Capitol Hill tends to be one of the best places to experience Halloween in Seattle.  The people-watching on Broadway tomorrow night will itself entertain.

Upping the fun factor on Broadway, (CHS Sponsor) Sound Transit said they expected the laser light art installation in the lot at Broadway and Denny to be ready by Halloween night, but we have been unable to confirm that the lasers will be lit.  All of the equipment appears to be in place however.  Swing by the lot Halloween night and let us know (take photos of the lasers and/or people in costumes and drop them in our CHS Flickr Pool).  UPDATE: Sound Transit says the show is on.

Some of your other options for Halloween on the Hill:

• Capitol Hill MONSTER Street Sweep (10 am to noon): Start your day off right by helping to spruce up the area between Seattle U and Broadway/Pine - all cleaning necessaries will be provided to participants as well as a free lunch & Bluebird Ice Cream
• Slightly off the hill and of interest to the little ones will be the October Spooktacular taking place in the Arboretum between 4 and 8 pm tomorrow.  Join us for a special spooky version of the popular "Park in the Dark" family program for parents with kids ages 6-12. Come in costume and enjoy fun activities, games and a lighted walk throught the woods exploring freaky fungi, creepy crawlies and hunters that "haunt" the Arboretum.
• CHCC Halloween Walk - Trick or Treat on Broadway (6 to 8 pm): Broadway business will be distributing candy to those joining Capitol Hill Community Council members and their children in this walk along Broadway.
• Artist Monika Profitt's The Living Room debuts tomorrow and invites you to the Grand Opening party tomorrow  8 pm - 2 am: there will DJs and no cover.
• Cap to the Hill is throwing a Halloween party at the Havana Parking Lot (8 pm to 2 am) $10 tickets.
• Bottleneck Lounge (CHS sponsor) celebrates its annual harvest fest with chow from Skillet.
• More Capitol Hill events from Gay Cap Hill

If you're aware of other fun options, let us know in the comments

A pirate's life at Miller Community Center (Lucas Anderson/Neighborlogs.com)

If you haven't yet figured out what to be for Halloween, maybe these photos from Thursday night's community party in Miller Park will inspire. Looking for something tried and true and surely awesome? Check out the CHS Costume History thread in the comments on this post. How many of your past brilliant costume ideas can you remember?

Update:
I'll be poking around the Hill today for images but please holler if you find anything cool. Like this shot from the CHS flickr pool featuring Slog reporter and man about Capitol Hill, Dominic Holden, a spoon and, apparently, a tiny, camera-toting man inside a pumpkin.

Tom Carr's worst nightmare, originally uploaded by Michael Holden.

princess in the hood #6, originally uploaded by tamara childress.

Attention Capitol Hill goblins, ghouls and princesses -- you get a 2009 Halloween party bonus. Halloween, this year, includes an extra hour of fun. The end of daylight savings time, as usual, falls on early Sunday. At 2 AM Sunday, clocks fall back to 1 AM. But in 2009, the 'fall back' coincides with All Hallow's Eve morning. For some of you, that will be good news. You disco napped. For the rest of you, drink lots of water and rally. You can do it.

According to Washington State Liquor Control Board spokesperson Anne Radford, bars may serve during the daylight savings bonus hour if they choose. However, of the bars CHS has been in on Daylight Savings Sunday, not a single one has ever done so because -- to be frank -- the staff is not enjoying the party the same way you are.

The Lesbian and Gay Film Fest just wrapped up its 14th year on Capitol Hill (and beyond). Here's the film the jurors selected as best feature of the festival. Like most trailers, the trailer for The Man Who Love Yngve makes the movie look pretty damned good. SLGFF says it's the best. You can catch the trailer for Waxie Moon, winner of best local film, at the end of this post.

2009 Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Juried Awards

BEST FEATURE FILM:  The Man Who Loved Yngve

Directed by Stian Kristiansen

An unexpectedly delightful film, THE MAN WHO LOVED YNGVE tells a compelling and beautifully cinematic coming-of-age story which captures the cynicism and innocence of self-discovery. Amazing performances and solid storytelling allow Stian Kristiansen to direct a memorable and fully engaging film.  

FEATURE FILM HONORABLE MENTION:  I Can't Think Straight

Directed by Shamim Sarif

As a genre, I CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT, is film that needs to be recognized for its complex story and politics. Filmmaker Shamim Sarif is a remarkable storyteller that will continue to push the boundaries of world and social issues.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM:   Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement

Directed by Gréta Olafsdóttir and Susan Muska

A timeless and timely love story that transcends being gay and is truly universal. This deeply intimate portrait of two charming, intelligent women and their life together engages the audience to consider the nature of love, commitment, and the definition of marriage. A movie that touched our hearts and brought the entire audience to tears.

BEST SHORT FILM:   Diana

Directed by Aleem Khan

For a powerful and expressive portrayal of alienation based on complex identity. This film uniquely tackles all of the multiple challenges—cultural identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and family relationships—in a single character.

SHORT FILM HONOURABLE MENTION:  Claiming the Title

Directed by Jonathan Joiner and Robert H. Martin

For shedding light on an important part of our combined historical struggle against blatant discrimination. For reminding us that progress is not about winning or losing but about taking courageous, continual, incremental steps.

MOST INNOVATIVE SHORT:  The Apple

Directed by Emilie Jouvet

For transcending our expectations of queer cinema. THE APPLE was a visual feast that showed us the sensuality of the forbidden.

2009 Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival - Audience Awards

Favorite Narrative Feature:  PRAYERS FOR BOBBY, directed by Russell Mulcahy

Favorite Documentary:  EDIE & THEA: A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, directed by Gréta Olafsdóttir and Susan Muska

Favorite Local Film:  WAXIE MOON, directed by Wes Hurley

Favorite Short:  CLAIMING THE TITLE, directed by Jonathan Joiner and Robert H. Martin

Favorite Boys Short:  DIRTY MAGAZINES, directed by Jay J. Levy

Favorite Girls Short:  ONE NIGHT, directed by Laura Jean Cronin

SEATTLE--Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Washington state are facing a crucial vote. Voters are choosing whether to approve or reject SB 5688--a domestic partnership expansion bill passed earlier this year by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor in May.

The law would grant the rights of civil marriage in Washington state--like sharing health benefits and death benefits, and hospital visitation rights--to same-sex couples and heterosexual partners where at least one of the two people is over the age of 62, without calling it "marriage." Everyone registered to vote in Washington state should vote to approve Referendum 71 and protect the rights of LGBT couples and seniors.

This "Everything but Marriage" law--as it is referred to by its supporters--is the culmination of a strategy of working toward marriage equality by first creating the domestic partnership category for same-sex couples, and then adding more and more rights until domestic partners have the same state-granted...

The best part about living in the future? We are finally able to bring science to bear on the mysteries of the universe. For example: Where is the best trick-or-treating on Capitol Hill?

Zillow is getting a lot of play for this list of the top Seattle neighborhoods for trick-or-treating. Their Science is based on home values, density and walkability factors. It is a good start.

CHS wants the data. And, forget neighborhoods -- we want a forecast down to the city block level. Work on that, Zillow. We know you can do it.

In the meantime, we've deployed an advanced algorithm to create this Halloween trick-or-treating forecast for Capitol Hill. Feel free to call out any additional hot spots in the comments. (And, yeah, long-time readers have seen this map before -- kind of like the costume we drag out year after year.)

View CHS Halloween Map in a larger map

SATELLITE LOUNGE,
originally uploaded by photocoyote.

There was an e-mail string flying around the Hill this weekend about the need to 'save' Elliott Bay Book Company in the wake of news that the much-loved Pioneer Square store is struggling to stay in business. Everybody gets books for the holidays this year.

But here's a CHS news bulletin for you: Many of the same conditions trying to rip Elliott Bay from its foundation are assaulting independent Capitol Hill businesses.

So far, we're ahead in the what's closed vs. the what's opened tally -- at least in quantitative terms. But we're nowhere near a safe harbor yet even as the economic storm settles.

And the long-term trend is a tough one. I bought an expensive camera this weekend. I have no idea when the last camera shop on Capitol Hill went out of business.

Sorry, Elliott Bay, but you're on your own. We've got the Hill to worry about. Somebody should send around an e-mail about Capitol Hill indie retailers. Not every one can be 'saved' -- and not all should be. There is a time for change. But if you have a Hill favorite, now is the time to start up your grassroots, viral marketing campaign for it. Tell a friend.

You have until 9 PM tonight to add your picks to the 2009 CHS Endorsements. We're conducting an open endorsement process -- anybody with a CHS account can add their vote for candidates and issues on the ballot. Participation has been great but we'd love to have a few more voters to solidify the endorsements. We'll tally results and share totals this weekend.

My (sadly) former next door neighbor Mark is having a show. If it's >= 10% as good as it sounds, it will be stunning.

See you there.

Prescriptions for Awe and Wonder

October 23rd, 9pm - 1am

1506 11th Ave

[map]

Seattle, WA 98122

Suggested Dress

Incognito: Wigs & Shades

The new Graypants mural

The most important piece to all of this is: I am very excited about this show. This all started off as a launch party for my mural I just finished over at Graypants (you can read a post about it on their blog here), but has sort of meandered about, as ideas tend to do, and in my excitement to make others grin and click their tongue on the roof of their mouth like I do when I see new things, the show has expanded to include some other projects I've been working on.

These additional works include an updated digital video filter piece that uses pattern formation algorithms (original here), an updated/revamped peep show (original here), some concrete sculptures, a video short and some plaster animals....

With our weather getting wet and dreary -- just how we like it -- it's high time for you to score a new wool cap, a lovely scarf and some awesome fingerless gloves.

Lucky you, the Seattle Weavers' Guild is holding their annual sale starting starting tonight at St. Mark's:

Hours vary by Day:
October 22, 2009 5pm - 8pm
October 23, 2009 10am - 8pm
October 24, 2009 10am - 5p

Bloedel Hall (lower level) at St. Marks Cathedral 1245 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102-4323

The sale will showcase one-of-a-kind hand-crafted items, including towels, rugs, blankets, tapestries, exquisite jewelry, accessories for pets, children’s items, handmade cards, woven paper art, household goods, hats, bags, wall art, jackets, scarves, wraps, batik and shibori decorative items, sculptural basketry, handspun hand-dyed yarns along with weaving and spinning tools. There will be daily demonstrations of weaving and spinning. Proceeds from the sale are used to fund the guild’s volunteer outreach program and to bring talented practicing artists to Seattle Weavers' Guild to educate both its members and the public in their art. Parking is free.

For more info visit www.swg-sale.com.

Happy scarf hunting. And kudos to the guild for their excellent use of punctuation. Seattle Weavers' Guild, indeed!

Good Afternoon East Precinct Neighbors!

I would like to personally encourage you to come to the Thursday, October 22^nd East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition meeting.  This month's meeting will be held on Capitol Hill, from 6:30 to 8 PM on Thursday, October 22^nd in the Greek Orthodox Church of the Assumption's Social Hall, 1804 13th Ave, Seattle, 98122.

Please note that there is free parking on the north side of the building accessible from the alleyway between East Denny and Howell Streets.

I am hoping many of our Capitol Hill neighbors and business owners will come and let us know how things are going in your neighborhoods!

 Our featured guest will be 37th Legislative District Senator Adam Kline. He will be listening to and responding to your concerns. Relevant issues to our community include possible budget cuts to the State Department of Corrections (DOC), which can impact our outstanding Neighborhood Corrections Initiative (NCI).  Department of Corrections officers, under the NCI initiative,...

Kids wearing black with odd makeup asking for handouts. Looks like the Capitol Hill Community Council has started a new tradition with its Capitol Hill Halloween Walk. Between 6 and 8 PM on All Hallow's Eve, Broadway businesses will be handing out candy -- you can be part of the fun by joining the group gathering at Seattle Central or make your own mini-parade. Just look for these signs to find participating businesses.

Download PDF

Here's more from the Council:

We plan to gather in front of the Broadway Performance Hall (Seattle Central Community College). The walk will start at 6pm at the college and will proceed down the west side of Broadway to E. Roy Street then back up the east side and end at Cal Anderson Park by 8pm. Community children and their parents will lead the walk. Also joining us will be representatives from the East Precinct of the Seattle Police Department & the Sisters of the Mother House of Washington.

We encourage businesses on Broadway to decorate and participate in the Walk by handing out packaged candy between the hours of 6 and 8pm on Saturday, October 31st (Halloween).

Capitol Hill puts on a wild show for Halloween. With the holiday falling on a Saturday night this year, it should be quite a ride. Cool to see an event for the young and young at heart catching on in the heart of the Hill. After 8p, the grown-ups can have it all to themselves while the kiddies invade the prime CHS Trick-or-Treat Zone.

UPDATE:
The totals are in and the CHS endorsements for the 2009 fall election are official. We'll write up the endorsements in another post but you can see the vote totals blow. Thanks for your votes, delegates.

Original Post:
This should be interesting. Each of you has been given a paper envelope. Please proceed to your favorite chair and don't open it. Inside, you won't find this Web page. That paper stuff is your real life King County ballot. Put it in a safe place.

This page is home to the 2009 fall election CHS Endorsement Polls. The goal is to give the CHS community a say in the endorsement process. Because we have registered accounts, we're one step closer to making online polls more than Web traffic popularity contests. But one step might not be enough. I've yet to run an online poll process that didn't produce hiccups, screw-ups and cheats. Expect some of each here. That's politics.

Here is how the polls work:

• Registered CHS accounts may vote in each poll once
• Polls close Friday night at 9 PM...
(more)

I'm a sucker for local shoutouts in hip hop so it's fun to hear a Capitol Hill ice cream shop as sexual metaphor in this track by Fresh Espresso

Bedroom by FreshEspresso

Any other recent Capitol Hill name drops I should know about?

The grandaddy of all hip hop Capitol Hill name dropping is, of course, Sir Mix-a-Lot. This Google Map of the rapper's classic route from My Posse's on Broadway is making the rounds again recently.

View Posse On Broadway in a larger map

In meantime, still waiting for somebody to rap about CHS.

We wrote recently about updates of the business mitigation efforts of Sound Transit to help Capitol Hill businesses weather the eight years of construction to build light rail. In addition to a splashy marketing effort that will give the Hill a flashy brand and logo and classes for business owners, there is a pretty cool effort to get the Hill's student population connected to the business effort behind the stores, restaurants and entrepreneurs of Capitol Hill. Seattle University's business students got big play at the last Sound Transit meeting but the program extends to Seattle Central, too. These students will be available to put their academic brainpower to work to keep real-world local businesses on the Hill growing.

Part of any growing business, says this Web-only Capitol Hill concern, is a good Web site. We received a note from SCCC student Josef asking about suggestions for Hill shops, restaurants, bars or ??? that aren't yet on the Web but would benefit from a student putting together a site for their business. We'll turn the question over to you:

Do you have a favorite Capitol Hill businesses that needs a Web site? Anybody in dire need of an upgrade? There are young Capitol Hill geniuses ready to dig and help.

Hey, Cheesecake, get on this. Quit wasting your time with videos of these scary guys and make a really scary movie for Central Cinema's 2nd Annual Marathon of Fright Homemade Horror Contest.

Central Cinema's 2nd Annual Homemade Horror contest

Saturday October 31st at 7:00

Break out the fake blood and rattle some door knobs! Make a short horror film in any genre from Gore to Psychosis to Zombies. Keep it under 10 minutes. Burn it on a DVD and submit it to Central Cinema before Midnight Sunday October 25th. Extra credit for including a STIFF Festival T-shirt or Poster somewhere in your movie.  Anyone can enter.  There is no fee for entering.  Your short horror movie needs to be something new that you just made for the contest.  

Bring your friends ready to SCREAM on Halloween night Satuday the 31st. The judging will be heavily influenced by the Scream-o-meter! Drink Beer! Eat Pizza! SCREAM! Win Fabulous Prizes!

Central Cinema is a CHS advertiser.

Here's some inspiration from Capitol Hill's Halloween past:

Forget the passive aggressive notes on your neighbor's windshield. Next time, use our handy flier.

EDIT:  We've heard the glue-paste critics out there and are happy to provide this updated flier.  Feel free to use either version.

Oh, and e.e. is more than willing to make a tooth brushing flier if that would be helpful for you, but please provide a valid email address so we know where to send it.

Happy parking!

While Bailey Coy Books owner Michael Wells ponders Capitol Hill's paperback retailing future with Elliott Bay Book Co. considering a move to the Hill, he has also been recognized as a business leader by the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce. Here is the Chamber's "Spirit of the Hill" announcement:

Wells at the recent Broadway design charrette

Michael Wells and Chip Ragen Recipients of Annual Spirit of the Hill Award on Capitol Hill

On October 5 Michael Wells of Bailey Coy Books and Chip Ragen of Ragen & Associates were honored with the first Annual Spirit of the Hill Award at a dinner benefitting the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce.  

The award is given to businesses, non-profit organizations, or residents exemplifying a community mindedness and spirit of service toward the economic and civic betterment of Capitol Hill. Wells and Ragen are the first recipients to be recognized.

Held at the Broadway destination restaurant Poppy, over 100 supporters and guests celebrated the accomplishments of the Broadway Economic Vitality Action Agenda, of which Wells and Ragen were Co-chairs in 2006.

Since that time, Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce established a working partnership with Sound Transit to secure mitigation funding to both promote the Capitol Hill neighborhood and offer business technical assistance and consulting services to businesses directly impacted by the demolition and future construction of Sound Transit light rail. Seattle University Albers Schools of Business and Seattle Central Community College’s Information Technology Program have been essential partners in the latter effort.

The Chamber has also organized bi-annual community-sponsored Street Sweeps (next one is Oct 31 on south Capitol Hill near Seattle University), a monthly Thursday night Arts Walk called BLITZ, and membership events at local businesses for networking and information sharing.

Membership in the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce stands at 191 Dues Paying Members.

Ragen at the design charrette

Sponsors of the Spirit of the Hill Dinner included R.D. Merrill Co. and SRM Development, Brix Condos, Half Past Lavish Event Productions, Seattle University, Sound Transit and BECU.

You also might recognize Chip Ragen's name. His business Ragen & Associates is CHS's site sponsor. Thanks and congratulations on the award.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for details on the Halloween street sweep the Chamber is organizing for the end of the month.

Found this kitty wandering around the 2nd floor of the Astor Court building on Malden and Republican this evening. No collar on the cat right now, but it looks like one came off of it recently.

The Seattle Transit Blog posted their endorsements for the election.

Two back-to-back Hill events this afternoon on the campus of Seattle University:

• 3 PM: Seattle U. celebrates its new Admissions and Alumni building:

Saturday at 3pm, Seattle University will be proudly showing off its newest campus facility, the Admissions and Alumni building at the corner of 12th and Marion. Constructed in less than nine months, this LEED Gold structure is intended to be the first example of SU's new approach to community engagement.

• 4 PM: Capitol Hill Community Council Mayoral Candidate Forum:

The format will be slightly different than most candidate forums. Instead of a debate-like format, the candidates will answer a set of questions separately so that they are unable to hear each other's answers. The idea is to allow the community a more in-depth conversation with each candidate and then draw distinctions themselves.

Holding the Flag Originally uploaded by JennaU

CHS is powered by you. Our goal is to provide a core of news and information gathering that the community can build on, mash up and grow into something bigger than any single entity could create on its own. We're a Capitol Hill network. Happy to have you part of the fun.

In that spirit, next week we're going to try something new. As the ballots for the 2009 fall election go out in the mail, CHS will take a position on all the big city, county and statewide races -- but, of course, we're not going to do it in the old-school, we-know-better-than-you fashion.

We're going to do it with the Internet!

Next week, CHS will run a series of online polls that allow you, the CHS community, to drive the CHS endorsement process. To avoid turning this into a mercenary, Web traffic and popularity contest, we'll require endorsement voters to be registered CHS users. If you don't have an account, get yours here.

The goal in all of this is to provide a special set of inputs for the equations each of us will be formulating as we decide which candidates deserve our votes. This input -- like so many others -- will have its flaws. But it will also have a little community magic in it.

To bone up, here's the Seattle voter guide info and more from King County Elections. You can also get to know the mayoral candidates a little more intimately at Saturday's Capitol Hill Community Council forum.

We're meeting the Central District folks midway at Bottleneck Tuesday night.  Come meet Justin, Michael van Baker of The SunBreak and Scott Durham of Central District News.  Regular commenters and contributors of these blogs will show up as well.   Bottleneck is extending its normal happy hour by one hour for us - so we can enjoy $1 off hair of the dog menu and $3 drafts from 5 to 7 pm.