Chef Joshua Theilen of Stumbling Goat Bistro will demo some of his recipes Friday at the Phinney Farmers Market.

According to the Phinney Neighborhood Association, Theilen uses market farmers for many of his recipes and will demo recipes using what’s fresh at the market.

The demo is free and begins at 4 p.m. Recipes will be distributed at the market and will be available online (link provided once we get it). To get a taste of what could be in store, check out the link for what’s fresh at area markets this week. 

On a pretty darn nice day, several hundred people partook of their choice of more than 40 beers from two dozen brewers corralled in the Phinney Neighborhood Association’s lower parking lot Saturday afternoon.

The PNA’s Western-themed summer beer tasting event had a mix of well-known local and regional brewers, as well as a couple home brewers. One of them, NW Peaks Brewery, will soon join the ranks of commercial brewers when it opens a nano brewery in Ballard, explained Kevin Klein, seen pouring a sample here. 

The event was sponsored by Prost!, the Park Pub and The Barking Dog, which kept a steady stream of beer drinkers fueled up with savory bockwurst topped with sauerkraut and grainy mustard.

Here the beer taste board pose for a group photo. If you’re interested in joining, expect to be put on a long waiting list.

Jed Jedrzejewski and Jon Parry played country tunes around a faux camp fire complete with flame ribbons blown by a fan.

Beer tasters could vote for their favorites and here are the winners:

• 1st place: Lucille IPA from Georgetown Brewing
• 2nd place: Pike Dry Wit from Pike Brewing Company
• 3rd place (Tie): Scott’s Puget Creek Vanilla Porter from Harmon Pub & Brewery; Thor’s Intrigue from Odin Brewing Company

The Phinney Neighborhood Association will corral a thirsty crowd into the lower parking lot for their 5th annual Summer Beer Roundup Saturday, July 10, from 4-7:30 p.m.

Organizers have rounded up 20+ area brewing companies (and one home brewer), including Naked City and Baron Brewing (Pillager’s Pub), which have locations in Greenwood, as well as other local favorites including Big Al, Elysian, Fish, Fremont, Hale’s, Georgetown, Maritime Pacific, Pike, Schooner Exact and Two Beers.

A ticket to the event - $25 for PNA members, $30 for non-members - entitles you to 10 beer/hard cider tastes. Tickets can be purchased online.

Here’s the scene at last summer’s beer taste, where it was plenty warm, unlike the “Julember” weather we’re experiencing now.

In case you’re wondering, the long range forecast calls for sunny and 70s next Saturday.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association’s Gallery is asking for submissions for it 2010 Northwest Fine Arts Competition. Submissions will be accepted through July 24, and selected art will be displayed in the PNA’s upstairs Gallery from Oct. 6-29. The winning entry receives $300.

For more information and an entry form, click here (pdf).

An enthusiastic crowd filled the Phinney Center’s Community Hall this morning to see the USA’s soccer team tie Slovenia 2-2 in the World Cup.

Fans quieted by Slovenia’s 2-0 lead at the half got back into the game as the American team rallied. Here fans react as the USA lines up a scoring opportunity:

Cheers and chants of “USA! USA! USA!” rang out in between groans at missed goal kicks and refereeing calls that went against the American team.

Crowds have been averaging 60-70 per game, but attendance is all over the map, according to PNA World Cup organizer Alex Eckardt, who is the marketing director at the PNA.  ”Yesterday at the morning game we had three and at the afternoon game, we had 80.” The USA vs. England game sold out at 150 and today’s game appeared to have close to the same number of people.

One of the younger fans, 2 1/2-year-old Ramona Fenton got her game face on with help from Alethea the face painter.

Her mom, Ramona Fenton, pictured to the right, said it was the first game they’ve been able to attend and was impressed by the number of people showing up so early in the morning. “I think it’s great,” she said.

You can see the full schedule on the PNA World Cup site and on our PhinneyWood events calendar.

We stopped by the Phinney Neighborhood Center this evening to see the setup for the 45 World Cup games the PNA will show between Friday and July 11.

Watching the Seattle Sounders play (even though they lost 3-2) was quite impressive when seen on a screen measuring roughly 14 feet by 8 feet that fills the entire stage in the center’s Community Hall.

The first game is Friday morning, South Africa vs. Mexico. Doors open at 6:30 a.m. and the game starts at 7 a.m. After that, watch Uruguay vs. France at 11:30 a.m. Pan Africa Market, a fixture at the Phinney Farmers Market, is serving food during the game and Althea the face painter will be there to help you get your game face on.

Expect big crowds at the PNA and other local venues including Prost and the Kangaroo and Kiwi for Saturday’s USA vs. England game, which starts at 11:30 a.m. 

Friday marks an important day for soccer fans everywhere as the 2010 World Cup begins in South Africa. For the first time, the Phinney Neighborhood Center at 6532 Phinney Ave. N. is getting in on the action by showing 45 World Cup matches on a high-definition big screen.

Admission is by suggested donation of $3 for adults and $2 for children under 18, or $10 for the whole family. The screen will be set up in Community Hall in the Brick Building.

All but five of the matches will be shown live. For a full list of the matches from June 11 through July 11, click here.

Families from all over town (and beyond) can experience the unique excitement of a World Cup at this all-ages event. In addition to a variety of food vendors you will also find face painters, great door prizes, and free WiFi to round out the event.

The World Cup comes around every four years and this year’s edition will be held in South Africa. It’s the first time that the tournament will be hosted on the African continent. The PNA will honor this momentous occasion by providing information about local charities that support African countries.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association’s annual Home & Garden Tour this Sunday features five remodeled homes and five gardens in our neighborhood. Billed as “real homes for real people,” the event is a great showcase of the possibilities for homes and yards in Phinney-Greenwood.

This year’s homes feature basement remodels, kitchen remodels, second story additions, solar panels and a bocce court. The gardens include native and exotic plantings, ponds, waterfalls, unique patios and hardscapes. Plenty of ideas and inspiration to embark on your own projects.

The tour is self-guided and you can view the homes and gardens by walking, biking or driving (keep in mind that parking may be difficult). Slip-on footwear is recommended as participants must remove their shoes before entering each house.

On last year’s tour, this backyard playhouse was a big hit.

The Home & Garden Tour is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $12 for PNA members and $15 for the general public and are available online or at the PNA, 6532 Phinney Ave. N. Babes-in-arms are free; tickets for children ages 2-12 are $5. Online tickets must be exchanged for the Home & Garden Tour brochure at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. The ticket brochure includes a map, addresses and a brief description of each home or garden.

Given how crowded it was at some homes, it seemed like most of the neighborhood turned out for Greenwood Garage Sale Day.

Throughout the day, the weather changed from ominous clouds, to bright sunshine.

But because the rain held off, it made it a less chancy affair for the majority of people who had their wares exposed to the elements.

We even found a few things we didn’t know we needed, but ended up buying anyway.

Thank you, everyone, who took the time to set up your yard/garage sales, or set up at the flea market at the Phinney Neighborhood Center.

Phinney’s Farmers Market opens the season next Friday, May 28, with dozens of vendors of fresh produce, cheese, bread, honey, cider, flowers and more, plus several ready-to-eat dinner options. The market is open from 3-7 p.m. every Friday through Oct. 1, in the lower parking lot of the Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N.

You’ll want to be here when the opening bell rings at 3 pm to scope out the early season offerings. Lots of our favorite farmers and producers will be back and the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance has lined up some new and exciting vendors. Let’s show “our” market businesses plenty of love to get the season off to a strong start. As always, there will be weekly entertainment, plenty of ready-to-eat options, and friends and neighbors in abundance. To see what will be “ripe and ready” this week, check out http://www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org/ripe-n-ready/ripe-n-ready. It will get your taste buds going!

Phinney Ambassadors will again be staffing our booth under the blue canopy in the center aisle. Ambassadors have info about upcoming PNA events, hand out market “passports” that kids can get stamped each week (this year you can even leave it at the market if that’s more convenient), and sell merchandise. We’ll have 3 great designs of sturdy canvas shopping bags, PNA logo caps, and an assortment of farmers market t-shirts from previous years. For 2010 we are also featuring Phinney Ridge *star* hats and tees sized for men, women and kids. The PNA booth will be staffed from 2:30-5:30 each week. We are still looking for volunteers! If you’re interested in helping out, please contact alis@phinneycenter.org.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association still has room in some of its Dragon Room Summer Program Camps.

The Dragon Room Summer Program is a series of week-long, half-day camps for young children sponsored by the Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Co-op (PNPC) and held in the PNPC’s enchanted Dragon Room at the Phinney Neighborhood Center.

Open to PNPC families and community members, the Dragon Room Summer Program offers rich and diverse classes for preschoolers and elementary aged children.

The Phinney Neighborhood Association is getting into Seattle’s new soccer craze by hosting World Cup soccer on the big screen in June and July.

From June 11 to July 11 we will turn our Community Hall into a World Cup fan fest extraordinaire: 45 FIFA World Cup™ soccer matches will be shown on a big screen (most of them live) in what promises to be a fantastic atmosphere. Families from all over town (and beyond) can experience the unique excitement of a World Cup at this all-ages event. Refreshments, vendors, and face painters will be on hand to round out the event. Show your true colors by getting a flag (or two) painted on your face!

The first event is Friday, June 11, with South Africa vs. Mexico. Doors open at 6:30 a.m. for a live 7 a.m. game.

Admission is by suggested donation of $3 for adults, $2 for children and $10 for families. More information and the full schedule is here. And they always need volunteers to help at the events.