For those who’ve been following the progress of the Madrona Woods project – check out the Madrona Woods website for a peek, or better yet, take an in-person stroll through the trails – this weekend offers an opportunity to pitch in and help out.

From the Madrona Woods crew:

We’ll be tackling two jobs on Saturday in Madrona Woods – planting a partial order of new plants and repairing leaks that have developed in our independent-minded creek. Our hard-working visionary, Peggy Gaynor, plans to bring her expertise to both jobs. Planting will likely be mucky and stream repair will be even more so, but we have rubber boots and waterproof gloves. All are welcome between 10 and 1 on Saturday. Meet at the Spring/Grand entrance.

As some readers may recall, Madrona Woods was one of the beneficiaries of the Kraus fund money, receiving $25,300 toward ongoing restoration and debt relief for existing loans stemming from the extensive work on the land over the last decade. This week’s community council meeting also raised the question of building a sidewalk on Lake Washington Boulevard near the daylighted stream.

Those interested in helping this weekend can simply show up, or contact Deirdre McCrary at

The Madrona Community Council continued to move forward with a strategic plan for improving its role in and communication with the larger community, starting with appointing three new board members to support the existing council members.

Susan Minogue, Karin Richard and Barney Mansavage accepted nominations to be at-large board members. Mansavage, the VP of Outreach for Madrona K-8, said his position on the board is part of the school’s larger effort to become more integrated into the community.

One of the primary tasks for board members will be outreach and recruitment. Minogue will be heading a communications and technology effort to research improving the existing MCC website and finding the best place and/or for the council to communicate information about events, meetings and agenda items. A longer term goal is finding a community member to be the equivalent of the webmaster for the site.

The council is still without a president, as former president Cynthia Stross stepped down and three vice presidents are running the council on an interim basis until elections in February.

Also discussed was the new programming at the Shelterhouse, which we’ll cover in more detail in a separate post.

The next meeting of the council will be Jan. 4 at 7:15pm.

The Madrona Community Council reconvenes tonight at 7:15pm in the Madrona Playfield shelterhouse, one month after 30+ new attendees brought a burst of optimism for the future of the council.

Here’s the tentative agenda for tonight’s meeting.

I.   Attendee Introductions 

II.   Email list and Google Group

III.  Brief introduction of MCC bylaws. 

IV.  Discussion of vacant MCC officer positions and future officer election. 

V.   Other items of community interest and need 

Regarding the Google Group – full disclosure, I helped set up this email list – the MCC is working to find more effective ways of communicating news about their meetings and agenda. Community members can sign up for the low-traffic email list at the Madrona Community Council Google Group page.

Before there was a cupcake shop on seemingly every Seattle corner, Cupcake Royale opened up on 34th and Spring. Seven years later, they have 5 shops total and cupcakes are ubiquitous throughout the city.

This Saturday Dec. 11, Cupcake Royale is throwing an anniversary party/holiday fete at the original Madrona shop to celebrate 7 years in business. From the CR team:

Can you believe that Cupcake Royale is turning 7 years old? We were the first cupcake shop to open outside of Manhattan  – and folks thought it was crazy…a shop for cupcakes? Jody Hall, our fine founder, wanted to serve hand crafted coffee with baked-from-scratch cupcakes to a generation who’d rarely had anything but box-mixed cakes. Now here we are so many years later serving up cupcakes made with the yummiest, mostly local ingredients at our five locations across Seattle & Bellevue. That’s something to celebrate! We thought you might want to share the news and hope you can come by to join in the fun too…

The party will be from 4-6pm, and feature a free show by The Not-Its, a sprinkle-your-own-cupcake bar and photos with the Cupcake Royale Roller Girl, as well as drawings for prizes throughout the night, free gifts, and snacks & libations on the house. Gift purchases are 20% off for the night with your Cupcake Royale or Vérité Coffee Card – including the new limited edition Madrona Neighborhood tee shirt. 

Looking to put our suggestion to shop local into action? This weekend provides the perfect opportunity with the Business Owners of Madrona (BOOM) hosting “Very Merry in Madrona.”

This weekend (Friday through Sunday), Madrona businesses will offer extended hours, sales and holiday specials to kick off the neighborhood’s holiday festivities. 

A sampling of the deals around the area:

• Kismet Salon: open Friday 10-8 and Saturday 9-5, offering gift certificates and full range of AVEDA gifts (take advantage of the Pure Privilege double points weekend). The salon will be featuring jewelry by Carmen de Anguis and a Stella and Dot Trunk show (Friday afternoon).
• Conrow Porcelain Studio: open Friday, Dec. 3, 4-9pm, artists’ reception with acoustic guitar by Erie Jones. Saturday and Sunday, 10-5, with silks, jewelry and porcelain.
• Nena: Open 12-8 Friday, 10-7 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday, with a 20% off sale on selected items.

If we’ve missed any great deals, please add them in the comments, or just come by to check out the offerings in person.

One beneficiary of the Kraus grant was a proposal to get more use out of the shelterhouse in Madrona Park through community programming in a partnership with the Garfield Community Center (as well as adding an indoor toilet for the winter months). 

The first step of that proposal starts tomorrow (Friday) with Story Time for kids 5 and under from 9:30-10:30am. There will also be coloring sheets and toys for children to play with.

Organizer Karin Richard is still looking for volunteers to read stories each week, as well as a clean area rug or carpet remnant to donate for the floor of the shelterhouse. 

Stay tuned for more on the indoor toilet and other shelterhouse activities coming, including a sewing class starting in January.

The recent release of performance reports for Seattle Public Schools, including Madrona K-8, sparked debate on and off line over what the ratings signify and how to interpret them. The middle school at Madrona K-8 received a 3 on the new 1-5 scale (5 being the highest) while the elementary school received a 1 (full report here).

This Wednesday, December 1 at 5:30pm, Principal Farah Thaxton will host a meeting in the school cafeteria to discuss the report and the overall data in more detail. While Principal Thaxton has already met with the Madrona PTSA in November to discuss the report, this meeting will be open to the public and also have a district data coach on hand to share insight on how the information was collected. 

The goal of the meeting is to “give families another opportunity to learn about the data as well as invite the larger community and prospective new families to participate in the conversation.”

The school community will also discuss the two main challenges facing the school – student performance and under-enrollment – and the proposal on the table for addressing these challenges. The proposal put forward by Principal Thaxton is to bring unique programs in academics and arts to the school, including partnering with math and science program MESA and adding vocal and instrumental music and drama to the curriculum.

Incoming families and other community members are encouraged to attend tomorrow’s meeting.

As you’re doing your holiday present shopping (yes, it’s already that time) you can help raise money for Madrona K-8 while simultaneously buying up books for those on your gift list.

From Barney Mansavage, the VP of Outreach for the Madrona K-8 PTSA, we have news of a week-long bookfair through Barnes and Noble.

UPDATE: The in-store event is postponed to next Monday, November 29. There is a book fair at Barnes and Noble in University Village with Carolyn Douglas of KING 5 as a special guest for storytime! … A portion of proceeds from all sales at the book fair supports the school. Barnes and Noble gives our school credit to supplement our classroom libraries when anyone mentions “Madrona” at the cash register.

And guess what?  This school bookfair benefit lasts for 6 more days at the Barnes and Noble at University Village. This includes the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving – great shopping days. Be sure to mention Madrona K-8 at the register.  Tell everyone you can, and spread the word.

The fundraiser closes on Saturday, November 27, with a 1pm event called “Elf on the Shelf” with storytime and a scavenger hunt at the University Village store. For those who’d rather shop from the comfort of home but still help the school, you can order online at BN.COM/bookfairs and enter Bookfair ID 10357283 at checkout from Nov. 22-28.