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As we walk through the streets of Ballard we can see the ghostly remains of leaves making their last impressions on the sidewalks; nature’s way of slowly saying goodbye to embrace the eternal winter’s arms. Okay. Enough of the poetics. Artists, even nature, use unconventional mediums to create beautiful masterpieces. On display at the Ambach & Rice Gallery in Ballard are sculptures produced by the brilliant hand (and scissors) of Armenian artist Karen Sargsyan. Rather than using paper to write sonnets, he uses it as his medium to “sculpt” life-size characters in his exhibit Abroad Understanding. One can interpret the theme as being a broad understanding of a story, where it seems courtly characters are caught in a frozen narrative, battling for power or are fairy tale characters tumbling downward from a castle, but one can’t be certain. Sargsyan’s intentions are to be broad, to increase imagination in the audience who can then create their own story from his work.

Intrigued? I hope so.

The display is up for interpration and admiring through November 28, 2009 every Tuesday through Sunday and best of all, it’s FREE.

Ambach & Rice Gallery

5107 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle (Ballard)
(206) 789-6242

It’s truly fall: bare trees and leaves underfoot, the threat of rain, cleverly carved pumpkins gracing every stoop, chimney smoke in the crisp air. And that smell, what is it, again? It’s Halloween!  Kids, finish gluing that costume together (or make your mother do it) and come trick or treat in downtown Ballard!  Participating businesses in Ballard along Market Street, Ballard Ave, and side streets will be handing out candy from 4-6 pm, this Saturday (Halloween).

Just look for the orange sign displaying a witch and other Halloween-y graphics identifying participating businesses.  Please, only costumed kids ages 12 and under.  And parents, please accompany small children.  Even if you’re too old to ask for candy, come down and enjoy the creative and hilarious pirates, Wild Things monsters, and ham-and-cheese sandwiches running around Ballard!

As the days get shorter and the trees lose their leaves, we tend to bundle up with our scarves and take a few extra shots of whiskey to keep warm. If you are like most people where the money is tight but you still want to go out and explore, why not attend a book reading? It is inexpensive, intellectually stimulating and inspiring! I even know of one such book reading that will occur this Monday, October 26th @ 7pm within the Sunset Tavern walls!

Jonathan Lethem, a very hard-working “literary agent man” from Brooklyn will be reading from his most recent book, Chronic City. This book has interesting characters, a great sense of place (set in Manhattan), sociable tendencies and delivers questions about what the truth really means. Vague, I know. But you will just have to pick up the book and discover it for yourself! His other popular books include: You Don’t Love Me Yet, The Fortress of Solitude (a New York Times Bestseller) & Motherless Brooklyn.

A little recap:

Jonathan Lethm book reading

Monday, October 26 @ 7pm; $5-free w/ book purchase

Sunset Tavern

206-784-4880
5433 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle (Ballard)

Passport: not necessary to enjoy the crafts and cuisine of Scandinavia!

The Sons of Norway will host their 103rd bazaar this weekend, 10am-7pm Saturday (10/24) and 11am-5pm Sunday (10/25) at the Leif Erikson Lodge in Ballard.  The bazaar will include arts and crafts vendors, traditional Norwegian food and pastries (like lefse and krumkake!), a rummage sale, raffles, bingo, and a variety of kid-friendly games.

The Trolls’ Den and Nordic entertainment (Beer Garden) with dinner options will be open from 3pm-7pm on Saturday in the auditorium at the Lodge.

Come, eat, spend, support a local organization, in the Nordic tradition!

Leif Erikson Lodge 200-1
2245 57th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107

For those of you who don’t yet have Halloween plans, here are a couple of ideas that shall prove a grand ‘ol time while sporting your sex kitten ensemble, mysterious masked marauder getup or your sparkly, sequined mermaid costume.

As you perouse the plethora of events for October 31st, consider these two hotspots in Ballard.

1. HalloQueen (yes, a Queen tribute band!) w/ 70 Proof at the Tractor Tavern, doors @ 9:30pm

2. Dudley Manlove Quartet at the Sunset Tavern, doors @ 10pm

A few words about the above events: HalloQueen is wild, crazy and outrageous so be prepared to get your freak on. The Dudley Manlove Quartet will swoon you with songs such as Dancing Queen by Abba, Fly me to the Moon by Tony Bennet and Lets Dance by David Bowie. You can’t go wrong with either choice!

I don’t know about you, but my family already did the Holiday draw and I got my sister-in-law once again. I decided on getting her a hand crafted trinket from a shop nestled in downtown Ballard. Velouria: boutique & gallery, a shop filled with artistic Indie creations inspired by vintage prints, hunter’s cabins, mint juleps, bluebirds and much more. Nothing in the store is massed produced (aka one of a kind). If your goal is to keep your money local while buying gifts this Holiday season, keep shops like Velouria in mind.  Jewelry artists Violet Magpie also have their beautiful hand crafted work for sale here, as well as used  leather handbag artist Frocky Jack Morgan, to name a couple. Velouria features new artists for the Ballard artwalk event, which occurs every 2nd Saturday of every month. This month, Seattle designer Run Grady Run has cards, fake mustaches and other fun accessories for sale and fine artist Andie Wurster has his paper-cut illustration work on display.

For holiday shopping ideas, keep reading each month for updated posts about other cool shops!

Velouria boutique and gallery

(206) 788-0330
2205 N.W. Market St.
Seattle, WA 98107

http://shopvelouria.tripod.com/

Hello Ballardinians! Sometimes, finding that perfect cupcake recipe can take far too long & besides, we need an excuse to get out of the house. Take off your aprons and make a trip to Cupcake Royale in downtown Ballard!

Cupcake Royale is currently celebrating their 5th Annual Cupcake Harvest Festival, which is a tell-tale sign that Autumn is here and we must respect the squirrels. Nothing  jump-starts the holiday season better than a sugary confection made by locals, for the locals. From now until November 26th, you can enjoy any of the  follwing 3 special cupcakes, made with ingredients from our local farms: 

Caramel Apple-a delicious golden cake made with chunks of honey crisp apple from Tiny’s Organic Farm plus sweet apple butter from Woodring Farm, topped with homemade caramel frosting; Pumpkin Maple-lightly spiced pumpkin cake made with organic pumpkin from Stahlbush Island Farm, topped with delicious maple cream cheese frosting; Carrot Cake-their classic carrot walnut cake, now made with fresh local carrots from Ralph’s Organics and topped with rich cream cheese frosting.

Are you wondering about the slashes to the City Budget? What about the Bridging the Gap monies? For answers to those questions and more, attend the next Ballard District Council meeting.

AGENDA

7:00 Short Announcements by Member Organization Representatives
Please hold announcements to not more than one minute.

7:15 2010 City Budget Takes a Big Hit, Dwight Dively, City Budget Director
Dwight will provide a briefing on the Mayor’s proposed 2010 budget which considers a $72M deficit. He will also provide his forecast of how our recovering economy is likely to influence city tax revenue

7:40 Rezoning Industrial Land in the Ballard Hub Urban Village, Andrea Petzel, City Dept o Planning and Development
Andrea will review her department’s recommendation to rezone approximately 12 acres of industrial land located in Ballard’s central business district.

8:00 Bridging the Gap; Another Opportunity to Finance Costly Public Improvement Priorities in our Community, Therese Casper, Seattle Dept of Transportation

8:25 Election of District Council Officers for 2010, Mary Hurley
The Ballard DC Nominating Committee proposes the following candidates as a slate for the four positions as officers.
· President, Jennifer Macuiba, Friends of Burke Gilman Trail
· VP, Andrew MacDonald, 36th District Republicans
· At Large, Catherine Weatbrook, Crown Hill Business Association
· At Large, Dennis Galvin, Crown Hill Neighborhood Association

Nominations from the floor will be accepted. Eligible candidates include any designated rep from a member organization.

8:30 Adjourn

BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)