By Ruby Tuesday Romero

Back when there wasn’t even a high bridge to close, the merchants in the Alaska Junction would organize a sidewalk sale during the summer.

A weekend where goods were discounted, special treasures were found, and the neighborhood mingled.

These sales were arguably where the groundwork- of how the junction businesses interact with their patrons- was formed. Maturing into a full-fledged festival, Summerfest closes the main drag and has shared live music, food, handcrafted goods, a beer-garden, and art with the community every July for nearly 40 years.

This year, Summerfest has to take summer classes and won’t be here, just like last year.

However, the Junction Association has found a way to still provide a small-scale street fair by going vintage and organizing the return of the Sidewalk Sale!

Both virtual and limited in-person events begin this Thusday, July 8.

If you’re like me, your favorite part of festivals is the live music.

Over the past 16 months the evil virus has prevented the music industry from touring, virtually forcing all performances online.

In order to fill the void that in live music, Pegasus Book Exchange is offering up an interactive and unprecedented response.

Walking through the Junction on my way to speak with Eric Ogriseck, a long time Pegasus employee, I noticed a substantial increase in foot traffic from the previous weeks. With stores going back to normal hours and offering in-person shopping, the hustle and bustle is a welcome sight- especially for our many family owned businesses.

Eric has attended Summerfest every year he’s lived in West Seattle, unapologetically admitting his love for street fairs.

This weekend the shop will join others and spill onto the sidewalk with an array of books, most only costing 1$. Make sure to bring a re-useable bag and consider picking out a few for your local free library too! Pegasus always offers pre-owned books, some new releases, and plenty of motivation to finally, you know, pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read?

The Sidewalk Sale will also include goods from local artisans. Along both sides of California Ave from SW Edmunds St up towards SW Oregon St on Friday July 9th and Saturday Jul 10th. 10am-6pm. In-person events are so two summers ago!

Online hangouts are all the rage this year and in order to be ‘with it’, Ogriseck and a friend have begun a monthly Zoom Trivia Night. Different teams battle to the death of their dignity and it gets heated, and usually costumed. This edition is for the music buffs and prizes will include free books from Pegasus, as well as gifts from the Junction Association, and will be awarded throughout the event- not just to those who win.

To keep the Summerfest tradition, local bands Hobosapien and School of Rock will turn it up to 11 between rounds. Groups of up to six adults are encouraged to brush up on NW rock history, possibly artists that have performed in years prior.

25$ per group, signups are found on the book shop’s website under ‘Sign Up for Zoom Trivia’.

I accept the challenge and will see you this Friday at 7:30pm for the music trivia showdown.