Photo by Ted Strutz

The Rotary Club of San Juan Island recently visited the Friday Harbor Elementary School for its annual distribution of dictionaries to 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

The kids are excited to receive a dictionary of their own. Rotary have given over 3,000 dictionaries and thesauruses to students countywide for over 11 years under the leadership of Barb Fagan, Literacy Chair.

As computers have entered the classrooms, we remind the students, when your computer is down, your thesarus and dictionary are still up and running!

Teen Open Gym is now running for grades 6-12 on Sunday nights from 7-8:30pm. Grab a friend and come to the Turnbull Gym for some basketball or other indoor games at this free, drop-in program. A parent waiver is required.

Check out all of Island Rec’s events at www.islandrec.org, stop by our office Monday – Friday 11:00am-5:00pm at 580 Guard Street, or call 360-378-4953.

Here’s a San Juan Island Real Estate Market Summary from Merri Ann Simonson…

Merri Ann Simonson – Contributed photo

The third quarter results for San Juan Island and the County were consistent with the first and second quarter results.   Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume year-to-date on San Juan Island was $84,048,800 with a total of 135 transactions.

This reflects a 15% decrease in the dollar volume and a 25% decrease in the number of transactions. For San Juan County, the total dollar volume was $207,098,020 with a total of 319 transactions. The County had a decrease of 5.5% in dollar volume and a decrease of 19% in number of transactions.

Based on the downward trend for the last 21 months in both dollar volume and transaction numbers, we will most likely conclude this year with less volume than 2018 in both categories.

Continue reading… (PDF)

Join Alchemy Art Center on October 18th at the San Juan Island Grange for a wonderful dinner generously provided by some of San Juan Island’s finest chefs and farms. 

The event will include wine and live music, a live auction, and a raffle for the chance to win any one of the fantastic auction items! Tickets to the event can be purchased on Alchemy’s website at www.alchemyartcenter.com.

Alchemy Art Center, founded by Maria Michaelson and Eben Shay in 2017, is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to creating a thriving arts community on San Juan Island. Alchemy offers classes and workshops for kids and adults, monthly memberships, and community outreach.

All proceeds from this event will go toward Alchemy’s growing facilities, programming, and scholarship funds as they enter their second year as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 

Sponsoring restaurants and farms include Duck Soup with chef Steven Jones, Market Chef, Coho, Backdoor Kitchen, Aurora Farms, Cynthia’s, New Hannah Farm, Cafe Demeter, Mike’s Wine Bar, Bakery San Juan, and Mama Bird Farm.  The main entree will feature a Moroccan Tagine (both meat and vegan options) by chef Steven Jones. Read More »

It is time to register for Island Rec Girls and Boys Basketball Leagues, open to all kids in grades 2 through 8.

The focus of this league is development and improvement of individual and team skills. Previous basketball experience is not required. All games are played on Island, Sundays in Turnbull Gym.

Boys basketball league has an early fee of $45, expires Oct 24, $50 thereafter. Games are November 17th through December 1st.

Girls basketball league has an early fee of $45, expires Dec 19, $50 thereafter. Games are January 26th through February 16th.

Register online at www.islandrec.org or stop by the Island Rec Office. Call 360-378-4953 for more information about the league or if you are interested in volunteering as a coach, referee or scorekeeper.

Do you have what it takes to escape? We invite you to join us for a night full of fun and mystery! Come try your luck at our astronomy themed escape room, where you will be tasked with solving puzzles, having fun, and saving the world.

Most puzzles are aimed for ages 10+, but all ages are welcome!

All proceeds will go towards the purchase of a telescope that will be donated to the San Juan Island Library, and then be available for check out by the public.

Form a team of 2-6 people and join us on October 18th from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. This is not a library sponsored event, but will
be taking place in the library’s public meeting room. Cost is $20 per team. Reservations for a time slot can be made by emailing
tylermfleming@gmail.com.

Walk-ins on the day of the event are also welcome and treats will be available for purchase. We look forward to seeing you there!

Luigi is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

Buongiorno, It’s Me, Luigi, Pet of the Week looking for a cozy couch for football Sunday!

As you might guess from my salt and pepper sparkle, I’m the life of any party and quite a charmer if I do say so myself. Everyone says I could possibly be the sweetest Chihuahua Mix on Cattle Point.

I’ve only been at APS-FH for a few weeks, it’s lovely here; the heated floors are perfect for cool weather, but I’m READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL and to be the center of your world.

If you’re looking for a charming 12^th Man get in touch with me at APS-FH. No rush, but the Seahawks are taking on the Ravens and I’d like to see if the Ravens’ struggling defense really is as bad as the tanking Dolphins’.

Running a freelance or small consulting business

Learn to navigate challenges faced by freelancers and similar small businesses at a panel discussion on November 7^th at the Orcas Island library from 12:00 to 1:30 PM. This event will be helpful for anyone interested in starting a new freelance or consulting business and those already running one.

Panelists Selby Lighthill of Lighthill Law, Mary Ann Sircely, of Sircely Marketing and Design, and James Bach of Satisfice will give short presentations on their areas of expertise, including legal, marketing, and pricing issues. Panel presentations will be followed by discussion among all attendees.

This free event is put on through the San Juan County Economic Development Council’s Knowledge Worker Network initiative which connects islanders who work primarily with information, such as software developers, editors and writers, web and graphic designers, scientific consultants, and many others. Members of any and all professions are welcome at this event. For more information, see the EDC website: https://sanjuansedc.org/kwn.

The EDC thanks our funders for their support of this workshop and other EDC initiatives. This event is not affiliated with the Orcas Island Library.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) strives to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County.  We believe a strong economy builds a strong community.