White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(Cross-posted at partner site West Seattle Blog)

Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for White Center Now/West Seattle Blog

A joint event between the Southwest Boys and Girls Club, the Red Cross and HOPE worldwide at Greenbridge (map) combined messages of civil rights and disaster preparedness to honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

The event was kicked off by the Seahawks’ Blue Thunder drummers and an opening speech by North Highline Fire District Fire Chief Scott LaVielle. Chief LaVielle spoke about fire safety— which is being highlighted by the Red Cross — and quoted from speeches by John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy to highlight the importance of caring for our communities.

Red Cross Coordinator Beth Jusino notes that MLK Day is viewed by her organization as “A day on, not a day off” in service to the community. After the event, volunteers dispersed into the Greenbridge neighborhood to place door-hangers regarding fire safety and earthquake preparedness at the surrounding homes. The information is printed in both English and Spanish. (In case you’re not in the area flyered – here’s the Red Cross’s infopage on fire safety.)

Jusino adds that in light of the Haitian earthquake, people have opened their hearts to the world community; today, people are focusing on opening their hearts to their local community – and the volunteers who are spreading the word about helping each other, locally and globally.

Just a heads-up – Monday, when the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is observed, Metro will be on “reduced weekday” service levels. Full details here.

Just north of White Center, that was the festive scene Sunday afternoon at Highland Park Improvement Club, as friends and neighbors made balloon lanterns to get ready for a New Year’s Eve neighborhood parade (with coaching from Fremont artist Tricky Bunny, left foreground). You’re invited to join in – just meet at the HPIC lot at 6:30 Thursday night; the parade will last about an hour, followed by a fire show in the HPIC lot, and the Highland Park “house party” right after that. More info here.

Got yarn to share? You might want to drop it off at White Center Food Bank after reading this story (shared on Facebook by volunteer Beth Grieser).

If your student’s in Seattle Public Schools, they’re out an hour early today; if Highline Public Schools, they’re out 90 minutes early like most Fridays. Happy vacation!

From the White Center Food Bank website – 50 trees donated for happier holidays, courtesy of IKEA and Evergreen High School! See the story, with a photo, here.

We caught up with Rat City Rags during the West Seattle Art Walk in September, when their work was featured at Ventana Construction. Tonight, you can see, buy, mingle and drink during RCR’s first holiday party, happening 5-10 pm at Big Al Brewing!

Just got word from Holy Family Parish School that they’re also selling trees and wreaths – you’ll find them at the church parking lot. Proceeds go to the school. Trees run from $20 to $69.

We’ll be scoping out the Christmas tree scene this weekend in White Center and West Seattle, but for starters, we have word that Croft Rentals (11229 16th Ave SW; map) is selling trees, swags and wreathes. And we’re told you’ll get $5 off your purchase if you bring in a new, unwrapped, unopened toy to donate. They’re also offering free delivery “within about five miles of (their) location.”

Thanksgiving produces mixed emotions for me.  Having grown up Chicano, in El Paso, Texas, the holiday carried considerable cultural baggage for me: the rampant celebration of gluttony, the Dallas Cowboys, America’s corporate franchise, always playing on the tube, the constant consumerism and, of course, the slaughter of Native Americans.  And then there was my mother.  When we lived in Mexico, we obviously did not celebrate Thanksgiving, so I have no early childhood memories of this particular holiday.  When we moved to the states, my mom had a lady who made the best tamales and mole, I have ever eaten.  So initially, we celebrated Thanksgiving in our way — the way I’d always known.

Sometime in my adolescence my mom became a fundamentalist Christian.  I abhorred this sect from the very outset.  I found their rituals, primitive:  speaking in tongues, meeting in store-fronts, fire & brimstone, the rapture – coming very, very soon.  And when I went away to college and matured into my progressive political views, I despised their unabashed right-wing politics.  Needless to say, none of this played well with my mom.

In high school, I would always goad my mother about politics, religion, culture; pretty much anything incendiary that would ignite a fire-storm between us.  These dramas took on heightened intensity on holidays like Thanksgiving, when my mother wanted everthing to proceed just so.  So, many of my memories of Thanksgiving revolve around the interactions with my mom.

My mom adopted, not only the rituals of Christian fundamentalism, but the cultural affects as well.  Instead, of mole and tamales, we got mashed potatoes and gelatin.  When I visited from college and the “gringo food” was served I would storm into the kitchen, fry up some beans, warm up rice and dig out the salsa.  I would set them down and exclaim, this is our food and we should celebrate the holiday with our food, (the turkey is ironically – our food – a New World bird).  I did not goad my mother, but I did ask her why we had to eat mashed potatoes when beans and rice were so much healthier.  And besides, “it is our food.”

I’ve mellowed considerably as I have become a parent.  The curse, “may you have kids like yourself” has come to bite me in a big way.  If I were celebrating Thanksgiving with my folks in El Paso, I would still pull out the home-made salsa, the tortillas, beans and rice, but instead of berating my mother, I would give her (and my dad) a big hug and a kiss and say, “I”m so very happy to be here.  I love you.”  And then we would retire after the meals and root for who-ever was playing the Cowboys.

Two places we know for sure you’ll be able to get your latte on, this Thanksgiving morning — Cafe Rozella plans to be open 8 am-2:30 pm on Thursday (and they’ve got free live music the day after Thanksgiving – details on the CR site); brand-new Dubsea Coffee plans to be open 6 am-2 pm for the holiday.

Right over the line in southern West Seattle, your neighbors at Highland Park Elementary invite you to their holiday bazaar coming up in a few weeks:

Highland Park is having its 2nd annual Holiday Bazaar – it is going to be on December 5, 2009 from 10am to 3pm.

Come and enjoy shopping from over 30 vendors selling an array of items (Jewelry, crafts, baby items, candles, soap, ornaments, children’s books and t-shirts and more) In addition there will also be a bake sale and a table with wonderful items to be raffled off donated by our vendors and local businesses (Menashe Jewelers, Magic Lanes, Cupcake Royale, M3 bodyworks, family fun center, Red Robin, Cafe Revo, Mcclendon’s and more. and you don’t need to be present to win – if you win we will notify you). So you can come, shop till you drop, sit down and have lunch, and then start shopping all over again.

This is also a food drive for the West Seattle/White Center food banks each person that brings in one non-perishable food item will receive one free raffle ticket! (one per person only).

Thanks for making this a great event! See you on December 5th!!
We are located at:

Highland Park Elementary
1012 SW Trenton
Seattle, WA 98106

A couple of notes for Veterans Day and its local effects – school’s closed; Metro Transit runs a “reduced weekday schedule.”

Now that it’s November, the holidays are rushing toward us. Village Green Perennial Nursery is organizing a tree sale to raise money for Community School of West Seattle (which is on the WS-White Center line, right along Roxbury). You can get your order in over the next week – read all about what’s available and how to order by going to this Village Green webpage.

(Three Tree Point fireworks from July 2008 – one place you CAN see over-water fireworks tomorrow night)
We have reported it repeatedly on partner site West Seattle Blog, and it’s been all over a variety of other media sources too, since it was announced three months ago, but we hear some people still may not have gotten the message, so we’ll say it again: NO ELLIOTT BAY FIREWORKS THIS YEAR. Ivar’s discontinued its longrunning tradition. None next year too unless somebody else takes it over. But plenty of other places – including Three Tree Point.

If you’re in unincorporated King County, personal fireworks will be on sale starting at noon today. We noticed a few stands-in-the-making in White Center on Friday, including the one above at 100th/16th. But even though you can start buying them today, setting them off is only legal 9 am-midnight on the 4th (next Saturday) – and remember they are banned in neighboring cities Burien and Seattle. Here are all the King County rules.

As previewed by Ricardo earlier this week, that’s Trio Lucero del Norte playing Cafe Rozella tonight to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Got this note from Julie – we’re thinking WCNers will be interested as well as some West Seattleites:

As you may know, many of the communities in “southern” West Seattle look out over 3 Tree Point and the communities of Arroyo, Seola Beach and Arbor Heights enjoy our fireworks show. Last year, quite a few families from these neighborhoods contributed funds toward our entirely not-for-profit and volunteer effort (although the barge based fireworks are presented by professionals, thank goodness!). We are enormously grateful for that support. This year we have new chairs and have launched a new website www.3TreePoint.org

Their fundraising drive runs throughout May – check out the website for more details.

Thanks to JB for sharing these photos of the Tet celebration at White Center’s Cafe Tam Thanh. We welcome your photos any time – whitecenternow@gmail.com – thank you!

That sign points the way to the Boys and Girls Club at Greenbridge, home base today for a big MLK Day/Day of Service event – with volunteers fanning out through White Center-area neighborhoods to distribute important info to local families. Glad the weather is cooperating for everybody working on DoS events today all over our area.