Every year the Queen Anne Helpline hosts a Holiday Party for low-income and special needs children, with Secret Santa gifts that rely on the community’s efforts. How does it work? Well, you may have seen Giving Trees at local businesses; you just take an angel tag from a tree, and it’ll let you know the key details about the recipient to help guide your gift-buying (e.g. gift for a 9-year old boy). Once you’re finished with your Secret Santa shopping, return the gift to the business by December 11th.

Your gifts help the Helpline provide holiday cheer to over 100 children every year. The Helpline Santa slides down the chimney at on December 15th to fill stockings with toys and clothes in time for the Santa party at 11am at the Queen Anne Lutheran Church.

This year, participating Upper Queen Anne merchants are A&J Meats & Seafood, Blue Highway Games, Five Corners Hardware, Key Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Umpqua Bank, and Home Street Bank – so stop by one of these businesses and pick an angel card up to help spread some holiday cheer!

If you’re in the market for a Christmas tree, wreath, garland, or mistletoe, don’t rush out on Black Friday to buy them! Wait for the annual Queen Anne Christmas Tree Lot, it opens for business on Saturday, November 24th in the Upper Queen Anne Safeway parking lot. The Christmas Tree Lot is sponsored by the Queen Anne Helpline and the Boy Scouts of America Troop 72, and is staffed by neighborhood volunteers, Scouts, and their families. Plus, all proceeds benefit the Helpline and Scout Troop 72 – so help out the Helpline and local Scouts with your holiday decor!

This year you can choose from many different trees including Nobles, Tannenbaums, Frasers, Douglas Firs, or Norway Spruces. The lot will be located on the north side of the Safeway parking lot, and the hours are as follows:

• Monday – Thursday 2pm-8pm
• Friday 2pm-9pm
• Saturday 9am-9pm
• Sunday 9am-8pm

The Tree Lot can use more volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering at the Tree Lot, call 206.282.1540.

The Queen Anne Helpline marks 30 years of helping Queen Anne neighbors this Saturday with a “Set the Night to Music” celebration and annual Fundraising Gala, held at the Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion. It’ll be a night full of music, food, drinks, dancing, and a Golden Raffle with great prizes including a stay at a Chateau in France, a 3-night stay at a B&B in the South of France, a yacht cruise with gourmet dinner, and much more!

Northwest gypsy band Pearl Django and special guest vocalist Greta Matassa will provide the soundtrack for the evening, and local Queen Anne restaurants (see the list below – there are quite a few) will provide the evening’s refreshments. There will also be a no-host Bar with Pike Place Brewery beer and Chateau Ste. Michelle wine.

The Queen Anne Helpline is a non-profit organization, and all proceeds will benefit the Helpline’s efforts in our community. According Helpline Executive Director Lisa Moore, “The mission of the Queen Anne Helpline is to improve the lives of our neighbors in need by educating our community and by mobilizing the caring support and generosity of the Queen Anne community. We rely on the generous support of our community to continue providing programs that support the financial stability, education, and health of our neighbors.”

Key Details:
What: Queen Anne Helpline 30th Anniversary Celebration & Annual Fundraising Gala
Where: Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center
When: October 27th, 6:30pm
Food: Provided by Grub, Hilltop Ale House, Kaspar’s, Lloyd Martin, Morphey’s, Orrapin, Plaza Garibaldi, Ponti Seafood Grill, T.S. McHugh’s, Uptown China
Tickets: online or call 206.282.1540

All proceeds from the Gala Sponsorship go directly to the Queen Anne Helpline, a 501(c)3 organization for client aid.

Good thing there’s decent weather on the horizon because this weekend is packed with fun outdoor events in and around Queen Anne. There are not just one, but two opportunities to run through the neighborhood – one for charity, the other for kicks. Plus Seattle’s biggest outdoor yoga event, and the annual Queen Anne Sidewalk Sale. Check out Queen Anne’s weekend calendar:

Saturday, July 9

• Crown of Queen Anne Fun Run – Help support the Queen Anne Helpline by participating in the annual QA Fun Run. The 5k (3.3 mile) run/walk of beautiful streets on Queen Anne hill kicks off at 8 a.m. (walkers) and 8:20 a.m. (runners). If you haven’t yet registered, you may do so between 6:45 and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Day of registration is $35. Participants should gather at the Queen Anne Lutheran Church, located at 2400 8th Ave West. The Fun Run/walk will start at 5th and Halladay, and finish at Coe Elementary School. After the run/walk participants should reassemble at the Queen Anne Lutheran Church for awards, coffee, water, snacks and random drawings for prizes. Details here.
• 3rd Annual Yoga for Hope Event – Join hundreds of other yogis at the International Fountain North Lawn at Seattle Center for the city’s annual outdoor yoga event for charity: Yoga for Hope is an outdoor yoga event for yoga beginners and experts alike to bring awareness to the benefits of yoga practice for patients with life-threatening illnesses. Four of Seattle’s top yoga instructors will lead hundreds of participants in a two-hour class at the Seattle Center. The proceeds from the event will benefit research, treatment and education programs at City of Hope, aiding the treatment and research center’s efforts to expand awareness of the importance of the mind-body-spirit connection when battling cancer, diabetes or HIV/AIDS. The Yoga for Hope event was born out of City of Hope’s efforts to expand awareness of the importance of the mind-body-spirit connection and the hospital’s unique approach to utilizing complimentary and integrative therapies such as yoga and meditation in the patient treatment programs. Instructors from Queen Anne’s own Haute Yoga will be joining other teachers at the event this year. Registration $35 if done online by midnight tonight (register here), or $45 day of. Registration and vendor booths open at 9 a.m., with classes taking place between 10:30 a.m. and noon. Details here.
  
• 2nd Annual Queen Anne Running of the Bulls – In case walking/running it out over 3.3 miles of Queen Anne streets during the Fun Run isn’t enough, Queen Anne’s own self-proclaimed “division of the Queen Anne mafia,” The Comstock Commission, is putting on the second neighborhood Running of the Bulls on the very same day. Swing by Paragon Bar & Grill at 1 p.m. to join in the fun or just watch it unfold. And don’t forget to wear the Comstock uniform–white shirts and pants, a red scarf and “fast shoes”. Details here.
• Queen Anne Sidewalk Sale – If you feel like shopping in the sunshine, don’t miss Queen Anne’s annual summer Sidewalk Sale, which will be happening all day at stores up and down Queen Anne Ave N. We don’t have a full list of participating vendors, but many stores have planned sales and special events in years past. Many vendors also often extend the sales for the whole weekend, so if you can’t make it Saturday, you’ll have another chance on Sunday, July 9. Just look for balloons and big crowds!

Know of more events happening on the hill this weekend? Email us at tips@queenanneview.com or comment below and we’ll add the event to our weekend calendar.

The Comstock Commission – a self-proclaimed “division of the Queen Anne mafia” – is up to more of its shenanigans this summer, putting on the Second Annual Queen Anne Running of the Bulls on Saturday, July 9.

The QA ROTB is taking place on the same weekend as the Pamplona Running of the Bulls, and on the same day as the Queen Anne Fun Run for the Queen Anne Helpline (though this even starts at 8 a.m., so enthusiastic runners will be able to make both).

For those of you who caught the Running of the Bulls here in Queen Anne last year (I was unfortunately out of town that weekend and missed it), you probably noticed Queen Anne-ers running about in the event’s uniform: white shirts and pants, a red scarf and “fast shoes”. If, like me, you missed the event last year,  you can check out pictures from the first QA ROTB in the Flickr album.

If you’d like to participate in the Queen Anne Running of the Bulls this year, suit up in your red and white uniform and meet at Paragon Bar & Grill at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, or swing by and watch the festivities unfold. Either way it should be a festival and fun event.

Check out another example of The Comstock Commission’s past pranks here.

Today is your chance to donate to Queen Anne charities and have your money go further.

The Seattle Foundation is hosting the “GiveBIG” challenge from 7 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. to support a long list of charities around town, a great many of which are based right here in Queen Anne, including the American Cancer Society – Great West Division, ArtsFund, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Forgotten Children’s Fund, Friends of KEXP, GreenStage, Hilltop Children’s Center, KCTS Television, Northwest Folklife, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Pacific Science Center, Pottery Northwest, Queen Anne Helpline, Seattle Center Foundation, Seattle Children’s Home, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, SIFF, Susan G. Komen for the Cure Puget Sound Affiliate, Whim W’Him and more.

The money donated to charities through GiveBIG will be “stretched” by $500,000. Here is how the “stretch pool” and match works:

Credit card donations made during this time period will be counted as GiveBIG donations and used to calculate distribution of the stretch pool. The amount of a nonprofit organization’s share of the stretch pool will be based on the percentage of donations the nonprofit receives of the total online contributions made through www.seattlefoundation.org on June 23. In other words, distribution of the stretch pool will be pro-rated. If X organization receives 1% of the donations through our site on GiveBIG, they will receive 1% of the stretch pool dollars.

Here is the long list of charities that are participating. There will also be a Golden Ticket given away every hour. Donors will be chosen at random to have more money donated to the charity they chose to support. Most tickets are worth $1,000 but the one-time extra special Golden Ticket is worth $5,000.

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.”

It was encouraged by Kessler and Gracy that residents take advantage of the SPD’s online resources, in particular the SPD Crime Blotter for the West Precinct and the crime statistics on My Neighborhood Map. The King County online sex offender search was also mentioned.

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 10^th 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:

The Queen Anne Rotary Club is hosting a document shredding event from 10 a.m. to 1  p.m. this Saturday, May 14 at the Upper Queen Anne Safeway, located at 2100 Queen Anne Ave N.

The event, which is being held by the Queen Anne Rotary Club, Safeway, and SEADRUNAR Recycling, is completely free, though donations of non-perishable foodstuffs for the Queen Anne Helpline will be accepted.

Members of Coe Elementary’s “Team CoeBotics” will also be on hand at the event to talk about the program with the community. CoeBotics will soon be traveling to Legoland in California to represent Washington state in the national team competition of robotic technology, design and function. This event gives the community an opportunity to meet the team members, learn about this educational extra-curricular program, and learn how to help support the them.

Queen Anne’s Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are once again going “Scouting for Food,” an annual food drive put on by The Boy Scouts of America. The event is put on every March because food banks are historically at their lowest levels between the more traditional food drive times of Christmas and Easter, and in the greatest need.

This Saturday, March 19, scouts will be canvassing Queen Anne homes, leaving door hangers with information about hunger in the community and soliciting for donations of food, toiletries and diapers. The scouts will then return next Saturday, March 26, to pick up all donations. Those interested in making a donation should leave bags or boxes with donated items on their doorsteps, clearly marked with the words “Scouting for Food” or the door hanger taped in a visible place. All donations will go to the Queen Anne Helpline and Ballard Food Bank.

Last year the Queen Anne scouts raised over 1,050 pounds of foods for both organizations. For information on recommended donation items, see the Ballard Food Bank’s wish list. For more information on Scouting for Food and how to get involved, click here.

QuallyQue.com, a website that works to helps connect businesses and neighbors within communities around Seattle, has asked Queen Anne residents to vote on our neighborhood’s business, organization and service gems—stores with staff that always have smiles on their faces, non-profits that consistently do great work to help the community, and restaurants with dishes so delicious you’d gladly break a diet for a bite.

The results are in in several categories, and every day QuallyQue is announcing a few more of the winners. Take a look at which businesses in Queen Anne have made the list so far:

• “Friendliest Staff”—El Diablo Coffee (Runner up—the Queen Anne Farmer’s Market)
• “Bring Your Kids”—Twirl Cafe
• “My Donation Goes to”—the Queen Anne Farmer’s Market (Runner up—the Queen Anne Helpline)
• “My Office Away from Home”—El Diablo Coffee (Runner up—Muse Coffee)

Want to put in your two cents about your favorite gems in Queen Anne? There’s still time to vote here.

In true holiday fashion, Queen Anne Presbyterian Church will be hosting a benefit concert for the Queen Anne Helpline this Wednesday, December 22 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the church’s sanctuary, located at 414 W Howe Street.

The music for the evening will be courtesy of a brass quintet, including Michael Davis and four other Roosevelt High School jazz band alumni, playing arrangements of classic and favorite holiday tunes.

“It’s a brass quintet of outstanding musicians,” says Pastor Doug Early.

Admission to the event is free, though the church will be accepting donations, all of which will go directly to the Queen Anne Helpline to support the work it does in the community. The Queen Anne Helpline offers assistance to community members and neighbors “confronting personal crisis and unexpected life transitions.”

We lend a helping hand to neighbors fighting hunger and homelessness. We facilitate an individual’s move out of poverty by supporting training and educational programs. And we promote Queen Anne neighborhood pride in our tradition of being an inclusive compassionate community by participating in neighborhood events and activities.

Find out more about the Queen Anne Helpline and where your donation will go here.

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it seems the holiday season is upon us. And just in time, the Queen Anne Helpline and the Boy Scouts of America Troop 72 have opened up their annual Christmas tree lot in the Upper Queen Anne Safeway parking lot.

Staffed by neighborhood volunteers, Scouts, and their families, the tree lot offers trees (Noble, Tannenbaum, Fraser, Douglas, and Norway Spruce), wreaths, and garlands. And on top of that, 100 percent of the proceeds benefit the Queen Anne Helpline and Scouts Troop 72.

The tree lot will be open now until Sunday, December 21 (or until the trees sell out). Want to get a tree? Swing by during the following hours:

• Monday through Thursday—12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Friday—12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Saturday—9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Sunday—9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More information here.