New Classes for the New Year

We are pleased to announce two new classes beginning in January:

Nia
class offered by Lesley Tinker, Lesley@niadivas.com

1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 7pm to 8pm

begins January 6, 2010 with a free get-started class!

This twice monthly Nia class is the perfect complement to your existing fitness and well-being practices or as an extra Nia class to your Nia portfolio. Nia – barefoot movement to music with soul and kick. Based on nine movement forms from yoga, dance, and martial arts, Nia gives you what your body thrives on: movement variety! Nia further offers fitness for body, mind, emotions, and spirit through a balance of specific steps and free movement self-expression. Come feel the difference, the Nia difference.

Prices: $12 drop-in ($10 for Highland Park Improvement Club members).
Pay as you go or pay ahead punchcard: Buy 5 classes, get 1 free.

And we are really excited to welcome our first afternoon childrens’ class:
Mondays with Jenna Lutton/Gildenfire Dance
3:45 pm – Preschool Dance
Class
4:30 pm – K-3 Dance Class

Gildenfire Dance: www.gildenfiredance.com/

Gildenfire Dance has been teaching children a love of dance for 10 years.

Classes consist of a Brain Dance warm-up, games and stories highlighting the week’s movement concept, practice of dance skills and an ending stretch for cool down and flexibility. Each week we work on an area of focus such as space level, size, balance, directions and spatial relationships. We build on earlier concepts and use familiar games in new ways to explore the movement concepts with a combination of teacher directed and child directed activities.

Price: $65 per 6-week session

Preparing for the Not-So-Silent Night Parade

lantern workshop1

Making lanterns!

There will be lots of light at the parade, thanks to these neighborhood lantern-makers. (Flashlights and headlamps are allowed, too). And thanks to Tricky Bunny of the Fremont Arts Council for conducting this fun workshop!

Tracy of the West Seattle Blog stopped by too, see her pictures and comments here. Thanks Tracy!

Lantern Making Workshop, Sunday December 27

The Highland Park Improvement Club is hosting a luminaria (lantern) making workshop on Sunday December 27th from noon until 6:00.  HPIC members, friends and families, and neighbors are welcome to join.  Even if you are not making a lantern, please stop in and say hello to your neighbors!

Balloon Lanterns
Visiting artist Tricky Bunny from the Fremont Arts Council will provide instruction on how to make a paper mache lantern.  To make a balloon lantern, please bring:
— Balloon(s)
— Tissue paper (colorful tissue paper looks especially pretty)
— Wire to attach your lantern to a stick or rod
— Tea candle (the kind where the candle is in a metal cup

Tricky Bunny will provide Elmer’s wood glue, dry wall paper paste, acrylic medium for paper mache, and a hot glue gun and hot glue gun sticks, along with demonstration.  Wear clothing that you don’t mind getting glue or paper mache goop on.  (Also, for gluten allergy sufferers, please note that wallpaper paste contains gluten.)

Bring snacks to share! Children are welcome.
For more information, Email HPIC or leave a message at 206-762-9825.

Dance tonight! and start thinking about New Years Eve!

New Years Eve: Thurs Dec 31
Not-So-Silent Night Parade
meet at 6:30pm HPIC parking lot
bring drums/pots & pans/tambourines/musical instruments
followed by
the Sage Comet fire performance
HPIC parking lot after the parade, around 7:30pm
and then the Highland Park House Party at 8pm
an electronic jukebox with playlists from the neighborhood:
a guaranteed eclectic assortment that will dance us all into the New Year.
Plus, gourmet homemade food
from the neighborhood foodistas!
(byob)
$15/person, $5/kids under 12
and bring dollar bills for the jukebox!

Dance this Saturday

The Highland Park Improvement Club Holiday Potluck and Dance is a warm tradition that gathers friends and neighbors to celebrate the season by sharing food and good times, and collecting toys for children and food for the food bank.

dance-dec09

Enjoy dancing and fun with friends old and new.

And watch for our New Years Eve plans…coming soon! We are planning the Not-So-Silent Night Parade, the Sage Comet fire performance and the Highland Park House Party…a neighborhood jukebox with a playlist that will keep you happy & dancing well into the New Year. Plus, gourmet homemade food from the neighborhood foodistas!

Help the neighborhood trim our tree!

Here’s an invitation from Dan Mullins, Chair of HPAC (Highland Park Action Committee):

Instead of November and December HPAC meetings, we have decided to roll them together into one
Big HPAC Holiday Potluck & Tree Trimming Party!
Our last meeting in October had the best pot-luck buffet so far, but we want it to be even bigger and better at our special Holiday Pot-Luck!
The HP Improvement Club has also asked for our help in trimming their big ol’ fake tree and I bet they have 90 years worth of lights and bulbs and garland and everything we might need to make it spectacular.
So tell your neighbors, bring the kids and let’s get in the holiday spirit!
HPAC Holiday Pot-Luck
Wednesday, Dec 2nd at 7:00 PM

1116 SW Holden St
(BYOB)

Happy Thanksgiving

We are thankful for all the friends, neighbors, members old and new, and other supporters who helped us celebrate our 90th Anniversary!

See club member and photographer Dina Johnson’s pictures here.

See the West Seattle blog’s pictures here.

The Highland Park Improvement Club’s longtime service to the community was acknowledged and honored by the King County Council’s Letter of Recognition, presented by Representative Sharon Nelson, and the Seattle City Council’s Proclamation, presented by Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.

You Are Invited to the 90th Anniversary Gala!

Good times at 12th and Holden
(picture taken sometime between November 28, 1919 and July 3, 1959)

Enjoy tea and sandwiches with friends and neighbors. All are invited – kids are welcome. The Zadrozny Jazz Trio will provide music for dancing, schmoozing, munching, remembering…

At HPIC, 1116 SW Holden on Sunday, November 15, from 2 to 5pm.

New, improved website!

As always, there’s still lots to do here. The main thing was to get a new framework up and running, and have a format where people can upload comments, pictures, video and all that cool stuff. And have it be easily updated. The blog part of the site will help keep it current, and the pages will hold the more static information.

There will be some learning curve, but lots more activity and information on the site.