Around here….

Looking around the island, and around the area….

• Wahoo! The Backdoor Kitchen is open again after being closed for the winter – drop by tonight & Saturday! See ya there tonight! (Yeah, I’m a BDK fan!)

• If you’ve gone to Victoria on the Victoria Express from Friday Harbor, you know that was a quick, fast way to get to Canada’s Inner Harbour. The commuter line has now been bought by Black Ball Ferry Line…here’s more.

• Meanwhile, the state Senate voted to continue collecting sales tax from visiting Canadians (mostly from British Columbia) this week…here’s more on that. The bill was co-sponsored by Kevin Ranker from San Juan Island.

• It’s tonight! Here’s more from Pam Herber:

Writers’ Café is coming up…today! Bring your fiction, nonfiction or poetry to read, OR join us to listen. The Bean will provide coffee, tea, pastries and such for sale for our enjoyment. Sign up starts at 5:00 pm. Reading starts at 5:30. For those of you who know Kathleen Kaska, I’m happy to say she will be joining us from Anacortes.

I hope to see you there!

• Speaking of writers – John Boyd will be at Griffin Bay Bookstore to sign his book on Saturday – the book is about his wife’s bout with cancer, and his role in it…part of the proceeds go to Relay for Life.

• This is coming up in a couple of weeks,and they still need help…want to volnteer? Call Mark Islam at 360.317.5377 if  you’re interested!

Here’s more from Tracy:

Bicycle Tune up and Warm Up – March 19, 2011

The Bike Paths group is excited to announce the Bicycle Tune Up and Warm Up event scheduled for Saturday March 19 from 10am to noon at the Elementary School play shed.  This free event is open to children and adults new to bicycling as well as seasoned riders.  Bring your bicycle and helmet for a variety of fun stations providing basic maintenance, demonstrations, Q & A, and hands-on bike mechanics. Activities include tire repair, brake adjustment, bike and helmet sizing and fit, creative all weather gear, and a children’s tune up station. There will be a variety of safe cycling educational materials and maps. A limited supply of helmets will also be available for a suggested donation.

Get a jump start on the bicycling season!  After the Tune Up, it is our hope that you will enjoy the opportunity to head out for a warm up ride on your own or with friends.  Route suggestions based on skill levels will be provided.

The Bike paths group is part of the SJ Island Trails Committee, both part of Island Rec. Learn more about us at: http://sanjuanislandtrails.org/biking/, or contact Island Rec at 378-4953 or www.islandrec.org.

• It’s coming up, and this is a good weekend to get your tickets! Here’s more from Barbara Sharp:

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR THE SOROPTIMISTS’ ANNUAL ST. PAT’S DINNER!

All islanders are invited to attend the Soroptimists’ thirteenth annual, fun-filled St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza on Saturday, March 12, at the Mullis Center, starting at 6 pm. The event features a special dinner of the traditional corned beef and cabbage (plus a vegetarian entrée option) prepared by master chef Becki Day of Vinny’s Ristaurante. Live music, silent and live auctions, and an array of raffle prizes are also highlights of the evening.

Seating is limited, so buy your tickets now this weekend, starting today March 4 at the Market Place, and at Kings on March 4 and 5 from 11-4. They are also available at The Toy Box, Spa d’Bune or from a Soroptimist member. The cost is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors (65+), and $10 for children 10 and under. If you can’t attend, you can still have a great meal as a take out dinner, purchased in advance for $12 and ready for pick-up between 4:30 and 5:30pm.

This event is the primary fund-raiser for the Soroptimists’ many community-based service projects and scholarships. For further information, go to www.SiFri.org.

• Time to give input to the ferry folks:

The regular meeting of the Ferry Advisory Committee on March 9, 8:30 – 10:30 pm will be held at the Legislative Building, Large Conference Room, 55 Second St, Friday Harbor.

•  This was re-scheduled from last week’s weather – see you there:

Jim Crook, in action....

“By Hook and by Crook”
Celebrating the resourceful life of pioneer Jim Crook

A new permanent exhibit at the San Juan Historical Museum

(Rescheduled from February 26, due to weather)

Opening ceremony: Saturday, March 5, 2011 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm

The exhibit is located in the Barn on the museum grounds located on Price Street in Friday Harbor. A presentation by Mike Vouri, Chief of Interpretation & Historian, San Juan Island National Historical Park, entitled The Crook Family – Caretakers of English Camp, will begin at 2:00 PM in the Etta Egeland Resource Center. Light refreshments will be provided and the event is free and open to the public. The exhibit is made possible in part by grants from the San Juan County Historical Preservation Grants Program and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation.

The Jim Crook exhibit is comprised of three educational stations: Learning how Jim Crook made his own clothes and some of the equipment he used to do so, featuring a 2-ton Carder that Jim Crook made from materials he gathered on his homestead; Learning about Jim Crook and his family’s life at English Camp; Learning additional information at a computer station with photos, articles, videos, audio recordings and documentations provided by the San Juan Historical Museum, San Juan Island National Historical Park, San Juan Island Library and Washington State Library.

Jim Crook was born in Wyoming in 1873, when his parents, William and Mary, were heading west on the Oregon Trail. In 1875, the Crook family settled on San Juan Island at English Camp. The family, whose tenure lasted at English Camp until 1972, consisted of parents William and Mary, children Jim, Mary Crook Davis and Rhoda Crook Anderson.

Jim Crook was a lifelong bachelor who rarely left the island. His resourcefulness was demonstrated in the various pieces of equipment he built with ‘raw materials’ he found at English Camp. Jim Crook’s spirit of ingenuity and resourcefulness represents a way of life still practiced and valued on San Juan Island.

This exhibit is made possible in part by a grant from the San Juan County Historical Preservation Grants Program and by a grant from the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. A special thank you goes to the members of the Jim Crook Society, who took great care in restoring and displaying the equipment in late 1980s and early 1990s, when it was on exhibit at the San Juan County Fairgrounds.

The purpose of the San Juan Historical Society and its museum is to share and interpret the story of the peoples of San Juan Island. The Historical Society assembles, collects, preserves, exhibits and makes available for future generations historical data, information and artifacts that illustrates the heritage of San Juan Island.

• The Community Foundation has the 2011 scholarship applications available now – here’s the scoop from Darleen, seniors:

The San Juan Island Community Foundation is pleased to announce that scholarship applications are now being accepted for eligible San Juan Island 2011 graduating high school seniors.  All applicants must be planning to attend an accredited four-year college or university as full-time students in the 2011-2012 academic year.  Application forms are available at Friday Harbor High School, Spring Street International School, online at the San Juan Island Community Foundation web site, www.sjicf.org, and from the Foundation office, 640 Mullis Street, Suite 104 (across from Whidbey Island Bank).  Eligibility requirements vary depending upon the program.  Details can be found on the San Juan Island Community Foundation website, www.sjicf.org.  Completed applications and supporting materials must be received by the Foundation office no later than May 2, 2011, 5 p.m.  If the completed application and all support materials are not received by the deadline date the application will not be considered.  Please contact the San Juan Island Community Foundation at 378-1001 if you have further questions.

If you are interested in setting up a scholarship fund or donating to existing scholarship programs, please contact Charles Anderson at the San Juan Island Community Foundation, 378-1001.

The San Juan Island Community Foundation serves as a nonprofit philanthropic umbrella organization helping donors, nonprofits and public organizations to achieve their goals through direct grants, organizational assistance and philanthropic resource management.  For further information about the Community Foundation, call 378-1001, write to PO Box 1352, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, or  visit the office is located in Suite 104, at 640 Mullis Street.

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Categories: Around Here