Tonight is Historic Seattle’s Fourth Annual Preservation Awards, and a local historian will be honored at the ceremony. Wallingfordian Paul Dorpat is the recipient of the Living Landmark Award for his, “outstanding contribution to our understanding of Seattle history and his role in shaping a broad public appreciation of our built (and in many unfortunate cases lost) environment.”

Cloud Bank, 45th Street and Meridian Avenue, 2008, by Paul Dorpat.

Dorpat is perhaps best known for his “Now & Then” series in the Seattle Times’ Pacific Northwest magazine.

From Historic Seattle’s blog:

Through his research, publications, website, public lectures and the generous sharing of his vast knowledge about the history of our city with other researchers, Paul Dorpat has made “then” a very important part of “now” for which we are very grateful.

The awards ceremony is tonight at the Wallingford Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave N.) from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Click here for more info.

This Saturday, May 12 is ‘Stamp Out Hunger‘ day, a nationwide US Postal Service and Campbell Soup Company food drive for local food banks. It’s easy to participate: on Saturday, put out non-perishable goods by your mailbox for your letter carrier to pick up. The donations will be combined across the city, then split up and divided evenly at every neighborhood food bank.

This will be the 20th annual Stamp Out Hunger, and last year the Postal Service collected over 70 million pound of food across the country. The organizers ask that participants put out, “a sturdy bag containing non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, pasta, rice or cereal next to their mailbox prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday.”

This Thursday, May 10, is the Sustainable Seattle May Neighborhood Workshop at Solid Ground (1501 N. 45th Street) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Reed Painting and SustainableWorks will be at the workshop to teach participants how to create green redecorating projects and to improve energy efficiency in your home.

SustainableWorks, a nonprofit contractor and partner in the City of Seattle’s Community Power Works program, “will share tips and techniques to help you save energy in your home, lower your carbon footprint, and save money,” according to the event information. Reed Painting will, “discuss their Green Man Paint Program, which recycles your donated paint, participates in responsible disposal, and donates quality recycled paint to your community projects.” They will also talk about how homeowners are affected by the EPA’s new lead regulations. Reed will provide a painting demonstration and tips for painting projects. They will also be giving away a free quart of their recycled paint at the end of the night.

To register for the event, click here.

(Disclosure: Reed Painting is a MyWallingford sponsor)

Tomorrow, Saturday May 5 kicks off the May Edible Plant Sale put on by Wallingford’s Seattle Tilth. The sale is Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m at Meridian Park (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N).

Seattle Tilth will have over 50 varieties of organic tomatoes, 20 types of peppers, culinary herbs, edible flowers, and much more. The plants have been hand-selected by the group’s garden educators, and differs from their March plant sale, “because it debuts summer gardening plants aka “warm season” crops like tomatoes, peppers, squash and corn,” according to Seattle Tilth.

Here is a plant list from Seattle Tilth:

See what plants will are are selling so you can plan shopping list.  Find out about our wonderful plant growers. Most veggies are $3, herbs and flowers $4. See our plant & seed lists:

• Vegetables and Fruits Plant List
• Herbs and Flowers Plant List
• Seed List
• Fruiting Trees & Shrubs (sold by Burnt Ridge Nursery, visit them in the lower Vendor Area)

As part of the city’s Bicycle Master Plan update, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is asking bikers for feedback. They’ve developed two tools to gather information: an online survey and an interactive map.

The survey asks users to highlight important bicycle issues and should take ten minutes. The map allows users to detail exactly where bikers travel, then prompts for feedback on which roads and intersections need improvements and which facilities work well.

SDOT says this is a great opportunity to find out how people currently use existing bicycle facilities and what residents would like to see for the future, as well as help us prioritize the issues most important to the community. The survey has been translated into six different languages – Korean, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese and Vietnamese – which are available at the same link, according to SDOT.

From SDOT:

“It is perfect timing to launch the Bicycle Master Plan update, as May is National Bike Month and there is a lot of energy surrounding bicycling and its consideration to make it an even more viable mode of transportation,” said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Chair of the Transportation Committee. “I encourage everyone living and working in Seattle to participate in the update by filling out the online survey and providing input using the mapping tool.”

Next weekend, the Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) is opening their second location at North Lake Union near Gas Works Park (1475 N Northlake Place). The plan to open a new facility on a former Metro Transit property has been in the works for quite some time, and they’ve announced they’re ready to open next weekend, on Saturday, May 5.

The CWB says the new facility is a workshop and warehouse, where historic boats will be housed for restoration.  At present, the facility is land-based. However, they say they hope to build public access to the water to “complete our vision for the Northlake Community Wharf.” There will be a public showing and tour of the new facility on Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

It’s maybe the hardest scavenger hunt in town, with possibly the best payoff: the Emerald City Search will commence this weekend, on Saturday, April 21. Because this year is the Seattle Center’s 50th Anniversary, there will be two different hunts; the first is starting this weekend, and the second will start in October. The prize package this year is worth almost $9,000, including prizes like hotel stays, memberships to local attractions like the Pacific Science Center and EMP, and VIP concert tickets. Click here for a full list of the loot.

The Emerald City Search started in 2006, and is a clue-based treasure hunt for a special medallion, hidden in plain sight in a public location, says One Reel Production, who produces the search. “The Search takes place over a maximum of ten days, with one new brain-busting clue revealed each day. Together, the clues paint a progressively clearer picture of the medallion’s hiding spot.”

The kick-off of the search coincides with the “Next Fifty Opening” on Saturday, April 21. The theme of the first search is “History,” which will work its way into each clue, specifically focusing on the legacy of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, according to the organizers. The October search is themed “The Future” and will incorporate, “visions inspired by the 1962 World’s Fair’s focus on science and technology.”

The first clue will be revealed at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning on Emerald City Search’s website. The clues are then announced at the same time each day until the medallion is found, for a maximum of 10 days.

This Sunday, April 22 is Earth Day, and the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 3rd annual “Operation Beautification Wallingford” on Saturday, April 21. The clean-up event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will start at the Wallingford Center. Colleen Kurke, President of the Wallingford Chamber, says there will be face painting, music, and a bake sale.

Kurke says the proceeds will benefit the Wallingford Community Senior Center and the Chamber for all they do to, “make Wallingford a great community to ‘eat, live and work in.’” They will also be collecting food for the local food bank, Family Works.

(Photo from last year’s Earth Day celebration at Gas Works Park)

Ivar’s and Kidd Valley are asking for kids 14 and younger (kindergarten through 8th grade) to vote for their favorite teachers. The contest is part of May’s Teacher Appreciation Month, and the teacher with the most votes from each restaurant (Ivar’s and Kidd Valley) will win prizes for their classrooms. The grand prize winner will receive a $500 gift card for school supplies and the title Teacher of the Year. The nominating student of the grand prize winner will receive either a classroom chowder party, complete with a visit by Ivar’s famous Dancing Clam, or a Kidd Valley burger party. The restaurants will also award four teachers first-place prizes of a $150 gift card for school supplies, and 30 teachers will receive second-place prizes of a $25 Ivar’s or Kidd Valley gift card.

This is Ivar’s and Kidd Valley’s ninth annual Teacher of the Year contest. They say they want to honor educators, “that go above and beyond the call of duty to teach, mentor and support their students.” Last year, Ann Swain of Woodin Elementary in Bothell and Diane Trudnowski of Seattle’s Maple Elementary were the grand prize winners.

If you’re planning to take State Route 99 south this weekend, you might want to change your plans. The Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed from tonight, April 6 through Sunday, April 9. The closure will start 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.

From the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT):

Crews will close the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct this weekend to reinforce a section of the structure located above the path of the future SR 99 tunnel. Both directions of SR 99 from the West Seattle Bridge through the Battery Street Tunnel will close from 11 p.m. Friday, April 6 to 5 a.m. Monday, April 9. Drivers should expect increased congestion in and near downtown Seattle during the closure and plan accordingly.

Crews building the SR 99 tunnel will spend this weekend reinforcing both decks of a two-block section of the viaduct between South Washington and Columbia streets, in Pioneer Square. There will be one additional weekend closure of the viaduct in mid-May to complete this work, which includes filling cracks and wrapping previously damaged sections of the structure in protective reinforcing fiber. Protecting this section of the viaduct is important because crews will drive the tunnel boring machinebeneath it in late 2013.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) have decided not to ask for a waiver for the three days missed due to January’s snowstorm, which means kids will be in school until June 22 this year. If they didn’t have to make up those days, the school district could have saved half a million dollars. The decision to forego the waiver request was made in a 7 – 0 vote by the Seattle School Board.

Photo from January’s snowstorm

“I believe this is a statement in support of the value of classroom instruction,” School Board President Michael DeBell said after the vote, according to our news partners The Seattle Times. The savings for those three days would have mostly been from transportation and nutrition costs.

By Almeera Anwar

If you’re looking for something to do this Saturday that is both delicious and educational, check out the Seattle Edible Books Festival. It’s taking place at The Good Shepherd Center from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The event is sponsored by the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Photo from last year’s event

This event prides itself on combining culinary talents with new ways of explaining literature. Contestants were asked to create and bring in an edible piece of art that is related to books – the work could be a pun on a title, reference a scene, relate to a character or could simply look like a book.

Individuals can show up between noon and 1:30 p.m. to tour the books on display. Then, at 2 p.m., the edible books will be eaten; served with tea, coffee and milk. Judges will also be handing out five awards for the books that are the most creative, some of the awards included the “Most Pun-derful” and “Best Young Edible Artist” for K – 12 participants. This is the 7^th year for the event.

Starting this week, Cedar Grove Composting and Seattle Public Utilities are putting on a city-wide scavenger hunt in order to thank Seattle residents for composting over 125,000 tons of food and yard waste in 2011. The scavenger hunt consists of daily clues on Cedar Grove’s website, which will lead participants to find “Corey the Compostable Apple Core,” posted at 30 different retail and community sites in the city. The contest is called The Big Dig, and goes through April 11.

Cedar Grove says every participant that finds one or more Coreys will win a coupon redeemable for a free bag of Cedar Grove Compost. And, “all participants will be entered into a daily drawing to win a pass to participate in The Big Dig finals on Saturday, April 14 at Seattle Tilth’s Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands.” Then, the finalists will dig through 30 yards of compost to find $6,000 in hidden treasures, including a $3,000 yard makeover.

From Cedar Grove:

Near your neighborhood there are four Coreys hidden. Here are their corresponding clues:

• Using the terms “birding” and “Birdathon” is as natural as breathing air in this location—find where you can purchase gifts for birds.
• This location is a member of an association headquartered in Naples! (Take advantage of your location and walk a few blocks to view some exotic animals.)
• This timber store was destroyed by a fire in 1938—and it was rebuilt in just twelve days.
• This cooperative serves 54 countries and is headquartered in Chicago. It resides in a neighborhood where Mayor Mike McGinn was head of the Community Council.

While it may not feel like summer is approaching, summer camp programs are getting ready for the season. Seattle’s Parent Map is putting on a summer camp fair in North Seattle this weekend, where a couple Wallingford camps will be featured. On Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., King’s Schools at N. 195th St. and Greenwood Ave. N., a number of local and regional camps will be setting up shop to talk about the programs they offer. Admission is free and open to the public. To learn more, visit Parent Map’s site about the event.

Today is the founder of Ivar’s 107th birthday, and in celebration, the restaurants are offering $1.07 entrees all day in honor of their “flounder” Ivar Haglund. Patrons must purchase one full-priced entree in order to get the deal, and exclaim “Happy Birthday, Ivar!” upon placing their order, of course. Wallingford’s Ivar’s is at 401 Northeast Northlake Way.

The restaurant will also treat the first 107 guests at each location to a blueberry cupcake, Haglund’s favorite flavor. In addition to the $1.07 entrees, Ivar’s is also hosting the “Ivar Haglund Birthday Video Contest” on the O-Fish-All Ivar’s Club Facebook page. According to the restaurant, fans can enter by uploading a video of themselves singing happy birthday to Ivar by March 21, for a chance to win a $107 Ivar’s gift card or other great prizes. Winners will then be selected, “based on originality and creativity, and bonus points are awarded for videos filmed at Ivar’s locations.”

The restaurant itself opened in 1938, with Ivar Haglund at the helm of his fish and chips stand at what is now Pier 54. The history behind Haglund can be found on Ivar’s website.