Marmalade photo by Lenore M. Edman, www.evilmadscientist.com, via Flickr/Creative Commons.
Interested in food preservation? Canning Connections is a group who meet monthly on North Beacon Hill to can and preserve different foods. (Most recently, they made cranberry mustard and cranberry conserve.) This year Canning Connections is offering holiday gift certificates for $15. Certificates can be used at the January 22 beginner/refresher session, covering required equipment and the latest techniques for safe canning. The January session is suitable for those who have never tried preserving, as well as those who just need a refresher.
All sessions are held at the Garden House, 2336 15th Ave. S. Everything you need is supplied except your apron! For more information about sessions or certificates, contact Canning Connections at gaspari5@msn.com.
There is a chance to shop locally right here on Beacon Hill next weekend at the St. George School Holiday Bazaar on Sunday, December 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the school’s Gathering Hall, 5117 13th Ave. S.
The bazaar will feature 30 vendors, including A Clean Sweep, Choice Organic Tea, Cookie Lee, Cupcakery, D’s Organic Concepts, Italia Imports, It Works! Body Wraps, Magpie Design Shop, Miche Bags, Pampered Chef, PartyLite, Pearl in Oysters, Rosso Gardens fresh wreaths, Sam’s Club, Scentsy, St. George Parish Fil-Am Association, St. George Parish Seniors, Tastefully Simple, Tupperware, and others.
All ages are welcome. Activities for children include a craft table and cookie decorating. Eighth grade students are hosting a Santa booth. Breakfast and lunch food will be served all day, including biscuits and gravy, pastries, Ivar’s clam chowder, spring rolls, Spam musubi, and more.
Performers will be on hand to entertain shoppers: Traci Hoveskeland at noon, and the St. George School Choir at 1 p.m.
Photo by Steven Depolo via Creative Commons/Flickr.
We know, it’s not quite Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas is coming soon, and El Centro de la Raza wants to supply your Christmas greenery. The tree sale will help raise funds to support El Centro’s services for low-income families.
If you pre-order your tree or wreath by today, you will receive a discount. (See the price list here.) You can then come to the tree lot and pick a tree on any day you choose to.
The lot is located on El Centro de la Raza’s south side, 2524 16th Ave. S. It will be open starting at noon on Friday, November 23 through Christmas Eve. Open hours will be 4-8 p.m. on weekdays and noon-8 p.m. on weekends.
To order by phone or for more information, call 206-957-4605 or email execasst@elcentrodelaraza.org.
Suns and moons overhead at El Quetzal. Photo by Wendi.If you hurry, you can get a Groupon voucher tonight for $15, good for $30 of food at North Beacon Hill’s El Quetzal. The offer is good until midnight tonight (Monday). Find it here.
Judith Edwards of the North Beacon Hill Council sends this information about this month’s NBHC meeting:
Come join the North Beacon Hill Council at 6:30 pm, Thursday, December 2 in the Beacon Hill Library Community Room. No speakers, just food and a chance to meet your neighbors! We’ll do a bit of bragging about what has happened in the past year, thank the Board members for their hard work, and enjoy spending time together. Pizza, salad and water provided by the NBHC Board. Plan to join us!
St. George School is holding their annual Holiday Bazaar on Sunday, December 5, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in the school hall, 5117 13th Avenue South. The bazaar will feature over 25 talented jewelers, artists, crafters, and Fair Trade and commercial vendors from the local community. There will be a continental breakfast available for $3.00, and entertainment will be provided by students, family, and friends of St. George. There will also be a themed gift basket raffle.
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The Pedestrian Advisory Board needs you! Photo by Wendi.The Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board is accepting applications for new members. This volunteer board plays a role in implementing Seattle’s Pedestrian Master Plan, and also advises the Mayor and City Council, participates in planning and project development, and evaluates policies and makes recommendations to all city departments including the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). Board members serve two-year terms; they must be Seattle residents who are not city employees, and should be frequent walkers of any age, level of mobility, area, or “walk of life.”
Interested? Email a resume and cover letter explaining your interest by December 17 to Brian Dougherty at brian.dougherty@seattle.gov. For more information, call Dougherty at 206-684-5124, or send e-mail to the address above.
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Registration is now open for Adult Beginner to Intermediate Spanish classes at El Centro de la Raza. The classes will run from January 11 through March 17 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Information and a registration form is here.
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A new restaurant is having their grand opening this weekend in the Valley near the eastern edge of Beacon Hill: St. Dames, a “neighborhood joint for vegetarian fare and spirited care” in the old Maki and Yaki location at 4525 Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, just a block north of Columbia City Station. They promise “Food, drinks and fun for the whole family!
Friday 12/3 Happy Hour all night long! Drink specials through the weekend!”
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The Goodwill Job Training and Education Center just north of the Hill at 1400 South Lane Street is holding registration this month for free classes that will be offered in January and February. Classes will include a nine-week Retail and Customer Service Traing Program, Community College 101, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic computer skills, writing, math, and cashiering.
Registration will be held from December 13-17 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. For class availability and enrollment information, call 206-860-5791.
Now that the holiday season is upon us, shopping is on the minds of many. Black Friday is infamous for the crushing crowds at the box stores and the malls and now “Cyber Monday” has become a major phenomenon, as folks turn to the internet for convenient holiday shopping. Both these forms have shopping have something in common: they do not support local businesses. On Beacon Hill this is a chicken and egg issue—not much holiday shopping occurs locally because there are not many places to shop, and there are not many places to buy gifts because people tend to drive elsewhere to do their holiday shopping. But it was not always this way.
I was curled up with Images of America: Seattle’s Beacon Hill yesterday and came across this quote from Pete Caso (born 1923):Â “There were many businesses before and now there is absolutely nothing. There were four drugstores on Beacon Hill, three bakeries, five grocery stores, and all your daily shopping was done on Beacon Hill. Why did the businesses close? The businesses were there in the 1940s. They closed up after World War II, with supermalls and everybody got a car. Before those days, nobody had a car. Up until then you used the street car or you walked.”
In 1937, the east side of the 15th and Beacon Junction, now home to the ABC Supermarket and the big empty building that is Hui Intertrading, was home to Eba's Mutual Grocery, Ray's Barbershop, a hardware store, and a small Safeway. Photo from the Puget Sound Regional Archives.
Biking was also popular before the War, as evidenced by the fact that a popular bicycle repair shop (Mr. Ellis’s Repair Shop) used to exist on Beacon Avenue at the current location of La Bendicion. Because it was difficult to get off the Hill by foot, bike, or long street car ride, people stayed up here to do their shopping and the local economy boomed. Today, the Department of Planning and Development‘s answer to bolstering the local economy is density and transit oriented development. Generating more shoppers will help, but just as important is to reorient existing residents inward. One way of doing this is changing how we get around.
So before I walk up to Red Apple to get some groceries, and El Centro to pick up my Christmas tree, I thought I would share another quasi-local route to a great shopping destination that is fun for the whole family: Goodwill!
This route is safe for bikers of any level and because it uses 18th Avenue South to get back up the hill, it is not too strenuous.  I look forward to the days when I can stay on the Hill to do all my shopping; until then, I have my bike as a viable transportation alternative that forces me to keep it local (and keeps me from getting trampled trying to pick up a NERF N-Strike™ Stampede ECS™). Happy Holidays and please respond with your favorite local shopping destinations!
Halo-halo. Photo by Bing Ramos.Jesse Vernon at Slogwrites about halo-halo, a cool and sweet Filipino dessert that’s especially tasty on warm days like today. Beacon Hill may not have a trendy ice cream shop (yet), but we do have halo-halo, at Inay’s and at Kusina Filipina!
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The Marination Hawaiian/Korean taco truck (yes, seriously) has begun a regular Thursday lunch residency at Dr. Jose Rizal Park, from 11am – 2pm. (Next week’s lunch is only until 1:30, though.)
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In the hubbub over Link’s opening day on July 18, we missed one other local opening: big-box discount retail has come to Southeast Seattle in the form of a Ross store on Rainier Avenue South, in the former Longs Drugs next to Safeway, 3820 Rainier Avenue South. MyraMyra at the Rainier Valley Post wrote about her visit and suggested some tips for a good Ross shopping experience (hint: it’s no Nordstrom). Ross sells discounted clothing, shoes, and various household goods.
Going green with reusable shopping bags. Photo by Ruthie Ruth.Levecke Mas writes:
“Without declaring it a ‘new year’s resolution’ but rather a lifetime goal, our family of four is trying to say ‘no’ to the plastic bags. So far this year, we have been successful! From the way in which we shop, we estimate that to be about 100 bags we have not taken!
“Part of the success is being ready; we have amassed tons of great totes and the trick is remembering to bring them into the store or being willing to run back to the car because you forgot — again.
“I just want to share with all my neighbors, that the Beacon Hill Library is selling awesome reusable bright green totes for only $1. They are perfect for stacks of books so also perfect for all grocery items. Sales of the totes benefit Friends of the Beacon Hill library so everyone wins.
“Try ‘going reusable’ as often as you can or all the time!”
We hope the buses are able to get us where we need to go today, but yesterday that was frequently a problem. (Metro’s Ice and Snow Transit Service Status page will tell you if your bus is still cancelled or rerouted.) If you can’t get off the Hill to do your Christmas shopping, don’t forget our recent post about holiday shopping right here on Beacon Hill. It might give you some ideas for ways to get your holiday shopping done here in our neighborhood — no gasoline, tire chains, or fender-benders necessary. (The comments on that post include some other suggested places to shop on the Hill, so check those out too.)
What if you had to do all of your holiday gift shopping without leaving Beacon Hill? Is it possible? The Hill is not known for having a ton of retail, but that doesn’t mean we have to head for the ID, Georgetown, Columbia City, Downtown, or (God forbid) Southcenter to find gifts. Our neighborhood has plenty of great gift ideas to choose from, easily accessible by foot for many of us, making shopping on the Hill a healthy and green option as well as one that supports our neighbors who do business here.
I spent “Cyber Monday” not online, but on foot, browsing North Beacon Hill for shopping opportunities. I was not disappointed. Here’s what I found.
Soaps and other gifts at 3 Brothers gift shop. Photo by Wendi.3 Brothers Cleaners, a dry cleaner at 3210 Beacon Avenue South, is not just a dry cleaner. They also have a small but well-stocked gift shop in the front of the building. The shop has the usual gift shop merchandise: knick knacks, glassware, clocks, candles, soaps, decorations, and the like. The prices seemed very reasonable. I bought a very pretty faux-silk embroidered drawstring pouch for $3.
Victrola Coffee, in the old Galaxie shop at 3215 Beacon Avenue South, has Victrola logo ceramic mugs for $7.95, and travel mugs for $14.95. Combine either of these with some fresh coffee beans, and you have an excellent gift for any coffee lover.
Buggy at 3315 Beacon Avenue South is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays so we weren’t able to go in, but from previous visits we know that the shop is more than just a “baby stuff” shop. Yes, there are baby and kid things galore, including clothing and toys, but there are also knitting supplies, handmade bags, journals, and other gifts that even non-parents would enjoy. We particularly like some of the items from da-a tis.
Fragrance oils for sale at Spoons. Photo by Wendi.Spoons Urban Apparel at 2516 Beacon Avenue South advertises “urban apparel and more,” including an assortment of fragrance oils for men and women at $5 per vial, and a collection of $10 t-shirts. They also have a very cool “Beacon Hill” painted sign inside the store, which is located in what was a long vacant storefront at the junction of Beacon and 15th.
Yoga on Beacon at 3013 Beacon Avenue South was also closed during our shopping trip, but we see that they have a nice selection of workout clothing. A class card or unlimited membership would also be a great gift for a yoga student.
Hello Bicycle at 3067 Beacon Ave South has an assortment of bicycling accessories, and bicycles as well. Their hours are limited; check the website or call before stopping by.
Edible gifts are a great option for the foodie in your life. Despi Delite Bakery at 2701 15th Avenue South has a great assortment of Filipino pastries and many other baked goods. They sell gift certificates for any amount, they say — just ask.
Gift certificates good for a bunch of baked treats like these may be found at the Despi Delite Bakery. Photo by Wendi.Local grocery stores such as the Hilltop Red Apple at 2701 Beacon Avenue South have premium candy, fruit and wine, and flowers to decorate the dinner table.
The shops mentioned here are less than half a mile apart in the North Beacon Hill business district. Who needs a car? But this is only North Beacon. Do you have favorite shopping destinations in Mid-Beacon or South Beacon? Please post a comment. We’d like to feature them, too.
Here’s a map of all the businesses mentioned here, marked with shopping baskets:
