Dispatches from Ravenna, a neighborhood in Northeast Seattle
The folks at the Meadowbrook Community Center were kind enough to alert us to the new Seattle Parks and Recreation Winter Brochure, available now.
This quarter, the Northeast edition includes the Laurelhurst, Magnuson, Meadowbrook, Northgate, and Ravenna-Eckstein community centers, plus the Meadowbrook Teen Life Center, Lifelong Recreation (for the Northeast only), and two pools, Meadowbrook and Helene Madison.
Click the happy couple in the snow below to download the brochure (8.4 MB PDF).
You could clean your garage this weekend, like you’ve been meaning to do for MONTHS. But here are some other options for your weekend that you might enjoy a little more than that:
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
BOTH
Anything else to add? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll edit the post!
Time to say GOODBYE to summer; not just because Cliff Mass says so, but because it’s Ravenna tradition!
Ravenna-Eckstein Playground on dedication day, September 5, 2008
The Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) is hosting its annual Final Fling party TOMORROW, Wednesday, August 25th, from 6-8pm. It does cost a whole dollar to partake, but there’s a barbecue dinner and CAKE in it for you. Balloon Buffoon will also be on hand to create his impressive balloon creations.
The balloon line on dedication day.
This event has also become the Ravenna-Eckstein Playground’s annual birthday party. Technically, the current version of the playground was dedicated on September 5, 2008 (read our post “You may now commence the fun” for a look back at the ceremony), but why take a chance on September weather?
Fantastic (and Cheap) Family Fun at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) continues with Wacky Western Wednesday!
From the Summer 2010 Seattle Parks and Recreation catalog (pdf):
Wacky Western Wednesday
Ages: 12 & under
Attention cowboys and cowgirls! Throw on your best western attire and cowboy duds and head on over to the community center! Eat some good ol’ fashioned cowboy chow, and come ready to party like cowboy, minus the campfire! Special guests include a mobile petting zoo (complete with a pot belly pig, goat, donkey, chicken, and bunnies) and pony rides on miniature and regular horses!
8/11 Wed Noon–2 p.m.
Activity Fee: $3
Did you see that?! Pot belly pig! Bunnies! And horses! And CHOW…all for three bucks.
We say: YEE HAW.
Tonight is the 27th Annual National Night Out, and Seattle is once again celebrating the event.
Throughout the city there will be streets closed for block parties and bouncy houses (well, we know of ONE in Tangletown, and it sounds FUN), and other community-building, crime-preventing events. Visit the Seattle Night Out homepage for more info.
I know of at least one block party here in Ravenna (at 70th and 23rd) and there may be others. Let me know where they are, and I’ll add them to the post.
And even if your block has nothing planned for tonight, the good folks at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center have you covered.
From the Parks and Recreation Summer 2010 catalog (emphasis mine):
National “Night Outâ€
All Ages
“Night Out†is a national crime prevention event. It is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and unite our community. It is a great chance to learn about crime prevention, while also celebrating your community and spending time with your neighbors. Meet firemen and policemen and explore a real fire truck and a police car!
Location: Ravenna-Eckstein CC
6–8 p.m. Activity Fee: Free
Yes, we’ll go check it out for the toddler, but maybe I’m pretty excited to see the fire truck, too.
You’ve got FOUR work parties between now and next Tuesday, if you want a chance to get your hands dirty in your new community garden (or just “happen” to be walking by and want to ask questions).
Here they all are, including who’s the lead on the event and what you might be doing:
If you are interested in volunteering or learning more about the Ravenna Community Garden, email the group at ravennacommunitygarden [at] gmail.com.
There is a Ravenna Community Garden Google Group as well. AND Ravenna Community Garden is also on facebook.
Let's put this pile in its place, shall we?
This Saturday is shaping up to be a busy one, if you’re into gardens and parks. There’s the community garden work party at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, you can Spring Into Bed all around the city, you can get some community service hours in at the Picardo P-Patch (if you have a plot there [EDIT: This is happening MONDAY, from 6:30-8:30pm]), and, heck, maybe your own yard could use some work.
However, every second Saturday of the month, the Friends of Ravenna Ravine gather to do battle against invasives like nightshade, bindweed and jewelweed (all co-starring this month).
Know thy enemy - jewelweed, in this case
George Macomber of the FRR sends out an email the week of the work party, detailing the work to be done that Saturday. This week’s agenda:
We will be starting near the Kiosk removing nightshade along the creek, looking for jewel weed (not as good as it sounds) and other bad things. We also have a few trees to plant. The bindweed is getting started ( it emerges on tax day so it has a 3 week head start.)
This month’s email also included the following tidbit about a future project in the park:
Beginning in late June the county will be starting a project to insure that sewage does not mix with the creek on its way to the Lk. Washington during rain storms. They will block the trail between the 55th and the ball field, and dig down to reach the point where the creek enters a ‘Box Culvert’ that runs under the field. They will not be digging upstream from the drain. They will be treating thistle and removing yellow iris in the daylight area, probably in May and June and replacing dead trees in the fall.
I’m definitely FOR keeping sewage out of EVERYTHING, except the sewer.
FRR meets at the lower playfield at the kiosk in SE Ravenna Park, north of NE 55th St. and north of the ballfield. Check the Friends of Ravenna Ravine homepage for more information on these work parties.
[Clement Clarke Moore I am not.]
farewell to sod
soil delivery!
That’s what the garden site looks like as of 5:30 pm.
The material for the raised bed sides is currently being cut as I type this. The material is called Trex, and it’s a composite material (combination of wood and plastic) that will stand up to the elements for MANY years to come (a prerequisite for building the garden on city property).
good thing Dunn Lumber delivers
a up-close of the tag
If you’d like to read more about Trex, here’s the What is Trex? page of the company’s website. But the short version is: It’s made of recycled waste materials and no toxic chemicals or preservatives, is easy to clean, AND you can use it around your hot tub.
Don’t forget: The work party is from 9-3 tomorrow, at the north end of the big green field behind the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE).
First, though, a few shots of the SOD BUSTIN’:
the view from the west
BUSTED
Now here’s some good stuff: THE PLANS. Design by Susan Gregory of the community garden group (who does this sort of thing for a living, if you’re in the market for your own garden plans).
the whole plan, posing with donated veg
west side
close up of east side "pinwheel"
I will not be in town on Saturday during the bed building work party, but would love to post any pictures and/or comments that are passed on! Just send them my way (rebecca at ravennablog.com).
Like I said in the previous post, the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center Community Garden is a GO. Sod-busting should be happening as I speak, and a raised bed building work party is happening this Saturday.
I received an email this morning from the group who made this project come to life, and it includes descriptions of the work party this Saturday AND the project as a whole (bolded parts by moi):
After many months of planning and dreaming, we are finally ready to start work on the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center Community Garden!! We have permission to construct raised beds and a path, and we will be having the very first work party on Saturday May 8 from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. to get started. Please invite any and all to come down and lend a hand, even if only for an hour or two, or just stroll by and take a look at the garden taking shape! The garden site is at the north end of the little park behind the Community Center [6535 Ravenna Ave. NE], and it is quite a large space. We’ll provide bagels in the AM and Pizza in the PM for hungry workers. Bring a cordless drill and a shovel or wheelbarrow for moving dirt if you can, or just bring your work gloves and your imagination! Also, if you have extra bedding plants we may actually get to putting in some green stuff!!
On Thursday May 6 from 4:00 until 6:00 we’ll be cutting sod and getting ready for Saturday. Come down then if that time works best for you.
A community garden is different than a p-patch, since it is truly a shared endeavor. All of you who are interested in building a stronger sense of community, learning about sustainable gardening, or just enjoying a beautiful growing space to bring your families, please come and join us. We’ll be having work parties all summer, too, if you miss this one.
A HUGE Thank YOU to everyone at the Parks Department and especially to Trevor [Gregg] for all the work done to make this project a reality!
Debra Morrison
Hard work, sunshine, pizza, and a opportunity to share in future community-grown tomatoes? THAT’S a good Saturday.
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