On Sacred Ground’s Leave No Trace Speaker Series starts tomorrow night at 5 p.m. in the San Juan Island Library Conference Room.

Titled Leave No Trace and the Island Marble Butterfly, attendees will learn about the endangered island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), how it copes with winter storms, and the simple things we can do to best its chances of surviving another year.

Wildlife Biologist Jenny Shrum, formerly of the National Park Service and currently On Sacred Ground’s Island Marble Butterfly Program Director, will share highlights of her nine seasons studying this quirky critter and what LNT practices on the prairie will do to support the island marble butterfly.

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor shares a look at the adoptable animal of the week — Baby Stripey, a ten-year-old domestic long hair and brown tabby who came to San Juan Island from Florida due to the effects of Hurricane Ian.

Oh hi there, I’m Baby Stripey! It’s been three-and-a-half weeks since I arrived at APS-FH all the way from Florida. I came with six others like me — all cats, all leaving Treasure Coast for San Juan Island, getting out before the storm blew in. In those weeks, two of us got adopted, while four still remain. As I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, I’m one of the four still here at the shelter, waiting for my family to come find me.

Here’s the thing about finding me though. It’s gonna take a really special person. Why, you ask? Well, because I’m not one of those prance-y cats. I’m not the type to jump down from my ledge as soon as the door to our room opens. I don’t rush to the hands of humans. Instead you can find me in one of my two favorite spots:

1. On the cat tower by the door that leads outside — and when they drape a blanket over the tower, then I lay between blanket and tower for optimal coziness.
2. On the highest ledge in our room, just above the door. Look all the way up to the tippy top, and there you’ll find me nestled in my cat bed

But here is the other thing — if you’re up to spending the extra time to come and meet me at my comfort level, then you’ll actually find that I’m known to warm up quite quickly. Once I get into my forever home, I know I’ll feel even more ready to come out of my shell and show you my personality. I’m a special kind of cat who is looking for a special kind of person. Are you them? If so, you can find me at the shelter with the other shy boys in the Shy Boy Room — also known as Community Cat Room #3. Once you’re there, now you know what to do!

Contact APS to learn more about Baby Stripey.

Beginning tomorrow, the San Juan Island Food Co-op will operate on its winter schedule with slightly reduced hours. The Co-op will now be open from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Friday Harbor High School boys soccer team continued their journey toward a state championship yesterday afternoon with a 1-0 win over Puget Sound Adventist Academy of Kirkland.

With the victory, the Wolverines advance to the semi-final round of the state tournament, which takes place this Friday, Nov. 18 at Renton Memorial Stadium at 3 p.m. Top-seeded Friday Harbor will take on fourth-seeded Saint George’s School of Spokane, with the winner advancing to the 1B/2B state championship game on Saturday.

Orcas Island also advanced to the semi-finals yesterday with their 6-1 win over Evergreen Lutheran. Orcas plays conference rival Mt. Vernon Christian on Friday at 1 p.m., also in Renton.

The Library shares a post-election update from their staff and board.

The staff and Board of Trustees of the San Juan Island Library District thank the entire community for engaging with the library project plans and voting in this past week’s election.

Although the Nov. 8 ballot issue for a $12 million bond to build a new library for San Juan Islanders did not pass, the Library District remains the owner of the 660 Spring St. property and the overall project of envisioning and creating a library there in the future will continue. Fundraising and applications for state and private grant funding is independent of the bond election and have been underway for all of 2022.

The Library heard the many questions and concerns during the election process and has already begun to plan next steps. This includes working to address questions in an open public process so that everyone understands the process, facts, and major milestones for the project.

“Although the bond levy did not pass, we’re moving ever forward with our fundraising and grant-writing efforts,” said Laurie Orton, the Library Director. “Amy Saxe-Eyler, our Development Director, brings her nonprofit leadership and fund development expertise to lead this effort in coordination with our wonderful Friends of the Library partners and a volunteer capital campaign committee. Early fundraising has already garnered $500,000 in support for the project and we’ve applied for a $2 million grant with the Washington Department of Commerce, which was selected to advance to the legislature for consideration in 2023. We’re so grateful for the community support and feedback and we will be providing updates as the project moves forward.”

Wild Sequoia Vintage is hosting a sip-and-shop event from 5-8 p.m. tonight at Salty at Heart Apothecary, located at 310 Spring St. behind the Camperdown elm tree.

The Simonson and Zambrovitz Team at Coldwell Banker San Juan Island send along their real estate market snapshot for the island.

“The median price for homes has yet to adjust to the lower volume for closed and pending sales,” Merri Ann Simonson says. “It may take a few more months to reflect our current market as the data lags.”

According to Brad, as these loud unison calls and throwing back of the heads becomes more synchronized, mating follows soon after.

SJCT shares news about audition prep for their upcoming musical.

San Juan Community Theatre will hold a free workshop on Saturday, Nov. 12 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the PARC Building, located at 70 Saltspring Drive. Next spring, SJCT will produce Shrek the Musical and will open auditions to the community. If you would like a taste of what to expect at the auditions — which take place on Jan. 7 — the directors will go over readings, music, and movement expectations so you can be as prepared as possible to audition for this musical modern classic.

No registration is required. Any questions can be emailed to the director, Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey, at [email protected].

Tell your server that you’re a local and you’ll get 20 percent off all food and drink every Thursday this fall at McMillin’s Dining Room at Roche Harbor. McMillin’s is open from 4-9 p.m. It also has a new bar menu featuring small plates and appetizers.

The Friday Harbor Film Festival shares news about the winning films from the on-demand portion of this year’s event.

The On-Demand Friday Harbor Film Festival Audience Choice Awards have been decided by the film lovers who viewed the documentaries. Nearly all features from the In-Theatre Festival, an additional four on-demand-only features, all short films, and all student films were available on the FHFF website through Oct. 31.

On-Demand Audience Choice Award winners are:

• Best Overall Feature — Corky, directed by Christine Caruso
• Best Short Film — Contrasts, directed by Vanessa Prigollini

Student winners are:

• Best Student Film, ages 13-17 — Bird Lady, directed by Carter Rostron
• Runner-up Student Film, ages 13-17 — Below the Rise, directed by Massimo Soto
• Best Student Film, ages 18-26 — O’o: The Last Voice of Kauai, directed by Hana Cincotta
• Runner-up Student Film, ages 18-26 — An Urban Herd, directed by Lizzie Coney

FHFF appreciates all the filmmakers who submitted their work and all the film-lovers who viewed the on-demand documentaries and voted for their favorites. We look forward to offering Best of the Fest films online during the winter.