All posts by Wendi Dunlap

Editor of the Beacon Hill Blog.
Help Wanted

Musician wanted for Happenin’ on the Hill

The other day, we mentioned Happenin’ on the Hill, a celebration at the Maple School Natural Area this Saturday. The event hosts are seeking a “talented busker” who will play at the event to keep it festive. They say they have some money left in the budget to pay, so if you’re a local musician who can “play the stuff that you love” with an acoustic setup, you might want to contact them. See their Craigslist ad for info.

Local Events

Beacon Rocks! concert is this Sunday

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Volunteers setting up at the last Beacon Rocks event. Photo by Julia Cheng.
The next Beacon Rocks! is this Sunday, July 11, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. Bring your lawn chairs, your friends, and your ears to the Lander Festival Street just north of the Beacon Hill light rail station where there will be performances from local musicians and dancers, food from local businesses, activities for the kids, and general Beacon Hill summer fun!

This week’s performers include The Students of Skin Deep Dance, Seattle Fandango Project, Autumn Electric, JJ DelSerra, Beaconettes, Jack Lenoir and friends, and the Screaming Starts.

Volunteers are still needed for the event, including help with organizing, fundraising, publicity, managing T-shirts, talking with neighbors and businesses, event set-up, and clean-up. Email beaconrocks@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer.

Local Events

Music, comedy, and writing coming to ROCKiT space

Live music and comedy are coming to North Beacon Hill this Friday, June 9. The Music with Purpose show at ROCKiT space (3315 Beacon Avenue South) will feature The Black International, Charles Kyd, and Timothy Truth, and will be hosted by Brent Flyberg. The show is open to all ages and starts at 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:30). Tickets are $10 at the door.

Beacon Hill writers will also find a home at ROCKiT space on July 20 at 6:30 pm, when they gather for the first meeting of a new writers’ group. J.P. Kemmick is helping put the group together: “We’d like as many people to attend in order to help us shape what the group will look like. Hope to see you all there.” More info at the website.

Local Events

Piñata Party returns on July 17

Warren Yee was a master chef at the 2007 Piñata Party. Photo by Moxie G in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.
It’s almost time for the annual Piñata Party at Stevens Place Park (informally known as Triangle Park—it’s the small triangular park located between Beacon Avenue South, South Stevens Street, and 17th Avenue South)! Last year’s party was cancelled because of the Link Light Rail opening day festivities, but this year it’s back on July 17 with music, food, and as always, piñatas for the kids to clobber.

Jon Gould sent us this announcement about the event:

Our neighborhood Beacon Hill Pi̱ata Party is Saturday, July 17 from 12 noon Р3:00pm at Triangle Park at South Stevens Streeet and Beacon Avenue South.

On behalf of your neighborhood organizing committee, here are a few notes for past attendees and first timers:

Food
We’re not grilling this year. Instead, food will be potluck style with a few local restaurants and Red Apple contributing. We’ll definitely have free fruit, juice and water. Please bring an item to share or a picnic lunch.

Entertainment, games, piñatas
Local band and Piñata Party tradition Lushy will perform as well as Beacon Avenue’s Jun Hong Kung Fu and a Oaxacan dance for kids. There will be a number of fun games for kids, too. Piñatas will start around 2:15pm. We still need a few more piñatas. Please let me know if you can bring a piñata.

Flyer
Here’s a flyer you can download and circulate—all are welcome!

Please let me know if you have any questions… see you there.
Jon

PS. Here are some photos from the 2008 Piñata Party.

Thanks, Jon!

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Chickens, Conlin, and Caspar Babypants

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Urban farmers may soon be able to keep eight chickens like this fat and sassy Beacon Hill hen, if DPD's proposed amendments are approved. Fresh eggs for everyone! Photo by Wendi.
The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is proposing amendments to the Land Use Code that concern urban agriculture, including urban farms and community gardens. The proposed amendments would allow such uses in all zones, though there would be some limitations in industrial zones. Additionally, farmers’ markets would be permitted outright in commercial zones, and the number of chickens permitted on a lot would increase from three to eight. Roosters, however, would specifically be banned. (Despite popular belief, they aren’t currently.) See more about the proposals here, and plan to attend a public hearing on July 21 at 5:30 pm if you’d like to comment on these changes. The hearing will be in Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Avenue. A sign-up sheet will be available outside the Chamber at 5:00 pm. If you can’t attend the meeting, comments can be sent to City Councilmember Richard Conlin.

* * *

Speaking of Councilmember Conlin, he’ll be a guest speaker at Happenin’ on the Hill, a neighborhood “green space celebration” hosted by the Environmental Outreach and Stewardship Alliance (EOS Alliance) at the Maple School Natural Area, 20th Avenue South and South Lucile Street, on Saturday, July 10. The event will include food, music, art, and speakers including Conlin and Erick McWayne (former EOS Alliance Executive Director). The event starts at 12 noon and runs until 4:00 pm, with a rededication of the Maple School Natural Area at 3:00 pm.

* * *

The Touch of Sweden garage sale we mentioned a couple of weeks ago was postponed (due to cold and rainy weather) until Saturday, July 3, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at 12th Avenue South and South Judkins Street. Kajsa and PopTop are moving away on Sunday, first to PopTop’s home in Minneapolis and then to Sweden where Kajsa’s father is suffering from cancer. Kajsa sent us a message to the community with an appeal for help; we added it in its entirety to our earlier post. See it there.

* * *

Wellspring Family Services on Rainier Avenue South and South Plum Street is holding a “Kids Helping Kids” fundraising drive this summer. The drive benefits programs for homeless kids, including the Baby Boutique (a free boutique where homeless families can shop) and Morningsong (a childcare center for homeless children).

Kids who participate in the coin drive and turn in their donations on time will be entered into a contest for a chance to win their own original song by Caspar Babypants (Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America). To participate, kids must register at the website.

Wellspring and “Kids Helping Kids” will be at the Columbia City Farmers’ Market on South Edmunds Street on Wednesday, July 21 with Caspar Babypants from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.

* * *

The Seattle City Light Powerful Neighborhoods pilot program is helping South Seattle residents install energy- and water-saving technology in their homes. Since April, more than 800 homes have been served by the program, in which trained installers come to customers’ homes and install free light bulbs, showerheads, faucet aerators, and smoke detectors. Yes, free. (The installation is free, too.)

To qualify, you must live in a single-family home or 2 to 4-unit building in the zip codes 98144, 98118, 98178, 98108, 98126, 98106, and 98134. If you would like to participate in the program please call the Powerful Neighborhoods multilingual phone line at 206-449-1132, or email scl_install@seattle.gov.

Getting Around, Urban Planning

Changes coming to 15th Ave S this month

Later this month, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will begin work on the repaving and rechannelization of 15th Avenue South between South College Street and South Spokane Street. (We posted about this project when it was getting started last year.)

The project to improve 15th will include include traffic lane reconfiguration along with pedestrian and bicycle improvements, including:

  • Resurfacing the asphalt pavement on 15th between Beacon Avenue South and South McClellan Street.
  • Installing new curb bulbs and ramps at 15th and South Lander Street.
  • Adding sidewalk improvements at Beacon and McClellan.
  • Adding two new marked crosswalks at 15th and Lander.
  • Installing pedestrian warning signs at 15th and McClellan.
  • Retrofitting existing ADA ramps with tactile (detectable) warning pads.
  • Adding new bike facilities between College and Spokane.

SDOT will be removing parking from one side of the street in each block, using alternate-side-of-the-street parking as a traffic calming technique. Additionally, there will be a much-needed right-turn-only lane at the intersection of 15th Avenue South and South Spokane Street, when going southbound. You can read more about the rechannelization here.

Work on the project is scheduled to begin in mid-July and continue through September. You should expect lane closures, pedestrian detours, parking and loading restrictions, and the usual construction noise and mess. More information about specifics will be coming soon.


View 15th Ave S rechannelization project in a larger map

Meetings

NBHC meeting tonight, Merchants Association on Friday

It’s that time again—time for the monthly meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council. The meeting is at 7:00 pm tonight, July 1, at the Beacon Hill Library community room, 2821 Beacon Avenue South. Everyone is welcome. As a reminder, you are part of the council when you attend your first meeting, and you have voting privileges when you attend your second.

Here is this month’s agenda:

  • 7:00 Welcomes and Introductions of new Board Members
  • 7:05 Genjo Marinello: Proposed change of apartment house on Horton to mediation house, followed by questions and answers from the community
  • 7:30 Reports and Announcements
    • Beacon Rocks, Bob Zappone
    • Pinata Party, Judith Edwards
    • Public Relations position needed on Board—nominations?
    • Community concerns
    • Other announcements
    • Steve Louie, Neighborhood Coordinator
  • 8:30 ADJOURN

The Beacon Merchants Association will also be meeting this week, Friday, July 2, at 10:00 am at the new coffee shop, The Station. The address is 2533 16th Avenue South, just north of Beacon Hill Station and across from El Centro.

Here’s the agenda and information from the Merchants Association:

“While our grant application has been accepted, the contract has not been completed yet due to delay at the city’s end. We hope to have that completed by Friday. We’ll be moving ahead with outreach plans, hiring our graphic designer, and building our walking map of businesses on the hill. I’ve sent out our proposed bylaws and hopefully folks have had a chance to look them over; anyone requesting an additional copy can reply to this message. (beaconmerchants@gmail.com is the address—Ed.) Bylaws will be passed by acclamation in early September, and board selection and development should be completed by the end of the year. This is the essential groundwork for building an improved business environment on Beacon Hill!”

Food and Drink

Tasha’s Bistro Café opens Friday; Street Treats to return weekly

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On Friday, the door will open to Tasha's Bistro Café. Photo by Wendi.
The former Culinary Communion house at 2524 Beacon Avenue South is reopening on Friday evening as Tasha’s Bistro Café. Owner Tasha Sawabini promises “the finest seasonal ingredients and innovative combinations!” The café will be open for Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm, and Thursday, Friday and Saturday dinner from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

Also on Friday night, the Street Treats dessert van will be back. Owner Diane Skwiercz writes, “I want to let you know that Street Treats is going to be up on Beacon Hill every Friday night starting this Friday July 2nd, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. We will either be in the Washington Federal Savings bank parking lot or where we were last Friday (the corner of 16th and Lander — Ed.).” Follow their tweets here.