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For the third year in a row, Friends of North Beach Park have had a booth at Art in the Garden.

This year we had two tables instead of just one. That made for a much nicer display, I think.

This was our most successful year so far, in terms of getting people to sign up for our email list. I’ve already sent out a “welcome” email, and none of them bounced, so I guess I read all the addresses correctly and nobody spoofed me. Score!

We love Art in the Garden because we always meet people who live near the park, grew up near it, have seen it before and after restoration began. We also meet people who say “Oh, I didn’t know that was a park! I’ll have to check it out!” It’s great not to just get positive feedback, but to have the possibility of introducing people to such a great little urban escape.

The table we sat behind.

The other table. The book that people picked up most frequently was “Seattle Geographies.”

Our Celebrity Spokesmodel!

Julie got a bouquet of flowers for our booth. Art in the Garden is a fundraiser for the Ballard P-Patch, and this year they had a bouquet table with fresh-cut flowers from the p-patch itself. They were all very pretty!

The Seattle Santa

We had a surprise drop-in visit from Santa! Even he’s feeling the economic pinch, he’s had to take a summer job as a garden gnome.

After things slowed down in the mid-afternoon, I took a walk through the garden and took several photos of flowers and vegetables.

Blooms!

Because of the warm weather this summer, everything was growing like gangbusters. You can see the whole set of photos on Flickr.

Will we do it again next year? Of course! Although… well, as tasty as it all was… we’ll probably do a better job of avoiding the food trucks. We love them a little too much!

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

Saturday, August 10, was the 13th annual Art in the Garden festival, held in the Ballard P-Patch at 85th St. and 25th Ave. It’s a nice little neighborhood festival, very small compared to other summer fairs. But its location makes it perfect for North Beach Park outreach, because it’s right around the corner from the park. Last year and this year, “Friends of North Beach Park” tabled at the event, with the support of Green Seattle Partnership (the all-important shade canopy).

This year the weather was perfect. The day started out cool, and there was a long period where it was sometimes warm/sometimes cool, but it never got too hot. And as the day drew on, the skies cleared and it became a lovely summer afternoon.

One thing we like about Art in the Garden is meeting neighbors of the park: People who remember playing in there as children. People who didn’t let their children play in there. People who walk their dogs through the park, or jog through the park. It makes us realize how special North Beach Park is, that such a little, apparently forgotten park, has such deep memories for long-term residents. It doesn’t hurt that if people have noticed the restoration, they’re often very thankful and appreciative! It’s also a great chance for those of us who work in the park to run into each other (as it were) and chat for a few minutes in relatively clean/dry clothes.

This was our table display. We gave away most of the flyers in the very front, which promote the 4th Saturday and EarthCorps work parties. We also gave away a few flyers for Green Seattle Day (November 2nd — save the date!), and “The Truth About English Ivy” flyer. Last but not least, we got about nine or ten signatures on the email mailing list.

We also had a trifold display that I’ve been bringing around to events since last year’s Art in the Garden. No one will ever accuse us of embezzling restoration funds for inappropriately-lavish displays. But all the information on it is up to the minute, and it shows how much work we’ve done in the two and half years we’ve been working in the park.

But Art in the Garden is also about craft vendors. This is the row of vendors that faced 25th Ave. There was another group in the parking lot, near the food trucks.

And speaking of which…

In previous years, the festival has sold brats from their beer garden. But that meant there was no place for families to sit and eat together. So this year, they had a couple food trucks come in. The Seattle Biscuit Company had great, large, soft biscuits. We had the breakfasty one, which came with a fried egg, Beecher’s flagship cheese, and some great bacon. Splitting one was perfect, one each would have been too much! The other food truck was Curb Jumper Street Eats, which serves gourmet sliders. We had the 3 slider sampler, and REALLY liked the salmon. That’s the food we’d go back for.

But let’s not forget the art, the garden, or the people!

All in all: a pleasant afternoon, spreading the word about North Beach Park. There is a full set of pictures on Flickr.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

Saturday, July 28, 9 a.m. to Noon

Meet at the entrance to the park, at NW 90th St. and 24th Ave. NW.
There is parking north and east of the park.
We’ll provide tools, gloves, and guidance.
Please wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty.

As always, our goals are to be safe, have some fun, and get some work done.

There are two fallen alders along the main trail that require some attention. One is heavily infested with ivy, and needs to have some of the ivy removed from it to prevent rerooting. This is a very wet, confined space; only two people can work there. The other fallen alder is not infested with ivy, but the crown has landed in the shrub layer and needs to be cleaned up a bit. Last but not least, the entrance needs some maintenance and monitoring attention.

Please join us. It’s a great opportunity to get some exercise, meet new people, and get hands-on experience in not only what makes Seattle great, but to directly help make it greater.

Art in the Garden: And if you can’t join us at the work party, please join us at Art in the Garden, Saturday, August 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. We’ll have a table with information about North Beach Park, Green Seattle Partnership, and other parks in the neighborhood you can help out at.

Art in the Garden is in the Ballard P-Patch, at 85th St. and 25th Ave. NW, just west of Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church. It’s a very pleasant neighborhood fair with a beer and sausage tent, bluegrass music, some craft and vendor booths, and a p-patch in full bloom. Our booth will be near the sound stage. Just look for the Green Seattle Partnership banner.

Here is a link with more information.

Hope to see you at one of these events!

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.