Saturday "Artist Open Studios" At Magnuson Park

On Saturday from 1-5pm, SPACE (Sand Point Arts and Cultural Exchange) is hosting an "Artist Open Studios" at Magnuson Park Gallery, Building 30 West in Magnuson Park.

The information says:

Come explore 25 open artist studios, live cello music, a new gallery exhibit and two talks by nationally renowned and Building 30 West artist Vicki Scuri in the Officers Club. There will be refreshments at the family-friendly event.

Space at Magnuson is a non-profit organization formed to fund, facilitate and promote arts and cultural uses of Warren G. Magnuson Park for the public.

For more go here.

Sunday Magnuson Park Bird Walk

The Seattle Audubon Society is holding a Bird Walk on Sunday from 9-noon at Magnuson Park. The leader is Jan Bragg.

The information says:

Magnuson Park offers a variety of habitats, including ponds, forest, fields, and a lake shoreline. This outing is suitable for beginner or intermediate bird-watchers, including children accompanied by an adult.  

We will walk uphill and down, searching for birds and bird nests along the way. Songbirds will be singing for those wanting to practice birding-by-ear skills. Migrants may be about. 

And we’ll be celebrating mothers: Ducklings should be present, so we will study mothering skills when we find them. If we are lucky enough to find an active bird nest, we will try to observe mothering there as well.  

For those collecting pledges for Birdathon, and trying for 50 species, we may need to go to alternate sites (e.g. Montlake Fill, Matthews Beach?) afterwards. 

Birdathon Donation is $15.  

Meet at the Education Pavilion (west side of boat launch parking lot E-1, at the end of drive, on the right, after entering the NE 65th St entrance).

For more information go here.

Seattle Musical Theatre Receives Grant To Rebuild Sand Point Naval Air Station's Original Movie Theater

Nora Kozloff with nearby Seattle Musical Theatre, located at Magnuson Park, would like to let the community know that the Theatre has recently been awarded a substantial grant and together with funds raised from subscribers, will enable a complete rebuild of the aging stage, called the "Save the Stage project."

Nora added that the Theatre has a 40 year history in this area with the past 13 years spent in Building 47 at Magnuson, using the original movie theater of the Sand Point Naval Air Station, in the historic building.

The original home of Civic Light Opera was the Jane Addams School theatre, where the company performed for 25 seasons. In 2002, the company moved to the Shoreline Community Center, and then to Magnuson in 2004. In 2006, the Board of Directors changed the name to  Seattle Musical Theatre (SMT).

Below is a press release that Nora said " intends to share the news of the Theatre's good fortune with members of both the greater community and our neighbors, many of whom have supported the Theatre over the years, and also to inform the community of the structural changes to the Theatre which will positively impact performances next season."

Nora said the project is fully funded and the Theatre is not seeking further contributions. 

Here is the press release: 

Seattle Musical Theatre (SMT) has received an award from the Morgan Family Foundation to rebuild the stage at their historic theatre in Magnuson Park. 

SMT kicked off the “Save the Stage” rebuild with the support of Artfund’s “power2give.”After meeting the initial target goal, fundraising has continued through Seattle Foundation’s  “GiveBig” and King County Employees Annual Giving Program.  

SMT began its campaign to “Save the Stage” after an inspection in 2016 revealed that the temporary stage built ten years earlier would need to be demolished and rebuilt. This inspection also uncovered a surprise.  

Amidst the sagging timbers was a crescent shaped half wall dating back to the Navy’s construction of the building in 1941; it was the original orchestra pit used to support the screening of silent films.  The location of the pit was apparently too far upstage for musical theatre productions, so a stage extension was built over it. 

Meanwhile, new Artistic Director Tyrone Brown began questioning the location of the orchestra in relation to the stage.  “SMT has been plagued by poor acoustics in this facility.  Why not return the orchestra to the center the way the Navy, in its wisdom, first envisioned it?” 

For the recent production of “Annie,” Brown moved the musicians to center stage, taking out the first row of seats.  The sound quality of the production was greatly improved, though the music at times overpowered the vocals.  

“That’s when we discovered a crawl space under the theatre floor,” noted Brown.  “We stepped up the fund-raising campaign and last week received the wonderful news that Seattle Foundation, through its partner organization, the Morgan Family Foundation, will fund permanently moving the orchestra to the center after dropping the theatre floor about two feet to create the new pit.” 

“We would like to move the original orchestra pit to the new location after the temporary stage is demolished,” says Tom Ansart, Secretary, and SMT board member.  He noted that the old pit is still accessible from the backstage dressing room in the basement.  “I presume the musicians entered the pit from the green room.  Although it probably isn’t feasible to move the existing wall, we can copy its features in the new design.  For historic preservation, we will leave the original wall in place.”

"AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’" is currently showing at the Theatre, followed by "The Producers" in April, then "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" in May and June.

For more information go here.

Burke Gilman Trail Repairs Underway Near Metropolitan Market

Seattle Parks and Recreation has begun repairs on the first of thirteen sections of the Burke-Gilman Trail in northeast Seattle.

The trail is closed between 40^th Avenue NE, by Metropolitan Market, all the way to NE 65^th Street, from 7:30am-4:30pm weekdays. Cyclists and pedestrians are detoured around the construction area onto side streets, as shown here. 

Sections of the trail are being removed, including areas of asphalt in disrepair, invasive roots that are causing upheaval and replacing those sections with new asphalt.

The entire repair area stretches up to Fairway Estates, just north of Magnuson Park. Contractors are working on one section at a time, from southwest to northeast to reduce disruptions to trail users.

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will also be working in this same area of the trail to remove bollards/bollard plates and re-pave those sections.

Trail sections were determined by 2015 condition-assessment work done in partnership  with SDOT and reconfirmed in the spring. $250,000 was provided in funding by the Seattle Park District for the trail improvement project. 

For more information go here. 

Learn About Leaving A Legacy Monday At NEST Cafe

NEST (Northeast Seattle Together), which supports Northeast Seattle elder neighbors through a network of volunteers and vendors, is holding its monthly NEST Cafe Series on Monday at 2pm on the topic "They Don’t Want Your Stuff, They Want Your Stories!" at the Magnuson Park Brig.

The information says:

What legacy will you leave with your family and friends? Will it be the things of your life – your grandmother’s antique desk, your wedding china and silver, the money you set aside for your grandchildren’s education? Or will it be the stories of your life – lessons learned over a lifetime, and the messages of love and appreciation to those most dear to you? Too often we focus only on the objects and financial aspects of our legacy and neglect the preservation of our stories and the wisdom gained from our life experiences. 

Join Eva Dougherty, owner of Smooth Transitions of Seattle, and Kathy Englert, owner of Your Story Unfolded, as they discuss the concept of legacy and share the surprising results of studies in this area. They’ll help answer the question “What do I do with all my stuff?” and provide strategies for preserving items with financial and sentimental value. 

They’ll also provide you with a variety of ideas for capturing and preserving the important stories and lessons of your life. During the presentation, you’ll pair up with another attendee and share your own stories. 

Think about an object you own that has a great story associated with it. If your object is relatively small, please bring it with you. 

NEST is a non-profit grassroots operation serving NE Seattle seniors by creating a "virtual village" to helping them be able to stay in their own homes and neighborhoods they love. Volunteers provide companionship, care, as well as help seniors with a wide range of services, including gardening, computer help and more. to seniors aging in their homes. Ongoing classes (fitness, etc) are also offered, as well as access to events, transportation services, and various services (such as estate planners) who provide their services at a discount to members.

Off Leash Dog Comments Following Recent Post

The Laurelhurst Blog recently posted about off leash dogs at Laurelhurst Park and a pit bull that reportedly killing another dog at the park.

Several months prior, the same pit bull bit another dog at the Park, which required veterinary attention.  It was also reported that a standard poodle was bitten very seriously by a German shepherd several weeks ago in the Park, and required veterinary care. 

The Laurelhurst Blog consistently receives comments from neighbors who frequent the Laurelhurst Park enjoying the park or taking a walk, as well as those with their dogs, who regularly encounter off-leash dogs, a violation of Seattle City Code which states:

City Code (SMC 18.12.080) - Animals running at large prohibited

Except as expressly allowed in subsection B hereof, it is unlawful for any person to allow or permit any dog or other pet to run at large in any park, or to permit any dog or other pet with or without a leash, except Seeing Eye or Hearing Ear dogs or dogs used by public law enforcement agencies and under control of a law enforcement officer, to enter any public beach, swimming or wading area, pond, fountain, stream, organized athletics area or designated children's play area.

Any person with a dog or other pet in his or her possession or under his or her control in any park shall be responsible and liable for the conduct of the animal, shall carry equipment for removing feces, and shall place feces deposited by such animal in an appropriate receptacle.

18.12.085 - Violation—Civil penalties.                           
                                                                                                                                                                                        

Violation of Section 18.12.080 shall be a civil infraction as contemplated by RCW 7.80.120 subject to the following penalties: 

           

• Initial Infraction. Imposition of a monetary penalty of Fifty Dollars ($50);
• Second Infraction. Imposition of a monetary penalty of One Hundred Dollars ($100);
• Third Infraction. Imposition of a monetary penalty of One Hundred Twenty-five Dollars ($125);
• Subsequent Infractions. Imposition of a monetary penalty of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150) for each infraction

The Laurelhurst Blog received these comments following the post: 

I am a dog lover, however, the park is not for off-leash use, yet there are constantly dogs off leash running around. We have young children and I am frequently aghast when owners let their dogs run through the playground! Some children are scared of dogs! Let alone even the most well-behaved dogs can be unpredictable when startled by a child. We have lived in Laurelhurst for over 5 years and this has constantly been a problem. Can the LCC board do something? Put up signs or regulate it in some way? Maybe early morning could be a time for "off-leash play" so that there is some compromise!  

Fortunately there are some off-leash dogs at the Laurelhurst Park who are mostly friendly, playful, and supervised by their owners. However some dogs are not, even though owners are well aware of the leash policy and the off-leash dog park at Magnuson.

There should be absolutely no compromise on the well known Seattle Municipal Code about requiring dogs on leashes in the park and the penalties of not.  e are a mile and a half from one of the largest off leash areas in the city, 8.6 acres at Magnuson. We, the taxpayers have spent quite a bit of cash on building and maintaining these off leash areas. If a dog owner is not willing to take advantage of these, why should everyone else suffer for it?

Some children are scared of dogs and so are some adults.  Please do not assume that we all love your cute adorable furry family members. Please keep them on leashes, and I will let you know if I want to pet your pet and/or invite it to jump on me.  

Just because your dog isn't aggressive and is behaved, doesn't mean you shouldn't keep it on a leash. In both of those instances of the German Shepard and pit bull can you say for certain that the dogs weren't actually on a leash and it was the dogs that got bit that were running free? I know more than one situation where a non aggressive dog was unleashed and ran up on an aggressive leashed dog and got hurt. Everyone should keep their dogs leashed. 

I have seen many egregious incidents at the Laurelhurst Park play ground.  Many times I saw dogs running loose around the playground installations. I told the owners that their dogs should be leashed and not in the play area. One owner leashed his dog and called to his son, "C'mon son, this lady says we have to go home." That's not what I said, and shame on him for lying to his son. 

I walk my dog at Laurelhurst Park but always keep him on a leash. I avoided the park for awhile after he was attacked by another dog and needed professional care. Now I only occasionally since the number of off leash dogs has dramatically increased. The law is the law is the law.

I believe our neighborhood should come up with a solution that allows for some compromise on this issue.  There is no good reason that off-leash or unruly dogs should be anywhere near the playground or even the athletic fields when there are young folks at play. Also, it is critical that dog owners who aren't able to successfully  control their dogs should ever have their dogs off leash.

Many people who walk their dogs at the park know that at certain hours, usually very early in the morning, the only people at the Park are dog owners.  I don't take issue when I see other folks enjoying each other's company there and playing with some dogs off leash at this time. 

Tomorrow Magnuson Park Gallery Art Walk And Talk





Telling Tales, hand cut Tyvek




A Laurelhurst Blog reader and volunteer with Space at Magnuson sent this information:

The community is invited to join the Magnuson Park Gallery monthly art walks tomorrow from 5-8pm at the artist studios located in Magnuson Park Building 30 West.    

This month the featured artist is Melissa Koch.  There will be an artist discussion, and opportunity to meet the featured artist and other artists in their open studios.  

Melissa Koch is a visual artist and environmental activist creating mixed media installations, eco art and public art to stimulate positive conversations about the urgent need to take care of Mother Earth. 

 

Her love of the natural world, its innate beauty and ability to adapt and transform external influences in creative ways, has found diverse expressions in her artworks.

 

Much of her work is made from found and up-cycled materials, handmade and biodegradable products  - an intentional aspect of Melissa’s creative process.

Tacos El Guero, a local food truck will be there as well as jazz music by Marina Christopher.   

I hope people will be able to come to see and experience the amazing public art here in this beautifully restored and refurbished art-deco building  in the heart of Magnuson Park.

You don’t have to trek all the way downtown to view great art when it’s right here in NE Seattle. Enjoy discovering amazing local artists in the gallery and spectacular works from the City of Seattle's permanent collection on display. Admission and parking are free.

 

(painting courtesy of Space at Magnuson)

Magnuson Tot Nature Class Series Starting

Magnuson Park is starting a special 3 week series of  classes on Fridays from 10-11:15, introducing nature to preschoolers with hands on nature adventures..

The "Tots to Nature" class registration is  underway for children ages 2-5 with an adult through Magnuson Nature Programs.

The class runs until May 5th.  The fee is $45 for each 3-week series of classes.

Here is more information:

 

Each series of 3 classes has a different theme for its nature stations, story time, and walk, including Digging into Nature! (4/21-5/5) and Wildlife Babies 5/12-5/26).  

Classes include a “snack walk” in the organic p-patch garden, and a Garden Friend puppet show.

Adults also receive a take-home sheet each week, filled with simple nature activities and songs on the class topic.

 

The class is taught by Magnuson Nature Educator Emily Bishton and Magnuson Nature Docents and takes place at the Magnuson Brig/Hawthorne Hills Room, Children’s Garden, and P-Patch. 

 

 

NEST Holding Virtual Walking Tour With Local Author Judy Bentley On Monday

    

NEST (Northeast Seattle Together), which supports Northeast Seattle elder neighbors through a network of volunteers and vendors, is having a special event, as part of its Nest Cafe series, on Monday from 2-3pm at Magnuson Park Brigade, Room  406 (6344 NE 74th Street).  Books will be available for purchase.

The information says:  

Local author Judy Bentley joins us for a virtual walking tour of Washington State’s urban history.  

Judy will share stories from her new book, Walking Washington’s History: Ten Cities, that reveal moments of historical significance in our the state. Her walks and stories follow sidewalks, trails, and waterfronts to sites of both well-known and little-known history.

NEST is a non-profit grassroots operation serving NE Seattle seniors by creating a "virtual village" to helping them be able to stay in their own homes and neighborhoods they love. Volunteers provide companionship, care, as well as help seniors with a wide range of services, including gardening, computer help and more. to seniors aging in their homes. Ongoing classes (fitness, etc) are also offered, as well as access to events, transportation services, and various services (such as estate planners) who provide their services at a discount to members.