Bastille Day 2009 - Seattle Center

The Seattle Center hosted its 14th annual Bastille Day Festival weekend, celebrating contemporary French culture’s democratic beginnings, on July 11-12, 2009. That Bastille Day has its roots in the violent storming of the Bastille fortress-like prison in 1789 was not obvious at this celebration of French music, food, wine, automobiles and other aspects of French culture.











Liis Todd

Seattle Chinatown/International District Summer Festival 2009

The 34th annual Seattle Chinatown-International District Summer Festival 2009 took place on July 11-12. The Chinatown-International District is rooted in a Chinese community that began in the early 1900s, but the contemporary community is a unique melding of people of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, Korean, Burmese and other backgrounds, all living in one community.


Among the event sponsors is McDonald’s

Rhythms of India perform on the Dragon Stage

Nine Lives performs on the Dragon Stage

Panafrican Cultural Festival - Algiers - 1969

The 2009 Panafrican Cultural Festival is underway in Algiers. The festival opened on July 5 and runs through July 20, 2009. More than 8,000 artists are involved in the festival.

Forty years ago, I traveled to Algiers to attend an earlier edition of this festival and to explore the city with my camera:

The Black Panther Party exhibited in a storefront Afro-American Center.

Eldridge Cleaver (lower left)

Eldridge Cleaver (bottom)

Among the performers was Archie Shepp, creating the record “live at the pan-african festival.” A blogger identified as Valter posted his take on the festival and on the Archie Shepp performance, including a quote from Dave Burrell, Shepp’s pianist at the time.

Televised Fourth of July Fireworks

Since moving to Seattle in 1989, I’ve lived on the waterfront and viewed the Fourth of July fireworks show either from my condo or from a view point a short walk from home. This year the 45th annual Ivar’s Seafood Restaurants show in Elliott Bay was cancelled due to the poor national and local economies. Seattle has another excellent fireworks show in nearby Lake Union, but not in the mood to deal with the anticipated Lake Union crowds, I photographed the 2009 show from the comfort of my home office. Kudos to Sharp high definition television technology.

The Red, White & Blue

David Hartt Curates Show at Howard House

On July 2, Howard House hosted a reception for the “if night is a weed and days grows less.” The show, curated by David Hartt, includes works by David, Mitchell Akiyama, Thomas Bangsted, Erik Frydenborg and the collective Stand Up Comedy. This exhibition runs through August 1, 2009, along with a companion show, “The Grisaille Series A Ten Year Survey,” by Michael Byron, in the back room.

David Hartt & his wife Catherine Gacki Hartt

Stand Up Comedy

Gallery-owner Billy Howard

Spike Mafford Exhibits & Drinks at Virginia Inn

The Virginia Inn features and exhibition by Spike Mafford from July 2 to August 31, 2009. The photo-based works combine iconic landscape images with Braille symbolic text.

Out for Seattle’s July First Thursday art walk, I found Spike enjoying a beautiful summer evening on the restaurant patio.