Mark your calendars! The Winter Flea & Craft Market will be at the Fairgrounds Main Building on Saturday, December 7th from 9 am-1 pm. Flea & Craft Market vendors can sign up for a booth space by calling (360) 378-4310, by emailing info@sjcfair.org or by applying online at www.sjcfair.org. Each vendor booth space is 10’  Continue Reading

The League of Women Voters of the San Juans will host “Sharing Paradise: The Balance of Tourism and Preservation in the San Juans” from noon-2 p.m., Monday, Nov. 18 in the San Juan Island Library’s meeting room. Barbara Marrett and Joe Symons will present two sides of the island’s tourism. Marrett is the communication and  Continue Reading

San Juan County residents of all ages are reminded to submit their entries in the Town’s Poetry Garden poetry contest by the end of this month. Winning entries will be engraved on plaques located in four poetry gardens to be installed in public areas this spring.  Details for entry may be found on the Town  Continue Reading

Feed the Island Cynthia’s Bistro is offering free take-away meals to anyone who needs a meal or wishes to have a home cooked meal. No questions asked, just free food. Stop by Cynthia’s this Thursday – November 7 – from 4:30 to 6:00 to pick up your meal. You may pick up 2 meals per  Continue Reading

(Notice: This article was originally published with an incorrect link to the Community Thanksgiving Website. This has now been fixed) Thursday, November 28th  from 12:00 to 5:00 pm at the Mullis Center We are happy to announce, like Mark Twain, the reports of there not being a San Juan Island Community Thanksgiving Dinner have been  Continue Reading

Necia Quast shares this announcement with you… A Hidden Problem, A Community Solution Most Islanders don’t know many teens struggle to be stably housed in San Juan County. A small number shelter in vehicles or tents, but many couch surf, staying with friends or family members on sufferance, often moving from place to place. Some  Continue Reading

Thanks to all of our Orca Recovery Day Volunteers! We want to thank everyone who came out and celebrated Orca Recovery Day with us last Saturday. Our October 19th celebrations spanned two islands, with approximately 50 volunteers coming together to support natural areas and the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales that grace the Salish Sea.  Continue Reading

Join David Montgomery and Anne Bikle as they explore the connections between soil and human health. David Montgomery earned his Ph.D. in geomorphology and teaches at the University of Washington where he studies the evolution of topography and how geological processes shape landscapes and influence ecological systems. Montgomery writes about the relationship of people to  Continue Reading

Members of San Juan Island Grange #966 voted unanimously this month to upgrade the kitchen in their building on First Street to full commercial status and pledged $40,000 from their reserves for the project, provided the membership can raise a like amount. Two Grange members have each pledged $10,000 to kick off the campaign, and  Continue Reading

Angela Anderson, Executive Director of the San Juan Preservation Trust, has been tapped to join the Land Trust Leadership Council, an elite group of nationally recognized leaders in the land trust field. “As an exceptional land trust executive director, you will bring valuable experience and perspectives to the group,” wrote Andrew Bowman, president and CEO  Continue Reading

The Friday Harbor Winterfest begins November 30th with the Island Lights Festival The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the Island Lights Festival on November 30th. This kickoff event for the Friday Harbor Winterfest is on a Saturday this year so more families are able to attend. Once again the Chamber  Continue Reading

The Lions Club of San Juan Island has just completed its free eye screening for children in the San Juan Island Elementary and Middle schools, and the Orcas Island Elementary School. In all, over 300 students had their vision checked and 17 of the children were referred for vision problems . Using a Plus Optic  Continue Reading

Friday Harbor Elementary School’s annual Halloween Parade is coming up on Thursday October 31 at 9:30am. The parade travels from the elementary school to Argyle Ave to Spring Street, past King’s Market, across the street and back to the school.  Students should be dressed for cool fall weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. Costumes should  Continue Reading

Many San Juan Island residents know that Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor (SIFRI) provides free ferry tickets to patients and their caregivers who have to travel off-island for cancer treatment.   Recently this long-running program has gotten a dedicated phone number and e-mail address that will remain constant and will not change when a new coordinator takes over  Continue Reading

The Friday Harbor Food Bank recently completed a modest expansion, resolving longstanding storage constraints.  The building was extended nine feet to the east, adding 216 square feet.  Two new, larger freezers and two fridges replace some older units, and two new food racks provide needed storage.   The Food Bank thanks generous community supporters of this  Continue Reading

Story by Louise Dustrude… A truly central location has been identified for further exploration for the new library: the former Life Care Center on upper Spring Street, close to the Mullis Senior Center, the Village at the Harbour, and an easy walk from the elementary, middle and high schools, and much more. Of the three  Continue Reading

Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor are now accepting applications for three awards; “Live Your Dream Award,” the “Fellowship Award,” and the “Educational Opportunity Award.” Live Your Dream Award The ‘Live Your Dream Award’ is a major Soroptimist service project. This award helps women in overcoming personal difficulties and bettering their lives through education and training.  Continue Reading

The following is from Carla Wright, Publicity – Rotary Club of San Juan Islands… The Rotary Club of San Juan Islands recently presented checks to the recipients of proceeds from the 13th annual Concours d’Elegance held on August 24th at the San Juan Vineyard. This event is co-sponsored by the Sports Car Club of San  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

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!  Continue Reading

In the San Juan Update Mailbag this morning, the SJIPC thanks the SJICF… The San Juan Island Prevention Coalition (SJIPC) would like to publicly thank the San Juan Island Community Foundation (SJICF) for their continued support of our island youth. Members of our Rock Solid Youth Prevention Team were able to attend a national leadership  Continue Reading

The San Juan Island Garden Club will host their “Ferry Go Round” meeting aboard the inter-island ferry on Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a Sharing Time for Gardeners with: News of Upcoming events Remembering Past Events County Fair Flower Barn Ribbon Winners Bring your brown bag lunch including beverage                Anacortes           Friday Harbor    Orcas     Lopez  Continue Reading