PhinneyWood Summer Streets block party this Friday

Just four days to go until the third annual PhinneyWood Summer Streets, where Greenwood Avenue North will be closed to cars from 67th to 87th streets from 6-9 p.m. Friday. It’s also monthly Artwalk night (more details on that in a later post). Dozens of local businesses will have special art shows, and others will have special events such as children’s activities, aerial acrobats, live music, and more.
A new event of Summer Streets this year is a blind coffee tasting of coffee from several coffee shops in the neighborhood. The Coffee Taste Off will be set up in front of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church at North 75th Street and Greenwood Avenue North. Just look for the banner between the trees.

Starbucks is providing unmarked coffee dispensers and tasting cups. Coffee Taste Off coordinator Mike Veitenhans will tally up the results at the end of the night and presents an award certificate to the winner. Stay tuned to PhinneyWood for the announcement of the winner, and plenty of Summer Streets photos after the event.
The Phinney Farmers Market will run for an extra hour on Friday, until 8 p.m. to coincide with Summer Streets. You can bring a can of food to donate and help build Seattle’s largest canned food pyramid. And Bluebird Microcreamery, which is opening a new ice cream shop on the corner of Greenwood and 74th later this month, will have its ice cream cart out in front of the store.
Kids will have plenty to do during Summer Streets. Art on the Ridge at 80th and Greenwood Ave. N. is providing drop-in art activities, A-1 Piano at 70th and Greenwood will have a giant piano (ala the movie “Big”) to play music on, aerial acrobats from Versatile Arts will perform near the intersection 76th and Greenwood, lots of stores will have sidewalk chalk out, the Defenders of Greenwood will let children (and grownups) explore their fire truck in front of the temporary Fire Station 21 at 68th and Greenwood, and there will be two obstacle courses to help kids get the wiggles out.
It’s also the final weekend of the Gumshoe scavenger hunt. Buy your $20 entry form (at Ken’s Market, the Phinney Neighborhood Association, Starbucks or Couth Buzzard Books Espresso Buono Cafe) and take an approximately 2-3 hour walk around the neighborhood, finding interesting yard art, funky signs and other little tidbits you’ve never noticed before.
Seattle Department of Transportation is still looking for volunteers to help with the event. You can sign up through United Way or through Flash Volunteer.