Copy
What's Happening with Volunteer Park Trust!
View this email in your browser
Volunteer Park Trust

The mission of Volunteer Park Trust is to restore, protect and preserve this city and national landmark for today and for generations to come.
Volunteer Park Trust

Fall Campaign Update


Hi Friends of Volunteer Park 

The Volunteer Park Trust Fall Campaign is off to an impressive start with donations coming in from our friends and neighbors. The annual campaign will raise funds to keep Volunteer Park Trust operating year round, and support such programs as upgrading the park Amphitheater, planting new gardens, weeding, mulching, and our annual free events.
 
To help reach our fundraising goal, leadership members of the Trust have pooled their resources to match gifts one-to-one up to a total of $35,000. Ellen Look, chair of the Development Committee, says, “We hope to inspire others to give what they can. Every contribution helps.”
 
You can support Volunteer Park Trust now by making a contribution online. Donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, the Seattle Parks Foundation, by
clicking here.
 
Thank you!
 


Save the Date for Holiday in the Park!

 
Our popular Holiday in the Park event will be held on Thursday, December 10 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in Volunteer Park.
 
The Volunteer Park Concourse will be decorated with six hundred luminarias, creating a magical spectacle of lights.  Five musical groups will delight our audience from the stage, including Seatown Sound, Sing Noel, Columbia City Community Chorus, and The Beaconnettes.
 
Come enjoy free cocoa provided by Tully’s Coffee and free cookies. Kids can create a little candlelit boat to launch on the lily pond — with all materials supplied for free, Both the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Volunteer Park Conservatory will be open until 9:00 PM.  Save the date, tell your friends, and don’t miss this wonderful celebration!

Volunteers Needed for Holiday in the Park

 
To create and light over 600 luminarias and provide an amazing stage for our choral groups, we are going to need lot of volunteers.  Can you help us?  We need volunteers in two shifts:

2:00 to 5:00 pm — Set-up stage and luminarias
8:00 to 9:00 pm — Take down the decorations
 
To sign up, please contact info@volunteerparktrust.org and help make this amazing holiday festival happen. Can’t volunteer? Please mark your calendar and join us for the festivities.
amphiteater project

Amphitheater Project

 
Our first Public Meeting to gather community ideas and concerns regarding proposed changes to the Volunteer Park Amphitheater occurred on October 15th at Seattle Asian Art Museum.
 
Park neighbor and Amphitheater Project Task Force chair, Eliza Davidson, welcomed the audience and introduced the project, explaining how the Trust — formed by neighbors and users of Volunteer Park — worked with the City of Seattle Parks Department to identify and prioritize issues in the park. When the amphitheater emerged as a top priority, the Trust approached Seattle Department of Neighborhoods for a grant to produce this feasibility study that would inform a later design for upgrades to the current performance stage.
 
Project lead Owen Richards of ORA Architects along with Chris Jones of Walker Macy Landscape Architects led a comprehensive slide presentation outlining the current amphitheater’s deficits, data and suggestions they have received to date through parking study by noted parking and traffic consultants Fehr & Peers, as well as with focus groups with neighbors, performance groups, and cultural organizations.
 
We appreciated seeing the overall good support for the Amphitheater Project and hearing your frank and heartfelt comments. Parking and traffic concerns were strongly expressed, especially from neighbors who had to endure the Decibel Festival’s blatant violation of park rules.
 
The good news is that the purpose of this feasibility study is to proactively research and plan for these very issues. Volunteer Park Trust will work with Seattle Parks & Recreation on an effective management system for the Amphitheater and proper guidelines for usage, including capacity.
 
We also received a clear message that you want to be kept informed on the progress of this project. Therefore, starting now, we will send monthly updates on the Amphitheater Project through this newsletter. Please see our monthly update below. 



Amphitheater Project Monthly Update

 
Timeline:
  • Oct. 15, 2015:  Public meeting #1
  • Oct. 2015 – Jan. 2016:  Detailed research and development of report
  • February 11, 2016:  Public meeting #2
  • Feb-May, 2016:  Incorporate comments and publish final report
 
Your Comments:  Written comments received at the public meeting have been transcribed and will be posted to the Volunteer Park Trust website this month.
 
Landmarks Meeting: Project lead ORA Architects will meet with the City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board this month. A formal presentation is being created outlining current findings and recommendations, including community feedback and the option of re-siting the amphitheater to slightly northwest of its current location.
 
Next Grant:  Research has begun into deadlines and requirements for the application of a Department of Neighborhoods grant for Phase II of the project, to begin in mid-2016.
Twitter
Facebook
Website
LinkedIn
Email
Copyright © 2015 Volunteer Park Trust, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp