PhinneyWood Phestivus brings neighborhood fun Friday night

by | Dec 9, 2016

“Seinfeld” may have invented the tradition of “Festivus,” but our neighborhood is making the holiday its own with LED monkeys, trolley rides and an ugly Christmas sweater pub crawl. Combined with the monthly Art Up PhinneyWood Artwalk, this Friday night’s PhinneyWood Phestivus should prove the former business chamber’s motto that we are “just a little off center.”
The Artwalk officially runs from 6-9 p.m., but Phestivus fun keeps going until midnight.
Hop on a free Emerald City Trolley at designated stops along Phinney and Greenwood avenues between 59th and 87th streets. Proudly show off your fashion sense for the Ugly Sweater Monkey Crawl and get discounts at participating pubs and restaurants.
Check out the 200 LED-lit colored metal-frame monkeys at businesses and residences all along Phinney Greenwood avenues, plus the GloCone on the Phinney Center’s air raid tower at the corner of Phinney Avenue North and North 67th Street. The monkeys started a few years ago as a tie in to Woodland Park Zoo’s WildLights and have since taken on a life of their own.

Monkeys climb up the GloCone hanging from the Phinney Center’s air raid tower.


Free parking for PhinneyWood Phesitivus is available at the Zoo’s north parking lot at North 59th Street and Phinney Avenue North, and at the Phinney Center at Phinney Avenue and North 67th Street.
The trolley will be making a loop between the zoo’s North Parking Lot at North 59th Street up to North 87th Street. You can hop on and off at any Metro bus stop, and at any of four “layover” spots: the zoo’s North Parking Lot, Gary’s Greenwood Auto Repair at Greenwood Avenue and 75th, Verity Credit Union at Morrow Lane and Greenwood Avenue, and Greenwood Hardware at 72nd and Greenwood. Trolley stops will be designated by A-Boards. The trolley schedule is here.
PhinneyWood Phestivus is sponsored by the Phinney Neighborhood Association Business Group, PhinneyWood Arts Council and Woodland Park Zoo. The trolley is sponsored by Verity Credit Union and Umpqua Bank.
Dozens of neighborhood art galleries and other businesses are hosting artists and musicians for the Artwalk. Makeda & Mingus at 153 N. 78th St. is hosting its third annual Holiday Craft Fair with Kubo Cards, henna art, Gemstone Jewelry and Chauncey Bites (doggie treats), and indie rock by Nomi.
Bluebird Ice Cream, 7400 Greenwood Ave. N., has a lot of special treats planned. They’ll be giving out samples of their new hot fudge and caramel sauces, tapping a keg of their award-winning “Yukon Cornelius” Winter Warmer, and will have special holiday ice cream flavors including Egg Nog, Peppermint Mocha, Mandarin Orange Chocolate and Gingerbread Cookie Batter. Get a free scoop with a donation of a new, unwrapped toy for Toys For Tots. Santa Claus will be there for photos until 7:30 p.m. and will encourage donations for his program to help the homeless.
Woodland Park United Methodist Church, 302 N. 78th St., will have free hot cider, a craft project and Christmas music.
For a complete list of participating Artwalk venues and artists, see the Art Up website. And see MonkeyWood for more holiday happenings.
During the festivities, The Cookie Counter is having a special fundraiser to try to raise enough money to reopen their doors after a series of devastating setbacks. Stop by the vegan bakery at 7415 Greenwood Ave. N. and buy some cookies (regular and gluten free) and hot beverages at “pay what you can prices,” plus a silent auction of merchandise donated by local businesses. They’ve also got a Go Fund Me campaign.

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