We’ll have a full On the List lineup of things to do this weekend on Capitol Hill later in the week but wanted to give an early boost to three bits of fun coming up on Saturday and Sunday as croquet players gather for a good cause in Volunteer Park and 12th Ave turns into a festival street for the weekend. Details below.

• Victorian Day celebration at Volunteer Park: Time to bust out your favorite white suit and/or aristocrat dress. This Sunday is Victorian Day: a celebration of the centennial of the Conservatory at Volunteer Park. We’ve previously discussed the mounting need for fundraising for the Conservatory, with the competing realities of budget shortfalls and the annual operating cost of $450,000. Well here’s a way to get involved that also includes a croquet tournament and a fancy dress up party.

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It’s free to attend the event, but it’s $60 ($50 if you are a Friend of the Conservatory) to participate in the 1PM croquet tournament, which comes with a boxed lunch. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets. In case anyone was concerned that there will be favoritism or shoddy officiating, rest assured that the referees for the croquet tournament are as official as they come — trained at the Puget Sound Croquet Club of Kirkland.

Conservatory HQ suggests that folks wear period costumes. For those Hill residents who don’t have steamer trunks full of costumes, perhaps a stop at Brocklind’s or Red Light might be in order. There’s a prize for best costume as well as a prize the croquet champion. Some degree of steampunk crossover is to be expected; we’ll see if authenticity or creativity wins the day.

Other activities include tree tours by horticulturalist Walt Bubelis at 1 and 3PM, balloon art, face painting, and a kids coloring station. There will be ice cream and food trucks, horse and carriage rides; there will also be folks riding around on penny-farthings (those old timey bikes with the big front wheels), a vintage fire truck, and live music. The Sedentary Sousa band and the What’s Cooking Barbershop Quartet will be providing free entertainment in line with the yester-century theme of the event. Some of these activities are free, some cost a little – bring cash.

At 5PM there will be punch, champagne, and cake to toast the 100 years of the Conservatory. Victorian greenhouses like these are few and far between. The cost of the upkeep, retrofitting, and the day to day expense of keeping the Conservatory open to the public is admittedly large, but the dividends in beauty are best measured individually. If on Sunday you arrive at this Seattle Landmark in your best vintage splendor, perhaps you’ll see firsthand how it earns its place in our park, and our city.

You can learn more at volunteerparkconservatory.org

• 12th Ave Festival:

  (Image: CHS)

  We were there for the first one. The businesses, organizations and residents of 12th Ave will gather this weekend to celebrate the neighborhood and commercial district. We’ll be there again Sunday — look for our table, stop by, say hi, get your picture posted to the blog, and score a CHS crow button.

12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival

Sunday August 12th 2012
11am – 5pm
12th Avenue between E Madison and E Pike Street on Capitol Hill

Join us for the third annual 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival this August! This unique community Festival features your favorite restaurants offering international flavors of the neighborhood for $5 or less. One-of-a-kind shops will have their wares and services available to explore while you enjoy local entertainment on the street. Bring the family and share in the experience of 12th Avenue!

Music:

12:00 PM: Not It’s
12:45 PM: Whitney Ballen
1:30 PM: G.O.A.T.
2:15 PM: Prism Tats
3:00 PM: Lazer Kitty
3:45 PM: Glitterbang

Activities:

Birdhouse Making at Pacific Supply
Bootyland Mustache Parade
Double Dutch Empire
Mama K’s Play Clay
Ryan Alley Face Painting
Skin Deep Bollywood and Belly Dancing
Star Kids Origami
Sweatbox Yoga in the Street

Participating restaurants: 

Ambassel Ethiopian Restaurant
Barrio Mexican Kitchen and Bar
Bluebird Microcreamery
Boom Noodle
Caffe Vita and Via Tribunali 
High Five Pie
Osteria La Spiga
Lucky 8’s China House
Manhattan Seattle
Plum Bistro
Poquitos
Porchlight Coffee
Regent Bakery and Café
Zobel Ethiopian Restaurant

Participating retailers & organizations: 

12th Avenue Stewards
14th Ave Hair
Acupuncture Associates & Wellness Group
Bootyland
Broadway Veterinary Hospital
Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce
Capitol Hill Housing
Environmental Works
Excellent Therapeutic Massage
Golden Key Wellness Studio
Greater Seattle Business Association
Health First Chiropractic
Lifelong AIDS Alliance
Life Long Easy Breathing and Que Areste
Retail Therapy
Rex
Seattle University Athletics
The Sweatbox
Swedish Medical Center
The Washington Bus
Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Washington United for Marriage
Zipcar

• (Image: CHS)

  East Precinct picnics with you! Saturday brings the annual community picnic to 12th Ave between Pine and Pike. Free hot dogs!

On August 11th, each of the department’s five precincts will host Picnic at the Precinct events, so you and your family can chow down on free food and ice cream while talking to Community Police Team Officers and Crime Prevention Coordinators about crime in your neighborhood.

In addition to talking shop with your neighborhood cops, you can watch local bands and performers, play around in a bouncy house, participate in a raffle for items donated by local businesses, meet the four-legged officers from the K-9 and mounted units, tour the precincts, and check out the cool gadgets used by special units like SWAT.

The Precinct Picnics are free to the community and sponsored by the Seattle Police Foundation.

This year, all the picnics are happening on the same day, Saturday August 11, 2012 from 1-4 pm.