Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Find out more and register to participate at the website: Lewis Park and Cheasty Greenspace.
Volunteers should dress in layers and wear clothing that can (and probably will) get dirty. Bring a water bottle, lunch and rain gear. Gloves and tools will be provided.
Today is a good day to get out of the house! (But don’t go too far — unless you’re running in the Rock and Roll Marathon! The Marathon will run on South Jackson Street and Rainier Avenue South until 3 p.m., which means you should avoid driving in that area.)
First, The Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool is holding a rummage sale from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at 1720 South Forest Street with lots of goodies to purchase from your neighbors.
Then at 1, head over to Lewis Park for a “Thank You Beacon Hill” party from 1-5. You can chow down on delicious barbecued hot dogs, including vegetarian and vegan dogs. The good eats are sponsored by Hilltop Red Apple, Field Roast, and The Station.
There will also be tours of the Lewis Park Natural Area offered hourly so Beacon Hill neighbors can see the progress that has been made in restoring the park.
You can find the party at the Pavilion at Daejeon Park and the south end of Lewis Park, on the corner of 16th Avenue South and South Judkins Street.
Flowers in the sunset light at Lewis Park. Photo by Wendi Dunlap/Beacon Hill Blog.
Friends and neighbors of Lewis Park are invited to come see the community’s proposed park design and give your opinions while enjoying a cup of chili with cornbread. The event is Tuesday, January 29 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Garden House, 2336 15th Ave. S.
All are invited to socialize and try the chili; you may bring your own to test your cooking skill! The top chili choice will be announced at the end of the evening.
Parking for the Garden House is at the back of the building or on the street. If you’re interested in bringing chili, call Susan Sherbina at 206-322-1096 or email susanatsturgus@comcast.net.
The Friends of Lewis Park invite the community to the Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Ave. S.) on Tuesday, November 27 from 5:30 – 8 p.m. for a public meeting to discuss the design process for the park.
There will be food provided from 5 to 6:30 p.m. From 6 – 7 p.m., there will be a presentation of some preliminary design principles and information about the project as it stands now, and from 7 – 8 p.m., representatives from Hafs-Epstein Landscape Architecture will discuss the project and listen to community comments.
The Friends of Lewis Park event notice says “We are very pleased with the selection of this firm and just as excited to get started on the community-based collaborative process that will result in a design proposal for the park. We have a dynamic consultant, a committed steering committee and a great site on North Beacon Hill. This missing ingredient is you… the community; we need to know what you want in this park.”
The park improvement project is funded by a Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple Grant.
Flowers glow in sunset light in Lewis Park. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
Plants grow happily in a cleaned-up Lewis Park. Photo courtesy of Friends of Lewis Park.The Friends of Lewis Park need your help. They have sent out the following letter to explain:
Hello Neighbors,
Friends of Lewis Park are entering the 6th year of forest restoration of the Lewis Park Natural Area. In the Fall of 2011, the Opportunity Funds award paid for professional work crews to clear the steep slopes of Lewis Park. Once the forest of laurel and holly, ivy and clematis was removed, a beautiful topography was revealed. As a result of the hard work by many volunteers during the last five years of restoration, the illicit and criminal activity that once plagued Lewis Park has disappeared. Now that the area is open and accessible, we need to encourage positive activity in the park. In addition, the Lewis Park Restoration is in transition from a forest steward-led restoration project to long-term community-based stewardship.
An Interpretive Trail will be a great way to both foster that transition and provide a way to create positive activity within this beautiful Natural Area. We want to create a trail that will reflect the many cultures on Beacon Hill in a way that introduces and educates our community of the values and benefits of having an urban forest in our neighborhood. Our goal is to hire a landscape architect with the funds to design the bones of the trail and, then engage our community to provide the content of the natural area interpretive focus.
The Lewis Park Steering committee is applying for a Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple grant to hire a landscape architect who will design the trail and facilitate community-based interpretive content for the trail. To receive the grant, we need to document match pledges. To that end, if you would like to support the Lewis Park Natural Area Interpretive Trail project, please do the following:
Send an email to: lewisparkseattle@gmail.com with the following info:
YOUR PLEDGE MUST BE RECEIVED BY FRIDAY, MARCH 9 IN ORDER TO INCLUDE IT IN OUR GRANT PROPOSAL.
Name
Address
Phone
Hours pledged (anything from 4-40)
Activity (this can be attending design meetings, outreach, flyers, food donation, grant/project development)
“This Sunday, February 5th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is Lewis Park’s first work party of 2012. It will be extra special because the forecast includes mild temperatures and sun, sun, sun! If you’re interested in signing up, please visit our website here and click on the “Sign Up” link on the right side of the home page (sign up is not mandatory; walk on over!)”
Lewis Park work parties will be on the first and third Sundays of each month through November.
Beacon Bazaar, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Beacon Hill International School, 2025 14th Ave. S. A family-friendly event where you will find arts, crafts, clothing, plants, and various and sundry other treasures for sale.
Lewis Park work party, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Lewis Park, 12th Ave S and Golf Dr S. Come help plant native plants or do other chores in the restoration of the park. Tools, gloves, water and refreshments are provided.
Judith Edwards of the North Beacon Hill Council and City Council member Sally Bagshaw have a discussion at last Saturday's People-Powered Park Parade. Photo by Dan Bennett in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool. I was very sad to have to miss last weekend’s People-Powered Park Parade in which neighbors on bicycle and foot toured the proposed bike boulevard on 17th and 18th Avenues S., and celebrated the 100th birthday of Lewis Park. Though the weather wasn’t perfect, the rain stayed away, and those who were able to attend report that it was a lovely celebration.
A neighbor going by “Observer” posted this recap in the comments to last week’s post:
It was a two-fold community celebration. The Friends of Lewis Park and Beacon Bikes joined forces with the City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods, North Beacon Hill Council and Green Seattle Partnership in sponsoring the People Powered Park Parade and celebration of four years of restoration of Lewis Park Natural Area.
The colorful bike parade was in celebration of the vision of a kid-friendly bicycle and pedestrian path connecting our Seattle Parks with safe and enjoyable neighborhood greenways. An estimated (I didn’t count) 50 or more bicyclists of all ages departed the Jefferson Park playground and rode the proposed path to Lewis Park to the north.
Upon arrival the riders and walkers (who seemed to double in numbers) were greeted by the Friends of Lewis Park and several dignitaries from the City of Seattle. Two of the more popular neighbors were Jay Hollingsworth and J.J. Lund. People lined up and down the block to meet them as they flipped the burgers and dogs and stirred the chili.
Director Dee Dunbar introduced several dignitaries that included Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. Each of them shared a similar message of congratulations to the citizen volunteers who are providing the many hours of hands on labor to achieve the goal of restoring the Lewis Park Natural Area to a beautiful, family-friendly environment. They expressed great appreciation to citizens of the neighborhood who are making it happen. They also recognized the grants awarded to the project were really quite small when compared to the investment of time and work of the citizens of north Beacon Hill.
This is certainly not an official report but rather an observation from a long time citizen of north Beacon Hill.
Dan Bennett posted a wonderful bunch of parade photos to the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr, and Observer emailed us some great photos as well. (Thank you to both of you!) Here are a few of our favorites:
City Council member Sally Bagshaw and others on the People-Powered Float. Photo by Dan Bennett.Photo by Observer.Mayor McGinn meets Beacon Hill neighbors. Photo by Dan Bennett.Bikes brightly decorated. Photo by Observer.Cyclists wait to cross Spokane Street. Photo by Dan Bennett.
Christine Cole sent us info on an International Work Party at Lewis Park this weekend:
Hello Neighbors!
This Sunday, May 29, Lewis Park has the honor and privilege of hosting 18 professional delegates from 15 African nations. This special group has been selected by the U.S. Embassy in their respective countries to participate in the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. The World Affairs Council of Seattle will be hosting the delegation as they experience “Grassroots Democracy in the U.S.” in action.
When: May 29, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Stay for it all or come at your leisure!)
Why: Share your stories and thoughts on volunteerism with leaders from around the world!
To RSVP for the event, please visit this link and locate “Lewis Park Restoration” on the Volunteer Calendar list. Then, click on the “Sign Up” button to register.
This is a free event and people of all ages are welcome to attend. The Friends of Lewis Park will supply gloves, tools, coffee, and snacks.
As mentioned previously, the People-Powered Park Parade and Lewis Park Celebration is this Saturday, May 21. The PPPP is a bike and walk parade that will tour the proposed bike boulevard on 17th and 18th Avenues S., and celebrate the 100th birthday of Lewis Park. You can see the parade route here.
Here is the event timeline; come for the entire event, or just part of it, if you prefer.
1:00 p.m. Event begins (BBQ, music, arrival of bike parade)*
1:25 p.m. Mayor arrives, mix and mingle
1:30 p.m. Welcome by Friends of Lewis Park
1:35 p.m. Duwamish blessing
1:45 p.m. CM Sally Bagshaw (3-5 min)
1:50 p.m. Mayor’s remarks (3-5 minutes)
1:55 p.m. Christopher Williams (3-5 minutes)
2:00 p.m. Bernie Matsuno (3-5 minutes)
2:15 p.m. Tours of Lewis Park Natural Area begin, music resumes
5:00 p.m. Event concludes
*Due to limited seating, it is advised that you bring a blanket/something to sit on to Sturgus Park.
This event is organized by Beacon Walks and Bikes and Friends of Lewis Park, and funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. For more information, contact Dee Dunbar at dd1377@gmail.com or Dylan Ahearn at dsahearn@gmail.com.
