It’s June again, which means it’s just about time for the 18th Annual Beacon Hill Festival! The Festival is at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South, on Saturday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s theme is “Around the World on Beacon Hill,” and the all-ages event will feature local entertainment, food, a silent auction, carnival games, and bounce toys.
All proceeds of the event go to support scholarships and programs provided by the Jefferson Community Center Advisory Council.
Here are some photos from last year’s festival. (All photos are by Jason.)
L to R: City Council members Richard Conlin and Mike O'Brien. Photos courtesy of Seattle City Council.City Council members Mike O’Brien and Richard Conlin will visit our neighborhood for a Walking Tour of North Beacon Hill on Thursday, June 3. Anyone interested is welcome to participate. Here’s the schedule:
4:30-5:30pm Walking Tour: meet at Beacon Hill Station (Beacon Avenue South and South Lander Street) at 4:30pm. The walk will go south on Beacon Avenue to Jefferson Park and back. The Council members will stop in for brief visits with business owners and residents along the way.
Mayor Mike McGinn will be on Beacon Hill this coming Tuesday, May 11, at 2:00 pm for the announcement of the “Walk Bike Ride” Initiative supporting improved pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities and services “to make walking, biking, and riding transit the easiest ways to get around in Seattle.”
The Beacon Rocks! music series project planned for this summer is moving full-speed ahead. Beacon Hill Music, the community group that is putting the event together, has been awarded a Small Sparks Fund grant. The Small Sparks Fund of the Department of Neighborhoods provides awards of up to $1,000 to support community efforts such as events and neighborhood organizing. They have awarded Beacon Hill Music $860 for the “Beacon Rocks!” series, which will pay for the permits for all four events this summer.
There are two fundraisers for Beacon Hill Music: a Backyard Party scheduled for Sunday, May 16 from 3:00 to 7:00 pm, and a Dance Party on Saturday, May 22 from 7:00 pm “till we drop”. To RSVP for either event and get addresses and other information, email beaconrocks@gmail.com.
The final Beacon Idol event of 2010 is Saturday May 29 at 7:00 pm. If you live, work, or go to school in Beacon Hill, you can audition for Beacon Rocks! at the Beacon Idol event. If you’re not a performer, come and cheer the contestants on. The event will be at ROCKiT Space, 3315 Beacon Avenue South.
The Beacon Rocks! shows are a free, outdoor, family-friendly Beacon-centric music series, including all styles of music, and will be held on June 13, July 11, August 8, and August 29 at the new Festival Street next to Beacon Hill Station at Beacon Avenue South and South Lander Street.
For more information about Beacon Music and Beacon Rocks, see the website.
Don’t forget about the Beacon Hill Music/Beacon Rocks! fundraisers and Beacon Idol tryouts, along with numerous other still-upcoming events, mentioned in the last roundup!
Photo of Swedish bulle pastry by Dick Rochester. A Touch of Sweden is coming to Beacon Hill this weekend, bringing Scandinavian cakes and pastries to the Beaconian masses, as well as new life to a building that has been closed to the public for the last year. This new baking business will be catering and selling baked goods to order, including Swedish pastries such as cinnamon rolls, chocolate/almond beskvis, farmers’ cookies, dream cookies, and princess cakes.
Kajsa Soderlund and PopTop Rising are hosting an opening event this Saturday, May 1, to introduce their selection of baked goods. Sampling tickets will be available and everything will be at a reduced, introductory price. There will be Mother’s Day cakes, raspberry mousse cake, and chocolate mousse cake, as well as free coffee. Soderlund says, “We will be taking orders for Mother’s Day cakes or other requests too.”
The event will take place on May 1 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the former Culinary Communion house, 2524 Beacon Avenue South.
“A Touch of Sweden” is renting kitchen space from the new tenant of the house, so it won’t be a full-time bakery just yet. However, Soderlund tells us that they plan to have open hours when people can stop by to place advance orders, though the hours aren’t yet finalized.
The kitchen will be busy; we hear that there may be a new restaurant opening in the Culinary Communion building soon. We’ll post more details about the restaurant as we get them.
In the meantime, Soderlund says “We are very happy to be able to bake at this beautiful kitchen and would love to see you there.”
Photo of last year's International Children's Day festivities at El Centro, courtesy Elliott Jones.
There are a lot of events and meetings coming up soon that we want you to know about. Updated with late-arriving reminders of ROCKiTspace events and El Centro’s Cinco de Mayo celebration. Here goes:
North Beacon Hill Planning meeting with Marshall Foster, city planning director from the Department of Planning and Development, 5:30 to 6:30 pm at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Avenue South.
Beacon Family Bike and Pedestrian Plan meeting, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library.
Seattle Public Schools Family and Community Engagement Symposium, 9:00 am to 3:30 pm at Aki Kurose Middle School, 3928 South Graham Street — free workshops on helping your child with math, science, reading, writing, dealing with bullying, and college and career readiness with keynote speaker Dr. Susan Enfield; breakfast (8:30 am), lunch, and childcare provided.
Wednesday, April 28:
International Children’s Day celebration, 5:00 to 8:00 pm at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Avenue South, featuring children’s activities and cultural games, refreshments, and presentations; for more info contact Enrique Gonzalez at 206-957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org.
Meet Laila Lalami, author of the 2010 Seattle Reads selection Secret Son, 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the Beacon Hill Library.
Thursday, May 13:
Cheasty Boulevard Plan meeting, 7:00 to 8:30 pm at the home of Amit Ranade and Jennifer Faubion-Ranade, 2615 South Edmunds Street.
Friday, May 14:
Neighborhood Plan Update meeting, Mercer Middle School. (We don’t have the starting time for this one yet, but we will post it when we do.)
Sunday, May 16:
Beacon Hill Music Backyard Party fundraiser, 3:00 to 7:00 pm — RSVP requested, email beaconhillmusic@gmail.com for more info.
Monday, May 17:
Beacon Family Bike and Pedestrian Plan meeting, 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the Beacon Hill Library.
Saturday, May 22:
Beacon Hill Music Dance Party fundraiser, 7:00 pm — RSVP requested, email beaconhillmusic@gmail.com for more info.
Wednesday, May 26:
Jefferson Park Skateboard Park, Beacon Mountain Playground, and Jefferson Playfield update with the Parks Department, 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Avenue South.
Cellist Emily Ann Peterson. Photo courtesy of emilyannpeterson.com. The PLOP! Cabaret performance series is returning on Saturday, April 17. Literary and music artists will perform in an intimate house setting somewhere on Beacon Hill.
This coming Saturday, April 3rd, the Hilltop Red Apple is having their “1st Annual” Easter Egg Hunt at 9am. Stop by the store at Beacon and Lander across from the light rail station or call 206-323-1325 for more details.
Bring a basket or a bag to gather up goodies at our Spring Egg Hunt! All children 10 years of age and younger are welcomed to the hunt. Come rain or shine! A pancake breakfast will follow the egg hunt. The cost is $1 per person or $5 per family.
Bands and individual performers who are interested in performing at this summer’s Beacon Rocks! music series are invited to perform in Beacon Idol. Beacon Idol will take place at the ROCKiT Space open mic (3315 Beacon Avenue South) on these Saturdays: March 27, April 24, and May 29.
You can sign up to perform at a Beacon Idol event by emailing beaconrocks@gmail.com or contacting Jessie McKenna through ROCKiT space.
Beacon Idol is geared for smaller acts, but bands are encouraged to perform as well as long as they make arrangements with Jessie beforehand.
If you would like to submit your band/music or other talent that you think might be a good addition for the Beacon Rocks! event series, but are unable to perform at a Beacon Idol event, you have the following options:
Send a link to your webpage where your music can be found (three songs minimum), a brief bio, and some pictures of you to beaconrocks@gmail.com
Send a CD (three songs minimum) with a one-sheet/brief bio to ROCKiT space, 3315 Beacon Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98144
Or drop your CD and bio off in person at ROCKiT space (you may leave it in the mailbox if no one is around)
The Beacon Rocks! series is all-volunteer—artists will not be paid. The series is intended to be a fun opportunity to build community and give local musicians a place to play in their neighborhood. Music and performances must be family friendly. All bands/artists will be chosen by May 29.
