Rarely do high schoolers come to mind, mostly because we assume they're into death metal, emo indie rock, Porno for Pyros Butthole Surfers type of contemporary music, not jazz.
But jazz, cool jazz, is what Starbucks' successful, annual Hot Java Cool Jazz event is all about.

Five of Western Washington's finest, award-winning high school jazz bands - Garfield, Edmonds-Woodway, Newport, Mountlake Terrace and Roosevelt - hit the stage in downtown Seattle's Paramount Theatre at 7:30 p.m., March 19 to perform a benefit concert. It's Starbucks way of giving back to the youth, by having proceeds from the concert go to their individual music programs.

Garfield High School's jazz band keeps winning awards.
That there are even five outstanding high school jazz bands at all is kind of a miracle, considering the low-level ranking of the fine arts in the minds of the powers that be that run and fund public schools across this nation.

Reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies seem more important by the very nature of their mandatory status.

Full credit goes to the music departments' staff who tirelessly give of themselves, their time, often their money, to help these amazing kids foster a love and appreciation of jazz.

Many from such supported programs go on to careers performing and teaching jazz, continuing the circle of giving back.

Individually, the participating high school bands have won their fair share of impressive awards, toured Europe, and competed in countless festivals.
For more info: (877) STG-4TIX. Purchase tickets ($15 adults, $8 students and seniors) at certain Starbucks locations, the Paramount Theatre box office or online. The Paramount Theatre is located on 911 Pine Street in downtown Seattle.

BY Jazz Music Examiner / Carol Banks Weber
February 27, 7:58 PM

An Issaquah couple is taking the lead in bridging the concepts of baby showers and fundraisers with their "Bun in the Oven Benefit™" being held in May.

"I've been planning fundraising events for over 20 years. It only made sense to me to take what would normally be a day of receiving gifts and instead make it a day of giving gifts to those in need." The mother, Beautiful Existence said. "We wanted to use this time to not only have all our friends and family together but to be able to give back to the community at the same time." The father, Dante Schultz added.

The "Bun in the Oven Benefit" is being held in Seattle from 7-9 pm on Saturday, May 1st and will be benefitting the Broadview Shelter, a shelter for mothers and children affected by domestic violence and run by the Seattle nonprofit organization Solid Ground. Donations of formula, diapers and baby bottles are being requested from guests, instead of traditional baby shower items.

The event is also planning a give-away for the guests with an opportunity to receive some original local and national art pieces "With my partner's work in the photography field, our artist friends and colleagues donated some amazing pieces for the event." Beautiful said. "We wanted to not only give back to the community with our charity, but we also wanted to give back to our guests by offering them a beautiful piece of art as a memento."

The couple would like to share their baby shower benefit with two Seattle-area expecting couples and have opened a poetry competition, for a chance to attend, on their blog at: www.beautifulexistence.wordpress.com. Entries will be taken until April 10th with the winners announced on April 15th. The two winning poems will be posted on their blog and the winning expectant couples will be given a complimentary gift basket at the event!

Check it out:
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/washington/misc/art30642.html

And browse more feature articles about Washington wildlife at http://www.nature.org/washington

No time will be wasted in using that Vistaprint credit for promotional materials because the Drum Exchange is hosting a number of upcoming events. They launched a series of percussion clinics presented by Northwest Master Percussionists. The next clinic will be held on February 21, 2010 at 7:00 PM called "Everything About the Steel Pan" presented by Gary Gibson. For a list of other upcoming percussion clinics, visit: http://drumexchange.com. A "Drum Tech Day" is planned for Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Four top Northwest Professional Drum Techs will be featured at this event: Greg Keplinger, Aaron Mlasko, Donn Gunn and Jim Parsons. This free event will include presentations on topics such as: "Drumset Appraisals: Is it Vintage or Just Old?" and "Selecting the Right Drumheads." Anyone can bring an individual drum to this event for a complimentary drum tuning by a Pro Drum Tech. There will also be lots of door prizes and tons of practical information for drummers of all levels.

Build your Local Community Social Network, Promote your Local News, Meet your Neighbors and much more.

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Build your Local Community Social Network, Promote your Local News, Meet your Neighbors and much more.

We would like to award $100 to the author of the most read news article on our site!

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Build your Local Community Social Network, Promote your Local News, Meet your Neighbors and much more.

We would like to award $100 to the author of the most read news article on our site!

Join today and help us by providing your feedback!

See you soon

Build your Local Community Social Network, Promote your Local News, Meet your Neighbors and much more.

We would like to award $100 to the author of the most read news article on our site!

Join today and help us by providing your feedback!

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Build your Local Community Social Network, Promote your Local News, Meet your Neighbors and much more.

We would like to award $100 to the author of the most read news article on our site!

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"Our road trips have become very popular with our readers and we receive a lot of response from fans of the site" commented one of the founders. Teams of agents have visited various cities including Nashville, Boston, New Orleans, Atlanta, New York, and Hartford. The website was created by two downtown office workers in Memphis, TN and has developed a strange collection of followers. The site creators have been the guests of students during college football weekends during which the students held a Bum Olympics inspired by the site, sorority girls hoisted banners for their favorite site on Good Morning America and the creators have been offered monthly columns by magazines in Dallas, Memphis and San Francisco.

"Being panhandled is something everyone that lives in a city understands. Our site is an outlet for that part of our culture showing that some people really need aid and others are just scam artist." Under the banner of The Online Home for the Homeless, without the urine smell, the site features a gallery of homeless people complete with photos and stories. Past interviews include Ray, King of the Singing Bums, to "Wheelchair Will" who uses a wheelchair as a prop to garner more handfuls of change from passersby.

The stories come from official agents who search out street people to learn more about their culture and special agents who earn code names by submitting stories to the site. The site has been featured on news programs, radio and magazines and was named one of the Top Ten radio interviews in 2008. "We feel the site uses satire to talk about this social phenomenon and we plan to have an interesting visit." added the founders.

We are looking for tales and stories from residents to include in our survey of Seattle street people culture. Do you see the same street people all the time? What do they say to try and get you to part with change or a dollar?

As of January 15, 2010, in Federal Way:

Active Listings For Sale: 40% distressed.
Pending Home Sales: 60% distressed.
Sold in the past 6 months: 44% distressed.

Why is this important? First of all, buyers use the info to decide where they might look to find a good price for their purchase. Sellers use the info to help determine how to price their home to sell. Appraisers use the info to determine whether there is a trend on values moving up, down or stabilizing .. actually all 3 groups ultimately want to know what the trends are.

If you are curious about listing and sales activity in your area, email, call or text me at dkawell@windermere.com, text or call 206-794-0844, and you may request my market snapshot service, which is free, comprehensive and in real-time mls market data.

When:
Friday January 8, Doors 7:45pm, Show at 8:30pm

Where:
Club Motor, 1950 First Ave. S., Seattle

Charlotte Buchannan, longtime owner of Glamorama Productions (and the famous Glamorama store in Fremont) is back in town to emcee the Seattle Invitationals this year!

Club Motor is an exciting, 500-capacity venue located in the SODO district. Look for the "Motor" sign at the JukeBox City building There is plenty of free street parking. Note that the venue will have very limited seating and will be mostly standing room, dance floor type set up on this night.

Tix:
Tickets in advance $12 at Brown Paper Tickets (on sale Dec 1). - $15.00 (Day of Show).

That's right, the thirteen-year old "mother of all Seattle amateur musical contests" is back in style for 2010...

After the 2008 event was cancelled, several local amateur tribute artists banded together and formed an alliance to get the show back... and it worked!

On Friday, January 8th 2010, this beloved Seattle institution returns to Seattle and will once again beckon impersonators from near and far to represent just what "The King" really means to them! There is only one place in Seattle each year where you can see thirty different impersonators in full hip-gyrating, fried Chicken-eating and swooning action... You'll probably even see his wife Priscilla, manager Colonel Tom Parker and even Red West, The King's alleged best friend in the crowd or on stage... it's all at the 13th annual 2010 Seattle Invitationals !

Each Amateur performer in attendance will tackle one of his many personas: the innocent and magnetic country boy, the hip-swinging rockabilly superstar, The G.I. Guy, Hollywood playboy, the devout gospel singer, or the diamond-studded, gold-sun glassed Vegas crooner. Each amateur impersonator will get one chance to show what he (or she) is made of - a single shot to perform a song, in costume, backed by the fabulous Kentucky Rain band!

Currently we are looking for amateur performers to sign up (and agree to perform one song in their own costume) on the Club Motor stage. All contestants will be backed by the local longtime Pro outfit The Kentucky Rain Band. Interested parties should see the contest rules & judging criteria and the available song list. After reading these pages, please select your top three song choices and email your contact info and songs to: seattleinvitationals@gmail.com

Providing prizes for the top ten entries of the event will be Archie McPhee, plus other fun sponsors. New this year, the winner be granted one-year ownership of a specially artist-created Seattle Invitationals sequined-clad winners belt!

To open the show at 8:30pm, The Kings will open. Following the pro review, the Amateurs take the stage backed by The Kentucky Rain Band and the fireworks really begin. A panel of celebrity judges and an audience clap-o-meter decide on who will be crowned The King of the Seattle Invitationals...

Website: http://www.SeattleInvitationals.com

Media contacts:

Peter Verbrugge, 206-517-4826,
seattleinvitationals@gmail.com

Marlow Harris, 206-329-3795,
marlowharris@msn.com

Seattle's new Mayor says legalize...
I saw this on komo news
McGinn believes pot should not only be legal, but also taxed.
"We recognize that, you know, like alcohol, it's something that should be regulated, not treated as a criminal activity. And I think that's where the citizens of Seattle want us to go," said McGinn on a public radio show on Friday.
-Oh Oh YES!. I have waited for it for all these years and now it's happening in my home town now McGinn, as well as state leaders, are talking about it. This is like huge huge Christmas present. HIP HIP Horay for mayor McGinn and those state legislators who support legalization YOU WILL HAVE MY VOTE

Merry Christmas happy New Year