As a musician, I play a lot of weddings and people often ask me about affordable event and…read moregathering spaces. The newly renovated Dakota Place Park Building in West Seattle is a great new venue run by the City of Seatte which can accommodate up to 200 people. It's former City Light substation, located within walking distance of California Junction, a popular neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants. The building retains some of the old brick architecture, but has lots of modern amenities such as a full A/V system with video projector and built in sound system, a catering kitchen with icemaker, and comfortable tables and chairs. The best part of this venue is the adjoining outdoor patio, which would be great spillover for guests during the summer when weather is nice. Venue rental includes one staff member, who will stay throughout the event and help coordiante cleanup. Visit the city website for more information! http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Reservations/DakotaPlaceSpecialsFlier.pdf

We reserved the Dakota Place Park building for our Dad's 90th birthday party. It worked perfectly…read morefor our group of 100. They have a great setup with tables that roll into place and then lock. We only set up tables for 50 and left 1/3 of the room for people to stand and mill about looking at memorabilia. They have an AV system that we used to show a video of the birthday boy's life. The AV on the east wall didn't work, but the AV on the north wall did. They have screens for both. The venue is open every Saturday morning to go and look and plan for your event. We recommend using that time in the weeks leading up to the event. We rented the building from 1-6 and our event was 2-5. That left very little time to get all the tables and chairs set up, catering to arrive, set up the AV, etc. If you plan well, as we did, you can do it, but we had to develop a good plan on the Saturday morning strategy sessions. Also, be sure to test your video a few times on the Saturday mornings. That's how we found out, on the day of the event, that the HDMI doesn't work on the east wall. Some thoughts: bring your own hangers if guests will be arriving with coats, they only have about 10, but they do have a nice portable coat rack. We put signs on the steps off Dakota directing people to use the west entrance, which is handicapped accessible. It worked well to only use one door. Parking is problematic, as there are only about 3 spots, but no one complained. The Parks Department staff are very helpful, but they're not AV experts, and we didn't expect them to be. You have to figure out the video system mostly on your own. We chose not to use the wireless microphone (provided) because we were sure everyone could hear us. However, once we got 100 people in there absorbing sound and making noise, we wish we had. All in all, it was super. Hopefully they get the HDMI fixed on the east wall. We had to change our seating plan at the last minute once we found out it was not working (the video played, but kept pausing inexplicably). (Oh, and you have to call and bug them after 10 days to get your deposit back...they don't seem to have any sort of system in place to process the refund, but after a couple of calls we got ours back no problem). Great venue. Great staff. Plan Ahead!

Alki Masonic Hall is a nice venue to host smaller events (birthday parties). It is located in a…read morequiet neighborhood and offers a private parking lot. The parking lot is bigger than the venue itself. This helps make it stress-free for guests when it comes to finding parking. The bathrooms are small and outdated. You are not allowed to drink on the premises unless you have an alcohol license.

An awesome game store hangout with a decent selection of Cafe choices and drinks! Parking isn't…read moregreat, as I got a ticket for accidentally parking in the paid parking lot next door when I came in the dark one time, but otherwise the store itself is pretty cool! Employees were all nice every time I've gone. Everything I've tried foodwise here has been pretty good! I love that they serve soups, meeples doesn't serve soup so that's specifically how I found this place. I always have a place to sit and the environment is relaxing. They were playing some sort of jazz sonic the hedgehog soundtrack tonight which was awesome to recognize. Wish they served a bigger soup variety, been chasing the clam chowder ever since I tried it lol.

Picked up lunch for two, and a couple of sweet treats…read more For lunch two of us split the sausage and omelette sandwich, and the clam chowder. All of it was very good. I have never been in to try out the board game selection, but that's about to change.

Good beer and dog friendly, what more can one ask for. Had a fun night out with my momma people…read morewatching and sipping tasty brews. My mom got a seasonal Cranberry Cider thing that was BOMB (sorry I forget the name) and I got the Porter (her's was the better choice tbh). Have also been to the White Center location and have to say its hard to beat the Aliki location so I prefer it.

We stopped in while visiting Alki Beach for a couple of beers. The location is fantastic, with…read moregreat views across the street toward the water and plenty of people-watching. The staff was friendly, the atmosphere was relaxed, and it had a great neighborhood vibe. Unfortunately, the beer just wasn't for us. Our group tried several different beers, mostly IPAs, and none of them really hit the mark. To be fair, we're probably a little spoiled coming from Northern California, where we're fortunate to have so many outstanding craft breweries. Even though the beer wasn't our favorite, we still enjoyed spending time here. The location, friendly service, and overall atmosphere made it a fun stop while exploring Alki Beach.

I was looking for a place to have a bday party and someone told me about B&E (?). Way way more…read morethan I expected. You should absolutely check out this website.

Full circle: I was…read moregraciously invited to a networking meeting for entrepreneurs that was being held at YCAC and when I looked up the name on Google Earth, I got quite a surprise. Turns out, the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center building used to be the old elementary school I attended from 1965-69 called Frank B. Cooper School and located about eight blocks from where I was raised. The meeting was held in one of my old classrooms that had an old piano which if memory serves, I played for my 5th grade teacher. A few other memories I recalled were things like watching a solar eclipse, playing Silent Night in a Christmas show on an auto-harp, my first crushes and the mouthwatering smell of food wafting through the school from the kitchen located near the auditorium. I remember one of the classrooms had a coat closet and when you entered it, there was another door and beyond that, a stairway that led up to the attic where all the duct-work and storage was. A great place to get lost for a bit. Long story short, the last time I was in that building was in 1969 and it is fitting that in a building where the original function was to introduce values, knowledge and the basic skills to successfully interact with American society and culture, I would end up in a networking meeting for entrepreneurs. Talk about full circle! That being said, it was also really cool to combine 3-D visuals with my childhood memories of the place. +1 to the other distinguished Yelpers who reviewed this place and for myself, I left there believing that YCAC is a worthwhile organization for not only renting out my old classrooms, auditorium, or gymnasium, but more importantly, for the education, artistic support, and future of Seattle's teens and potentially, its future entrepreneurs and leaders. Check out their website and if you can, visit the facility when you are in the area because it can certainly use some positive support to keep it going.

I came here for a NIA class. First I missed the turn for the parking lot. Then I was struck by how…read moresmall it was. Not an auspicious beginning... things changed. It is one of those older schools which has been renovated into a community arts, culture and meeting center. In the front doorway are many flyers about interesting art and cultural events. The halls are alive with art and invitations to be involved. Our class used a very lovely high ceiling gym with a good floor for dance and wonderful mirrors.

We absolutely love the Little Gym of West Seattle! We moved to the area from out of state, and I'm…read moresoo thankful a new mom friend recommended it. We tried it out and signed up about a week after moving. It has done wonders to help my little one socialize, and to help me connect with other moms/parents! We LOVE Teacher Dillon. He has brought big smiles to my little one from the very start. We loved Teacher Ginny and were sad to see her go, but we are also very happy with our new Teacher Lauren. Every instructor provides a friendly and welcoming environment which has made it so easy for my now almost 15 month old to thrive there. He started at 10 months, and has made leaps and bounds in his confidence and mobility since joining the Little Gym. It is truly the highlight of our week since moving here, and I can't praise it enough.

we feel so lucky to have found The Little Gym and Teacher Dillon. he is truly a gem in the world of…read morebaby gymnastics. our 9-month-old absolutely lights up every time class starts and that's entirely thanks to Dillon's energy, intuition, and deep respect for each child's unique developmental pace. what sets him apart is his incredible ability to push our baby's growing edge just enough to support progress without ever overwhelming her. he's a baby whisperer-meets-gymnastics coach: confident, kind, endlessly encouraging, and always in tune with what the littles need. from motor skills to confidence to joy, we've seen it all grow in our little one thanks to Dillon's gentle, playful, and skillful approach. every session is a perfect balance of challenge and nurture. we can't recommend The Little Gym enough and if you're lucky enough to get a spot in Teacher Dillon's class, take it and never let go!