True to the unique flavor that can be seen in all of Henry’s works around town, the Twirl mural features a big red bird, some colorful frogs, and a whole bunch of lemurs – a perfect fit for the jungle-gym apparatus the mural surrounds.
Henry first started painting murals in Seattle in the summer of 2008 after he was injured and could no longer work at his landscaping construction business. Since then the popularity of his paintings have soared. When he first started, Henry had a goal: He wanted to paint 50 murals around town. Now, three years later, that milestone has come and gone. This Twirl mural is Henry’s 119th in Seattle alone. He also has works in Olympia, Tacoma, Bellevue, Bellingham, and the Dominican Republic.
“I never planned on being a professional artist – it’s just something that happened,” he said. “It’s the best! I don’t have to have a real job.”
Drop by to see Henry’s brand new mural at Twirl, or catch his work along walls and in storefronts around town. If you haven’t caught one yet, you’ll have plenty of chances – Henry says he plans to keep painting his whimsical characters wherever he can until he either can’t paint anymore, or he runs out of free wall space.
Henry will be having a show of his canvas work later this week, on Saturday, June 11 from 6 to 10 p.m., at Kristos in Eastlake (during the art walk).
If you’d like to catch more of Henry’s work around town this summer, visit his studio at Short Stop Coffee in Fremont (336 NW 40th Street), swing by one of his upcoming shows, and keep on the lookout for his latest project, “The Little Cupcake Gallery,” a mobile gallery featuring works from other local artists (as well as Henry) located in a refurbished blue school bus that parks around town.
Sustainability focused community organization (and the group behind the Solarize Queen Anne project) Sustainable Queen Anne is hosting a meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tonight, Monday, June 6 at 2501 Westview Dr W (on the corner of Wheeler).
On the agenda for tonight’s meeting:
Results of our Community Survey and next steps (i.e., potential actions for Queen Anne)
Recap the Solarize Queen Anne project – big success!
Public stairway at W. Raye and 14th – cleanup, ivy removal and re-vegetation project (a project for this summer!)
Announcements
Dinner will also be provided, and meeting attendees are welcome to bring their children along for the evening. For more information on Sustainable Queen Anne and the work they do, check out their website.
Local painter and muralist Ryan Henry Ward will be painting a brand new work live at Queen Anne’s own Twirl Cafe from noon until 5 p.m. today, Monday, June 6.
Henry’s murals can be seen in and around business all over Seattle, as well as on a number of concrete walls and homesteads, like the house on Nickerson that was transformed into a three dimensional work of art last year. His whimsical style will be a perfect addition to the kid-centric Twirl Cafe, which focuses on providing a family focused space for relaxation (for parents) and child play (for kids) in the Queen Anne community.
Want to see some of Henry’s prior work? Check out this time-lapsed video of Henry creating a mural at Lowell Elementary:
While Twirl’s play area will be closed while Henry paints today, the cafe will remain open for coffee and lunch service, and Twirl owner Rebecca Pelletier invites neighbors to swing by and watch the artist in action.
A little background information on Henry, courtesy of Twirl Cafe:
Ryan graduated with a degree in Art, Writing and Storytelling for Children from Fairhaven College in Western Washington. It was at Fairhaven that he began to focus on his writing, theatre crafts and painting. He has written and illustrated several books for loved ones, as well as illustrated children’s books authored and published by others.
Since June of 2008, Ryan has completed over 110 murals, and it is this body of work that he has become most famous for. Previous to becoming a public muralist, he had painted dozens of murals in private residences around the Pacific Northwest. He has created works in India and Thailand, as well as four murals in the Dominican Republic. Selling over 400 original canvases in Seattle over the past couple of years, Ryan’s vision of creating primitive images with a dream like surreal quality has come to fruition… He wants the natural rawness of the painting process to show through his balanced, bright, and whimsical work.
You can check out more of Henry’s work at his website and on his Flickr page. I’ll be swinging by Twirl later today to catch the artist at work, and will be posting updates as he goes.
The Gates Foundation‘s new Lower Queen Anne campus opened to the public on Saturday, welcoming the community to the headquarters of one of the world’s largest charitable organizations.
The $500 million, 12-acre site across from the Seattle Center was designed to resemble arms reaching out to “the world’s most vulnerable people.” The organization has spent more than $24.8 billion on different causes throughout the world, with most of that spent on global health initiatives, according to the Gates Foundation Website.
A private party celebrating the opening of the three-year construction project was held on the evening of June 2, with Bill and Melinda Gates in attendance.
The foundation’s staff was spread out in five leased buildings throughout the South Lake Union area, but they’ve been moving into the new campus since early May. About 1,200 people are currently working at the center.
Queen Anne pet boutique Mes Amis will be closing its doors this Sunday, June 5, to make way for the shop’s transformation into Molly Moon’s newest ice cream outpost.
The local ice cream chain first announced plans to open a new shop in Queen Anne back in March, after pitting several neighborhoods against each other in a social media competition to see which ‘hood could drum up the most support to bring a the ice cream shop to their community.
In April Molly Moon’s announced that it had signed a lease to open its new location in the shop space at 321 W. Galer St., where Mes Amis is currently located. This came as abrupt news to Mes Amis owner and Queen Anne resident Nicole Ryan, whose 5-year lease was scheduled to end on August 31. “As my landlord was unwilling to negotiate the monthly rent, which has increased every year, I was faced with the decision to move the business, sell it, or simply close,” she told Queen Anne View, adding that she was not aware of Molly Moon’s plans to open a new shop in that space this summer until well after the fact. Ryan said she ultimately opted to close the shop rather than move it out of the neighborhood, but at the time was not sure exactly when the store’s final days would be.
This week Ryan reached an agreement with Molly Moon’s over the remainder of her lease and final move out day, and as per the terms Ryan agreed to close the shop early. Molly Moon’s plans to begin construction on the new store as early as next week, in the hopes of opening in time for Labor Day.
“It has all happened really fast,” Ryan said, adding that she’s concerned the quick closure will mean a missed opportunity to say goodbye to many of her longtime customers and neighbors. “I have sent thank you notes out to customers, but nothing can really express how thankful I am to all of them. These people—my neighbors—and their pets changed my life for the better, allowed me to slow down and pay attention to what is really important in life. Accepting the closure has still not really gotten any easier, the whole process is very difficult because of the connections I have made. I hope to still see everyone out and about in the neighborhood.”
Mes Amis will be having a big closing sale starting today, Friday, June 3 through its final day on Sunday, with discounts from 15 to 70 percent off, according to Ryan. Ryan says she will also be in the store all weekend leading up to closing, welcoming neighbors and their furry friends to stop by and say goodbye. A portion of the proceeds from Mes Amis’ sales this weekend will be donated to the Seattle Animal Shelter.
A 10-month-old, 60 lb puppy named Joey got off her leash during her morning walk today and is now lost, according to her owner Riky. She has no tags because she wrestled her way out of her collar before taking off, Riky says, but she does have a microchip. Joey is black with tan and white, and is a shepherd mix with either doberman or rottweiler.
Joey was last seen at the intersection of 6th Ave and Galer this morning. “Please call if you find her. I miss my puppy,” Riky wrote. Riky can be reached at 847-830-9804.
Update 1 p.m.: Riky reports that Joey found her way home this afternoon all by herself.
Just a friendly reminder to swing by the Queen Anne Top Pot Doughnuts today to participate in their National Doughnut Day celebrations. They’ll be prizes and festivities, and if you head over before noon, the doughnut shop will be collecting non-perishable food items for Northwest Harvest (bring all donation items to Top Pot by 12 p.m. today).
Fun doughnut-y fact: National Doughnut Day was started by the Salvation Army back in 1938 to honor women who served doughnuts to World War I soldiers.
The June Queen Anne Community Council meeting last Wednesday night was highlighted by a visit from Seattle Police Department’s West Precinct Captain Joe Kessler and Sergeant Paul Gracy – both natives of the Queen Anne/Magnolia area.
The crime rates in Queen Anne remain relatively low, said Kessler.
“Overall Queen Anne is one of the safest areas around,” said Kessler.
Violent crime rates are down only a little from the same time last year, but Kessler said they weren’t that high to begin with. Car prowls and car thefts are down significantly from the same time last year. Burglaries, however, are up slightly.
“Burglaries are one of those tough ones for us,” said Kessler. “Personally, I hate burglaries. Short of a violent crime, I think one of the worst things that can happen to you as a citizen is to have a burglary.”
Burglaries tend to come in bunches and are often perpetrated by the same individuals, so that once a burglar is caught it often brings the number of burglaries down, said Kessler. The SPD has been working with the prosecutor’s office extensively to target repeat burglars under the Repeat Burglary Initiative.
“We’re concentrating on the prolific guys that need to be in jail for a substantive period of time,” said Kessler.
Concerns over budget cuts and staffing were also discussed. The number of department staff is expected to remain stable despite budget cuts, said Kessler. SPD is firm on not cutting any of their patrol officers, and the current numbers are the highest they’ve ever been, said Kessler. However, increases in overall officers, like they’ve seen in previous years, is likely to stop.
The Crime Prevention Coordinators, who coordinate block watches and other neighborhood actions, may be phased out at the end of this year, said Kessler. It hinges on what the budget looks like for mid-year, but those positions will probably disappear, Kessler said.
“They do an incredible service, and they help the officers out tremendously,” said Kessler. “It’ll be a difficult thing for us to replace that … I don’t know how we will.”
Council Chair Ellen Monrad brought up the issue of the 7-Eleven the sells high-octane alcohol drinks on the hill. Gracy said officers have met with owner to discuss the problem, as well as notify the liquor control board. Stings to try to catch staff selling alcohol to minors have been performed, and they are working on an operation to address homeless buying alcohol for minors, said Gracy.
A few councilmembers discussed the problem of car speeding and drag racing along 10th Avenue West late at night. Gracy said they would make local patrol officers aware of the situation, and it was recommended that residents petition SDOT for a mobile speed monitor.
After the talk by Kessler and Gracy, the council discussed briefly the elections coming up in September, and Councilmember Nicole Pastarnack volunteered to be chair of the elections committee.
The committee reports followed, including:
Given the number of talks regarding traffic calming, Transportation Chair Glenn Avery said he would see about getting representatives from SDOT to talk to the group at next month’s meeting.
John Coney discussed the Interbay Neighborhood Association, who are mobilized to combat the possibility that a tent city would move to Interbay on a Seattle City Light site. Monrad said the office of Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell said they will not put a tent city there.
Jim Cunningham, member of the city’s Community Center Advisory Team, said there will be public hearings on June 15 and 16, one at the Bitter Lake Community Center and one at the Jefferson Community Center, to present Seattle Parks’ latest ideas addressing the future of community centers in Seattle.
Communications Chair Michael Lapin spoke briefly about the opening of this year’s Queen Anne Farmers Market. There is not expected to be a significant amount of competition with the new farmers market in Interbay’s Whole Food’s parking lot, said Lapin. Internal challenges persist with the administration of the Queen Anne Farmers Market, and a solution to the controversy between the different stakeholders is still being sought for next year’s market.
The Queen Anne Helpline‘s annual Queen Anne Fun Run will take place Saturday, July 9, and the organization is looking for people to register, volunteer and donate.
Ballard’s Majestic Bay Theatres (2044 NW Market St) is one of the few remaining independent neighborhood movie houses in Seattle. Lower Queen Anne’s Uptown Theatre closed back in November, and the Neptune Theater in the U District followed soon after, recently closing its doors, the latest casualty to hit Seattle’s small movie houses. Unlike the Uptown Theater, which is sitting empty until AMC’s contract runs out in three years time, the Neptune has been saved from both sitting idle and from the wrecking ball, and will soon become a live music venue.
Students from the UW Entrepreneurial Journalism class, taught by our partners at the Common Language Project, talk with former employees of the Neptune who say the closure could have been prevented.
It goes without saying you don’t want to let your unpaid parking tickets pile up. However if you already have, the city of Seattle is going to give you a little bit of incentive to get them squared away.
Starting July 5th, any vehicle that has four or more unpaid parking tickets will be “immobilized,” which is a fancy way of saying you’re going to get The Boot.
Once booted, to get the vehicle released you will have 48 hours to pay all parking tickets, default penalties, interest, collections agency fees, and a boot fee. If you do not pay within 48 hours of being booted, the vehicle will be towed and impounded. To release the vehicle from impound, you will need to pay all fees and fines, plus tow fees.
Finally, if your vehicle is not claimed from impound within 15 days, it will be sold at auction to help pay your debts.
Blue skies arrived just in time for the opening of the Queen Anne Farmers Market, which kicks off its 5th season from 3 to 7:30 p.m. today, Thursday, June 2 at W Crockett Street and Queen Anne Ave N. (Watch out for drizzle though – despite the fact that it’s June, rain is still in the forecast for today).
Rain or shine the market will be bustling with over 40 farmers and food vendors, adult and kids cooking demonstrations, and live music.
Check out what’s on the schedule for Opening Day:
3 p.m. – Live Music: Mariachi Monarcas of Seattle, sponsored by Umpqua Bank;
Welcome – George Counts, M.D., Market Founder & Secretary, QANRG;
John Hay Elementary Chorus;
Remarks by: Richard Conlin, Seattle City Council President, Senator Jeanne Kohl Welles, and Representative Reuven Carlyle
4 p.m. – Market musician: Vincent Mtz & the Great Blue Yonder
4 p.m. – Chef Demo: Seth Caswell, Emmer & Rye
5:30 p.m. – Kids Cooking Class
In addition to the market’s popular returning vendors, a number of ready-made food trucks will also be swinging by, including the ever popular Parfait artisan ice cream, Anita’s Crepes, Maximum/Minimus, and a few new ones including Seattle Salads (fresh salads and wraps) and Where Ya At Matt? (Creole soul food). Check out the full list of vendors this year here.
Looking to stock with fresh eats at the market today? Here’s what’s fresh at the market this week: asparagus, spinach, spring greens, peonies, red rhubarb, organic herbs, and more.
Season sponsors include Metropolitan Market; Umpqua
Bank; Rene Stern, Windermere Real Estate; and HomeStreet Bank.
The Union Gospel Mission runs a “Search and Rescue” team that goes out into the streets to provide food, clothing, blankets and hygiene supplies to homeless people throughout the city, in addition to offering them a ride to a shelter.
Timothy Tetrault, UGM’s Search and Rescue Coordinator, contacted us to see if we knew of any homeless encampments in our area.
We run Search and Rescue weeknights from roughly 7:30pm-11pm. Hot chocolate, sandwiches, blankets, and socks are the most popular items that we give out when we meet homeless people out on the street, and occasionally we bring back people when they are willing. If the temperature is below freezing we go out every night and try to hit as many neighborhoods as we can.
We don’t know of any homeless encampments in the Queen Anne area, but if any of our readers do, please leave a note in comments so we can forward that information to Union Gospel Mission.
The Seattle Public Library’sSummer Reading Program kicks off today with the theme “Where Does Reading Take You?” The annual program encourages everyone, especially children, to read during the summer.
To participate, sign up in person at any of the 27 Library locations, including the Queen Anne Library, at 400 W Garfield Street. Children can get a reading log and collect a sticker for each book read. Teens and adults can also track books at their local branch.
Children who participate in the Summer Reading Program will receive a free paperback book and a pass to the Burke Museum after reading 10 books. Children who read 10 books by Monday, Aug. 1 will be entered into a drawing for the city librarian’s popular Breakfast of Champions event held at the Space Needle in August. One winner from each Library location will be selected.
Participating in the Summer Reading Program is a great way for kids to have fun and improve reading skills during the summer break from school. A 2004 study in the Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk found that having elementary school students read just four or five books during the summer can prevent the reading-achievement losses that normally occur over those months.
The Summer Reading Program includes hundreds of free programs for families at library locations. Here are the programs scheduled at the Queen Anne Library:
Puss in Boots – 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursday, June 23. “The ethnic diversity and rich musical traditions of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayous are the background for Oregon Shadow Theatre’s version of the classic French fairy tale. Colorful shadow puppets inspired by Mardi Gras’ outrageous parade costumes along with live Zydeco and Cajun music give spicy flavor to this production. For ages 4 and up.”
Snakes: Friend or Foe – 3 to 4 p.m., Monday, July 11. “Learn all about snakes in this program led by wildlife educator Nick Sutton. Discover natural history, learn how to identify both local and tropical species, and even touch a real snake! All featured snakes are non-venomous. For ages 7 and up.”
Going Global – 11:30 a.m.m to 12:30 p.m., Saturday, July 30. “Join juggler Alex Zerbe for a high-energy comedy show that excites kids and adults alike about different cultures and phenomena from around the world. See why this two-time Guinness World Record holder was voted Seattle’s Funniest Prop Comic. For ages 5 and up.”
Hands-on-Henna – 3 to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 9. “Create and wear great-looking art! Learn about the fascinating history and traditions of this beautiful form of body adornment with artist Krysteen Lomonaco. Not suitable for large groups such as day cares or summer camps. For ages 10 and up. Limited to 30 people. Call the branch to register.”
Brother Coyote and Sister Fox – 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursday, August 8. “Join Thistle Theatre for a delightful and humorous adaptation of a beloved Mexican folktale featuring puppets, music and humor. For ages 3-11.”
The festival’s top headliners this year are Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs (Saturday), Wiz Khalifa (Sunday), and, in true flashback fashion, Daryl Hall & John Oates (Monday). Other big names: Broken Social Scene (Sunday), Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (also Sunday), and Seattle’s own The Presidents of the United States of America (Monday).
Check out the full lineup by day here. Bumbershoot will be releasing the full comedy and arts lineup later this month. The full schedule (with time and stage information) will be released in mid-July.
The Queen Anne Community Council’s monthly meeting is happening tonight, Wednesday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the social room at Queen Anne Manor, located at 100 Crockett Street. Here’s a look at what’s on the docket for this month’s meeting:
7:30 p.m. – Adoption of Agenda, Approval of Minutes, Treasurer’s Report
7:35 p.m. – Open Forum – Comments
7:45 p.m. – Captain Joe Kessler, Seattle Police Department
8:30 p.m. – Committee Reports
Transportation – Glenn Avery
LURC/Planning – Craig Hanway
Parks – Don Harper
Communication – Michael Lapin
District Council – Mike Warren
NAC – Kirk Robbins, Jim Smith, Glenn Avery, Don Harper
Social Issues – Kirk Robbins
Police & Crime – Allen Panich
9:25 p.m. – New Business
9:30 p.m. – Adjournment
Here’s a look at upcoming community meetings and events happening in the neighborhood over the next month.
District Council: Monday, June 13 , 7 to 9 p.m., Queen Anne Community Center
Parks Committee: Tuesday, June 14, 7:30 p.m. Queen Anne Manor
NAC: Wendnesday, June 15, 4:30 p.m., Port Headquarters
LURC/Planning: Monday, June 20, 7 p.m., Queen Anne Manor
Transportation: Wednesday, June 29, 7:30 p.m., Queen Anne Manor
QACC: Wednesday, July 6, 7:30 p.m., Queen Anne Manor
QAHL Fun Run: Saturday, July 9
Attendees are reminded to sign in at the front door at Queen Anne Manor Manor, and bring questions on any neighborhood safety issues to pose to meeting guest Captain Kessler.
Seattle Parks and Recreation is working on developing new ways to operate community centers, and the department now wants to hear from the public on several options suggested by a citizen advisory team.
There are two upcoming community meetings where the public is invited to hear about the latest options and weigh in. The first will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 at the Bitter Lake Community Center, located at 13035 Linden Ave. N. The second will take place the following day, Thursday, June 16, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Community Center, located at 3801 Beacon Ave S.
The draft options for changing community center operations will be available June 8 at all community centers and on the Seattle Parks and Recreation web page: http://seattle.gov/parks/centers/operations.htm.
Those who are unable to attend the meeting are invited to complete an online survey that will be posted on the web (same site as above) beginning June 8.
See ratings and reviews of
This week Ryan reached an agreement with Molly Moon’s over the remainder of her lease and final move out day, and as per the terms Ryan agreed to close the shop early. Molly Moon’s plans to begin construction on the new store as early as next week, in the hopes of opening in time for Labor Day.
A 10-month-old, 60 lb puppy named Joey got off her leash during her morning walk today and is now lost, according to her owner Riky. She has no tags because she wrestled her way out of her collar before taking off, Riky says, but she does have a microchip. Joey is black with tan and white, and is a shepherd mix with either doberman or rottweiler.
Just a friendly reminder to swing by the Queen Anne 
It goes without saying you don’t want to let your unpaid parking tickets pile up. However if you already have, the city of Seattle is going to give you a little bit of incentive to get them squared away.
Blue skies arrived just in time for the opening of the 
In addition to the market’s popular returning vendors, a number of ready-made food trucks will also be swinging by, including the ever popular 
The 
