The fruit will soon be ripening on neighborhood trees and Lettuce Link wants to make sure none of it goes to waste.

Lettuce Link is looking for trees to harvest and volunteers to pick the fruit.

From the Lettuce Link website:

There are lots of ways to help out! We need volunteers who can do one or more of the following:

“Scout” trees ahead of time to see if the fruit is ripe

Harvest at scheduled work parties

Be on-call to harvest fruit in their neighborhoods

Provide garage space for storing ladders, picking buckets, and/or fruit

Deliver fruit to food banks and meal programs

The volunteer application is available here (.doc) and 90-minute volunteer orientations are on Tuesday, July 19th at 6 p.m. at the Douglass-Truth Library (2300 E Yesler Way) and on Thursday, July 21st at 6 p.m. at Solid Ground in Wallingford (1501 N 45th St.)

To RSVP, or if you’d like to volunteer but can’t make it to an orientation, please contact Molly at fruitharvest@solid-ground.org or 206-694-6751.

This Friday is the 27th annual Windermere’s Community Service Day. Our local Queen Anne associates will be taking the day off from their normal duties to roll up their sleeves and get dirty doing extensive landscaping and painting projects at McClure Middle School and the Queen Anne Community Center.

Other local projects in other neighborhoods include:

Green Lake – Daniel Bagley Elementary: development of the outdoor classroom including construction of a shed and benches.

Fremont – BF Day Elementary: grounds maintenance and the creation of paper “birthday crowns” for the student body.

Wedgwood – Theodora (HUD 202) Housing: projects as assigned.

Sand Point – Magnuson Park YMCA: projects as assigned.

Lake Forest Park – Ballinger (Low income) Homes: maintenance and beautification projects as directed.

Northgate – Olympic View Elementary: flower and shrub planting.

Oak Tree – Greenwood Elementary: maintenance and beautification as directed.

Even with the sparse rain drops falling sporadically around town today, it seems spring has finally arrived, and with that comes, at long last, the opening of the Queen Anne Farmers Market season, which will kick off just one week from today, on Thursday June 2 until Thursday, October 6.

The market, which has always been under the wing of Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth (QANRG), is under new management this year after a disagreement arose between the QANRG and the market’s former director Julie Whitehorn, who has managed the market for the past two years. After many months of uncertainty, Whitehorn and the QANRG were unable to resolve the dispute and opted instead to go their separate ways rather than see the market suffer. Read Whitehorn’s resignation letter here (.pdf), and the QANRG’s press release introducing the market’s new staff team here (.pdf).

Still despite the changing of the guard, QANRG says the market will maintain many of the same staff members, volunteers and vendors from prior seasons, keeping consistent with the community that has grown around the market over the last four years.

“This year’s market builds on a successful 2010 season that saw customer attendance increase by 94 percent and the growth of a dynamic vendor roster of 64 farmers and prepared food vendors. In its fifth year as the fiscal sponsor, QANRG remains steadfastly committed to creating a sustainable market that can continue to serve the community for years to come,” QANRG President Scott Smith said in a statement released last month.

The market’s new manager, Jamie Collado, brings with her more than nine years of experience working in the local food scene managing restaurant operations, and has a particular interest in health and nutrition. While completing her preceptorship with Seattle Nutrition Action Consortium, Seattle and King County Public Health, she taught healthy eating classes for local teens, putting her undergraduate and graduate education in nutrition and exercise to work.

In addition to adding some new faces, this year’s market will also report to the QAFM Steering Committee, a group made up of former market staff, volunteers, and community members who will be charged with the task of overseeing market operations, community outreach and planning for the market’s long-term sustainability. (Read more about the steering committee in the QANRG press release linked above).

The new market also has a brand new website to match, but ther than that, very little will be changing at the market itself. Held at its usual spot on West Crockett Street between Queen Anne Ave N and 1st Ave W, the market will be extending its hours by a half-hour, going from 3 to 7:30 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. every Thursday through October 6. And each week the market will still be packed with great local vendors, live music, cooking demos, book signings, and more fun events. Check out the list of vendors scheduled to appear at the market this year here.

Want to get involved in the QAFM? Information on how to become a market sponsor by making a tex-deductible donation can be found here.

The QAFM is also still looking for volunteers for the upcoming season for everything from staffing the information table, to donating professional services such as web design or photography. If you’ve got a skill you’d like to share with the market, or would simply like to donate your time, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Kelly Decker at 206-854-0143 or YouMakeQAFMGreat@qafma.net.

We’ll give you the sneak peek at what’s on the agenda for the market’s grand opening next week, but in the meantime don’t forget to ‘like’ the market on its new Facebook page, and follow it on its new Twitter account.

The National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive, the largest food drive in the nation, is happening this Saturday, May 14.

To donate items place a bag of non-perishable food by your mailboxes for local letter carriers to collect. The employees bring the food back to their home base, the Interbay Postal Station, where it is loaded into totes to be sorted and delivered to local food banks.

Preferred items include canned meats, fish, soup, vegetables; bottled juice, pasta, cereal and rice that do not require refrigeration. Please do not include items that have expired or are in glass containers.

Food Lifeline is seeking volunteers to staff the Interbay Postal Station from 1:30-6:00 pm Saturday to help unload the food from the mail vehicles and place it in totes.  You can sign up to volunteer by clicking here and selecting Interbay Postal Station.

Preserving Seattle’s tree canopy is a goal of the city’s (Mayor Mike McGinn spoke about it here) that can sometimes be controversial. Here’s your chance to make a difference in your neighborhood.

The city is actively looking for tree ambassadors. According to Jana of the city’s Office of Sustainability:

Seattle’s urban forest needs your help! Seattle has a goal to reach 30% canopy cover by 2037, growing from our current 23%. To meet that goal, we need to plant and care for 200,000 net new trees in residential areas; residential areas make up 67% of Seattle. To help meet this goal, we are recruiting Tree Ambassadors who can serve as local neighborhood advocates for our urban trees.

You will work in teams of 2-3 people to develop projects for your neighborhood which could include tree walks, invasive species removal workdays, and/or tree plantings. No previous tree experience necessary, only a desire to learn and a passion for urban greenery. You may apply individually or as a group.

Tree ambassadors are volunteers who, after being trained, work 5-10 hours a month, according to the city.

There’s an individual application here, and a team application here. You can also find them on the city’s Tree Portal page.

The Northwest Folklife festival, which will have a Bulgarian theme this year, may be two months away, but with the turning of winter to spring the annual Memorial Day Weekend celebration seems to be just around the corner. For those planning the festival, it is.

“This year we celebrate our 40^th Anniversary Festival and have received a proclamation from the Mayor’s office that declares May 27^th to 30^th Northwest Folklife Weekend,” writes Folklife Community Engagement & Volunteer Coordinator Holly Decker.

Folklife, a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to create “opportunities for individuals and communities of the Pacific Northwest to celebrate share and sustain the vitality of folk, ethnic and traditional arts for present and future generations,” is very much a product of the community, and relies on community members to keep itself going every year all while staying free for the public.

“Though many believe we are funded by the city because our Festival takes place on the Seattle Center campus, we receive very little city funding. The organization is able to sustain its self and have the Festival remain free to the public mostly in thanks to individual donors (financial support) and volunteers (approximately 800 volunteers),” says Decker. “Since this Festival, the nation’s largest free community arts festival takes place right here on Queen Anne, I thought, let’s get this community even more involved. Volunteer opportunities for people of all ages!”

This year Folklife is looking for volunteers to work at the festival, and help make preparations in the months leading up to Memorial Day Weekend. According to Decker, the festival accepts volunteers of all ages, though those under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The festival, which runs runs four days (May 27, 28, 29, 30), is in need of volunteers to fill shifts from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Volunteers are also needed to help set up and tear down the Festival the week before and the week after. There are no hour requirements for volunteers, and typical shifts range from 2.5 to 3 hours.

There are a number of position available, from volunteering as a Vera Gallery assistant, pre-festival merchant aide, office assistant, and “a bit of everything else in between,” Decker says. For a full list of available volunteer opportunities click here (.pdf).

“The area we need help in most is in our Greeter department. Greeters are the heart of our Festival. Greeters staff our entrances and make sure every patron is acknowledged while entering or exiting the Festival. Greeters hand out program guides to patrons and encourage them to make donations as they enter or exit the Festival. This position is for individuals who are friendly and embody the spirit of Folklife. A  typical Greeter shift is 2.5 hours and requires the ability to stand for a majority of the shift,” Decker says.

“A great new program we’ve introduced this year is entrance “sponsorship”. Northwest Folklife does not allow organizations to purchase booth space at our Festvial, but this year we are allowing community groups with similar mission statement to “sponsor” a Festival entrance for a day. That means they provide volunteers to work the entrances and in exchange are allowed to distribute outreach materials for their organization. This is also a great project for any groups who want to volunteer.”

Groups interested in volunteering at Folklife this year should contact Holly directly at holly@nwfolklife.org. Individuals who’d like to volunteer can go to www.nwfolklifefestival.org, click on the “Get Involved” tab and complete the online application.

Picture Perfect Queen Anne, the local volunteer-based organization that has charged itself with the task of revitalizing the streetscape of Queen Anne Ave N from Galer to McGraw, is looking for new community members to join its board of directors.

Our goal is a pedestrian and family-friendly, safe and vibrant main street that everyone in our community will enjoy.

If you spend a considerable amount of time at the top of the hill, you’ve likely noticed some of the work PPQA has done to beautify the neighborhood’s main retail thoroughfare over the last few years. Helped along with community support, and grants from the Department of Neighborhoods, the organization has built benches, consolidated newspaper boxes, and greened curbside bulb beds along Upper Queen Anne. The group’s flagship Green Gateway project was completed last spring, after Key Bank and several neighbors pitched in to help.

With another major project completed, PPQA is looking ahead to 2011 for new projects to kick-start in the community. The group outlined plans for several community improvement projects in its Streetscape Master Plan (.pdf). The following ideas are on the table for consideration this year:

• Improvements to the Galer Stairs
• Community Kiosk
• Public Art
• Permanent Signage
• Creating Photo-Op Destination (analogous to Fremont Troll)

PPQA is also looking for community members interesting in joining the team and serving a term on its board of directors. PPQA chair Margaret Okamoto sent the following:

Picture Perfect Queen Anne is looking for people who work or reside on Queen Anne to join our Board. We are an active, hands-on group that works with other community organizations and City government to enhance the public streetscape of the hilltop retail core of Queen Anne Avenue N. Our most recent project has been the redesigned curbs and landscaping at the Galer and McGraw intersections. For further information about us and the Queen Anne Avenue Streetscape Master Plan, please visit our website: ppqa.org.

Interested? Please e-mail Margaret Okamoto at pictureperfectqa@gmail.com.

Local education non-profit Successful Schools in Action is looking for debate judges and timers for its tournament on Saturday, February 5.

The tournament takes place at Lawton Elementary on February 5 from from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.. No experience is necessary but you do need be at least 15 years old. All orientation materials will be sent by email, and a 30 minute training for volunteer judges and timers will begin at 8:30 a.m. on tournament day. Each judge evaluates two teams of two kids in two rounds.

SSIA also needs volunteers to monitor sign-in, snack table, and make copies as needed.  Volunteers can receive high school service hours.

Debate Club is made up of 4th and 5th graders from Blaine, Lawton, Coe and John Hay elementary schools. More details here.

If you are interested in volunteering, email marysteele@schoolsinaction.org to volunteer.

Councilmember Sally Bagshaw is looking for candidates to fill three vacancies on the Seattle Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee in the coming year. The Parks and Green Spaces Levy, approved by Seattle voters in 2008, has funded $145 million worth of community based projects and programs planned by the citizen advisory group. Here in Queen Anne the levy has backed the Kinnear Park enhancement plan, and allocated funds for a number of neighborhood P-Patches, to name just a few. View all of the projects the levy has funded citywide here (.pdf).

The job of the Parks and Green Spaces Oversight Committee is to help ensure the successful implementation of these projects and programs, and advise the Parks and Rec superintendent, the Mayor and City Council on levy-related issues. Applicants for the three volunteers positions will be reviewed Councilmember Bagshaw, who will then nominate a select few to be confirmed by the City Council.

The oversight committee meets regularly to:

• Advise on expenditures and allocations for each budget year;
• Make recommendations on implementation of particular projects and on any reallocations; and,
• Provide annual reports to the mayor and City Council on progress of expenditures and prepare a mid-point report to Seattle citizens.

Interested applicants should send a letter of interest and resume to the staff representative to the oversight committee Susan Golub at susan.golub@seattle.gov by January 31, 2011. While paper applications will be accepted, electronic submissions are preferred. Paper applications should be sent to: Susan Golub, Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, 100 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109.

Councilmember Bagshaw is committed to promoting diversity in the city’s boards and commissions. Women, persons with disabilities, sexual minorities, and persons of color are highly encouraged to apply.

For more information contact Susan Golub at 206-684-7046 or susan.golub@seattle.gov.

The city is looking for new members to join the Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board, a group founded in 1993 to get people out of their cars and walking.

The volunteer group is instrumental in implementing the city’s Pedestrian Master Plan, which was adopted in 2009. The group also advises the Mayor and City Council, participates in planning and project development, and evaluates policies and makes recommendations to all city departments including the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).

Board members serve a minimum of one two-year term, with the opportunity to serve a second term. Board members are “frequent walkers of a variety of ages, levels of mobility, and walks of life, and from areas throughout the city,” the release states. Meetings are the second Wednesday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m.

Interested Seattle residents can submit a resume and cover letter explaining their interest in the board by emailing Brian Dougherty at brian.dougherty@seattle.gov. Resumes will be accepted until December 17th.

Lower Queen Anne’s First Church is inviting community members to join them in cooking a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner for the residents of its Blaine Center emergency men’s shelter on Wednesday, November 24 and Thursday, November 25.

Kathleen Dow, seated at the new three manual Rodgers Triullium Masterpiece organ at First United Methodist Church, sets plans for a  7 p.m. Community Thanksgiving Eve Service, with the Rev. Dr. Robert D. Nicholson.

The family-style dinner will prepared from scratch by congregation and community members, and served to the shelter residents. First Church says there are still volunteer shifts available for both Wednesday and Thursday for those interested in helping make Thanksgiving brighter. To sign up, contact food service coordinator Duuna Evans at office@firstchurchseattle.org, or at (206) 622-7278.

For more information on the Thanksgiving dinner and service, click here.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking for volunteers to help plant hundreds of plants along the Fremont Cut of Lake Washington Ship Canal this week. Volunteers are needed on both Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..

The two volunteers days are part of phase two of the Corps’ four-part plan to restore the historically significant aging poplar colonnade along the Fremont Cut. The Corps removed 29 poplar trees back in the spring, and planted 40 in August.

Those interested in volunteering may sign up by contacting Anna Welland, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at anna.e.welland@usace.army.mil or 206-789-2622, extension 216.

All tools will be provided. Volunteers working on Friday, November 19 should meet in front of the dinosaur statue on the Burke-Gilman Trail in Fremont. Volunteers working on Saturday, November 20 should meet along the South Ship Canal Trail on the Queen Anne side, in front of the Seattle Pacific University track.

For more information, see the event flier (.pdf).

Temporary parks will be popping up all around Seattle this coming Friday for a global event called “PARK(ing)” day.

A 2009 “PARK(ing) spot in Greenwood.

The event, sponsored by Feet First, allows people “grow” parks out of parking spots. “The average city dedicates about 20 percent of its public land to the movement and storage of automobiles, including roads and parking,” the press release from Feet First states. “PARK(ing) Day shows city residents what urban space can look and feel like when more public land is allocated for parks, art, recreation, social interactions, and other people-centric pursuits—rather than vehicles.

It doesn’t look like there will be any Park(ing) parks in Queen Anne this year, but other “PARKs” around the city can be found here (.pdf.)

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.

Queen Anne residents are needed to help paint the new mural on the Dexter Way underpass (below Aurora on the east side of Queen Anne). The community paint event is set for Saturday 8/21 and Sunday 8/22 from 11am to 5pm. The new mural will replace the 15-year-old painting that has long been covered with graffiti.

Old mural (top), new mural (bottom)

Directions:  Heading south on Aurora after the bridge, take the second exit on the right (Dexter Way N).  This exit is adjacent to the Hillside Motel. Call 206-285-4883 for information.