Red, white and blue wig? Check! Springsteen – Mellencamp – Guthrie mix created on Spotify? Check! Assortment of locally brewed and distilled intoxicants in the fridge? Check!
So what’s left to do? How about prepping for the pie eating contest! Yep, here are some last minute ideas for how to spend your Independence Day around the ‘hood:
- The Constitutional Quiz will celebrate it’s 14th year at 4323 Bagley! Come by, answer a Constitutional question and win an ice-cold American beer!
- Wine World will be open and holding a Pie Eating Contest at 1 pm: “We’ll have 12 banana cream pies for the contestants or you can BYOP (bring your own pie!) Any age can participate!” They ask that you e-mail [email protected] if you want to join, but we can’t see as how they’d turn you away if you brought your own pie!
- Try to lure your cat back out from under the porch, where she’s cowering after that last round of fireworks that Andrew, Lynn and various other miscreants lit off.
Be safe(ish)!
PS The Wallingford Farmers Market will not be open today.
Just to let folks know, the schedule posted at the Wallingford Park wading pool is wrong and the pool is open today.
It’s one have a little fun, bend the law (at least fireworks here won’t set Seattle on fire) but does it have to be pet-scaring LOUD? PTSD LOUD? The usual suspects are at it again on the west side of 2nd, 4200 block. Every year.
So are the ones at the N Menford Place party house. They like to set those things off in dumpsters and various other containers, “just to see what happens”.
July 5. I hear Gasworks is really trashed. Broken glass, etc.
I think this was my 6th 4th of July in the ‘hood and this was the worst it has been for non professional booms. Non stop for a while.
Walking home from the park last night, corner of 40th and Stone Way: Some idiot set up flash bombs IN THE STREET, in th path of the southbound traffic. He plugged a bunch of powder in when the Southbound traffic was stopped, then lit the fuses the second they turned green. About 15 people ran into the street to block the cars that would have gone over the flash bombs right about the time they went off.
When they exploded, it sounded like gunshots – incredibly loud. One of the drivers got out and started yelling “YOU EFFING TERRORIST, I SHOULD…” at which point our kid fled, with us hot on his heels.
Not a surprise to hear that. My impression is that One Reel left us high and dry this year. In years past, there were people directing traffic, giving parking tickets galore. This year, I saw no police and 2 parking enforcement folks who were told they couldn’t leave their posts at 40th and Bagley and they were severely understaffed. There’s an understatement. Driveways were blocked, intersections blocked, fire hydrants blocked and not once did I see any sign that was parking enforcement or tickets on the cars blatantly in front of the hydrants. Usually, my intersection gets lots of folks with tickets. It’s not the crowds per se, it’s the public safety issue of fire in the neighborhood. Fire trucks would have been out of luck this year. Not to mention how many people just can’t resist shooting off their own fireworks. Many of which were too close to individuals or houses. There’s a reason fireworks are illegal, folks. The city could really rack up the bucks if they went around writing the appropriate tickets and fines. The parking enforcement folks were clearly being asked to do traffic control, no matter at 10, they all vanished. So 2 years ago, what took 25 minutes (it was truly impressive) to get everyone out and on their way home took over 2 hours last night. I live near 40th and they were still stacked up in front of my house at 12:20am.
What really makes me grumpy is that I love fireworks and have enjoyed them being on Lake Union. There had been good support to make sure Wallingford didn’t get abused for the privilege. I hate feeling like the tradeoff for the fireworks is having our homes at risk. the Last year wasn’t great, but this year was terrible. If your budget is tight, public safety, not just of Gas Works, but of the neighborhoods, should not be the last thing on your priority list, it should be the first.
People were acting dangerously and putting other people (adults and children) in danger and terrifying pets (on 2nd Ave, mid-4200 block, west side and also to the west); the police should have responded to urgent, considered 9-11 calls. There were bottle rockets hitting houses/roofs, and some REALLY LOUD explosions. Bombs are not fireworks . . .
A tree caught fire behind our house last night on 48th and Stone. It was really going and it was only thanks to the quick actions of our neighbors with a whole bunch of hoses that it got extinguished. Otherwise it easily could have spread to about 4 houses.
I was on hold with 9-11 for eight minutes before I got a hold of someone. The fire department got their relatively quickly after that, but by then the fire was mostly out.
None of the houses around the tree know where the spark came from.
I have no idea why people think it is smart or appropriate to shoot miniature rockets into the air in dense urban areas.
Yikes!
I was surprised there weren’t more injuries. The frat boys by me were lighting fireworks in the middle of groups of people. At one point something aerial went out of control and landed on someone, because they all jumped up and ran amidst a bunch of yelling.
I don’t enjoy the 4th when people and property are endangered or injured/damaged due to the reckless actions of a bunch of (mostly drunk) yahoos.