Naked City’s new beer garden in the adjacent parking lot will officially be called the Walrus Beer Garden, in honor of the Walrus blues tavern that was originally on that site before burning down three decades ago.

Local muralist Henry painted a large mural of two walruses on one wall. And the artists who created the colorful arson mural that used to stand next to Taproot Theatre down the street, have been restoring it and added a portrait of John Lee Hooker, who once played at the original Walrus tavern.

The grand opening for the beer garden, at 8564 Greenwood Ave. N., will be Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22. That Friday night will feature live jazz. That Saturday will feature an all-you-can-eat crawfish boil for $25 a person, live music and games.

Naked City’s full menu will be available, along with table service, in the beer garden. All ages are welcome, but dogs are not.

The mural that once covered the wooden fence where four Greenwood businesses were destroyed in a 2009 arson, has been reborn at Naked City Brewery & Taphouse’s new beer garden.

The so called “arson mural” was created by local artists as a sign of hope and rebirth for the neighborhood, after more than a dozen arsons terrorized the neighborhood over the course of several months. The worst arson destroyed four restaurants next to Taproot Theatre, which owned the building housing those restaurants. Taproot built a fence to cover the scarred ground from view, and artists painted a mural depicting neighborhood scenes, such as the Greenwood Car Show and a firefighter saving a cat, plus a phoenix rising from the flames.

The mural was taken down when Taproot began work on a new building in that space. That new building will house a second theater, scene shop, offices and a cafe. Taproot’s addition will open late this summer.

Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave. N., has leased the adjacent parking lot from Yen Wor Garden Chinese restaurant, and is turning the space into a beer garden.

Here’s what it looked like Friday morning, as workers try to get it ready in time for a soft opening in the next week or two.

Yes, that’s a Henry mural on the wall. And there’s another interesting Henry painting along the concrete wall.

The opposite wall is being painted to cover the old graffiti.

Marketing Director Bryan Miller said Naked City also will display the mural that used to cover the fence next to Taproot Theatre after the 2009 arson destroyed the adjacent building.

Tim’s Tavern and the Phinney Neighborhood Business Association are sponsoring the neighborhood’s first annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Pub Crawl on Saturday, Dec. 8. Starting at 7 p.m. at Bleacher’s Pub at 83rd and Greenwood and ending around midnight at Tim’s Tavern at 105th and Greenwood, the pub crawl celebrates the well-intentioned but often tacky holiday sweater.

Besides Bleacher’s and Tim’s Tavern, the other participating pubs are The Angry Beaver, Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, The Ould Triangle, Snoose Junction Pizzeria and Vinyl Lounge, and The Pub at Piper’s Creek.

Tim’s Tavern Owner Tim Arnot showing off his best (worst) Christmas sweater.

The idea is to get more people patronizing neighborhood businesses, but it’s also a fundraiser to raise money for Cancer Care Alliance’s Mammovan, a mobile mammogram screening service.

Purchase a $10 wristband at one of the participating bars to “crawl for the cause” benefiting SCCA’s MammoVan program. Meet fellow revelers at Bleachers Pub and crawl your way North along Greenwood Avenue stopping at participating venues offering drink and food specials, as well as door prizes exclusively for pub crawl participants wearing their wristband. Finish the night at Tim’s Tavern, where just after midnight we will have the final voting for ugliest XMAS Sweater. $100 cash prize to recipient so they can buy some decent clothing before it is too late! Runner up prizes also given out.

Tim (Arnot, owner of Tim’s Tavern), wanted to organize a pub crawl that didn’t exclusively just focus on a number of bars in a concentrated area. “Downtown Greenwood is a great destination for night life and entertainment and gets a fair amount of foot traffic. However, I want to expose people to other bars on the fringes of downtown that they may not have made it to before as well as providing a little bit of exercise. The crawl starts in downtown Greenwood and 82nd with bars that are members of the Phinney Neighborhood Business Association and moves north up to 105th. He explains, “I know the 20 block stretch may be difficult for some, but logistically it makes sense. The Ould Triangle (9736 Greenwood Ave) will break up the stretch perfectly, allowing people to burn off some alcohol from the first three bars, and give folks a chance to experience a traditional Irish bar lying just on the fringe of the downtown area.” The entire crawl is also on the Metro Bus Line #5 and #40 which presents a feasible option for the mobility-impaired or the event of particularly nasty weather.

Wristbands are available for purchase now at any of the participating pubs, or on pub crawl night.

Just in time for Tuesday’s Election Day, the latest Humanities Washington “Think & Drink” event at Naked City Brewery in Greenwood features dueling political cartoonists.

At 7 p.m. Monday, local political cartoonists David Horsey and Milt Priggee will interpret current election issues based on suggestions from the audience and moderator Steve Scher, host of KUOW’s “Weekday.” The event is free.

Horsey received the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1999 and 2003. He was the longtime cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and now draws for the Los Angeles Times. Priggee is a former editorial cartoonist for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, and a past president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

The next installment of Naked City Brewery and Humanities Washington’s “Think & Drink” series takes on negative political campaigning, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 8564 Greenwood Ave. N.

Presenters David Domke, Peter Callaghan and Greg Lane will discuss ”Dirty Business: A History of Negative Campaigning,” starting with Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Domke is a professor and chair of the Communication Department at the University of Washington and a former journalist. Callaghan has been a columnist with The News Tribune in Tacoma for 27 years and formerly worked at The (Everett) Herald and the Associated Press in Olympia and Seattle. Lane is the president and CEO of TVW, Washington’s public affairs television network. Ross Reynolds, the host of KUOW’s award-winning news-talk program The Conversation, will be the night’s moderator.

Think & Drink is free to attend; you just pay for your food and beverages.

Here’s a roundup of neighborhood news we’ve collected recently.

The Ridge Pizza, 7217 Greenwood Ave. N., made its first donation yesterday to three “charity cases” it supports by naming pizzas after neighborhood institutions, then donating $1 from each pizza to that organization. In its first six months in business, The Ridge sold 700 pizzas supporting the Phinney Neighborhood Association, 799 supporting Woodland Park Zoo, and 804 supporting Fire Station 21, which will give its check to the NW Burn Foundation.

Left to right, Ridge co-owners Chris Gerke and Chris Navarra, Jim Bennett from Woodland Park Zoo, PNA Executive Director Lee Harper, and Charles Turner and Stephen Eney from Fire Station21. Photo by Mike Veitenhans.

Tara Berg, owner of Hazel Salon & Organics at 5817 Phinney Ave. N., tells us she and her staff raised $298.75 by doing feather and glitter hair extensions at last Friday’s Summer Streets event, to donate to the Seattle Animal Shelter. Hazel Salon is also matching that amount and sending it to PAWS.

Nonprofit writing and tutoring center 826 Seattle, 8414 Greenwood Ave N., is getting ready for school to start again, and with it, an influx of students needing help with homework. After-school tutoring begins on Monday, Sept. 10. Students ages 6-18 can receive one-on-one help from volunteers from 3-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and high school students only can receive help from 6-8 p.m., including SAT prep and help writing college applications.

You can register for tutoring online, or pick up a registration form at the center, inside Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co.

Speaking of 826, Naked City Brewery is once again hosting a special fundraiser for them. Naked City has brewed a special beer, called 826 Luminosity, which is a dry-hopped golden ale made with pale and honey malt and Palisade hops. All proceeds from pints of 826 Luminosity sold on Sunday, Aug. 26, will go directly to 826’s programs, plus $1 from every pint sold on Aug. 24-25.

Lettuce Link is asking neighbors to plant an extra row of veggies to donate to food banks. For more information on the ‘Grow-a-Row’ campaign, check out Lettuce Link’s blog, and to donate, contact Jessica Sherrow, the Lettuce Link Summer VISTA, at jessicas@solid-ground.org 206-694-6746, ext. 2.

Woodland Park Zoo recently announced it will premiere its own winter lights festival this holiday season. WildLights will run from Nov. 23 through Jan.1, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. nightly (closed Dec. 24-25).

Rendering by Todd Nordling Concept Design.

Approximately 375,000 energy-efficient LED lights will recreate wild animals and wild places in two and three dimensions along the zoo’s pathways and North Meadow. An animated display of nature’s wonder will be woven into the zoo’s famous greenery inspired by exotic destinations from across the globe, including “Northern Lights,” “The Water Hole” and “Jungle Lights.” Zoomazium, the zoo’s indoor nature play space, will be open for play and performances. While the zoo’s animals will be tucked in for the night, the Day Exhibit, a showcase of reptiles and amphibians, will be open, offering another indoor venue for the chilly evenings.

Other highlights will include visiting reindeer, the Historic Carousel (additional fee), entertainment and festive refreshments for purchase.

Admission to WildLights will be $8.50 for adults, $6.50 for children ages 3 to 12 and free for toddlers ages 0-2. From December 14 to January 1, admission will increase to $9.50 for adults. This is an after-hours ticketed event so regular zoo membership privileges will not apply. WildLights will be a rain or shine event ‒ there will be no ticket refunds.

Tickets to WildLights will go on sale in the fall and will be available online at www.zoo.org/wildlights daily. Night-of-event tickets will be for sale at the zoo’s West Entrance only, if not sold out.

Humanities Washington’s next “Think & Drink” discussion is at Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave. N., on Tuesday and focuses on “State of the Unions: A Conversation on the Institution of Marriage.”

It’s free and begins at 7 p.m. Past Think & Drink events have proved popular; arrive early to snag a seat.

Social historian Stephanie Coontz, civic leader Anne Levinson and moderator Steve Scher will lead a conversation about marriage, offering both historical context and a consideration of recent same-sex marriage legislation.

Coontz is the author of Marriage, a History and teaches history and family studies at The Evergreen State College; she’s appeared in media ranging from The New York Times to The Colbert Report. Levinson is a LGBT community leader and advisor to Washington United for Marriage; she was formerly a municipal judge, Seattle deputy mayor and co-owner of the Seattle Storm. Scher is a longtime journalist for Seattle’s National Public Radio station, KUOW; currently, he is the senior host of Weekday.

The top of that big blank wall that stretches between Naked City Brewery and New’s Noodles in the 8600 block of Greenwood Avenue North is being knocked down.

The wall before demolition. Photo from 2011.

Several business owners on that street have long complained that various crimes happen in the Yen Wor Garden parking lot behind the wall, and both sides of the wall and the parking lot are frequently hit by graffiti.

Graffiti and garbage behind the wall. Photo from 2011.

The wall will now be 47 inches tall, allowing clear views from Greenwood Avenue into the parking lot, and will hopefully deter any criminal acts.

Several folks from Naked City have spent the last few days with a concrete saw and sledge hammers, taking down the top section.

Picture taken today, showing most of the wall has been shortened.

Greenwood and Phinney Ridge have their share of pubs and restaurants for beer lovers to quench their thirst. Since this is Seattle Beer Week, they’re all taking it up a notch with special events.

The Park Pub, 6114 Phinney Ave. N., hosts its fourth annual New Brewers Night from 5-9 p.m. today. The pub is hosting brewers from Ballard’s own Hilliard’s Beer and NW Peaks Brewery, Woodinville’s Twelve Bar Brews, and SODO’s Churchkey Can Co.

Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave. N., is hosting a slew of events, including Oregon Brewers Night from 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, plus a free screening of the classic silent film “Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans,” with a live synchronized soundtrack by DJ Jon Francois, starting at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Chuck’s Hop Shop, at 656 NW 85th St., is pairing Widmer Brother’s beer with Full Tilt Ice Cream from 5-8 p.m. today; $10 for a flight of four beers and four ice creams.

Check out Seattle Beer Week’s website for a list of all events.

Naked City Brewery’s monthly “Think & Drink” events, sponsored by Humanities Washington, are quickly becoming THE place to be on a weekday evening. April’s event on “Consumerism and the Pursuit of Happiness” was standing room only.

Coming up on May 9, “Harlots & Heroines: Images of Women in Media and Pop Culture” features scholars Jennifer K. Stuller and Amy Peloff, with moderator Marcie Sillman, discussing the media’s portrayal of women – from Wonder Woman and Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Lady Gaga and the Kardashians. The conversation will range from conceptions of gender to sexuality and politics.

Stuller is the author of Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology and co-founder and programing director of Seattle’s GeekGirlCon. Peloff is the associate director of the Comparative History of Ideas program at the University of Washington, where she teaches gender, women and sexuality studies. Sillman is a senior reporter with KUOW who produces in-depth news segments on Northwest life and culture.

The event is free. It starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave. N.

Several Phinney Ridge and Greenwood restaurants are participating in Thursday’s nationwide Dining Out for Life, to raise money for AIDS organizations. Each restaurant is donating 30 percent of the proceeds from a certain mealtime.

74th St. Ale House, 7401 Greenwood Ave. N.; dinner.

The Blue Glass, 704 NW 65th St.; dinner.

Naked City Brewery & Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave. N.; lunch, dinner and late night dining.

The Olive and Grape, 8516 Greenwood Ave. N.; dinner.

Razzi’s Pizzeria, 8523 .Greenwood Ave. N.; lunch and dinner.

Santa Fe Café, 5910 Phinney Ave. N.; dinner

Stumbling Goat Bistro, 6722 Phinney Ave. N.; dinner.