Festivals/Annual Events

Thousands of zombies swarmed the streets of Fremont July 3 looking for victims, brains and a Guinness World Record.

The second-annual Red, White & Dead zombie walk was an attempt to reclaim the zombie walk record from England, who stole it after last summer's event. Seattle had 3,894 zombies last July, but England edged the city out with 4,026.

Zombie families, zombie dogs, zombie clowns and much more shuffled their way through the Center of the Universe, followed by the occasional zombie hunter.

Zombie-walker Becca Boehm said she and her family participated in the event to show their patriotism.

"It started off as the death of the financial system," said Chris Hammersley, who was dressed as zombie Uncle Sam. "And, you know, Uncle Sam – Fourth of July – zombies. It works."

Red, White & Dead was officially produced by Fremont Outdoor Movies. Stay tuned to see if the Fremont zombie apocalypse was overwhelming enough to reclaim the crown.

UPDATE: Fremont Outdoor Movies counted 4,920 zombies total at Red, White and Dead. So far, 4,233 have been verified, enough to take back the Guinness World Record from England.

A 64 year-old SeaTac man was injured when homemade fireworks exploded Sunday night, July 4th, sending him to Harborview Medical Center with critical injuries.
The Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit and Bomb Disposal Unit are investigating.

Deputies were called to a house in the 2800 block of South 138th St. shortly before 11 p.m. The victim was already in route to Harborview with fire department medics.

Deputies were told a 52 year-old resident of the house built a homemade "aerial device" by tying together a bundle of sparklers. He placed the sparklers in a tube, and then into a concrete cinder block to brace it. When the man lit off the "rocket', it exploded in place, sending pieces of the concrete block in all directions.

The victim was standing about 15 to 20 feet away when the device detonated. He was hit in the head by part of the cinder block, causing a serious head injury, which, according to the fire department, was life threatening.

Other pieces of the block struck a nearby car, denting the door and breaking the window. The house and the garage door were also hit.

Ed. Note: Jerry Robinson is the publisher of the Ballard News-Tribune, as well as the Highline Times, West Seattle Herald, and FederalWayNews.net.

When we had to replace our flagpole, I tried to order a new one topped with a shiny brass eagle, but they were all out. So, I had to settle  for a brass ball.

The brass ball turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed a live bald eagle to land on it as I was taking this picture.

Ballard Big Picture is a column of scenes from around the neighborhood. If you would like to submit a photo for use on this site and in the Ballard News-Tribune, please send it to Michael Harthorne at michaelh@robinsonnews.com. Be sure to include your name and information about your photo.

Republished from June 30.

For most people, Fourth of July means barbecues, flags and fireworks. For members of the medical community, it can also mean burns, facial injuries and amputations.

"I can share war stories because these are war-like injuries," said Dr. Raymond Jarris Jr., an emergency medical physician at Swedish Medical Center in Ballard.

He said fireworks that are not handled properly and with care can result in destroyed hands and faces, amputated tissue, injuries from flying debris, burns, loss of an eye, loss of hearing and tattooing, which occurs when powder or chemicals from fireworks get underneath the skin and cause discoloration.

Jarris said Ballard is fortunate in that it is a very responsible community, and Swedish/Ballard does not typically see a lot of injuries from fireworks, though they do occur.

Residents should focus on prevention and safety and let the medical community be there to cover the mishaps, Jarris said.

First, Fourth of July celebrators should stick to "safe and sane" fireworks, he said. Illegal fireworks particularly cause hand injuries that may require amputation.

Despite the gloomy weather, June 19 really was the summer solstice, and Seattleites came out in droves, braving the clouds and the rain, to strut their stuff or watch others do the strutting in the annual Fremont Summer Solstice Parade.

From the traditional naked cyclists to floats celebrating the Beatles and decrying wasted phone books, the parade had something for everyone, exemplifying Fremont's unofficial motto – “Delibertus Quirkus," or the freedom to be peculiar.

The Fremont Fair, of which the parade is a part, continues though 6 p.m. tonight.

The fair features:

• More than 300 shopping booths featuring colorful world imports and novel handmade creations, plus boutique shopping throughout the streets.
• Artistic street and stage performers showcasing a wide-range of talents, including featured act Cabiri Troupe who will perform throughout June 20 on Daedalus, a fully freestanding aerial dance stage.
• Mouthwatering food vendors and visits to beloved Fremont dining spots.

The 28th Annual West Seattle Summer Fest is coming at you again July 9-11, hosted by the West Seattle Junction Association.
Giving the event a powerful kickoff Friday night is the AC/DC female tribute band Hells Belles.

Summer Fest is host to dozens of bands (see the lineup below), hundreds of merchants and artists, and over 30,000 attendees. This year people attending will enjoy a food court, beer gardens and plenty of family activities.

Live music on two stages, a skateboard exhibition, and a large kid friendly family activity area are all part of the show this year. The Saturday Night Street Dance will be on two stages.

Closing out the show on Sunday July 11 are The School Of Rock All Stars (performing Live Aid Remade, with songs by David Bowie, Queen, Judas Priest, U2 and more).

The West Seattle Summer Fest started as the West Seattle Sidewalk Sale in 1983. Over time more and more activities were added, and more people began attending until it grew into what is now the West Seattle Summer Fest, voted “favorite annual event” by West Seattle Herald readers and attracting visitors from the entire Puget Sound region.

Every July, SeafoodFest, Ballard's biggest event of the year, needs approximately 150 volunteers to keep it running smoothly. In 2010, with the addition of the KidsZone, an additional 100 helpers are being recruited.

The SeafoodFest Committee is looking for help with set-up and tear-down, selling raffle tickets, being part of the “green team” for recycling and trash, ice wrangling, music stage volunteers and working with children in the KidsZone.

With expanded hours, there will also be a need for a couple new “Team Shifts” for the Information Booth and Salmon BBQ.

Individuals, organizations and businesses are welcome to volunteer or provide four or eight volunteers for the available shifts.

Groups are encouraged to show their team spirit by wearing T-shirts or other items promoting their individual organizations.

Anyone interested in volunteering can email seafoodfestvolunteer@hotmail.com or visit www.seafoodfest.org/volunteers and fill out the volunteer questionnaire.

The Fremont Fair released the music and entertainment lineup for the June 19 and June 20 festival. According to the June 2 announcement, the fair will include nearly 30 local bands as well as dance performances, street activities and artsy spectacles.

Featured bands on the fair's two stages include School of Rock, To the Sea, The Phenomenants, Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme, Panda Conspiracy, Winston Wolf, The Starlings, Marmalade, Olympic Sound Collective and many more.

The Fremont Fair will also include, for the 22nd time, the ever-popular Fremont Solstice Parade, which starts at noon on June 19 at North 36th Street and Leary Way and ends at Gasworks Park.

Other fair attractions include the Seattle Art Car Blowout, more than 75 decorated cars on display; the Cabiri Performance Troupe putting on a show on an aerial dance stage; selected scenes from some of Shakespeare's most famous plays performed on the Fremont Troll; and an all-ages art experience at the Fremont Abbey.

The Fremont Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 19 and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 20. Admission is free.

Complete music schedule

June 19, Redhook Stage: