Ballardblog.com

Still working on your plans for Halloween this weekend, or never had any in the first place? Probably. That’s what we’re here for. Check out the local Halloween haps:

Halloween Carnival at Loyal Heights Community Center

2101 NW 77th St
Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 684-4052

**Note that the bulletin in a certain Ballard newspaper, achem, promoting a Halloween Carnival at Ballard Community Center for this evening is incorrect– it was last weekend and this week’s is at LHCC.

HalloQueen and F**ck You We’re Leonard Skinnerd at The Tractor

$8 Tickets– Call (206) 789-3599 to Reserve your ticket

5213 Ballard Avenue NW (at 20th Avenue NW)

“Ghosts in the Garden” Pulp Inc. Launch Party with Sweet P from Project Runway (Saturday, November 1)

Ghosts in the Garden Launch Party
Saturday, Nov. 1, 7–9 pm
Havana Social, 1010 E. Pike St.
206.323.2822 or 206.706.7857
$15 entry to party
www.pulplab.com

As someone with partial Scandinavian heritage, I felt a kinship with Ballard the first time I visited.  Of course, back then there were more Scandinavian oriented gift shops and bakeries along NW Market and throughout the neighborhood than exist now. 
 
However, while walking on 15th Ave. NW I was always curious about a house with the sign Galway Traders.   I wondered about this for quite some time before I finally stepped inside one day and found myself in a store stocked full of the most Celtic items I have seen outside of Ireland and Scotland. 
 
Intrigued by this Celtic oasis amid the strong Scandinavian heritage that Ballard is better know for, I interviewed the owner, Hugh Murray. 
 
Question:  With all the Scandinavians around Ballard, which Seattle neighborhood has/had a high concentration of Irish people?  Scottish people?

I don’t know that one can answer that clearly, though we often find Ballard Scandinavians to have family connections with Irish people who, so to speak, “require their attendance” at the store, where they find that there are many very close ties between Scandinavian and Irish culture and language. There are small towns in Ireland named, on the standard bilingual road signs, Baile Ard/Ballard (Baile Ard means “High Town”, and we have at times stocked such road signs though not at present. And our store is in a 1912 home built by an Irish contractor, who carved shamrocks into the eaves, so we are much at home in Ballard!

Question:  Do Irish or Scottish people living in Seattle shop at the store?   If so, what do they buy?

Many Irish and Scottish-born people do shop here, with heavy emphasis on familiar foods from home, teas, and books/CDs, though also on a wider range of gift items. Those who are Irish- or Scottish-American buy a similar range, especially in Celtic and Claddagh jewelry, though of course they also buy across our entire stock.

Question:  What is the most popular item you sell in the store?

Perhaps jewelry is our most common item, though at some seasons sweaters, and always foods and teas, are among our best sellers.

Question:  What is the most unusual item you sell in your store?

Perhaps the most unusual are Bibles in both Irish and Scottish Gaelic., though we also have some ancient Irish chess sets and figures beautifully carved.

Question:  Are there certain items you started carrying in the store based upon requests from customers?

We have many such items and always try to be responsive to such requests so long as they are within our very wide range.

Question:  Do you carry special holiday items around Christmas?  If so, what?

Various foods including whisky cakes, candies and also a variety of Celtic tree decorations, musical Santa figures and the like.

Question:  When movies about Ireland or Scotland come out, such as “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” or “Braveheart”, do you experience an increase in customer visits?

Usually we do not notice such an effect, though the popularity of “Riverdance” of course increased a general interest in things Irish.

Question:  As a small business owner, how are the current economic conditions affecting you?   Do you think the government should be doing anything to help small business owners?  If so, what?

Current condition which most affects us is the gas prices, and our business correlates closely to the rise and decline of that price. Macroeconomic panics etc seem less to affect us. The best way for government to help small business owners is to tax them less rather than to see them as cash cows to support plans politicians dream up to maintain full employment for themselves, aka “getting elected“.

Question:  What is the best thing about having your business located in Ballard?

Ballard is a very friendly, down-to-earth, and colorful place with all kinds of ethnic music, shows etc going on much of the time, though the local media are extremely indifferent to printing such exciting event schedules I.e. they show almost no curiosity about this side of Seattle life. 

Question:  What is the one thing everyone should know about Irish culture?

Irish culture strongly reinforces an indomitable spirit combined with complete acceptance of the dark sides of life, and strongly discourages self-pitying wallowing in misfortune.

Galway Traders
7518 15th Ave NW
Phone 206-784-9343

The Seattle Police Department reports that it will now begin to ticket drivers violating the use of Business Access/Transit Lanes on 15th Avenue and Elliot Way.

The Transit lanes run each direction down 15th avenue to accommodate bicyclists and the increased number of buses during peak hours of traffic from 4-6pm. Other drivers can only use the curb lanes for making right hand turns during restricted hours, and during non-peak hours it is available for parking and/or cruising. 

Insider tip: don’t try to continuously cruise with your right turn signal on… it doesn’t work.

Here is young hero living right in your backyard! Little Benjamin Meyer of Ballard has been chosen by the Arthritis Foundation as this year’s official honoree for Seattle 24^th Annual Jingle Bell Run & Walk. Last year, the Jingle Bell Run brought more than 12,000 people to Westlake Center decked in holiday gear and ready to raise money for Arthritis – the run has quickly become one of Seattle’s most cherished holiday events.

Benjamin was just three days shy of his first birthday when he started developing symptoms including fevers, rash and joint pain. Almost immediately he started using his joints less and after two weeks he could no longer walk. His parents, Paul and Merete took Benjamin to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Nearly 294,000 children under the age of 18 are affected by juvenile arthritis in the United States. Arthritis is no longer a disease limited to senior citizens and ageing baby boomers. This year, the Arthritis Foundation is putting special emphasis on research that will make new treatment options available for kids like Benjamin. The funding raised during this year’s Jingle Bell Run will be hugely important in those efforts.

If it wasn’t for the availability of new drugs, Benjamin wouldn’t be the walking, talking, smiling little boy that he is today.

The Jingle Bell Run is December 14th.
and you may directly give your support to Team Benjamin

When was the last time you visited the Nordic Heritage Museum?  Was it during the summer fest to have some tasty Scandinavian baked goods or was it even longer ago – when you first moved to Ballard and decided to explore what it had to offer?   While I am thrilled to have such a unique museum in my own backyard I haven’t taken full advantage of opportunities offered by the museum – such as lectures or classes.  This week I plan to remedy that by attending an evening lecture, which is part 1 of a 3 part series.  The other lectures in the series will take place in the spring and will feature Helle Soeholt of Gehl Architects and Eva Ora of Copenhagen X.

Thursday, October 23, 2008 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm

“Lessons from Copenhagen:
Planning for a Lively, Walkable Neighborhood.”
Louise Grassov will briefly talk about Gehl Architects and their involvement with the City of Seattle. She will then use the example of Holmbladsgade in Copenhagen to show how Gehl Architects addresses walking and biking issues. Holmbladsgade is a neighborhood that has been redesigned paying attention to the public realm and is considered a successful neighborhood revitalization project. This project will be tied into similar projects in Seattle.

There will be a wine and cheese reception after the talk sponsored by the Northwest Danish Foundation.

This event is co-sponsored and organized by Scan-Design, the University of Washington and the Northwest Danish Foundation.

Members: Free, Non-members: $5

A few weeks ago we heard the unfortunate news that Archie McPhee, our beloved novelty store, was bailing out of Ballard because their 10 year lease expired, to leave the shop homeless on Dec. 31 of 2008. With the landlords unclear on their next move, Archie McPhee decided to get proactive and start looking for a new home–in Wallingford.

We’ll still get to enjoy Archie McPhee through the holiday (Halloween, of course) since they’re not scheduled to move in to their new space until mid 2009. Their new home will be in a much smaller building on the northwest corner of 45th and Stone Way. 

When we visited the shop last week to say “hi” and buy a blue beehive wig for our Marge Simpson Halloween costume, our check-out clerk seemed generally pleased with their to-be neighborhood in Wallingford. “It’s the next best fit for us, and we used to be back in Wallingford before we moved out to Ballard.” Twenty five years ago, Archie McPhee started out in Fremont, and has had two different storefronts on Stone Way before residing in Ballard. Hopefully, the third time is the charm. 

Good luck, Archie, We’ll miss you.

Have the events of the past week in the stock market and econcomy caused you stress?  One great stress reliever is massage.

Ballard Massage, a business on 15^th Ave. NW opened its doors in November 2003.  Currently 13 therapists work there.  Eric, the owner, took the time to answer my questions about not only his business, but about massage in general.

Question: What kinds of massage do you offer?  Is there anything your center specializes in?

Answer: About 25% of the people we see are just here for relaxation. Most people have some form of pain or discomfort they want to be relieved of. That can be anything from a chronic back pain that’s been nagging them for years to something more isolated, like a strained neck from driving or sore wrists and arms from spending lots of time on a computer.

Question: With people having extra stress due to the economy, traffic, political situation, etc. – are you seeing an increase in business?  Or have the current economic conditions slowed business down as people are spending more on gas and groceries and consider massage a luxury?

Answer: There has definitely been a transition lately. People are feeling the pinch. We basically have three types of clients: the casual user, who comes once or twice a year at the most, the frequent user who can afford once or more a month on a regular basis, and insurance clients who typically do a series of six to twelve visits in a short period of time. The casual clients are declining right now. They’re holding onto their money. The frequent users are cutting back a bit as well. Fortunately for us there are plenty of insurance clients who are filling those spots so we are still thriving, but the impact of the economy is noticeable.

Many people are watching the Presidential debate tonight as I type this.  That’s good, people should exercise their right to vote and most importantly make their vote an informed one.   I have to admit that I haven’t been following national politics as much as I once did.  I admit that I grew frustrated with politics at the national level a while back, it was sometimes hard to feel that I, as one person, could truly make a difference.   So I turned my attention and energy to politics and issues at the local level.   The Ballard District Council meeting tomorrow night gives you a taste of politics both on the national and local level as the agenda includes a speaker from the Seattle League of Women voters as well as a local vote for officers for the Executive Committee of the Ballard District Council.

BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 – 8:30 PM
Chairperson:  Andy MacDonald (VP)

AGENDA

7 PM  Short Announcements by Member Organization Representatives
Please hold announcements to not more than one minute.

7:15  Your Ballard Branch Library – How are we doing serving the
community and how should we plan for future enhancements to library
services?, Barbara Knight, Friends of the Seattle Public Library

7:30  Understanding What’s at Stake on the November 4th Ballot, Betty
Sullivan, Seattle League of Women’s Voters
Betty will provide a briefing on the November 4 general election
ballot, upcoming changes to the voting process, and informational
resources to the voters.

7:50  2009 City Budget and Revenue Forecast, Dwight Dively, City Budget
Director
Dwight will present an overview of the Mayor’s proposed 2009 city
budget, provide a forecast of city tax revenue and discuss how the 2009
budget will directly affect the Ballard community.

8:20  Staff Report, Rob Mattson
●    SDOT rolls out detail plan to extend Burke Gilman bike Trail
through Ballard
●    SDOT proposes new polices for RPZ’s (Residential Parking
Zones)

8:25  Annual Election of Officers, Jody Grage
Each October, the Ballard District council selects four member
organization representatives to serve as its Executive Committee.  These
positions are president, VP, and two additional officer positions.  The
current officers, elected in October of 2007 have all agreed to be
nominated for an additional term.  These are:
●    Steve Cohn, president
●    Andy MacDonald, VP
●    Catherine Weatbrook and Jennifer Macuiba
Other nominations from eligible organizational reps are welcome.  If
interested please contact Rob Mattson at 684.4051.  Nominations may also
be made at the outset of balloting.

8:30  Executive Committee
Ballard DC wishes to establish several committees or study groups whose
purpose will be to examine more thoroughly several issues of importance
to this community.  These three topics are:
●    Passenger ferry service to Ballard proposed by King County Ferry
District
●    City proposal to expand street car system including a line which
could serve Ballard
●    Review Ballard DC by laws to consider how the Council might
expand its membership and  general participation by the community

8:40  Adjourn

Take a Sunday morning dance class with the best drummers and teacher in town at the old Crown Hill Elementary School. The old school lunchroom has been revitalized and is now a spacious and light filled room for activities such as dance. Class movement is deceptively simple and a pleasurable way to get a great workout in a community of other adults seriously intent on having a good time in a non-verbal venue. Leading the group is the amazing Lara McIntosh who is a knowledgeable and intuitive teacher with an accessible teaching style. After class you’ll feel better, stronger, and happier.

Class is Sunday mornings 10 to 11:30
at the old Crown Hill Elementary School
9250 14th Ave NW

Check out Lara’s website for more details

http://www.wassadance.com/