Archives for December 2012

Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center holiday Play Space and Tot Gym schedule

December 24, 2012 by 1 Comment

Parents of tots, we have a Christmas present for you.

Did you know that the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6545 Ravenna Avenue NE) is OPEN on Christmas Eve? OH YES, oh yes.

The community center’s Play Space is open from 9:15 AM – 5:30 PM. And we can tell you, from personal experience, sending the small, unruly ones down there with a parent to get their wiggles out before dinner, is a FANTASTIC idea.

It’s only three bucks a kid. (But they could charge 10, and it’d still be a great deal.)

BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE!

Here’s the Play Space and Tot Gym schedule through Saturday, January 5, 2013:

Play Space

Christmas Eve: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 26th: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 27th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 28th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 29th: 9:15 AM-1:30 PM

Monday the 31st: 9:15 AM-5:30 PM
New Year’s Day: CLOSED
Wednesday the 2nd: 2-8:15 PM
Thursday the 3rd: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Friday the 4th: 10:15 AM-8:15 PM
Saturday the 5th: 9:15 AM-4:30 PM

Tot Gym

Wednesday the 26th: 10:15 AM-2 PM
Wednesday the 2nd: 10:15 AM-2 PM

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Seattle, Open/Closed, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

Candy Cane Lane 2012 (PHOTOS)

December 20, 2012 by 8 Comments

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The Ravenna Blog staff walked Candy Cane Lane (NE Park Rd) on Thursday evening, and took a bunch of pictures (some with rather long exposures).

Enjoy.

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Filed Under: Events, Families, Kids, Photos, Ravenna, Traffic, University Park

Your Moment of Ravenna Zen: Velo-Mayor with Vegetables

December 15, 2012 by 2 Comments

This is a picture of the mayor riding away on his bicycle with a bunch of carrots:

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Mayor Mike McGinn was in our neighborhood on Saturday, December 1 for a “Tour de Ravenna” and a town hall at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center. This picture was taken after the last stop on the tour (the Ravenna Community Garden) where he was presented with a bunch of carrots grown there.

Do YOU have a Moment of Ravenna Zen to share? Email rebecca@ravennablog.com, or use our handy dandy comment form to tell us about it.

Filed Under: Mayor's Office, Moment of Ravenna Zen, Ravenna, Ravenna Zen, Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center

City Hall Chapel Cam live streaming on Sunday; watch it here

December 8, 2012 by 2 Comments

UPDATE (Sunday): Today’s events are also being live-blogged on the marriage.seattle.gov site.

And if you have an iOS device (and the Seattle Channel live feed below is causing you trouble), KIRO 7 has another live feed that should work for you.

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One hundred and forty weddings are scheduled for City Hall this Sunday, December 9 — the first of their kind in Washington State, thanks to the passage of R-74 which legalized gay marriage.

Four chapels have been made available inside City Hall (for those who RSVP’d in time) for weddings after the three day marriage license wait period. And outside city hall, there’s a party. For everyone. Via married.seattle.gov:

Come join the celebration at City Hall Plaza from 10 AM to 5 PM, on Fourth Avenue downtown between James and Cherry streets.

Congratulate and admire the newlyweds coming down the steps from City Hall and enjoy food trucks, coffee and festivities. Don’t miss this historic day in Seattle!

For those of us in the rest of the city unable to make it down to City Hall to take part in the celebrating, the Seattle Channel has a solution: “You can follow the day’s progress by watching livestreams of City Hall lobby and of the procession of new married couples exiting City Hall towards the plaza,” says the city’s marriage website.

Says the Seattle Channel: “We’ll have two views: a wide shot of the lobby with ceremonies in progress and close-up coverage with commentary from newlyweds via our ‘couple cam.'”

On Sunday, grab a box of tissues, and enjoy:


And if you ARE downtown — either for the parties or for your own wedding — learn how to share wedding day/celebration photos with the city here.

And if you’re from Ravenna, we’d love to hear about your special day, too.

Filed Under: City Services, Events, Families, Government, History, Live Coverage, Updates, Video

Candy Cane Lane prepping to open this Saturday night

December 7, 2012 by 2 Comments

The word on the street boulevard is that Candy Cane Lane will get totally lit* this Saturday, December 8.

The homes along NE Park Rd/Park Rd NE will be in full-on powered up festive mode from 4-10 PM. The theme for the street this year is “The Nutcracker,” with the gigantic holly bush in the roundabout transformed into a carousel.


View Candy Cane Lane in a larger map

A canned food drive donation station will once again sit at the end of the route, and viewers can also leave donations at the nearby Boulevard Grocery (2007 NE Ravenna Blvd).

In case you’re new to the area, or want to know more about this over-50-year-old Northeast Seattle tradition, the Seattle Times profiled the festive neighborhood feature back in 2010.

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Click the image to read the article at the Seattle Times.

 

Traffic through the area can get pretty bogged down, so we recommend approaching the area on foot or by bicycle. Metro bus routes 30 and 74 have stops nearby, as do routes 68, 243, 372, and 980.

Another feature to being car-free near Candy Cane Lane is that you can more easily stop into nearby Boulevard Grocery (a Ravenna Blog sponsor) to see the remodel, and try one of their holiday drinks: Eggnog, apple cider, and pumpkin spice or peppermint syrup for your lattes and whatnot.

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*Yeah, that was an attempt at a joke about a recently legalized substance.

Filed Under: Events, Families, Food, Kids, Northeast Seattle, Ravenna Blog sponsor, University Park

December Story Times for NE Branch; City Librarian reading on Tuesday (PHOTOS)

December 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Straight from the Northeast Branch’s Children’s Services Librarian, Erica Delavan, here are the Story Times for the rest of the year (via email; emphasis mine):

Toddler Story Time (Geared for ages 1-3)
Thursdays, December 6, 13, 20 at 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.
(No Story Time Dec. 27 or Jan. 3)

Preschool Story Time (Geared for ages 3-5)
Tuesdays, December 4, 11, 18 at 10:30 a.m.
(No Story Time Dec. 25 or Jan. 1)

Pajamas & Puppets (All Ages)
Wednesday, December 19 at 7:00 p.m.

Special Guest on December 4!
At Preschool Story Time on December 4, we will be joined by City Librarian Marcellus Turner. (We just call him MT.) He is looking forward to reading one of his favorite picture books to everyone!

The Seattle Public Library’s Northeast Branch (6801 35th Ave NE) is located one block south of Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts (6845 35th Ave NE), an important fact that is not lost on any member of the Ravenna Blog staff.

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UPDATE (12:19 PM): City Librarian Marcellus Turner read “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by  Jon Scieszka (illustrated by Lane Smith).

 

Filed Under: Families, Kids, Northeast Branch, Northeast Seattle, Photos, Story Times, Updates