Terry Ogle – Contributed photo

This is going to be a really big, fun event! Buy your ticket now for the August 29, 2015 Benefit for Terry Ogle at SJ County Fairgrounds. There will be a delicious BBQ dinner, silent and live auctions and dancing to the fun blues/rock music of the Henry James Band.

Help is needed for this event – To volunteer time, gift to the auction or PayPal or find ticket sales locations, please visit www.Benefit4TerryOgle.com.

Terry is known locally as the talented wood carver and watercolor artist of Ogle Studio downtown and Terry Ogle Painting which services homes and businesses of the San Juan Islands. He is a loving husband to Janie, a father, a grandfather and a friend to many. Terry has had leukemia for almost 5 years and now is facing a Stem Cell Transplant through the Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle. Terry looks good, is in fine spirits and looking forward to having this life saving surgery. Stem Cell Transplant is very expensive with a long recovery which thus leads to the need of a huge benefit to help with associated expenses.

Terry has supported many island organizations including: Relay for Life, the American Legion, and the Public Schools Foundation to name a few. You may know him for coaching T-ball and softball. Terry also has contributed to past local benefits for Dave Hall, Tina Jones and others. He is a kind, gentle guy who cares about his fellow islanders and the environment. This all leads us to the upcoming fun-raiser for Terry… don’t miss this great gala event.

For more info go to www.Benefit4TerryOgle.com or email: Benefit4TerryOgle [@] gmail [.] com.

Chloe Smith and Leah Song of Rising Appalachia – Contributed photo

Southern-raised sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith are redefining folk music with their soulful style, banjo and fiddle duets and poetic harmonies. The duo’s band, Rising Appalachia, shares those harmonies at San Juan Community Theatre on Tuesday, July 14 at 7:30 pm.

Having been raised in the American South with Appalachian lullabies at night and soul music for breakfast, the Louisiana-based sisters say they have drawn great inspiration from their global community. Their self-sculpted career has produced six independently-released full length albums, including the just released Wider Circles, inspired by folk standards and traditional hymns, old mountain odes, and activist anthems that pull equally from the swampy sounds of the bayou and the contemporary twang of the Appalachian Mountains.

“The album is a deep reflection of the many influences and experiences we have intimately lived and have built our songs on,” explains Song. “Wider Circles is a subtle and powerful folk anthem.”

Rising Appalachia’s Friday Harbor appearance is made possible by generous underwriters Larry Soll and Nancy Maron.

The Business Partner for the evening is Wildwood Manor. Tickets are $18 for adults; $10 for student reserved, with $5 student RUSH at the door. The SJCT box office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 pm or buy on-line at www.sjctheatre.org

Red-eye Sunrise – Kevin Holmes photo

Kevin Holmes shares this beautiful sunrise he caught from the early ferry Thursday morning. Thanks Kevin!

Yanna McIntosh as Cleopatra and Geraint Wyn Davies as Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra. Photo by David Hou.

One of Shakespeare’s most romantic tragedies is presented in high definition cinema at San Juan Community Theatre on Monday, July 13 at 7:00 pm.

The screening of Antony and Cleopatra was recorded live for Canada’s Stratford Festival HD and was produced at the annual festival in Stratford, Ontario, which attracts many of the greatest Canadian, British and American actors in its productions of Shakespearean plays.

Geraint Wyn Davis plays Mark Antony and Yanna McIntosh is Cleopatra in this drama where their passions and desires open the floodgates to a civil conflict that will shake the very foundations of their world.

SJCT continues to offer HD screenings from National Theatre Live, The Met: Live in HD and Bolshoi Ballet Only in Cinemas. A schedule of the HD-live events is available at www.sjctheatre.org. SJCT’s partnership with HD programming and the necessary equipment to participate, was made possible through a generous bequest from the late Dodie Gann and underwriting from the McGee Foundation.

Tickets for Antony and Cleopatra are $20 for adults, $18 for SJCT members and $10 for student reserved. The SJCT box office (378-3210) is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 pm.   Tickets are also available on-line at www.sjctheatre.org

July 2015 marks 30 years of Park and Recreation Month. Island Rec wants to celebrate with a little family friendly Kickball Game. And since the theme this year for Park and Recreation Month is Celebrating Since 1985, what would be better then just Kickball??? 80s Style Kickball! July 23rd from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Friday Harbor Elementary School Fields.

So grab some Neon and your Scrunchies and come out and play! Contact Island Rec at www.IslandRec.org, call 360-378-4953, or visit our office at 580 Guard St. Monday – Friday 1-5pm.

Contributed photo

David Bentley shares this news from St. David’s…

Bill Waxman, Senior Warden at St. David’s Episcopal Church, and Madelyn Busse, President of the Congregational Council of the Lutheran Church in the San Juans, presented a check to Pat Vannest and Mark Schwinge, Board Members of the Friday Harbor Food Bank, on July 8. The two church congregations held a Father’s Day Fund Drive for the food bank on June 21, and collected just over $1,400.

Both the Episcopal and Lutheran congregations are supportive of the local food bank and their work to help individuals and families on our island. Together, the churches have formed a Food Bank Support Group that conducts two or three fund raising events within their congregations each year. They also oversee the collection of non-perishable food items at Sunday services.

Timothy Dwyer Selected To Explore The Ocean Aboard Titanic Shipwreck Discoverer Dr. Robert Ballard’s Exploration Vessel Nautilus

Educators and students participate in groundbreaking STEM initiative exploring deep-sea biology, geology and archaeology in the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific

Timothy Dwyer, a science and mathematics teacher at Spring Street International School, has been selected as a 2015 Science Communication Fellow and will sail aboard Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus during its 2015 expedition. Dwyer will join the Corps of Exploration aboard E/V Nautilus in August and September as they explore the Salish Sea and the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate offshore of Vancouver Island.

Twenty-two educators from around the world have been selected from a competitive pool of applicants by the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) to participate at sea during the 2015 Nautilus Exploration Program expedition. OET, a nonprofit founded by Dr. Robert Ballard in 2008, has the mission to explore the ocean, seeking out new discoveries in the fields of geology, biology, maritime history, archaeology, physics, and chemistry while pushing the boundaries of STEM education and technological innovation.

As members of the Corps of Exploration, educators will stand watch alongside scientists and engineers, as well as participate in live interactions with shore-based audiences via Nautilus Live, a 24-hour web portal bringing expeditions from the field to future explorers on shore via telepresence technology at www.nautiluslive.org and via social media. Continue Reading

Part of the Liminal Currents exhibit at IMA – Tim Dustrude photo

Here’s an update for you from Diane Martindale, on the Liminal Currents exhibit designed and directed by Matthew Gray Palmer going on now at Island Museum of Art…

On the 4th of July we had 135 visitors to IMA and about 398 over the whole weekend!

We have reached a landmark! We originally made 1074 pieces of “wish/prayer/blessing” papers for our visitors to write upon. And now, thanks to the weekend turnout, we are running low. Volunteers are tearing mulberry paper today for a new supply! Now, that doesn’t mean that that same number have yet to be completed and hung on the exhibit… but…

A young art lover – Patricia Bolding photo

We are hanging new wishes high upon the sculpture to leave room for visitors (and you) to tie ones on the lower, more reachable limbs. The wishes and ribbons are dense enough in some areas to really show the Salish Sea greens planned by Matthew.

At right is a photo of a young, relaxed art lover. I thank Patricia Bolding for taking the photo and Richard and Lynne Hobbs for allowing the photo of their granddaughter to be shown.

Feel free to forward to your art-loving friends and encourage them to visit. Do YOU have some photos of LIMINAL CURRENTS to share?

Diane

Helen Mirren’s Tony Award-winning role in The Audience has just closed on Broadway…but a Friday Harbor audience will get a chance to watch her as Queen Elizabeth II at San Juan Community Theatre on Saturday, July 11 at 7:00 pm.

National Theatre Live has released a limited number of Peter Morgan’s play for an encore HD presentation, featuring the world premiere of this particular play from London’s Gielgud Theatre, as it was originally recorded live on June 13, 2013.

The comedy/drama centers on the 60 years that Elizabeth II met each of her 12 Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace, with both parties having an unspoken agreement never to repeat what was said, not even to their spouses. The Audience imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen.

The encore screening will include an exclusive “In Conversation” with Stephen Daldry and Helen Mirren.

Tickets for The Audience are $15 for adults and $10 for student reserved. The SJCT box office (378-3210) is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.   Tickets are also available on-line at www.sjctheatre.org.

Here’s an invitation for you from Ruth at WaterWorks Gallery…

​The Horse, a creature that sparks the imagination is imagined by these two artists and equestrians in their unique style. Jaime Ellsworth, ​a San Juan Island painter, uses simple, clean forms in a limited color palette to convey the movement ​of the creature. ​​​Barbara Duzan, dividing her time between San Juan Island ​and Arizona​, sculpts horses with attention to detail and texture.​ Both artists in their works convey the beauty and magic of this time-honored creature – the Horse.

​Please join me for a ​​​​reception for the artists​ Saturday, July 11th 4:30 – 7:30. Both artists will be in attendance.

The ​Gallery ​is now ​open Monday – Saturday, 10:30 – 5:30. The show runs until August 1, 2015​.

The Summer Arts Fair – Contributed photo

The Chamber of Commerce Summer Arts Fair, Court Street between 1^st and 2nd, is this coming weekend, July 11 and 12 from 10 to 4 both days.

In its 16th year, the 2015 Summer Arts Fair is this next weekend with, local artists, crafts vendors, live music, food, Friends of the Library Book Sale, Island Rec’s Chalk it Up Contest, plus Creative Passion’s Craft Supply House Bonnie Turman and Crew’s tent on the Courthouse lawn for children.

Slow down awhile and stroll through the artist booths overflowing with beauty. Treat yourself to some great food and relax to talented musicians throughout the day. Or bring the kids to the Children’s Creativity Zone to make their own artwork, while you learn some of the artists’ secrets as they demonstrate theirs. Before you leave, take home a treasure to continue the inspiration, or to share as a gift.

County-Wide Outdoor Burn Ban, Effective July 10, 2015

The San Juan County Fire Marshal’s Office in partnership with the San Juan County Fire Chiefs’ have determined that current weather conditions within San Juan County have created substantial fire dangers and that there is a need to enact restriction on outdoor burning to all lands regulated by San Juan County.

This burn ban applies to all outdoor burning, including land clearing, yard debris and recreational fires. The use of gas, charcoal and propane self-contained stoves and barbeques will continue to be allowed under the ban.

Robert Low
San Juan County Fire Marshal
360-378-3473

Music on the Lawn, Island Rec’s 15th Annual Free Summer Concert Series – Contributed photo

Island Rec’s 15th annual summer concert series hits the stage every Wednesday evening now through August 5th. This great community event is a local favorite and it happens at 405 Price Street, right behind the San Juan Island Historical Museum.

Concert #1 is on July 8th from 6:30 to 8:15 pm and features the J Bots.This popular local classic rock band knows how to get the audience dancing. Steve Cutting and crew are old hands at moving you from your seat to the dance floor, or in this case – the dance lawn. Come on down and join the fun.

Go to www.islandrec.org or call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information. Bring a picnic dinner, blankets or lawn chairs. Pets and alcohol are not permitted. Sponsored by IPS, Islander’s Insurance and FANS, Families and Neighbors support Island Rec.

To see the poster showing the entire Summer line up, click here (PDF).

Watch Quirky physicist Professor Phineas T. Ficklestein show off his factory’s wacky experiments, kooky creations and goofy gadgets!

Masterful Entertainer Bill Robison will perform his Professor Ficklestein’s Physics Phactory as part of the San Juan Island Library’s 2015 Summer Reading Program, Wednesday, July 8 at 1:30 PM at Friday Harbor Elementary School.

Please bring blankets and lawn chairs. Show begins at 1:30 pm and runs for 45 minutes. Please call 378-2798 for more information. All Summer Reading Program performances are free and open to the public.

The view looking down at South Beach from Mt. Finlayson – Contributed photo

Recreational fires at South Beach at American Camp will be banned starting Friday, July 10 in conjunction with a county-wide burn ban, announced Lee Taylor, park superintendent.

“Because of the extreme fire conditions, the San Juan County Fire Marshal’s Office has prohibited ALL outdoor fires including the fire rings at South Beach,” Taylor said. “This policy will remain in place until the weather pattern changes and right now we’re clearly in the red.”

The use of gas, charcoal and propane self-contained stoves and barbeques will continue to be allowed under the ban, Taylor said. But visitors are urged to use caution with any open flame.

The Washington State Parks System has banned recreational fires at their campsites state-wide. Meanwhile, because of the extreme danger, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) also announced a state-wide outdoor burning restriction that is expected to remain in place at least until October 1.

Lenora Johnson – Contributed photo

Proud island mother Lynne-Ann Johnson shares this update about her daughter Lenora…

My daughter, Lenora Lee Johnson, was a 2014 Graduate from Spring Street International School and this is what she has been up to:

She has been on the Washington State University President’s Honor Roll for the 2014 Fall Semester and the 2015 Spring Semester.

She is also the incoming President of the WSU Fencing Club for the 2015-2016 school year.

Keep up the good work Lenora!