Tonight at the Ballard Library, a couple graphic novel creators will be talking about their new book with some musical accompaniment. David Lasky and Frank M. Young, creators of the graphic novel “The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song” are going to talk about their book and show some slides that illustrate how they created it. There will also be live music by Cliff Perry and Laurel Bliss. The book was nominated for a 2013 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Reality-Based Work.

The event is co-sponsored by the Secret Garden Bookshop who will be on hand to sell books signed by the authors. It starts at 6:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more on upcoming library events, here’s a link to the SPL online events calendar.

The Seattle Department of Transportation tells us that crews will be out on the Ballard Bridge this morning to do some repairs on the gate stands. Most of the work was done last week, but crews are expected to be on the bridge until around 11 a.m. today. During the repairs, the southbound curb lane will be closed. SDOT says motorists should expect some congestion and plan on delays while crossing the bridge.

By Bucky Beaver

Ballard High School will have eight student-athletes competing 7 events at the Washington state track and field competition this weekend:

• Senior Dominique Smith qualified for state in both the long jump and 100m dash. Smith won Kingco and Bi-Districts in the long jump and finished 4th in the 100m. Prelims in the 100m dash are Friday morning at 11:00 am with finals Saturday at 11:10 am. The long jump competition is Saturday at 1:50 pm.
• Senior Stu Thomas qualified for state in both the 300m low hurdles and 110m high hurdles taking second in both events.  Thomas set the school record on Friday in the 300m low hurdles.  Thomas has prelims in the 110m hurdles Thursday evening at 5:40 pm with finals on Friday evening at 5:30 pm.  Prelims in the 300m hurdles are Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm with finals 10:35 am Saturday morning.

• Senior Mia Wrey qualified in the 800m winning the Bi-district event with a time of 2:13.4.  Wrey has the 4^th fastest time in the state this season.  Prelims are at 12:25 pm Friday afternoon with finals at 10:10 am Saturday morning.
• Junior Carolyn Birkenfeld qualified in the 200m dash getting 5^th at the Bi-District event.  Prelims are Friday evening at 6:30 pm with finals 2:55 pm Saturday afternoon.
• The girls 4×400m team is the fastest in the whole state!  They have knocked 7 seconds off their time in the last two weeks alone and also own the school record.  The team consists of freshman Nicole Godbout, Senior Mia Wrey, Senior Emma Onstad-Hawes, Senior Cat Banobi, freshman Jamie Smith, and Junior Carolyn Birkenfeld.  Prelims are Thursday night at 6:30 pm with the finals on Saturday at 4:30 pm.

The state track and field event is held at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma (4634 S 74th St Tacoma, WA 98409), More details on the state meet can be found here.

Pictured above: Dominique Smith and Mia Wrey. Photos courtesy of Ed Tanaka and Ballard Athletics

By Ann Wilson

Hipp, hipp, hurra for the Syttende Mai (17th of May) parade in Ballard! The celebration gathered thousands to celebrate Norway’s Constitution day and a communal Norwegian pride last night on the streets of Ballard.

The festivity marked the 124th celebration of Syttende Mai in Seattle. When it began in 1889, before Washington even became a state, it was a smaller banquet and community hall commemoration. Over the years it developed, and eventually grew into a Ballard community parade in 1974. Today it is one of the largest Syttende Mai celebrations outside of Norway.

Photo credit Joel Conrad

Though the holiday was established in recognition of writing Norway’s Constitution in 1814, people today recognize it as a celebration of Norwegian heritage. Peder Digre, the president of the University of Washington’s Norwegian Club said: “I think the main idea behind the celebration is to really celebrate ‘Norwegian-ness’ for one day all around the world…I really like that the Syttende Mai parade in Ballard brings Norwegians together and provides a time to celebrate our common heritage. This is an especially rare opportunity for descendants of immigrated who most likely became Americans over 100 years ago!” Digre said. “It’s one of those shared experiences that bring people emotionally together and makes you feel like you ‘belong.’”

Photo credit Joel Conrad

Syttende Mai in Ballard unites people throughout the greater Seattle area. Of the parade participants many Norwegian organizations are represented including the six Sons of Norway lodges, Daughters of Norway, Norse Home, Norwegian Male Chorus, Norwegian Ladies Chorus and others. The parade also gathers many non-Norwegian groups throughout the community such as school marching bands and cheerleaders, unicyclists, clowns, Seafair pirates etc.

Christine Anderson, of the Sons of Norway Leif Erikson Lodge 2-001, enjoys watching the variety of entries the parade includes. “I’m always amazed how creative some of the groups get.” Anderson said. “The children’s groups from the schools are fun to watch. Seeing so many Norwegian flags flying is an incredible sight too! The Norwegian community is an active vibrant community often thought of by the press as being totally defunct except of trolls and lutefisk. The community is so much more than that.”

Photo credit Joel Conrad

Øystein Kjørsvik, a recent graduate from the UW, grew up in Bergan, Norway. Coming to the US in 2008, Kjørsvik has celebrated the Syttende Mai in Ballard four times. He said that the celebration is naturally larger in Norway; however, Ballard’s enthusiasm is one to compete with. He said: “It’s really fun to see the level of interaction here which in many ways can rival Norway…It seems like people get really into it here and everyone in the area is there to truly celebrate and enjoy a great Norwegian holiday. One can’t really help but admire the passion of some of the Norwegian old-timers around here.”

Photo credit Joel Conrad

The weekend is here and brings with it the festivities of Syttende-Mai! Check out the events happening in and around Ballard in our weekly weekend roundup.

Friday May 17:

• Syttende-Mai Parade from 6 p.m. The parade will be go down 24th Avenue NW to NW Market St and down Ballard Ave. Click here for more details.

Saturday May 18:

• Carkeek Park STARS Volunteer Work Party at Carkeek Park (950 NW Carkeek Park Rd) from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Join other enthusiastic volunteers for a fun morning of forest restoration and trails maintenance. Gloves and water are provided and wear sturdy shoes. Suitable for teens and older. Follow the STARS signs to the meeting place. For more information contact Dale Johnson at dalerayjohnson@comcast.net or call (206) 362-2980.

• Friends of Kirke Park Garage Sale (7028 9th Ave NW) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Funds will go towards the trellis. This is held in conjunction with the Phinney Neighborhood Association Garage Sale Day. Email Alyssa Smith for more details at alyssabsmith@gmail.com

• Seattle Works Restoration Work Party at Carkeek Park (950 NW Carkeek Park Rd) from 12 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Click here for more details and to sign up.

• NW 49th Street Open House and BBQ from 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. Food will be available courtesdy of Apex Automotive, Cultivar Landscape and Design, Firefly Kitchens and JonBoy Caramels. Domanico Cellars and Populuxe Brewing will be open for purchase of wine and beer. Guests will also enjoy live music from  Codgill Connecticut, Hill Neighbor, Higgsfield and Shelley Casey. Dance, eat, drink and  get to know your neighbors! Click here for more details.

• Healing the Children Celtic Music Concert with “BOWI” at Sunset Hill Community Association (3003 NW 66th St) at 7 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. with music from 8 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. $30 donation per ticket for general admission. $60 donation per ticket for VIP reserved front row seat with complimentary beverage. All proceeds will benefit Healing the Children, Oregon and Western Washington Chapter, an organization whose mission is to restore health to impoverished children of the world through donated medical services. Click here to buy tickets.

• The Market Street Singers present Sounds Like Music at Ballard First Lutheran Church (NW 65th & 20th NW) from 7:30 p.m. This is a free event. Contributions gratefully accepted. Click here for more details.

Sunday May 19:

• Food Truck Round Up at the Phinney Neighborhood Center (6532 Phinney Ave N) from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. The $25 ticket includes bites from local food trucks as well as wine, beer and spirits, and live music. The event is being held as a campaign for a new food bank in the U-District. Click here for more details and to buy tickets.

• The Market Street Singers present Sounds Like Music at Ballard First Lutheran Church (NW 65th & 20th NW) from 7:30 p.m. This is a free event. Contributions gratefully accepted. Click here for more details.

During a recent remodel of a house in a house in Ballard, some old newspapers were found in the walls.

Photo credit Ventana Construction

Ventana Construction told us about the find, which happened when they were tearing down the walls in a kitchen in a house near NW 65th St. and 24th Ave NW. The house was built in 1900, and the newspapers were dated all the way back to 1901.

On their blog, Ventana Construction says that most of the papers they found were from about 50 years ago. “The majority of papers were from 1961, and even leafing through those is amazing– the pages in those sections reveal the politics and social mores of the time, along with some eye-opening prices for just about everything,” Ventana Builds writes on their blog. Among the papers found were the Ballard Star, Seattle P-I, Seattle Star and The Seattle Times.

Photo credit Ventana Construction

Thanks, Ventana Construction, for sharing!

Summer must be upon us – the annual summer garage sale in Whittier Heights is just around the corner. The garage sale is on June 1, which is the Saturday after Memorial Day.

If you want to get rid of some old clothes, household items or general knick-knacks and be on the map, email your home address to Whittier Heights Community Councilmember Brad Wakeman at Brad@LakeRE.com. We’ll post again in a couple weeks with a map of this year’s participating garage sale sites.

Map of last year’s participating homes

Have you seen the new green trolley cruising around Ballard lately? It’s called the Emerald City Trolley, and it officially debuts today as a hop-on, hop-off tour service around Seattle.

While its service is mostly centered in downtown Seattle, the “Gem” has been seen cruising out to the Locks in Ballard. They’ll be exploring plenty of other neighborhoods in the trolley as well, boosting tourism outside of the downtown core. Emerald City Trolley CEO and founder Howard Wright says the hop-on, hop-off feature will allow tourists to check out the city in new ways, as they have the zoo, Fremont Troll and Ballard Locks on their list of stops. The line that serves our area is the North Blue Route, which will visit the EMP at the Seattle Center, the zoo, Fremont, Ballard and the Locks.

The tickets are only available in two- or three-day passes (with additional days available for purchase) that will allow access to all three of the tour lines. A two-day pass costs $45 and three-day passes are $60 (additional days are $15). There are family passes available for two adults and up to three youths at $110. Tickets can be bought on the trolley at any stop, and at their retail location at 2nd and Pike in downtown Seattle or online.

The trolley starts rolling today, and will be in service until Sept. 29.

Photo courtesy Emerald City Trolley

Break out the lutefisk and rømmergrøt, it’s Syttende Mai! May 17 is Norwegian Constitution Day, and Ballard will be celebrating all day with Norwegian fare, music, and a big parade through downtown Ballard.

Ifyou’ve ever been to a Syttende Mai parade in Ballard, you know just how hectic it gets; about 5,000 spectators are expected, which means driving could be a nightmare tonight. Various streets around Ballard will be closed today, including the streets surrounding Adams Elementary (26th Ave NW and NW 62nd St.) from 4:30 to 6 p.m. during the parade staging. 22nd Ave NW will be closed until 8 p.m. tonight.

The parade starts at 6 p.m., and the route goes south on 24th Ave NW from NW 62nd St. to NW Market St, east on Market to 22nd Avenue NW, and then turns right to go south on 22nd to Ballard Avenue NW. The parade disperses north and south on Ballard Avenue NW.

Here is the event schedule for today’s celebrations:

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Kids games at Nordic Heritage Museum (3014 NW 68th St). Free admission to the NHM all day; Nordic Cafe will be selling Scandinavian treats, and fjord horses will be on site.

Noon – 2 p.m.: Luncheon at Leif Erikson Hall (2245 NW 57th St.) Tickets $30, call (206) 783-1274

2 – 5 p.m.: On-going live, free entertainment at Bergen Place Park:

• 2:00—Adams Elementary School Choir
• 2:30—Klem og Kram, featuring accordion and vocal works
• 3:00—Matt Jorgensen of Ballard Jazz Festival, featuring jazz
• 3:30—Norwegian Male Chorus, with piano or a capella
• 4:00—Leikarringen of Leif Erikson Lodge #1, featuring song, music and dance
• 4:30—Bonnie Birch, featuring accordion

3 – 5 p.m.: Open House and Cafe at Leif Erickson Hall. Food, beverages, wine and beer available for purchase. Local Scandinavian organizations will have promotional material about their groups.

6 – 8 p.m: Parade – starts at NW 62nd and 24th Ave NW, goes south to Market Street, east to Bergen Place Park, turns down 22nd Ave NW and continues south on Ballard Ave NW to Dock Street. This year’s emcees are local radio personalities Tim Hunter and MJ McDermott.

Map courtesy 17th of May website. Click map to go to parade website

The water at Golden Gardens will undergo its annual testing next week. The Washington Department of Ecology will be on the beach starting Monday, where they’ll test the beach’s water for bacteria that can make people sick.

Beach naturalists Cari Garand and David Hagert at Golden Gardens

The Walrus and the Carpenter will soon have a new neighbor – owner Renee Erickson and partners will soon open Barnacle next door to the famed oyster house. It’s called Barnacle, and will be a “jewel box like wine bar and restaurant,” according to a teaser on their Facebook page.

They say Barnacle will be opening in late summer, and will have plenty of wines by the glass, house-made charcuterie, “interesting seafood offerings,” and “delicious tartines.” It sounds like Barnacle, which will seat 25 at a long bar, will be a convenient place for overflow from The Walrus and the Carpenter’s cozy and small dining room. They plan to be open daily from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.

We have a call out to owner Renee Erickson to get more details about Barnacle. We’ll update with any new information we get about the space and their opening date.

Tomorrow is the F5 Bike to Work Day, which means thousands of commuters will hit the pavement on their bikes around the city. The Cascade Bicycle Club and F5 are sponsoring the event, and have organized dozens of commuter stations around the city for bikers between 6 and 9 a.m.

One of the commuter stations is on the northwest side of the Fremont Bridge, where they’ll have maps, snacks, commuting information and more. Cascade Bicycle Club expects more than 20,000 bike commuters tomorrow, so make sure you watch out for extra bike traffic before and after work.

Starbucks is offering free coffee to bike commuters; if you show up at the Ballard store in your biking gear and helmet, you’ll get a free tall coffee of your choosing. (Click here for all participating stores)

The Bike to Work Day after party is being held at Via6 at 6th Ave and Blanchard in downtown Seattle. For a full list of commuter stations, click here.