July 2013

It's easily Ballard's biggest event of the year (sorry Syttende Mai) and it shows. Literally thousands of people littered the streets of our neighborhood to enjoy food and entertainment. What's more is they packed out nearly every single business in the area -- many of which opened up in the past year alone -- and discoved all that Ballard has to offer.

Of course, the Ballard News-Tribune was there (We hope you picked up a copy of our newspaper!), taking pictures and taking in the love. To view the slideshow, click the main picture above or the thumbnails below.

What did you love about SeafoodFest? Leave a comment.

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By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle launched out into the state Major Little League (age 11-12) baseball tournament waters by posting a 5-4 victory over Camas at the Luke Jensen complex in Vancouver on Saturday.
The District 7 champion Westsiders advanced to play Gig Harbor National Sunday, with the winner going on to play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday against the winner between Federal Way and Ridgefield. The loser drops into a 7 p.m. Monday loser-out game against District 1 Pacific.
West Seattle is taking aim at reaching the Sunday, July 21 championship action that starts at 1 p.m. followed by the if-necessary game at 4 p.m.

9-10 softball

The District 7 age 9-10 softball representative opened its state tournament in LaCenter by taking a 6-0 loss to Gig Harbor American/National on Saturday.
That dropped them into Sunday action against District 4 with the winner surviving to play again at 6 p.m. Monday.

10-11 softball

PacWest -- the District 7 representative at the age 10-11 state softball tournament -- took a 22-0 loss to Gig Harbor American/National in its opener Saturday.

By Gerardo Bolong

Strong hitting throughout the game enabled the West Seattle Little League baseball 10-11 age All-Star team to build a large lead that held up against a late rally from its opponent in an 11-5 win against previously unbeaten Rainier in championship round action of the 2013 District 7 tournament held at the PacWest fields on Thursday, July 11.

The Westsiders forced a provisional championship final to be held the next day at the same location for a berth to the state tournament in Spokane.

"After we lost to Rainier (10-9 in the winner's bracket finals) the team stayed focused for each game and built momentum," said WS manager Rick Southall, "This was a genuine team effort. Everyone contributed. They knew their backs were on the wall and stood up."

Rainier snatched a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an infield error, stolen base and passed ball, but the Westsiders took the lead with two tallies in the home half by way of one hit, two stolen bases, an infield throwing error and Isaac Patchen's RBI single.

By Gerardo Bolong

Championships are often hard to come by.

The jousting between teams in recent All-Star action are prime examples of this tenet.

Rainier survived a final flurry from persistent West Seattle to claim a 10-9 championship game victory against West Seattle in the 2013 District 7 Little League baseball 10-11 age All-Star tournament completed at the PacWest Fields on Friday, July 12.

Rainier qualified for a July 21 game at the state tournament hosted by Gig Harbor Little League and conducted at the Gig Harbor Little League fields which have been recently renovated.

"The kids really came together and played as a team tonight," said Rainier manager Ron Queen. "They battled hard and fought hard. They are all great friends."

Leading 10-6 going into the bottom of the sixth and last regulation inning, Rainier was pushed to the limit by the battling West Seattle unit.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle didn't exactly do things the easy way at the District 7 Junior Little League baseball tournament, but got them done nonetheless.

The Junior age 13-14 Westsiders had lost the winner's bracket final to host PacWest by a 5-3 score on Sunday, July 7 but came back to rout Renton, 16-6, in the loser's bracket final the next day and earn another shot at PacWest.

West Seattle needed to win twice to knock off PacWest, and rallied for an 11-1 win in the first championship played Tuesday, July 9.

The West Siders then won the if-necessary championship game by a 7-6 score on Wednesday, July 10 to take the title.

Now the West Seattle team will advance to the state tournament starting Sunday, July 21 at Medical Lake High School near Spokane.

West Seattle will await the winner of the Saturday, July 20 game between Key Peninsula and District 11.
With a win the team would play again at 10 a.m. Monday, July 22 for a berth into the winner's bracket final to be played at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 24.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle narrowly missed a sweep of all four District 7 Little League all-star baseball tournaments Friday, taking a 10-9 if-necessary championship loss to Rainier District in the age 10-11 bracket.

West Seattle's Juniors age 13-14 team had just won its title two days earlier by a 7-6 score over PacWest, and that followed championships in the Majors and age 9-10 tournaments a week earlier.

To top off the fact that three teams made state after West Seattle High School also made state was impressive.

"There's a lot of good baseball being played in West Seattle right now," pointed out Juniors manager Mark Terao after filming the 10-11 game. "The future looks bright. These kids battled hard to the end out there. I couldn't be more proud of what these kids did."

The 9-10's fell behind early, 3-1, then came back to take a temporary 4-3 lead.

But Rainier bounced back to score six runs on six hits in the bottom of the fourth to jump back out front, 9-4, and barely held on from there.

John and Lois Constantine marked their 60th wedding anniversary on June 14 in Paris. The longtime West Seattleites were joined by their family for the occasion.

The couple then embarked on a celebratory river cruise along the Seine through northern France to the Normandy coast.

 John Philip Constantine, formerly of New York, and Lois Adele Wilson, of Everett, wed on June 14, 1953 at the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority house at the University of Washington. Following college they settled in West Seattle, where they raised their sons Dow and Blair.

Lois taught Home Economics at James Madison Jr. High and West Seattle High School. John, a visual artist, taught college art and art history, retiring from North Seattle Community College. The Constantines remain active in the West Seattle community.

Seattle-based Homestreet Bank announced plans to acquire the AmericanWest Bank branch at 4022 S.W. Alaska St. (formerly Viking Bank) on July 9.

According to Lacie Peterson with Homestreet, “The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.” They also plan to acquire an AmericanWest branch on Bainbridge Island.

“The two acquired branches have approximately $36.5 million combined in deposits (as of June 30, 2013). Employees at both branches will be offered employment with HomeStreet,” Peterson wrote in an email. “The Bainbridge Island and West Seattle locations will continue to operate as AmericanWest Bank branches until the transaction is completed. Upon closing, the two branches will become part of HomeStreet Bank.”

After a successful pilot run in 2012, the City of Seattle announced their Fresh Bucks program – encouraging food stamp recipients to shop at farmers’ markets throughout the city – will continue through October of 2013.

With the program, SNAP food stamp recipients who spend at least $10 with their EBT cards receive an additional $10 in Fresh Bucks per day when purchasing fruits and vegetables.

The West Seattle Farmers Market (Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Alaska Junction) and High Point Farm Stand (Wednesdays, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 32nd Ave. S.W. and S.W. Juneau St.) are participating West Seattle locations.

According to Mayor Mike McGinn’s Office, “For low-income individuals, cost is a barrier to eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Fresh Bucks helps reduce that burden while supporting the local economy. The 2012 Fresh Bucks pilot, developed and managed in partnership with the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance (NFMA), was featured at seven NFMA Farmers Markets and yielded the following results:

When you're tired of lutefisk and salmon, take a stroll around some businesses and gander at some art.

On Saturday, 6-9 p.m., the Ballard ArtWalk, will coincide with SeafoodFest. The Ballard Art Walk showcases painting, glass art, sculpture, performance, and more, in venues from Leary Way to Shilshole, and as far north as 65th. This family-friendly event is free, with many venues offering light refreshments.

As one of the newer Art Walk venues, Ballard Consignment (5459 Leary Ave NW) will feature artist Katya Minkina, who will be displaying some of her watercolor portraits.

“When sketching real people who go about their business, a few seconds is all you get to capture a pose or a gesture. It takes a while to warm up and start seeing the essence beyond all the overwhelming details that cry for attention,” says Minkina.

The artist will also be making sidewalk portraits throughout the weekend outside of Ballard Consignment as part of the Ballard SeafoodFest, an annual event that draws thousands of people.