Ballardblog.com

This came in from one of our readers:

I hope everyone is enjoying this HOT weather we’re having! I’m sitting here in my office with the window open and I’m still sweltering!

I just wanted to send a quick update on the next East Ballard Community Association event on  Tuesday August 4th. There’s a big event in Seattle called “Night Out”, which is sponsored by the Seattle Police Department. All of citizens of Seattle (actually the whole nation) is allowed to close down their block for free for a community get together on that night. The East Ballard Community Association is here to help you get your block party started! To find out more, check out my latest blog entry at http://eastballard.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/august-night-out-in-east-ballard/

Also, I got some requests from folks on the Walking Tour for info about EBCA’s Branding and Beautification effort. Here’s a link to my blog entry talking about this effort. It also has a list of the plants we used in the planting strip on 14th Ave NW and NW 58th: http://eastballard.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/east-ballard-branding-and-beautification-project/

To stay informed on the what’s going on in East Ballard, check out our blog at http://eastballard.wordpress.com/
If you want to automatically receive an email whenever the blog is updated, click on the link under “SUBSCRIBE” on our blog site
or join us in FaceBook on the East Ballard Community Association page.
Please forward this message to anyone who may be interested.
Please respond to this message if you’d like to be removed from this mailing.

Regards,
Dawn Hemminger
East Ballard Community Association
206-953-3940

Bayonet, a loud, 70′s inspired rock band will be playing tomorrow night at the Sunset Tavern. Self described as “lush” and “epic in nature”, Bayonet first debuted at Ballard’s underground venue, The Josephine, with The Drug Purse and KHV. After a warm welcome, they have begun recording and booking shows throughout Seattle. Catch them tomorrow for only $6 at the Sunset.  

Bayonet

7/7/2009 9:00 PM at The Sunset
5433 Ballard Ave., Seattle, Washington 98107
Cost: $6

Are you looking for something to do this weekend?  Want to find an activity for the whole family?  Are you intrigued by the rise in vegetables gardening this year?  Seed companies have reported a 20-30% increase in sales in 2009!

Although West Seattle and other locales have been running edible garden tours for some time, this year marks the first ever Ballard Edible Garden Tour.   The tour is sponsored by Sustainable Ballard and Groundswell NW.  One of the key individuals responsible for getting this off the ground is Ingela Warnerstrand from Sustainable Ballard.  This spring I wrote a post about free gardening classes at the Loyal Heights Community Center and Ingela was the teacher.

This tour will encourage your ‘inner gardener’ and show you what grows successfully here in Ballard and how to get creative with small spaces, growing items in pots and parking strips, etc.  If you have always been intrigued by growing your own food, but didn’t know where to start, this tour will allow you to ask questions of gardeners who have experienced success and failures and are happy to share their hard won gardening wisdom.

Tour information:

Edible Garden Tour – 14 edible gardens

Saturday 10am to 3pm

$10 per person or $20 per vehicle (though of course walking or biking is highly encouraged)

Tour information:  www.groundswellnw.org

Purchase tickets:  www.brownpapertickets.com

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.

Seattle’s most gangster all girl metal/punk band, The Valkyries, are hosting their CD release party, We Always Win, with Neon Nights, Space Cretins and the Blue Ribbon Boys at the Bit Saloon. Come get assaulted by the sounds!

The Bit Saloon

(4818 17th Ave. N.W., 782-1680)

 myspace.com/thebitseattle.

$7. 9 p.m. Sat., April 11.

Seattle Fashion Show
Friday, April 17th  •  8 pm – 10
Fashion Show starts at 8 PM
@ New York Fashion Academy • All ages welcome
5201 Ballard Ave. 
Cost: 10.00
Beer and wine garden available with identification

The Haute Trash Fashion Show Deets:

The Haute Trash Fashion show is brought to you by a group of progressive fashion designers, bringing their 25-years experience to the 8th Annual Recycled Art and Fashion Show.  The group’s designs have been featured at the Seattle Art Museum, Burning Man, county fairs, and dozens of other community festivals throughout the Western U.S. Designs and accessories are made from a wide variety of unconventional materials like inner tubes, food packaging, soda pop tops and other salvaged materials.

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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/

If you missed the recent Open House at Whittier Elementary last month and want to hear updates on the Rapid Ride program, attend the Ballard District Council meeting this Wednesday.  Or if you are a parent with children in the Seattle school system, maybe you want to ask a few questions of Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell.  Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin would be a good person to ask about recent decisions by the City Council such as expanded trolley systems, funding for the Mercer Corridor, etc.  Attending these meetings gives you the opportunity to participate in your community.

Chairperson:  Steve Cohn
AGENDA

7 PM Short Announcements by member organization representatives
Please hold announcements to not more than one minute.

7:15  Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell

7:40  Update – Ballard / Downtown Rapid Ride, Craig Benjamin,
Sustainable Ballard, Member – Ballard Rapid Ride Advisory Panel

7:50  Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin

8:10  Introduction – New Ballard District Web Site

8:20  2009 Neighborhood Projects Fund Proposals and Update on 2008
Projects, Rob Mattson

8:25  Report – Executive Committee, Steve Cohn

8:30  Adjourn

BALLARD DISTRICT COUNCIL
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Ballard Library – 5614 22nd NW
(Free parking below building – accessed from NW 56th)
7:00 – 8:30 PM