Tag Archives: garden house

Potluck, music, and more at Garden House tonight

Tonight, July 19, the folks from ROCKiT space are bringing three events to the Garden House on 15th Ave. S.

From 3:30-6 p.m. is the Hi-Chair Happy Hour, a BYOB-B (Bring Your Own Baby and Beverage) social for new parents and their little ones. The Happy Hour is held every third Tuesday. The suggested donation is $5.

Afterward, from 6-7 p.m., there is a free community potluck, followed by a family music night from 7-9. The music event is “pay what you will,” and all neighbors are welcome. Bring instruments, hum or sing along, or just enjoy the music.

The event will also feature supervised kids’ games on the lawn until dark.

The Garden House is located at 2336 15th Ave. S.

Many options for family fun on the Hill

Beacon Hill is a great place for people of all ages and features many opportunities for entire families to have a great time. Here are a few ideas to get you started—please share your favorite places/activities in the comments!

ROCKiT Space is thriving after the relaunch in January. Headquarters are now in the Garden House at 2336 15th Ave. S. (directly behind Baja Bistro; parking in the alley, on street or just walk there) and events are happening there and all over Beacon Hill.

High Chair Happy Hour happens every third Tuesday (the next ones are on April 19 and May 16) from 3:30-6:30 p.m. BYOB (baby/bigger kid). It’s good, cheap fun on Beacon Hill: $5, or free for ROCKiT members. No alcohol sold, but you’re welcome to bring your own (as well as other food/drink) to share.  Must be accompanied by a minor to attend.

Tots Jam, a ROCKiT Space favorite, is held at El Centro every Wednesday at 9 a.m. Bring your toddler and $5 (free for members) and rock with Suzanne.

The Beacon Hill library has story times for toddlers, preschoolers, and the whole family. Toddler story time, Spanish story time, and Bilingual Kaleidoscope are only a few of the choices.

Thanks to our neighbors’ successful efforts to improve the parks on Beacon Hill, we have three (3!) awesome new playgrounds on Beacon Hill.

The play area at Jefferson Park has been open for several months. Don’t let the fences surrounding the future Beacon Mountain deter you—head over and check out the many ways your kids (and you) can climb, swing, hang and rock. Several refreshment options are available in the south end of our business district, including the Jefferson Park Field House, Victrola 3 and El Quetzal (now serving beer; just sayin’).

Jefferson Park also boasts a fantastic indoor playground on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Inflatables, riding toys, push toys, balls, and tons of other ways for toddlers to tire themselves are available for only $2!

Santos Rodriguez Memorial Park at El Centro de La Raza is now open to the public (closed during posted hours to protect the safety of the children enrolled in programs on site) and features new playground equipment for a variety of ages. Amenities such as benches for parents and a permanent chess board are in the works. I highly recommend a visit to The Station (directly across the street) before or after your park visit.

Beacon Hill Playground has new play structures, too! Swings, slides, a secure tunnel, and other fun await at our northernmost playground.

I’m sure I”m missing something—please share your ideas/events in the comments!

A few of the ways to keep busy in the playground at Jefferson Park. Photo by Joel Lee.

Local groups to meet at South Seattle Garden Summit

These plants were part of a recent planting-strip improvement project on Beacon Avenue, across from the library. Photo by Jason.
Local urban gardening and farming groups will convene on Beacon Hill on Wednesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. for a South Seattle Garden Summit and Potluck at the Garden House, hosted by ROCKiT Space and the Washington State Federated Garden Club.

The event will include a potluck dinner and social hour, then presentations and discussions among a variety of South Seattle garden groups, with a goal of planning a joint calendar of events to enhance use of community resources, avoid conflicts, and improve communication.

Groups participating include Beacon Food Forest, Friends of Lewis Park, City Fruit, local P-Patches, the Maple School Ravine Project and more.

All are welcome. The Garden House is located at 2336 15th Ave. S.

Here’s the agenda:

  • 6:30 p.m. Potluck
  • 7:30 p.m. Presentations by partner organizations
  • 8 p.m. Open discussion of common garden resources and needs. Review of calendars to avoid conflicts and make the best use of volunteer pool.

Activities this weekend and beyond

Tonight is your first of three chances to show you rock, at this year’s Beacon Rocks! auditions for musicians and performers. The live audition for individuals or groups will be at Kusina Filipina, 3201 Beacon Avenue South, tonight from 8-11 p.m. See our earlier post for more info.

Perhaps you prefer to get your hands dirty. On Sunday, you can do that at one of two community work parties. The Lewis Park work party is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lewis Park, 12th Avenue South and Golf Drive South. Help plant native plants or do other things the park needs. Tools, gloves, water, and refreshments are provided. This is a weekly event.

Also on Sunday, there is a community planting party from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Beacon Avenue South and South Forest Street, to remove the existing clover and plant a perennial garden on the planting strips there. See our recent post for more information.

On Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., ROCKiT space is hosting the ROCKiT Relaunch Community Potluck at the Garden House, 2336 15th Avenue South. It’s free—just bring food and come socialize with your neighbors!

As always, check the events calendar for more upcoming events on Beacon Hill.

Wreath and Swag Workshop at Garden House, 11/15

Christmas wreath photo by Joe Shlabotnik.
Christmas wreath photo by Joe Shlabotnik.
The lovely Garden House on 15th Avenue South (it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the oldest house on Beacon Hill!) is the site of a Wreath and Swag Workshop on Saturday, November 15, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Tickets are $20, and you will leave the workshop with either a swag or a wreath. Materials are included. More details and ticket purchase information are here. The Garden House is located at 2336 15th Ave South.