The Friday Harbor Arts Commission shares an update about its newest commissioner.

The Town is pleased to announce the appointment of Adrian Kilpatrick to the Friday Harbor Arts Commission. He will serve on the eight-person commission through December 2024 advising the Town Council on the cultivation, selection, acquisition, and placement of public art within Friday Harbor. 

In his new position, Kilpatrick says he sees an opportunity to maintain the Island’s unity of art and nature while honoring the Island’s indigenous roots and inspiring imagination and innovation in future generations of artists. He added, “By integrating these values with broad and diverse talent, we can play a part in bringing our island community even closer together.”

Kilpatrick was raised on San Juan Island and is an active artist whose work has been included in the SJI Artists’ Studio Tour and other local exhibits. He earned a degree in graphic arts from the University of British Columbia and is currently a home design and build specialist. Previously, he acted as conservator of arts and antiques with Russell Bryant Designs and was a television production assistant. He is also a former San Juan EMS EMT.

Peace Island Volunteers are holding their annual Easter Basket Sale on Saturday, April 2 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mullis Center. Proceeds will benefit the Volunteers’ cancer care projects.

The sale includes a wide range of Easter baskets, including baskets for children, gardeners, cooks, tea drinkers, pet lovers, and wine lovers.

• Riptide Cafe, located below Downriggers, has new and improved pastries. They’re open Friday through Monday, starting at 7 a.m. You’ll probably want to get there early.
• The Friday Harbor High School Ocean Science Bowl team placed third in their state tournament this weekend, behind only teams from Tesla STEM High School in Redmond (a magnet school with twice as many students as Friday Harbor) and Newport High School in Bellevue (a suburban high school with five times as many students).
• The high school fastpitch team lost 15-0 to Nooksack Valley High School. They head back to the diamond on Monday for a road doubleheader against conference rival Darrington High School.
• The Purple and Gold Club are trying to raise $800 for a hand-operated scoreboard for the baseball field at Linde Community Park.
• Haley’s is running a high school graduation night fundraiser. Order by Sunday, April 3 for pickup on Tuesday, April 5. There are four meal options — $25 each, but you’re welcome to donate more.
• San Juan Community Theatre will offer half-day summer camps for kids interested in an introduction to musical theatre. There’s one camp for ages four to six and another for ages seven to eleven; both run for four days, from June 27 to 30.
• Find the hidden Sasquatch at the San Juan Island Food Co-op today and save 25 percent on your entire purchase if you’re a member.

Have something to share with the Island? Whether the news is big or small, let us know!

The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank will hold its Spring Community Conversation with San Juan Island residents on Wednesday, April 6 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. over Zoom.

The meeting will start with an update from Land Bank Director Lincoln Bormann, to be followed by a stewardship overview from the stewards who work in Land Bank District 1, which includes San Juan, Brown, Stuart, Henry, Pearl, Johns, and Spieden Islands. The remainder of the meeting is open for questions from the public.

Advance registration is required, and is open now.

For more information, or to submit questions in advance, email Land Bank Outreach/Volunteer Coordinator Tanja Williamson.

The meeting will be recorded and will be available to view online the following Monday.

On Sacred Ground shares an update about the work they’re doing on San Juan Island and beyond — and they’re looking for volunteers to join their Island Marble Butterfly program.

In 2012 On Sacred Ground, a 501c3, was established to heal, educate, steward and provide a Garden of Eden for generations to come. We use the three permaculture ethics to determine our vision, involvement, and action plan – care of earth, care of people and fair share (or share the surplus). We look for innovative ways to raise the bar on environmental stewardship best management practices, and we pursue meaningful intersections of social, ecological and financial justice. We realize the environmental commonwealth we share in the San Juan Islands is precious, worth fighting for, and represents a better balance with the natural world than many are lucky enough to experience.

Our unique approach through a permaculture lens allows us to focus on conservation through restoration and design, without minimizing the potential for resource harvest. Our aim is to help re-integrate humans back into the ecosystem as stewards, instead of resource extractors through the restless drive of capitalism. We help advance the leadership role that San Juan County often plays for the rest of the state as pioneering, progressive and outspoken ecological activists and conservationists. Continue Reading

• Ferry puzzles are starting to make their way back onto the boats.
• Friday Harbor High School baseball knocked off conference rival Mount Vernon Christian 13-3 at Linde Community Fields.
• The high school fastpitch team takes on Nooksack Valley High School at Linde today at 12:30 p.m.
• There’s a beach cleanup at Jackson’s tomorrow at 10 a.m. Trash bags and gloves will be provided.
• Van Go’s Pizza has date nut cheddar bread tonight. They open at 4 p.m.
• Coho is running a bakery pop-up tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with croissants, scones and cookies.
• Melodious Notes Over the Harbor’s spring concert takes place a week from today at San Juan Community Theatre. Tickets are still available.
• Jeri Rieger is holding a potholder fundraiser to raise money for the people of Ukraine and their pets. The intricately patterned potholders are made of recycled cotton and come with wooden rings. Get one for $15 or two for $25. All profits will be split evenly between Doctors Without Borders and Veterinarians Without Borders. They’re available at the Little Store until 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Have something to share with the Island? Whether the news is big or small, let us know!

San Juan Island Fire & Rescue sends along an important note about live fire training taking place in town on Saturday.

On Saturday, March 26, Guard Street in the town of Friday Harbor will be closed to all traffic (except for adjacent residents) between Tucker Avenue and Marguerite Street from 8:30 am until 5:30 p.m. for a live fire training for fire and rescue crews from San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands.

The live fire training will be conducted at a residential structure in a controlled safety burn. This burn will be used for the islands’ fire academy, hosted by San Juan Island Fire & Rescue. Additionally, the residential structure will be used for trained firefighters from the three departments to accomplish state mandated live fire training.

During the weekend, smoke will be clearly visible at different times. The structure has had all hazardous materials removed, and has been examined and cleared through onsite safety inspections, allowing the scheduled training to proceed.

Please respect the established safety zones around the fire training area and do not attempt to walk onto the site. All fire scenes are dangerous due to loud noise, moving vehicles and equipment, as well as smoke. One sidewalk on Guard Street will be open, but subject to temporary closures depending on weather conditions impacting smoke drift.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation during this important training. Live fire training at this structure saves all three agencies significant money by allowing crews to accomplish state mandated training and skills without travel to the state fire training facility in North Bend.

The San Juan County Department of Emergency Management reports just two confirmed or probable new COVID cases on San Juan Island since March 18. Orcas Island had just one new case in the last week; Lopez Island had none. The three new cases bring the total case count to 1,265.

In their media release, the County discussed the Islands’ near-zero COVID case count:

Cases have finally dwindled in the islands, and the ongoing surge on San Juan Island seems to have finally wrapped up. This is identical to the dramatic drop off that has been seen in most other jurisdictions over the last month; San Juan Island was just slow to get there.

Public Health experts are expecting another surge of cases beginning in maybe two or more weeks from now, but hopefully the surge will be far less than what was seen over the last few months, and hopefully there will not be any need for returning to requirements around masking or social distancing.

Those who are high risk or who are interacting closely with those who are high risk should continue to be thoughtful and work to minimize exposure, especially if case counts begin rising again.

Next week will be the final written weekly update for cases. Those who wish to keep up with case numbers may do so at the San Juan County COVID Data Dashboard. The Health Department will certainly release future written updates if the situation changes dramatically and there is critical information that needs to be shared with the community.

Heather Christensen shares an important update about the status of the new Friday Harbor Family Clinic at 235 Blair Avenue.

Our doors will open on Monday, April 11 for registration for individuals and families. Please be sure to have all your insurance information and get releases of information from your current medical office. We will begin scheduling appointments as well. Heather Christensen will have office hours Monday through Friday and Dr. Fishaut will see children and young adults on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Please be aware that we are a small, new office with limited staff. Please be patient with the intake process. It will also take us some time to set up systems for call back and medication refills. We will get there.

We are thrilled to offer traditional family-centered care to our community!

• Make time to catch the spring exhibits at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, including FIAT LUX, a sculptural installation of fabric, paint, ink, cloth, interfacing and paper by Gail Grinnell. SJIMA is open Friday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• SJIMA’s take-home family art pack for this week is a splash-and-pour landscape. Register now for pick-up on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Museum.
• The Friday Harbor High School baseball team has their first conference game of the season this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at the Linde Community Fields against Mount Vernon Christian. It looks like great baseball weather with temperatures in the low 50s, light winds, and almost no chance of rain.
• San Juan Community Theatre’s 2022 spring musical will be Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. It’ll run from May 13 to May 29.
• The Friday Harbor Car Show is coming to the Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. You can sign up now to show your car.
• Finally, some good news you’ll have to wait for: Yo Friday Harbor is adding more flavors from Lopez Island Creamery. The additional freezer is already in place, but new flavors won’t start rolling out until we get closer to summer.

Have something to share with the Island? Whether the news is big or small, let us know!

The Ag Guild shares some details about the organization’s new leader.

The San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild is excited to introduce its new Executive Director, Emma Rastatter.

The Ag Guild is growing, with new programs and new staff. Following the award of several USDA grants to support Ag Guild projects, former director Steph Coffey will move to the position of Finance Manager, to meet increased grant reporting requirements. “This is an excellent time to bring along our next generation of leaders, as we expand programming,” said Coffey.

Rastatter comes to the Ag Guild with a passion for health, studying Human Biology and pre-med at Stanford University, followed by a stint in health technology. She then pursued health “upstream” to its wellspring of agriculture and food systems, taking a job at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a restaurant and educational farm in the Hudson Valley of New York, helping chef Dan Barber launch initiatives to build a more resilient regional food economy. Rastatter left Blue Hill in 2020 to continue her education in small-scale ag by working on a regenerative farm in a different ecology each season for a year. She started at Aurora Farms on San Juan Island. Rastatter and her husband, Wiley, fell in love with the islands’ agricultural community and deep intergenerational wisdom. After time on farms in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New York, they moved full-time to Lopez Island.

“I’m honored to become the next Executive Director of the Ag Guild, working collaboratively to stoke a sovereign, equitable, and delicious food system in the San Juan Islands,” said Rastatter. She will join Ag Guild staff and community partners in projects to support local producers with access to resources, technical assistance, markets, farmland, and education.

The San Juan Islands Sculpture Park sends along a brief update.

Please join us for our Second Annual Daffodil Frolic — over 5,000 daffodils with hundreds of irises to follow. Also enjoy 15 new sculptures, new Westcott Bay trails, and our starfish exhibit for kids, all in a beautiful setting to welcome spring.

The park is is located at 9083 Roche Harbor Road and is open from dawn to dusk. All are welcome, including children and dogs. There is no admission fee, but donations are greatly appreciated.

The San Juan Island Library District is seeking a tech-savvy, collaborative, community-driven individual to be their Outreach and Technology Librarian. Learn more in the Island Jobs section of the San Juan Update.