Entries tagged with “Blakely Hall”.
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Thu 11 Mar 2010
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GET YOUR GREEN ON!
This Saturday, March 13th 1-4pm
St. Patrick’s Edition 2nd Saturday Home Tour
For a FREE “What’s New “ Tour Map, stop by the Issaquah Highlands Info Center
1011 NE High Street, Suite 103
Issaquah, WA 98029
The Northwest’s leading Green master planned community!
- All new homes meet a minimum Built Green® 4-Star rating
- All new homes ENERGY STAR® certified to reduce your energy bill
- Visit LEED® Silver certified Blakely Hall Community Center, Firehouse and Retail buildings.
- Learn about water conservation features
- Experience the Living Green lifestyle of so many Highlands residents
- Visit the American Lung Association of Washington demonstration home at West Highlands Park
For more info on Living Green at Issaquah Highlands visit: http://www.issaquahhighlands.com/living_green.php
Thu 18 Feb 2010
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“PURIM IN ISRAEL” is Chabad of the Central Cascades creative twist this year on their traditional Purim party, to accommodate the anticipated crowds of men, women & children who throng to Chabad for their annual Purim celebration. On Purim, Chabad in Issaquah is the place to be!
Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people, in the year 3405 from Creation (356 bce), from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.” (Purim literally means “lots” for Haman determined the day of annihilation by throwing a lottery). It is observed by public readings of the megillah – “Scroll of Esther,” sending food portions to friends, giving gifts of money to the poor, and enjoying a festive meal accompanied with joyous drink.
Chabad of the Central Cascades grand Purim Bash will be held at Blakely Hall at the Issaquah Highlands on Sunday February 28th at 4:00pm. The celebration will begin with the Megillah Reading (Scroll of Ester), followed by a scrumptious buffet dinner of Israeli delicacies, exciting entertainment, Israeli music, hamentashen, spectacular children’s program and lots of laughter! All are welcome to join regardless of affiliation or background.
Pre-Event Registration with EZ-Pass Entry: Adults $15 Children (Ages 3 – 12)
$10 To Register online: www.ChabadIssaquah.com/PurimIsrael.
To pay at the Door: Adults $20 Children (Ages 3 -12) $15.
This event is paid by Chabad of the Central Cascades and the help of Port Blakely Communities and Highland Council. Among Chabad’s many other Purim activities is a mishloach manot (food gifts) campaign and a Purim Eve Megillah Reading at the center Saturday night at 7:00pm. Chabad’s mishloach manot campaign will focus on sending food gifts to hundreds of family’s in the Issaquah and Sammamish vicinities, bringing to home Purim’s message of sharing and joyfulness.
For more information on Chabad’s Purim festivities or on the holiday of Purim and its observances, contact Chabad of the Central Cascades at 425-985-7639 or log on to www.chabadissaquah.com/Purim.
Tags: Blakely Hall, Chabad of the Central Cascades, Esther, Highlands Council, Holidays and Observances, Issaquah Highlands, Jew, Jewish holiday, Judaism, Port Blakely Communities, Purim, Religion and Spirituality
Tue 26 Jan 2010
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SAVE THE DATE! February 3, 2010, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Blakely Hall, 2550 NE Park Drive
Save the date for the Town Hall Meeting at Blakely Hall. We will learn from Rene` Ancinas and Judd Kirk about work currently in progress at The High Streets and future plans for development.
Fri 20 Nov 2009
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The Highlands Council teamed up with the
Highlands Contribution Club and LeChic Pet last month to collect food for the Issaquah Food Bank and the community didn’t disappoint! Over 1,500 pounds of donations have been counted so far and there is still more to come.
1,000 pounds were collected at last month’s Green Halloween Block Party. For every 5 cans brought to the event, attendees received 1 free ticket. In addition, donations were collected at numerous locations around Issaquah Highlands throughout October.
Four, 13-year-old Sammamish girls, supported the drive by collecting donations at their birthday party. Stella Mazzaferro, Nani Klee, Kendall Spencer and Payton Simone celebrated their thirteenth birthday at Blakely Hall October 24. Instead of gifts, they asked their guest to bring bangs of groceries for the Issaquah Food Bank.
“The girls knew they wanted to have a party and that they didn’t want gifts,” said Gina Mazzaferro,
Stella’s mother. “Asking guests to give to the food bank was a great solution.”
“We loved seeing all the bags of food,” said Stella. “So many friends brought whole bags filled with canned food!”
The party brought in an estimated 500 pounds. The Highlands Contribution Club collected and delivered the food the next day.
“The party turned out awesome and we received a lot of donations,” said Kendall.
In addition to the 1,500 pounds counted in October, the Highlands Contribution Club and the Neighborhood Captains organized a Halloween Food Crawl, October 31. Community volunteers canvassed the Highlands collecting donations. Final results from the Food Crawl aren’t in yet, but Contribution Club leader Tony Bristol anticipates another 1,000 lbs to go to the food bank. Watch
your weekly email bulletins and www.ihwebsite.com for updates.
THANK YOU to all who donated and made this food drive a success!
Thu 27 Aug 2009
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Congratulations to the Issaquah Highlands Toastmasters Club for becoming a fully chartered organization under Toastmasters International, adding to the number of over 10,000 existing clubs worldwide! Currently at 20 members, this club elected the following participants to serve on the executive team to lead the club:
President: Renee Zimmerman
VP of Education: John Bridge
VP of Membership: Chris Hare
VP of Public Relations: Amanda Predmore
Secretary: Irma Dore
Treasurer: Rick Reininger
Sergeant at Arms: Steve Cooke
The mission of this club is: “to provide a mutually supportive and positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.”
What’s in it for you?
Toastmasters will give you the skills and confidence you need to effectively express yourself in any situation. Toastmasters is the most efficient, enjoyable, and affordable way of gaining strong communication and leadership skills. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Renee Zimmerman at reneez@ihmail.com or 425.369.2919.
You are invited to join us anytime! The Issaquah Highlands Toastmasters Club meets the 1st and 3rd Wed’s from 7-8 am and the 2nd and 4th Wed’s from 12-1, all located at Blakely Hall, 2550 NE Park Drive.
Fri 8 May 2009
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Everyone knows now is not the ideal time to put your house on the market. But, if you find yourself in the position to sell, take comfort knowing Issaquah Highlands is one of the most desirable locations to live in the Puget Sound area. May you also find comfort knowing that there are many free resources available to market your home right here in Issaquah Highlands; such as 2nd Saturday Home Tours, regular real estate agent training and www.issaquahhighlands.com.
On the second Saturday of every month the Issaquah Highlands marketing department sponsors a 2nd Saturday Home Tour event. Every for-sale home, new and resale, in the community is encouraged to be held open from 1p.m. to 4p.m. The monthly event is promoted in a variety of media including e-blast announcements to a data base of real estate agents, special directional A-boards placed throughout the community highlighting the event, and an article and/or ad in the New Home Saturday Section of the Seattle Times and Connections News.
Occasionally the 2nd Saturday article and ad promotes a special incentive around a seasonal theme to increase interest and traffic. One recent example of a special promotion was Sweetheart Deals. Every for-sale home, new and resale, was offered one-dozen, red, long-stemmed roses, at no charge from the New Home Information Center, to present to potential buyers visiting their open house on the February 2nd Saturday, which happened to be Valentine’s Day. It was a beautiful day and the Issaquah Highland sidewalks were dotted with buyers walking from one open house to the next building their bouquets as they searched for a Sweetheart Deal on a new home.
Special Open House A-board toppers are available to all Issaquah Highlands listings so you can connect your open house to the 2nd Saturday Home tour. The toppers are complimentary and your agent can pick up one for your home by visiting the New Home Information Center. As a resident you appreciate all the amenities that make Issaquah Highlands such a special place to live; built green homes, great schools, fun parks, over ten miles of trails, the community garden, community events, great restaurants, and easy access to I-90, just to name a few. However, not all agents are as aware so we regularly offer Issaquah Highlands 101. Real estate agents who attend Issaquah Highlands 101, hosted at Blakely Hall, receive a Certificate of Masters Program for Issaquah Highlands Sales Training. A list of certified agents can be found at www.issaquahhighlands.com. Is your agent Issaquah Highlands certified?
Did you know that your real estate agent can give the New Home Information Center permission to post your listing on Issaquahhighlands.com? It’s free and can be regularly updated should you make a price change, for example. Why post your listing on the community website? In February, the average web traffic on Saturdays was 139 unique visitors to the website. On February 14, 2009 an ad and article in the Seattle Times New Home Saturday section increased unique visitors to the website by 29%! In March the Seattle Times Saturday article increased unique web traffic by 33% over the average. On average www.issaquahhighlands.com receives over 3,500 unique visits with the resale page being the third most popular page behind the Home page and the New Home page. Seventy-five percent of the web traffic to issaquahhighlands.com comes from Google. Clearly, buyers are starting their home search online. Issaquahhighlands.com is kept content rich and regularly updated so the community is easy to find when key words are entered into a search engine. An emphasis on information buyers are looking for when comparing one community to another is the filter used when updating the website.
Today, YouTube is the second most used search engine. Issaquah Highlands has over 44 videos available for viewing on YouTube and on the website. These videos highlight various aspects of the quality of life buyers can expect if they move to Issaquah Highlands. To view the videos click movies in the upper right corner of the www.issaquahhighlands.com home page. Ensure your agent is certified as an expert on the community. Take advantage of the complimentary 2nd Saturday Home Tour tools available at the New Home Information Center and encourage your agent to post your home on Issaquahhighlands.com so buyers can find your listing and learn why this is the best place to live!
Fri 1 May 2009
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A little drizzle did not keep Issaquah Highlands families from enjoying this year’s Egg Hunt festivities! Hosted at Blakely Hall and the Village Green on April 11, over 1,000 people, (mostly children) scooped up over 7,000 stuffed
plastic eggs over the course of three age specific hunts! The event began at 10am and there was plenty to do while waiting between egg hunts. The Issaquah High School Jazz Band and Icon Church volunteer musicians kept the crowd energy high on the damp and cloudy day with great music. Other activities included a visit and picture with the Easter Bunny, (played for the third year in a row by IHS student and resident, Alec Jacobs), face painting, coloring table, carnival games, and giant inflatable slide and bounce house. The big hit of the day and new this year, was the farm animal petting zoo!
The event was closed by a lovely ballet exhibition inside Blakely Hall. Local MK Ballet Studio dancers performed to a standing room only crowd. Every child was mesmerized by the beauty of the costumes and graceful dances. “I know every little girl was tugging on their daddy’s sleeve and saying ‘I want to do that too daddy!’”, said Pastor Paul Dean of Alathia Community Church. Pastor Barry Odom of Mosaic Church was the emcee for the event. Barry awarded the Annual Coloring Contest winners from three age specific drawings. The winners are: 0-PreK: Miranda Schafer, K-2nd: Ang Pima Chin, 3rd-5th: Anna Gretchen Robertson. Winners can pick up their prize at Blakely Hall during normal business hours by May 15.
Port Blakely Communities, Highlands Council, and local business sponsors, Accent Insurance, and John Thompson Real Estate provided the financial resources to get the event into production. Ticket sales covered the remaining
costs with all proceeds benefiting Eastside Baby Corner (www.babycorner.org). No homeowner dues were applied to the production of this community event and of course, the event was 100% volunteer run!
Alathia Community Church, Icon Church, and Mosaic Church wish to thank everyone for volunteering, including members of the respective congregations, community members, and most importantly, the hardworking students
from Skyline High School, Issaquah High School, Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, and Issaquah Middle School! “All of the students had a great time while working very hard to keep the event on schedule and maintain a safe environment.” Volunteer and Event Coordinator, Christy Garrard also adds, “Most of the students arrived at 7am to help set up and were the last to leave at the end of the day; we could not have done it without their help!”
The churches are also grateful to the residents who donated candy and toy prizes for the egg hunt and to Clif Bar for donating 1,000 Clif bars for free giveaways. Special thanks to Wyldlife, a middle school branch of Young Life, for hosting the concessions for the event. Everyone enjoyed the Krispy Kreme donuts, hot coffee and hot chocolate.
The Egg Hunt festivities ended at noon for the elementary set but Blakely Hall and Village Green came alive again after sunset when Wyldlife hosted a middle school flashlight egg hunt for over 100 area students! This event was another great example of the success of the urban village development concept. Residents, their friends, and family enjoying the holiday in the park, just steps from their front doors.
Tags: Accent Insurance, Alathia Church, Blakely Hall, Icon Church, Issaquah High School, Issaquah Middle School, Issaquah School District, John Thompson Real Estate, MK Ballet, Mosaic Church, Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, Port Blakely Communities, Skyline High School, YoungLife
Thu 9 Apr 2009
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Jewish, Purim and …. Sushi? Oy vey, what would the Rebbe say? In the case of Rabbi Berry Farkash of the Chabad of the Central Cascade’s, he’d say: “I’ll have three more lox rolls and remember to rap your noise maker when you hear Haman’s name.”
The story of Purim is about Queen Esther who risked her own life to inform King Ahasureus of Persia that his evil Prime Minister, Haman, was plotting to kill all the Jews in one day. She also revealed her true identity as a Jew and that her cousin Mordechi was the one who overheard Haman’s plans. The King executes Haman and promotes Mordechi.
On Monday, March 9th, at 6:30 PM, to commemorate the story of Purim and to remind us that Jews live in every corner of the world, the Chabad celebrated Purim with an Asian flare. Approximately 120 community members nestled into Issaquah Highland’s Blakely Hall for hours of fun and entertainment. The evening started with spirited chatter and warm hugs as friends exchanged Purim greetings. As the hall filled up all eyes focused on the delicately
embroidered silk robes and fluttering fans of the traditional dancers from the NWCS Performing Arts Troupe, led by Rong R. Bian, who graced the crowd with four authentic songs, dances, and instrumental pieces.
When the stage cleared, out popped a projection screen, a Rabbi, and a megillah – “the scroll of Esther”. As the Rabbi read from the megillah, the audience watched a humorous home made silent animation slide show depicting the story of Esther. The video was created by Meir Geisinsky form New York and the students of the Chabad Hebrew School in Issaquah.
To further embrace in the spirit of community all characters in the production were students and friends of the Chabad. By then the crowd was ready for sushi, and lots of it. Rice rolls, lox rolls, veggie rolls, soy sauce, Chinese salad, won ton soup, fortune cookies, and of course, hamantashen. A special thanks to: Highlands Council who donated Blakely Hall, Paul Dean for use of the PA systems, Sheila Abrahams and The Putterman’s for rolling 75 rolls of sushi. Inbar Gazit and Jason Shindler for setting up and decorating the hall, Allen and Lynn Feldhammer for all the support, photographer Barry Hartman, Lauren Segal, Mitch Setlow, Cynthia Rosonova, and Rick Pezzner!!!
For more information about the Chabad, please contact:
Chabad of the Central Cascades
24121 SE Black Nugget Rd, Issaquah WA 98029
Tel: (425) 427-1654
E-mail: Rabbi@ChabadIssaquah.com
Website: www.ChabadIssaquah.com
Sat 28 Mar 2009
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In Issaquah Highlands, an annual rite of spring is the community Easter Egg Hunt. Last year, over 1,500 kids and adults enjoyed the event. This year the Egg Hunt will be back at Blakely Hall and the Village Green on Saturday, April 11th from 10am until Noon. This year’s Easter Egg Hunt is presented by Issaquah Highland’s churches: Alathia Community Church, Icon Church and Mosaic Seattle Church.
All proceeds over the cost of event production will benefit Eastside Baby Corner (www.babycorner.org). The churches are grateful for the generous financial support of Port Blakely Communities and Highlands Council. Local business sponsors are also critical to the funding of these large community events as no homeowner dues are ever applied. And, of course, the event is 100% volunteer run! The event begins at 10am and will feature three age specific hunts for children through 5th grade inside the Village Green Park – rain or shine! There will be plenty to do while you wait for your child’s age group to be called into the park, including a picture with the Easter Bunny, carnival games and face painting, and new this year, LIVE MUSIC featuring the Issaquah High School Jazz Band!
Families will also enjoy visiting with their favorite farm animal at the petting zoo, also new this year. Accent Insurance/Pemco is the providing sponsor for the giant inflatable slide and bounce house. Back this year, MK Ballet will perform a beautiful exhibition dance sure to thrill all little ballerina wannabes! As the noon hour approaches listen for the announcement of names as the winners of the annual John Thompson Real Estate Coloring Contest are presented.
The Egg Hunt is free. Other activities can be enjoyed by purchasing a ticket for $1 each or unlimited fun for $5 per child. Residents are encouraged to walk or bike to the event as parking is very limited. The Easter Egg Hunt is open to the greater community so feel free to invite your friends!
Mon 9 Mar 2009
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By: Christie Santodomingo
I was dancing in a circle the other day with my eighteen month old at the Issaquah Highlands playgroup singing, “Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo, hace musica! I looked at all of the other, smiling and laughing moms, dads (yes, there were two dads!), and nannies thinking, “How lucky are we to have thirty minutes of Spanish songs, stories, dancing and bubbles lead by such a fantastic teacher all for free- without having to leave the neighborhood!
Natalia Santi, an Issaquah Highlands mother of two who was born in Argentina, captures the attention of infants to three year olds with her fun songs, puppets, cut-out spiders, books, and movement every Friday from 10-10:30am at the Highlands playgroup. Hearing the language revitalizes my high school years of Spanish class and I find myself singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in Spanish at home over the weekend.
So what are the benefits of exposing these wee ones to a second language? In an article entitled, First Words Second Languages, Nancy Rhodes, Director of Foreign Language Education at the Center of Applied Linguistics says, “It introduces a child to another culture, another way of saying things, and that we’re all living in a global society.” She adds that the best way for little children to learn languages is through games, songs, and stories similar to the ones we hear and play at the playgroup. According to Theresa Sullivan Caccavale, president of the National Network for Early Language Learning, in an article entitled, Cognitive Benefits of Learning Language, research shows that learning a second language enhances critical thinking skills, creativity, and an open mind in young children. These benefits are true for learning any language, not just Spanish, in addition to the first language.
If you are a parent/caregiver who would like to incorporate a second or third language into your child’s life, come join us Fridays at the Issaquah Highlands playgroup at Blakely Hall from 9:30-11:00am. For more info on the playgroup go to: www.eastside-family-guide.com/Highlandsplaygroup.html.
We hope to see you there!
