West Seattle Summer Fest

When: Friday, July 11 – Sunday July 13
Where: West Seattle Junction
Cost: Free

West Seattle Summer Fest is a FREE 3-day street fair, hosted by an organization of local area merchants, the West Seattle Junction Association. Now in its 26th year, West Seattle Summer Fest is host to dozens of bands, hundreds of merchants and artists, and over 30,000 attendees. Complete with food courts, beer gardens, and family activities, this is a true community celebration in the heart of West Seattle.

This year’s festival promises to be better than ever! For 3 days, our merchants will open up their doors and spill out onto their sidewalks to display all the wonderful products and services they offer year-round, while artists and artisans display in the streets. Junction restaurants and a delectable selection of cross-cultural food vendors can satisfy your hunger along the way. Live music on two stages, a skateboard exhibition, and a full block of family activities make each day special. And don’t forget our welcoming beer & wine garden, the annual Saturday Night Street Dance and, of course, West Seattle’s own Sunday Farmer’s Market!

A Night in Durbar Square: A Night of Many Successes!

On July 21, Crooked Trails partnered with ArtXchange, a contemporary global art gallery, and Namaste Children’s Fund, a non profit funding children’s education, to put on a night of food, fun, and music in celebration and support of education in Nepal. Crooked Trails was raising funds for the Shree Kalika School in Bhaktapur Nepal that we have been building as part of our service project component on our trips to Nepal. Namaste Children’s Fund was celebrating its organizations launch and raising funds for scholarships for tuition, books and supplies for children in need.

ArtXchange was transformed for the night to replicate beautiful Durbar Square in Katmandu, Nepal. Our fabulous vendor partners Ten Thousand Villages (www.tenthousandvillages.com), Snow Leopard Trust (www.snowleopardtrust.org), and Laughing Buddha (www.mylaughingbuddha.com) lined the room with gorgeous and authentic handicrafts from the Himalayan region. Teacup (www.seattleteacup.com) sampled Nepalese teas for guests, sharing the story and history of the delectable drinks. Food was provided by Everest Kitchen (www.theeverestkitchen.com) and gave attendees the opportunity to sample delicious Nepali momos and potato chat. And James Whetzel (http://ilike.com/artist/James+Whetzel) a modern day mixologist played to  the crowd with some classic sarod sounds, truly encapsulating the vivacity and spirit of Durbar Square.

Ending the night were presentations by Chris Mackay, Crooked Trails co-founder who spoke about Crooked Trails and the Shree Kalika school, Cora Edmonds co-founder of Namaste Children’s Fund and ArtXchange Director who gave a follow up story to the famous Namste Boy picture, and very special guest Dr. C.M. Yogi, founder of the HVP holistic education schools in Nepal. Following the fabulous and inspiring talks attendees were given a chance to ‘raise the paddle’ and sponsor a child’s education for a year. All donations were also matched by an amazing anonymous donor.

Because of the efforts and support of everyone involved, we were able to raise over $10,000 for both organizations!

Thank you to everyone who came out, all of our business and vendor partners, and a vey special thanks to our volunteers for the night Nicole Juracek, Caren Beecher and Gail Reed.