On Thursday, May 5th at 1:30 pm, King County will host the groundbreaking for the new South Park Bridge with comments from Governor Chris Gregoire, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Michael McGinn, Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin, Port of Seattle Commissioner Gael Tarleton and others.
Part of the ceremony will include a special 26-foot long South Park Bridge-shaped piñata made by local community members.
Following the groundbreaking, the City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development (OED) will be hosting a City Business Casual networking event at three local restaurants along 14th Ave South: Muy Macho, Jaliscos and Napoli Pizzeria Ristorante from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm with City of Seattle, King County and Port of Seattle elected officials. Business and community leaders will mingle with local officials while sampling South Park food and learning about the efforts of the local business community to reinvigorate their local business district.
Confirmed elected officials for OED’s City Business Casual include:
- King County Executive Dow Constantine
- Seattle Mayor Michael McGinn
- Seattle City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw, Tim Burgess, Sally Clark, Richard Conlin, Jean Godden, Nick Licata and Mike O’Brien
- King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
- Port of Seattle Commissioner Gael Tarleton
In addition, in the afternoon and early evening, South Park Arts (SPARTS) and the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) will host the South Park 1st Cinco de Mayo Community Festival. Activities will include crafts for children, a piñata, music, art and a fire performance. The community hopes that visitors will come down and enjoy the festivities and Catch the Culture!
May 5 schedule:
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. — South Park Bridge Ground Breaking
The Devil Dancers kick-off the ceremony with our Governor and local politicians
Piñata Part I
Location: End of the red brick road, next to the river
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. —“City Business Casual”
Meet your local politicians at local restaurants, including members of Seattle City Council, King County Council and Port Commissioners
Locations: Muy Macho, Jaliscos, and Napoli
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. — Kids Activities
Kids can get crafty with fun projects and meet their local fire-fighters
Location: Parking lot of Ken’s South Park Grocery, 14th and Sullivan
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. – Mariachi
A mariachi band brings music to our streets
Location: All along 14th Ave South
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. — Piñata Part II
Piñata filled with candy, gift certificates, seed packets, car fresheners, and more
Location: Old bridge deck (14th & Dallas)
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. — Live Painting and Auction
For one hour, five artists will paint in front of a crowd while a DJ spins the tunes. Watch as doors salvaged from the historic Witch Hat House are transformed into works of art
The doors will be auctioned off to the highest (silent) bidder
Location: Napoli’s parking lot (14th & Cloverdale)
8:30 p.m. — Performance Art (Fire!)
Music: Titanium Sporkestra
Fire Performance with Rusty Oliver
Location: South Bark Dog Park (Between Sullivan & Dallas on 14th)
9:00 p.m. — Party on…
“See you in the Park! Stop in and support our local businesses on 14th Ave for food, drinks, party favors and more!”
For more information, check out http://www.allaboutsouthpark.com.
