Festivals/Annual Events

The 6th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Event was held in the parking lot just west of the West Seattle Junction on Saturday Dec. 5th.

Hundreds of people showed up to brave the cool temperatures, warmed by hot chocolate and the sounds of christmas music provided by the Endolyne Children's choir. Numerous West Seattle volunteer awards were announced and prizes awarded in a variety of raffles.
The Sugar Rush Baking Company also known as Coffee to a Tea with Sugar supplied coffee, hot chocolate, cider and cookies .

Host Marty Riemer chose a youngster from the crowd, Jordan Brownfield, 7, of Gatewood School, to flip the switch illuminating the 50 foot tall western red cedar tree and Christmas in the junction was off to a great start.

Click the image to see more photos from the event

Check out our new Flickr gallery of archived images from past stories.
Herald Flickr Gallery.

The West Seattle Kiwanis club held it's 63rd annual pancake breakfast at the Alki Masonic Hall at 4736 40th Avenue Southwest on Saturday Dec. 5th raising more than $2000. This year the breakfast served ham and pancakes to "between 400 to 500 people," said immediate past President Mike LaFranche, "A lot of pancakes, a lot of hot grill work."

Club Secretary "For about twenty years", Warren Lawless said, "We have the scouts from Boy Scout Troop 284 and we couldn't put it on without their help. We've sponsored them for 60 years."

Also participating in the event were West Seattle Hi-Yu, selling Christmas ornaments, the Kiwanis Club of White Center selling nuts, and some United States Marines there collecting toys for their Toys for Tots campaign.
There was a $5 donation charge.

This Kiwanis event and others throughout the year go to benefit youth in our community, specifically Key Clubs at area High Schools which mirror the Kiwanis club itself. "It's a leadership training club," said Lawless.

Undeterred by a steady drizzle and the possibility of a relaxing holiday morning, hundreds of runners, joggers and walkers turned out for the third annual Seattle Turkey Trot Nov. 26 in Ballard.

More than 700 people had pre-registered for the 5K fun-run and walk, and registration was still open minutes before the race started.

Some participants donned serious running attire. Others dressed for the day, wearing feathered headbands, turkey hats or full-on Pilgrim garb.

"We are amazed and very pleased with the number of people here," said Nancy McKinney, director of the Ballard Food Bank.

The Turkey Trot is a fundraiser for the food bank. McKinney said she was not sure how much they raised with this year's race, but she guesses it is more than $15,000.

The numbers for Turkey Trot 2009 dwarfed those of the previous year, when 200 participants raised $2,500 for the food bank.

Nick Roosa, a 24-year-old New Yorker in town visiting his sister, was the first to cross the finish line.

He said the Turkey Trot, which headed south on 32nd Northwest from 85th Avenue Northwest and ended at Golden Gardens, was a lot of fun. He has raced in a lot of them but never won.

This holiday season, help bring joy to local people in need. Hiawatha Community Center, 2700 California Ave. SW, is holding a Giving Tree from now through December 17.

Bring in an unwrapped gift to the center, and it will be wrapped and donated to a local charity. For every donation, the donor will receive a ticket for one meal at the center’s Holiday Feast from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, December 18. The cost is $8 for each additional meal.

The Holiday Feast will feature dinner and a craft table for creating holiday decorations to take home. Last year’s dinner featured fried turkey, vegetables, vegetarian offerings, desserts, and more.

Please bring in gifts early. For more information, please call the center at 206-684-7441 or see www.seattle.gov/.

The styles varied among the 18 bands at this year’s Jazz Walk, and each of the 12 venues lent its aura to the Nov. 20 performances.

Many among the Jazz Walk attendees stuck to venues along Ballard Avenue, where Hadley Caliman and Pete Christlieb reunited to play in front of a large and delighted crowd.

Further along down the street, bars and restaurants hardly had enough seats for acts like the McTuff Trio and the Brent Jensen Quartet.

For those not yet 21, the Jazz Walk had plenty of venues to offer. Egan’s Jam House hosted the talented Chad McCullough Group. And, at perhaps the oddest venue of all, visitors could lounge around on couches or recliners and enjoy music from Collier and Dean at Skarbos Furniture.

Click on the image above for a slideshow from the 2009 Jazz Walk.

Boy Scout Troop 100 kicks off its annual Christmas tree sale the weekend after Thanksgiving at St. Alphonsus Church, located on 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 57th Street.

The St. Al's tree sale is a tradition of nearly 60 years in the Ballard community.

Trees of all shapes and varieties are hand-picked by some of the troop's fathers and sons.

The trees are freshly cut and replenished every few days and are guaranteed fresh.

Scouts volunteer their time to work at the tree sale.

The money raised enables the scouts to participate in many activities throughout the year. Some of the proceeds are donated within the community.

The tree lot will be open from Nov. 29 to Dec. 20 or until the trees sell out.

Fifty years after penning the Whitman Alma Mater for Whitman Middle School, former music teacher Bob Cathey stood against a wall in the school cafeteria, watching a new generation of Whitman Wildcats give tribute to their school with his song.

The Third Annual All School International Potluck Nov. 19 at Whitman Middle School was also the 50-year anniversary of the dedication of the school, located at 9201 15th Ave. N.W.

According to a history of Whitman Middle School by Seattle Public Schools, Northwest Elementary School opened on the site of the former Olympic Golf Course as an overflow building for the Crown Hill School in 1953.

The building temporarily became the Northwest Junior High School after the Crown Hill School moved.

Whitman Junior High School was officially dedicated on Nov. 19, 1959. The dedication served as the debut for the Whitman Alma Mater, "Salute to Whitman," by Cathey.

Whitman, named after a Protestant missionary who settled in Walla Walla in 1836, became a middle school in 1981.

Westwood Village shopping center presented its first West Seattle Chamber of Commerce After Hours open house. In addition to merchants leaving their doors open and offering food and beverages Thursday night, Nov. 19, the center's Santa House officially opened. It occupies a storefront a few doors east of Bed Bath & Beyond.

Stuart Crandall, Westwood Village property manager, and Patricia Mullen, president of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon to Santa's House which Crandall designed and built.

Participating merchants donating food included Wyatt's Jewelers, Chicos, Giannoni's Pizza, Reflections Dental Center, State Farm, Rain Day Spa, the Sub Shop and others.

The White Center Food Bank set out containers to donate food in Santa's House.

Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby discussed the Santa Diaper Drive which supplies White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank with diapers. Diaper donations are also accepted at the Santa House.

"We are a neighborhood shopping center and so the whole neighborhood can shop here, said Crandell. "We have seen increased sales and anticipate a busy Christmas shopping season."

The White Center Community Development Association (White Center CDA) is holding their seventh annual Community Summit, at Mt. View Elementary on Saturday, December 5 from 9:30am-4:00pm, admission is free. Childcare is available.

The aim is "to celebrate White Center while recognizing the community work and service that has shaped the area," according to an announcement released today.

Attendees will have access to numerous community organizations, partners and individuals who continue to make White Center a thriving neighborhood. Workshops, a resource fair and affinity groups will be available in several different languages. Food and cultural entertainment will reflect the diversity of White Center’s communities.

Attendees will also take part in an interactive electronic polling session to give feedback on their neighborhood, its environment and resources. The Neighborhood Plan, a book that contains a summary of community projects seeking to improve the lives of White Center residents, will be given to each attendee free of charge.

The Woodland Park Zoo will be holding a food drive for the Phinney Neighborhood Association Nov. 21 during its annual Turkey Toss.

Non-perishable food items can be dropped off outside the zoo's south entrance. Zoo admission is not required to donate food.

After donating food, zoo-goers can see snow leopards, Komodo dragons, grizzlies, lions and more carnivorous species chow down on raw, store-prepared turkeys at the Turkey Toss presented by Franz Bakeries.

The event is part of the zoo’s ongoing program to help enrich the lives of the zoo’s animals, promote natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally and physically stimulated and engage zoo visitors.

The donated food will benefit the Phinney Neighborhood Association soup kitchen program, which operates two days a week at St. John United Lutheran Church and one day a week at Calvary Lutheran Church in Ballard.

Food donations that are in demand are non-perishable juice, jam, canned fruit, beans, canned vegetables, chili, ketchup and powdered creamers.

The food drive lasts from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 21. The Turkey Toss will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.