Do you love arts and community? Do you live in San Juan County? Lucky you! The San Juan County Arts Council is looking for new board members!

We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving all of San Juan County since 2008. We are looking for enthusiastic folks to join our group in our efforts to help the arts to flourish in San Juan County.

We are the official sponsors of the San Juan Summer Arts Festival and have other new exciting initiatives rolling out at well! Meetings are just once a month via conference call, and quarterly in person.

Please send a letter of interest to [email protected]  or to PO BOX 3, Friday Harbor, WA  98250 with your qualifications. We would be delighted to meet you!  

(L-R): Gilbert Venegas, Brad Creesy and Michael Henderson – Contributed photo

We are proud to announce that Firefighter Gilbert Venegas, Chief Brad Creesy, and Lieutenant Michael Henderson will be participating in the 2018 Scott Firefighter Stairclimb. On March 11, they will be joining over 2,000 firefighters in climbing the stairs at Seattle’s Columbia Center in full bunker gear, including SCBA, to raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The climb involves 69 flights; 1,356 steps; and 788 feet of vertical elevations. Retired Captain Jerry Henderson will be there to change out air bottles at the halfway mark. Firefighter Ron Stanger and Logistics Team Member Bonnie Stanger will meet them at the top.

The LLS is the largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding research, finding cures, and ensuring access to treatments for blood cancer patients. Every dollar donated to the Stairclimb will go directly to the society. This is the department’s fourth year participating.

Please consider donating in support of their efforts. Your tax deductible donations support blood cancer research and patient services. You can make your donation online at http://www.llswa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ff_home. Click on donate, search team name San Juan Island Fire.

San Juan Island Fire Department would like to thank the San Juan Island Firefighters’ Association and the Friday Harbor Firefighters’ Thrift House for their generous support.

Hello everyone!

Just a quick note to update you on the upcoming events at the Museum; lots happening, lots of volunteers needed (as always):

– Board of Trustees expanding in size: to accommodate the current demands on the Museum with projects, the Board will be expanding in size. We need 2-3 interested applicants for openings, with a variety of choices for the area of responsibility. Email me at [email protected] or Kevin at [email protected] for further details. Term would begin with the April 2018 board meeting.

– Renovation of the Jail exhibit in the original San Juan County Jail building. This project starts soon! The task force will meet to determine the changes to be made, then timeline the project in order to be completed by December 2018. Please call 360-378-3949 and leave a message if you would like to serve on this task force.

– For the 21st year in a row, the kids from Ellensburg Schools will tour the town April 12 and 13 – the Museum is one of their favorite tours, and we could use a few folks to help out. Email Kevin at [email protected] if you can come by for a two hour shift on either of those days.

– Mark your calendars for Wednesday evening, March 14th! The Museum will present its Second Annual Show and Tell program, at the San Juan Island Library, beginning at 7:00pm. There will be a short meeting in the conference room of the library of the Society from 5:30pm-6:00pm. Show and Tell consists of vintage island photos, update on all the neat projects the volunteers have been working on since the Archival Project, and a display of a number of unique (dare we say odd?) artifacts uncovered recently in the archives. Admission is FREE, and there will be snacks.

Thank you all for your continued support of the Museum, through your volunteered time, donated items, funding and attention!

Diana Mancel
Volunteer and Board Member
San Juan Historical Society & Museum

We are planning a party just for you!

Join the San Juan Island Garden Club members in sharing stories, problems, research, advice, questions, failures, triumphs and laughter during our Spring Planning Party. There will be drawings, “flower bingo”, demonstrations, sweet pea starts and what all. Browse catalogs and gardening magazines for new ideas.

March 6th at the Mullis Community Center
Open house 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Bring your extra garden “stuff” – books, plants, seeds and gardening what-have-you to pass along to others. Drop in for hot soup, fresh bread, coffee and tea.

Leave your wallet elsewhere this is a no-fee event.
Meetings, Classes and Excursions are open to everyone.
The Joy of Gardening is Sharing!

The San Juan County Republican Party is proud to announce the 2018 Reagan Dinner on Saturday, March 10, 2018

Making America Great Again, the Cowboy Way…

Dust off your Stetson and shine your cowboy boots!  You’re invited to the 2018 Reagan Dinner at the San Juan Island Golf Club featuring a Rancho del Cielo theme!

The cowboy theme, honoring the Reagan Ranch, features a western style buffet,  country music, raffle, and dessert auction

+ HUGE prize for the proudest belt buckle!  Plus two special guest speakers:

• WA State Senator Doug Ericksen  
• David Dewhirst, Chief Litigator for the Freedom Foundation  

Social hour begins at 5:00PM ~ Dinner served at 5:45PM

You can purchase tickets and sign up to attend at

http://sjcrp.org/ldinformation/  or email [email protected] for more information

Poets are Focus of Next FREE Readers Theatre

The second evening of San Juan Community Theatre’s On Book! Readers Theatre series showcasing a play about two 20th century poets will now be held on Wednesday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Whittier Theatre. (Last week’s scheduled presentation was cancelled due to the island snow).

Based on the compiled letters between poets Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop, Sarah Ruhl’s Dear Elizabeth expresses the beauty in simple correspondence. Brought to life by reading Words in Air: The Complete Correspondence Between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, Ruhl maps the relationship of the two poets from first meeting to an abbreviated affair and the turmoil of their lives in between. As innovative as it is moving, Dear Elizabeth gives voice to a conversation that lived mostly in writing, illuminating some of the finest poems of the twentieth century and the minds that produced them.

SJCT’s On Book! series brings island directors and actors together to read new, classic, and prize-winning plays. Ruhl is a critically-acclaimed American playwright and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. Her fantastical comedy, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, was staged in the Gubelman Theatre in 2017.

Directed by Shannon Kelley, Dear Elizabeth will be read by island actors Daniel and Therese Finn in the Whittier Theatre. Admission is free, with donations accepted at the door.

You are cordially invited to attend – Dinner and a Movie on Tuesday, February 27th – An intimate experience – limited to 20 guests

Cynthia’s Bistro & Friday Harbor Film Festival are joining together to bring you an evening of great food and a spectacular movie.

Timeline – 5:00 on. – Appetizers, Dinner served, Movie and dessert followed by discussion and comments

Cost $40.00 per person -Poultry or Meat or Vegetarian Entree
See menu selection below – includes one beverage (wine, beer or soft drink) appetizers, dinner and dessert. Additional beverages available upon request.

Reservations Required!
Please email – [email protected] or call 360-317-7178 for reservations

The Movie:
The Babushkas of Chernobyl
One of the best loved movies at the 2016 FHFF and winner of awards in 2015 at film festivals in Los Angeles, Woodstock, Santa Fe, Rotterdam and in 2016 at Salem, Sun Valley, Denver, Malmo and Florida.

The Menu:

• Appetizers and Beverage Selection
• Ukrainian Salat Vinaigrette (Beet Salad)
  Entree choices –
• Roasted Whole Chicken
• My Father’s Classic Beef Stew
• Pirozhki – Cynthia’s Version – Roasted Root Vegetables in Puff Pastry
• Dessert – Ukrainian Apple Cake (Yabluchnyk)

Artist Wendy McArthur, living and cruising with her husband on their trawler in the Atlantic Ocean and now the Pacific Northwest, is hosting a studio open house and show “A Season in Friday Harbor” on Wednesday, February 28, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. The open house and show will be held in her studio located just below  Downriggers Restaurant, at 10 Front Street #104, next door to the Riptide Café facing the Port of Friday Harbor.

While Wendy is a renown portrait artist with her work on display throughout the Southeastern United States, her winter stay in Friday Harbor has fueled her passion for the natural world surrounding the San Juan Islands and her Pacific Northwest journeys.

For more than fifteen years Wendy has devoted herself to commissioned oil portraits. She has studied under some of the greatest portrait artists alive today including Everett Raymond Kinstler, Burton Silverman and Daniel Greene.

Although Wendy found the precision and techniques required for portraiture to be challenging and fulfilling, she yearned for different expressions for her art. When considering her original artwork, it was easy to draw on her memories of growing up on the coast of Florida for inspiration. Boats, beach cruisers and seabirds, offer endless opportunity for expression. The images strike a universal chord in viewers, the love of the coast we all share with a singular joy.

You can view some of Wendy’s work and background on her website http://www.wendymcarthur.com/

Monday, February 26th at 7:00 pm – In Verona, Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love while their respective families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are caught in a bitter rivalry ending in heart-wrenching tragedy. 

Alexei Ratmansky, former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, stages the company’s premiere of his production with dramatic urgency and a fresh retelling of Shakespeare’s beloved classic. His brilliant and detailed adaptation set to Prokofiev’s romantic and cinematic score reignites the story of literature’s most celebrated star-crossed lovers like no other classical ballet choreographer today.

Tickets for the screening are $20 for adults, $18 for members, and $10 for student reserved and are available online at www.sjctheatre.org or at the SJCT Box Office (360) 378-3210. Due to a financial agreement with The Met: Live in HD, no SJCT coupons are accepted for this event.

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

Statistics show that 7 out of 10 people are more willing to adopt a kitten than an adult or senior cat. What’s up with that nonsense?

As a proud senior cat, I find this hard to believe. My name is Blossom and I’ve been waiting here at the animal shelter for a very long time, hoping someone wants a spunky, older gal like myself to share their life (and tuna) with. I love to cuddle and am very good at jigsaw puzzles. I also read palms and teach interpretive dance. I’m very versatile, so don’t let my “advanced” age fool you.

You know, statistics also show that Americans own over 46 million dogs and only 38 million cats. Now, that is very hard to believe! Let’s hook up!

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor
111 Shelter Road
(360) 378-2158

Know Your Islanders Talks –
Mother Felicitas Curti: The Chord of Longing

In a reading co-sponsored by Griffin Bay Bookstore and the San Juan Island Trails Committee, Mother Felicitas Curti will talk about her new book “The Chord of Longing: My Life as Atheist, Marxist, Mother, Nun”

The book explores a musical scholar’s search for meaning, love, and acceptance as a single mother, Marxist, musician, and finally, member of a monastic community.

Refreshments are courtesy of the Friends of the Library and the San Juan Island Trails Committee.

Monday, March 5th at 7:00 pm at the San Juan Island Library, free.

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor will hold it’s annual “Spaygetti Dinner”, Tuesday, February 27, from 5:30 to 7:30 at The Mullis Center. Cost is $15 for adults and $5 for children under 10. Vegetarian and Gluten Free options will be available, as well as no-host beer and wine.

This annual event coincides with “World Spay Day”; a day set aside each year to educate the public about the tragedy of pet over population and the importance of spaying and neutering pets. All proceeds from the dinner will go the the animal shelter’s Spay/Neuter fund.

2018 Wolverines Varsity Basketball team – Contributed photo

Mike Martin checks in again with the breakdown on tonight’s boys varsity basketball game in Wenatchee…

The Friday Harbor High School boys varsity basketball (14 wins and 8 losses) team knows that there’s a bigger prize 169 miles east in Spokane next week. Tonight at 8PM in Wenatchee they will focus on the task at hand: Take the stinger away from the Hornets of Oroville High School (14-9) in the 2B Regional Finals.

The winner will advance to the 2B State Boys Tournament in Spokane next Wednesday. The Wolverines look to punch their ticket to the dance for the second time in 3 years. To do so the Wolverines will need to take away the stinger from the Hornets.

The Hornets are losers of their last two games while the Wolverines will put their 9 game winning streak on the line.

“Winning streaks don’t matter at this point,” says Friday Harbor Tiny Radio color analyst Kaila Olin. “However, what is important is that the Wolverines are peaking at the right time of the season.” Continue Reading

David at Saint David’s church shares this class announcement with you…

Yogadevotion Chair Yoga Class for Lent

Saint David’s Episcopal Church invites you to join Heidi Green in the church sanctuary from 3-4 pm for five Wednesdays in Lent from Feb. 28 through March 28 for Yogadevotion classes designed for EVERY body. There is a $5 suggested donation for each class, but all money donated will be given to the Friday Harbor Food Bank.

Yogadevotion begins in the breath, centering ourselves and setting aside all that distracts us from God. The class opens with scripture and devotion; it closes with a time of reflection and thanksgiving for God’s Presence in our lives. In between, participants embody prayer in gentle, breath-centered movement to heal the body, calm the mind, and nourish the spirit.

Heidi Green – Contributed photo

Heidi Green is an experienced, registered yoga teacher and continuing education provider (E-200 RYT, 500 RYT, YACEP). She is also a cancer survivor, a graduate of the lay education for ministry program in the Episcopal Church, retired from a 20-year career in public policy, and enjoys the challenge of practicing yoga on a boat. In addition, she is the co-author of Yogadevotion: Practicing in the Presence.

For more information, contact the church office at 360-378-5360. Saint David’s Church is located at the corner of Park and Marguerite in Friday Harbor.

Saint David’s Episcopal Church
780 Park Street

Get ready for a fun fundraiser for the Friday Harbor Film Festival. Join us at Brickworks on Nichols Street in Friday Harbor on March 3, 2018. Doors open at 5:00 pm.

Costume contests. Live auction. And Fun! Tickets are on sale now.

There will be prizes for:

• Best Film Character
  Male
  Female
• Best Look Alike
  Actor
  Actress
• Best Film Couple
  Look Alike Actors
  Movie Characters
  w  Susan & Gary Waters

Throughout the evening you will have the opportunity to bid on a Wonderful array of Live Auction items.  Getaways to Bellingham, Victoria, Portland and Yellow Island, a 3 day Cruise, Gourmet Dinners and Oyster Feed, just to name a few. We will be celebrating the Oscars by screening the Trailers of the Top Contenders for Best Picture and Best Documentary.

The talented Comic/Actor, Kent Loomer, a member of the Upfront Improv Theatre in Bellingham will host the exciting live auction.  Dress in your finest Hollywood-inspired attire or as your favorite film character.

PRIZES will be given for Best Costumes!  We have also notified Girlfriends, 2nd Act, the Thrift Store and the Costume Shop at San Juan Community Theatre (costume shop hours are Tuesday and Thursday 10-1) of the event and they are planning to help all attendees to be your most glamorous self!  Continue Reading