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Wallingford celebrates food festivals

What's Cookin' in Wallingford, Sept. 8

The sixth annual What's Cookin' in Wallingford festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 4-8 p.m.

The event will be held along N 45th Street, from Eastern Avenue to Stone Way. Two dollar sample "tastes" of more than 30 of Wallingford's culturally diverse restaurants will be offered, including cuisine from Afghanistan, China, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Polynesia, Thailand, Vietnam and, of course, the good old U.S. of A.

With every 10 tastes purchased, attendees will have their name entered into a drawing for one of the many gift certificates to participating restaurants.

Proceeds from each sale during the event will benefit the Fremont Public Association's FamilyWorks center, located at 1501 N. 45th. FamilyWorks is a community-based non-profit family resource center that offers classes, employment assistance and home management training. FamilyWorks also operates a food bank that serves more than 300 families each week with groceries donated from supermarkets, bakeries, Northwest Harvest and Foodline. "FamilyWorks is a resource for the community," said Jake Weber, the center's executive director. "We help people who need food and access to resources ... as well as provide opportunities for families to meet others in the community through parent-child activities and playgroups. One person came back and said, 'This was the first time anyone saw the good in me and what I can do vs. what's wrong with me.' We get a lot of that here."

Those who attend this year's What's Cookin' event are also encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to be donated to the FamilyWorks Food Bank. The food donations can be dropped off at the following Wallingford locations: Julia's, Jitterbug, Taco Time and the Wallingford Neighborhood Office (2100 N. 45th, next to Tully's).

The What's Cookin' event will also feature live music by The Nowhere Men, a Beatles cover band that will perform at the Main Stage, located at the Wallingford Center (N. 45th and Wallingford Ave. N). The Wallingford Center will also be the site of a beer garden (courtesy of Pyramid Ales) that will be open until 9 p.m. Musical entertainment will also be provided throughout the day along N. 45th by local street musicians.

Last year's What's Cookin' in Wallingford event drew approximately 4,000 people. "This is an event that defines the community," said Karen Buschow, coordinator of the What's Cookin' event. "It's local restaurants owned by local people giving back to the community they live in." (

Wallingford Wurst Fest set for Sept. 14-16

The 20th annual Great Wallingford Wurst Festival will take place this year from 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14 through 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 16. The theme of this year's festival is "Wurstquake."

The Wurst Festival takes place at St. Benedict School, located at 4811 Wallingford Ave. N., and serves as a fundraiser for the private school. The event includes carnival rides, a beer garden, craft vendors, live music, and, of course, food vendors. Needless to say, sausage reigns supreme. Seattle P-I editorial cartoonist David Horsey, a Wallingford resident, designed the Wurstquake t-shirts for this year's festival.

For more information about the festival, call 417-1885 or go to www.stbens.net.

Organic Harvest Fair set for Sept. 8

Seattle Tilth Association will host its 2nd annual Organic Harvest Fair on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Center, located at N. 50th and Sunnyside Ave. N in the Wallingford neighborhood. The event will include a children's festival and parade, cooking demonstrations, an artisan bread celebration, a tomato taste-off, city chickens, a home-baked bread contest and live music. For details, call 633-0451.