During the monthly gathering of West Seattle neighborhood group leaders at the Southwest District Council on March 7, a flourish of upcoming spring activities (from the Alki Summer Streets Event to Metro RapidRide C Line construction schedules) were revealed.
In the fun category:
A Story Runs Through It: Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Film Festival
Lois Maag with the Dept. of Neighborhoods revealed a citywide film festival that should be right up the alley of aspiring West Seattle filmmakers, young and old, with an appreciation of their neighborhood.
The festival is part of the Seattle Center’s Next Fifty celebration in 2012 and will include workshops to learn how to make short films and an opportunity to create and submit your film for a competition with “modest cash rewards,” as Maag said.
From the competition website: “Every neighborhood has many stories to tell. A Story Runs Through It is a celebration of Seattle’s diverse communities through video storytelling. Seattle-area residents of all ages are invited to submit short videos that tell a tale from their own neighborhoods and communities. The focus is on sharing stories more than technique: This Next Fifty project aims to capture stories about Seattle’s civic fabric, engage and train communities in the art of filmmaking as a means to develop their own future narratives, and to establish closer ties between Seattle neighborhoods.”
Maag said videos can range from 60 seconds to 3 minutes and all of them will be featured on a Youtube channel, so even if you are not a winner, you will get coverage. Workshops on video creation will be provided by the University of Washington.
The festival is broken into two stages defined as “Know Thyself” (stories from the filmmakers’ own neighborhoods) and “Know Thy Neighbor” (films created and shared between neighborhoods). Submission deadlines for the “Know Thyself” phase are due by March 31 and workshops are happening during the month of March.
For more information, visit http://www.thenextfifty.org/filmproject/. For workshop and general information email Scott Macklin (smacklin@u.washington.edu) or Christina Hulet (Christina_hulet@hotmail.com).
Telling our Westside Stories with the Log House Museum – March 18
On Sunday, March 18, the Log House Museum will be at the Southwest Branch Library from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. to record an oral history of Southwest Seattle. They are looking for youth (13-18) and elders to share their stories of any kind – be it “the best place to bike, swim or play, the strangest animal you’ve ever seen, or how your neighborhood has changed.” The museum is particularly interested in more participants from South Park, Highland Park and White Center.
The museum encourages participants to RVSP ahead of time so they can stagger the interviews. To register, contact the Log House Museum at loghousemuseum@comcast.net or call 206-938-5293 by March 17.
According to museum staff, the stories will be gathered and turned into a traveling exhibit in August to share with schools, libraries and community centers. A permanent exhibit will be in place at the museum in February and the stories will eventually be available for viewing on their website: http://www.loghousemuseum.info/
Gathering of Neighbors Event – April 21
Gathering Of Neighbors:
Date: Saturday, April 21st, 2012
Time: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: Chief Sealth International High School,
2600 SW Thistle St
Chas Redmond provided the latest update for Gathering of Neighbors on April 21. He said great music is in the works, volunteers are needed, and any businesses or community organizations interested in setting up a booth should get in touch (contact information a bit further down). “Zero fee; human bodies are all we want,” Redmond said.
Here are the details from VieWS (Visualizing Increased Engagement West Seattle):
Come be a part of the Gathering of Neighbors: Businesses and Community
organizations from across the West Seattle Peninsula, all together, one day, one place, as “one community.”
April 21st, 2012 marks the return of the Gathering of Neighbors, this year sponsored by Visualizing Increased Engagement West Seattle(VIEWS) and SW Youth and Family Services. The combination of both community and business participants promises to have Chief Sealth High School bursting at the seams with booths full of information.
Attendees will experience, in one place and time, the tremendous wealth of services and goods available to them in their own neighborhoods right here in West Seattle. Entertainment and refreshments will be part of the celebration.
Part of our celebration will be appreciation for the artistic side of West Seattle, and we will be featuring a photo, logo, and essay contest.
There were will be suggested topics and submission categories on the website, with prizes presented to the top selections the day of the event.
Are you part of a group or business who would like to participate? Download applications and more info at http://www.viewswestseattle.org/ or contact Rafael Garcia, rafa.les.gar@gmail.com , (206) 380-2066
Alki Summer Streets – May 20
The 5th Annual Alki Summer Streets Event, organized by Seattle’s Department of Transportation, will happen on May 20th this year. West Seattle High School PTSA will put on a 5k walk/run in the morning and Summer Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Alki Ave S.W from 63rd to 58th will be closed during the main event so pedestrians and vendors can take over the streets. For information on getting booth space, becoming an event sponsor or more details on signing up for the 5K walk/run, visit SDOT’s event website or email SDOT’s Sonia Palma at summer.streets@seattle.gov.
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/summer_alki.htm
Vlad Oustimovitch with the Fauntleroy Community Association made a suggestion to SDOT’s Palma that evoked many laughs and nods of the head: Can SDOT please fix the potholes on Alki Ave before the event?
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In the important (but not as fun) category:
Public Safety Forum for Delridge residents – March 29
7 p.m., SPD Southwest Precinct Community Room (2300 S.W. Webster St.)
Lt. Pierre Davis, operations commander at the SPD Southwest Precinct, told the SW District Council about an upcoming Public Safety Forum for the Delridge corridor and surrounding area ( The Delridge District borders are Spokane Street to the North, the Duwamish River to the East, Roxbury to the South and 35th Avenue to the West, in general, but certainly anyone is invited).
“We want to strengthen the blockwatch capabilities in those areas,” Lt. Davis said, referencing the success of community outreach in other areas of West Seattle earlier this year after a large spike in property crime over the holidays. “We would like to do the same thing for the Delridge corridor only because we see that it is an area that is really underreporting crime.”
Lt. Davis said the basic message SPD hopes to impart upon Delridge area residents is, “If you see something, say something.”
Flyers and additional information will be distributed in Delridge neighborhoods prior to the forum.
And finally, the latest in Metro’s RapidRide C Line construction this spring
Construction began in early February on SDOT/King County Metro’s RapidRide C Line bus stops and road rechannelization, with construction expected to continue through May, and possibly longer depending on weather. The RapidRide C Line will replace the 54 bus, provide faster service, more frequent stops and will start running in September, 2012. http://metro.kingcounty.gov/travel-options/bus/rapidride/
Here are the stops being worked on:
• Fauntleroy Way SW & SW Rose Street (serving Route 54)
• Fauntleroy Way SW & SW Webster Street (serving Route 54)
• Fauntleroy Way SW & SW Myrtle Street (serving Route 54)
• California Avenue SW & SW Morgan ST (serving routes 54, 22, 128, and 560)
• California Avenue SW & SW Findlay ST (serving routes 54, 22, and 128)
• 35th Avenue SW & SW Avalon Way (serving routes 54, 21, 22, and 55)
James Sido with the construction company, Tri-State, and Jonathan Dong from SDOT provided updates. Sido said concrete has been poured at the three Fauntleroy stops. Up next will be the California and Morgan stop near Zeek’s Pizza and the California and Findlay stop.
Additional stops along the route (south of what was mentioned above) will be built by the county, Dong said. He did not have a specific timeline for completion on those southerly stops, but expect work to happen throughout spring and into summer.
Dong said the S.W. Alaska “rechannelization” has the highest risk for disruption (that work is expected to happen sometime in April and last two to four days according to Sido). He said the city plans to notify businesses, temporary parkers and residents ahead of time as some parking will be removed and traffic lanes will be converted to transit lanes.
Erica Karlovits with the Junction Neighborhood Association pleaded with SDOT and Tri-State to avoid working during the morning and afternoon/evening peak commuter hours. Sido said work crews will begin around 7 a.m. but should finish up prior to the main afternoon rush.
Visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/travel-options/bus/rapidride/ for more information.
