Friday Harbor Film Festival Sunset Cruise on the Odyssey, July 12th, 6pm

by Theresa Simendinger

Teddy Deane grew up in Massachusetts, played with a few bands and then Holy Modal Rounders for 17 years. They toured the country in the band’s Greyhound bus an played with or opened for many names we remember; Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper, Charlie Daniels, Bonnie Raitt, the Allman Brothers… Teddy often sat in with these bands in addition to playing with his band.

About the time the band hit Portland the bus broke down. The band members hailed from all over but, strangely enough, they all met girlfriends they really liked and settled in Portland. Teddy met the love of his life Alice, now Deane, for 39 years.

During that time Teddy wrote songs, jingles, soundtracks, even an opera. Next Teddy and a friend co-founded the group, Swingline Cubs, and played Portland clubs and events.

Teddy and Alice moved moved to Friday Harbor 18 years ago. He planned on retiring. But as Teddy says, that’s one thing he was not good at. There are great musicians on this island and Teddy has played with most. Every one loves Teddy’s music, he even wrote “Going Home to Friday Harbor” for the Centennial. Continue Reading

Blue Herd, 36″ x 36″, Acrylic on Canvas by Jaime Ellsworth

The show “Birds, Bunnies, Dogs and more” featuring Barbara Duzan Sculpture and Jaime Ellsworth Paintings is running currently at WaterWorks Gallery through July 22nd.

On Saturday, July 8th from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, Jaime ​​Ellsworth will lead a walk​/talk about her art.

In their ​animal ​worlds, Barbara Duzan and Jaime Ellsworth draw inspiration from their unique perspective. Both Barbara and Jaime bring their strength and skill to their medium. Yet, they do so in a whimsical and often humorous manner, showing us the sweeter side of our relationship with the animal world.

Jaime continues her explorations of the many facets of her painting style, using her graphic qualities. Whether pushing her painting into a new graphic style, or just allowing these creatures (dogs, birds and horses) to do all their speaking, its all fun living in this wonderful world of animals.

Each summer inter-tribal canoes depart from their homeland to a common destination within Coast Salish territory. Canoes will pass through the San Juan Islands on their way to the final destination in the Campbell River with the We Wai Kai Nation & Wei Wai Kum Nation. Canoe families, relatives, friends and spectators are invited to attend the final landing and festivities Aug 5 – 10. 2017. The theme of this year’s Canoe Journey is Standing Together.

• What: Tribal Canoe Journey 2017 – “Standing Together”
• When: Lopez and San Juan Island Stopovers July 24-25
• Destination: We Wai Kai Nation & Wei Wai Kum Nation (near Campbell River, BC)

On July 24 and 25 the San Juan Islands will host 250 members of 12 Canoe Families. This will include paddlers, support boats, and land crews. Paddlers will arrive on Monday, July 24 at Odlin County Park on Lopez Island around 4 pm and will be greeted with songs and blessings from tribal elders and other local representatives. A community dinner will follow at 6 pm.

On July 25, paddlers will travel to San Juan Island where the National Park Service will host festivities at English Camp starting with a landing at approximately 3 pm and dinner at 6 pm. All events are free and open to the public.

Landing dates and locations in the San Juans: Continue Reading

Looking for just the right furnishings for your home at a reasonable price?  The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor invites you to visit “Treasure Hounds”, a retail/resale store offering quality, pre-owned furniture, fine art, and home decor.  

We also have some beautiful china, glassware, antiques and collectibles.  The store is located at 689 Airport Center Rd, next to San Juan Healthcare, and is open Wednesday through Saturday 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  

All proceeds benefit the animal shelter.  Please contact the shelter administration office at 378-2159 or Leslie Byron, Director at 317-4311 to make donations and for more information.  APS-FH is a 501©3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law.

Have you seen the outdoor labyrinth in front of the office at Saint David’s Episcopal Church? Perhaps you’ve noticed people walking on it as you’ve passed by. Maybe you were one of Ms. Salisbury’s geometry students at FHHS who won a pizza party in 2003 by estimating how many bricks would be used to build the labyrinth. Perhaps you’ve been curious about what the labyrinth represents or how it is used. Maybe you’ve even walked the labyrinth and have experiences to share. Now is your chance to learn more.

On Tuesday, July 11, from 7-9 pm, you can join others who are interested in exploring the labyrinth to discuss some of the facts, myths, and possibilities surrounding labyrinths. David Bentley, a Labyrinth Facilitator trained by The Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress who founded Veriditas in San Francisco, will facilitate a discussion about labyrinths followed by a labyrinth walk.

Bring your curiosity and questions, your experiences and stories, and your willingness to learn about new possibilities. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to walk a labyrinth, but labyrinths are increasingly being used in a variety of settings. Come explore.

The outdoor labyrinth at Saint David’s is located at 760 Park Street. For more information, call 360-378-5360 or visit saintdavidsepiscopal.org/about/labyrinth/.

Hello Oakies! I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine – looks like summer made it to the Islands after all, and won’t be letting up in the near future. This Sunday’s forecast says full sun, so be sure to bring plenty of water and a hat for our work party. We’ll start at the summit and work our way down, pulling invasives and cleaning Garry oak cages.

• When?
  Sunday, July 9
  10:00am to 2:00pm
• RSVP required
  (email tanjaw [@] sjclandbank.org ).
• Where?
  Base of Cady Mountain Preserve – turn on to Cady Mountain Road off of West Valley Road. We’ll meet at the triangle junction about 100 yards from West Valley.
• What?
  Invasives Removal
  Cleaning Cages
• Bring/Wear?
  Plant trowel or Hori Hori
  Weather appropriate clothing
  Water/lunch

Next Oak Team Work Party:
July 23

16th Annual San Juan Island Lavender Festival at Pelindaba Lavender Farm

Next weekend Pelindaba Lavender Farm will be hosting the San Juan Island Lavender Festival. All are invited to come see, smell, hear, touch and taste The Complete Lavender Experience™ – July 15 & 16, 2017. Festival activities are scheduled 10:00 am to 5:00 pm both days. The event is free and open to the public. Ample parking is available.

The San Juan Island Lavender Festival, now in its 16th year, continues to be a popular summer destination with several thousand visitors attending each year to celebrate all things lavender. The beautiful weather of late means the fields are going to be at their “peak of purpleness” this weekend.

Throughout the weekend, tours, talks, demonstrations and exhibits will survey the entire process – from field to finished product including lavender cultivation, essential oil distillation and its many uses. Local Chef Anna Maria of Coho Restaurant will be presenting a tasty cooking with lavender demonstration – with samples to taste of course! Continue Reading

The Friday Harbor Film Festival Celebrates its 5th Year

Click to enlarge

Join us in celebration of the Friday Harbor Film Festival’s 5th Anniversary. Cruise through the San Juan Islands on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, aboard the M.S.V. Odyssey. Listen to the music of Teddy Deane, while enjoying beverages, including wine and beer, and delicious savory and sweet small bites.

The cost for this wonderful evening is only $75.00 per person. All proceeds benefit the Friday Harbor Film Festival. Tickets are limited.

Tickets may be purchased at the Friday Harbor Film Festival office located at 10 First Street, Friday Harbor Washington by cash, check or credit card. The office is open Thursday through Sunday from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Tickets may also be purchased by check only at San Juan Excursions, 2 Spring Street during business hours. This event is sponsored by San Juan Excursions, Mike’s Café and Wine Bar and the Friday Harbor Film Festival.

The Friday Harbor Film Festival began in 2013. Since its inception, the annual film festival has grown in both film-goer attendance, and in reputation as a high quality regional film festival. Each year the festival features documentary films that Entertain, Inspire & Enlighten film-goers about the people, cultures and environment that make up the area known as the Pacific Rim. The 5th Annual Friday Harbor Film Festival will be held November 3-5, 2017.  

The Friday Harbor Film Festival is a non-profit organization, which is supported through volunteers, grants, sponsors, and fundraising events, such as the July 12th Summer Cruise.

Thaddeus Smith, William Cooper, George Dightman, John Blair, John Hankinson, George Smith, S.J. Craft, Levi Brann, Jake Hardin, John Smoots, and Joseph Tucker – SJI Historical Society photo

It’s time for the July edition of the history column from SJI Historical Society…

“You’re a high flying flag and forever in peace may you wave.”

July in America brings out the patriotic flags and banners — and the islands are no exception. The San Juan Historical Society and Museum archive has many images with stars and stripes through the ages.

This particular circa 1908 photo is iconic in that it documents a gathering of a most distinguished group of island men. These are the men of the G.A.R. – the Grand Army of the Republic, the original veterans group formed in 1866 after the Civil War.

We are fortunate to know the names of these local members of the G.A.R. Silas Casey Post #74, photographed at the Valley Church on Madden Lane. In addition to the veterans’ names written on the back of the original photograph, we also know from notation that the flag is a 45 star flag and may be the exact 45 star flag in the Historical Museum collection.

The Historical Museum is now open for the summer season. Come by and see more of our island’s history.

Liam Copley learns to sail an El Toro – Contributed photo

Island Rec sailing classes happen every summer in cooperation with the San Juan Sailing Foundation. Introduction, Basic, Intermediate, and Double Handed Sloop happen at Percich Pond on Wold Road, and Jackson Beach.

Participants will learn to rig, tack, jibe, recover from a capsize and other basic skills while sailing solo in El Toros and Lasers.

These classes are for ages 9 and up. There is still room in Basic and Intermediate sailing this summer. Don’t miss your chance.

For more information and registration please visit our website. www.islandrec.org or call the office 360-378-4953. Week long classes beginning July 10, July 17, & July 24.    

The Center for Whale Research is hosting an all day workshop followed by an evening event at the Brickworks in Friday Harbor on July 21st.

The workshop will highlight the research that has been conducted by the Center for Whale Research over the last 42 years, and how this research can be translated into conservation action and population recovery for critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

The workshop portion of this event is now full, but we invite you to join us for the evening reception “Raise A Glass to Research” with music, drinks, appetizers, a silent auction and a chance to meet the researchers.

Please join us from 6 to 8pm to support and celebrate the unprecedented work the Center has contributed to the study and conservation of our local killer whales. Suggested donation of $10 at the door. Come raise a glass to research!

Hear the buzz? That should be all you busy-bee Island Writers preparing for the San Juan County Fair! But, you say, the Fair is months away! True, it’s August 16-19, but the deadline for submitting is only weeks away: July 17th.

So, get those manuscripts–prose, poetry, writing for children–from the last two years, and submit them, postmarked by July 17th, to Island Writers, c/o SJC Fair, PO Box 1094, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 or email them to [email protected] .

You can find the guidelines in the Premium Book (Online and at your local library!) under Island Writers (Z as in buzz). “It’s All the Buzz”–so make it bees!

Mary Szymanski, 100+, of Friday Harbor passed away on Saturday afternoon, July 1, 2017 peacefully at her home in The Village at the Harbour. She was born December 9, 1916, in Warsaw, Poland. She had one brother who perished in a concentration camp along with her father. Mary and her mother survived the camp and Mary came to the US in 1949 with her husband, Roman Szymanski. After Roman’s death in 2012, the family found documentation Roman had subtracted 5 years from his age upon entering the US. We believe Mary did the same and as such may have been as old as 105 at her passing.

When arriving in the US as displaced persons after the war the refugee organization, NRHA, helped Mary and Roman find housing and jobs. They lived in West Virginia and Buffalo, NY before eventually settling in Philadelphia, PA. To help support themselves, Roman sold life insurance, was a DJ on a Polish radio station, sold vacuum cleaners and helped teach PHD candidates at the University of NY before landing a job in Philadelphia with a pharmaceutical firm. Mary worked in a hat factory and, later in Phila., was a secretary in a pharmacy company until becoming pregnant with her daughter.

They resided in the Philadelphia area until 2003 when the warmer climes of Florida called. Roman and Mary lived in a retirement community in St. Petersburg, FL until Roman’s passing in 2012. Mary came to live at Village at the Harbour following her husband’s death in 2012 shortly after The Village opened. She resided there until her own passing on July 1, 2017.

Mary is survived by her daughter, Ingrid Malone (Jay Malone) and grandson Kevin Roman Malone. The Malones lived in Friday Harbor for over 13 years with Kevin graduating from Spring Street International school before they moved off island.

Click any image below for photos of the parade… Continue Reading

An elderly artist, her estranged son and 100 Molotov cocktails form the setting for San Juan Community Theatre’s special Off-Site production of The Velocity of Autumn. Directed by Carol Hooper and starring Deb Langhans and Brad Fincher.

Read more about the play here, or click below to see images from the show. Continue Reading

Brad Fincher and Deb Langhans in SJCT’s Velocity of Autumn – Jan Bollwinkel-Smith photo

An elderly artist, her estranged son and 100 Molotov cocktails form the setting for San Juan Community Theatre’s special Off-Site production of The Velocity of Autumn.

Eric Coble’s poignant comedy, directed by Carol Hooper, is presented at the San Juan County Fairgrounds Thursdays through Saturdays, July 6-15 at 7:30 pm and Sundays, July 9 and 16 at 5:00 p.m.

A sold-out hit during SJCT’s On Book! Readers Theatre series last fall, the 90-minute play looks at aging and family dynamics from the perspective of both generations. Island actors Deb Langhans and Brad Fincher play the mother and son. Their engaging conversation is full of wit, humor, and pain as he tries to reestablish real contact and she tries to make him see why she’s dressed to the nines and surrounded by Mason jars full of flammable liquid.  

“From my first reading of The Velocity of Autumn, I knew it was important,” says Hooper. “So often the difficulties of life pull us inward instead of allowing us to give or receive help. Whatever the relationship – parent, child, sibling –the first step toward understanding is listening to each other. And truly hearing.”

The play is a co-production with the San Juan County Fairgrounds and is presented in the Marie Boe building (seating is limited to 60 people). Tickets are $15 each; Thursdays are “Pay What You Can” at the door. Tickets are available on-line at www.sjctheatre.org or the box office (open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 pm at 378-3210).