Delridge Community Gathers to Celebrate Summer at Roxhill Park

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On June 15, residents from Delridge and surrounding neighborhoods gathered at Roxhill Park for Summer Solstice Fest to celebrate the beginning of the season and learn about community resources and upcoming infrastructure projects in the area.

Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) welcomed over 100 community members to the park as part of a series of events in partnership with the City of Seattle. Despite the rainy forecast, families spent a pleasantly sunny afternoon at the park enjoying nature-based art activities from DNDA’s Art team, live music, face painting, stormwater education, banh mi courtesy of Saigon Deli, and a free raffle with prizes from local businesses.

DNDA hosted Summer Solstice Fest in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to offer Delridge families an opportunity to connect with city officials involved in upcoming developments in the neighborhood and provide feedback, particularly improvements that are part of SPU’s Longfellow Starts Here project.

“I would love to see more events like this,” said Delridge resident Ty Murray. “I feel like we aren’t really given the opportunity to learn about what the city is planning to do in our area, and it’s great to see all the kids enjoying themselves, too.”  

Live music from clarinet player Benson Smith and drummer Max Imholte filled the park as community members explored the event. DNDA Arts Program Manager Erin Kollar and teaching artist Rowan Foster led our final Community Arts Day at Roxhill Park. This program provided weekly drop-in EcoArts activities for the Roxhill community. Participants created suncatchers using yarn, air-dry clay, and natural materials gathered in the park. 

Sound Transit and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) also sought community feedback for upcoming projects at the celebration. They shared plans for the West Seattle Link Extension and requested participants’ comments on options for the future station’s seating, lighting, pavement, and landscaping. 

Kids and adults alike learned about stormwater pollution with the help of a hands-on watershed model demonstration led by SPU. Local artist Natalie Dupille created a graphic recording – a style of artistic note-taking – representing themes from the event and giving attendees a platform to share their hopes for the future of Roxhill Park and Longfellow Creek. 

Roxhill Park is the creek’s historic headwaters and one of the city’s few remaining peat bogs. Recently, however, it has become clear that the hydrology of the bog has changed significantly, and the area is retaining far less water than it did historically. This affects the vegetation in the park and the creek’s overall health. One project highlighted at the event is a pilot study that involves installing underground barriers along part of the wetland to see if that will help retain more water. You can learn more about the bog and pilot project here. 

Many thanks to the City of Seattle, Saigon Deli, West Seattle Bowl, C & P Coffee Company, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Historic Admiral Theater for their contributions to Summer Solstice Fest.