On the List | Gearhouse grand opening, Lost Lake 10th birthday, Bike Everywhere Day, Malcolm X Day, I-5 detours, and the Seattle Day of Service

Here is a look at things to get out and do around Capitol Hill this weekend from the CHS Calendar… and beyond. Check out capitolhillseattle.com/calendar/ for more nearby events — or add your own. Happy weekend.

  • Gearhouse Grand Opening: Thursday night brings a free party at the new Gearhouse where you can check out the outdoor equipment library and sign up for a raffle for free prizes plus enjoy treats from the Basecamp Cafe. 800 E Thomas — Thursday, May 18th 6-9 PM
  • Lost Lake 10th anniversary celebration begins: The Capitol Hill diner’s celebration of a decade starts with a 10th birthday party Thursday with balloon animals and bear costumes. 1505 10th Ave — Thursday, May 18th 3-7 PM
  • Glo’s first weekend: It is also the first weekend of full service at the new Glo’s.
  • Bike Everywhere Day: Friday is Bike Everywhere Day with events and stations lined up to greet riders across the city. Seattle Bike Blog has the 2023 BED map here.
  • Malcolm X Day: Celebrate the life and legacy of Malcolm X on his birthday at the CD’s Northwest African American Museum. 2300 Massachusetts Street — Friday, May 19th 6-7:30 PM
  • 2023 Beer Can Derby: Beer hall The Pine Box’s annual Beer Can Derby takes place Saturday when you can “relive your Pinewood Derby-filled scouting days by tricking out an aluminum can into a mean, lean, speed racing machine.” 1600 Melrose — Saturday, May 20th, 3-7 PM
  • True Crime and Tragedy in Victorian Seattle walking tour: Visit Capitol Hill’s Lake View Cemetery for a tour with Seattle History Tours. $25. 1554 15th Ave E — Sunday, May 21st, 11 AM to 12:30 PM
  • SIFF winds down: Seattle’s big film fest wraps up on Sunday. CHS reported on the 2023 festival and big news that the Cinerama theater would be joining the SIFF family including Capitol Hill’s Egyptian Theatre. Continue reading

On the List | World Womenโ€™s Snooker tournament at Capitol Hill’s Ox Billiards, Garfield High School centennial, Midtown Square grand opening

(Image: World Women’s Snooker)

This summer weekend includes a few potential field trips for you to consider with some big events in the Central District and on First Hill. Jump on the bus or take a summer walk. But stay off the freeways. A major closure of 520 all weekend long will probably make getting around by car a major pain. For happenings closer to home, there’s a major sporting event to consider plus plenty more on the CHS Calendar.

  • 520 closure: The bridge and freeway will be closed from Friday night to early Monday morning but the bike and walk trail will remain open while crews install girders on the Montlake lid and realign the highway.
  • Snooker tournament at Ox Billiards: “For the first time ever, the U.S. will host a World Womenโ€™s Snooker tournament,” KNKX reports. Capitol Hill’s own Ox Billiards is the venue. CHS reported on the 2021 opening of the underground pool hall here. The U.S. Women’s Open tournament runs from Friday through Sunday at Ox at 1432 Broadway. Learn more at oxbilliards.com.
  • Midtown Square Grand Opening: The mixed-use development at 23rd and Union celebrates its new Central District residents and commercial tenants with a Friday night party.
  • Play! Adult Field Day: A day of fun and frolic for really big kids runs all day Saturday at Powell Barnett Park.
  • Garfield’s Centennial Celebration: You can also celebrate 100 years of Garfield High School Saturday on the 23rd Ave campus. CHS reported on the anniversary here.
  • Freeway Park Summer Festival: Also Saturday, First Hill’s Seneca Plaza is calling with live music, water games, sprinklers and sweet treats.

Check out the CHS Calendar for more events or to add your own.

CHS CALENDAR: EDITOR'S PICKS | ALL EVENTS | ADD EVENTS

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On the List | August Capitol Hill Art Walk, Wainestock returns, Garage Sale Day 2022

The CHS Calendar is in full Capitol Hill summer mode with so many listings, you’re going to have to double book your social plans.

  • THURSDAY brings the August edition of the Capitol Hill Art Walk — details at capitolhillartwalk.com — to venues across the neighborhood while the new Volunteer Park Amphitheater shows off its dance-friendly design with a night of free performances from Lucien Postlewaite,ย  Whim Wโ€™Him, The Seattle Project,ย andย Dance Church putting the new foot-friendly stage to work.
  • SATURDAY AND SUNDAY brings the return of the Wainestock music festival to Volunteer Park. Musician Joe Waine didnโ€™t really want to name his new Seattle music festival Wainestock, he says. He wanted to name it after his best friend, Koji. But, Waine said, โ€œI was pressured into using this name โ€“ itโ€™s a joke on the made-up festival Waynestock from Wayneโ€™s World.โ€ Wainestock returns this weekend after a two year hiatus — the name and the concept are the same: friends, great local bands, and hopefully some sun, all together in Volunteer Park.
  • SUNDAY also marks the return of Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day. You’ll find sales underway at a community space in Cal Anderson Park and also a few scattered around the nearby streets as part of the revived Cal Anderson Park Alliance event.

A scene from Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day 2018

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Dick’s celebrating Broadway reopening with music, classic cars

Dick’s in the days when cars ruled Broadway (Image: Dick’s Drive-In)

Dick’s Drive-In is celebrating the reopening of its Broadway location after a more than six-month construction closure with a day of music and classic cars.

The Broadway restaurant, one of the few remaining active drive-ins in the city, is hosting a grand re-opening party Sunday:

We know it was a long wait but Broadway is now open! And we think it’s something worth celebrating so join us on July 10th for a Reopening Celebration to commemorate the end of a 6 month-long remodel of our Broadway location. Beginning at 10:30AM, weโ€™ll have many family-friendly activities available to the public for free, including live music, a classic car display, a thrifting popup, a fun photo experience, face painting, and more!

The event will also feature music from performers including Payge Turner, La Fonda, Shaun Crawford, Drea Marilyn, and Carly Calbero.

Classic cars filling the parking lot along one of the most-walked, busiests pedestrian zones in the city across from Capitol Hill Station is classic Dick’s. Continue reading

Volunteer Park’s new amphitheater has a stage worthy of Seattle’s performers and a roof worthy of the city’s weather

(Image: Volunteer Park Trust)

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By Hannah Saunders

The grand opening of the new Volunteer Park amphitheater will take place on July 2, where performances will follow for the rest of the summer. The new stage is replacing the old brick amphitheater, built 51 years ago.

The project has been in development for about six years with its community priorities headed by the Volunteer Park Trust community group.

Terry Morgan, event producer for the parkโ€™s summer series celebrating the new facility, said the previous amphitheater was falling apart and wasnโ€™t up to performance standards. The new amphitheater? It is state of the art.

โ€œOne of the unique items on the stage is instead of just having a backstage wall, itโ€™s actually a wall that pivots, so when the wall will be open youโ€™ll just see right through the stage, and it just becomes an open space,โ€ Morgan said, adding that itโ€™s also a perfect space for morning yoga and stretching that the public can regularly enjoy.

As for the old stage, not many will miss the bricks.

โ€œIt had always had some pretty significant shortcomings from a performance perspective,โ€ said Jennifer Ott, board chair of the Volunteer Park Trust. โ€œIt really was an eyesore.โ€ Continue reading

Including the return of the Seattle Dyke March to Broadway, here’s a map of Capitol Hill’s major Pride weekend events

The Dyke March will fully return for the first time since 2019

Source: City of Seattle

With traditions like the Seattle Dyke March back in the flesh on Broadway for the first time in years, Pride weekend on Capitol Hill is so busy, you’re going to need a map.

Fortunately, the good people at the Special Events Committee charged with organizing City Hall’s resources to help support Seattle’s incredibly busy schedule of major festivals and gatherings have created this mapping of street closures around the major Pride events across the Hill starting Friday night and continuing through Sunday’s big parade downtown. Continue reading

Pride 2022 ready to get back to June traditions on Capitol Hill with a clean-up in Cal Anderson, bands in Volunteer Park

A past scene from Pride in Volunteer Park

Seattle’s Pride was moved to September last year.

As Pride 2022 approaches, last weekend’s cloudy skies might have felt a little like fall — or, at times, winter — but the celebrations of LGBTQ+ communities are ready to resume their rightful place in June after last year’s pandemic delays.

The fun and celebration on Capitol Hill begins this weekend with the return of two popular traditions. Continue reading

On the List Memorial Day Weekend 2022 | Black Wall Street celebration in the CD, MariPili official opening, free burgers at Li’l Woody’s

2021’s Black Wall Street celebration

Memorial Day Weekend is most definitely not the start of Seattle summer — but you can start to think about it. Here are a few of the goings-ons planned around the neighborhood over the weekend. You can find more on the CHS Calendar — or add your own.

Continue reading

CHS Pics | First On the Block Second Saturday warms up street festival and party season on Capitol Hill


Capitol Hill kicked off its 2022 street party season last weekend amid a busy Saturday on Capitol Hill that included thousands of people rallying for abortion rights at Cal Anderson Park.

The first in a series of On The Block Second Saturdays was held on 11th Ave over the weekend. The monthly event will take place on 11th Ave between E. Pike and Pine every second Saturday into October and will feature performances, vendors, local businesses, and more. On the Block draws funding from theย Neighborhood Economic Recovery Fund, an effort from the city to help boost artists and small businesses in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions and ongoing pandemic challenges. If you attended and have ideas for future Second Saturdays, you can connect with organizers via Instagram @ontheblockseattle. Interested vendors can sign-upย here.

Consider Saturday’s inaugural edition a warm-up for Capitol Hill summer. Continue reading

On the List | May Capitol Hill Art Walk, On the Block 11th Ave street fair debut, first ever Upper Left Comedy Festival

CHS friend Emmett Montgomery will be part of the big show at the Upper Left Comedy Festival this weekend, a celebration of what makes the PNW laugh (Image: CHS)

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The weather feels like winter but the sprouting of things to do around Capitol Hill feels like spring. This weekend’s highlights include important rallies and protests for abortion rights, a Capitol Hill comedy festival, and a new monthly Capitol HIll street fair. Check out the CHS Calendar for more.

  • THURSDAY: Capitol Hill Art Walk —ย The May edition of the monthly night for venues across the Hill to feature art and artists brings highlights including the Center on Contemporary Art ShowWalls Program at Poco, the works of Claire Sakaguchi, Nikki Solemsaas, Kirie Ventura at Vermillion, and a debut celebration for Summit Selvage, a new 12th Ave studio created with the goal of providing an affordable space for the exploration of sewing, handcrafts, arts, and waste reduction. Check out capitolhillartwalk.com for a map and details.
  • THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY: Upper Left Comedy Festival Capitol Hill’s Club Comedy and the Northwest Film Forum will host three days of stand-up and performance events featuring Pacific Northwest comedy favorites and nationally known acts including Ron Lynch, Jackie Kashian, Derek Sheen, David Gborie, Emmett Montgomery, Monica Nevi, Birungi Birungi, and Andy Iwancio. Continue reading