On Friday, September 3, Southwest Youth and Family Services and South Pacific Youth Connections are hosting a public celebration in honor of the youth in our community who participated in their South Pacific Youth Connections Summer Program.  Through dance, poetry, and song, “Fia Fia” will showcase the talents and hard work of the youth who made the program such a notable success this year.

Young people of South Pacific ancestry in our community face daunting challenges as they navigate their way to adulthood.  They tend to experience higher than average failure rates in school and excessive referrals into the juvenile court system.  The South Pacific Youth Connections Summer Program was designed to help youth meet these challenges “through building self-confidence and cultural pride,” according to SYFS’s Joseph Seia.  The summer program offered participants “Pacific Islander-centric social studies and history courses, a fitness program, Pacific dance workshops, and anti-racist organizing.”

By all accounts, the South Pacific Youth Connections program is succeeding in its mission.  In an August 27 press release, Seia highlighted some of the students’ accomplishments.

•    Washington Strongest School Competition: South Pacific Youth Connections students took second place this year in the first annual competition that focused on fitness and strength.
•    Pacific Dance: South Pacific Youth Connections students performed cultural dance at 20 different venues this year.
•    Pacific Islander Social Studies Class: South Pacific Youth Connections students completed a social studies class for high school credit.
•    Community Forum: South Pacific Youth Connections students helped organize a successful forum to address the recent injustices with the police and the youth community.

“Fia Fia” is used in Pacific Island cultures such as Samoa and Tonga to mean “celebration,” “get-together,” or “happy.”  The event of that name this Friday promises to be all three, not to mention a great opportunity for our community to celebrate these young people’s hard work, while enjoying what promises to be an exciting display of their talent.

WHAT: “Fia Fia,” a celebration of the South Pacific Youth Connections Summer Program. Featuring dance, song, poetry, and more.

WHEN: Friday, September 3, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

WHERE: South Seattle Community College, JMB A, 6000 16 Avenue S.W., Seattle, 98106.

INFO: See flier below or contact Joseph Seia at 206.937.7680 ext. 210 or JSeia@swyfs.org for more information.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Saturday – Saturday Morning Jazz Set at Dubsea Coffee
• Saturday – Fantastic Fruits & Vegetables At This Week’s Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market!
• Sunday – Mark Your Calendar For This Sunday’s B-Patch Garden Day!
• Sunday – Advertiser E.B. Foote Winery Hosting Jazz Night On Sunday, August 29
• Sunday – El Tianguis Latino Market at Burien Town Square
• Sunday – Free Music at Marvista Park Featuring Blue Ringer

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

For decades, Americans have taken their coffee with jazz.  The fusion has helped give rise to poems, friendships, and cultural collaborations that have defined American music, art, and literature.  With such a rich tradition behind them, coffee and jazz make the perfect combination for a relaxing morning.

Starting this Saturday, White Center’s Dubsea Coffee is inaugurating a jazz and java tradition for our community, one which White Center residents can partake in on the fourth Saturday of every month.  The event will be hosted by jazz DJ Michael Olson, who often provides the music for Dubsea art openings.  Folks interested in a preview can check out Olson’s radio show, Freedom Sounds, at http://www.freedomsoundsradio.blogspot.com.

WHAT: Saturday morning Jazz set at Dubsea Coffee.

WHEN: Saturday, August 28, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm, and the fourth Saturday of every month thereafter.

WHERE: Dubsea Coffee, 9910 8th Ave SW, Seattle, 98106.

INFO: Check out the DJ’s website or call Dubsea at (206) 708-6806 for more info.

Here’s the lineup for Saturday’s White Center Third Saturday Art Walk, which goes from 6pm – 9pm Saturday night, Aug. 21st:

August 21, 6 PM – 9 PM
White Center Third Saturday Art Walk

Dubsea Coffee (9910 8th Ave SW): Jeannette Jones – oil paintings. Jeannette’s oil paintings are a complex tapestry of images that require second and third looks to discover the hidden portraits contained within.

Proletariat Pizza (9622-A 16th ave SW): Terry Peart – acrylic paintings. “17th and Roxbury”. Come see this series of paintings of a local landmark in White Center. have you tried the tiramisu?

Salvadorean Bakery (1719 Roxbury): Heather Mathias – Photographing Color and Design: An Exhibit by Heather Mathias
Heather Mathias’s artwork is an exploration of color and design. She photographs everyday objects, then through “reverse process” discovers their essence – their visual essence; whether it be a specific color, a specific design, or both.

Dzul Tattoo (9622-B 16th Ave SW): The Dzul Family – Tattoo, airbrush, cool urban art. Check out the shop, get that long-desired tattoo!

Cafe Rozella (9434 Delridge Way SW): Another month of good ART!!

Full Tilt Ice Cream (9629 16th Ave SW): Check for updates.

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Ave SW): Adam Schmidt – Metal Art -Precision-cut metal art.

Record numbers of attendees are expected tomorrow, August 14, at the seventh annual White Center Pasefika festival, taking place at White Center Heights Elementary School.

“Pasefika” is the community faith-based organization hosting the festival, which is free to the public.  Local Pacific Island musicians, artists, and groups will put on musical and cultural performances, and numerous vendors will offer delectable island dishes.  “Island-style” games will be offered, including coconut husking, and gifts will be awarded to festival attendees in a drawing sponsored by vendors and community partners.  Vendors will also be selling an assortment of beautiful arts and crafts, including island clothing and jewelry.

Festival organizers promise “this family-oriented cultural event is a wonderful opportunity for Washington residents to experience the culture and diversity of the Pacific Islands that is available to them right here in the Pacific Northwest.”

WHAT: Pasefika Festival, a free celebration of Pacific Island Culture for all ages.

WHEN: Saturday, August 14, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

WHERE:  White Center Heights Elementary School, 10015 6th Avenue SW Seattle, 98146.

INFO: See the festival flier below for more information, or read more about it on the White Center CDA’s blog.  You can also contact festival organizer Edna Noga at 206.280.6098 or edna.noga@gmail.com.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Saturday/Sunday – City of Tukwila Community Garage Sale is Aug 14-15
• Saturday – 5th Annual Trash To Treasure Parking Lot Sale Is Saturday, Aug. 14th
• Saturday – Health & Fitness Day at Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market
• Saturday – Brent Rice Memorial Swim Is Aug. 14th; Here’s How You Can Join In/Help
• Sunday – FREE Ice Cream With Ciscoe Morris At Highline/SeaTac Gardens Aug. 15th
• Sunday – Experience Live Mexican Dance At El Tianguis Latino Market
• Sunday – Free Music at Marvista Park Featuring The Starlings

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

Here’s this week’s round-up of FREE concerts being offered in the surrounding area. This is the final week for concerts in Burien and Des Moines, so enjoy the music before it’s too late!

Tue, Aug 10	12:00PM	Caleb	Burien Town Square Park
Wed, Aug 11	7:00PM	African All Stars	Des Moines Beach Park
Thu, Aug 12	6:30PM	Locust Street Taxi	Lake Burien School Park
Fri, Aug 13	12:00PM	Nancy Stewart	Tukwila Community Center
Sun, Aug 15	5:00PM	Starlings	Marvista Park
Sun, Aug 15	5:00PM	Ranger and the Re-Arrangers	Angle Lake Park

White Center’s Dubsea Coffee has new art going up on the walls on August 15, and it looks to be another fantastic show.  Jeanette Jones creates dynamic and colorful paintings that are easy to get lost in.

Many of her works blend abstract shapes with artful, classic portraits, creating numerous layers for the viewer to peruse.  After watching an online slideshow of Jones’s paintings, its hard not to get excited about seeing her works on canvas and up close. Her art will be on display at Dubsea through September 14.  Stop by Dubsea between 7 and 9 pm on Saturday, August 21 to peruse the installation and discuss the works on display with Jeanette Jones herself.

WHAT: Artist reception with Jeanette Jones.

WHEN: Saturday, August 21, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

WHERE: Dubsea Coffee, 9910 8th Ave SW, Seattle, 98106.

INFO: Check out Jeanette Jones’s website for more info.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Friday/Saturday – “Cruisin4TheCure” Fighting Cancer With A Car Wash Friday & Saturday
• Friday/Saturday – Big Al Brewing’s Second Birthday Celebration August 7 and 8
• Friday – Guy Harper and Pamela Harper, Authors of Three Tree Point at Burien Books From 4-6PM
• Saturday – Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market Celebrates Shark Week… Puget Sound Style!
• Saturday – White Center CDA Member Mixer Is Saturday, Aug. 7th
• Saturday – Burien’s Sizzling Saturday Night Car Show
• Saturday – Greg Wright, Author of West of the Gospel at Burien Books From 1-3PM
• Saturday – WestSide Baby Challenges Burien To “Stuff The Bus” Saturday Night
• Sunday – Sustainable Burien Meeting At Community Gardens, 437 SW 144th Street
• Sunday – Burien’s “El Tianguis” Latino Market
• Sunday – Pink Party For The Cure Is This Sunday At All-Star Sports Bar
• Sunday – Des Moines United Methodist Church Hosting Blues Concert Featuring “Sister Wives”
• Sunday – Free Music at Marvista Park Featuring Woodrush

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

Wednesday evening, White Center residents can join their Greenbridge neighbors for a sampling of Russian and Hispanic music, art, and food in the Greenbridge Plaza, from 4 to 6 pm.

“Music in the Plaza” has been monthly event in Greenbridge this summer.  Tonight’s Russian and Hispanic music night promises to be a wonderful opportunity for White Center residents to meet their neighbors and learn a little bit about the rich diversity of cultural traditions rooted right here in our neighborhood.  What better way to spend a few hours on a warm summer northwest evening?

WHAT: “Music in the Plaza” shared by the Russian and Hispanic communities of Greenbridge.

WHEN: Wednesday August 4, from 4 to 6 pm.

WHERE: The Greenbridge plaza, located in between the Jim Wiley Community Center and Dub Sea Coffee, around 9800 8th Ave SW, Seattle, 98106.

INFO: This is a free community event.

Here’s this week’s round-up of FREE concerts being offered in the surrounding area. There’s sure to be something here to please just about anyone!

Tue, Aug 3	12:00PM	Sebastian Clark	Burien Town Square Park
Wed, Aug 4	7:00PM	Handful of Luvin’	Des Moines Beach Park
Thu, Aug 5	6:30PM	Caela and the Dangerous Flares	Lake Burien School Park
Fri, Aug 6	12:00PM	Eric Herman	Tukwila Community Center
Sun, Aug 8	5:00PM	Woodrush	Marvista Park
Sun, Aug 8	5:00PM	Rod Cook	Angle Lake Park

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Friday/Saturday/Sunday – “Withering Heights” at the E.B. Foote Winery
• Friday/Saturday – Advertiser Lavina Mays To Host Grand Opening Event This Weekend
• Saturday – Normandy Park Hoop Fest Basketball Tournament Is Saturday, July 31st
• Saturday – Coffee “Cupping” at Dubsea Coffee in White Center
• Saturday – Elder Care & Safety Day at the Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market
• Saturday – Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” in Des Moines Beach Park
• Sunday – “El Tianguis Mercado Latino” street market in Burien Town Square
• Sunday – Normandy Park’s Free Concert at Marvista Park Featuring Recess Monkey & the Normandy Park Youth Orchestra

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

Coming up on August 2nd, “Polynesian Power” will be screened at South Seattle Community College, part of a summer film series on Pacific Islander culture hosted by the college.

Narrated by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the 2005 film documents the rise of Polynesian athletes in American professional football, and the cultural history underlying their success.

The film festival, which kicked off in mid-July, is free to all who wish to attend.  Visiting professor Rochelle Fonoti facilitates discussions after each film, offering White Center residents a great opportunity to learn more about their Pacific Islander neighbors, and for Pacific Islander White Centerites to celebrate their heritage.  Families of Asian Pacific Islander descent make up nearly twenty percent of White Center’s population.  according to a 2006 demographic survey.

“Polynesian Power” is the second-to-last film in the series. “Young, Gifted and Samoan” will be screened on August 30.

WHAT: “Polynesian Power” screening at South Seattle Community College, part of the college’s Pacific Islander Film series.

WHEN: Monday, August 2, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

WHERE: South Seattle Community College, RAH Little Theater Room 125, 6000 16 Avenue SW, Seattle, 98106.

INFO: Check out the Film Series flier below for more information.

Summer is finally in full swing and with the warm weather and blue skies comes a plethora of free concert series offered by local cities. Why not take advantage of the weather and get outside for fresh air and FREE music?

Here’s this week’s upcoming concerts:

Tuesday, July 27	12:00PM	Steve Olson	Burien Town Square Park
Wednesday, July 28	7:00PM	Lucas Cates Band	Des Moines Beach Park
Thursday, July 29	6:30PM	Jimmy Free’s Friends	Lake Burien School Park
Friday, July 30	12:00PM	The Not-Its!	Tukwila Community Center
Sunday, August 1	5:00PM	Recess Monkey Normandy Park Youth Orchestra	Marvista Park
Sunday, August 1	5:00PM	Cold Boots & Bad Coffee	Angle Lake Park

Looking for something to do this weekend? Here’s a round up of events happening around the area:

• Friday/Saturday/Sunday – Olde Burien Sidewalk Sale
• Friday/Saturday/Sunday – “Withering Heights” at the E.B. Foote Winery
• Friday/Saturday – Local Kids Perform in “Robinson Crusoe” at Des Moines Field House
• Saturday – Business Showcase and Cooking Demonstrations at the Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market
• Saturday – Mount Rainier High School’s Class of 1980 Reunion Cruise
• Saturday – White Center Fall and Winter Gardening Class
• Sunday – “El Tianguis Mercado Latino” street market in Burien Town Square
• Sunday – Breakfast/fund-raiser and diaper collection for WestSide Baby at White Center Eagles
• Sunday – Dinner/fund-raiser for Orphan Relief and Rescue at 909 Coffee and Wine Bistro
• Sunday – Fundraiser Carwash for the Highline Blue Sox
• Sunday – Wine Dinner featuring Waterbrook Winery at Advertiser Archery Bistro (Call for reservations)
• Sunday – Normandy Park’s Free Concert at Marvista Park Featuring Contemporary Celtic Music by “Craicmore”

Know about an event we missed? Feel free to share the details in a comment!

Highline/SeaTac Botanical Gardens will be hosting their annual “Ice Cream Social and Plant Sale” on Sunday, Aug. 15th, with special guest Ciscoe Morris and FREE ice cream to the first 300 guests.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Ice Cream Social & Plant Sale with Ciscoe Morris.

WHEN: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

WHERE: Highline/SeaTac Botanical Gardens, located at 13735 24th Ave S, SeaTac, WA 98168.

INFO: From a flier (download PDF here):

Join us in the garden on Sunday, August 15th for our 4th annual Ice Cream Social.

This year’s Celebrity Guest will again be Ciscoe Morris, who hosts “Gardening with Ciscoe” on KIRO 97.3 FM radio and KING 5/NWCN television, and is the author of the best-selling garden tome, “Ask Ciscoe”, as well as a weekly column in the Seattle Times.

Ciscoe’s topic will be “Create a Hummingbird Haven in a Pot or Garden ”

The fun starts at 1:00 p.m., with Ciscoe taking center stage in the Celebration Rose Garden at around 2:30 p.m.

Local nurseries & designers will plant 10 gorgeous pots. Register to vote for your favorite container & get a chance to take it home for free. Door prizes & free ice cream to the first 300 guests!

More information: www.highlinegarden.org or 206-391-4003.

Other featured events include:

• Silent Auction
  Bid on a variety of great items including two Aw Pots personally planted by Ciscoe, a room at SeaTac’s Radisson Hotel, a sightseeing flight around Seattle with pilot Warren Hendrickson, an original oil painting by Kathy Wyckoff, garden art, garden tools, a complete bird-gardening kit, and more!
• “Humm-dingers!!!”
  Local nurseries and designers will again plant up 10 gorgeous pots donated by Aw Pottery. This year’s theme is plants that attract hummingbirds. Just show up and register to vote for your favorite container and get a chance to take it home for FREE!!! HGBF members get two extra chances to win! Memberships will be on sale the day of the event.

Participating designers and nurseries include Clinton Bamboo Growers, Design of the Times, Dogwood Design, Minter’s Earlington Greenhouse and Nursery, Furney’s, West Seattle Nursery, Herr Backyard Garden Center, and Branches Garden Center.

• Free Aw Pottery Pot to first 40 new members!
  Be one of the first forty people to join the Highline Botanical Garden Foundation during the event and receive a gorgeous, frost-proof Aw Pottery pot! (NOTE: IF YOU PLAN ON ENTERING THE CONTEST, BRING A VEHICLE LARGE ENOUGH TO TAKE HOME YOUR WINNINGS! THE PLANTED POTS ARE BETWEEN 24″ AND 36″ TALL AND MAY WEIGH AS MUCH AS 75 POUNDS!)
• Door Prizes Galore!!!
  Register to win two free passes to the 2010 NW Flower and Garden Show, a “Cascadia” compost bin from the City of SeaTac, and gift packages from Benson’s Best Bites, Hey Paison, The Tin Room Bar and Grill, 909 Coffee and Wine, Vino Bello, Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub, and Elliot Bay Brewpub.
• Free Ice Cream to the first 300 guests!
  Please join us in the garden for an afternoon of the very best in gardening “edu-tainment”, ice cream, and of course, brussels sprouts!

For directions to the garden, click here.