Art by Zee

On Wednesday, May 25, 2011, Meals Partnership Coalition (MPC) will host a happy hour fundraiser to support the work of King County programs that prepare and serve free and low-cost meals to homeless and poverty-level children, youth, families, and individuals. The fundraiser, “Eat Real Food: Food for Life” will be held at FareSart in downtown Seattle from 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and will feature a multicultural hors d’oeuvres menu made from organic ingredients, a silent auction, and live music performed by award-winning virtuoso guitarist, Andre Feriante.

MPC is a collaborative organization with more than 68 non-profit meal provider members who serve in excess of 3 million free or low-cost meals annually, and works to ensure that non-profit meal programs have the resources necessary to meet the hunger needs of people who would otherwise go hungry.

Food for the event will be prepared by a team of celebrated chefs from 7 local human service organizations: Asian Counseling and Referral Services, Recovery Cafe, Union Gospel Mission, Pike Market Senior Center, OPERATION:Sack Lunch, Seattle Children’s Home, and Angeline’s Center.

FareStart is a culinary job training and placement program for homeless and disadvantaged individuals, and the event will take place at the FareStart Restaurant. The FareStart restaurant is located at 700 Virginia Street, 98121 (on the corner of 7th and Virginia). Tickets for the event are $25.00 and are available online at Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/159442) or www.mealspartnership.org. For additional information please contact Shayne Kraemer at (206) 957-3857, or via e-mail at shayne@mealspartnership.org

Speaking of the environment, the Seattle Parks Department has partnered with the Neighborhoods Department and the Healthy Parks, Healthy People, Healthy Planet project to present the very first HP3 challenge.

The HP3 Challenge bills itself as “the first and only environmental adventure race of its kind”. Competitors will climb, pull, sprint and pedal their way through 5 vigorous Challenge Sites across a 16-mile course through and around West Seattle’s Delridge neighborhood. In the Elite Division, two-people teams will participate in events like pushing a wheelbarrow full of gravel .5 miles up the Soundway trail, carrying two buckets of gravel .5 miles at Camp Long, and planting native trees in Westcrest Park. In the easier (but not that much) Open Division, four people will split similar duties.

This is not a race for the faint of heart or weak of body; you’ve got to already be pretty tough to compete. But if you’re looking for a serious challenge that will push you to limits while you help preserve, protect, and improve Seattle’s environment, register for the race online and start getting ready now.

On March 26, 2011, at 8:30 pm local time, the Pacific Science Center, the Space Needle, and the City of Seattle will join thousands of other cities, business, landmarks, and people around the world in turning out the lights for Earth Hour.

Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million people and 2,100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour, reducing Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for that hour. Since then Earth Hour has grown into a global statement against climate change with more than 50 million people participating along with world renowned landmarks like the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome’s Colosseum.

Organizers and participants understand that simply turning the lights off for a mere 60 minutes isn’t going to change the world for long, but the goal is to get people educated about their energy use and how it effects our environment and motivated to make healthier change.

Check out the Earth Hour website for more information on the event and the Green Seattle Guide published online by the Office of Sustainability and Environment for ways you can help protect the natural environment of the Northwest.

Storefront Seattle is a local community group aimed at bringing “vibrancy, activity, and light” to empty spaces in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square and International District neighborhoods. They’re working with local business owners and art, government and cultural groups to bring new life to old spaces via art installations and creative enterprises.

Right now they’re looking for artists and art organizations to bring vacant storefronts to life with art installations (two dimensional, three dimensional or new media), artist residencies (rehearsal or studio space), and creative enterprises (retail art gallery, theater, museum, etc.) Artists selected for the installation track will receive $500 per installation. Artist residency and creative enterprise participants will receive the use of prime, street-level retail space at no cost for up to six months.

Seattle’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs is managing the application and selection process for the art installations; Shunpike, an arts service nonprofit, will manage the application and selection process for the artist residency and cultural enterprise tracks.

Projects like these are win all the way around experience – the neighborhoods are enhanced by the art, occupied spaces attract less nuisance crime, and artist and art organizations get a helping hand to continue their work.

Qualified applicants are artists and groups within 100 miles of Seattle. The deadline for application is 11 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011.

To get more specific details or to apply, go to the Storefront Seattle site.

City of Seattle employees are taking ten days off without pay this year to help cover the budget gap. This includes Parks & Recreations employees who are doing their best to make sure that their furloughs have the least impact on residents wanting to take advantage of our wonderful parks.

Many facilities will be closed on November 12; all facilities and offices will be closed the day before, November 11, in observance of Veteran’s Day. Closed on Friday are: Grounds maintenance, community centers (except for child care and late night programs, those will be open), swimming pools, environmental learning centers, lifelong recreations (except Food and Fitness programs which will operate), and the Business Service Center.

These facilities and services are closed on Monday, November 15:

· Administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration)

· Planning and Development Division

· Magnuson Park office

· Youth Violence Prevention Initiative office

These facilities will operate normally:

· Golf courses

· Special Events Scheduling

· Amy Yee Tennis Center

No one needs to be told just how tough the economy is right now – the effects are felt everywhere. The City of Seattle struggles with how to fund city programs and properties.

To try and help fill this budget gap, City of Seattle employees are taking 10 days off without pay in 2010. Seattle Parks and Recreation has done their best to schedule their furlough days in a way that least impacts park users and are sending out notice in advance to make sure that park visitors know what’s going on.

These facilities and services are closed on Friday, October 8
· Grounds maintenance
· Community centers (except child care and late night programs, which will still operate).
· Swimming pools
· Environmental Learning Centers
· Lifelong Recreation (except Food and Fitness programs, which will still operate)
· Business Service Center

These facilities and services are closed on Monday, October 11:
· Administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration)
· Planning and Development Division
· Magnuson Park office

These facilities will operate normally:
· Golf courses
· Special Events Scheduling
· Amy Yee Tennis Center

If you like books, you like libraries, too. We’re lucky to have a good library system here in Seattle where you can read and borrow books and magazine and movies, pick up tax forms, get directions, use computers, access the internet and more. The Friends of the SPL invite you to demonstrate your love of the library by joining in flash mob on Friday, October 1, at noon at Westlake Center. Show up a few minutes early with your book – at noon promptly, everyone on hand will pull out their books and sit down on the spot to read.

Can’t make it but still want to show your support? The Friends of the SPL have created a handy reference on ways you can show your support for the library and its important work.

West Seattle’s Totem Pole recently received some off-site sprucing up before being returned to its home at The Rotary Viewpoint Park at 35th Ave SW and SW Alaska Street and to celebrate the West Seattle Rotary Club and Seattle Parks invite you to a rededication ceremony for the totem on Tuesday, August 10, at 5 pm.

Original carver Robin Young and Duwamish Tribal Chairperson Cecile Hansen will be on hand for the ceremony. Once a weed-choked home for discarded cans and trash, the Rotary Club accepted the challenge of West Seattle Chamber of Commerce Executive and Rotarian Norm Beers to do something to clean it up and over the years transformed it into one of the city’s nicest viewpoints, the centerpiece of which is the eighteen foot totem pole to symbolize the history of Puget Sound’s earliest inhabitants and includes powerful symbols like the Thunderbird, the Whale, the Beaver and the Raven.

Last year the Totem was stolen before eventually being found (along with another stolen totem pole) down in Oregon.

For a close-up look at the restoration process, check out this story from the West Seattle Blog.

The Airport Way South viaduct over the Argo Railroad Yard has seen some better days; large loads and huge traffic volumes have caused the bridge “significant distress”.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is working on fixing the bridge’s problems – fixes include replacing the viaduct’s north and south approaches and seismic retrofitting and structure rehabilitation work on the mainspan of the viaduct.

To get this done, the viaduct is being completely closed for about 12 to 14 months, detouring traffic onto 4th Ave S. and East Marginal Way.

SDOT is hosting an open house to talk about the project’s current status and detail their upcoming plans – if you’re interesting in learning what’s going on and speaking with project staff join them July 28 from 6 to 8 pm at the Seattle Design Center’s 3rd Floor Conference Room 370. The Seattle Design Center is located at 5701 – 6th Ave. S.