I’ve never gone shopping on Black Friday. You couldn’t pay me enough!
Lately I’ve been into making timelapse videos, so I took advantage of a break in the weather to head to Golden Gardens to see if I could get any interesting cloud action.
Tangent
Some Seattle Parks Stats for Summer 2018
Seattle Parks and Rec had a busy and productive summer. Here are some fun statistics.
* 1287 different summer camps were held, including activity camps, nature camps, and sports camps. There were 24,341 registered participants.
* There were 226,481 visits to the 9 lifeguarded beaches and 115,033 visits to the 22 wading pools.
* 892 children and youth took free swimming lessons at city swim beaches.
* There were 41,359 visits to the Japanese Garden, which is an increase of 9000 over last summer and set a record.
* 282 volunteer events were held for restoration work, with 12,023 hours of labor donated. 25 acres had invasive plants removed and 65,154 new plants were added.
* 12 downtown parks were host to 3,032 events (wow!), which included 221 hours of free concerts, 44 hours of free health and fitness programs, and 13 outdoor movies.
* Permits were issued for 2,513 picnics, 107 ceremonies, and 447 special events.
* 54,291 people attended Bicycle Sundays on Lake Washington Boulevard, an increase of 12% over last summer.
* 5,239 tons of trash was hauled away!
Source: Seattle Parkways blog.
Street Art Hunt for Rainy Days
Photo credit: Rainworks.
Seattle has been having some gorgeous sunny weather this October, but the November gloom is right around the corner. If you’re looking for something different to encourage you to don the Gortex and get outside on drizzly days you might want to consider hunting down some Rainworks.
Rainworks are street art that only show up when it’s raining (or you pour a bucket of water over them). Perfect for Seattle, which is probably why the guy who started the whole thing got his idea here.
The designs are created with a stencil and a biodegradable water-resistant solution that creates a thin seal on the pavement surface. When it rains pavement darkens as it gets wet but the stenciled design remains the original pavement color and is revealed.
Rainworks are temporary, lasting 2-4 months on average, so you never know most of what is out there until you stumble over it yourself.
For more info about Rainworks and a map showing a few of the many locations around the greater Seattle area and the world see their webpage here. If you’re the artistic type and would like to create your own there is also info on how to do that. (The small size bottle of Invisible Spray is only $20 and can be ordered on the website.)
Art Installations in Seattle Parks
The City of Seattle has released an interactive map of public art pieces located in city parks. If you’re an art lover, or just like to look for excuses to visit different places around the city, you can use the map to prompt ideas for outings.
The map webpage is here. When you touch one of the blue dots the name of the piece appears at the bottom of the page. If you then click on Media at the top right of the page you’ll get a display of a larger image. At the top of the page on the left side you can click on List to see just a list view without the map.
Happy art hunting!
Park Preview 