Our heartfelt thanks to Kevin at Central Cinema for adding an online ticket feature to GT10, the CD Garden Tour. Our thanks to both Central Cinema and CD News who are GT10 sponsors. You may buy your advance tickets here for $5:

http://www.readyticket.net/webticket/webticket2.asp?WCI=BuyTicket&WCE=GARDEN+TOUR,052220101100,2,77182,,0

You will need to stop by the Cinema at 1411 21st Avenue to pick up your tickets. Check out the new menu (YUM!), have a cool one, a small plate or a killer dessert in a movie or out front at Cafe Noir while you’re there.

All advance tickets will be traded for maps of the Tour by stopping at the Ticket and Plant Sale at 23rd & Union 11am -4pm on Saturday, May 22. There, you may also donate to NW Harvest, buy a $1 raffle ticket for fun prizes donated by local merchants and meet local businesses and not-for-profits. You get a free raffle ticket with a donation to NW Harvest. All proceeds go toward creating public art in the CD.

What:     Flo Ware Day Celebration – Community Council‘s Annual BBQ-Social

When:     May 22nd from Noon – 4 p.m.

Where:   Flo Ware Park at 28th & Jackson

Join your neighbors for an afternoon of good food, music and other activities.  Mr. Muskelley will be BBQing chicken and ribs.  Neighbors are encouraged to bring a side dish and/or dessert to serve eight.

Look forward to seeing you there!

It’s going on right now, today, until about ^PM. Several artists have set up paintings in a vacant field on 17th Avenue on the corner of Fir. Check it out!

The Madrona Mayfair has been going strong since 9:30am this morning, kicking off with a fire truck-and-clown-escorted bicycle parade down 34th Avenue. 

The parade ended a few blocks away at the Madrona playfield, with free pony rides, face painting, balloon animals, bouncy houses and a bake sale.

The pony rides were especially popular – long lines!

The bouncy houses on the tennis courts were also a hit.

The events end at 12:30, so you can still catch the tail end if you head over now.

The community is invited to run, walk or cheer on more than 300 grade-school girls as they run the New Balance Girls on the Run® 5K, Sat. May 22 at 10 a.m. The fun run/walk is at Seward Park , 5895 Lake Washington Blvd. S, and is open to all members of the public. And yes, capes and costumes are encouraged.

The event benefits the Girls on the Run® of Puget Sound, a non-profit organization that operates an after-school fitness and empowerment program for pre-teen girls.  More than a fundraiser, the 5K is the crowning achievement for 300 third, fourth, and fifth-grade girls currently participating in the 10-week, character-development program.  The program combines lessons on life skills such as handling bullies, setting goals and making good decisions with physical fitness skills for a non-competitive 5K event.          

The goal of Girls on the Run is to arm pre-teen girls with the inner-strength to help get them through the personal trials of the upcoming adolescent years.  Girls are particularly vulnerable to a decline in self-esteem during their adolescence, but a high level of general self-worth and a good attitude toward physical activity can be protective factors. 

Race details and registration are available at the Girls on the Run of Puget Sound website: http://www.girlsrun.org/5k.html. Check out last season’s 5k video.

The CDNews took a lovely afternoon walk to the opening day of the Madrona Market in the Grocery Outlet (cdnews sponsors) parking lot at MLK & Union.

Here’s what all is available today:

Take a peek at the CD Garden Tour for 2010:

http://gardentour.centraldistrictseattle.org/overview-details/

The Central District Neighborhood Association (CDNA), a 501c3, Union Street Business Group (USBG), a 501c6, and Garden Central, the Central District garden club, are happy to remind you this year’s Central District Garden Tour will take place 11am -4pm May 22, 2010. The theme is urban gardens, water conservation and public art. Residential gardens, P-Patches, the James Washington House & Foundation, water conservation features, e.g., rain gardens and cisterns, and local art will be highlighted.

Advance tickets are $5 and available now at Central Cinema, City People’s on Madison, Cortona Cafe and Madison Market. Day of Tour tickets are $7 at 23rd & Union. There will also be small businesses and not-for-profits showcased, a NW Harvest donation barrel and a raffle for great local prizes.

The proceeds, both funds raised and matching grant monies, go toward creating public art in the Central District. That project will begin in late 2010 or early 2011 and recruit local artists, including students and kids, to create kiosks, banners and/or public art pieces to be placed in the Central District. Pratt and/or Coyote Central may be involved. Art project sign-up sheets will be available!

From the wonderously sunny streets of Seattle’s East Precinct:

Please read the informative article published by The Stranger (link below) regarding one of our most recent retail establishment additions to the neighborhood: Bill the Butcher.  It turns out that this establishment states that all of the meat sold is “certified organic” despite the fact that a good portion of it is absolutely not.  Further, when questioned about the farms where the “certified organic” meat comes from, Bill the Butcher refuses to disclose the information and cannot prove, as a result, that the claims are correct.  This is a marketing scam.  I propose a boycott of Bill the Butcher until its management provides a list of all of the farms where the meat sold is purchased, including detailed descriptions of whether or not the meat is USDA certified organic.  In the meantime, I plan to report Bill the Butcher to the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/mystery-meat/Content?oid=4040872

Looks like we’ve got a warm and sunny weekend on tap here in the Central District. Here’s some fun events from our community calendar to check out:

Friday 3pm – 7pm – Opening day for the Madrona Farmers Market at MLK & Union

Friday 8pm – The CD Forum has organized a series of performances at Broadway Performance Hall, with multi-media, a Circus Opera, literary and performance arts, and a solo performance set in a 1970s Seattle high school.

Friday & Saturday 8pm – DASSdance has a 2-week run of “All-Terrain style and spoken narrative” dance performances at our historic Washington Hall

Sunday 10am – The kids at Nova High School are screening a film on youth rights, with lunch and community conversations afterwards.

Sunday 10am – Alleycat Acres is hosting a work party and potluck BBQ at their new garden at 22nd & Union. Turn some soil, meet some neighbors, chow down

Weekend Movie – Central Cinema (CDNews sponsor) is showing Alfred Hitchock’s classic North by Northwest, playing at 7pm and 10pm Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.