Wallingford, Seattle

The first hint that something was amiss in Wallingford came from Jenny: Penguins seem to be invading Wallingford all of a sudden. I spotted one inside Alphabet Soup this morning and then another one outside the Boys and Girls Club a few minutes later. They're quite colorful and seemingly harmless. Penguins? In Wallingford? We've had some unusual weather of late, but still. Maybe she meant guys in penguins suits? Guy in a penguin suit would be hilarious, but nope, they're little…

My Green Lake reminds us there's free theater to be had in the neighborhood. The Bathhouse theater is showing, for one weekend only (this weekend), The Pillowman: The newly minted Bathhouse Ensemble, a collective of young theater artists dedicated to independent, risky and entertaining work, present their inaugural production, the Tony-nominated The Pillowman, by award-winning Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, June 26th-27th at the historic Bathhouse Theater on Green Lake. McDonagh's The Pillowman is a dark, twisted look at the role of…

We know we just posted about the Green Blocks program this morning, but an astute reader or two pointed out that the deadline for submitting is today, Friday June 26th. We called to see if we could get an extension for Wallingford, but no luck, as they're concerned about being overwhelmed given their existing responses. On the bright side, they said that Wallingford was "saturated" with applications, so if you rush your application in today, there's not a bad chance other…

Last week, we recommended taking advantage of the temporary closing of 520 by renting kayaks and paddling around the temporarily quiet Arboretum. A couple of readers took our suggestion and wrote a report on their blog, http://mojo.us/. It's worth checking out if only for the gorgeous pictures they shot (including the one at right). See? You should do what we say. It's often a good idea.

We had no idea, but it sounds like Wide World Books and Maps (4411 Wallingford Ave N) was on the ropes, and considering closing its doors forever. Fortunately, it's been pulled back from the brink by avid traveler and new owner, Julie Hunt. The Seattle Times has the full story. Welcome to the neighborhood Julie, and thanks for saving a Wallingford original.

Joan C. tipped us off to an energy efficiency program the EOS Alliance is offering Seattle residents. It sounds like they'll send a pro to do a full assessment of your home, inside and out, with recommendations for how to improve, and it's free. But there's a catch. They can't do everyone, so they're choosing which houses to provide the service to based on how many people from a single block apply. Here's the scoop: EOS Alliance is helping Seattle residents…

It's Gay Pride Weekend, Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and Wallingford is not going to let Capitol Hill have all the fun. Changes (2103 N. 45th St), our one and only gay bar, will be celebrating with some sort of tropical themed weekend, including a Pride Luau BBQ Celebration on Saturday, tropical drink specials and noon to 2 am happy hour all week (except Sunday, when you'll have to wait until 2 pm for happy hour). We've…