The Angelo Pizarro Group lays down some "over the edge, latin, pop and jazz" for the crowd at Othello Park on Sunday, July 15. Pizarro (at left) and his trio played the previous day at the International District Street Festival. For more information on Pizarro, visit www.angelopizarro.com. The next Othello Park Concerts are Sunday, August 12 and Sunday, September 9.Performing on Sunday, August 12 from 2 - 3 p.m. is the Adefua African Music and Dance Company, an "interactive up-beat music and dance presenting West African culture" (www.planetafua.com). From 3:30-4:30 p.m. is Corah L. Jackson and JudahSong, a "multi-racial, multi-dimensional gospel choir singing original and contemporary gospel hits" (www.sonojackrecords.com). And from 5-6 p.m. Global Heat, a "conscious hip-hop and jazzy dance grooves" group, will perform (www.global-heat.com). Photo: RANDY WIGGER
SEATTLE - A watermelon on four legs was born just before the Fourth of July at Woodland Park. The 26-pound, female, Malayan tapir calf marks the fourth birth for her 12-year-old parents. The unnamed calf will remain off exhibit, in the tapir barn, for the time being, while staff closely monitor her and her mother. Thanks to a "tapir cam," zoo-goers may view the baby tapir real time on a closed-circuit monitor at the tapir shelter in the Trail of Vines exhibit. Images will soon be available on the zoo's Web site www.zoo.org.
Are you helping to make your South End neighborhood a better place to live? The Seattle Weed and Seed Steering Committee hopes so. They are supporting "Night Out 2007," held on August 7. The annual event is held on the first Tuesday in August nationwide and is for neighborhoods to show their active involvement in block watch and crime prevention. Applications must be submitted by July 23 for approval. For more information contact Kathy Kaminski at 323-9671 or via email at Kathy@sngi.org.
At Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, 43 of Seattle's international communities faced off this weekend for their chance to represent their home countries in the Round of 16, the next step on their way to the All Nations Cup Championship.With international music in the air, cultural performances on the stage and soccer on the fields, Seattle-area soccer fans had plenty to keep them busy the weekend of July 14. A full day of performances showcasing the rich diversity of arts and communities in the Seattle area included Chinese lion dancing, salsa, and East African drumming.
RAINIER BEACH - Every piece has a purpose and every move has a consequence, and every kid needs something to be passionate about. The Officer Cookie's Urban Youth Chess Club provided a chance for these youth to find a new passion, and a new way to think.Officer Denise "Cookie" Bouldin, the school and community liaison officer for the South Precinct, repeatedly heard youth tell her they were not smart enough to play chess. However, after a youth suggested having a club, Cookie, along with Rainier Beach Library, was determined to change children's misconceptions concerning capabilities, and that's exactly what they did.
I didn't always want to be a reporter/columnist.As a tot, I may have wanted to be a cop or, more likely, a firefighter. But if I did, I don't remember. The first occupation I clearly recall planning for was future center fielder of the hometown Cincinnati Reds.I did what I could to encourage my own dreams. I had a huge poster of Willie Mays on my bedroom wall. For those too young to remember, Mays was the greatest center fielder who ever played the game. A New York and then Frisco Giant.
I read the international press a lot. And, occasionally, I come across something in the "Why can't we do that here?" category.It was just this category I hit a few days ago with an article in the British newspaper The Guardian, the headline and subhead of which pretty much sum it up: "Voters to get direct say on local spending; cash for schemes such as parks, litter and Asbos to be decided by ballot."Now, I have no idea what "Asbos" means - I'm sure some Anglophile reader will educate me - but you get the ide.
Washington Public Campaigns will meet on Thursday, July 19, at Piecora's Pizza, for an informal and social evening to discuss clean campaigns and clean elections.The gathering takes place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 1401 E. Madison St. RSVP to marcee @washclean.org. More information is available at www. washclean.org.
Dilettante Chocolates, a longtime fixture at 416 Broadway East, announced plans to relocate its flagship store two blocks north to Brix, the new 141-home, mixed-use project currently under construction at Broadway and East Mercer Street. Dilettante will continue to operate its existing store until the move to Brix in mid-2008. The upcoming move provides the company an opportunity to expand its offerings.
First there was volunteer enthusiasm. Then there was official city support. Next came an interim director, followed by a physical office. For the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, these were stages along the way of establishing a new business organization several years after the previous chamber had expired. With the recent hiring of Jack Hilovsky as executive director, the new chamber has taken another step to solidifying itself. Hilovsky, a longtime Capitol Hill resident, takes the reins with the task of building on the enthusiasm that created the chamber and turning it into a vibrant, well-established and viable organization.
Tom Robinson, age 5, cools down in the Ron K. Bills Fountain at the Miller Community Center on a sweltering Thursday, July 12. Behind him is his twin brother Joe.
"Good morning, Mr. Paduano," said a strange message I recently received. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves introducing an out-of-town guest to Capitol Hill's nightlife. You have only one night, four hours. Good luck. This message will self-destruct in five seconds."Should I choose to accept it? Four hours? Self-destruction? With enough clubs, lounges and bars to challenge Christopher Hitchens' tolerance and enough variety to please both the high royalty and vagabond tramp in us all, it seemed undoable.
I read the international press a lot. And, occasionally, I come across something in the "Why can't we do that here?" category.It was just this category I hit a few days ago with an article in the British newspaper The Guardian, the headline and subhead of which pretty much sum it up: "Voters to get direct say on local spending; cash for schemes such as parks, litter and Asbos to be decided by ballot."Now, I have no idea what "Asbos" means - I'm sure some Anglophile reader will educate me - but you get the idea.
Despite her good intentions, Angelina Jolie remains a prisoner of her exotic beauty. Who can see through that iconic mask to discover an ordinary mortal such as Marianne Pearl ("A Mighty Heart")? Similarly, a good many stars in Hollywood's heavens possess looks that seem never to have been touched by real experience. We like it that way. Our gods and goddesses, laved in the golden light of cinema, allow us to savor the illusion that it's possible to be young and beautiful forever. Trouble is, such plasticine perfection tends to pall after awhile. You begin to hanker for faces that look lived-in, that show signs of emotional wear and tear, like the luminous visage of "Away from Her"'s Julie Christie.
I spent my vacation on a guest ranch trying to relive the "Old West" - for a few days anyway.To be completely truthful, it wasn't a traditional "working ranch" experience. There was no rounding up of cattle or horses, no wild stampedes or other challenges that make city slickers imagine they could survive in the wild.Rather, it was a luxury resort and spa where you wear Western attire at fine wine tastings and gourmet dinners. Frankly, that suited me just fine. I'm not much of a cowgirl. Some things you just don't learn late in life.