Photo Credit: Andy P. Photography

Thank you to the community for submitting over 365 surveys to the questions we posed about your thoughts about Summer Fest. Your comments WILL shape Summer Fest, 2018. You’ll see more seating, more shade, a dance party, more sidewalk sales, a change up on some food vendors, more food and increased signage.

Congrats to Kim B. for winning the $50 gift card to West 5.

Read on for a sampling of the comments:

I enjoyed the music very much and the turnout was amazing at the stage this year! However, I’d love to see the evening music progress toward more dance music as we get toward the final acts of the evening. People wanted to dance (and some tried), but the dance music never really came.

Would be nice if there were a couple more activities for older kids–the bouncy stuff is great for toddlers, though.

For older/handicap folks, there are too few seating options. If we cannot ‘take five’, we have to go home

I like the carnival style food options but wold also like to see more healthy options too. Due to the number of booths and no sandwich board maps in the streets it was unclear where the kids area was without going to the information booth. How about positioning maps/directories in a few places on California Ave like in a mall?

We would prefer to have the hours go back to 8pm on Friday and Saturday so we can maximize booth sales; for us and for people without storefronts. We noticed what appeared to be less traffic than in years past despite the weather being ideal; dunno if that is due to this festival coinciding with other local festivals.

I loved the Friday night music! It created community, was entertaining, and was easy to dance to. Sat evening wasn’t as fun and wasn’t good for dancing, at least until the closing band. The DJ in the beer garden ws amazing but the vibe was off for the setting. My friends who came to the neighborhood got bored and left early. I stuck around for the closer and was glad I did!

Ate at a food truck. Would love to see more local food trucks too!

The local shop sales are good and the arts, crafts, and imports are great. More arts and crafts! what happened to the henna tattoo person?

I’ve been going to Summerfest for about 20+ years. These past few years I’ve been slightly underwhelmed. I want to see more vendors offering handmade goods and local charm, and less of the tackier booths full of stuff that can be found at any other street fair. I want Summerfest to hold on to that local flavor and feel uniquely West Seattle. I enjoy going every year, but it’s starting to feel a little less special.

Seemed like it went well. Had lots in looking for restrooms. Do they need to be better marked?

I also enjoyed the pop-up musicians along the street that were perhaps sponsored by particular businesses and were not on the stages.

Would be nice to see more new vendors, seemed like same line up as last year. Higher end food booths would also be nice.

I wish the beer garden was dog friendly all weekend instead of just Friday. It would have been nice to have more local beer at the beer garden. I attended Friday and Saturday. For the mayor candidate questioning and answering, less candidates and more shade. Some candidates were a waste of time and took away from the more serious candidates.

So many “festival” wear booths, I would like to see more quality work.

I loved Summer Fest every year and appreciate all the time and energy the Junction Association ours into it. This year the layout seemed to have even more thought out into it. Plaza Park was well used with the Sustainable stage and booths right there, to name a few of the nice touches. I also thought it smart to use the old farmers market lot for a ride to spread out. That said, the Kids Area had very little for kids older than say, seven. We miss the Wrecking Ball and the spinning chair thing (one person at a time in the ride). Maybe two things were good for older kids. We normally buy a weekend wrist band for our kids but nothing grabbed him so we opted for a Saturday pass and let him just go on the few rides he was interested in over and over and over. Thursday night set up time is always fun for families, Bubbles Man was awesome as ever. Elliott Bay’s guest funk band was so much fun. We actually heard the music from our house Fri night and ca me back out to the festival to listen to them! Otherwise the music was just okay – loved Sisters and was glad to see them show.

It would’ve been nice to have seating other than the beer garden. It left families and non-drinking folks to stand earlier in the day. Most of us weren’t in attendance late in the evening. Thanks

Pretty fun but would like to see much more unique food truck vendors and more local artists not just the same chinese knockoff vendors.

The music is a big draw for me. I miss having two official stages. Somehow we stumbled upon Eldridge Gravy and the Supreme Court–I didn’t even see them on the website!? They were AMAZING.

Would love game booths like the county fair might be worth while. I don’t really need stuff, so games are fun and kinda retro.re blues, funk, swing, and other danceable music (which isn’t dance club dance music).

It would be very helpful if tables were set up at the far east end of Alaska for people to sit and eat what they have just bought. Please, consider this – we decided to eat elsewhere because there was no place to sit.

I miss the kids musicians. Would be great next year if you coul get the kids stage set back up. It has been a few years since you have had that.

liked the children’s play areas, but thought the passes were too expensive; a half day option that starts at 1 or 2 pm would have been nice (half price on Sunday started at 4pm with one hour left) especially given the long lines.

locally-owned food trucks, more food vendors in/near the beer garden. I didn’t stop in the beer garden because it seems out of the way with no dining options.

I happened to walk by Dance Powered on the stage on Sunday and thought it was just the kind of thing we need. Tons of people dancing and lots of spectators. And it’s local.

It is always nice, but it similar each year and it would be nice mixing it up more. Whether more new vendors or different special events / activities – it’d be nice doing new things

We brought our daughter to the kids’ area on Friday and purchased some tickets for her to play in the inflatables. We weren’t able to use all our tickets that evening and returned on Sunday to get our money’s worth. We were dismayed to learn that the carnival company sells color-coded tickets that are only valid on the day of purchase! So our daughter was unable to play and we had to throw away our worthless remaining tickets. This arbitrarily slimy policy cast a shadow over an otherwise very enjoyable Summer Fest.

This is “just a street fair” these days. It’s our local neighborhood and it is a lot of different types of things offered, but none of them very rich; IOW, wide and shallow. Personally, I really miss the master artisans that used to come to these shows.

Love the summer fest and love that it goes on into the evening. Wish there were some public seating near the music stages.

I’d like to see LARGE information boards (White boards or printed posters) at the south end of the festival and in the middle LISTING THAT DAY’s MUSICAL ACTS and times and SPEAKERS and TIMES on the Greenlife Stage. Having to check a phone or paper is silly. This is what signage does best. The Stage was simply too small. it felt like a tiny event. The neighborhood takeover by KEXP with the stage near the junction itself was better. The stage hosts were local guys and that’s cool but it made it seem like a little neighborhood thing. West Seattle is the city’s BIGGEST neighborhood. It’s time it grew up and acted like it.

There should be a festival art contest, something that makes people look and vote on easily. Other programming at the south end was always cool.. singer songwriters something. To have it be empty seemed like that end was an afterthought.

I’d be more likely to buy from an outdoor vendor if there was a place to sit and eat.

I enjoyed the variety of booths and food options and generally had a good experience with all of them, and found them very easy to navigate, without too many long lines. Plus the lines that were there generally went pretty fast. My family’s experience was pretty positive. I think the only thing that was a negative, and only slightly, is that it’s still kind of difficult navigating the kids’ area with small kids. All the rides and events are pretty open to all ages and sizes of kids and aren’t very well supervised, so finding things that small kids can do without concern of getting trampled by bigger kids can be tricky. I don’t know if it’s possible or desirable to split events for younger and older kids, but it might help with that problem.

We really need something for tweens and teens. My 12 year old daughter didn’t buy a weekend pass for the first time this year because the red ride (only one for older kids) wasn’t there

Putting Greenlife in the Park was not a good idea. It only allowed a few non-profits to be there and it was not advertised enough where we were. We saw a lot less folks then last year. There is not enough space there to have the animals and other displays that would draw the families to the site. The food booths blocked the site from view and folks sat on the grass to eat as there was no seating by the food trucks to eat. The park should be used as a place for children’s activities or vendors.

wish that there was more than 1 music stage!

lived in WS since 97 & never thought the fair was about the music. less would be fine with me. but who ever is playing should keep it PG until 9PM. there are too many families present before then.

I loved it. But my 11 year old was disappointed that the kid area was smaller this year than in the past.

I think there’s a lot of vendors we see at other Seattle fairs like U-District Street Fair and Fremont Solstice. I would like to see West Seattle specific vendors, maybe booths from Admiral/Morgan Junction businesses or White Center. This is an opportunity to showcase what we have on the peninsula. I live in High Point so I rarely know what’s available at Admiral for example.

My kids were disappointed that the gyroscope and another “big kid” ride was not there, and hope for more exciting rides next year.

Would like to see the vendor open a little later on Saturday or Friday and Saturday.

Maybe have a couple stages. Would be great to have some music or entertainment mid-block instead of just at the end.

Would love for the vendors to stay a little but past 6, maybe 8pm. Most of us work until 5-6 (ESP on Friday). Took some out of city guests at 6 for dinner and all the vendors to shop were closing up. Most food vendors were open but would like to see a cohesive time for everyone.

As always, most of the kids ride employees are not super friendly to kids. It bothers me every year.

Please provide more seating to eat at. And more places generally for people to sit.

Lots more food booths!! We felt everything was pretty standard and too heavy for a hot day. We opted to eat at a few different restaurants the days we went to the festival, which was fun and tasty. That said, we would have liked to see MORE tables/seating options (whenever possible) outside restaurants!

I don’t care for all the cheaply made clothing vendors selling sundresses, and mass-produced junky trinkets, there seemed to be a lot of fancy jewelry sellers this year, but I didn’t see anything that was remotely affordable. Happy to try out the new music, I had only heard of two of the bands on the line up, but found that several of the others were quite good. more shade in the beer garden, more craft beer s

More healthy food vendors. Or sandwich places. It was all greasy food or food that was not easy to walk around with. There are not many places to sit. election would be nice.

I would like to see a kid songs band for Friday around 5-7pm

Missed having multiple music venues.

I would like to see different bands. The few I saw were about to put me to sleep and the rest of the crowd obviously shared my opinion. We need more upbeat music, more music to get people excited and dancing, and more cover bands. The small acts on the street were WAY better than the bands on the main stage

I look forward to this weekend every year! I would add bathrooms to the beer garden, that is my only feedback.

Would like to have seen a larger kid area that was inviting for all ages – infants/toddlers – Bubble man was a huge success and it would be nice if something could be set up in an area next year where kids could enjoy and run around

When I have been to hoopfest in Spokane there is coordinated music playing all over the area through speakers. This give it a great feel when walking around. Just an idea if this would be possible.

Would be nice if Festival Hours were the same for all three days. Went on Sunday at 10AM only to find out it didn’t start until 11AM, luckily some businesses and booths were open anyway.

My dog was overwhelmed due to the crowds (as was I). It would be awesome to have an off leash area where they could play ball or something similar.

There needs to be some bleacher seats near the north stage. There is nowhere to sit unless you are spending money at a business that has outdoor seating.

more than one music stage. take a look at Vashon Strawberry Festival – they have multiple stages and one specifically tailored to youth musicians. I would love to see and hear more music like we used to! just one music stage is not enough.

Short Interviews with the Bands

Sunday, July 16

Text and photos by Mitch Kief,

© Mitchell Kief 2017.  All rights reserved.

Performers

South Sound Tug and Barge, Mega Bog, Swedish Finnish, Carrie Akre and Danny Newcomb, and the Dusty 45s.

Impression

It was noon, where California Avenue intersected with Oregon St. on the north end of the West Seattle Junction. The music was starting after the hip-hop dancers, and fans and their families gathered in front of the stage, which was sunny and comfortably warm and far enough away from the distracting smoke and smell of grilled meats. Behind the stage, in the break area with fold down chairs and stacks of bottled water, there was an atmosphere of collegiality and courtesy. Musicians put down their equipment and greeted each other warmly, whether they were old friends or meeting for the first time, and offered one another easygoing encouragement to allay a normal amount of uneasy apprehension. The stage staff had been working hard the last two days, but they were calm, attentive, and helpful, never overbearing or obtrusive. This was the perfect summer festival.

Interviews

South Sound Tug and Barge

12:00 PM

Steve Duda: banjo and vocals; Charley Rowan: accordion and vocals; Scott M.X. Turner: guitar, harmonica, resonator, bodhrán, and vocals.

Learn more about South Sound Tug and Barge and find their music at www.southsoundtugandbarge.com/.

What is your connection to West Seattle?

Steve: We all live in West Seattle.

Charley: I met up with Scott at the Shadowland’s open mic night.

Scott: We owe thanks to Patrick Smail and Shadowland’s Starlite Singer/Songwriter Showcase on Tuesdays night. This was the real incubator.

Steve: It’s exciting for us. Last year we were busking in front of Easy Street Records, and now we are on the main stage.

Left to right: Charley Rowan, Steve Duda, and Scott M.X. Turner

How would you define your band?

Steve: We’re a political band. We oppose and resist what is right in front of us. We’re acoustic, with punk rock energy, and play old songs. You don’t hit people over the head with a message, but people love music. We changed the words slightly to Which Side Are you On to make it more relevant, and 12 Gates to the City can now point to the current refugee crisis.

Scott: It is also about the music, from living in Brooklyn and being actively involved against development, I learned that waking up and thinking only about the political struggle meant I couldn’t think about the band.

Steve: We like to think we play punk, but we play old songs with a banjo.

And an accordion.

Charley: The accordion was once the most popular instrument in America. I play the keyboard and picked up the accordion, and then was playing Brazilian forro music.

Where do you like performing?

All: Parliament!

Steve: Though we wouldn’t say no to an offer for a world tour.

View of South Sound Tug and Barge from backstage.

Mega Bog

1:00 PM

Erin Birgy: voice and guitar.

Learn more about Mega Bog and find their music at www.megabog.com/

If I said you were setting your poetry to a Fender Stratocaster, would you agree?

(Smiles and laughs) I play a Fender Cyclone. I like Alice Notely’s free form poetry and am reading Laura Riding’s poems – she was Robert Grave’s mistress. When I am alone, and I am hardly ever alone, words come out and I write, and when I am with people, music happens.

Erin Birgy with her Fender Cyclone

Where are you from?

I drove here today from Missoula, Montana. I’ve lived in Seattle, but now I am in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is where everybody is trying hard; it is extremely competitive, and there is good, amazing art. Scenes overlap and divide, and they have their own capitalism. Seattle offers a supportive community. My chosen family lives in Seattle, and I am grateful that iji was a major influence. I gained a lot of experience in Seattle with no focus.

What about music and the Internet?

It can be classist: while anyone can listen to music on the Internet, not everyone has a computer or the resources for unlimited streaming, and the libraries offer only an hour of computer use.

Where next?

I will always be playing music. I’ll be at Hidden City records in Vancouver, B.C. on Tues, [July 19, 2017] then Wed. [July 19, 2017] at the Old Fire House Teen Center in Redmond, Wa. Then Los Angeles, Portland and the UK . I might even eventually live in L.A. and make music for the movies. My friends live in Glendale and Highland Park, and I am drawn to Sun Valley because of the horse neighborhoods.

Swedish Finnish

2:00 PM

Rod Moody: vocal and guitar; Tina Anderson: drums; Scott Sutherland: lead guitar; Andy Hoggarth: bass.

Learn more about Swedish Finnish at www.facebook.com/SwedishFinnishBand/

(Speaking with Rod primarily) You have a long standing West Seattle relationship?

My grandparents moved here in 1923 from Indiana. I’ve lived here, except for a while in Queen Anne and the east coast. I have worked at Easy Street Records for nine years. I volunteer at the West Seattle Historical Society and did an inventory of local Junction businesses, and using old city directories, determined what used to be in the buildings here. West Seattle is a vibrant community, with lots of bands and lots of opportunity to see them.

Left to right: Rod Moody, Scott Sutherland, and Andy Hoggarth

How about the band?

We are practically all neighbors in Morgan Junction. Makes getting together for rehearsal easy.

You have a remarkable drummer.

My wife Tina never missed a show in 20 years, then she took drumming lessons. Tina’s style is similar to Michael Clarke’s of the Byrds.

Tina Anderson

Favorite venues?

Parliament and Slim’s.

Current projects?

We have an album coming out Friday on the Green Monkey Records label, and it is also available through Amazon.

Carrie Akre and Danny Newcomb

3:00 PM

Carrie Akre : vocals and guitar; Danny Newcomb: lead guitar and vocals.

You can find Carrie Akre and Danny Newcomb on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarrieAkreDannyNewcomb/. You can also find Carrie on www.facebook.com/Carrie-Akre-1436949453254699/ and Danny on dannynewcomb.com/

Danny Newcomb and Carrie Akre

You’ve moved from Seattle to Minnesota and back?

Carrie: Yes, originally from the Tri-Cities, I lived in West Seattle, Admiral and White Center, then Minnesota, and now live in Tacoma. I feel grateful to have explored Seattle when Seattle was affordable, but now it is crowded and expensive. I miss people here and seeing friends, but Tacoma is accessible and friendly, and has good clubs, 6^th Avenue, and also has that great underdog feeling.

Danny: I grew up in North Seattle, and I love West Seattle. It reminds me of how Seattle used to be.

Can you describe how you arrive at a song?

Carrie: Music is personal and from within me, but it comes from nowhere into my psyche. It involves an artistic intuition, and there are a lot of things going on, and it creates a lot of art.

Carrie Akre

Danny: I live on a farm on Vashon Island, and I get up early, practice for an hour, and write a new idea every day. Sometimes they are good. I think it is important to have a routine.

Farm? No wonder you’re in such good shape!

Danny: No, no, not really. But I was in an accident recently, and the doctor said that I was doing well because I didn’t have an office job and was used to moving my body in different ways.

Favorite venues?

Carrie and Danny: Tractor, Columbia City Theatre, Bijou, and the Royal Room.

What’s coming up?

Danny: A record release performance on August 11, 2017, at Easy Street Records.

The Dusty 45s

4:00 PM

Billy Joe Huels: band leader, singer/songwriter, trumpet, guitar; Jerry Battista: lead guitar; Robin Cady: upright bass; Kohen Burrill: drums; William Stover: piano.

For more about the Dusty 45s, go to www.dusty45s.com/.

Left to right: Jerry Battista, Billy Joe Huels, Robin Cady

(Speaking with Billy Joe primarily) I think you’re holding on your own against Louis Armstrong on St. James Infirmary.

I cannot even begin to compare myself to Louis Armstrong. What I like to think I’m doing is channeling him. I also draw inspiration from Buddy Holly and put them all together.

When did you pick up the trumpet?

That was my first instrument when I was young. We play rock-a-billy, and I’ve played surf and twangy style guitar music, but I wanted that Tex-Mex sound, so I had my parents send me my trumpet.

Are you from Seattle?

I grew up on a farm in southern Illinois, went to college in Illinois and Bozeman, Montana. I was dating a girl in Vashon, Island, and moved here in 1989, and lived in the University District. Most of the band lives in West Seattle; Jerry Battista lives in Everett. We practice two blocks from here and record our albums on 46^th Street. This year, the Dusty 45s celebrates 20 years of playing music.

Where do you like to unwind in West Seattle?

Some of the favorites are West 5 and Parliament.

A Seattle music memory?

Seeing Nirvana playing at release party at the Peaches record store. I bought the Nevermind CD then.

Left to right: Robin Cady and Billy Joe Huels

Where are the Dusty 45s Going?

After shows in Seattle and eastern Washington, we’re playing the Wild West Fest, at Drunky’s Two Shoes BBQ, in White Center, August 13, 2017, from 2PM until 6PM. There’s pony rides! Then we head off to the east coast, from Boston to Knoxville, with an annual show in Nantucket Island.

The Summer Fest Survey is here. The Junction merchants were pleased to bring you the 35th Annual Summer Fest. We are interested to learn how you feel about the festival and what we can do to make Summer Fest 2018 (July 13-15) better than ever.  Thanks for your comments!

Shopping at Summer Fest is one of the many reasons people from all around the region visit West Seattle over the 3-day festival. Now in the festival’s 35th year, Summer Fest started as a merchant sidewalk sale. Many of the West Seattle businesses still hold that tradition true by offering sidewalk sales throughout the event.

Some of our recommended highlights are the famous Easy Street Records sale – there’s always plenty for everyone! Zamboanga has imported clothing from around the globe. Fleurt and City Mouse offers everyday clothing and decor for gift giving all-year round.

Make sure you check out all our sidewalk sale merchants for deep discounts:

Antique Mall of West Seattle
Jan’s Beauty Supply
VAIN
Stop ‘N Shop
Click Design That Fits
ACS Discovery Shop
Bakery Nouveau
Funky Janes
Many Moons Trading Co
Virago Gallery
Wild Rose’s
Terjung’s Studio of Gifts
Great Harvest Bread Co.
Northwest Art & Frame
Merryweather Books
Menashe and Sons
The Forsythe Studio
Sound Advise

There’s plenty going on outside the festival too. Make sure you head to Sound & Fog for a sparkling wine cocktail menu and a summer pop up. More information on their Facebook page.

Sound Advise is offering $50 off all Android Phones with specials on JBL Bluetooth speakers and Headphones. All Military personal, Veterans and Reserves also get a $200 VISA gift card on any new activations in addition to all other deals and new activations get Free activation and phones stating from Free to $10/Month.

And click on the full shopping list for all of our Summer Fest vendors.