Ballardblog.com

Many Ballardites mourned the loss the Sunset Bowl as one of the places in Ballard that people of all ages and background could go for fun and to run into neighbors.  Although this was another battle lost to developers, there are still places in Ballard where people of varied interests and ages can get together, such as the Loyal Heights Community Center.

I walk by often and there is always a buzz of activity, whether it’s sports games being played on the lower playing fields or a group of toddlers playing “Red Light, Green Light” in front of the building.

There are movie and taco nights for families and a series of summer barbecues.  Inside a wide variety of classes ranging from music to aerobics takes place.  The new summer catalog of classes and events is now available at the center of online at http://www.seattle.gov/PARKS/centers/Ballard/Summer09.pdf

When the monorail debacle was going on, neighbors gathered in the meeting rooms to discuss the issues.  The community center has several meeting rooms which can be rented.  For young couples looking for an inexpensive wedding reception venue, the rooms are available with a liquor license included in the rental.  The biggest event held at the center was a fundraiser for Whitman Elementary with hundreds in attendance.

Although Ballard has changed a lot, I am glad there are still gems like the center that support the true meaning of community.

Note:  The Loyal Heights Community Center will be closed from June 6- June 21st.  Every 4-5 years the center refinishes the floors in the gym and classrooms.

Community Center Information: (206)684-4052
Address: 2101 NW 77th St., 98117

Yes, it’s that time of year again in Ballard, Syttende Mai.  You don’t have to be Norwegian to enjoy this event, all you need is to like parades, costumes and an international spirit.  While many of the Norwegian businesses in Ballard have closed over the last decade, this tradition remains strong.

I happened to stop in the ‘Uff Da’ store in Stanwood on Sunday and the owner I had a conversation about the weakening of the Norwegian character in Ballard, with the Sytttende Mai parade being a last stronghold.  If you live in Seattle and have never participated in this event, the 17th of May celebrates the day the Norwegian Constitution was signed.   This event has been celebrated in the Seattle area for over 100 years and is the largest celebration for this event outside of Norway.

The Ballard event includes a parade where participants where colorful bunader, part of the Norwegian folk costumes representing different regions of the country.  The Grand Marshall of this year’s event is the Norwegian ambassador to the United States.  In addition to the parade are children’s games, performances by the Hellvik Mannskor (A Norwegian male choir) a lunch and a dance.

For more details, please visit:

http://syttendemaiseattle.com/index.shtml

Are you curious how the city budget cuts will affect you and the community? Attend the next Ballard District Council meeting to hear Pamela Banks, Outreach Director for the Mayor’s Office describe what those budget cuts are and the impact they will have.

Chairperson:  Steve Cohn

AGENDA

Short Announcements by Member Organization Representatives

Briefing – Mid-Year Cuts from the 2009 City Budget, Pamela Banks,
Outreach Director – Office of Mayor Greg Nickels

Proposed Redevelopment of West Woodland School Playground, West
Woodland PTA
West Woodland Elementary School is located in Ballard at 5601 4th Ave
NW.  The PTA has applied for a grant from the City’s Neighborhood
Matching Fund program in the amount of $85,000.

Report – Matching Fund District Level Review Committee, Shannon
Dunn and Jack Ellison
Each of the 13 district councils is asked to review and recommend
scores for Large Matching Fund projects applications from their
district.  The Ballard DC Review Committee will present its comments and
recommended score for the application from the West Woodland PTA for
their playground improvement project.
Discussion and vote

Report – Executive Committee
●    City Neighborhood Council, Robert Drucker
●    Neighborhood Plan Update Committee, Catherine Weatbrook

Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell
●    Proposed change in Seattle Public Schools Student Assignment
Policy; and how the Ballard families might be affected
●    Current financial challenges faced by the Seattle School
District
●    Action taken in the last session of the Washington State
Legislature related to public schools
BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 – 8:30 PM

Last fall I attended a lecture at the Nordic Heritage Museum given my a Danish firm specializing in city design.  The lecture included a slideshow illustrating ideas that had been implemented in Copenhagen to make it a more livable, walkable and sustainable city.    As advanced as Seattle considers itself on green living and urban density, the lecture showed just how far behind we are when compared to Europe.  So I have been looking forward for months to the next talk.

The firm, Gehl Architects, has spent months studying our public spaces here in Seattle and are ready to share some recommendations.

Monday, April 27, 2009 from 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Cost is $5 for Museum members, $7 for non-members

Nordic Heritage Museum
3014 NW 67th Street
Seattle, WA 98117

Lecture at the Nordic Heritage Museum by Helle Søholt, Gehl Architects, Copenhagen, on Sustainable Urban Planning

Danish architect Helle Søholt will describe the ways in which cities around the globe are using Danish techniques to become better walking and biking cities. She also will discuss some of the steps that Seattle can take, based on an 18-month study of the city’s public spaces. Helle Søholt is a founding member of Gehl Architects, the Copenhagen-based firm that is considered a world leader in city design. Her firm has worked in more than 400 cities around the globe. For reservations or for more information, please contact Charlotte Lehmann at charlotte@nordicmuseum.org or 206-789-5707 x 21.

This event is co-sponsored by The Northwest Danish Foundation, the Scan|Design Foundation, the International Sustainability Institute, and the University of Washington.

I have publicly decried the erosion of Ballard’s ethnic heritage and character in favor of condo developments and bars.  Two years ago I attended the going out of business sale at the Scandinavian Gift Shop on Market Street to pay tribute to a family run business which signified the heritage of Ballard.  I assumed that some type of business such as a tanning salon, restaurant, card shop, etc. was bound to take its place and remodel the quaint outside of the store.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that another ‘international’ business had moved in – Market Street Traders – another family enterprise who owns Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the downtown waterfront.  I finally made a trip over there recently.  Although there is a new paint color on the store front, the cross beams etc. were left intact keeping the charm of the building.  Inside the space is divided into part retail store and part cafe.  The retail store promotes fair trade and contains colorful items from around the world with a definite emphasis on goods from Asian countries.  I relived some of my travels as I examined the items for sale.

The cafe is a comfortable and pleasant place to sip a coffee or try one of their lunch specials.  Although the menu was not as exotic as the shop, all items were reasonably priced and the staff were friendly.

Although I would have wished for the Scandinavian Gift Shop to have remained, at least this replacement contains the flavor of other cultures rather than some bland retail establishment.

It’s been all over the news and Internet – the popularity of vegetable gardens this year due to the poor economy.  There have been reports that seed companies are making record profits and have sold out of some of the more popular vegetable seeds already as citizens hunker down in the dirt and plant gardens similar to the Victory Gardens of WWII.    In my opinion, this can only be a good thing, reducing reliance on big corporate farms for our food and getting the freshness from food that has not been shipped thousands of miles.  Admittedly, I am a little biased as when we traced my family history, we come from a long line of farmers going back centuries.  How to explain then my lack of gardening skills?  I was a child of the suburbs who had lost that connection to how food is grown.   I do remember one year growing up we rented a p-patch, but all I did was fetch the water from the nearby creek to water the plants.  We didn’t continue the p-patch as we  discovered that people were taking our produce for themselves.

So, inspired by the news stories of gardening as the new hot trend, and friends’ gardens, I decided to take the plunge when I saw a free class advertised in the Seattle Parks and Recreation catalog.  March 14th was the first class about soil preparation and planting peas and potatoes.   If the instructor wasn’t so knowledgeable, I might have slunk away early as the class was outside on a bitterly cold and windy day.  Ingela, the instructor, is a member of Sustainable Ballard and is part of the Garden and Natural Environment Guild and a self described ‘plant geek.’    She walks the talk with her own urban farm in Ballard where she raises all types of plants and is the proud owner of some chickens to boot.    As a complete beginner, I was in good hands as we first learned a lot about what makes for good soil before getting to the part about planting.

This Saturday there is another free workshop entitled ‘Spring planting’ and I cannot wait to learn more.

Loyal Heights Community Center

2101 NW 77th St.

Call for registration information   206-684-4052

Attend the Ballard District Council meeting on Wednesday evening to learn more about what is happening with Ballard parks and with funding for Ballard neighborhood projects.
AGENDA

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

2.  A Report Card on Seattle Industry, Brian Surratt, City of Seattle -
Office of Economic Development
Brian will present the preliminary results of two recent economic
studies which examined the health and well being of Seattle’s maritime
industry and other Seattle “basic” industries.

3.   Ballard Parks – Cherished Assets, Christopher Williams, Deputy
Superintendent, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
Christopher will provide an overview and status report on recent and
pending park development activity in the Ballard district.  He will also
discuss efforts being made by Seattle Parks and by the community to keep
our parks safe and free of criminal activity.

4.  Introducing New Ballard District Web Site, Andy MacDonald & Rob
Mattson

5.  Prioritizing Ballard Projects Proposed for Funding from the Annual
Neighborhood Projects Fund, Mary Hurley
Annually, the City of Seattle makes available approximately $1.3M to
fund small scale projects proposed by individuals and organizations.
Each of the 13 district councils is asked to identify the district’s
top five priority projects, which will be evaluated for cost and
feasibility by either the Parks Department or by Seattle Department of
Transportation.

This year, of the 190 proposals received city wide, 40 came from the
Ballard district.  Ballard DC appointed a three-member review committee
to study the proposals from Ballard and recommend an order of priority.

Discussion and Vote

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

I had to debate about writing this post, figuring that the foodies would already be aware of the Ballard branch of the infamous Paseo eatery started in Fremont, now with a second location in Ballard….and that anyone who didn’t know already would then swarm to the place making the lines comparable to the Fremont location.    But my conscience won out and it’s just morally wrong not to give others a chance to eat this delectable food.

A brief background for those who have not heard of the Paseo phenomena…..the original Paseo is a little Cuban joint over in Fremont.  I am careful to use phrases like ‘eatery’ and ‘joint’ because this casual food mecca is tiny inside with just a handful of tables, but that doesn’t stop the crowds from lining up out the door for a taste of juicy Cuban pork sandwiches with caramelized onions.  Yes, they have other meats and non meat dishes for those not into pork, but really the point of the place is pork.

When I found out that Paseo had opened a second location in Ballard at 6226 Seaview Ave NW, past Golden Gardens down by Shilshoe, I was over the moon.  The pinkish building of this location doesn’t look like much and it doesn’t have any inside seating at all, but these are small matters for the convenience of the new location to hungry Ballardites.  Either pick up food and take it to eat elsewhere, or if the weather is good, eat at the outside counter or picnic tables while admiring the view.

Although Paseo’s sandwiches are more expensive than other places, the quality, taste and portion size account for the difference.  They don’t take credit cards, so be forewarned to bring cash. Also, the sandwiches are juicy, so it might be a good idea to stash a container of baby wipes in your car or bag to scrub at the juices dribbling down your arms and face.

Whenever I go, I tell myself to break free from the pattern of ordering one of the pork sandwiches to try their scallops or something completely different, but so far I have always slid back into the warm comfort of the Midnight Cubano.  Maybe some readers who have dared to go past the pork can comment on the other dishes….

Were you angry when you read that Mayor Nickels and the governor ignored voters and decided to proceed with the Bored Tunnel option? As a Ballard resident were you concerned when you read that there would not be a Ballard exit along the tunnel?

The Ballard District Council, Queen Anne District Council, and BINMIC Action Committee are co-sponsoring a community forum to consider how the Deep Bored Tunnel option to replace our viaduct can best serve Seattle neighborhoods. Take the opportunity to sort through the facts and make your ideas and opinions known on how to best serve the interest of our community in the face of a project we didn’t want. Panelists members include: reps from WSDOT, City of Seattle, King County, and noted experts in the field of tunnel construction, economics, and traffic engineering. Points to be covered in the forum are:

• How will we access south end destinations as well as downtown Seattle?
• What kind of access will we have to the northern entrance of the tunnel?
• Will trucks be able to use the tunnel or will they use surface streets?
• How will travel times through the corridor be affected?
• Why is an economic impact study so important to decisions affecting the Alaskan Way Viaduct?

Monday, March 23rd

7 – 9 PM

Ballard High School Auditorium

For more information on this forum contact Rob Mattson at 684-4051 or rob.mattson@seattle.gov

To brush up on information about the project to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct before the meeting visit:

http://www.alaskanwayviaduct.org/

March is a month that usually finds us focusing on Irish ancestry with the perennially popular St Patrick’s Day holiday.  However, since Ballard is more associated with Scandinavian heritage, it’s nice to have an event this month that celebrates it.  The Leif Erikson Lodge plays host to anyone interested in all things Norwegian on March 28th starting at 10am.

Food will play an important role at the event with popular favorites such as lefse and krumkake on hand, also pickled herring is also available to the more adventurous.  Popular Nordic crafts such as rosemaling will be on display.  Music lovers will be entertained by the Norwegian Male Chorus and Norwegian Ladies Chorus of Seattle.  There will also be musicians playing traditional music throughout the day.

For those in touch with their Norwegian heritage it’s an excuse to break out your bunad in solidarity with the bunad wearing folk who will parade at 3pm. Not sure you have any Norwegian blood?  Genealogical researchers will be on hand to help you discover any Norwegian ancestors you may have.

Admission is FREE

10am – 4pm

Tastes of Norway/Norwegian Cultural and Heritage Day

Leif Erikson Lodge

2245 NW 57th St
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 783-1274

http://www.leiferiksonlodge.com/Events/Events_PDFLinks.aspx