West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
Signed up for Saturday’s all-ages West Seattle Monster Dash yet? It’s happening in upper Lincoln Park, with the 5K at 9:30 am and the Kids’ Monster Dash at 10:30 am – costumes, a Kids’ Zone, DJ, food and warm drinks, photos, fun, and fundraising that will make more of a difference this year than ever, because local co-op preschools’ funding remains unsettled. Find out more and sign up, at monsterdash.westseattlepreschools.org
(Rain City Ropeworks photo from last summer’s National Championships)
This Sunday is your next chance for a big dose of fall fun – the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, 11 am-2 pm on Sunday. One of the groups that’ll perform at the Walk-All-Ways intersection is Rain City Ropeworks – here’s how you can jump into their concurrent fundraiser:
Rain City Ropeworks, a youth jump-rope team, is holding its first fundraiser of the year with a sponsor drive.
The campaign culminates at the Harvest Festival on October 25. Sponsors will be displayed at the team’s booth, and Gold-Level Sponsors will be announced during a performance in the Walk-All-Ways intersection. This is a great opportunity for local businesses and the public to show support!
The team’s booster club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Funds help athletes who need financial assistance participate and support programs that build creativity, confidence, belonging, and lifelong fitness.
To donate, visit the team’s sponsorship page, which has the donation form and nonprofit details. Donations can also be sent by Venmo to @rain-city-ropeworks, or supporters can email fundraising@raincityropeworks.org to arrange another payment method.
To learn more about our team, please visit our team brochure.
Near the 40th/Charlestown water standpipe, you’ll again find Wyatt‘s Halloween display – one he says is extra-special:
This year’s display is especially meaningful to me. It represents years of hard work building confidence and resilience. After years of setbacks in the experiential design job market, I was suggested part-time event security. A year and a half in, I’ve gotten to experience places I used to question my worthiness of. One of those is working on the field for Seahawks games, watching defining plays happen right before my eyes, followed by the roar of Lumen Field. I wanted to give my neighborhood the closest I could to that environment.
My reaper represents my challenges and everything I still face (he’s nice, just acting!), while my energetic tombstone symbolizes me and my comeback through reflection, personal grown and accountability. You’ll also hear some Seahawks nostalgia along with the song I hear after every touchdown!
Got – or seen – another special Halloween display, one we haven’t shown yet (scroll through archives here)? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Tonight’s Halloween-decorations spotlight – Derick‘s popular light show at 37th/Graham!
Just reaching out to let you know our Halloween light show is up and running on the corner of 37th Ave SW & SW Graham St.
We had our first kid earlier this year, so I’ve been running a bit behind getting the show together.
There are outdoor speakers for people walking by, or you can tune in with your car radio at 87.9 FM.
More information about the show is at SeattleLightShow.com.
Got decorations? Seen decorations? Photos/tips welcome at westseattleblog@gmail.com or texted to 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Less than two weeks until Halloween, and we are continuing to highlight decorations. Tonight, Lacey tells us her “Last Resort Hotel” has arrived for the season:
We have our Halloween haunt all set up again this year! Lots of things to see by day, and spookier to see at night – we are The Last Resort Hotel. Located just off Roxbury, 9643 18th Ave SW. (If you love the Grinch, you might also know us as Whoville at Christmas!)
Just like last year, we will have the yard open again for trick-or-treating and are also accepting donations for WC Food Bank! We have a full yard walk-through display that will only be open for a few nights. October 30 & 31, 5 pm- 9ish. If the weather is nice, I will also have it open on Saturday, October 24, and I will let the Blog know if I do! That said, there are many decorations to view outside of the yard leading up to Halloween, like The Last Resort Cemetery, where the Gravedigger is keeping an eye on things!
We are welcoming donations for WC Food Bank again and will have a QR code posted and a donation bin available. I will also put a donation bin out in front of my display in the next few days, if people would like to donate unopened food items – look for a black cooler labeled Donations. I will check it regularly.
We have a full yard walk-through display, with lots of hotel “amenities”, like the Witch Way Cafe, Last Gasp Gifts and Doll Parts Daycare. The hotel boasts a cemetery and morgue. Last Resort Coven meetings are currently being held in the witches’ den. Zombies will be there to greet you along the way!
Our theme is very fun! I’m a kid of the ’80s and I would say my display is inspired by old Scooby-Doo episodes, vintage Halloween etc. I love decorating and a lot of the display is handmade by myself, like all of the cemetery fencing, my huge pumpkin king, the mausoleum and spooky well. I have lots of fun with the signage too, it helps to tell the story!
Please come visit us and donate if you can! I have a few regular fans who come visit the display, which I love! I’ve offered a sneak peek to some, so if you see me out in the yard, say hi! I love how much joy it brings people, it inspires me to keep going!
Got – or seen – decorations that others should see too? Photos/tips welcome at westseattleblog@gmail.com or texted to 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Colorful … and creepy. Tonight’s Halloween-decoration photos were sent by Margaret Way, who describes it as a “crazy, scary setup,” located “on 9th Ave SW, just north of Trenton.”
We’re showing pics nightly through Halloween – if you don’t have pics, we’ll take tips too and go photograph it ourselves! westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Tonight’s West Seattle Halloween decoration photos were sent by Astrella:
This display at California & College is so funny and clever!
Might even be a bit of traffic-safety commentary buried in there …
Got, or seen, memorable decorations? Photo(s) welcome at westseattleblog@gmail.com or texted to 206-293-6302!
Via text, photos from a Halloween display whose creator says it’s on Delridge … somewhere:
Got decorations? Seen a notable display? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Less than three weeks until Halloween! We’re continuing to spotlight West Seattle sights – tonight’s photo is from Nicole:
Wanted to share a photo of our home with the Halloween decorations we put up! We are on 46th Ave in Seaview! Lots of people have walked past saying they look forward to our jack-o-lanterns in the tree each year!
Thanks to everyone who’s been sending pics, whether the decorations are yours or someone else’s – westseattleblog@gmail.com or via text at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Thanks to Vincent for sending tonight’s spotlight Halloween decorations photo:
He says it’s on Belvidere (hence the name, “Belvidere Home for Wayward Ghouls”) south of Admiral.
If you’ve seen memorable decorations – or have put some up yourself – photos welcome at westseattleblog@gmail.com or texted to 206-293-6302. Our Halloween-season archives, from this year and years past, can be browsed here.
Miss Tony’s Produce under the red/green/white tent at 35th/Barton? Relatives of the original operators, the Genzale family, have just opened Tony’s Pumpkin Patch – as previewed here – even with a bit of produce (apples). You’ll see “regular” pumpkins outside, but also a variety of others inside, including mini-pumpkins, and other seasonal decorations. We stopped by and met Tony (Morella) and his brother Biaggio:
They’ll be selling pumpkins (etc.) daily 9 am-7 pm through Halloween and then just weeks later plan to switch to Christmas trees.
Two weeks until trick-or-treat season! We’ve mentioned all these events already but not in one place, so if you’re getting ready to plan:
(WSB photo from last year on Alki)
ALKI BEACH TRICK-OR-TREAT: One week before Halloween – noon to 2 pm Saturday, October 24. More than two dozen establishments along the full length of the Alki business district are participating, from Blue Moon Burgers to Cactus, all listed and mapped on the official website. (Almost all are on Alki Avenue, but be sure to detour a bit south to the Log House Museum at 61st/Stevens, too!)
WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION HARVEST FESTIVAL: 11 am-2 pm Sunday, October 25. This is a street festival that expands the regular Farmers’ Market footprint for the day, with trick-or-treating both outside Junction businesses and also at booths in the street. Besides trick-or-treating, the festival includes a costume parade, pie-eating contest (sign up ASAP), and chili cookoff benefiting the West Seattle Food Bank.
ADMIRAL TRICK-OR-TREATING: The day before Halloween, 3:30-6:30 pm Friday, October 30. The Admiral Neighborhood Association organizes this, with more than 50 businesses on the list, stretching from Mioposto (WSB sponsor) in the north to Shug’s in the south.
We’re continuing to welcome your photos of Halloween/fall decorations, now that the season is here.Tonighrt’s pics are from Yma in Gatewood:
She writes, “The kids around here start asking me if we’ll have the dragon for Halloween. Well – he’s here on Portland St! And a spider helped me out, adding her decoration to the mix.”
Yma also sent this partying skeleton:
Your photos are welcome via email at westseattleblog@gmail.com or via text at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(WSB file photo)
A highlight of spooky season at Camp Long is “Trail or Treat” at its rustic cabins – and the park is looking for cabin hosts again this year. From Camp Long’s Matt Kostle:
Camp Long is gearing up to run one of our most popular events, “Trail or Treat” – we’re hoping to add more organizations as cabin hosts!
Here are the event details:
Date: Saturday, October 24th
Event Time: 3:30 PM – 7:00 PM
-Lighted paths to walk and visit cabins hosted by local organizations handing out goodies!
-Family-friendly activities with our Environmental Education team and more!
-The perfect fall season location for fun!For potential cabin hosts:
Set-Up Time: Cabins open to organizations at 12:00 PM and we ask organizations to be ready by 3:00 PM
Camp Long staff will be on site until 8:00 – 9:00 PM for cleanup.
We will have lighted pathways between the cabins, but each organization will be in charge of decorating and lighting their cabin how they see fit. You can hand out any materials and treats you would like.
Our marketing materials will include your organization’s name and logo to let the community know more about you.
In the past we’ve typically had around 1000 people or more attend.
Interested? Go here.
We recently invited you to send Halloween-decoration photos – yours, or someone else’s – as we do every year. This one’s from Jacob, who has a twist on the familiar towering skeleton:
I’m at the corner of 36th and Morgan, and our inflatables and skeletons are going up slowly up surely. Got started with a 12-foot-tall mummy.
Photos are welcome via email at westseattleblog@gmail.com or via text at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(WSB photo from last year’s Monster Dash)
The West Seattle Monster Dash has always been a fundraising fun run for local co-op preschools. This year, with their funding future still unsettled – as we’ve been reporting – your support and participation matters more than ever. Here’s the official announcement:
The 15th annual Monster Dash is Saturday, October 24, at Lincoln Park, with the 5K at 9:30 a.m. and the Kids Monster Dash at 10:30 a.m. There will also be costumes, a Kids Zone, DJ, food and warm drinks, photos, and the usual crowd of current co-op families, alumni, and neighbors.
What makes Monster Dash especially significant this year is that it’s our biggest annual fundraiser, and it’s happening as the South Seattle College Cooperative Preschool community continues navigating the financial uncertainty created by the state funding-model changes.
In other words, the event itself is still the fun West Seattle Halloween tradition it has been for 15 years, but the fundraising carries considerably more weight this year.
Find out more, and sign up, at monsterdash.westseattlepreschools.org
(Photo by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor)
Again this season, we’ll be showing West Seattle Halloween decorations, so once yours are up, consider sending us a pic – westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
It’s just about Halloween season – and we’ve received a request to share with you, from the people behind a West Seattle favorite:
A big ask from Nightfall Charity Haunt for the West Seattle community: we need volunteers to help us open for our 10th anniversary.
For 10 years, Nightfall Charity Haunt (formerly Nightfall Orphanage) has thrilled the West Seattle community, sparking the imagination with wonder and chilling the bones with its shadowy corners. Since we began, we have raised over 5000 lbs of food for West Seattle Food Bank, and over $30,000 for Washington’s National Park Fund.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, our build timeline has been pushed back by roughly 20 days. We are working hard to make up the time, and we’ve even pushed our planned opening date of Oct 3 to October 9th. But we still have a lot of work to do, and we could really use some help. We are looking for volunteers who enjoy arts & crafts-style projects, set decoration, Halloween, theater, or who want to learn how we do things, see behind the scenes, or be part of this cool event. If you are one of those people, or one of the many who have visited us year after year and wanted to be a part of the magic, now is the time.
As many who have visited us for years know, Nightfall is mostly the work of just two people. What started as a few black tents with some cool props and a brief tale about twins who ran a creepy orphanage has grown into a massive, lore-driven story and a home haunt—a home dark-fantasy walk-through attraction experience—frequently rated among the top 3 haunts in Seattle. During that time, we have remained committed to creating an imaginative community event full of wonder and dedicated to supporting our charities, Washington’s National Park Fund and West Seattle Food Bank.
We are primarily looking for volunteers for the weekend of October 3 and 4, but if you can only help a few hours here and there, or have free time on another day, that is welcome as well, and we can always use another set of hands at any time.
Nightfall WILL open on October 9th. But we could really use a hand to make this our best year ever.
Thank you,
The NightmakersIf you are interested, please contact mr.black@nightfallorphanage.com or text (better than calling) Trish at (310) 384-2691.
We’ve been watching for this, and now it’s happened: The banner’s up for Spirit Halloween, for what will be the temporary specialty store’s fifth season in Westwood Village’s long-otherwise-vacant ex-Bed Bath Beyond. It usually opens in August.
From the WSB inbox … First, from the Waddell Family in Seaview:
The most spirited display in Upper Fauntleroy:
In White Center, Lacey‘s “Last Resort Hotel” – on 18th Ave SW between Roxbury and SW 98th St. – remains open until 9 tonight and will be open 4-8 pm tomorrow (when it might be drier), collecting donations for the White Center Food Bank:
And on 47th between Hinds and Hanford, R-n-B added significantly to their famous display since the reader photo we had earlier:
R (aka Ron) said they were still adding to their display, plus, “We wanted to give a shoutout to Lucy; she brought us a couple of notes of appreciation and we wanted to let her know they now have a place of honor on our refrigerator. Thank you, Lucy! You melted our hearts.”
Thanks to EVERYONE who sent Halloween photos this season, whether of their own displays or others’ – we’ll get going with the winter holidays soon!
(WSB/WCN photos)
South of SW Roxbury, 16th SW is closed in the heart of White Center for the season’s last round of business-district trick-or-treating.
Canopies prevail; treats will be available until about 7 pm, and local bars and restaurants have indoor activities planned too. The White Center Business Alliance organized this and is behind other memorable events too, like the third-Thursday Rat City Art and Food Walk. One lead WC instigator is Puffy Pandy proprietor Donna, who we photographed with son Ivan:
Even hardy pets were out:
(WSB photos)
Proprietors Nicole and Shaun are in costume at West Seattle’s only comic-book store, Tails to Astonish – and costumed trick-or-treaters are invited to visit too. They’ve declared the day “Trick or Read,” with comic freebies and candy for visitors:
The treats include deals, too. They’re having a sale, today only, big discounts on merchandise including trade paperbacks, used back issues, and various toys.
Tails to Astonish is at 5633 California SW and open until 7 pm.
Photo just sent by Cindi:
I’m in the Westwood McDonald’s at lunch time, and Ronald McDonald and the Burger King are ordering from the McDonald’s kiosk.
(No Wendy sighting.)
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