Happy Birthday Dear GuywhocanshutdownGasWorksParkwithasnapofhisfingers, Happy Birthday to You

Yesterday, when a reader informed Seattlest of an enclosure going up at Gas Works park for a private event, we posted some smart assey thing about the park's recent unfriendliness towards private events. We were aghast that public property could be employed as someone's personal party space, but, you know, not really. We pictured a dog run-like chain link fence enclosure near the back of the park, maybe in that newish area that no one really uses. Someone's having a party--a birthday party, according to our intrepid commenters. Or possibly a wedding... Who cares! Gas Works park is only a couple of blocks away from Seattlest's place of residence, but we couldn't quite muster the indignation to haul ourselves down there last night to check it out.

Then a reader sent this in this morning (thanks, John):

Holy crap! That's a hell of a private birthday party on public property! That's right on the tip that points downtown, and check out that little guy standing on the water's edge; those pavilions are heeeuge. After seeing that our fake indignation is ever so slightly more real.

Virginia Swanson of the Parks Department told MvB yesterday, "A small 'L' shape portion of the park is being used for a private party on Saturday, August 11, 2007. The music is for dinner guests and does not have 'rock music' as part of the evening's entertainment. There is not any concert in the park."

There will be none of that rock roll music and it's not a concert. At all. Just a private birthday party occupying prime Gas Works real estate for a week. Just dinner and some light musical entertainment, we're sure, and probably a few congratulatory b-day speeches by local dignitaries (or there had better be, anyway, for the price tag that should be attached to a soiree like this). But, who, dammit! Don't make Seattlest break out the kayak on Saturday night to chase photographs like they were Barry Bonds dingers...

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Dan in Miscellaneous on August 8, 2007 10:31 AM

Comments [rss]

danceexperts

Yeah, I realized it was a rehearsal, duh,

My husband said it was in the paper that they were going to fire the cannon last night and we believed it, we actually had a great time at the park and a good laugh afterwards

The party is going to be big.

we got two tourists to wait at least 40 minutes for something to happen last night, I wondered how long they stayed after we left.

guest

You'll want to go back tonight (Aug 11); anything you saw last night was surely just rehearsal for tonight's extravaganza. The fireworks barge is set up in the middle of the lake, just as it was for the 4th of July fireworks.

danceexperts

We went down there to see the fireworks and the propane cannon, what we saw was a movie set and everything was running behind schedule and we had to leave when the baby got tired and we got cold. I didn't see any partying going on.

I believe it was all a movie, they did a choir scene

and someone sang Oh Happy Day with a choir and a backup track playing. Around 9:30 they did test fire a propane tank.

I saw crew setting up stuff and people waiting,

I heard a female director over loudspeaker.

They had strobe and alot of lights.

Im sure someone is gonna tell us there was a great show 10 minutes after we left but oh well.

guest

note: the email did not mention a) what the party was for, or b) what you would be protesting.

c) i'm not doing it.

guest

got an email this morning that they are looking for actors to, well, "act" as protestors at the party. i've never had a birthday party where i thought "you know what would REALLY set this off? if people were pretending to hate that my party was happening. and i paid them each $100 to do it"

(the email said they are looking for about 15 people who would be paid $100 each to protest for 2 hours. if you can afford $1500 for people to yell at you, you are AWESOME)

guest

I just found out about the event today, and although I really could care less about someone having a private party I actually do have a big problem with the fireworks. I have a dog with an anxiety disorder and a heart condition that requires us to take him out of freaking country on the 4th of July and go somewhere quiet on New Years to prevent him from having a heart attack. Seriously, he shakes so hard he can't stand up and even sedatives do not control it.

Microsoft had a party at Gas Works last year for the launch of Vista that had fireworks and we rushed home to find our dog practically in shock. I wish the local residents could be warned at least a week in advance so we can make plans, if necessary, to avoid fireworks.

guest

This secret event is being financed by a company identified by parks as ESam. My research shows that ESAM is a Chicago company that is the entertainment production arm of Equity Group Investments - the apex of financier Sam Zell's pyramid of business holdings. Zell has connections to Boeing, and if I recall correctly his Equity Office Properties was involved in supplying the real estate for the whole Boeing move....so I'm now betting heavily that this is in fact a Boeing party…

MvB

I was trying to get some more info out of The Workshop and got this back:
It's just going to be a very nice (admittedly elaborate) party for the hosts and 300 of their friends and family.
No celebrity performer, they claim.

erike

Based on a couple places I looked, the event is the "ESAM Surprise Party". It sounds as though the event will have fireworks, performances, and food.

Check out these two links:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/119627.asp

http://groups.google.com/group/GasworksCommunity/browse_thread/thread/8675ad976c18f873?hl=en

There is an ESAM in Grants Pass, Oregon (http://www.esam.com) that appears to be "...a well-established full service contract manufacturer of custom cable/wire assemblies, wire/cable harnesses, and electrical/pneumatic box builds." (ESAM web site)

Morfydd

Er, that should be *south* platform. People in kayaks waved to us during the ceremony. :-)

Morfydd

Huh. Those look like big speaker racks inside the middle pavilion for an event with no music. (Though they could be light racks.)

FWIW, I rented Gasworks ten years ago for my wedding for... $300, I think? Just access to the north platform for the ceremony and the playhouse for the reception, for a Sunday afternoon, and no amplified music was allowed. And no fences were put up, so people could have crashed it, but no one decided to be a jerk. (My dad did hire a security guy, though, out of outsized paranoia.)