Tag Archives: free

Arts, Local Events

Free “Meaningful Movie” this month: On Paper Wings

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Still from the film On Paper Wings.
Still from the film On Paper Wings.

(This story was contributed via our Commons (reader-submitted) section. Thanks, Christina! Other readers who wish to contribute to the Commons should click the link above that says “Write for the BHB.” — Ed.)

Local, volunteer-powered Beacon Hill Meaningful Movies screens the documentary On Paper Wings on Friday, August 21 at the Garden House (2336 15th Ave. S.) at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:15. Free movie, free popcorn!

During World War II, the Japanese military developed a new weapon intended to strike directly at the American continent — the balloon bomb. Thousands of hydrogen-filled balloons were attached to bombs and then launched into the jet stream to drift toward North America.

When six civilians found a balloon bomb in southern Oregon (near Bly), the device exploded. They became the only people killed on the continental US as the result of enemy action during World War II.

On Paper Wings is the story of four Japanese women who worked on the balloon bombs, the families of those killed in Oregon, and the man whose actions brought them all together forty years after World War II and the balloon bomb project.

Event organizers are hoping to have local Japanese-American residents whose lives were forever changed by the removal and internment experience as guests to share their stories.

The Commons

E Team is the next free Meaningful Movie

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Image from the movie E Team.
Image from the movie E Team.
Local, volunteer-powered Beacon Hill Meaningful Movies screens the documentary E Team on Friday, July 17 at the Garden House (2336 15th Ave. S) at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:15. Free movie, free popcorn!

This film follows four members of the Emergencies Team (E Team) of the respected, international human rights group, Human Rights Watch. Trained to deal with unfolding crises, the team flies to hotspots all over the world as soon as allegations of human rights abuse surface. They gather crucial evidence to determine if further investigation is warranted and if so, to interview, document and capture the world’s attention. Human rights abuses thrive on secrecy and silence and the work of the E Team, backed by HRW has shone light in dark places and given voice to thousands who stories would never otherwise have been told.

The camera follows the E-Team investigators into the field as they smuggle themselves across the Syrian border to conduct undercover investigations as the civil war rages around them.

Each team member is visited at home away from conflict zones showing how they try to balance family and personal relationships with the challenges of their E Team work around the world. Though they are very different people, they share a fearless spirit and a deep commitment to exposing and halting human rights abuses everywhere.

(Thanks, Christina, for posting to The Commons! — Ed.)

Clean and Green

Help trees find good homes

A fernleaf beech in autumn. Photo by Sten via Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons.

Seattle reLeaf sent us this this announcement:

Good news Seattle neighbors! Seattle reLeaf still has free trees for residential yards available through the Trees for Neighborhoods program. Residents are eligible for up to four free trees but trees are going fast and some species have waiting lists. The deadline for street trees has passed, but you can still apply for trees to plant in your yard. Here are two of the beautiful trees that still need good homes:

Fernleaf Beech – This naturally graceful and majestic tree brings year round interest to the northwest garden. Originating from France, this deciduous tree has glossy green fern-shaped leaves and strong muscular branches. In the fall the leaves turn an enchanting golden color, lighting up the neighborhood!

Western Red Cedar – The flagship tree of the northwest forest! The western red cedar has graceful sweeping branches and stunning reddish brown bark. Lewis and Clark thought that western red cedars were amazing enough to be called the “trees of life” – arbor vitae. Plant one in your backyard and bring new life to your neighborhood!

The deadline to apply for one of these handsome trees is October 21st, so apply now. Applications are here.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: City U not coming to PacMed

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The historic PacMed building. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
There had been some talk that City University would move into the PacMed/Amazon building at the north end of Beacon Hill. However, the university has decided instead to move to the Sixth & Wall building in the Denny Regrade (or Belltown) area, according to the Seattle Times. The building was once the home of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and later of Group Health.

The Times reports:

“The university also considered the PacMed building on Beacon Hill—Amazon.com’s former headquarters—but chose Sixth & Wall after taking students to visit both buildings, (City University spokesperson Tarsi) Hall said.

“‘They really liked the neighborhood we’re moving to,’ she said.”

We aren’t sure, but was Beacon Hill just dissed?

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Chef Vincent Rivera of Jazz Alley will be at El Centro de la Raza on Sunday, January 29 at 1 p.m. for a special cooking demonstration, making mole enchiladas and traditional side dishes. The demonstration will include both meat and vegetarian food.

Tickets are $40 and will benefit the El Centro de la Raza Senior Nutrition and Wellness program, which provides meals along with daily social, exercise and educational activities to seniors. Tickets may be purchased online through Brown Paper Tickets.

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Jordan Van Voast of CommuniChi sent us this announcement:

“Happy Chinese New Year all, CommuniChi is celebrating 5 years of service to Beacon Hill and Seattle, offering affordable acupuncture. To celebrate, we are offering Free Acupuncture (to New Patients) on February 1.”

To sign up for a free treatment, visit the CommuniChi website.

CommuniChi is located inside the El Centro de la Raza building, at 2524 16th Ave. S. #301.

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A video look at “another Tuesday night on Beacon Hill,” with Alleycat Acres.

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The Benders art show at NEPO House is extended through January 28 because of last week’s snow shenanigans. More info at the NEPO website.

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Save the date—on February 4 there will be a ROCKiT Art Chair community celebration party at the library, and at Jose Rizal Park, there will be a dedication of a monument to honor World War II Filipino defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. Stay tuned for more information about these events here on the blog soon!

Clean and Green, Local Events

No foolin’ — free compost on April 1

Photo by Anne Norman via Creative Commons
Compost Days in Seattle begins on Friday, April 1 with local activities including garden-building and free compost.

The day starts at 10 a.m. with a garden-building project for the Hohlfeld family at S. Bayview and 16th Avenue S., in conjunction with Spring into Bed, a non-profit organization that constructs gardens for low-income families so they can grow organic food in their own backyard.

Immediately afterward there will be a compost giveaway at El Centro de la Raza, across the street at 2524 16th Avenue S. City of Seattle residents can pick up one free bag of compost between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., while supplies last. (We hear there are 500 bags.) There will also be coupons available for compost and Green Kitchen Kits. You can get some of the coupons online, if you prefer:

Compost Days is a partnership between Cedar Grove Composting, Seattle Public Utilities, and local retailers.

Education, Volunteering and Giving

Seattle Free School coming to Beacon Hill

Seattle Free School is hosting a class for prospective facilitators on Thursday, January 20 at the Beacon Hill Library. The class runs from 6:30 – 7:30 pm, and is—of course—free.

Seattle Free School runs completely free workshops and classes on a wide variety of topics. Like to make cheese? Need to learn how to tune your motorcycle? Want to learn about world travel? Seattle Free School can help! They rely on volunteer facilitators to keep their programs free, interesting, and exciting.

Here’s how they describe the upcoming facilitator class on their website:

“Is there a skill, hobby, or chunk of knowledge you are passionate about? Want to share that passion with other interested people? Curious about how many people with an aversion to public speaking have come to love being facilitators?

“Come to this class to learn how to be a facilitator with Seattle Free School, and to meet and network with other facilitators. This informal meeting covers what Seattle Free School is, tips on teaching, and how to schedule and promote your course.

“Whether you wish to facilitate a class, or just want to learn more about Seattle Free School, you are welcome to attend this meetup. We recognize that teaching others can be an intimidating task, and we are here to support you and provide assistance in making Seattle Free School a fun adventure for you.”

Please go here to register online for the facilitator class. The Beacon Hill Library is located at 2821 Beacon Avenue South.

Local Events

Symphony to perform for free at Mercer school tomorrow

Photo by Emi Yañez.
The Seattle Symphony Orchestra will perform a free community concert at 7:00 pm tomorrow night, January 19, at Mercer Middle School (1600 South Columbian Way). The concert is open to the public — and, yes, we said free. Thomas Hong is the conductor, and the featured soloist is violist Amber Archibald.

The scheduled program includes works by David Diamond, Gustav Holst, Georg Philipp Telemann, Samuel Jones, and Felix Mendelssohn.

The concert is part of the Symphony’s ACCESS Project (Artistic and Cultural Community Engagement with Seattle Symphony), dedicated to bringing classical music to underserved communities throughout the region.

Beacon Bits

Beacon Bits: Music, liquor, and free acupuncture

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Photo at ROCKiT Space, by Bridget Christian
Paul Ray writes about a potential activity for the new Festival Street:

“With the opening of the new Beacon Hill Festival Street, some of us were inspired to see if we could organize a music series at that location, perhaps emphasizing Beacon Hill musicians. We have scheduled our first organizing meeting for Tuesday January 5 at 7:00 pm. Thanks to Jessie and Marti the meeting will be at ROCKiT space (3315 Beacon Avenue South). This is the first meeting so we will be starting with the basics: what are we trying to do? How will we do it? Anyone interested in the idea of a music series at the new Beacon Hill Festival Street is invited to attend.”

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Speaking of ROCKiT space, we are told they are now holding an open mic every Saturday night from 7:00 to 10:00 pm. Jessie says, “This is a very casual sort of thing, open to all, and we welcome any art form you’d like to share.” As mentioned above, they are at 3315 Beacon Avenue South.

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The liquor license at the MC Food Store, 4800 Beacon Avenue South, has been assumed by a new licensee as of December 30. The license type is still “Grocery Store — Beer/Wine.” We wrote about MC’s application several months ago.

Baja Bistro, 2414 Beacon Avenue South, has just been approved for a change in license type to “Restaurant / lounge — spirits, beer and wine (50 percent or more dining).”

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Dayna writes about a lost kitty:

Has anyone taken in a rather large tabby cat the past week, or slipped him some food? Don’t have a pic at the moment, but he is a grey/black/dark colored male tabby, on the larger side. He’s an inside/outside cat who often catches his own food and isn’t tagged because he’s a master at losing his collar.  He hasn’t been around for about a week.  His name is Simon. He lives near Maple Park in the south part of Beacon Hill, on the corner of 13th Ave S and Angeline. His family was on vacation over Christmas and the house-sitters rarely saw him…. Now his family returned and he hasn’t emerged! If you have any info, please contact Dayna at dayna@ross154.net.

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Local acupuncture clinic CommuniChi will offer free acupuncture to all new patients on January 16, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the legacy of the civil rights movement. More info can be found on their website.

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Seattle Public Schools now has 174 National Board-certified teachers, with 57 earning their certification during 2009. Beacon Hill International School led the 2009 pack with 6 teachers earning certification: Elizabeth Alexakos, Susan Fluegel, Heather Graves, Kyle Okada, Andrew Pickard, and Mary Thompson. Other Beacon Hill-area teachers earned their certification during 2009: at Kimball Elementary, Nancy Kiser and Kristina Thorp. At Mercer Middle School, Susannah Fenger. At Van Asselt, Sarah Clemmons, Bernard McDonough, and Nancy Howard. And at Franklin High School, Howard Steele.

Local Events

Events this week: Immigration reform, free tree deadline, Van Asselt playground-in-a-day

Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois will participate in a virtual town hall meeting about immigration reform this Wednesday. (Photo from luisgutierrez.house.gov.)
Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois will participate in a virtual town hall meeting about immigration reform this Wednesday. (Photo from luisgutierrez.house.gov.)
El Centro de la Raza is hosting “A Call to Action for Immigration Reform,” on Wednesday, November 18 at 5:00 pm, including a virtual town hall with Representative Luis Gutierrez to discuss the principles of progressive immigration reform. The call in English will be at 5:00 pm, and in Spanish at 6:00 pm. El Centro de la Raza is located at 2524 16th Avenue South, and this event is in room 310. For more information, call 206-957-4605.

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A few weeks ago we mentioned the ReLeaf tree giveaway program, in which EarthCorp and the City are giving free trees to residents of Beacon Hill and three other Seattle neighborhoods. The deadline to apply for your free trees is tomorrow, Monday, November 16. Applications may be downloaded here. If you need more information about the program, contact  Lina Rose, EarthCorps Project Manager, lina@earthcorps.org, 206-793-2454.

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Another reminder: Thursday, November 19, is the day of the Van Asselt playground building project. Volunteers will help build the playground, along with MLS soccer players and representatives from Home Depot and KaBOOM! The MLS players are participating through MLS W.O.R.K.S., the league’s community outreach program, as part of the festivities building up to the MLS Cup next weekend at Qwest Field.

(Hat tip to Examiner.com.)

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Don’t forget to check our Events Calendar for more upcoming events on the Hill!

Clean and Green

Free trees for Beaconians

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treeflyerforwebYou might have noticed that Beacon Hill is one of the neighborhoods with the lowest amount of tree canopy cover in Seattle. Only 19% of the residential property on the Hill has tree cover. In the 1970s, Seattle had 40% tree cover, but today, the city with “the hills the greenest green” only has a shockingly low 23% tree cover. The tree canopy went away quickly, and it will take more time to bring it back, but the city has a goal of reaching 30% tree cover by 2037.

EarthCorps and the City of Seattle are combining forces to provide free trees to residents of Beacon Hill, along with Georgetown, West Seattle Junction/Genesee Hill, and Westwood/Roxhill, all of which have a low amount of tree canopy.

Residents of these neighborhoods can apply for free trees for their planting strips and property. Trees will be available for pick up in early December. Tree recipients will be able to attend a workshop on tree planting and care, and will receive tree watering bags in the spring.

The deadline for this program is November 16. Applications may be downloaded here. If you need more information about the program, contact  Lina Rose, EarthCorps Project Manager, lina@earthcorps.org, 206-793-2454.