Columbia Citizens are invited to post their own artwork. Here's how.

To any Columbia Citizen paying attention, SEEDArts is all over, brightening and enlightening the neighborhood scene.

SEEDArts believes in the power of art in community building. They offer visual, performing and public art programs that inspire and connect residents in Southeast Seattle.

• SEEDArts operates the Rainier Valley Cultural Center (RVCC), Southeast Seattle's only performing arts center, host to the Arts Gumbo Series, the Rainier Valley Youth Theatre and Brownbox Theatre.
• The Columbia City Gallery is a cooperative gallery of 30 local artists and also includes special guest artists, lectures and special events.
• Its Public Art Program brings community-inspired public art to the neighborhood by tapping into youth involvement, neighborhood collaborations and partnerships with local developers.

SEEDArts is a component of SouthEast Effective Development (SEED), a community development organization that has worked for 30 years to build strong SE Seattle neighborhoods and business district.

For more information, to volunteer or donate, please call Jerri Plumridge at 760-4286.

In the last year, Columbia Citizens has expanded to encompass hundreds of pages about the neighborhood. As the site grows, there are handy tools to help you out. How to get a quick summary of what's in here?

A site map spells out how we've organized Columbia Citizens. It's an ordered list that groups pages into categories, offering another way to explore the site and find pages that interest you.

Our site map is tucked behind the welcome message on the front page. For each category (such as artists, organizing, resources), the site map delves into the first two layers of what's in here. But there's even more than meets the eye — several limbs of this tree branch still further. Try it and find out!

Want to see the whole thing? A complete list of Columbia Citizens pages is here.

And now it's easy to zero in on what's available right around you. The Columbia Citizens Craiglist page shows items for sale, jobs offered, and event listings, all located in and around Columbia City. It's up-to-date and easy to skim.

Why drive all over town? Here's one more way to live locally.

Columbia Citizens are invited to post their own artwork. Here's how.

While comments are mostly static, almost all pages are available for your input. Take a look around. What's missing? What could you improve? What would you like to share?

Here's a brief how-to. If you need help, just ask.

Columbia Citizens have come to the wiki by the thousands. Having found it, some are scratching their heads, wondering what's this all about?

Photo by dadsmonkeyshine
More images in the Citizens' gallery
Add yours!

This site is about life as we know it in Columbia City, Seattle. Like many good things here, you and your neighbors get to pitch in and help make it work. It's about connecting, sharing information, and making good ideas happen in our community.

Columbia Citizens can make stuff happen. The wiki is a space to work together. It's a way to get the word out. It's a venue to have a public discussion. You can learn about your place and its people. It is what you bring to it — and you're welcome to share what you know and care about in Columbia City.

The Rainier Valley Heritage Parade and Festival is Saturday, August 16. There's a family fun run, followed by the parade at 11 AM. The afternoon is given over to a street festival, with music, food, and lots of people you know and want to catch up with.

Thanks to the Rainier Chamber for organizing this annual gala, and to all of the sponsors for supporting it. See you there!

Various neighborhood-based organization have posted volunteer opportunities, and there are many more out there.

Whether you're an interested volunteer or have a meaningful opportunity to share, here's a good place to start.

Want to join in? Several neighbors have created pages with details of their events. Can you help out? If you've got a grill to share, a table to loan, or an hour to drop notes with neighbors, you can update your block party's page. That way it's easy to tell what's already covered.

View larger map.

The map shows nearby Night Out parties you can choose from.

Two casual weekend events for Columbia Citizens. You're invited to either one, or both.

Hang out in the shade with neighbors at a picnic on the green at Columbia Park, Saturday July 19, at noon. We'll spread some blankets on the west bank, toward the library. We can toss a few balls and frisbees into the mix.

At about 1:30, starting from the park, we'll take a Then & Now-style walk, with packets of historic photos to compare past perspectives with today's. Mikala Woodward has many surprising and amusing stories to share, and hopefully neighbors will lend their own insights. This is a chance to learn about this place we share, meet some neighbors, and stretch our legs. We'll post the route in the next couple days.

So where was this photo taken? Imagine looking toward Rainier & Edmunds from the farmers market. Instead of a parking lot, can you imagine this tree perched atop a hill?

At a recent pancake breakfast, Jim Diers inspired listeners by showing how neighbors have pulled together to make positive changes.

Columbia City is front and center in Jim's book, Neighbor Power. Many of our local success stories are direct results of neighbor creativity and initiative — the Farmers Market, BeatWalk, the Gallery, and the Edmunds St sidewalk garden.

Columbia Citizens have tossed some fun ideas into the mix. Spend some time wandering the pages and comment threads, and you'll uncover a trove of neighborly potential. Here's a sampling:

• Columbia Park slip & slide
• a "flash mob" picnic
• intersection repair
• a knitting group
• neighborhood de-fence
• Night Out block parties

Want to pitch your own idea? Here's a spot.

Sustainable South Seattle is a volunteer-run organization working to promote sustainability in Seattle's south-end communities. We have defined sustainability as "living in a manner that allows current and future generations of all life on Earth to thrive."

We design and implement projects to preserve the diversity of our community's businesses and residents, increase transit and transportation choices in our neighborhoods and to provide outreach and education about environmental, social and economic choices that enhance our community.

Sustainable South Seattle is a member of Sustainable Communities All Over Puget Sound (SCALLOPS) who is connecting neighborhoods who are taking action locally to make their communities more sustainable.

The group has a some exciting events under their belts, more cool projects in mind, and an upcoming Climate Action Lab in Columbia City on July 12.

If you're part of a neighborhood group or want to start one, you're welcome to set up shop on Columbia Citizens.

Whether you're a recently arrived Citizen or have deep roots in the neighborhood, there's some engrossing reading in our archive of online newsclips about Columbia City.

From gunfights to renovation, from transit planning to community building — years later, there's some perspective in re-reading these articles.

Some of these e-clips date back to the dawn of the information age (OK, a decade ago). There must be many more to add to the mix, and you're welcome to contribute. Newer news is here — from the last year or so. And there's almost a year of neighbor news in the Wikli archives.

Several neighbors have posted their artwork to the Citizens' art gallery. So let's feature their work in turn.

Columbia Citizens are invited to post their own artwork. Here's how.

For wiki-wanderers, the site offers a range of wayfinding tools. Page tags are a fast and flexible way to tap in to the range of ideas neighbors have shared here, and to focus on the ones that interest you.

Tags are selected keywords on each page. The more popular the tag, the larger and bolder it is on this list. You can browse the full list of page tags on the welcome page, third tab from the left.

The Rainier Valley Post is a good overview of what's going on in the area and leaves the "blogossiphere" section of the Citizens' Wikli full to brimming. She's listed the site alongside many other local blogs in neighbors.

• Want to get the RV Post directly? Paste this link into your feed reader:
  http://rainiervalleypost.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
• And while you're at it, you can paste in the feed for Columbia Citizens' comments, an easy and hassle-free way to tap in to your community.
  http://columbiacitizens.net/feed/forum/posts.xml

This week Seattle Channel features Columbia City on its out-and-about program, CityStream. And it includes what has to be the first-ever TV coverage of a neighborhood wiki.

Once you've seen the important part, take a look at the rest of the piece, which first aired May 29, 2008. It does a good job of showcasing BeatWalk, with some great Citizen cameos.

Columbia Citizens have a whole online library of neighborhood video, with insights into Columbia City history, venues, businesses, nonprofit programs and community events. Check it out.