A new exhibit featuring ten photographs by BTB photog Michael Brunk began a two month display at the Burien Community Center today.

The set of photos features images from several Burien parks displaying the local beauty from all seasons of the year.

The photos will be displayed until the end of March 2012.

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Avenue SW.

It’s open to the public from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm Monday thru Thursday, and 8:30 am to 5:00 pm on Friday.

Burien’s annual 20-20 Vision Silent Art Auction fundraiser is coming to the Community Center on Nov. 19th, where there will be 400 pieces of art available for $40 each.

The fun begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 10 p.m. at the center, which is located at 14700 6th Ave SW.

This serves as a fundraiser for Burien Arts, and a $10 donation is suggested.

Our friends at Burien Parks, Recreation and Cultural Service want our Readers to know that they’re seeking artists to showcase in 2012 at the Burien Community Center, located at 14700 6th Ave SW.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011.

Here’s more from an announcement:

Artists working in 2 dimensional media are invited to apply for the 2012 schedule of gallery exhibitions at the Burien Community Center, 14700 6th Ave SW. The exhibit space is four –40” wide by 70” tall connected panels for hanging 2D art work. Artists are encouraged to view space before applying to see if suitable. The Community Center is open Monday-Thursday, 8:30 AM-8 PM, Friday 8:30 am-5pm. The lobby is monitored by staff, but there is no insurance for objects submitted for exhibition, however, every precaution is taken for the safety of the artwork.

This is not a sales space, but artists are able to have contact information with their artwork.

For each exhibition, artists and their work will be publicized by the City of Burien through press releases and staff will be available to assist with hanging work and creation of wall tags.

Please e-mail the following application materials to ginak@burienwa.gov:

• 5 digital images (work completed within the last two years) representing the type of work proposed for the exhibition. Please do not send photographs, original artwork, or slides.
• A list of the images submitted with medium and sizes.
• Resume detailing exhibition history and/or personal statement.(Please include name, address, phone number, and e-mail address.)

Questions? Please contact Gina Kallman at 206-391-6605 or e-mail: ginak@burienwa.gov

Although we didn’t get a firm number, a conversation with Parks director Michael Lafreniere and supervisor Casey Stanley suggested that this was clearly a record-setting crowd for this event, now in it’s second year at the new Community Center.

The throngs of ghouls and goblins (and maybe one or two prince and princesses) even had staffers scrambling to do an emergency candy run as stocks dwindled.

BTB photog Michael Brunk was on the scene with his assistant Lindsey, snapping photos and even wrangling live tarantulas and snakes in the interest of providing coverage of local happenings.

He assembled the following gallery. You can click individual thumbnails for view full-sized photos.

“Spend the evening strolling through the tree-lit Dottie Harper Park, enjoy a warm bonfire while listening to music or visit the mystical tent for a tarot card reading,” reads an announcement. “Plenty of goodies await from local food vendors. Sound like a lot? Wait, there’s more! Follow the lantern-lit pathway into the Community Center for puppet theatre, the Thriller Dance, arts & crafts, Day of the Dead Alters, pumpkin carvers, carnival games for kids (with purchase of $4 wristband), photo opts, and visit the Creepy Critter room to hold a tarantula or scorpion! You won’t want to miss out on this spooktacular evening!”

Carnival game wrist bands will cost $4 per child, and can be purchased at the door.

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Ave SW, next to Dottie Harper Park.

For more information call (206) 988-3700 or visit burienparks.net.

Burien’s 9th annual ‘A Taste of Tuscany’ spaghetti feed fundraiser for the Senior Prorgams will be held from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 23rd at the Community Center.

The evening costs just $8 and includes spaghetti dinner and musical entertainment. Open to all, and families are welcome!

It’ll be held in the Community Center’s Seahurst Banquet Hall, located at 14700 6th Ave SW.

All proceeds help the continuation of services and programs for seniors in our community.

Tickets are available at the Burien Community Center, or you can purchase tickets online here.

For more information (or to purchase tickets), please call (206) 988-3700.

PaRCS Administrative Assistant Vivian Casteneda and Recreation Instructor Alex Lewis check out the Freedom Shrine at the Burien Community Center.

The Exchange Club of Highline recently installed a ‘Freedom Shrine’ at the Burien Community Center, in an effort to celebrate “the proud heritage that all Americans share.”

The Freedom Shrine, sponsored by the National Exchange Club, is a collection of photographic reproductions of original documents from American history. The permanent display includes the Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Several months ago, the Burien Parks Department was offered the opportunity to host the display by the Exchange Club. After much discussion, a location at the Community Center was selected and the Exchange Club members proceeded with installation of the project.

The Freedom Shrine program is designed to remind Americans that the freedoms, rights and liberties Americans enjoy today did not come easily and that these gifts must be cherished and protected. More than 12,000 Freedom Shrines have been dedicated in schools, military installations and government buildings since the program began in 1949.

The Exchange Club of Highline began in 1961. They will be celebrating their 50th year this October. Their contributions to the community include local food banks, New Futures, Transform Burien, Child Haven and Ruth Dykeman. The organization recently distributed over 550 school supply backpacks to students in the Highline School District.

For more information, check out their website: http://www.exchangeclubofhighline.com

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Ave SW.

Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (SEED) is hosting a “City Light Community Solar Q&A” workshop from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. this Saturday, July 9^th, at the Burien Community Center to discuss a community-based solar energy project involving solar picnic shelters.

This is a free, family-friendly event, and refreshments will be provided.

“Come learn how you can be a part of a Community Solar project!” reads a website, which adds:

Seattle City Light is launching an innovative community-based solar energy project at Jefferson Park. Up to 500 customers will be able to enroll in the first project and receive bill credits for the electricity produced by a group of solar picnic shelters. These solar shelters will generate clean, renewable electricity while providing a place for community gatherings.

This workshop will provide a brief overview of the project, Q&A and enrollment details. Refreshments provided! Families welcome!

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6^th Ave SW.

For more info, visit www.buriensolar.eventbrite.com.

The City of Burien announced Thursday (May 5) that residents are now able to get fresh organic produce and local artisan foods delivered conveniently to the Burien Community Center.

The City Parks Recreation & Cultural Services (PaRCS) Department has teamed up with Full Circle Farms, a farmers’ cooperative, to be a host site for their delivery program of Farm-to-Table produce. The program in Burien is modeled after a similar effort at Tacoma’s community centers. The first delivery in Burien was on May 3.

Residents can sign-up online to receive routine delivery of customized orders containing fresh fruits and vegetables. Boxes are delivered to the Community Center on Tuesday mornings. Members are able to pick up their boxes on Tuesdays from 3 - 7 p.m. or Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The PaRCS Dept. is participating in the program to provide a healthy service and promote good nutrition in the community as part of the “Healthy Highline” initiative. PaRCS also hopes to attract new community members to the community center through this program and expose them to its many programs.

To sign up for the program or for more information, go to the website: http://www.fullcircle.com/.

BEE KEEPER 2010 18x24 – india ink over guache resist over oil paint on gesso coated w.c. paper.

Artist Garreth Schuh will be displaying his artwork at the Burien Community Center for the entire month of May.

The Burien Community Center is located at 14700 6th Ave SW.

The hours are Monday-Friday 8:30am-8:00pm and Fridays 8:30am-5pm.

For more information please call 206-988-3700.

Here’s Garreth’s bio from his website:

I grew up in a rural area south of Seattle where I spent much of my time with my grandparents, who farmed, made things by hand and lived a rich but frugal life. My grandmother introduced me to oil painting, and her “matter-of-fact” portrayal of her subjects stayed with me as I matured. I studied art and architecture through college and I obtained a Master’s Degree in the late 1980s in Philadelphia. I built a career around a parallel focus on creating art and architecture, and though I have left that rural life behind, I have always felt the pull of the lessons of my childhood and a connection to my grandparents’ generation.

In the early 1990s I became disabled, which dramatically changed every aspect of my life. I have been fortunate to be able to rebuild my life around the limitations of a wheelchair, and I now find that much of my inspiration for making art, and for life in general, is an effort to stay connected to my grandparents and their generation’s resourceful way of life. Many of my paintings recall my childhood experiences with them and the things they taught me on the farms and fields that I played in and helped to work on. My disability profoundly limits my options to engage the world physically, but painting from memories of that rural life keeps me tangibly connected to my grandparents and gives my life balance.

For more information about the artist please go to: www.garrethschuh.com.

Here’s more of his work:

STILL LIFE WITH GRINDER TWO 2002 16x20 oil on canvas.