Queen Anne-ers will have two chances this weekend to enjoy the neighborhood’s unique arts and culinary scenes, all while supporting local organizations.

Swing by Counterbalance Park in Lower Queen Anne for the 11th Annual Uptown Stroll: A Festival of Art in Action this Saturday, August 27, and catch local artists creating art work–everything from paintings, pottery and jewelry, to music, poetry and spoken word–right there on the spot from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

After you’ve seen all the art in action you can take, mosey on up to the 2nd annual Happy Hour on the Hill, co-sponsored by FOLKpark and the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, from 4 to 7 p.m.

A $15 ticket will get you specials at 14 of Queen Anne’s favorite spots for a bite, a cup of coffee, or a sweet snack. Here’s a look at which merchants are participating and what they’ll be offering:

Bricco della Regina Anna – $3 off all wines by the glass & $2 Happy Hour bruchettas
Charley & May – FREE glass of May’s Spirited Summer Ice Tea plus 15% of store merchandise
Chocolopolis – $1 House truffles (limit 2) & 50% cup of drinking chocolate
Eat Local – Buy one get one FREE on featured wines; plus Dinner for Two: 2-serving entrée and bottle of featured wine for $24.98
Emmer and Rye – $5 Rye Manhattan
Homegrown Sustainable Sandwich Shop – $3 local microbrews
La Luna – 2 tacos for $5 (Al Pastor, Chicken Adobo or Truck); $3 Corona; $2.50 Pacifico
Metropolitan Market (Uptown only) – buy one, get one FREE gelato scoops
Paragon – $6 martinis & $6 appetizers
Queen Anne Dispatch – Buy 2 Hanky Panky and get 1 FREE
Top Pot Donuts – FREE donut with purchase of coffee beverage
T.S. McHugh’s – $2 Miller Lite & $2.50 Mac and Jack’s
Twirl Café – FREE Open Play, $1 off Beer and $2 off wine
Zaw Pizza – $3 off Signature pizzas

Tickets can be purchased at: Charlie + May, Chocolopolis, Eat Local, Homegrown, Queen Anne Dispatch, the Thursday Queen Anne Farmers Market, FOLKpark’s table at Metropolitan Market, and FOLKpark’s table at the Uptown Stroll. Proceeds will go toward helping FOLKpark reach its Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund requirement. The Uptown Stroll is free.

For more information on FOLKpark at its work to revitalize Lower Kinnear Park, see our past coverage and the FOLKpark website.

Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark), and HBB Landscape Architects are hosting a community meeting on the Lower Kinnear Park enhancement project this Thursday, June 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bayview Retirement Community, located at 11 W Aloha Street.

From FOLKpark:

Join FOLKpark, HBB Landscape Architects and Seattle Parks to learn more about the proposed restoration of the forest, the link to the waterfront, tennis court renovation, trail improvements, off-leash area and more!  We will present findings from our arborist and geotechnical consultants and talk about funding priorities. Bring a neighbor!

The Lower Kinnear Park enhancement project is one of fifteen projects to receive funding from the parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund. You can read more about the redevelopment at the project website, or in our past coverage.

If you can’t make it to this meeting, there will be a second meeting also at Bayview on Thursday, October 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Want to pass along information about this meeting to friends and neighbors? Download the printable flier here (.pdf).

SDOT hosted an open house on the Mercer West Project Wednesday evening in the Northwest Rooms Plaza of the Seattle Center, giving the public an in-depth look at what’s to come.

Similar to the West Mercer Place open house in March, the room was circled with posters illustrating various stages and aspects of the project, while SDOT officials, like SDOT Mercer West Project Manager Eric Tweit, answered questions about the project in detail. The project, and the room, was broken up into three parts: West Mercer Place, the Two-Way Conversion and the Mercer Underpass.

Another Mercer West open house will be held next winter to share the final drawings and ask for public comment, according to a video presentation. The final design for the project will be finished in mid-2012, and construction will begin shortly after.

The extension of the two left-turn lanes on Elliott Avenue West and West Mercer Place, or the fifth of five alternatives to address traffic concerns on West Mercer Place, was included in the project discussion. Construction for the three- to six-week job will begin Monday, June 13, and SDOT says it will avoid scheduling work on the weekends, in the morning and during rush hour to reduce the impacts on traffic.

SDOT is also trying to improve pedestrian crossing at Fifth Avenue West and West Mercer Street, a matter of serious concern to residents living in that immediate area.

Much of the information presented at the open house can be seen on the SDOT website here.

FOLKpark Chair Debi Frausto was also on hand to discuss the Lower Kinnear Park Enhancement Plan, the Uptown Loop and a letter sent to SDOT on the needs of the park with respect to changes from SDOT’s proposed alternatives. According to the letter, the chosen Alternative 5 doesn’t provide for bicycles on West Mercer Place, so improvements would need to be made on the sidewalks and park entrance. In addition, the added noise and air pollution from the increase in traffic would need enhanced planting buffers.

An interdepartmental meeting between FOLKpark, SDOT, Seattle Utilities, Seattle Parks and others will take place next Monday “to talk about green infrastructure solutions for this area,” said Frausto.

The organization estimates it needs between $60,000 and $80,000 more to finish the design work, but they already have enough money in the bank to begin construction next year, Frausto said. They’re currently exploring different ideas on how to raise the remaining funds.

“We are well underway,” said Frausto. “We could very well be in construction this time next year.”

Appropriate to the recent “green” holidays, the May Queen Anne Community Council meeting dedicated much of its time to guests speaking on behalf of trees and forests last Wednesday night.

Kay Napton, a member of the Seattle Planning Commission and FOLKpark, spoke on the need of FOLKpark to raise money to fund their $1.5 million project.  The amount raised from grants, about $850,000, falls well short, said Napton. She asked the QACC to help broaden FOLKparks breadth of contacts, such as leaders in the community and environmental groups, that can help raise the remaining funds needed to renovate Lower Kinnear Park.

Plant ecologist Michael Yadrick spoke about the Green Seattle Partnership and their efforts to enhance the tree canopy across the city. He said the organization was six years into its 20-year plan to reforest 2,500 acres, which include the Northeast, Southwest and Kinnear Park Greenbelts. Much of the work is done through volunteers, and Yadrick said Green Seattle Partnership will be looking to engage and recruit citizens in the area to be involved in the reforestation process.

Queen Anne resident Judy Leshner spoke about her development of Queen Anne tree tours based in part on the work of Arthur Lee Jacobson and his book “Trees of Seattle.” Leshner has created five self-guided Queen Anne tree tours to date, but still needs to finalize the tours by verifying some of the information with an arborist.

“I wanted to come up with something that was of interest and use to the Queen Anne community,” said Leshner. “As a former school teacher, I thought would be interesting to school children … and to those in the community and outside, who may go to businesses once they’re here.”

Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing Mary Chapman said she was interested in putting Leshner’s tree tours on her organization’s upcoming “Visit Queen Anne” website. She was also given ideas by council members on grants and city and organizational contacts.

Apart from the Earth Day and Arbor Day concerns, the transportation committee report headed by committee chair Glenn Avery discussed two letters addressed to SDOT and other interested parties that was passed in a vote at last week’s transportation committee meeting. Both letters were also passed by the council.

The first letter stated several points, including: QACC’s approval of SDOT’s alternative 5 for West Mercer Place; that the project be done this year; that the BAT lane south of West Mercer Place on Elliot Avenue West be converted to general traffic; and that SDOT conduct studies when finished extending the turn lanes on Elliott Avenue West to find out whether the desired results were achieved.

The second letter addressed West Mercer Place and the Mercer West Project more generally. It asked for comprehensive planning for pedestrian safety and movement throughout the Mercer/Roy corridor, as well as planning for parking requirements to sustain area businesses; the incorporation of crosswalks and traffic lights at Fourth Avenue West and Mercer Street and other corners where needed; three lanes each way on Mercer Street under the Aurora Avenue North underpass; the exclusion of in-lane bus stops on Mercer Street unless there are additional unblocked lanes; no construction to take place while the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement, including the Viaduct demolition, is underway; and comprehensive review of the project when it’s finished to find out whether it’s working or if it needs changes.

In addition, another “stronger” letter specifically addressing parking in Uptown with respect to the Mercer West Project will be written.

Councilmember Kirk Robbins also spoke about the possibility of Lake City’s temporary tent city moving to one of two sites in the Magnolia/Queen Anne area. The mayor convened a panel that picked seven possible sites for a permanent tent city, said Robbins, including one at the West Yard down on the waterfront and another on a Seattle City Light site in the West Dravus Street area of Magnolia. All of these sites are “back on the table,” and the evaluation process by the Seattle City Council was extended into July, said Robbins. QACC Chair Ellen Monrad said that they will continue to monitor the city’s decision making on the permanent tent city, and council members floated the idea of writing a letter.

The Seattle Department of Transportation held an open house to inform and answer questions about the West Mercer Place portion of the Mercer West Project on Tuesday night.

The open house, held from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Northwest Rooms Plaza of the Seattle Center, gave the public a look at different possible plans for the street while providing a forum for comment and criticism with SDOT representatives. In the Rainier Room, posters of the different plans, stages of development, area studies and traffic analysis were displayed with a short video presentation at the front of the room.

“It’s been a good conversation and I think we had a good turnout,” said SDOT Project Manager Eric Tweit.

SDOT presented five alternative plans for West Mercer Place: Alternative No. 1 adds a sidewalk to West Mercer Place, Alternative No. 2 adds a sidewalk and a bike lane, Alternative No. 3 and No. 4 add the sidewalk and bike lane and extends the merge lane on West Mercer Place. Alternative No. 5, which can be a standalone or combined with any of the previous 4 alternatives, would extend the left-turn lanes on Elliott Avenue West. The illustrations of alternative No. 1 and No. 2 can be seen here, No. 3 and No. 4 can be seen here, and Elliot Avenue West left-turn lane extension with the alternatives summary can be seen here.

“More traffic is going to try to use Mercer, so the question became can West Mercer Place handle it? Do we need to or do we want to even increase the capacity?” said Tweit. “We were pretty concerned about what the cost and impact would be, so this is really the culmination of that evaluation of whether there is a benefit to doing it.”

The changes in traffic through West Mercer Place with the Mercer Corridor Project and the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct prompted many of those who live in that area to voice their opposition. (See our past coverage of public meetings and community events surrounding this debate here.)

“We recently heard from a lot of reasonably and understandably concerned people who live on West Mercer Place, so this is an opportunity… for people to see and comment on the project,” said Tweit.

Tweit said that those he spoke to were opposed to the addition of a lane on West Mercer Place, and, along with the increased traffic, many of them were concerned about the possible loss of parking in the area. He said of the alternatives, No. 1 and No. 5, those that made the least amount of change to the area, were most popular.

Community representatives, from organizations like the Queen Anne Community Council, the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce and the Department of Neighborhoods were on hand to speak to the public and SDOT officials. Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing Mary Chapman said she was glad to see SDOT taking input from residents and businesses in the area and thought it was a positive sign.

“I feel that the mayor did not listen to us in terms of the Nickerson street road diet, [the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce] does not support the road diet, but we really hope that they will be listening more actively as the plans for West Mercer are being developed by the Seattle Department of Transportation,” said Chapman. “We highly suggest that everybody make comments and do so very soon so that they can get as much realistic input from the people who live in the neighborhood as possible.”

FOLKpark volunteers were on hand to present their conceptual plan for Lower Kinnear Park and the proposed Uptown Loop, a collection of pedestrian and bicycle routes that circle and traverse lower Queen Anne. FOLKpark Chair Debi Frausto said that, as the Mercer West Project coincide with Kinnear Park projects, they hope they can leverage dollars with SDOT to save money on different aspects of development, like design and surveys.

“There are things where there are overlaps between us, like at entrances to the park. Let’s work together so that where we do them coordinates with pedestrian crossings, bicycle safety and those types of things so that we’re not designing in isolation,” said Frausto.

The next step for SDOT is to present the alternative plans to the local community organizations and councils and evaluate public comments. This will last through April, after which SDOT will make a recommendation to Mayor McGinn.

Comments on the alternative plans or other ideas and considerations can be e-mailed at mercerwest@seattle.gov.

Update 4:40 p.m.: Traffic moving through West Mercer Place is projected to reach more than 800 vehicles every hour by 2015, according to figures by KPFF, an engineering firm used by SDOT. These figures, presented at the open house, take into account the waterfront construction during that time. Between 590 to 660 vehicles per hour are expected to move through West Mercer Place after the Mercer Corridor and waterfront construction is completed, compared to the estimated 372 an hour that move through the street now.

The Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark) and Uptown Alliance rummage sale you’ve been hearing so much about lately is happening this weekend, from Friday, February 25 to Sunday, February 27, at 512 1st Ave N in Lower Queen Anne.

FOLKpark and the Uptown Alliance have been soliciting donations from the community for the sale, which will benefit both organizations and the work they do in the community.

FOLKpark is currently raising money for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park, an effort that has been several years in the making by the FOLKpark community volunteers. (Check out more past coverage of FOLKpark’s work to redesign and clean up Lower Kinnear Park here).

The organizations has collected tons of unique and interesting finds up for grabs at the sale – everything from a portable picnic table that folds up into a suitcase, to a men’s tuxedo, vintage wedding dress, swanky suede roller skates and more. Swing by to dig in and search for some second-hand treasures during the following hours this weekend:

• Friday, February 25 from 4 to 8 p.m.–Preview Event
• Saturday, February 26 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.–Sale all day
• Sunday, February 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.–Close-out sale

Rummage shoppers should be sure to have cash in hand–the group will not be able to take credit card purchases. Check out the event’s Facebook page here.

The west half of Queen Anne is a close second to win a stake in a $50,000 community project through a city-wide contest held by Seattle waste management company CleanScapes.

Running from September 2010 to September of this year, trash collection areas are competing against one another to make the largest reduction in trash, yard waste and recycling compared to the previous year. This is the second year Queen Anne has competed in CleanScapes annual Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards program, which is meant to encourage Seattle residents to limit the amount of waste they produce.

“We think it’s a great program and a great way to give back to the community,” said CleanScapes Government Relations Manager John Taylor. “What we like about this is that it gives something back tangible to the community that everybody in the community can enjoy.”

The first four months of the competition have already been tallied, and the trash collection area in second place, Tuesday South, includes Queen Anne west of Queen Anne Avenue North and the top portion of Magnolia north of West Emerson Street. First place, Tuesday North, which encompasses the Ravenna neighborhood, is leading west Queen Anne by only 0.7 percent. Wednesday South, the half of Queen Anne east of Queen Anne Avenue North including the Westlake, South Lake Union and Eastlake neighborhoods and a portion of Capitol Hill, is in fourth place.

“What’s unique about the competition is it invites communities and traditional neighborhoods to work with other neighborhoods and communities,” said CleanScapes Waste Diversion Project Manager Candy Castellanos. “Queen Anne is in a couple different areas, which actually gives Queen Anne a better opportunity to compete.”

If the Tuesday or Wednesday South collection areas win, Queen Anne could inherit the $50,000 community project. Once an area has been deemed a winner by CleanScapes, a project selection committee is made of representatives from the community councils of the neighborhoods in the collection area. They then decide on a project from proposals submitted by the public. If come September Queen Anne and Magnolia in Tuesday South manage to surpass the Ravenna area, they will get to decide how to spend $50,000 in their area.

Picture Perfect Queen Anne chair and Queen Anne Community Council board member Margaret Okamoto said that there are many proposed projects in Queen Anne that could benefit from the $50,000 prize money.

“Picture Perfect Queen Anne has tons of projects that are part of our streetscape plan that we’d love to see done, clearly $50,000 could go a long way towards that … and the Galer Stairs would lend themselves wonderfully to some community activity,” said Okamoto, adding, “anytime you can bring people together to make decisions for public spaces it makes you feel more cohesive as a neighborhood, and the more community involvement there is I think the more vibrant a neighborhood is.”

FOLKpark Chair Debi Frausto said the money could easily be used to fund the organization’s plans for the renewal of lower Kinnear Park. They received a matching grant of $100,000 from the city of Seattle, and they are currently looking to raise $50,000 to honor the terms of that grant.

“It would be a perfect number for us,” said Frausto. “It would be very exciting to know we had that additional money already raised so that we could go into full production.”

Last year’s winner was Thursday South, which includes the neighborhoods of Montlake, Madison Park, Madison Valley, Madrona, Capitol Hill, First Hill and Yesler Terrace. They’re turning the prize into a playground at Washington Park Arboretum.

CleanScapes has many tips and resources for reducing waste on their website, and representatives are available to give presentations and help organize events, said Castellanos.

From the CleanScapes website:

Winning is easy: stop waste before it happens. Compost at home. Use a worm bin. Grasscycle. Use refillable water bottles and coffee mugs. Replace paper towels and napkins with cloth kitchen towels and washable napkins. Bring your own bag. Use Tupperware. Reuse. Repair. Buy in bulk. Buy local. Buy second-hand. Share. Trade. Swap. Rent. Donate or sell unwanted items. Print double-sided. Stop junk mail and phonebooks… you get the idea!

It’s that time again, the Queen Anne Community Council is having its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, February 2 at the Queen Anne Community Center.

Here’s a look at what’s on the agenda for tonight:

Update 9 a.m.: The QACC released last month’s agenda by accident, which was subsequently republished here. Below you’ll find the corrected, February meeting agenda.

• 7 p.m.: Adoption of Agenda; Approval of Minutes; Treasurer’s Report
• 7:10 p.m.: Open Forum—Comments
• 7:20 p.m.: FOLKpark—Don Harper
• 7:30 p.m.: Solarize Seattle—Update Don Harper
• 7:35 p.m.: West Mercer Place—Glenn Avery
• 7:55 p.m.: Smith Cove Land Trade—Don Harper
• 8:00 p.m.: Committee Reports

1. LURC/Planning—Craig Hanway
2. Transportation—Glenn Avery
3. Parks—Don Harper
4. Communication—Michael Lapin
5. District Council—Mike Warren
6. NAC—Kirk Robbins, Jim Smith, Glenn Avery, Don Harper
7. Social Issues—Kirk Robbins
8. Police & Crime—Allen Panich

• 8:45 p.m.: New Business
• 8:55 p.m.: Adjournment

Upcoming QACC meetings, sub-committee meetings, and events:

• QACC: March 2, TBA
• Parks Committee: February 15, Queen Anne Community Center, 7:30 p.m.
• LURC/Planning: February 28, Queen Anne Community Center, 7:00 p.m.
• Transportation: February 23, Queen Anne Community Center, 7:30 p.m.
• NAC: February 16, Port Headquarters, 4:30 p.m.
• District Council: February 14, Magnolia Community Center 7 p.m.
• Queen Anne Clean and Green February, 12 9 p.m.
• SNAP: Queen Anne Library February 8 6:30 p.m.

Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark) and the Uptown Alliance are hosting a rummage sale next month to raise money for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park, an effort that has been several years in the making by the FOLKpark community volunteers. (Peruse our past coverage of FOLKpark’s work to redesign and clean up Lower Kinnear Park here).

While the rummage sale won’t take place until the last weekend of February (Friday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 27), but FOLKpark is already collecting donations to be sold at the sale. The rummage sale will be held at 512 1st Ave N in Lower Queen Anne. Community members who’d like to donate their old stuff to FOLKpark for the rummage sale should contact Jean Sundborg at 206-283-6140 and arrange a time to bring their donations to the sale site.

FOLKpark is also looking for volunteers work the days of the sale, and in the weeks coming up to the event, helping to prepare. If you’d like to volunteer, reach out to FOLKpark via its Facebook page, or by calling the number above.

Applications for the first cycle of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Small and Simple project fund, part of the Neighborhood Matching Fund, are due by 5 p.m. today, Tuesday, January 18.

The Small and Simple Projects Fund provides awards up to $20,000 to support community members in building community relationships around a project. Small and Simple Projects Fund activities may be physical projects as well as less tangible but equally significant educational, cultural, and relationship-strengthening activities. All projects must demonstrate its capacity to build a stronger and healthier community, and must:

• Provide a public benefit and be free and open to all members of the public.
• Emphasize self-help, with project ideas initiated, planned and implemented by the neighbors and community members who will themselves be impacted by the project.
• Demonstrate community match.
• Occur within the Seattle city limits.

Artistic rendering of Lower Kinnear Park encompassing community ideas/input, done by graphic recorder Patti Dobrowolski after a planning meeting in January 2010.

A number of community organizations have been awarded Small and Simple project funding in the past, including Friends of Lower Kinnear Park, which received $15,000 as part of a larger $100,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund award to finance enhancement plans for the park; the Interbay Neighborhood Association, which won a $17,000 award to build two mini-parks; and Queen Anne Murals, which was awarded $15,000 to repaint the mural under the Dexter Avenue N underpass off of Aurora.

Small and Simple project grants are available to neighborhood and community-based groups and organizations, ad-hoc groups, and business organizations (such as chambers of commerce) for projects aimed at building “stronger connections in their neighborhood.” Community groups that do not have a geographic base (racial, ethnic, GLBT, disability, etc.) are also eligible to apply for Small and Simple project funding.

If you miss this deadline, don’t worry, there will be two more grant cycles in 2011. Applications for the next two cycles are due by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 9, and Monday, September 12.

For more information on Small and Simple project funds, how to apply, and application materials, see the Department of Neighborhoods website.

The citizen oversight committee for the Seattle Parks and Green Spaces Levy finalized their project recommendations for Opportunity Funding earlier this week. The $7 million Opportunity Fund will be divvied out to community initiated projects throughout the city, and one of the proposals to make the list was the Lower Kinnear Park Enhancement Plan.

We’ve been covering the developments of the Lower Kinnear Park Enhancement Plan, the brainchild of community group FOLKpark (Friends of Lower Kinnear Park), for some time. The final plan proposal was the result of a number of community meetings and town halls the crowd-sourced residents for their thoughts on how the park should be developed.

In August FOLKpark was awarded a $100,000 Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund to hire consultants to produce construction plans for the enhancement of the park. The Opportunity Fund oversight committee advises allocating $750,000 to get construction going on the project. The funds would go toward improving trails and signage in Lower Kinnear Park, restoring the native vegetation, and making connections to other trails in the Seattle Parks system. Read more about the Uptown loop trail that would connect to the park here.

The committee’s recommendations will be forwarded to Parks and Recreation Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams, who will make his own recommendation and forward them along to the Mayor and City Council. The Seattle City Council is expected to approve project funding recommendations in March 2011. If the recommendations are approved, construction will begin in 2012.

Read up on the Opportunity Fund, and the full list of oversight committee recommendations here (.pdf).

Tonight, FOLKpark and some landscape architects are asking for your ideas on how to include Lower Kinnear Park in an uptown loop trail.  The special workshop takes place tonight (9/23) from 7pm to 8:30pm at the Queen Anne Neighborhood Center (160 Roy Street).  For more information and to RSVP, go to their Facebook page.

Image above from FOLKpark detailing Uptown Loop and how Lower Kinnear Park acts as a link to the waterfront.  Click here for larger maps.

This weekend Queen Anne-ers will have an opportunity to enjoy some of the neighborhood’s best eats, while supporting our own local nonprofit, FOLKpark. The volunteer organization dedicated to revitalizing Lower Kinnear Park has put together Happy Hour on the Hill event/fundraiser this Saturday, August 28 from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

A $15 ticket will get you access to a bunch of ‘happy hour’ discounts at local restaurants and sweet shops. All of the proceeds will go toward helping FOLKpark reach it’s Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund requirement. The organization won the $100,000 city grant earlier this month, and needs to raise at least $50,000 to be awarded the funds, which will be used in the upcoming design development phase of the Lower Kinnear Park Enhancement Plan. (The community actively helped develop this plan last spring. See the finalized plan here).

The following Queen Anne locations are participating in Happy Hour on the Hill:

• Betty – $8 drink and appetizer combo
• Paragon – $5 Martinis and $7 Appetizers
• Eat Local – Free farro salad with any purchase and get 2 bottles of Viognier for the price of one at $16.98
• Chocolopolis – $1 Chocolopolis truffles (limit 2) & 50% of a chocolate drink
• Wink – 15% off all cupcakes

Tickets are available at any of the participating locations, or can be purchased at the Uptown Stroll and art walk this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Counterbalance Park (at Queen Anne Ave N and W Roy St).

The fundraiser in being put on in conjunction with the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce. If you can’t make it to Happy Hour on the Hill, but would like to donate to FOLKpark, you can make a donation via PayPal on the organization’s website.

Those interested in volunteering with FOLKpark should contact Phil Prahst at philprahst@gmail.com.

Two projects on Queen Anne will receive a big financial boost from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund. The City Council has approved $1.24 million in awards to support neighborhood projects across Seattle. The funding matches privately raised money, donated materials, and volunteer labor. Here’s a look at the Queen Anne winners:

Queen Anne Farmers Market: $33,706 to expand the market with weekly events promoting local food, healthy living, and community.

Friends of Lower Kinnear Park: $100,000 to hire consultants to produce construction plans for enhancements to the park. The community envisions improving entrances to the park, enhancing the park trails, and connecting pedestrian pathways between neighborhoods and the waterfront.

You can see a full list of this year’s winners here.

Applications for the Neighborhood Matching Fund Small and Simple grant program are due by 5 p.m. Monday, July 12 – that’s just three weeks away.

FOLKpark received $15,000 back in November through the Small & Simple projects fund for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park.

Under the program, which first started in 1988, award recipients will receive up to $20,000 for their projects. Each award is matched by the communities’ volunteer labor, donated materials, donated professional services or cash.

Earlier this year the Interbay Neighborhood Association was awarded $17,000 in Small & Simple funds for the construction of two parks in the area’s commercial district.

To be eligible, an entrant must prove that their project will improve their neighborhood and community.

Resources:

Over the last year FOLKpark has been awarded two city grants, held a number of community meetings and park clean-ups, and helped develop a conceptual plan for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park. Now the organization is preparing to take the next steps: raising the funds necessary to actually instigate the enhancement plan.

This Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m. FOLKpark invites community members to participate in an informal meeting and help brainstorm fundraising and event ideas for the next phase of the park’s redevelopment. The meeting will be held at the Ten Mercer restaurant, located at, you guessed it, 10 Mercer St. in Lower Queen Anne, and will last approximately one hour.

“Now that the enhancement plans to Lower Kinnear Park have been finalized, our fund raising efforts will now move into full swing. Your help is now truly needed!” said FOLKpark Volunteer Coordinator Phil Prahst.

Phil asks that anyone planning to attend please RSVP by either emailing him at philprahst@gmail.com, or joining the event on Facebook.

Volunteers will be celebrating Earth Day (Thursday, April 22), by clearing out invasive plants at Lower Kinnear Park this Saturday, April 24. For those interested in participating, volunteers will be meeting at the Roy Street entrance to the park and working from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The clean-up is being spearheaded by the Scientology Environmental Task Force, which has been an active supporter of community group FOLKpark‘s efforts to redevelop and revive Lower Kinnear Park.

From 7 to 9 p.m. tonight, Thursday, April 8, FOLKpark will hold its third and final community meeting to present the final concept design for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park. The concept design was created by HBB Landscape Architecture based on community input from the first two meetings.

To get an idea of what the final design entails before the meeting, take a look at the enhancement plan (.pdf). As always, the community meeting is open to the public and will be held at Bayview Manor, located at 11 W. Aloha St.

On Thursday, April 8 from 7 to 9 p.m. FOLKpark will hold the third and final community meeting at Bayview Manor, located at 11 W. Aloha St., where they will present the final concept design for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park by HBB Landscape Architecture based on community input from the first two meetings.

According to FOLKpark, the final concept design “coalesced around six major themes” expressed at the first two community meetings:

• Activate the park with improved trails to increase accessibility for all and expand ADA accessible areas of the park while opening sight-lines to increase sense of personal safety;
• Leverage supplemental funding through the Green Spaces Levy for an off leash dog park;
• Respect the park’s historical significance and uses by creating gathering spaces, viewpoints and restoring the tennis court;
• Restore the natural environment by removal of invasive plants and addressing issues of drainage and re-vegetation of a dying/changing forest, building a forest for the next 50-100 years;
• Enhance the entrances with a common identifying feature/planting and signage to attract visitors; and,
• Provide a connection to other trails in the Seattle Parks system and to the waterfront by expanding the trail system to the Helix Bridge and at the same time remove pedestrian and biking traffic from crowded streets.

If you’d like to sneak a peak at the final design before the meeting, take a look at the enhancement plan (.pdf). FOLKpark also encourages those interested in the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park to pass out meeting announcement fliers (here and here) to friends and neighbors in Queen Anne.