(Photo from 2018 West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade)

So far, looks like sunshine is in store for the Fourth of July – which kicks off in earnest at 10 am, when the West Seattle Fourth of July Kids’ Parade winds through a few blocks of North Admiral, headed for games, activities (potato-sack races for adults as well as kids!), and food trucks at Hamilton Viewpoint Park. With one week to go, we’re reminding you again about the parade (for which WSB is among the community co-sponsors), which starts at 44th/Sunset [map]. Except for a couple vehicles at the start (usually including a fire engine), it’s a non-motorized parade – participants walk or ride scooters or bicycles (and the littlest ones get pushed in strollers or pulled in wagons). Spectators are welcome. If you’re not going to participate or watch but you might be traveling on California SW’s north end that morning, the parade does cross that street south of Hamilton Viewpoint, so you might find yourself stopped for a bit.

P.S. Community support still welcome for this year and beyond – contact organizer Megan at meganerb@hotmail.com.

(WSB file photos)

No matter what the weather’s doing, summer is about to arrive, and the biggest events of summer are on the way. Today marks exactly two weeks until the 4th of July, which traditionally starts with a people-powered parade – here’s an update from organizers:

We’re two weeks away from the West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade! Parade yard signs are popping up around the neighborhood! This year’s event is being sponsored by 13 local West Seattle businesses and groups, including several new sponsors!

Mode Music Studios – New sponsor
Admiral Neighborhood Association
Outer Space Seattle
South Seattle College Cooperative Preschools
Holy Rosary School
Neighborhood Naturopathic
Fit4Mom West Seattle
Sensa Play
West Seattle Food Bank
Potter Construction
South Seattle Crossfit – New sponsor
West Seattle Blog – New sponsor
Westside School – New sponsor

Three food trucks and one coffee cart will await hungry parade-goers at Hamilton Viewpoint Park! Welcome back two past-parade food trucks, Mini the Dough-nut and Lil J’s Super Dawgs. This year Homebites is joining the line-up. West Seattle Grounds will have a cold-brew coffee cart. The park will also feature several kids’ activity tables and potato-sack races for kids of all ages – including adults!

The parade is made up of you, the community! Parade-goers decorate bikes, strollers, scooters, and themselves and walk through the Admiral neighborhood starting at 10 am from Sunset Ave. and 44th Ave. SW [map]. SFD Engine 29 and the Seattle Police Department will be on hand to kick off the parade and ensure a safe event for all! Join the fun and walk with the parade, or put out a lawn chair and cheer the parade on! There’s a fun option for all!

Parade organizer Megan Erb says starting next year; the parade will be rolled in the Admiral Neighborhood Association programming to ensure the parade continues to stay a staple of the community. The parade is a volunteer-based event with local businesses’ support to help cover the costs and keep the event free and open to all! If you want to get involved this year or next, contact Megan at meganerb@hotmail.com.

The parade is a long-running West Seattle tradition, dating back to the mid-’90s.

(Bald Eagle, photographed last month by Jon Anderson)

Here’s info you might find useful on this Memorial Day Monday:

TRANSIT

Metro: Sunday schedule

West Seattle Water Taxi: Sunday schedule

Washington State Ferries: Changes noted here include Sunday service on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route

Sound Transit: Sunday schedule

Other services: See a list here

TRAFFIC CAMERAS

Our page highlighting local cameras is here

SDOT’s map with cameras and alerts from around the city is here

CLOSURES/CHANGES

Most Seattle Parks facilities

Seattle Public Library facilities

Schools

Government offices

Banks

USPS holiday

No charge for street parking in Seattle neighborhoods with city pay stations

OPEN

Highland Park Spraypark (11 am-8 pm, 1100 SW Cloverdale)

NOT HAPPENING

*No Memorial Day service this year at Forest Lawn

Anything else we should know/let others know about? Texting’s the best way to reach us today – 206-293-6302 – thank you!

(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)

So you’ll know before you go, here are the transportation/transit changes for the Memorial Day holiday on Monday:

WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES: Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route on Sunday schedule, most other routes on Saturday schedule
WATER TAXI: West Seattle route (and its shuttles) on Sunday schedule, Vashon route out of service
METRO BUSES: Sunday schedule
SOUND TRANSIT BUSES & TRAINS: Mostly Sunday schedule – here’s the list
OTHER SERVICES: See the list in this Metro Matters post

(WSB photo from 2022 parade)

Independence Day is just seven weeks away, and organizers want to be sure you know the West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade is on! Here’s their announcement:

Mark your calendars and start planning your bike, strollers, scooter, and wagon decorations! The West Seattle 4th of July Kids Parade is happening again this year!

The parade is made up of families in decorated bikes, strollers, scooters, wagons, and more! The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 4 in the North Admiral neighborhood at Sunset Ave. SW and 44th Ave. SW. and winds through the area to end at Hamilton Viewpoint Park for games and food trucks! Local businesses will be on hand with craft booths and activities for kids of all ages. The annual potato sack races will take place in the park and this year we have new potato sacks! Families are welcome to bring their own snacks and picnics and hang out. This year the food trucks will be back! So far Mini the Dough Nut and Lil’ J’s Super Dawgs said they’ll be there!

If businesses are interested in sponsoring a craft or activity table, please reach out to Megan Erb at meganerb@hotmail.com.

If you haven’t been in the parade before .. no RSVP necessary to participate; just show up. (Here’s our coverage from last year, including video of the entire parade.)

(Bald Eagle photographed along Harbor Avenue by John Skerratt)

Good morning and welcome to Monday, February 20th, Presidents Day. Here’s what you should know:

TRANSPORTATION

Transit – No Water Taxi service today; Metro is on a regular weekday schedule; here’s the Sound Transit holiday plan

Traffic cameras – Here’s our page of West Seattle-relevant cameras; the citywide map is here

Parking – No charge today for pay-station spaces on city streets in neighborhoods with them

OTHER SERVICES

Schools – Closed

Libraries – Closed

Parks facilities – Here’s what’s closed and what’s open

Mail – Holiday for most USPS facilities/services

Banks – Holiday

WEATHER

Windy and rainy, high near 50. (And looking back – two years ago, we were coming out of a big snowfall!)

EVENTS

Check the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar – highlight for tonight is 7 pm comedy at Otter on the Rocks (4210 SW Admiral Way) – check here to see if any tickets are left.

If you see news – including traffic trouble – please call or text 206-293-6302 when you can do so safely – thank you!

As featured in our Sunday event list, the Vietnamese Cultural Center of West Seattle held a community Tết (Lunar New Year) celebration on Sunday. On behalf of the center, Lynda Bui shared the photo and this note:

Under cool gray skies, members of the community and Vietnamese Cultural Center gathered to welcome the Year of the Cat. The great lion-dance team of Vietnamese Youth Group GĐPT Vạn Hạnh joined us with a wonderful performance. It is rare to be able to gather on the actual day (and on a weekend) so we thank everyone for making time to join us.

Best wishes to you all in the new year. May all your endeavors go your way and good health to you all! Thank you for your support and we’ll see you again. Happy Vietnamese Lunar New Year!

You can see video here.

P.S. Two more Lunar New Year celebrations are yet to come in West Seattle, both welcoming the community too – West Seattle HS Chinese students’ event at Hiawatha on February 3rd, and the Seattle Chinese Garden‘s New Year Lantern Festival on February 5th

Good morning. It’s Monday, January 16th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day – here’s info for this holiday:

TRANSPORTATION

*One last reminder – the low bridge has been back open to all users since Friday afternoon
*Metro: Regular weekday schedule
*No Water Taxi today
*Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth state ferry route on usual 2-boat schedule
*Free parking today in areas of the city with on-street paid parking
*See citywide traffic cams here, West Seattle-relevant cams here

OTHER SERVICES/FACILITIES

*Schools closed
*No USPS services except Priority Mail Express
*Banking holiday
*Libraries are closed
*Most Seattle Parks facilities closed

WEATHER

*Partly sunny today, chance of pm rain, high in the upper 40s.

HAPPENING TONIGHT

*See the event list on our West Seattle Event Calendar.

Got news? Text us at 206-293-6302,or email westseattleblog@gmail.com if non-urgent – thank you!

Ice and snow didn’t stop the volunteer bakers of West Seattle this holiday season! The photo above is from Ross at West Seattle Coworking, where homemade cookies for The Christmas People were dropped off and packaged during a few days just before Christmas. He reports, “This year we had the goal to collect and distribute 7,000 cookies.The first day we only had about 1,000 cookies. The second day was the great freeze and we only had 2 donors (understandably). Luckily the good-hearted West Seattle community showed up at the very last day and, in what feels like a Christmas miracle, we were able to collect and distribute an additional 5k cookies for a grand total of ~6,000 cookies. All those bakers, and volunteers made a difference for thousands of less fortunate in our area.”

Good morning. It’s the second day of the new year and the last day of the holiday season, the “observed” holiday for New Year’s Day. That means some changes for today – here’s what you should know:

TRANSPORTATION

*Low bridge still closed
*Metro on Sunday schedule
*No Water Taxi today
*Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth state ferry route on Sunday schedule
*Free parking today in areas of the city with on-street paid parking
*See citywide traffic cams here, West Seattle-relevant cams here

OTHER SERVICES/FACILITIES

*Schools closed (UPDATE: Texter points out Vashon Island School District has classes today)
*No USPS services except Priority Mail Express
*Banking holiday
*Libraries open today
*Most Seattle Parks facilities closed

WEATHER

*Partly sunny today, chance of rain tonight, high in the 40s.

Got news? Text us at 206-293-6402,or email westseattleblog@gmail.com if non-urgent – thank you!

(WSB video and photos)
A sea of people dove into 2023 with a quick plunge into Puget Sound this morning. The crowd for this year’s Alki Beach Polar Bear Swim stretched all along the beach, from the paved promenade on the west (above) to the easternmost sandy stretch (below, where organizer Mark Ufkes counted down)L

As our videos show, many spent less than a minute in the water. “It wasn’t so bad,” declared one person, before adding: “Well, when you’re in there, it’s bad.” The water temperature today is 48 degrees, five degrees warmer than the 43-degree air at swim time. Sights along the way – Truly the lifeguard was standing by (OK, floating by) in case anyone needed help:

These guys went in twice, with push-ups inbetween:

Not many costumes this year, but we did spot some festive headwear:

Some brought their little ones, who dug in the sand, oblivious to the throng of splashers:

P.S. Unrelated but in a similar spirit, the Special Olympics Polar Plunge is returning to Alki Beach on February 25th – info’s in our calendar listing,

(Rainbow photographed this past week by Jerry Simmons)

Welcome to 2023! Here’s some info we hope will be helpful on this holiday:

LOW BRIDGE: Still closed because of mechanical problems – here’s the latest info.

BUSES: Metro‘s on the Sunday schedule. (The free rides were just for New Year’s Eve, so fares ARE being collected today.)

WATER TAXI: Not running today.

FERRIES: Regular 2-boat schedule on Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth route – check for alerts here.

MORE TRANSPORTATION NOTES: No charge for street parking in areas of the city with pay stations … West Seattle-relevant traffic cameras are here; see all cameras citywide via this map.

GROCERY HOURS TODAY: Though we don’t make New Year’s Day lists because closures/changes are far less common than the other fall/winter holidays, we do have three grocery notes for today: Trader Joe’s is closed; PCC West Seattle (WSB sponsor) opens three hours later (9 am); Metropolitan Market opens two hours later (8 am).

CHURCH SERVICES TODAY: Here’s our updated-for-today list of local churches continuing to offer online services as well as in-person.

NEW YEAR’S DAY WALKS: Emerald City Wanderers are hosting New Year’s Day walks, starting at St John the Baptist Episcopal Church. The 6- or 10-kilometer walks are noncompetitive, starting between 9 and noon. There is no fee, though contributions to help defray costs are welcome. Hot soups and beverages will be available during and after the walks. St John’s is at 3050 California Ave SW.

ALKI POLAR BEAR SWIM: You’re invited to join in the annual tradition of running into Puget Sound with hundreds of others at 10 am sharp, from the beach across from Duke’s – here’s the original announcement.

WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: After taking Christmas off, the market is back today, usual time and place, 10 am-2 pm on California SW between SW Alaska and SW Oregon.

ALKI CLEANUP: Stay after the Polar Bear Swim – or show up just for this! From Jessica, who has long hosted monthly beach cleanups:

Clean up Alki beach and surrounding streets

When: Jan 1 2023 11 AM to 12:00
Meeting Location: 2452 Alki Ave SW

Pickup sticks and buckets provided. Welcome to bring your own. Bundle up and join us! If you cannot join us, clean up for one hour around your own neighborhood. Take a pic and share it with us! Text Jess at 206-769-6330 to RSVP.

OTHER NOTES: Seattle Parks closure info is here … Libraries (city and county) are closed.

WEST SEATTLE YULETIDE: Last night this year to enjoy the Iversons‘ music-synched light show, 6:30-10 pm, on 38th SW between Genesee and Dakota.

If you see/hear news, please text/call 206-293-6302 – we appreciate your tips 24/7/365!

(Slime mold evolved into iridescent spheres – photo by Rosalie Miller)

Welcome to the last day of 2022! Here’s what’s happening, mostly from the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide and year-round Event Calendar:

LOW BRIDGE CLOSED: Reminder that the West Seattle low bridge is closed to all road and path traffic until it’s fixed, and there’s no date estimate for that yet. We’ll have an update on the situation later today.

FARE-FREE TRANSIT: As announced earlier this week, most transit services – including Metro and the West Seattle Water Taxi – are not charging fares today/tonight.

FOOD DRIVE’S FINAL DAY: This is the last day of the holiday-season food drive at Canna West Culture Shop (5435 California SW), open 10 am-6 pm.

MORNING MUSIC: 10:30 am-noon at C & P Coffee (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), Marco de Carvalho and Friends perform.

FREE WRITING GROUP: 10:30 am in West Seattle, registration required – full details in our calendar listing.

NEW YEAR’S EVE WALKS: Hosted by the Emerald City Wanderers, starting from St John the Baptist Episcopal Church. “The 6- or 10-kilometer walks are noncompetitive, starting between 4 and 7 PM on New Year’s Eve. There is no fee though contributions to help defray costs are welcome. Hot soups and beverages will be available during and after the walks.” St John’s is at 3050 California Ave SW.

NOT-SO-SILENT-NIGHT: Highland Park Improvement Club is bringing back this neighborhood tradition. Gather 5:30-6 pm at Highland Park Corner Store (7789 Highland Park Way SW), the starting point – details here.

MUSIC FESTIVAL AT THE SPOT – 6 pm to close, all ages, bands and a DJ, details here (2920 SW Avalon Way)

WEST SEATTLE YULETIDE: Final weekend for thousands of lights synched to music outside the Iversons‘ home on 38th SW between Genesee and Dakota – 6:30-10 pm.

WEST END GIRLS NEW YEAR’S EVE at The Skylark, 8 pm – details here (3803 Delridge Way SW)

NYE PARTY & COMEDY SHOW at Admiral Pub, 9 pm – details here (2306 California SW)

NYE PARTY AT LARIAT BAR: 9 pm tribute to GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling), plus karaoke and midnight champagne toast (9829 16th SW)

WEST SEATTLE BOWL NYE: 9:30 pm party, reservations here if any remain, (39th/Oregon)

MIDNIGHT FIREWORKS: the Space Needle will do it again to greet 2023. Light and drone shows too – details here. Watching from West Seattle? Most north-facing parks/hillsides have a view, but don’t go too last-minute, especially along the water – parking and standing space can fill up.

Have something to add? Email info to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!