Archive for Downtown Renton

Family Fair Follow-up

May 22, 2013 / / No comments

Here’s a little report on the Rely On Renton Family Fair. In case you missed it, it was awesome! Thirty-four local businesses and nonprofits came together to share their vision for families in our community. It was a chance for families with kids to see what kinds of services are being offered right in their backyard. It was also a great opportunity for small businesses to get some face-to-face contact with people that might not find them otherwise. Win-win!

Many small local businesses and nonprofits were represented at the Rely On Renton Family Fair

We had lots of businesses with things that kids love, like RylieCakes, serving up their gluten-free brownies and cookies!

RylieCakes served up some gluten free goodies for the kiddies

Many of the booths hosted activities for kids. Blossoming Hill Montessori, for instance, made catapults from rubber bands and popsicle sticks. Their projectiles? Neon colored pompoms, of course!

Blossoming Hilll Montessori

Our favorite children’s entertainer, caspar babypants, played to a captivated audience. His silly songs appeal to a wide audience. This is what one grandma had to say about his performance…

“I’M IN LOVE WITH CASPER BABY PANTS! IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I DANCED AND CLAPPED AND SANG ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF KIDS. WHAT GRREAT FUN! IT SHOULD BE REQUIRED OF ALL SENIORS. IT MAKES YOUR HEART SING!”

caspar babypants packed out the house!

We had other acts on our stage as well, from dancing, to martial arts, to product demos. One highlight of the day was when CryOut stepped up to the stage and brought in a little dubstep to downtown Renton! Way to step it up Renton!!!

CryOut brought some positive urban vibes to our event

The crowd loved CryOut’s addictive urban beats and positive message!

Even the Grandmas got into CryOut's addictive dubstep beats

The best part for me was to see families flocking to downtown Renton, and even the TRANSIT CENTER (what what?) to a fresh, lively, vibrant,family event. Moments like these help us as residents of Renton to balance our concerns for safety of the downtown area with a greater understanding of the potential for good and positive experiences in these beautiful spaces.

Someone's been enjoying RylieCakes!

Think about this for a minute: If you can dream it, it can happen. If you never dream it, how can it ever come about? Change starts with imagination. Positive change starts with imagination AND faith enough to carry through to the end.

Category: Community, Downtown Renton, Events / Tags: , , ,

Press Release: Rely On Renton Family Fair Joins Annual Downtown Spring Celebrations

May 2, 2013 / / No comments

Rely On Renton Family Fair Joins Annual Downtown Spring Celebrations

By Amanda Liddle
May 2, 2013

Renton, WA– Adding an event to the 11th Annual Renton Spring Festival and Downtown Poker Run, Rely On Renton community campaign managers, Ian & Amanda Liddle, are hosting a family resource fair for Renton-area families on May 11, 2013 from noon to 5pm. The event will take place in the Pavilion Event Center, at 233 Burnett Ave. S, adjacent to the Piazza. Popular children’s entertainer, Caspar Babypants, aka Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United States of America, will be headlining the event stage, joined by other acts such as dance, martial arts, music, and jump rope. There will also be food trucks, door prizes, and free gifts to the first 400 families who register.

“We created this event because we heard families complain that there is no central location to find resources for kids in Renton. That’s why we’re bringing all these people together under one roof for the day!” says Ian Liddle. “The response has been nearly overwhelming; we knew it would be a great event, but we certainly didn’t expect to fill up all our exhibitor spots in the first year.” The event will feature nearly forty small businesses and non-profits from the Renton area that are resources for families with kids ages 2-14. All ages are welcome. The event is free of charge to attendees.

Piazza Renton will hold its 11th annual Spring Festival in Piazza park in downtown Renton at 3rd and Burnett. This arts and crafts show will feature over 50 vendors showcasing handcrafted goods including jewelry, clothing, items for children, furniture, cosmetics, food, and housewares. The festival is run by a team of volunteers from Piazza Renton, the group that spearheads volunteer efforts for many downtown events, including the Farmers Market, Return to Renton Car Show, the Fall Harvest Festival, and the annual tree lighting.

The Downtown Events Committee is organizing the annual Poker Run—a family-friendly activity that gets participants blitzing through downtown Renton: participating businesses hand out random playing cards to players, with the possibility of winning prizes with the best 5-card hands. There is a suggested donation of $1 or a canned food item for the Salvation Army Food Bank.

For more information, please contact:

Ian & Amanda Liddle
Rely On Renton
425-243-3399
info@relyonrenton.com

http://relyonrenton.com

Category: Downtown Renton, Events, Featured /

Rely On Renton Family Fair

April 9, 2013 / / No comments

FamilyFairFlyer

Category: Downtown Renton, Events, Featured /

Downtown Renton

March 5, 2013 / / No comments

Speed of Travel

 

rushing, speeding, polluting
always moving, looking ahead
never seeing
the beautiful, the fragile, the distinctive
collection of small growing things
trampled underfoot
slow down, stop, look around
the beautiful, the fragile, the elements of place
can grow again once we begin
to acknowledge them

 

I regularly ask Renton residents that I meet, “Have you been to downtown Renton?” The most common response is “Downtown? There’s a downtown Renton?” (a variation of this is, “Downtown? You mean the Landing?”)

My answer to you, my confused fellow Rentonians (Rentonites? Rentonistas?) is as follows:

To those of you who have not experienced downtown Renton, and wonder whether or not there is such a thing, you are missing out. South Third and surrounding vicinity, is smack in the middle of the historic district of Renton. If you want to taste Renton’s unique flavor of community, this is the place. Legends abound about prohibition-era subterranean tunnel networks beneath the city, underground jail cells, ghosts, and scandal.

Chat up the friendly, genuine merchants that characterize this area and you will find many that have lived here since childhood. If you ask them to tell you stories of cruising the “Renton Loop,” they’ll probably tell you Renton could have been the inspiration for “American Graffiti”: glamorous tales of girls, cars, speed, and run-ins with the law. They will blush and tell you that it was a time long ago, and they have long since settled down, but you can still see a mischievous adolescent twinkling in their eye.

I’m just going to come out and say it: I love The Landing. I do! It’s convenient, clean, and attractive. It feels safe. There are several beautiful indie stores in The Landing, and a few anchor chain stores. I can get things at the The Landing that I can’t buy at independent shops, without leaving Renton. That being said, The Landing will never be downtown. It doesn’t look like Renton because it isn’t Renton. It’s history is short and foreign. It attracts ubiquitous chains that no roots. Thousands of other cities have outdoor malls just like it.

Downtown Renton is ripe to be discovered. It is full of hidden treasures: passionate young people, sharp-witted old people, food and wine, fresh and aged things, all overlooked. If we want Renton to be a place where people come…stay…stop… we must have a vibrant downtown scene.  If we want a vibrant downtown scene, we need to choose to spend there: spend time, money, and effort. We must care about downtown.

Without care, our city center will quickly become a placeless space: a void through which people commute. Shop local. Dine local. Play local. Enjoy life local.  If not you, then who?

For a list of independent downtown businesses, visit our “locals only” directory!

Category: Downtown Renton, Featured, Shop Local / Tags:

Valentine’s Day Adventures in Renton

February 16, 2013 / / 4 comments

 

For Valentine’s Day, Ian and I decided to take to Downtown Renton to see what kinds of adventures we could have.

First we stopped over at Garland Jewelers to get me a pretty little piece of jewelry. We made it at 5:45pm (which for us means getting off work early). They were closed, so we took silly pictures in front of their store. Don’t you love the quaint mosaic tile floor with their name on it

Next we walked until we found something open: Old Renton Book Exchange! I love books of all kinds, and particularly children’s books. We stopped in to see what we could see. Dacia, the owner, had some great recommendations for us. This is how the conversation went:

Me: “What do you have with pretty illustrations?”

Dacia: “How pretty is pretty?”

Me: “I don’t know, pretty.”

Based on her recommendation I found a new book of a French fairy tales with illustrations from Edmund Dulac. Monsieur Dulac’s illustrations are what I would call “pretty”. We also bought the next book that the Old Renton Book Exchange book club is reading. I hope we can read it before Wednesday when they meet again!

After leaving the bookstore with hugs and well-wishes, we stopped over at Renton Flower Shop where Ian had cleverly called ahead and ordered me roses. Don’t they look lovely? They smelled so lovely too! Thanks Ian!

The arrangement was an aromatic delight to carry down the street as we walked toward our dinner destination. On the way I noticed this sign in the window of Uncle Mo’s Snappy Inn. Funny the things you notice when you walk as opposed to drive.

We arrived momentarily at our dinner destination: Red House Beer & Wine Shoppe and Tapas Bar. We had peeked at the Valentine menu. Our mouths watered with anticipation.

 

We sat at a table surrounded by floor-to-ceiling wine bottles. The flowers we bought looked beautiful on the table. Here is Ian poring over our new treasures.

Ian had the venison special, which had a fruity balsamic reduction, and came with garlic turnip mashed potatoes and sauteed spicy greens. I had the Filet Mignon Oscar with Dungeness & Rock Crab Meat, Asparagus Caper Hollandaise Sauce over Garlic Turnip Mashed Potatoes. My steak was fork-tender, and the sauce delectable. I didn’t lick my plate. That’s not to say I didn’t want to.

After dinner we drove up to the Highlands to get a little something for Ian. We stopped in at 4th Street Wine and Spirits for some Scotch. Here’s a happy Ian with his treat. Actually we both love Scotch, and buying from this independent liquor store, so this gift is a win-win-win!

Our final stop was at Sweet Decadence Chocolates in Newcastle*. Like business smarties, they were open until 10pm on Valentine’s Day! Even in the late evening, Sweet Decadence had a wide selection of handmade chocolates and caramels. We chose a half-pound of truffles, which were carefully placed in a white box and tied with a red ribbon.

 

*For the record, we are not exclusive to Renton. We love Newcastle and businesses in Newcastle too! Ian and I both grew up there. Ian’s dad, Stuart Liddle, was among the first city council members when Newcastle incorporated as a city.

Category: Downtown Renton, Featured, Holidays, Local Food, Shop Local /

February’s “Love Our Locals” Contest

February 11, 2013 / / No comments

February’s “Love Our Locals” Contest

Show some love to our local businesses on the RelyLocal – Renton directory and win a pair of tickets to the Renton Civic Theater 25th Anniversary Dinner and Auction
($100 value!)

 

Here’s how: from now until March 2nd, rate and review businesses that are listed on the RelyLocal – Renton directory. Reviews must be at least 30 characters long. Each action will receive entries in a drawing. Actions include writing reviews on RelyLocal – Renton, publicly promoting reviews on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+), and sharing this contest on social media. Drawing will be conducted on March 3rd, 2013. Winner will be notified by email.

Points will be awarded as follows:

 

REVIEW!
  • Write a review on the RelyLocal–Renton for a business. Qualifying reviews must be at least 30 characters long. One review per business only. – 2 entries each.
  • Additional point for being the first review of a busiiness- 1 entry each
PROMOTE!
  • Publicly post a link to the RelyLocal business listing reviewed on OUR Facebook wall (e.g. http://www.relylocal.com/renton-washington/business_listings/…) – 1 entry per review
  • Tweet the link to the RelyLocal business listing you’ve reviewed and tag us (EXAMPLE: I just reviewed Renton Civic Theater on RelyLocal- Renton http://goo.gl/sylbC  @RelyOnRenton) – 1 entry per review
  • Share a link to the RelyLocal business listing you’ve reviewed on Google+ and tag us (EXAMPLE: I just reviewed Renton Civic Theater on RelyLocal- Renton http://goo.gl/sylbC  @RelyOnRenton)
SHARE!
  • Tweet about this contest and tag us (EXAMPLE: Review local Renton businesses and be entered in a contest for a pair of RCT dinner & auction tickets! Details here: http://goo.gl/bZbQv) – 1 entry total
  • Share about this contest and tag us on Google+ (EXAMPLE: Review local Renton businesses and be entered in a contest for a pair of RCT dinner & auction tickets! Details here: http://goo.gl/bZbQv)- 1 entry total

Good Luck and Happy Reviewing!

Category: Contest, Downtown Renton, Events /

Moving On: Letting go of the old makes room for the new

February 5, 2013 / / 2 comments

Ian and I moved a week ago. Moving is not my favorite project. I always start out determined to be organized, but by the end, you find yourself chucking random things into boxes. For instance, found in one box: a half-used bag of pecans, 2 shallots, a small stack of printer paper, a stapler, a loose earring, the blender jar, and a couple seed catalogs.

It would be less trouble to move if the place where you moved was exactly the same: same size, shape, scale. It always seems like one piece of furniture or another inevitably doesn’t work out in the new place and has to go. It’s not that the chair / table / lamp is necessarily faulty, offensive, or outdated. Instead the environment has changed, and so must the items contained in it.

Last week we received the news of Renton Western Wear’s pending closure. It is the most recent in a dramatic sequence of downtown Renton closures. Each time another closure is announced, panic and despair spread swiftly as plague through the surrounding community. Each business owner wonders if they might be next to succumb.

It reminds me of a yoga class I took a few weeks ago. The teacher drew our attention to our breath. “Breathe in. Breathe Out. Your breath is nature’s gift to remind you that everything in this life is temporary. We must let go of the old in order to allow space for the new to come in.”

The face of Renton has changed dramatically in the last decade. No longer predominantly white, Renton is home to people representing a veritable rainbow of ethnicities. Meadows and forests have been replaced with developments. The population has increased, and little wonder! Our location is superb. We have fantastic parks and city amenities. What do we have to be proud of in Renton? Umm, hello. We have the Seahawks.

Change can be scary. Or is it?

When some people see empty stores, they see a problem of downtown decline, rumors of crime, or a sludgy economy. Basically, they fear the void, and want to fill it immediately. Rather than resorting to fear, we should be interrogating reality. Ask, “What does it mean that we have seen so many downtown Renton business closures?” It’s important to note that a problem is also an opportunity in disguise. For one company, a vacant building is a vanished dream. For another it is a possibility and hope for the future.

Take a deep breath when you see vacant storefronts. Breathe in and remember the our past: it’s what brought us to this place and made us who we are. Then breathe out, move on, and imagine what the future of Renton could be.

What do you want to see in downtown Renton? What would be useful / beautiful / exciting/ awesome? What would you brag about to your out-of-town friends?

Category: Downtown Renton, Featured /
 
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