Starting onto the overpass on 3rd Ave West.

The West Thomas Street Overpass is a piece of the Lake-to-Bay Loop, a cherished long-term vision first articulated in neighborhood plans from the Uptown, Belltown, South Lake Union, and Denny Triangle neighborhoods. A pedestrian route between Lake Union and Elliott Bay, the Lake-to-Bay Loop connects some of Seattle’s civic treasures that have long felt much farther apart than they actually are, including the Olympic Sculpture Park, Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle Center, Lake Union Park, the Center for Wooden Boats, and now, the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).

Up and over Elliott and Western, two streets traditionally daunting to pedestrians.

As the city moves to address the Mercer Mess; the state takes Highway 99 underground; more employees from places like Amazon, the Gates Foundation, and other organizations need to get in and out of South Lake Union; and more tourists visit the city on cruise ships, the Lake-to-Bay Loop becomes more and more important – and with the West Thomas Street Overpass, it is closer to becoming a reality.

I’ve written about my hopes for the Lake-to-Bay Loop before.

Over the train tracks.

As for the bridge itself: Lifting off from 3rd Avenue between Thomas and Harrison, the overpass takes bikes and pedestrians over Elliott Street and the Burlington Northern/ Santa Fe railroad tracks straight into Myrtle Edwards Park, coming out at the head of a beautiful little pocket beach with a view of West Seattle and Bainbridge Island.

View of the Port from the overpass

Tourists coming the other direction from cruise ships or Waterfront visits will find themselves walking toward the Space Needle, with glimpses of the Great Wheel, and at least for now, the P-I Globe.

The project was funded by Park Levy I and II, Puget Sound Regional Council Grant Funds, King County Grant Funds, federal grants, and private donations. It’s an example of how leveraging funds from multiple sources, in hard budget times as well as good ones, can pay off hugely for our communities.

Pocket beach at Myrtle Edwards.

I have moved from “Really? Spend public money on yet another sports arena?” to a qualified, “Yes.”  The proposed plan can work for the people and entities that concern me deeply: the City itself, our taxpayers, our workers, our neighborhoods, the Port, our Seattle Center, and yes, our sports fans.

I thought I would describe the trail I have walked because it has been a rocky one for me.

I have read every article I could get my hands on – pro and con – and listened to hundreds of people who will be affected by the arena decision. Emotions have been running high, and my inbox has been overflowing with very strongly worded opinions on various sides of Chris Hansen’s proposal.

After months of debate with interested parties and my Council colleagues, I have concluded that the arena deal CAN be a success, and that it will succeed if we work collaboratively to minimize potential collateral damage and maximize the benefits to the public.

Here is how I initially framed the needs of a public-private deal, and how I am looking at it now:

Financial Benefits

My fundamental bottom line has been that the financial benefits of the deal to the City, the taxpayers and to the region must be documentable and compelling.

The financial benefits of the new deal have been discussed at length and have been significantly improved since the deal was first shared with the Council.  As now drafted, the City and County will be reimbursed for reasonable development costs; for the thirty years of the lease term,  ArenaCo will lease the ground from the City; ArenaCo is responsible for owning,  installing and maintaining all the amenities of a new arena; the City will be repaid the amount it issues in tax-exempt bonds  through the arena’s tax revenues which include incremental property tax, sales tax, admission tax attributable to the new arena and more.  The revenues are backed by reserve accounts, capital accounts, Chris Hansen (and his successor) personal guarantee, and a first priority payment position for the City and County. And, at the end of the 30 years, the City can require ArenaCo to buy the arena so the City will not be stuck with an aging and costly facility.

Some people have asked me, “Why not issue bonds and invest the money instead in things we need like our roads and schools?” The answer is simple. We don’t have a new dedicated revenue stream to pay back hypothetical capital investments and our taxpayers would be responsible for paying additional property taxes.  The arena is different. We WILL have a new dedicated source of money that will be repaid by users of the arena. This makes a difference to how I look at it.

I appreciate that Chris Hansen and his partners have negotiated in good faith with the City and County Councils and now agree to put enough money into escrow accounts that the public investment will be protected and repaid, and repayment will be guaranteed by the private investors. That’s progress.

Impacts to Port, Freight, Maritime and Aviation Industries

Port of Seattle

I started from the position that the Port, maritime and aviation industries, and accompanying family-wage jobs, must not be negatively impacted by the addition of a professional sports arena in the industrial area. This remains of critical importance to me.

I have taken the concerns of the Port, Freight, Maritime, and Aviation industries very seriously. I have met with leaders from each of these industries and businesses. The fact that leaders from each of these industries have stepped forward and are now working with the City and County and Port of Seattle to collectively address freight corridor needs is a positive development. Billions of dollars of exports and imports and thousands of family wage jobs depend on this corridor. Although the freight corridor improvements have renewed interest because of the Arena discussions, we can capitalize on this opportunity, work with our allies and reach out to the Port of Tacoma, to our trading partners around the state, to our state legislators for support. We must promote ourselves as a competitive region, and stop being competitors between one another.

Impacts to the Neighborhoods

The people who live and work in the immediate area of the proposed new arena must receive a tangible benefit. Pedestrians, business owners, residents, transit riders, drivers, bicycle riders must be assured of better connections and separated ped/bike network as a result of the proposed new arena.

We can build on the good ideas already generated by the neighborhood business and neighborhood coalitions to grow the healthy businesses, invite new businesses to the neighborhoods, and make the neighborhoods places where people want to be on game days and when games are not happening.

Wherever the Arena is ultimately sited, I want to bring leaders from affected neighborhoods to the table soon so they can help articulate their concerns and the City and ArenaCo can bring tools to solve the problems raised.

Traffic Congestion

Traffic congestion in the immediate and adjoining neighborhoods, including West Seattle, downtown and SODO-south must be carefully considered and addressed. Freight mobility to I-5 and I-90 must be enhanced.

This is one of the primary issues and discussions are already underway. Enough said for now.

 Key Arena and Seattle Center

Key Arena

The decision to build a new stadium must take into consideration the impacts on Seattle Center and Key Arena and repurpose Key Arena as the anchor of Seattle Center.

This is the big one for me. As Tim Burgess recently said, “Seattle Center is part civic square, part arts and sports venue, part school, park and open space. It’s a safe place where people gather …and the world to play, reflect, learn, watch and cheer. It’s a prize of immense value.”

Amen.

Although a modest amount of funding has been included in the arena deal to reexamine the possibilities and vision for Key Arena and the Center as a whole, it’s not enough. Sure, we have required that an Environmental Impact Statement study the Seattle Center as a new arena site; however, if another site is chosen, we must decide how Seattle Center will thrive and the Key Arena can complement—not compete—with the new arena.

Some have recently said that the Key is dead. I think that is dead wrong.

We have been handed an opportunity to build on the good work that so many have done before us, including those who drafted the Seattle Center Master Plan in 2008 and the current Seattle Center Advisory Committee (SCAC). The SCAC is the first to admit that the Key Arena cannot sustain itself “as is” if a new arena is built. They advocated for an in-depth study back in July, and we are going to do just that.

It’s too soon to talk specifics, but I’m committed to ensuring that the people most directly affected by changes to Key Arena – including nearby residents and businesses, employees, Seattle Public Schools and non-profit tenants at and near the Center – have a voice in what happens next.  We can bring a high-octane stakeholder group together, just as we have for the Waterfront.  It’s worked.

Without limiting ideas in any way for the future of Key Arena and Seattle Center as a whole, I have been delighted to see people proposing their own innovative suggestions such as a revitalized “Title IX” arena that would become premier event space for women’s collegiate and high school sports including basketball, volleyball, and tennis.

Or as one local Olympic swimmer suggested, how about turning Key Arena into a much needed Aquatic Center for the city? He explained, “One of the most expensive aspects of building a first class facility is the expense to span a large pool. With Key Arena, only the pool facility would be needed, the building, locker rooms, seating, etc, already exists! A prefab Myrtha Pool could be put into Key Arena for minimal cost. A 50-m competition and training facility would be accommodated and additional facilities and equipment such as water slides could easily be added in the building.”

We will take this opportunity to investigate what can be done. We must fund a study and devote serious capital funding to embrace Seattle Center as never before. The City deserves it; the Center deserves it.

The Council should identify the best location for a new arena

From the beginning, I stated that the city should encourage investment in locations where the investment would promote our regional land use objectives. In partnership with prospective investors, we must determine where the best location will be for a proposed new stadium.

This will require a thorough State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) analysis which we have required in our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  As approved, we acknowledge that Chris Hansen has his eyes on a particular site. Although SODO is Mr. Hansen’s preference, the City is committed to a process that requires an unbiased and thorough EIS to be conducted and other sites to be reviewed.  This is not only a legal requirement, but a responsible approach as well.

Sicks Stadium 1969, thanks to HistoryLink

For example, representatives from the Rainier Valley Community Development Fund wrote about the possibility of exploring the site of the old Sicks’ Stadium,  located on Rainier and South McLellan (currently a Lowe’s is sited there), as an alternative and positive site. In their editorial, former Councilmember Richard McIver and David Essig, Director of Community Development described what a benefit a new arena would be to that area of our city. It’s near light rail, it’s near freeway on and off ramps, it would have the support of labor and presumably the Port, and it would help with economic infill where we really need it.

The point is that we should keep our eyes and minds wide open and do an environmental review considering alternative sites that is truly meaningful.

So there’s the summary. We’ve come a long way in a few months, and the journey is just starting.

Astronaut Sunita Williams on the International Space Station (from nasa.gov)

Having had the wonderful experience of becoming a pilot and certified flight instructor at age 50, I am an enthusiast for encouraging girls and women to excel in challenging fields. And I’m so glad to see how much times have changed since I was one of only a handful of women in my law school graduating class in 1976: Now women make up half of every law school class.

Women have achieved much over the past decades, yet we have more work to do, particularly in the fields of math and science. Women comprise nearly half of America’s workforce, but only 1 in 4 of jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM jobs) are held by women, and only 11% of our engineers are women.

Publications like Science Daily report on the difficulty of recruiting and retaining women in the sciences, and even the Department of Commerce asks where the women are.

We must encourage girls and women

As a society, we can do more to encourage, support, mentor, and lead girls into challenging STEM fields of study and careers whenever we can. As a City, I believe we should set a goal that 50% of graduates this decade  will be girls and women who excel in science, technology, engineering and math.

We parents, extended families, teachers, counselors, coaches and more are the ones who will make a difference. We must guide our young women to study – and LOVE – math and science from their youngest days. We’re missing the boat if we don’t.

What scientists look like: 2011 Graduates of the UW's Making Connections program

My dream is that girls and young women know in their hearts from the moment they start to learn that they can become one of the Boeing engineers who designs the next generation of spacecraft. That they can contribute to meeting our society’s biggest challenges: developing new fuels so we aren’t dependent on fossil fuels; saving women and children globally from premature pregnancy and deaths; designing new technologies to harness wind, solar and more to conserve and generate power. Just for starters.

Our own region is a recognized international leader in the technologies of emerging medical cures, space exploration, software design, and environmental research to mention just a few. These industries are calling now for smart and prepared workers. We can’t afford not to have women in STEM careers.

STEM is Enticing!

Girls in goggles: From the Women in Science and Technology Program at Boston College

In June, Seattle Center is hosting our City’s first annual Seattle Science Festival. Here’s an opportunity to introduce your girls and their friends (there are activities for kids under 7!) and young women to how exciting and rewarding sciences can be.

On Science EXPO day, June 2, you can bring students of all ages (both genders welcome!) to the Boeing Flight Simulator and let them try their hands at flying a 787 Dreamliner. Or encourage them to join the Project Splash team to create, program and drive LEGO underwater robots that can rescue people and help protect our oceans.

With more than 150 family-friendly, hands-on experiments, exhibits, demonstrations, interactive activities, games and live performances, chances are good that you can find a match for your aspiring scientist. Even if you weren’t attracted to math and science, giving your student encouragement and an opportunity to see how cool this can be may open their eyes to possibilities.

Here are some of the details:

Isolating a bacteriophage (Image: lookslikescience.tumblr.com)

• Science EXPO Day, a free event at Seattle Center on June 2.
• Science Festival Week with inspiring special events happening all over the region. Programs include behind-the-scenes tours, a Science Under Sail adventure with Salish Sea Expeditions, a South Lake Union Science Trek, a free Computer Programming Symposium for high school students, screenings of science-themed films, and many, many other events!
• Science Luminaries Series, today’s most brilliant minds (including astronaut Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, national security expert Deborah Gracio, computer game designer Kim Swift) and inspiring thinkers sharing the stage with breathtaking performances by world-class artists for five exclusive evening events in June. Topics to be tackled include cyber security, the future of genomics, the next generation of space exploration, computer games, and mitigating the world’s leading cause of disease.

I firmly believe that the most important things we can give to our children are opportunities and support to build self confidence. When our

At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (Photo: CIMMYT)

children learn that they can succeed at anything – and have our support to try and keep trying – they put their minds to doing it. I also believe that as a City, we can encourage and support our girls and young women to enroll and succeed at STEM classes. We need their hearts and minds. I call upon all of us: Let’s see that the 50% of the graduating classes in this decade include young women who choose to study and work in science, technology, engineering and math.

See the Seattle Science Festival’s calendar of events or download the Seattle Science Festival program (4 MB PDF) that incudes a detailed map of the Seattle Center grounds with the location of each exhibitor and performance stages as well as a schedule.

Visit the UW’s Making Connections website for information on the program’s mission, which is to increase college enrollment and career exploration in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields for underrepresented youth.

KEXP taught me that Fleet Foxes are not indigenous to Discovery Park and Built to Spill is not a code violation. Great music truly does build great community. That’s why it’s so exciting that this listener-powered radio station, which started out in UW’s MacMahon Hall almost 30 years ago, might soon find a new home on Seattle Center’s campus.

You may recall that in December of 2010, I joined Mayor McGinn and Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams in announcing the plan for KEXP to have a new studio at Seattle Center.  Over the last nine months, KEXP and Seattle Center have worked to negotiate a mutually agreeable lease. At yesterday’s special meeting of the Parks & Seattle Center Committee, Seattle Center and Council Central Staff led an initial briefing and discussion of the proposed lease agreement legislation.

If the agreement is approved, KEXP will enter into a 30 year lease with Seattle Center. The initial lease term is for 10 years with four possible 5-year renewal options. Construction will begin sometime after The Next Fifty celebration ends in November 2012.

The new facility, to be built within the existing Northwest Rooms space, will house the station’s studios, broadcast equipment and administrative offices. As an addition, a new outdoor stage will be constructed adjacent to the project to offer year-round performances in the courtyard. The new stage will be used by Seattle Center for major festivals like Bumbershoot and Folklife.

KEXP will raise all the capital funds necessary to redevelop the facilities and, once occupied, KEXP bears all operational and most maintenance responsibilities for the new space.

Public benefits include free public access to live music – over 400 live performances a year – and free tours of its broadcast studios. KEXP has also committed to partnerships with Seattle Public Schools, Seattle Public Library, the Vera Project, the University of Washington, Seattle Channel, EMP, and more.

In addition, the installation of KEXP will augment the adjacent Vera Project and the soon-to-open SIFF Film Center to complete the arts & music row provided along August Wilson Way on the campus. Thus, adding to the vibrant arts and culture activity that already exists at Seattle Center.

The Parks & Seattle Center Committee will reconvene on September 22nd for another special committee meeting. The lease legislation is up for further discussion and a possible vote.

We’ll soon see if Council powers KEXP.

Photo by Renee C. Byer, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Seattle Center measures its success by how well it fulfills its mission of engaging a rich and varied community, and even the most casual of visitor crossing the campus understands the accuracy of that statement.

As a visitor onto the campus, you might marvel at the acrobatic moves of a teen skater in the skate park, and minutes later inside the Center House, you’ll witness the equally graceful moves of the weekly senior dances. Elsewhere on campus, you’ll see rollergirls, ballet, laser shows, high school football games, and the ethnic festival series. The array of events is stunning. Each one that dots the calendar allows us to celebrate the diverse fabric of our region, and each one encourages random spectators to watch, to listen, to taste, and most importantly, to participate.

And this is why Seattle Center was our city’s gathering place a decade ago on September 11^th, 2011, and the days that followed. The International Fountain became the impromptu heart of our community and served as either a secular place for reflection or simply a refuge for those who needed comfort in the company of others. Thousands of people found a sense of solace and a place to join hands along the edges of the International Fountain.

As we approach the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Seattle Center once more offers a place for us to assemble, to pay our respects, and to mark the way the world has changed since that fateful Tuesday morning.

Community Invited to Gather for 9/11 Day of Reflection

 WHO:               10+Seattle in partnership with Boundless Events, City of Seattle, Compassionate Action Network, and Seattle Center

WHAT:              10+Seattle – A 9/11 Day of Reflection at Seattle Center

WHEN:             Sunday, Sept. 11;

5 a.m. – 8 a.m., quiet reflection

8 a.m. – 10 a.m., open community interaction

WHERE:           International Fountain at Seattle Center

WHY:                To recognize the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 and provide a place for all who wish to be together to reflect and share moments of remembrance, resilience, empathy, healing, community and compassion. 

DETAILS:         On Sept. 11, 2001 and the following days, more than 30,000 people gathered around International Fountain for a flower vigil that became one of many such spontaneous gatherings around the world expressing the depth of humanity’s capacity for empathy and compassion when faced with great loss and sorrow.

Ten years later, on Sunday, September 11, 2011, once again the fountain will welcome all who wish to gather and turn their thoughts and hearts once again toward humanity’s greatest strength – compassion. There will be no speeches or presentations. At 5:46 a.m., the Kobe Bell will sound, correlating to the time that the North Tower was struck. The consecutive three events of Sept. 11, 2001 will be marked in the same manner at 6:03 a.m., 6:37 a.m. and concluding with a final ring at 7:03 a.m. All are welcome and asked to stay for at least ten minutes in meditative reflection and remembrance.

MORE INFO:     www.seattlecenter.com   /   www.facebook.com/10plusSeattle

Along the way, these “voyagers” will document the road they’ve chosen and the process by which they intend to get there, including the obstacles and challenges that are sure to be experienced along the way. We’ll witness the evolution of these individuals both online and in a documentary film that’s scheduled to debut in August of 2012 as part of The Next Fifty celebration.

Intrigued? Visit the website to learn more about the project. P3 wants those who dream big, who really want to follow through on exploring what they truly love. There are no constraints – P3 is for anyone, regardless of educational, ethnic, or economic backgrounds.

P3 is taking applications from all interested parties, but you can also nominate another person. But hurry, as applications are due this Friday, August 19^th. Non-English speakers are encouraged to apply, and translation services are available.

 The Next Fifty Seeks Participants for People Passion Purpose:  a Learning Odyssey

One week remains for Washington state residents to sign up for the learning experience of the next half-century. People * Passion * Purpose (P3):  a Learning Odyssey will follow 25 people for nine months as they identify their deepest passion and pursue it. P3 is an activity of The Next Fifty celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The deadline to apply or nominate someone to participate is Friday, Aug. 19, 2011.

During the nine months of P3, participants, called voyagers, will be paired with a mentor, or guide, to support them as they imagine new possibilities, challenge their own assumptions, encounter obstacles, and have the courage to expand beyond who they are to learn and grow. Voyagers and guides will document their experiences, efforts, struggles, achievements and realizations.

The P3:  Learning Odyssey aims to offer insights into how we as individuals learn, pursue our greatest passions, support learning in our community; and therefore, can move civilization forward into the next 50 years.

The Next Fifty will share publicly the materials generated during the nine months on the web and in a documentary film, making the findings widely accessible to outside observers and researchers. The findings and participants will be featured in Aug. 2012 during The Next Fifty month of Learning.

The Next Fifty is actively recruiting participants who represent the broad demographics of Washington State. Organizers see P3 as an opportunity for people who are looking to apply themselves in new ways, challenge themselves in a supportive environment, and learn with and among others.

 For more information on P3 and The Next Fifty, visit www.thenextfifty.org or call 206 684-7200.

Answers varied on what constituted the hidden gems – perhaps the places or things an average Seattle visitor wouldn’t know to see without a local directing the visit. Volunteer Park is popular, with both the Conservatory and Water Tower being mentioned. The Locks, the Fremont Troll, the Arboretum, and Kubota Garden were all shown some love.

My favorite is a walk-on ticket for the ferry to Bainbridge. Timed well, we can give visitors the jaw-dropping treat of sunset gold on skyscrapers. And for a true hidden treasure, the suggestion of a vist to West Seattle’s Walker Rock Garden scored serious points.

The casual visitor to Seattle may not stumble across these destinations. And as of June 30^th of this year, the chances of out-of-state travelers even choosing Seattle as a destination became a little slimmer.

As June ended, the State of Washington closed its tourism office and the funds to promote Seattle as a destination for those trips – summertime or otherwise – no longer exist. We are the only state in the union without any money dedicated to tourism marketing.

Walker Rock Garden. Photo by West Seattle Blog.

Meanwhile, our neighbors to the north in British Columbia pump $50 million into attracting travelers. The same amount is powering California’s appeal. Michigan will spend $25 million this year, and Oregon has dedicated $10 million. Even Montana bought advertising on our buses urging us to visit their mountain goats.

Here we are, in a state where tourism is the fourth largest industry, where visitors spent over $15 billion in 2010 at our restaurants, hotels, art and cultural events, and more. We are a city with thousands of hotel rooms and more than 400,000 square feet of space within the Convention Center, and the funds to promote us as a destination are cut off at the knees. It’s detrimental to our jobs and our quality of life.

The question to ask, then, is how does Seattle register on the radar of someone planning their vacation or a convention? And when they get here, how do these visitors find out about the local gems mentioned above and others like them if they don’t have the benefit of a local, a good guidebook, or a creative concierge?

In late July, Council passed Resolution 31309, proposing the establishment of a Seattle Tourism Improvement Area (STIA). The legislation is designed to increase leisure tourism in the Seattle by establishing a funding source dedicated to promoting all that the city center and its surrounding neighborhoods have to offer.

The STIA hotel zone in red. Galer to the north, 12th Ave to the east, Royal Brougham to the south, and the waterfront to the west.

Under guidance from Councilmember Tim Burgess, the plan would require hotels with 60+ rooms within the designated improvement area (roughly Galer Avenue to the north, 12^th Ave to the east, Royal Brougham to the south, and the waterfront to the west) to levy a $2 surcharge per night for each occupied room. About 53 hotels fit the bill and we’re seeing support from many of them. 77% of the qualifying hotels actually submitted petitions to the Council asking for this legislation.

Once collected, the cash will fund marketing strategies crafted to attract individuals and families to come to the Emerald City for vacation. The promotional activities would be managed by Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB), who know a thing or two about getting people to travel to Seattle and keeping them here for a few days. Remember the gigantic Lions convention in early July that featured a 12,000-person parade through downtown? That’s the sort of product that SCVB helps deliver. We fill our hotel rooms, restaurant tables, and shops with the product of their efforts. 

According to the SCVB, the STIA would raise somewhere between $5-6 million in 2012 alone, and the funds will be dedicated to enhancing tourism. The economic impact of the initiative is predicted to be around $34.3 million, which will generate $3.42 million in state and local taxes and foster the creation of more than 550 new jobs in the hotel/hospitality sector.

The initiative will won’t cost the taxpayers or the City of Seattle a thing, and the expected result is improving hotel occupancy rates, sustaining current jobs while creating new ones, and increasing business at our restaurants, shops, and attractions.

Council held a public hearing on the proposed Seattle Tourism Improvement Area on Monday evening, August 8^th, and those who testified were in support. Legislation establishing the STIA will be introduced today and will be referred to the Regional Development and Sustainability Committee for briefing and discussion on August 16^th at 2pm. Committee action is expected at a second meeting on September 20^th, followed by Full Council action on Monday, September 26. You can track the legislation via C.B. 117258 on the Clerk’s website.

For those looking for something more high-impact, the Next Fifty is offering up a 10k race in collaboration with the Seattle Marathon Association. The ADA-compliant course is wheelchair-, dog- and stroller-friendly.

The run will start and end at Seattle Center, traveling through downtown Seattle, past Pike Place Market overlooking the waterfront piers before turning around to head onto the Alaskan Way viaduct. The course then heads north on Aurora through Queen Anne, turning back around and exiting at Mercer to finish near the International Fountain.

 Run/Walk for The Next Fifty – Saturday, August 27th

The Seattle Marathon Association is teaming up with Seattle Center to offer the first annual Seattle Marathon 10k Race: Presented by The Next Fifty. This inaugural 10K will be held on Saturday, August 27 in conjunction with and to benefit the Seattle Center 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2012.

Register at: http://www.seattlemarathon.org/10k/10kregister.php

SEATTLE –In celebration of The Next Fifty, the 50^th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, Seattle Center Foundation is giving away VIP seats for the KEXP & Seattle Center Present Concerts at the Mural. Each week of the concert series, one lucky winner and five of their friends will receive VIP treatment at these outdoor concerts, including six limited edition Next Fifty folding chairs to use and take home, food, and drink passes (drink passes for those ages 21+ in the Beer Garden).

To participate, follow the Seattle Center Facebook and Twitter pages (/seattlecenter) and respond to the Concert VIP posts each Friday morning between July 22 and August 12. Fans on Facebook need only comment on the VIP post to become eligible, and Seattle Center Twitter followers should respond to the post with the hashtag #MuralVIP. Participants will have 24 hours from the time of the post to become eligible. A winner will be randomly selected the following week and contacted for verification.

More details on the Concerts at the Mural VIP Buzz activity can be found at: http://www.thenextfifty.org/concerts-at-the-mural-vip/ 

About  KEXP & Seattle Center Present Concerts at the Mural
Brought together by a shared commitment to innovative and culturally diverse programming, KEXP 90.3FM and Seattle Center have teamed up to present Concerts at the Mural, a series of eclectic concerts on some of the summer”s sultriest weekends. The five FREE all-ages shows are tailored to the culturally curious who seek to discover the best of the area”s independent music scene. Concerts are held on the Mural Lawn at Seattle Center each Friday in August at 6:00 p.m., with an additional Saturday BBQ and Concert August 6^th from 3 p.m.- 9 p.m.

 About The Next Fifty
In 2012, Seattle Center will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Seattle World”s Fair – The Next Fifty. The celebration maintains the spirit sparked by the Fair in challenging our community to envision the next fifty years.  The six-month celebration explores decisive sectors of regional development and global leadership including: art, culture and design; sustainable futures; global health, science and technology; learning; commerce and the innovation economy; civic action; and history. www.TheNextFifty.org 
 
                                                                                                

Seattle Center Foundation has collaborated with two of Seattle’s favorite treat vendors to recreate flavors from the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The special-edition flavors will be available from June 21 – July 20 at Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream in Capitol Hill and Wallingford, as well as Trophy Cupcakes in Wallingford and University Village Shopping Center. The first 21 people to order the Flavor of the Fair at any of these locations will receive a World’s Fair coloring book for free!

Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream has concocted a delicious treat called the “Lovers of the Fair Sundae.” It has slices of shortcake, topped with vanilla bean ice cream, fresh strawberries, cold strawberry compote and whipped cream. The flavor is inspired by a concessionaire at the 1962 World’s Fair, who met his wife over a piece of strawberry shortcake. They got married at the Fair later that year.

Trophy Cupcakes has made an equally inventive flavor for this promotion, called the “Elvis.” Elvis Presley filmed “It Happened at the World’s Fair” in Seattle in 1962, so a cupcake inspired by his favorite foods is all too fitting. It is a banana, pineapple and coconut cake topped with peanut butter frosting and drizzled in honey. Yum!