Shop local and support our library! The Friends of the Library Book Sale is December 12, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, in the San Juan Island Library conference room and main salon.

There will be a selection of specialty books, individually priced and suitable for gifts. Also available are fiction and nonfiction books sold for $1.50 an inch, as we have done in the summer book sale.

Open Book Earrings – Contributed photo – Click to enlarge

In addition to books, there will be jewelry and other gift items from Treasure Cove. This year we are featuring a collection of hand crafted “open book” earrings for sale. If you missed the chance to make a pair at the Library’s fair booth last summer, now is your chance to buy a pair.

All proceeds go to support library programs and equipment not covered by tax dollars. We are fortunate to have such a great community library resources and a dedicated and talented staff.

Claire, Cynthia and Hanna at the restaurant – Contributed photo

Cynthia Burke wants to let you know what’s new at the restaurant on Nichols Street. Here she is with the story…

We are shifting hours starting next week and going to try opening 7 days a week from 8:00 to 3:00.

Plus – Cynthia’s is now offering an all-day Brunch menu featuring breakfast and luncheon items served all day.

Cynthia’s is also available mornings, afternoon & evenings for your holiday parties or gatherings – Just call Cynthia at 360-317-7178 to discuss details.

Wonderful holiday pastries are also being offered from our Espresso/Take out bar.

Click here to check out our menu. (PDF)

The holiday spirit is truly alive on San Juan Island! Thank you to all of those in the community who supported the Friday Harbor High School Class of 2016 by purchasing holiday wreathes from students, parents or at the Holiday Artisan Fair.

The sale of these wreathes is a major part of the budget for providing the Class of 2016 a safe and fun Grad Night island experience.

Look forward to more ways of supporting the night, including the very popular Staff-Versus-Student basketball game in March. (And of course, individual and business donations are also always welcome).

2016 Grad Night Committee

Take a break from your hectic Christmas planning to do something different. Join Wolf Hollow staff and board members for a Critter’s Christmas.

Drop by the Mullis Community Senior Center in Friday Harbor between 5pm and 8pm on Friday, Dec, 11th for a hot drink and holiday cookies, to learn more about the animals we care for at Wolf Hollow and to share your favorite local wildlife story.

Get your present shopping done early, 2016 Wolf Hollow Calendars and Animal Adoption Packets will be available.

Bring an item from our special Critters Christmas Wish List as a holiday gift for our local wild creatures and take home a handmade tree ornament. We look forward to seeing you there.

Click here to see our Special Critter’s Christmas Wish List Continue Reading

Don’t miss the December Flea and Craft Market this Saturday, December 5th at the San Juan County Fairgrounds from 9:00 AM to Noon

Find new and used items for everyone on your list–don’t forget to include yourself!

Shop over 25 local vendor booths; handmade clothing & crochet, holiday décor & gifts, furniture & housewares, toys, vintage items and more!

Be sure to support your San Juan County 4-H and enjoy baked goods from their bake sale booth.

See you Saturday morning—Doors open at 9:00 AM sharp!

Click to enlarge

It Just Wouldn’t Be Christmas Without San Juan Singers!

The San Juan Singers, San Juan Island’s own community chorus, is once again taking to the San Juan Community Theatre stage to perform their annual Christmas concert. This year’s show, “Christmas Past and Present”, will lead the audience on a magical, musical journey through time.

From the Baroque world of Vivaldi and Palestrina, to traditional Celtic folk tunes, to modern American carols… the program reflects a multitude of traditions surrounding this joyous winter celebration.

Accompanied by the Island Orchestra, under  the direction of Angel Michaels, with guest vocal appearances from the Sound Vibrations, this concert promises to entertain and lift your spirits! Come join us to celebrate the holiday season!

Saturday, December 12th at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, December 13th at 2:00p.m.

Tickets prices are: Adults/$18.00 and Student Reserved/$9.00, and can be purchased from any San Juan Singer, online, or at the SJCT box office. This event is festival seating.

Medical center staff hosts holiday crafts fair for community this Friday

Crafts, jewelry, baked goods and dog treats, as well as other handcrafted items, will be on sale to the community at the Caregiver Holiday Crafts Fair on Friday, Dec. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Heritage Hallway upstairs at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center, 1117 Spring St. in Friday Harbor.

All are welcome.

San Juan Island Fire & Rescue reminds everyone to slow down this winter. The roads on San Juan Island are icy and slick.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, multiple roll-over accidents occurred on our roads. Some of the vehicles ended up on their roofs!

The roads are tricky and slippery this time of year so please exercise extreme caution. Be safe for the holidays.

One Place! One Time! ONCE this Season

Help keep the San Juan Community Theatre thriving and enjoy a one-of-a kind evening at the same time!

SJCT’s biggest party of the year, Holiday Festival 2015, is THIS Saturday, December 5 starting at 5 pm.

This is a chance to gather with island friends and enjoy gourmet food and live entertainment while supporting your Theatre at the same time.

Coho Restaurant is catering the event for the first time, with an array of gourmet appetizers and an after-auction dinner buffet.  Favorite Milbrandt wines will also be served.

The silent and live auctions will be there too, including several new travel experiences up for grabs (how about a Kentucky Bourbon/Churchill Downs tour or a chance to hang out with actors before or after a Broadway show?). Check out the auction catalogue at www.sjctheatre.org.  Northwest Benefit Auctions’ Jay Fiske returns after captivating us last year with his friendly, humorous style and our own Bobby Ryan and Mary Blevins will emcee all of the fun.

The winner will be drawn for the CATS $5,000 cash raffle (tickets will be sold right up to the last minute) and following the auction, vocalist Scott Mapstead and pianist

Carol Hooper will entertain with holiday melodies.

Tickets ($100 each) are available on-line at www.sjctheatre.org or by calling 378-3211, ext. 32.

Memorial Park at the tree lighting ceremony – Tim Dustrude photo

All islanders are invited! The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce the upcoming Island Light Festival on December 4th.

This year we are partnering with Brickworks, the Whale Museum, Island Rec, Animal Protection Society and the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild. It will be a fun filled evening, starting with an Open House and ornament making, 3:30-5:00, at the Whale Museum.

At 5:00 the Elementary School Choir, led by Joshua Boland, will lead us caroling from the Whale Museum down to Memorial Park where we will meet up for more caroling by the Island Chordsmen Plus led by Angel Michaels.

Santa will arrive and turn the lights on, followed by more caroling before heading up to Brickworks for chestnuts on the open fire, pictures by Mark Gardner with Santa, crafts with Island Rec, animal Shelter Giving tree, cocoa, and more…

Brickworks and the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild will have local harvest vegetable soup and bread for sale, along with spiced, local apple cider & hot chocolate.

For more details please contact the Chamber of Commerce 360-378-5240, or
becki [@] sanjuanisland.org

Al and Hilda, Christmas 1957 – SJ Historical Society photo

San Juan Historical Society shares their monthly History Column, with this entry on “Al and Hilda, Christmas 1957”…

That is all we know about this photograph found in the museum collections. If you can identify Al and Hilda, won’t you please comment here or contact us directly?

We can imagine that this couple may have been playing one of 1957’s holiday albums on the hi-fi. Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley all had new releases that year, but we bet that Al and Hilda were more likely to have chosen Sinatra’s “A Jolly Christmas” or Crosby’s “The Christmas Story” over the “Elvis Christmas Album.” Just a guess.

We hope you can join us tomorrow, December 3, for holiday music and treats at our annual Old-Fashioned Christmas Celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. at the San Juan Historical Museum. It will be a jolly good time!

Pediatrician joins Family Medicine Department at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center

Pediatrician Steven Ban, MD, a visiting specialist at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center, begins seeing patients through the Family Medicine Department this Friday, Dec. 4

While he is a general pediatrician who provides care to all children, Dr. Ban has a special interest in children with children and adolescents with behavioral or mental health issues, such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and depression.

Dr. Ban received his medical education at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and completed his pediatric residency at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He is board certified through the American Board of Pediatrics.

Dr. Ban enjoys singing, biking, hiking and camping. He and his wife have three grown daughters and three grandchildren.

Here’s a note from Rod Turnbull, Athletic Director at FHHS…

Could you help us in getting the word out that we are hosting the 2nd annual Friday Harbor High School Basketball “Tip Off” Classic Tournament this Friday and Saturday.

These will be the first games of the year for the Friday Harbor teams, but we will be hosting other teams in a true tournament format.  Should get to see some exciting basketball to start the season off.

The full schedule is listed below.

GO WOLVERINES…..

Schedule: Friday December 4th   (Home team in Whites listed first)

2:00 pm          Girls    Overlake vs. Coupeville
3:45 pm          Boys     Overlake vs. Meridian
5:30 pm          Girls    Friday Harbor vs. South Whidbey
7:15 pm           Boys     Friday Harbor vs. Shorewood Christian

Schedule Saturday December 5th (Home team in whites determined by coin flip)

10:00 am       Girls    Losers of games on Friday
11:45 am        Boys     Losers of games on Friday
1:30 pm          Girls    Winners of games on Friday
3:15 pm          Boys     Winners of games on Saturday

The author of a new book tells about the Pig War and 4 other strange tales of the US-Canadian border.

Todd VanDerWerff writes for vox.com about a new book by Kevin Lippert…

The United States and Canada have longstanding plans to invade one another.

Now, whether those plans would actually work is another matter. And it’s clear that both nations drew them up mostly as theoretical exercises rather than serious military strategy.

But they exist nonetheless — and have for decades. They’re the centerpiece of Kevin Lippert’s terrifically fun new book about the history of border tensions between the two nations, War Plan Red, available from Princeton Press. We might think of the US and Canada as having the longest peaceful border in the world, a fact that’s been true for decades, but for many, many years, the two countries were constantly either thinking about or actually moving forward with plans to attack.

Read more here.

Nana’s Holiday House at 165 First Street – Contributed photo

Nana’s Holiday House is back. They’re next door to the Rumor Mill in the old Cotton Cotton Cotton location. Spread the word… they’re open every day after school from 3-5 and Weekends from 11-5.

Any donations of new stuff can be dropped off during store hours or at San Juan Holistic Health (across from old medical center).

Kids from 1-18 can shop for their entire family.

Dr. Danna Diaz – Contributed photo

SJISD Superintendent’s Update
December, 2015

Would you believe we are nearing the end of 2015? Only one more month to go and 2016 is here!! Where did the time go?

In February, San Juan Island School District will recommend a Capital and Technology Levy to the voters.   What I would like for you to know is that the capital and technology committees have been working for over six months to review the needs of our district. Both committees assessed inventory and reviewed facility needs, including interviewing principals and staff to establish current district needs in facilities and technology.

What the two committees determined is that while we can celebrate our recent accomplishments in these areas, we also must plan for the future! Our students and teachers require an environment that fosters a great education and our community must maintain a strong public school system.

The first project on the list of capital improvements is the remodeling of the Turnbull Gym locker room. Also included are the design of a STEM wing in the elementary school, middle school multi-room wall repair and food service improvements in both the elementary and high school. Continue Reading