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The Eastlake Community Council is co-sponsoring a Lake Union cruise to see the opening night of the Christmas Ships on Thursday, Dec. 1. The trip will be on the historic icebreaker The Islander. Boarding begins at 5:30 p.m. at 1611 Fairview Ave. E. and the ship departs at 6:45 p.m. The boat returns to the dock by 9 p.m. The cost is $15 (kids are free up to age 4). Your ticket gets you a spaghetti dinner (vegetarian with a meatball side option), Caesar salad bar, garlic bread, cookies and fruit punch. There's a no-host cash-only bar. Bring a food item or cash donation for the University District Food Bank. Tickets are available online at BrownPaperTickets.com or you can get them at the site's office at 220 Nickerson. More information is at info@eastlakeseattle.org or call 206-329-5824 or 206-322-5463. 
Mary Hansen, Eastlake gardener extraordinaire, has been busy planting an avenue of trees on E. Lynn between Minor and Fairview. The new garden space, which features four red vine maples, is across the street from Hansen's own amazing garden. Hansen and her volunteers had to remove concrete from the planting strip. Under the concrete was gravel that had to be dug up to make room for the trees. The work isn't done, Hansen says. They need volunteers with picks, shovels and buckets to help dig out the remaining gravel and crushed concrete. The work will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday. The trees will be planted on Saturday. Hansen encourages everyone to stop by and help out. "It's a great way work off the Thanksgiving feast and create beauty in our Eastlake," she says. MON., NOV. 14: PUBLIC MEETING ABOUT THE NOAA SITE, A POSSIBLE EASTLAKE AVE. SKYBRIDGE, AND OTHER SOUTH END PROJECTS, 6:30-9 P.M. AT TOPS-SEWARD SCHOOL, 2500 FRANKLIN AVE. E. Hear about developers’ plans for the 8.5 acre former NOAA site (1801 Fairview Avenue E.), now zoned industrial; for a research lab and street vacation at 1150 Eastlake Ave.; and a private skybridge or public tunnel across Eastlake Ave. between two Fred Hutch buildings. Also discussed: an SPU diesel generator at 140 E. Blaine St.; improved shoreline walkway along Fairview Ave. E. south of Blaine Street with reconfigured intersection at Fairview Ave. N.; and opening up WSDOT’s gated pathway and views under and next to I-5 in the four blocks south of Colonnade Park. Questions? eastlakeseattle.org. The Eastlake Community Council is sponsoring a public meeting this evening (Tuesday, Oct. 25) to help identify neighborhood needs. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at TOPS@Seward School, 2500 Franklin Ave. E. Come to the meeting to discuss and help identify neighborhood needs in the areas of traffic, pedestrian access, transit, parks, drainage and more. The ECC wants to identify the needed improvements and then figure out how to make them happen. If you can't come to the meeting, send your ideas to info@eastlakeseattle.org or call 206-322-5463. 
I was ambushed on the way home last night by a v friendly and hungry gray and white cat. I took him upstairs to share a can of tuna, but kicked him back out into the cold, dark night.. I'm sure he has a home, but.. I thought I'd post this here just in case you're missing him! I am in the Franklin and E Lynn area. Leave me a message here or on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chandira/6213526330/in/photostr 
The University District Food Bank's Annual Take a Bite Out of Hunger Benefit Auction will take place this coming Saturday, Oct. 1. The food bank, located 4731 15th Ave. N.E. in the University District, serves people in the northeast part of Seattle who find themselves unable to afford enough food to survive. The food bank's service area includes Eastlake.
[Full disclosure: I volunteer at the food bank.] The auction will be 5:30-10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at St. Demetrios Church, just over the hill from Eastlake in the Portage Bay area. Tickets are available at the University District Food Bank's website and cost $75. Your ticket gets you complimentary champagne during the silent auction, a delicious dinner (this year has a Moroccan theme), complimentary wine during dinner and the chance to help out a great organization that provides a vital service to our community. The auction items range from the inexpensive (restaurant gift cards, wine, Girl Scout cookies and more) to more upscale (airline tickets, a week's use of a house at a Florida writer's retreat, dinner for two at Canlis, a Holland America cruise and much more). Ever wanted to have drinks with Mayor Mike McGinn or lunch with City Councilmember Jean Godden (or play Scrabble with her) or share a beverage with Congressman Jim McDermott? All of those items are available. More information on the auction and a link to purchase tickets can be found at the University District Food Bank's website. The food bank serves 1,100 families each week, providing everything from groceries to toiletries, as well as baby food and baby supplies. At least 60 percent of the food bank's clients have a part-time job but are unable to make ends meet and afford all the basic necessities. The food bank allows them to eat and meet other needs, such as rent, electricity, prescription drugs, school supplies or car repairs. 
Eastlake resident Diana Riggs is missing her cat, Neko, and she'd like to get him back. He's been missing since Tuesday. You can see more information on the attached poster, which includes a photo. Neko is described as:
Neko was last seen in the alley east of Yale Avenue in Eastlake. If you find him, contact Diana at 402-889-7010. There is a reward. "I can't even tell you how much I miss him," Diana says. 
Friday evening update: As Deborah noted in the comments, the snake has been claimed by its owner. Original post: Reader Andrew Harman sends along the attached photo of a python that was apparently lost at Franklin and Hamlin. Andrew reports that the snake is inside, happily curled up in his downstairs neighbor's cat carrier with a bowl of water.
You can claim the snake by getting in touch with Andrew at harmanaj@gmail.com or Deborah Ro at deborah@thatwasgood.com. Deborah says you'll need to tell them how long the snake is to claim it. UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. Deborah Ro's contact information and a requirement for claiming the snake have been added. 
New basalt outdoor seating was installed at TOPS@Seward School in Eastlake on Friday, Aug. 5. The new seating is located in the overlook area on the west side of the school. The space hasn't been used since the school was renovated but will now become part of the school's programs.
Friends of TOPS paid for the $6,000 cost of the project. The seating completes a memorial area for four TOPS teachers. The memorial includes a Columbia basin rock and a Japanese maple that was planted three years ago. The benches are made from basalt from the Moses Lake area. A crew from Marenakos Rock Center in Issaquah did the installation. The seating area will be used for small-group instruction and discussions as part of the school's TOPICS program, where parents and teachers work with small groups of students on topics of interest to the students. The seating is also available for use by the Eastlake community. 
The annual Eastlake Movie Night returns this coming Saturday, Aug. 13, at 7:30 p.m. on the Rogers Playfield, 2500 Franklin Ave. E. This year's movie under the stars will be "The Wizard of Oz." Activities begin at 7:30 p.m. and the movie starts about 9 p.m. You're encouraged to bring your picnic or you'ill be able to order takeout from one or more local restaurants at the event. Also, be sure to bring lawn chairs to sit on, jackets and blankets. This is always a fun event and a great chance to enjoy a classic movie with your neighbors. Eastlake Movie Night is sponsored by the Eastlake Community Council, the Washington State Employees Union, Live Oak Audio Visual, G&H Printing and National Frozen Foods. Admission is free but they'll be passing the hat for donations to help pay for the event. The Eastlake picnic that was scheduled for next week has been combined with this event. For more information, contact the community council at info@eastlakeseattle.org or 206-329-5824. UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. Another sponsor has been added. 
The Eastlake Social Club will be celebrating Bastille Day, the French national holiday that marks the storming of the Bastille in 1789, with a potluck and petanque tournament on Thursday, July 14. The event will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at the fabled Eastlake Bouledrome at Fairview Avenue E. and E. Louisa. Attendees are encouraged to bring a dish and "meet your fellow Eastlake Social Club members as well as the the secret members of the Independent Petanque club of Eastlake!" according to a post on the Social Club's Facebook page. Petanque is the French version of the Italian game of bocci. The short version of how to play the game: Roll the large silver balls as close to the small, orange "piglet" ball as you can. Closest counts and the team that is nearest the piglet wins. You can learn more about the game at the Petanque American website. We wrote about the Eastlake Bouledrome in a post from July 2009. The neighborhood project turned a parking lot into a street end park and petanque court. From the post:
Petanque is a relaxed, social game that is fun for all ages (and more complicated than it looks). Come celebrate Bastille Day, learn how to play and mark the creation of the French Republic! Eastlake residents marked the Summer Solstice with a celebration at the Eastlake P-Patch and adjacent Fairview Park on Tuesday, June 21. The weather cooperated by actually providing summer sun. Neighbors enjoyed strolling the garden, listening to music, playing games and eating barbecue. Items donated by Eastlake businesses were auctioned to benefit the P-Patch's bee hives and other garden needs.
For the first time in two years, the Eastlake P-Patch is not the scene of construction work. The major expansion that added 23 more garden plots to the site is finally over. Mary Jones, one of the organizers behind the P-Patch expansion, surveyed the finished garden said that after the thousands of hours of work that went into the expansion project, it was nice to be able to relax and enjoy the sun and the event. The celebration included several musical groups performing in Fairview Park. There were slug races and hopscotch for the kids and a badminton set for all ages. One of the group's that helped make the Solstice Celebration happen was the Friends of Fairview Park. Rain Gilman explained that this group of neighbors helps maintain the park and coordinates other volunteer groups who want to help keep it up. At a time of tightening city budgets, Gilman noted that it's important to have a group showing its support for the park and helping to maintain it. To see captions on the photos in the slideshow, as well as larger images, go to the photo set in Flickr. 
UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. Details on the origins of the flower planting project have been corrected. The calendar and the weather finally agree: It's spring. The other thing trumpeting the arrival of spring on Eastlake Ave. for the past week or two has been the beautiful tulips and daffodils popping up in planters all along the street. The flower project began with discussions at a meeting of the Eastlake Merchants Association. The Eastlake Community Council later donated to the project. The project came to fruition thanks to the generosity of local businesses and the gardening skills of Corinne Hollister. Hollister is an Eastlake resident and owner of Earth Dance Design. She's a horticulture and landscape designer and a certified arborist. She found out about the flower project while attending an Eastlake Merchants Association gathering at Louisa's last fall and decided she wanted to be involved. Alcena Plum, owner of Louisa's, and Mary Hansen, of Mary Hansen Design, were working on the planting project when Hollister signed on. In October, Hollister ordered 1,500 tulip and daffodil bulbs that were offered to local businesses at a reduced rate. For a small fee, Hollister offered to plant bulbs for those businesses that didn't have time to do it themselves. A total of 1,200 bulbs were eventually planted by the project in Eastlake. Hollister says she had decided she wanted to work more in Eastlake and to help build community through gardening and landscaping. "And, I wanted to help make the community look better," she adds. The tulips and daffodils are nearing the end of their blooming phase. Hollister is talking to local businesses about possibly putting in summer-blooming flowers. If you're interested, contact info is at her website. Here's a list of the businesses who participated and supported the flower project this year:
The Eastlake Community Council has several free public events scheduled this week:
For the 26th year in a row, the City of Seattle will be receiving the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree City USA Award. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will accept the award from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources at noon on Saturday, April 23, at E. Blaine and Fairview Avenue E. The award honors Seattle's ongoing work to preserve its urban trees. After that ceremony is over, an Arbor Day/Earth Day work party will begin. More than 100 members of OUT for Sustainability and other volunteers will do restorative planting along the Cheshiahud Loop Trail from Fairview Avenue N. to Terry Pettus Park (Newton Street). That work party should be over by 4 p.m. If you'd like to volunteer, go to www.earthgay.org. According to a press release from the Seattle Department of Transportation:
Any tree ambassadors out there? From the Green Seattle Partnership website ( http://greenseattle.org/): Become a Seattle Tree Ambassador! The Tree Ambassador program empowers residents to become stewards of the urban forest and serve as resources for their local communities. Tree Ambassadors will be trained in the basics of urban forestry, leadership and community organizing. As a Tree Ambassador, you will work in teams of 2-3 people to develop projects for your neighborhood which could include tree walks, invasive species removal workdays, and/or tree plantings. No previous tree experience necessary, only a desire to learn and a passion for urban greenery. Both the team and individual applications and more information can found be online at seattle.gov/trees/treeambassador.htm. Applications are due April 24. Attached is an invite from Therese Casper from SDOt for a clean up event at South Lake Union. From: Casper, Therese [mailto:Therese.Casper@seattle.gov] Dear Fairview Ave E Stakeholder: I wanted to let you know of an exciting opportunity to clean up the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop Trail. In celebration of Earth Day, Out for Sustainability is hosting Earth Gay 2011 on Saturday, April 23. This volunteer driven event will be restoring a portion of the Cheshiahud Loop Trail along the eastern shore of Lake Union—from Fairview Ave N to Terry Pettus Park (E Newton St). Approximately 100 volunteers are expected. Sponsors include Earth Gay, the Eastlake Community Council, Seattle Department of Transportation Urban Forestry and Seattle Parks. Here are the specifics of the event: Date: Saturday, April 23, 2011 - from Noon to 4 pm with optional after-party SCHEDULE 12 - 12:30 p.m. Volunteers to assemble....
Seattle Parks and Recreation hosted a well-attended public meeting on Wednesday to discuss plans for improvements to Eastlake's Roanoke Street End Park. David Graves, a senior planner with Parks and Recreation, announced to the group that based on budgetary and other constraints, the city plans to implement the improvements to the south portion of the park (the Roanoke street end). The north end of the park (the Fairview street end) will need to be improved in some other way -- perhaps by the city in another few years, or by neighborhood fund raising and volunteer efforts. Many of the 27 neighbors in attendance gave feedback about continuing concerns about pedestrian, bike and car safety around the park. David will take that feedback to SDOT to see if there are some creative ways to increase safety in the area. Seattle Parks plans to start making the improvements in the late summer or early fall, having the planting beds ready by October. Eastlake resident and architect Carsten Stinn collaborated with neighbors to come up with the initial design proposal for the park improvements. Carsten's efforts were enabled by a pro bono program at his employer, Perkins + Will, where he and several other members of the firm were able to work on this project on company time. To contact Eastlake neighbors working on the park project, email info@eastlakesocialclub.org. Suggestions, ideas and volunteers are welcome. If you'd like more information, contact David Graves, a senior planner with Parks and Recreation, at 206-684-7048 or david.graves@seattle.gov. Website for the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop is at www.seattle.gov/parks/LakeUnionLoop/default.htm. 
Seattle Parks and Recreation will be sponsoring a public meeting at 6:30 Wednesday evening (March 30) to discuss improvements to the Roanoke Street End. The meeting will be in the library at TOPS@Seward School, 2500 Franklin Ave. E. The street end, where four trees were dedicated as Heritage Trees last April, is at Roanoke and Fairview. The improvements are being implemented as part of the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop Master Plan. The Eastlake Community Council came up with the idea for the improvements. Seattle Parks and Recreation is working on the changes along with the Seattle Department of Transportation and the ECC. According to a meeting announcement, the English ivy that was threatening to take over the park has already been removed. Asphalt will be removed later this year and native plantings will be brought in. The street end is a quiet spot with lovely trees and access to Lake Union. And it has some history: Bill Boeing's first airplane was assembled on this site in 1916. If you'd like more information, contact David Graves, a senior planner with Parks and Recreation, at 206-684-7048 or david.graves@seattle.gov. Website for the Cheshiahud Lake Union Loop is at www.seattle.gov/parks/LakeUnionLoop/default.htm. UPDATE: This post has been changed since it was first published. The time for today's work party has been changed. If you've been wanting a garden space in the Eastlake P-Patch, this week's two work parties are your last chance to volunteer your time and have it count toward getting a plot this year. Rebecca Partington says there will be two work parties on the P-Patch expansion this week: 1-4 p.m. TODAY, Wednesday, March 30, and 10 a.m.- 2p.m. on Saturday, April 2. Bring your own gloves and water. The more hours you work, the more likely you will be to get a plot. Plot assignments will be determined by Sandy Pernitz, the city's Community Garden Coordinator, and announced on April 9. Rebecca says that even if you've worked a lot of hours, you may still want to show up for this week's work parties. The additional hours might push you farther up the list and give you more control over which plot you get. There will be more work parties after this week, Rebecca says, and hours worked will accrue toward...
Time to shake off the winter blahs and get out! There are two social events in Eastlake this week that will give you a chance to get out of the house, meet your neighbors and have a good time: Spring Celebration, 7-10 p.m., Tuesday, March 22: This is the latest in a series of neighborhood gatherings sponsored by the Eastlake Community Council and a local restaurant. The fall event at Louisa's drew a big crowd and was lots of fun. This latest gathering will be at Pazzo's on Eastlake, 2307 Eastlake Ave. E. They'll be offering beer for $2.50 a pint, wine for $5 a glass and Pazzo's will provide various appetizers and slices. Or, if you'd like, you can order off their full menu (at your own expensive, of course). These events are always lots of fun. Come celebrate spring and the new blooms that are sprouting along Eastlake Avenue! Eastlake Merchants Association gathering, 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 24: The Eastlake Merchants Association invites local business owners and those who work for local businesses to an after-...
Several events are on tap at TOPS@Seward School in Eastlake this week and in April: Book Fair: TOPS will have a book fair in partnership with Secret Garden Bookstore from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday (March 16) and 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday (March 17). Last year, this event earned $1,000 worth of books for teachers, the TOPS library and the "A Book for Everyone Fund." Taste of TOPS: This all-school multicultural celebration and family potluck is 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday (March 17). Theme for this year is "deaf culture." The event begins with a potluck in the cafeteria followed by live performances in the gym. There will be a raffle to benefit Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy, craft and activity tables, sign language lotto and movies and displays about deaf culture. The TOPS Coalition for Social Justice is the sponsor. TOPS Auction: This annual event will begin at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at St. Demetrios Church, 2100 Boyer Ave. E. The theme is "Give Them Wings" and all purchases directly TOPS and support...
UPDATE: This post was changed since it was first published. A photo of TOPS students addressing the school board was added. Eighth graders from TOPS@Seward School in Eastlake will be speaking to the Seattle School Board at the start of its meeting at 6 tonight (Wednesday, March 2). The students will be talking about the school's Planting the Seeds experience. Each February, eighth graders at the school spend three days and two nights working for social service agencies and churches that help the homeless and urban poor in Seattle. The program provides students with an opportunity to experience life as it is lived on the streets.
This will be the third year the program is offered at the school. Students help out at social agencies in a variety of ways. According to an article in last year's TOPS News, during a typical day students "scrubbed mats, made sack lunches, baked cookies, sliced tomatoes for salads, played games with homeless guests, sorted clothes, stacked and sorted food at food banks, talked to clients, and made paper chains that celebrated the 29,000 clients who had used the facilities at the Urban Rest Stop." Students spent the night at a sleeping venue, writing in their journals about the day's experience. Helping the poor changed their perceptions, according to the TOPS News article:
The students are expected to speak first at the meeting. You can watch on Comcast channel 26 or on the school district's website. If you'd like to read more of the TOPS News article, you can find it on the TOPS@Seward website. 
For anyone who is interested in the Petanque court on Fairview and Louisa - we have an update for you: Last weekend a guerilla crew of motivated neighbors went though the park and pulled weeds, picked up garbage and started raking the Petanque court. Today the Parks Department is placing mulch on the planted areas to help keep the weeds down. Kudos to Seattle Parks for being so responsive to us! The next item on the list is to clean the court surface of all weeds and organic debris, rake it and smooth it out. We are contacting the Seattle Mariners again trying to get a fresh layer of pitching mound material ('Turfus') to the site. When that arrives we will get the court back into top-notch condition. If anyone wants to help out on the park, please contact roanoke-street-end-improvement-committee@googlegroups.com This group is also working on a renovation concept for the Roanoke Streetend Park, which will hopefully take place this summer. See image attached. Stay tuned! If it wasn't for the fact that I drive or walk by Lolita Gray's decorated tree at least once a day, I'd never know what holiday is coming up. Gray decorates the tree in the front yard of the home at Franklin and Hamlin that she shares with her husband, Glenn, to reflect the next holiday coming on the calendar. There are Christmas decorations, of course, but also Halloween pumpkins and ghosts, flags and patriotic bunting for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, and, right now, hearts and X's and O's for Valentine's Day. The Valentine's tree is seen in the short video attached to this post. In addition to the hearts, there is heart-filled garland, plush monkeys and red glass ornaments. At night, lights illuminate the branches. It's fun, it's colorful and it makes you feel good just to walk by and take a look. Thanks, Lolita, and Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure to check out the tree's fan page on Facebook. |
