founder and co-star of the award-winning parody series Portlandia, which ran for eight seasons last decade.
The next session of “Write Your Story” – a series of free workshops for young readers/writers – is open for registration, and this time it’s happening in West Seattle. Here’s the announcement from founder Julia Douthwaite Viglione:
Winter / Spring 2024 Enrolling now!
Theme: Friends
Who is invited? People age 8-12 who like stories
When? Every Tuesday, January 16 – April 2, 2024, 4:30—5:30 pm
Where? Upstairs activity room, Curious Kidstuff toy store, 4740 California Ave SW
Stories we’ll read:
“The Brownie of Fern Glen” by Kate Forrester
“The Queen Bee” by the Brothers GrimmWrite YOUR Story, est. 2012, is a free workshop led by local writers for local kids. “We read, we write, and we have a lot of fun.” For info or to enroll, contact: juliawsea@gmail.com
Since our visit for this story earlier this month, the Washington State Black Legacy Institute has added new displays at its new home in the city-landmark former church previously known as The Sanctuary at Admiral. Portraits of historic Black community leaders and entrepreneurs line the lobby’s main wall, and curator Roger Evans says more are on the way. But today the focus is on modern-day entrepreneurs, as the three-day Business Festival During Kwanzaa concludes. An afternoon of free workshops complements a vendor fair in the main room.
Among the participating entrepreneurs is Denise Leonard, with hats and jewelry from her business A Sista Thang Fashions:
She told us these creations channel her passions, and she’s hoping to inspire young women. She’s on the north side of the room, while on the south side you’ll find art by Edimbo Lekea of Natty Dread Illustration:
Other vendors are listed here. Here’s the workshop schedule for the rest of the afternoon:
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Pearl Nelson. “1st-time Homebuyer”
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Melany Bell. “Food is First”
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Evan Poncelet. “Fundraising for Community and Venture Scale Businesses”
All are welcome; WSBLI is at 2656 42nd SW, and the festival concludes at 5 pm.
You don’t have to be a Boeing employee to sing in the Boeing Employees Choir! In fact, the choir is casting a wide net for new members, and the first step is to show up for one of its West Seattle rehearsals. Here’s the announcement from the choir’s marketing director Mika Kitamura:
The Boeing Employees Choir has Open Rehearsals January 9, 16, 23, 30 and February 6, 2024 (Tuesdays), in West Seattle @ 6:30 PM at the West Seattle American Legion Hall, 3618 SW Alaska St.
The Boeing Employees Choir strives to be an exceptional concert choir with an international reputation, reflecting the world-class standards Boeing has set for its airplanes and other exciting products. Our next international tour to Greece is set for Fall 2024 and we would love any new qualified members to join us!
Read more about the process of joining the choir here.
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