Free concerts this summer at U Village

I'm a little late to the game on promoting the summer concert series at the University Village this summer but better late than never, right? It's a great chance to get out and hear some live music every Wednesday from now until August 18th for free from 6:00-8:30pm.

The next band coming up on July 28th, The Beatniks, cover rock songs from the 60's, 70's and even a dash from the 80's ($10 bucks says they cover at least one Journey song). If you want a little more disco in your cover band, try out Hit Explosion on August 18th.  It's been a few years since I've seen them perform but if they are still the same then it's guaranteed to get many a shy Seattleite out of their chairs and dancing. Outside of the cover band realm, the Village finishes out some rockabilly with The Dusty 45's August 4th and some reggae with Clinton Fearon & The Boogie Brown Band on August 18th.

For more information on the series, check out the flyer below:

Ride your bike for a good cause tonight!

For those planning on going out to dinner tonight, skip the car and ride your bike to one of 14 restaurants participating in Spoke & Food. A new event in Seattle with the goal of trying to get more residents riding their bikes instead of driving, Spoke & Food  restaurants will also be donating 15% to 20% of dining revenues to local non-profit Solid Ground's Lettuce Link program.

Two NE Seattle Restaurants, The Scarlet Tree (Roosevelt) and Fiddler's Inn (Wedgwood), will be participating. Jump on your bike and ride over to one of these tonight!

For a list of all Spoke & Food restaurants, here is a listing: http://www.viewhalloodesigns.com/spoke_restaurants.htm.

Community meetings galore - tonight!

I'm excited about all the community organizing in NE Seattle lately.  From City transportation projects to resident-led community gardens, there are so many ways to get involved in what's happening in your neighborhood. Tonight alone, we have four meetings taking place:

Thornton Creek Alliance Meeting
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Lake City Presbyterian Church
3841 NE 123rd St., Room B-2

The Thornton Creek Alliance will be discussing the Hubbard Homestead Park, Thornton Creek Park naming, and their 2010-2011 Work Plan. Bruce Johnson, of the TCA Executive Committee, had these meeting details to share:

Bruce Hubbard will share his memories and his vision for this new park (near Northgate Mall) due to be completed this summer. Also, the Park Naming Committee wants your input. (What kind of name is Park #2, anyway?) TCA's general membership meeting is the place to meet neighbors, learn more about the watershed and the people & wildlife who live here, share your interests & concerns, find a committee to work on, and join a work party. It's free & open to the public, so invite your friends. Hope to see you there!

North Link Light Rail - final design discussion

5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Roosevelt High School Commons
1410 NE 66th Street

Thanks to the new Roosiehood blog for posting details about tonight's light rail design meeting. For those who don't know, the North Link is a 4.3-mile extension to the light rail system with stations at the University District, Roosevelt and Northgate. Tonight's presentation will share engineer drawings and recommendations and discuss what the next steps in the design will look.

Maple Leaf Reservoir Park meeting
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Olympic View Elementary
504 NE 95th Street

The final design meeting is tonight! For those of you following the progress of the new reservoir park, or those still interested in getting their two cents in, tonight is your last chance before the design schematic is approved.  Friends for a Greater Maple Leaf Park and the Maple Leaf Community Council have graciously sponsored professional childcare...so there's no excuse not to go.

Lake City Community Council meeting

Seattle Mennonite Church - community room
3120 NE 125th Street (Enter from parking lot in back.)

Tonight's meeting will be focused on neighborhood events that will support local businesses (The Restaurant Crawl), make the neighborhood safer and build community (Night Out August 3rd), clean up streets and raise awareness about the 33rd Ave NE Vision Project (fall workparty for 33rd Ave NE), and raise awareness about the new park (PARK-ing Day).

University District Street Fair Weekend!

The annual University District Street Fair starts today, from 10am to 7pm; and tomorrow from 10 am to 6pm.

After living in Seattle for basically my entire life, I can tell you I have many a U District Street Fair memory. As a kid, I remember watching people get wild 80's haircuts at the row of barber chairs brought out by Rave salon. Oh, how I desperately wanted one of those asymmetrical haircuts! Later, as a teen, it is was the spot to meet your friends without parents - I have a feeling that tradition might still be true.

As the first fair of the summer festival season, it kicks off a tradition of food booths, street performers and some interesting retail stands. The U District fair boasts over 300 craft and food booths. One of my favorites, pictured right, is veggie yakisoba from Cafe Loc.

There will be two main stages with music, dance and comedy performances going all day long. For a complete entertainment listing, go here. If you're thinking about taking the kiddies, there will be a children's stage at University Way and 50th.

The University District Chamber offers lots of transportation options on their website. If there's one thing I remember from attending for so many years it's don't drive!  The parking is horrible, so save yourself the aggravation and ride a bus or bike instead.

Shop Hyper-local in Lake City

I've been blogging a lot about Lake City and its need for revitalization. It's easy to sit back and expound lofty ideas for new local coffee shops and other attractive businesses but a far more difficult task to actually get them there. I'm far from being a city planner but I feel like I can say, with some certainty, that a first step to getting new - non-chain - restaurants, stores and cafes is supporting those the neighborhood already has.

With that idea in mind The Lake City Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Neighborhood Farmer's Market Alliance, is promoting an "economic revival program" called Lake City Market Days. Starting tonight it will run every Thursday, until October 7th, from 3-7pm. Participating restaurants include:

BEAN CITY COFFEE
MINOO BAKERY
THE EYESITE
EBITS PC LAPTOP
PONY EXPRESS
THAI ONE ON
GARCIAS VIDEO
PIZZA UNO
LAKE CITY GYRO
PACIFIC MARKET
EMERALD CITY TATOO
KILIMANJARO MARKET

During the promotion their will be some music at the park at 125th and Lake City Way and a chance for farmer's market vouchers:

Participating merchants along Lake City Way will offer a limited supply of "market bucks" which can be used as cash at the Lake City Farmer's Market. Free money in exchange for purchase!

Even though the Farmer's Market doesn't start until June 3rd this year, get out this month and explore a few of those independent businesses you've never tried.  

Anyone have recommendations for their favorite Lake City business?

Cinco de Mayo at El Norte Tonight!

I know what you're thinking: Cinco de Mayo is an amateur night full of drunken 21 year-olds. I agree. Apparently I'm now old enough where I stay as far away from the holiday, and it's drinking holiday-cousin St. Patrick's Day, because of the ridiculous people doing a little too much "celebrating" that night.

But this Cinco de Mayo is different. I will be out celebrating this obscure holiday at the new Lake City bar, El Norte.  Danae, over on Lake City Live, has been doing an awesome job tracking the trials and tribulations of Mr. Villa owner's trying to open - gasp! - a new bar in the neighborhood. Granted the previous bar in the El Norte space was the notorious Rose Garden. But how will we ever expect Lake City to grow and attract new, non-chain, businesses when the red tape is so thick? Also, have you been to Mr. Villa yet? If El Norte has even a little bit of the amazing food that they have at their, I will be so excited.

Alright, I'm off my soapbox - Come have a margarita with me tonight at El Norte (13717 Lake City Way N.E., Seattle, 98125). We can discuss what would be our dream businesses for the soon to be vacated Rick's strip club.

Eco-Chic Expo in Ravenna Tomorrow

This Saturday is the debut of the Eco-Chic Expo at Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE ) from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

The Expo is billed as an interactive green lifestyle event with over 15 local companies, such as Theo’s Chocolate, Satsuma Designs,  and A Greener Kitchen, will be on hand to perform demonstrations and mini-workshops.

“Going green isn’t all about having a chicken coop and composting, although those are great ways to live sustainably! We want to share with our community that a greener life can be easy, fun, even fashionable,” said Tracy Anderson, Eco-Chic Co-founder and CEO of Tread Light Gifts.

For more information, check out the Eco-Chic blog or the flyer below:

Fill Your Bowl for North Helpline This Sunday

North Helpline is holding its very first Empty Bowls fundraiser this Sunday, April 25, from noon to 4pm at Northgate Community Center. Live music will be provided by the Jillian Graham Band, Todd Christoffel, and Eric Madis and Peter Martin. Soup has been donated by La Casa Del Mojito, Hudson, the Wedgewood Alehouse, Lake Forest Bar and Grill, and Blue C Sushi. In addition, local artisans will be onsite selling their wares with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit North Helpline.

What is an Empty Bowls event? For a donation, community members can come and choose a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted bowl, enjoy a simple yet delicious meal of soup, salad, and dessert, listen to local bands play, and meet other members of your community.

North Helpline has been tirelessly supporting Northeast Seattle for over twenty years by continuously developing services to support the growing number of people living at or near the poverty line in the area. With food requests up 32% over this time last year and requests for rental assistance/eviction prevention funds up by close to 40%, your support of them is needed now more than ever.

I'll be there - come join me!

Meet-up Pictures and Thank You's

Thank you so much to all who came out to the Tax Day Meet-up last night at Black Pearl Restaurant in Wedgwood. It was great to meet so many new people from the NE Seattle neighborhoods and from as far away as the distant lands of Issaquah. It was an awesome crowd, great conversation, and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

Annie at Black Pearl blew us all away by serving a seven-course sampling of their menu with wine pairing for each.  I should mention that the term "sampling" doesn't do the evening justice as it was clearly a huge meal!

My favorites of the night were definitely the Spicy Fish in Szechaun Sauce and the Mongolian Beef but the homemade Chow Mein noodles really stole the show.  I think they're the best I've had in Seattle. Oh and did I mention how delicious the pork pot stickers were? Clearly I could go on and on.

Last but most definitely not least, a huge thank you to Northwest Totem Cellars and Greenlake Wines for the incredible donation of wine for the event. The NW Totem Cellars Late Harvest Viognier was like pure honey in my glass - I wanted to drink the entire bottle! And the Randall Harris Sauvignon Blanc was so amazing I must plug that Greenlake Wines will be selling it for $5 a bottle this weekend only. I'll be stopping by there later today to pick up a few bottles.

Thanks everyone! A few pictures from the event can be found on our Flickr page.  If anyone else took some photos, feel free to add them to the pool!

Tax Day Meetup in Wedgwood Tomorrow!

For those who like to wait to the last minute, a final warning that your taxes are due tomorrow, April 15th. Get those suckers in the mail (or submitted online if you prefer like I do) and then head over to the Tax Day Meet Up being held at Black Pearl Restaurant (7347 35th Avenue NE) in Wedgwood!

I'm co-hosting the event with Kristin, of Seattle Events fame, and Annie, the general manager of Black Pearl, so it's guaranteed be a really fun time and a great way to meet new people from NE Seattle and beyond!

For more information and to RSVP for the event, click on the Come Meet Us widget on the right side of the page or go here: http://twtvite.com/4u27dc

See you tomorrow!

Yelp photo courtesy of Maria C.

Mayor McGinn to Tour Lake City this Saturday

All NE Seattle residents should consider attending this event so I'm re-posting my Lake City Live story here as well:

Ever since Mike McGinn stepped into the mayoral office three months ago, he has made it a priority to get out and tour different neighborhoods in Seattle.  His purpose, to learn about the issues and opportunities in different parts of the city. The walks started in the Pioneer Square/International District neighborhoods where over 70 people attended and discussed their concerns and ideas. I'm not sure what, if anything, came out of that walk and the subsequent ones that followed. But I can bet, at the very least, it increased the sense of community; something I think our area could use a little more of.

This Saturday, April 10th, the Mayor will tour our very own Lake City. This is an open event to public and residents are encouraged to attend and share their concerns about the neighborhood. Many thanks to Ed Pottharst, of the Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods, for sharing the following tour details:
People will have the chance to talk with Mayor McGinn at tour stops.  Most of the tour is walking.  The last two gathering places—Little Brook Park and Jackson Park House & Village (youth tutoring program) –are about a mile north of the earlier stops.  You are welcome to join Mayor McGinn on bike hops to these two places.

Seattle's First Restaurant Week is Coming...Sort of

For a foodie like me, Restaurant Week is a thing of legend.  I've heard of it happening in major cities all over the country, it always sounds amazing and, well, completely delicious.  Culinary heavyweights like Aureole and Le Cirque in NYC serve five-star meals for a mere $25. To someone with the restaurant appetite of a millionaire, on a non-profit income, its akin to food porn.

Sure we have dining discount months like Dine Around Seattle, which is wonderful in its own right, but word on the street is many of the local five star restaurants won't participate because it's a grueling work load with little payback. So imagine my delight when I heard Seattle too, would be getting a Restaurant Week with over 100 restaurants participating - hurrah! I've got my How to Cook a Wolf and Canlis reservations made.

Unfortunately, while scanning the list of 91 Seattle establishments (there are many more on the Eastside as well) I found only one restaurant included from the entire northeast section of Seattle; only one! Northeast Seattle's proud (and lonely) participant is Divine (7918 Roosevelt Way).

Tucked into the quiet Maple Leaf neighborhood, Divine, hasn't received a whole lot of press and seems like a somewhat obscure choice. I, shamefully, haven't been to this fine restaurant but the Seattle PI's Rebekah Denn had this to say:

Support Your Parks Tonight

I posted this over on Lake City Live but I think it's applies to everyone in NE Seattle so I'm posting here as well!

With the City of Seattle facing a $50 million dollar budget shortfall this year, it's highly likely the Parks and Recreation Department will have to share in the budget cuts needed to make up for the huge loss. This is just one reason why it's really important to attend the Community Open House this Wednesday, April 7th from 6:30 to 8pm at the Lake City Community Center.

Easter Egg Hunts and More This Weekend

For those in need of some last minute Easter ideas for the kiddies, here is a list of the big Easter egg hunts and other holiday happenings this weekend in NE Seattle:

The Seattle Parks Dept. is holding "Spring Egg Hunts" all across the city this Saturday at 10am. Best of all, the cost is free! NE Seattle locations include:

• Meadowbrook Community Center (Nathan Hale track - 10750 30th Ave NE)
• Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6335 Ravenna Ave NE)
• Laurelhurst Community Center (4554 NE 41st) 

New Maple Leaf Reservoir Park Meeting - Save the Date

Some of you may remember my previous post about the art installation project being planned for the future Maple Leaf reservoir park.  For those not in the know, let me catch you up to speed. Seattle Public Utilities decided to cover all remaining open reservoirs in Seattle with an underground structure to improve the security and quality of the city's water.  The "reservoir lid"is covered with soil, grass and plants to make it a public green space.  In the case of the Maple Leaf reservoir, it will seamlessly fit in with the adjacent playground adding 16 acres of green space. 

Friends for a Greater Maple Leaf Park is inviting the whole community to come out to the next park planning meeting happening on Thursday, April 22nd. The Parks Department will present draft designs in order to get feedback from the public. For those interested in attending, the meeting will be held at Olympic View Elementary (504 NE 94th) from 6:00 to 8:00pm.

Want to add this save this date directly into your Outlook or other icalendar? Click on the NE Seattle Life events calendar button and you're all set! 

Cafe Lati Celebrates its First Anniversary

If there's one thing Meadowbrook/Lake City needs, it's more coffee shops.  How can it be, in a city obsessed with coffee, that there are two adjacent neighborhoods with only two non-Starbucks coffee shops? And for those waving your Starbucks loyalty flags, there are only two Starbucks in that same area; bringing up the total to a whopping four establishments.

One clue into this lack of coffee might be found over on the Lake City Live blog.  There's a  lively discussion about the challenges of running a business in that neighborhood. From reading the comments, it definitely seems like it is a difficult section of Seattle to maintain a thriving business. 

With all the challenges, I'm happy to announce that Cafe Lati - the only coffee shop in Meadowbrook - is celebrating it's one year anniversary.  Starting today they will have daily drink specials until Sunday, April 4th.  Become a fan of their Facebook page to find out all the deals.

More importantly, when you are about to take that quick run to the Starbucks on Lake City, why don't you head over to Cafe Lati on110th and 35th instead. Supporting your local businesses is the best way to get even more opening.

Food Packing Party at the View Ridge PCC Tonight

The PCC Food Bank Program is holding a volunteer work party at 7pm tonight  at their View Ridge store.  Everyone is welcome to help package bulk foods such as beans, rice, pasta and grains which will be given to the University District Food bank.

The bulk food is acquired through a few different ways of PCC shopper donations.  Each store accepts monetary donations to the program and has a food bin where patrons can donate non-perishable goods. However, the easiest way to donate is to bring your own grocery tote!  Each time shoppers reuse their bags, five cents is automatically donated to the fund. 

If you can't make it to the work party tonight, fear not; the event happens every other month until the end of the year.  For more information, contact PCC's Community Relations at (206) 547-1222.

Free Pastry Day at Starbucks

Need to pick up breakfast this morning? Starbucks is offering a free pastry to anyone buying a drink before 10:30am today.  Before you run out to one of the shops, don't forget to print off the coupon above (or show it to them on your phone).


Here is a list of a few NE Seattle Starbucks to stop by:

• Lake City: 14330 Lake City Way NE Seattle, WA 98125
• Lake City: 12001 Lake City Way NE Seattle, WA 98125
• Wedgwood: 7303 35th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98115
• Roosevelt Square: 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115
• University Village, 2650 NE 49th ST, Seattle, WA 98105

Seattle Tilth Early Edible Plant Sale Today at Magnuson

There couldn't be a more perfect way to celebrate spring then by wandering through the Seattle Tilth plant sale on this amazingly sunny day. Even better, it's happening right in our backyard - Hangar 30 at Magnuson Park!

I went to the Tilth sale last year and left with as many plants as I could carry.  The tiny little organic starts were probably half the size of their conventional counterparts but, boy, did that change! I ended up with a wonderful herb garden and more tomatoes then I knew what to do with.  My success last year fueled my excitement for the annual event and I was thrilled to read that the Seattle Tilth would be holding the sale even earlier this year.

As I've mentioned previously, 2010 is the Year of Urban Agriculture in Seattle and the Tilth is helping to kick it off with this spring version of their popular plant sale:

Choose from an amazing selection of edible plant varieties proven to perform well in the Pacific NW during the cool season, starring rare and heirloom organic vegetables.  We will also be selling perennial edibles such as favorite cane fruits, unusual fruiting shrubs and trees from One Green World in Oregon, culinary herbs and edible flowers.

The sale will be going from 9:00am - 2:00pm; today only. Before you head down to Magnuson, here are a few tips from the Tilth:

• Bring carriers (boxes, plant flats, etc.) to get your plants home all in one piece.
• Get a bracelet: because the event is so popular, the Tilth will be handing out wristbands for timed entry into the sale.
• Chow down: Patty Pan Grill and Mighty O Donuts will be on site in case you get hungry.

For more information, check out the Seattle Tilth website: http://seattletilth.org/ .  Directions to the plant sale can be found here.

Have fun and let us know what you buy! I'll be posting some pictures of the event on the NE Seattle Life Flickr group; add yours as well!

St. Patrick's Day in NE Seattle

It's almost time to drink in celebration of your Irish ancestry (or at least pretend to) because everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day.  Skip heading downtown to the massive crowds; instead raise a pint at one of these neighborhood bars:

Fiddler's Inn

9219 35th Ave NE (Wedgwood)
St. Patrick's Day at the Fid is being celebrated by pints of green beer and bowls of beef stew all night long.

Finn MacCools

4217 University Way NE (U District)
Finn's will be loaded with free St. Paddy's Day swag to give out and serving up the traditional corned beef and cabbage for their food special.  They'll be charging a small cover between 5-7pm to cover the cost of live bands playing all night long.

Galway Arms

5257 University Way NE (U District)
Galway Arms caters mostly to the Punk scene but with a name like that, they've got to be serving up a few Irish drink specials for the holidays.

Roosevelt Alehouse
8824 Roosevelt Way NE (Maple Leaf)
The Ralehouse is serving up corned beef and cabbage, fish and chips, Shepard's pie and really loud music all night long.

And if drinking isn't your favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, then head over to Trophy Cupcakes and eat a few of their Chocolate Guinness Stout cupcakes with Bailey's Buttercream frosting.

Know of any events or bars celebrating the luck of Irish tomorrow? Email me at northesea@gmail.com and I'll add them to the list.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiros2004/ / CC BY 2.0