The first pumpkin painted at a West Seattle festival this year will be painted at 1 pm on Sunday, October 18, in the parking lot of Fauntleroy Church. The last organized trick-or-treat bag will be filled at 6:30 pm on Friday, October 30, somewhere between Mioposto and Shug's on California Avenue in the Admiral District. Those two points bracket thirteen calendar dates and four business districts. Each district holds its event on a different day, and their hours barely overlap.
Fauntleroy, Alki, the Junction and Admiral each hold their own date and window. Seen together, they make one calendar a household can work through in order instead of choosing between them.
The calendar, laid end to end
| Date | Event | Hours | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct 18 | Fauntleroy Fall Festival | 1–4 pm | Fauntleroy Church and YMCA, 9140 California Ave SW |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Alki Beach Trick-or-Treat | Noon–2 pm | Alki Ave SW, 63rd to 57th Ave SW |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Our Lady of Guadalupe Fall Festival | 3–6 pm | Walmesley Center and lot, 35th SW and SW Myrtle |
| Sun, Oct 25 | West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival | 11 am–2 pm | California Ave SW, Farmers' Market footprint |
| Fri, Oct 30 | Admiral Trick-or-Treating | 3:30–6:30 pm | Admiral business district |
| Sat, Oct 31 | Northwest Wine Academy Pumpkin Painting | 2–5 pm | South Seattle College, 6000 16th SW |
The three business-district trick-or-treats each claim a different day of the week. Alki takes the Saturday one week before Halloween, the Junction takes the Sunday right after it, and Admiral takes the Friday before Halloween. The West Seattle Blog roundup published October 9 lists all three together. None of the three lands on October 31.
Fauntleroy opens the run, and moved its own furniture to do it
The Fauntleroy Fall Festival has been held in the neighborhood for more than 20 years, and this year it starts earlier and is set up differently. The festival's own site lists 1 to 4 pm on October 18, with the event based at the Fauntleroy Church and YMCA at 9140 California Ave SW. A Westside Seattle article from late September gave a 2 to 5 pm window across the full campus. The organizer's page and a later West Seattle Blog update both say 1 to 4 pm, so the earlier article is out of date.
In a statement the organizers shared through the West Seattle Blog on October 4, they explained the layout change in practical terms.
"With less going on across the street, we hope there will be less bodies crossing, but our crossing guards will still be there!"
All the attractions now sit on one side of California Avenue, and all three levels of the church parking lot are open. The Fauntleroy Children's Center will serve as a quiet room and diaper-changing space. The back lot is closed to festival parking because The Hall at Fauntleroy has a private event that afternoon, and the organizers recommend walking or taking transit.
The program includes salmon-hat making, pumpkin decorating, birdhouse building, a cake trot, a pie-eating contest, a falconer, bouncy houses, a petting zoo and live entertainment. Community partners include Endolyne Joe's, Wildwood Market, West Seattle Nursery, Super Deli Mart and The Birdhouse. Starting at 1 pm also leaves room for the rest of a Sunday afternoon, which matters more when the following weekend has three events packed into it.
The October 24–25 weekend is the core of the sequence
The second weekend holds half the calendar, and the hours fit together. Alki ends at 2 pm Saturday and Our Lady of Guadalupe begins at 3 pm on 35th SW. The Junction runs Sunday morning into early afternoon.
Saturday on Alki. The Alki Beach Trick-or-Treat runs noon to 2 pm along Alki Ave SW between 63rd and 57th Avenues SW. Participants named on the organizer's page include Cactus, Blue Moon Burgers, Alki Pho & Bar, Sunfish Seafood, Alki Surf Shop, Gyros on Alki, Pepperdock Restaurant, Ampersand Cafe on Alki, Natalie's on Alki, Christos on Alki, El Chupacabra and Fire Tacos De Birria. The West Seattle Blog counts more than two dozen establishments and suggests a short detour south to the Log House Museum at 61st and Stevens.
Sunday in the Junction. The Harvest Fest runs 11 am to 2 pm. According to the West Seattle Junction Association, the costume parade opens the day, led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band. Seattle Thrillers perform at the All-Way intersection, trick-or-treating runs along California Avenue, and A La Mode hosts pie-eating contests for kids and adults. The West Seattle Food Bank chili cook-off starts at 11 am and continues until the chili runs out. The Junction's pie-contest post sets the kids' division at ages 6 to 15 and the adult division at 16 and up. The festival enlarges the regular Farmers' Market footprint for the day, and treats are handed out both at storefronts and at booths set up in the street.
That makes two pie-eating contests in West Seattle one week apart, one in Fauntleroy and one in the Junction.
A full weekend could run like this:
- Saturday, noon to 2 pm. Walk Alki Ave SW from 57th to 63rd, then head south to the Log House Museum.
- Saturday, 3 to 6 pm. Our Lady of Guadalupe Fall Festival at the Walmesley Center, 35th SW and SW Myrtle.
- Saturday, on the way home. Tony's Pumpkin Patch at 35th Ave SW and SW Barton, which sells pumpkins daily through Halloween.
- Sunday, 11 am. Arrive at the Junction for the start of the parade, since the chili lasts only as long as the supply.
Admiral takes the weekday slot, and the after-school window
Admiral holds the only weekday event of the three, and its hours run later than any of the others. Admiral Trick-or-Treating, organized by the Admiral Neighborhood Association, runs 3:30 to 6:30 pm on Friday, October 30. The West Seattle Blog reports more than 50 participating businesses, stretching from Mioposto in the north to Shug's in the south.
The association's list covers a wider range of businesses than the beach or the Junction. Alongside restaurants such as Pizzeria 22, Taste of Mumbai, Mission Cantina, West Wings and In Pizza We Crust, it includes Seattle Yarn, Meeples Games, Thunder Road Guitars and The Bass Shop, Mud Bay, PCC, West Seattle Runner, Admiral Vision, St. John the Baptist Church and the Admiral Theater. One entry carries a caveat, since The Nook opens at 4 pm, half an hour after the event begins.
Families on the Admiral route have a decoration detour close by. The West Seattle Blog's October 10 feature on the "Belvidere Home for Wayward Ghouls" puts that display on Belvidere, south of Admiral.
Halloween itself is left open
None of the business districts has scheduled anything for Saturday, October 31. The one listed daytime event that date is the Northwest Wine Academy's Pumpkin Painting & Sipping, 2 to 5 pm at South Seattle College, 6000 16th SW. The listing mentions pumpkin painting, student-produced wine and costumes.
What follows the costumes
Once October is over, the Junction's next date is a restaurant opening. Starbird Chicken opened at 4755 Fauntleroy Way SW on September 28, its first Washington location, according to the West Seattle Blog. Dave's Hot Chicken put up its sign in the former Haymaker space at California and Alaska on October 5, and the West Seattle Blog reported the next day that the chain plans to open November 12. November 12 is a planned date, not a confirmed one, so it could still change. Tony's Pumpkin Patch has its own next phase, too, and plans to switch to Christmas trees a few weeks after Halloween.
The schedule shows that each district treats its own blocks as its own event. For a homeowner, the two weekends of foot traffic on California Avenue and Alki Avenue show what those streets are like at their busiest. If you're weighing a spring sale and want to know how your corner of West Seattle looks to buyers, Mary Lee & Associates can go through the timing and prep with you before the holiday season begins. Schedule a free consultation.
