Are you a teacher, techie, dancer, dance therapist, artist, psychotherapist, bodyworker, film maker, Feldenkrais practitioner, or anyone wanting personal or work space? Just down the hill toward Ballard is a beautiful and Covid-safe space for your individual, private or semi-private work, meetings or play: Soma Yoga & Dance Studio at 1423 NW 70th Street, next to Delancey and Essex.

Studio owner Jean Hindle is committed to keeping the space very Covid-safe for everyone by keeping the numbers in the studio very low – no more than 4 people at a time in studio, and all need to be fully vaccinated. The studio has a very big window in back which opens and another window up front which gives great cross breeze (and a big front door to the outside). There is also a powerful air purifier and cleanings with hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach.  The studio is 750sf which gives great room to be very socially distanced. And of course, there is great food in the sweet neighborhood.

If you know of anyone looking for a beautiful, safe space with lots of fresh air possibility for their private or semi-private work or play, please share. Also present is a screen and a good webcam for those who may want to do virtual work.  If you want to have space for your online teaching, you may have two in person students if you would like. The rental price is $25/hr for personal or rehearsal time with a price break if over two hours at a time. $32/hr for work time, which goes down if you are renting monthly full days and half days.

Interested or have questions? Please contact Jean at jeanhindle@gmail.com.

The Seattle Folklore Society is putting on two excellent shows this weekend, starting with Scottish power trio Cantrip online Saturday evening starting at 7pm. Sunday, live at the Phinney Center Dave Curley & Andrew Finn Magill, “two of the most exciting young musicians in the US.”

Cantrip (Online Concert)

The name Cantrip is an Old Scots word meaning a charm, magic spell or piece of mischief and it aptly describes the unexpected twists and turns in their musical arrangements, likewise the compelling potency of their musicianship. Swirling border pipes, raging fiddle, thunderous guitar and three rich voices blend to create a sound energetic enough to tear the roof off. Echoes can be heard of trad music from the 1960s and 70s, but the years have slowly infested their music with the sounds of funk, metal, bluegrass, swing, and even klezmer.

Originally formed as a quartet, Cantrip sprung from a local session in Edinburgh nearly twenty years ago. Their driving music immediately caught the attention of the masses, and they were quickly signed to the Foot Stompin’ label. With their first album “Silver” (2001) in hand, Cantrip made its way across the water to the United States, where they were received with roars and shouts (of enjoyment). After years of significant touring, the band parted ways with Foot Stompin’ and began producing albums on their own. Two albums later (“Boneshaker” in 2005 and “Piping the Fish” in 2008), Cantrip had cemented itself as a perennial figure. After a period of hiatus in which children were born and continents were left for new ones, Cantrip redefined its sound. Trimming itself to a trio, the band tightened its arrangements while expanding its influence. New inspirations began creeping into the sound, complementing the traditional foundation of the band. This more mature sound debuted on “The Crossing” (2016), to high acclaim. In 2019, the band gathered 50 of its closest friends and fans and returned to its roots, re-recording Silver in a live format (Cantrip Live), re-arranged yet with a more youthful sound than the original. The process inspired a new approach for the band, which they implemented for their upcoming fifth studio album “Undark”. In late 2019, they spent a week in their original home of Edinburgh creating and recording new music. All of the tracks on this album were captured live in one take by engineer and longtime friend of the band Reuben Taylor. This seminal album, slated to be released in Fall 2020, shows a new and darker side of the group while preserving the elements that audiences have come to know and love. After 20 years of touring, Cantrip has found a character like no other. Dan Houghton, Jon Bews and Eric McDonald stir the elements in a witches’ cauldron, slowly coalescing into chaotic order.

This is a virtual show. Streaming starts at 7pm Saturday, January 22nd, and may be accessed for 24 hours (starting your view before 7pm Sunday January 23rd). Online tickets are $20 (General), $30 (Super Supporter), $12 (Need-Based Discount). Tickets are available from: https://knct.club/3FFTQOa

Dave Curley & Andrew Finn Magill – Live at the Phinney Center

(The in-person concert starts at 7pm, Sunday Jan. 23rd, lasting until approximately 9:30. The online concert will be available until Monday night  – start your viewing by 7pm Monday, Pacific Time)

We are requiring that you be vaccinated to attend shows in person. We will be checking your vaccination card, photo of card on your phone, or electronic version (eg myir.mobile.net). Please be sure you have one of these forms of proof of vaccination available. Thanks for your cooperation and patience. If you have a ticket for a live show and you feel unwell, please do not attend — we can accommodate you with a virtual streaming ticket, or a refund — please contact us at concerts@seafolklore.org

We are delighted to welcome Andrew Finn Magill back to the SFS stage, this time paired with Irish singer, multi-instrumentalist, and stepdancer Dave Curley.

Dave Curley is one of Ireland’s leading multi-instrumentalists, vocalists and a champion step dancer. Hailing from Co. Galway on the west coast of Ireland, Curley has brought his wealth of talents to the largest of stages in North America and Western Europe. He has an outstanding voice and a dynamic instrumental prowess which  can also be heard with the groups Slide, Runa, and One for the Foxes, and as a guest with many other musicians. 

For twenty years North Carolina-native violinist/fiddler Andrew Finn Magill has been pursuing parallel careers in traditional Irish music, Brazilian choro, jazz and American fiddle. Magill learned from the best fiddlers in the world at The Swannanoa Gathering and is a Fulbright fellow, North Carolina Arts Council Fellow, and Ropeadope Recording artist. He has been featured on MTV and multiple times on NPR’s The Thistle & Shamrock. His 2016 album Roots (featuring Cillian Vallely of Lúnasa and John Doyle) debuted at number #46 on the folk DJ charts and since then he has toured internationally and headlined several Irish festivals. He has performed with grammy-nominees John Doyle, Trio Brasileiro and Rising Appalachia among manuy others. In 2020 he released albums with former Paul McKenna Bandmate Seán Gray, and Scottish singer and guitar & bouzouki-player Alan Murray.

The original acoustic music of this duo has an Irish foundation but draws on a myriad of influences. Come hear two of the most exciting young musicians in the U.S. for a night of original music!

This concert will be presented both in person and online. Tickets are available for the live concert, livestream (with 24 hour viewing period), or a combo: In-person at Phinney(advance prices) $22, $20 SFS/PNA member/senior/student, $10 Youth to age 17; adults $2 more at the door ($24/$22/$10). Online options ($20/household general, discount need-based level or “Super-Supporter” levels, or $5 add-on to the live ticket) are also available.

• The Preliminary Winter/Spring 2022 schedule
• How to Buy Tickets

Registration is open for baseball, softball and T-ball with North Central Little League. The NCLL serves kids, ages 5-16 and all levels of experience, who want to play ball. Playing ball is a great way to make friends, build resilience, get outside and have a lot of fun doing it!

NCLL is also recruiting volunteers to round out their roster of coaches, managers and umpires.

For players, parents, coaches and umpires, nothing matches the joy of hearing young voices cheer on their teammates.

• Scholarships are available
• Priority registration deadline: January 25
• Teams are formed in February and practices start in March.
• Player development opportunities support kids’ who are new and experienced with the game.

Learn more and register at www.ncllball.com. Let’s play ball!

For more than 5 years, Luna Azul been serving up amazing, authentic Latin American cuisine to our community out of their space at 8552 Greenwood Ave N. Due to a roof failure beyond their control in late December, they have been closed for three weeks and likely will not be open soon.

While the property owner is working to repair the roof and get Luna Azul back open, there is no indication that there will be any financial compensation coming to them for their loss in business. This has put them in a perilous situation with regards to bills, Q4 tax liabilities, and being able to get back to doing what they do best without being in a dangerous financial hole. Per Angelica:

We are sad to inform everyone of our closure due to building issues beyond our control. We are doing our best to reopen and be able to operate and fill your tummies with our family’s homemade dishes. We are asking anyone that is able to for your help in any way possible, as we hope to survive through these rough patches that have impacted us and everyone, including you. We are very thankful for all of the support that we have had through these years all the wonderful people we have served and met in our Journey with Luna Azul and outside of Luna as well. We hope to keep serving you, and we will keep updates on our social media and website. Thank you, the Luna Azul Family.

In order to ensure the overall vitality and vibrancy of our business district, it is necessary to lift up those most in need. The goal is to raise $25,000 over the next 30 days so Angelica, Antonia, and Junior can meet the financial obligations of being brave entrepreneurs that have been impacted by something out of their control.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FUNDRAISING SITE

Thank you for helping our business district survive this pandemic and continue to thrive!

This is a periodic contribution to the Blog by local realtor Doron Weisbarth

The annual Fall sale kicked started late in 2021 – late October instead of mid September. So it seems fitting that the Fall sale extended late into the year as well. In what seemed like a last minute Holiday rush, buyer gobbled up the few homes that were on the market. The exceptionally low number of new Single Family Home (SFH) listings enjoyed exceptionally large demand, pushing prices up sharply in our PhinneyWood neighborhood and elsewhere. Part of the high demand may have been spurred by fears of rising interest rates.

This ratio of extra-low supply to extra-high demand may very well extend into the remainder of the Winter sale and perhaps the rest of 2022. Interest rates increased lately, and the Feds have announced that they are going to hike up the prime rates earlier than expected in 2022, and perhaps more often as well. When the competition is so fierce, even little changes in the interest rates, which affect buyers’ maximum purchase price, can dampen some
of the competition. So the race is on, and far from over.

You can see January’s full report at www.phinneywoodhomes.com

Do you need some professional hand-holding to navigate a purchase or sale of a home? Call Doron for a free, no-obligation consultation. You can reach him directly at 206-779-9808

The legendary Phinney Neighborhood Association Community Tool Library is back with expanded hours! It is open on Fridays from 2 pm to 4 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm. The PNA is also adding a “crafters” section to their offering of tools. To make this expansion possible, they need donations of block and screen-printing tools, leather crafting tools, and stained-glass making tools. You are welcome to drop off tools at the Phinney Center Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. The Tool Library and Community Woodshop need volunteers as well (more details in volunteer section) so 2022 is the perfect time to join this crafty community.

About the Tool Library

Our Tool Library is a community-based program that will continue to provide a valuable service for all with the help of your donations and volunteer hours. You will see that the PNA has made a few changes to the library including rental times, rental fees, and a new rental agreement.

Items can be checked out for one week at a time for a nominal fee ($1 to $50 per tool per week), with the potential for renewal, depending on demand. The inventory is mostly available for viewing online, and the PNA is working to ensure it is up-to-date.

The Tool Library is also the home of the NW Seattle Branch of the King County Seed Lending Library, which can be accessed during the Tool Library’s open hours.

• Closed since the beginning of the year to give the staff a breather, Oliver’s Twist reopens as of tonight. Not just the pre-pandemic stuffed dates and truffled popcorn, they now sport a vibrant Cambodian takeout menu inspired and executed by chef-owner Karuna Long.
• Also re-opening from break, The Olive and Grape – open at 4pm every day except Monday
• Bluebird Ice Cream has reverted to their normal Winter Hours, scooping from 2-9pm on Thursday & Friday and noon-9pm Saturday and Sunday. Hot tip: their vegan ice cream – particularly the horchata – is as great as everything else they do.
• Luna Azul has not been able to open this year because of roofing issues, which the building owner is hoping to solve soon. Be ready for a GoFundMe that we will be launching this week to help this essential, family-run business make it through a month with no income.

The mostly happy saga of Yonder Bar – a unique neighborhood-based business located on the 1st Ave Safe Street – is coming to a close next month. Forced to close almost a year ago because of a singular complaining neighbor, then reopening a month later due to fast-tracked legislation and community support, Yonder Bar will now shutter permanently on Saturday February 26th.

From founder Caitlin Braam: “As our one-year extension under the ‘Bringing Business Home’ bill comes to an end, we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate this amazing little space than by sharing a pint with those who made Yonder Cider and Yonder Bar possible – all of you!”

From now through February 26, Yonder be offering up six seats inside of Yonder Bar to enjoy a pint and “send our little garage bar off in style”. On the following days, six spots are available for reservation each hour:

• Wed-Fri 4-8pm
• Sat 12-8pm
• Sun 12-6pm

Reservations are $5 each. All reservation fees will generously be donated to the Phinney Neighborhood Association. Pints, merch and to-go product will be purchased separately while at Yonder Bar. Each reservation is for one person. If you are planning on visiting with someone, you must make two separate reservations, as space is limited. All guests inside Yonder Bar must be 21+ and provide proof of vaccination with ID. Reservations are limited to 50 minutes, but you are welcome to book back-to-back reservations if you’d like to stay longer! No bathrooms on site.

Don’t worry, Yonder will still be present in the neighborhood! Local places in Phinneywood that carry these delicious ciders (either draft or package) include: Ken’s Market, Cornuto, Chez Phinney, Ridgewood, The Chicken Supply, The Yard and soon, Sip & Ship.

Also, just down in Ballard, Yonder is collaborating with Bale Breaker to create the BBYC Taproom. Beer and cider drinkers will be able to come together under one roof to enjoy more than 30 taps at a newly renovated taproom. There will be 6,200 square feet of outdoor space, rotating food trucks, outdoor firepits and so much more.

Questions? Contact hello@yondercider.com.