Fremont Universe

If you’re looking for a concert to go to in Fremont this weekend, Nectar, High Dive and Tost have something to offer for all kinds of music lovers

On Friday, High Dive is hosting Crack Sabbath, a heavy metal band at 9 p.m., and during happy hour will feature both Sweet Chariot and Ref the Fox. Tickets for the Crack Sabbath show are $9. Meanwhile, Nectar will be featuring World/Jam music including Diano Garcia, DJ Tomas, and Picoso at 9 p.m. for $8 per person. Tost will have old-school funk/new-school jazz act The Special Purpose with guests, also at 9 p.m., for a $5 cover charge. The Ballroom will also feature their regular DJ, DJ Dyce.

Saturday will see Nectar having an evening of international, Bhangra, and Bollywood pop featuring Bollygrooves with DJs Anshul and Elad. Tickets cost $10 before 11:30 p.m. and $12 after that. The show will begin at 10 p.m. High Dive will feature Crack Sabbath again on Saturday, but two different bands will play during happy hour- Ratfish Bone and Flashes of Quincey. Tost will feature an electronica/hip-hop trio at 9 p.m., with no cover charge, while the Ballroom will feature DJ Pete Bitty.

Sunday at Nectar will be an indie rock mix of Love Is All, Vivian Girls, and Nodzzz at 8 p.m. for $10 in advance. High Dive will feature Grey Sky Falling, Lost in the Bamboo, and S.O.S. at 7 p.m. for a $5 cover charge.

If you get any photos from the concerts, be sure to share them in our Flickr pool!

18 members of the Seattle Mountaineers Club are completing an urban hike today between seven branches of the Seattle Public Library, including the Fremont branch. Here they are crossing the Fremont Bridge…

And posing in front of the Waiting for the Interurban…

The hikers are celebrating the end of the city’s campaign to build and remodel branches of the public library. As part of the campaign, you can get “library passports,” which the Mountaineers are getting stamped at each branch.

If you’re looking for a decadent treat tonight (Thursday), Theo Chocolate has teamed up with the Pike and Western Wine Shop for a night of wine and chocolate. The event will run from 6:30-8 tonight, and costs $40 per person. There have been a few cancellations, so there is still space available, and you can make reservations by calling call Pike & Western at 206.441.1307.

As reported by the P-I (note: there is a photo that may be disturbing to some readers), the man who fell to his death from the Fremont bridge has been identified, and a police investigation of how the situation was handled is to come. An excellent write-up of the incident is up at PhinneyWood, including information from the SPD Blotter about an off-duty officer who successfully negotiated with a suicidal woman on the bridge just a few days later.
_______________________

PhinneyWood also reports that members of the Seattle Mountaineers Club will be stopping in at the Fremont Library tomorrow at 12:15 during an urban hike between seven different library branches. If you get a photo of the hikers getting their passports stamped, be sure to share them in our Flickr pool!
_______________________

Last, but not least, Seattlest reports that the Seattle Department of Transportation is seeking an artist for a residency in one of the towers of the Fremont Bridge. While the artist can’t live in the tower, it can be used as studio or inspiration space, and is open to established professional artists living within 100 miles of Seattle. The artist is expected to create a work of art with the $20,000 budget, and present it publicly as the culmination of the residency. Applications will be accepted until Jan. 5, 2009.

A decision by Seattle Police that was made to “save a man’s life” is being investigated. On November 3rd, Derik Loso stopped traffic along the Aurora Bridge during the morning commute as he contemplated jumping off the “suicide span.” After nearly two hours, one of the police negotiators reached out and tried to handcuff Loso and pull him back onto the bridge. Moments later he fell to his death. Sources inside the police department tell the Seattle Times that this action is very unusual. Sean Whitcomb of the Seattle Police told the Times that the attempt stemmed from concern that the man was tiring and could lose his grip. Once the review is complete, King County Executive Ron Sims will decide whether or not to hold an inquest.

The Fremont Arts Council is holding their annual rummage sale from 9-4 Saturday and Sunday at the Powerhouse, 3940 Fremont Ave. The sale will include books, music, clothing, costumes, and original artwork. Proceeds from the sale will help the Arts Council with the budget shortfall and help fund events like the Solstice Parade, Trolloween, ongoing maintenance of Fremont’s sculptures, and community arts classes.

It made international news yesterday — but only briefly. A proposal to ban nudity in city parks went before the Seattle Parks and Recreation board last night, but it was voted down. The proposed ban would have forced a change in the Fremont Solstice Parade tradition of riding naked from one end of Fremont to Gas Works Park. But never fear, the same rules still apply. “The bare facts of the law are that if you knowingly show yourself naked with the intent to alarm and offend people that’s illegal, said Sergeant Sean Whitcom, of the Seattle Police Department. “Just being nude is not against the law.” Fremont is often home to random displays of nudity, like these two guys last Halloween.

The Fremont Arts Council has been a part of the neighborhood for nearly 20 years, and now it needs your help more than ever. “As we enter into winter this year, the Fremont Arts Council is looking at a severe funding shortfall,” wrote Nick Morse, the president of the council’s board of directors in an email. “Our ability to cover the expenses for the classes, workshops, events and public installations is, unfortunately, at risk.” The Fremont Arts Council organizes the Solstice Parade, Luminata, Trolloween and other neighborhood events, not to mention it maintains the Troll and Waiting for the Interurban. “We need your help. Please help keep art and artists in Fremont,” Morse writes. For information on how you can help, click here.

Updated: At 2:30 this morning, a speeding car hit the median on Highway 99 just south of the Aurora bridge, ripping the car into two and killing the driver. All southbound lanes of 99 were closed until around 7:15 a.m.

The online grocery service Amazon Fresh has recently expanded to the 98103 zip code, which covers Fremont and big sections of Wallingford, Phinney Ridge and Greenwood. But wait, there’s a catch: you have to be an Amazon Prime member, a club that costs $79 a year. No word on when Amazon Fresh will open it up to everyone.

The new Fremont boutique Show Pony opened its doors on 36th St. in September, and it’s already moving.

But not far. It will open soon in a larger, more prominent location in a vacant space on 35th St. near Fremont Ave.

The city has painted “sharrow” markers all along Fremont Ave.

The sharrow symbol, a bicycle topped with two chevrons, is meant to signal motorists to share the road with cyclists. The markers usually go in at places where bikes are moving closer to the speed of vehicles (i.e., downhill) and where the road isn’t wide enough to accommodate a bike lane.