Ballardblog.com

I had a little trouble finding the new Ballard Trader Joe’s at first. I was driving from the north and wasn’t expecting the Trader Joe’s logo sign to be on the south side of the building, so I didn’t see it. A block from the canal, I turned around and then saw their red logo sign on the gray Ballard Blocks building.

The parking garage entrance is also on the south side of the building. Having jockeyed for spaces at the Roosevelt location many times, I was happy to see lots of available spaces. But once I got out of my car, I was uncertain where to go to actually get into the store itself.  There was no signage pointing out the store itself and all the signs saying “Trader Joe’s Parking” pointed in a direction that was opposite of where the store turned out to be.

I asked a guard walking by where to find the store.

“Over there,” she said, pointing, “by the red shopping carts.” Oh, of course. I should have thought of that.

I spoke to the lady at the Trader Joe’s demo station about some of the differences between this store and the Roosevelt one, and also observed the differences for myself. It’s a bigger store with wider aisles, a larger selection of wine and produce, bathrooms are more accessible to the public and there’s a much bigger demo station.

There’s quite a lot that’s the same though: good food at good prices, and that lovely free coffee at the demo station. Now that I know where it is, I’m happy this is my new home-base Trader Joe’s!

Trader Joe’s, 4609 14th Avenue NW, Seattle, WA, 206-783-0498

From March 11 to April 5, 2009, the Moisture Festival keeps the Vaudeville tradition alive with a stunning array of performances in the genres of comedy, varieté, and burlesque. See dancing, music, comedy, rope acts, clowns, acrobats and all sorts of wacky wonders.

Shows will take place at several different venues:

• Hale’s Palladium, in the Hale’s Brewery warehouse located between Fremont and Ballard at 4301 Leary Way NW
• ACT- A Contemporary Theatre, 7th and Union, Seattle
• SIFF Cinema, 321 Mercer Street, McCaw Hall, Seattle Center. (There will be a live performance prior to the screening of certain SIFF films.)

Tickets range from $7.50 to $25.

My current fascination is learning how I can get the information I need as quickly and easily as possible. Perhaps you feel the same way, since it is likely that you are also a busy, Internet-connected individual (and you understand intuitively that the Internet both saves you time and also snatches it away).

So today I wanted to figure out what musical acts are playing in Ballard for the coming week. Google to the rescue. I quickly had links to both Seattle Weekly and The Stranger, listing musical events by neighborhood.

But the fun doesn’t stop with music. You can also get upcoming Ballard art listings, movie times (ok well it’s really just Majestic Bay), theater performances, and readings and literary events.

The links above go to The Stranger‘s website, but Seattle Weekly has something similar.

Feel empowered?

 Seattle Weekly‘s Green Card program is doing its part for ecology. Businesses that are deemed eco-friendly can advertise in the Green Card program, and readers who shop at those businesses and show their “Green Card” (available for free) can obtain a discount on products or services.

Ballard area businesses offering discounts via the Green Card:

Ballard Loft – 10% off your bill

Bal-Mar – 10% off your bill

Market Street Shoes – 15% discount

The Sneakery – 10% off entire purchase

Sonic Boom – 10% off all used goods

In addition, Seattle Weekly is donating 5% of Green Card program advertising revenues to Carbonfund.org.

Green Card: http://greencard.seattleweekly.com/

If you are an over-35 year-old mom with a baby, toddler or preschooler at home, you know how isolating and lonely it can be.  80′s Ladies with Babies is a local Moms group that has meet-ups in Ballard and other Seattle-area places.

Join up with other moms and talk about:

• your common interests and concerns
• the challenges you’re facing
• whatever you like

…while your child plays with the other little ones!

Some 80′s Ladies with Babies outings have included:

• the play room at Firehouse Coffee in Ballard
• the play zone at REI downtown
• Wayward Coffeehouse in Greenwood
• the play room at Ballard Community Center

If this sounds like fun for you and your kid(s), come join us!

Where can you vote for your favorite facial hair while helping raise money for charity? Beard and Stache Fest 2009 !

Several of the events this year are taking place in Ballard, including:

Moustache Monday at Tigertail Bar, 8-11pm on Monday, February 9.

The Beard & Stache Ball at Ross Park, 1pm on Sunday, February 15.

Moustache Monday at King’s Hardware, 8-11pm on Monday, February 16

Moustache Monday at Moshi Moshi, 8-11pm on Monday, February 23.

Check the Calendar for more details about these and other events.

When you vote for your favorite furry contestant you also donate money to Treehouse, an organization for kids that helps “fill the gaps in foster care.” You can donate online at the Contestants page, or in person at one of the events. Contributions are tax deductible.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I have started my annual search for a romantic restaurant: something close by, and not too expensive; a place that serves food that both my husband and I will eat (he doesn’t like Asian food, and I’m not a big fan of pizza).

This year my search yielded an interesting find: A list of “Seattle’s Most Romantic Restaurants.”  Most of the restaurants were downtown, but Volterra in Ballard is number 10. As of this writing, 13 people had voted Volterra as one of Seattle’s most romantic restaurants.

Vote for your favorite romantic restaurant by going to the restaurant’s page on Urbanspoon and clicking on the Red heart or the Blue heart to vote Most Romantic (or not).

Here are some other Ballard places that were billed as Romantic:

Carnegie’s

Caffe Fiore

La Isla

Le Gourmand Restaurant

Tigertail

Walter’s Cafe

Agree or disagree?

When I first moved back to Seattle last year with my two-year old, it was Ballard Community Center — and the Toddler Play Room — that saved my sanity.  For just $2, children under the age of five can enjoy a room full of toys and books. The Play Room is open during the Ballard Community Center’s normal business hours (which vary according to the season).

They also run Toddler Gym Time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:30am to 2:00pm. This is where they open up the gym and fill it with balls, trikes, and cars. There’s even a bouncy house and slide. Your $2 gets you into the gym as well as the play room (and it’s $2 per family per day…so you can come with several kids and have in and out privileges).

Ballard Community Center also offers a pottery studio, preschool program, childcare (before and after school), aerobics and fitness classes, arts and crafts for the whole family, and more. At Easter they have an egg hunt for the kids. Some of the rooms are available for renting, for functions like business meetings, birthday parties, weddings, and more.

Ballard Community Center: 6020 28th Ave NW, Seattle, WA  (206)-684-4083

http://www.cityofseattle.net/Parks/Centers/Ballard.htm

“Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy.

Barack Obama’s administration has issued a call for Americans to serve their country. If you are off work this Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), consider making it a day of service. Even the celebrities are joining in.

In Ballard on Jan 19, 2009, you can bring donations to the Ballard Safeway (1423 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA) for Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

In the Greater Seattle area, you can find many more volunteer events. Some of the activities include: picking up litter, restoring native habitats, donating socks to homeless men, or removing invasive weeds.

You can even plan and post your own service event. If you do, feel free to comment on this article and post a link!

Buy Local

If you like to buy local products, you might be happy to know that Ballard is home to a number of crafty people, and some are selling their wares on Etsy.com: “The place to buy and sell things handmade.” Etsy has a Shop Local link, where it’s easy to type in “Ballard” or “Seattle” to find some unique handcrafted item.

Here are the local shops I found on Etsy when I searched recently:
 

Peanutga11ery1: Crafting for the Peanut Gallery
 

Shop owner Tracy has “carved a niche” into the market for Lazy Kates (a tool for spinners that enables you to ply yarn). Her Kates feature hand carved designs and four spindles for bobbins.  A spinner herself, Tracy carved her first Kate when she needed one herself and didn’t see what she wanted on the market.

 Her shop also includes lovely hand dyed rovings for spinners as well as hand turned spindles, and for knitters there are kitschy stitch markers, hand painted yarns and DPN holders. Wizards, witches (or those who wannabe) can find hand turned wands for sale.

Tracy says she was inspired to start an Etsy shop by her knitting friends, and her “propensity to discover new and unique sources and uses for kitsch.”

Her work has been featured in the Cool stuff section of the Winter 2008 edition of the popular online magazine Knitty. 

Hansigurumi: Knitting the Peculiar

Amigurumi is the art of knitting or crocheting animals or other cute anthropomorphic creatures. At Hansi Singh’s Etsy shop, you can score a knitted cephalopod friend in the $55-75 range, or a pattern on how to knit your own for $6.

Hansi could not be reached for an interview at the time this article was being written, but you can read more about her on Craft Magazine’s blog. 

JustmadebyJeanell

Handcrafted items available for purchase include earrings, an embroidered dishtowel and a felted purse.

NateandCateDesigns: Custom Tutus for Your Little Princess

Features mostly custom tutus for little ones, but you can also get a personalized onesie or some tiny angel wings.

SlicedBread: Supplies & Other Great Things

They had Czech pressed glass beads for sale when I visited, and there are slots for crafting, sewing and screenprinting as well.

Redzippers

Two surprisingly incongruous types of items for sale here: framed photographs and “bloomers” for babies.

Deadaccents

Selling handmade cassettes, CD’s, books and prints.

Lifeonthefrontporch: Front Porch Handmade

Mostly quilted items here: Nursing aprons, quilts, coasters and bibs.