After taking some much needed time off during the slow season, island businesses open up again – Today it’s Cotton Cotton Cotton at 165 First Street – I hear Gail and Randy are excited for the new year with some cool new stuff to offer.

And Wednesday at 4:00 PM, next door neighbors Oren and Peggy Combs open the Rumor Mill after their winter break. Time to get down there and enjoy some good food and great local music. Look for the Chameleons to liven things up on Valentine’s Day, this Friday night with their  Eat-Play-Love show to start off the new season.

Are you an artist looking to show of some of your sculpture or do you know one who is? If so, check out this announcement from the sculpture park…

The San Juan Islands Sculpture Park, a 20 acre outdoor park which was originated in 1998, is inviting sculptors to submit recent digital photos (max 2 exhibits and max 2 photos per work) to be reviewed by our blind selection process jury of sculpture professionals and academics. Selections will be based solely on pictures of your work as no other information is provided to jurors.

Since becoming an independent non-profit organization in 2012 we have sold more sculptures on behalf of artists in 2013 than in all prior years of park operation combined! Our visitor count in 2013 was well over 30,000 people.

All sculptures have artist name, piece name, advertised price and our phone number which receives calls 24 / 7

We are the #3 rated visitor site in the USA in Conde Nast 2010 and #4 Island in the world by Trip Advisor last year. The park is open year round.

For submission instructions and complete details please visit our website at www.SJIsculpturepark.com

Andy Holman of Friday Harbor wins it! $10,000 with a 20.2 pound Salmon. Check out the official results here (PDF). Go to the RH Salmon Derby Facebook Page for photos and more info. From earlier today, this was Debbie Sandwith’s report while the competition was still going on…

Leader Board, Start of the day Saturday

Good Morning!
After a snowy Friday start, this morning our hardy Anglers had the ‘wind’ to face at cannon start today!

I’ve attached a picture of the Leader Board as it stands at this moment ~ it was exciting as the top three fish were brought in early Friday afternoon, each one knocking the prior one down, until Andy Holman took the lead with his big, beautiful fish!

I am posting lots of updates, photos, and pics shared from out on the water on the Roche Harbor Salmon Derby Facebook page… so that is where you’ll get the most current updates. As some of you know I spend most of my time in the Derby Tents and not in my warm, cozy little office! Although today with the wind chill factor, I may cuddle in here until fish start arriving! ….

As always I will email you tonite with the final results before I head home ~!

The Fairgrounds folks are looking for old tires…

We are looking to create a tire garden similar to this for growing zucchini here at the Fairgrounds, however we need tires. If anyone has any they would like to donate to this project, it would be greatly appreciated. All tire sizes are welcome! Feel free to share!
Email: info [@] sjcfair [.] org
Phone: 378-4310

Webb Residence – Louise Dustrude photo

The Future of the Trails Committee will be the topic Saturday as the San Juan Island Trails Committee holds a retreat at the former Webb Camp on Westcott Bay from 9 am to about 2 pm.

Kathleen Foley, stewardship manager for the San Juan Preservation Trust, will facilitate the discussion.

Anyone interested in hiking, biking, or horse trails on San Juan Island is welcome to participate.

This will be a rare opportunity to drive in to the new Westcott Bay portion of the national park, which is normally not open to vehicles, accessible only by a walking trail from English Camp. The meeting will be held in the former Webb residence.

The group will share a potluck lunch at noon. Please bring your own table service and a dish to share.

Anyone planning to participate may wish to prepare by reading the 2006 Trails Plan on the website sanjuanislandtrails.org, but that is optional.

Here’s Captain Hobbes again with this week’s whale & wildlife report…

We have had a couple of transient orca sightings this week, with more being heard on the hydrophones. The biggest challenge has been the high winds and rough seas making spotting whales and wildlife almost impossible. Gray whales are off the Oregon Coast heading this way. We also had an unconfirmed report of a mother and calf down in the Puget Sound area. Sea lions are abundant at Green Point, Whale Rocks, Kelp Reef, Race Rocks and East Point. Seals, porpoise and eagles are also in our area. We are beginning to see lots and lots of seabirds which means a good amount of bait fish must be here. Let’s hope so – it could be a good year for humpbacks and gray whales.

Don’t forget to check out the SJIVB and the PWWA’s websites to see who’s still running. Cheers from the PWWA

Capt. Hobbes Buchanan
San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours & Water Taxi Services
www.sanjuanislandwhales.com

Last summer the Washington State legislature granted the San Juan Island School District a $1 million dollar capital gift to renovate the vocational/technology building behind Friday Harbor High School.

Since July a design team made up of district staff, the project manager, and community members have met weekly to creatively maximize the use of the space. The building will include a newly renovated look, updated electrical and mechanical systems, and fresh classrooms and work spaces.

We expect to widely advertise the renovation project for qualified contractors in March. The successful contractor will be chosen from a competitive pool of qualified firms who will examine the project closely. We encourage qualified local contractors to bid. Complete project plans will be available in the coming weeks. For more information please contact:

Superintendent Rick Thompson
San Juan Island School District
PO Box 458
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
richardthompson [@] sjisd [.] wednet [.] edu
(360) 378-4133

John Gresseth, Architect/SJISD Project Manager
PO Box 3147
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
architects [@] rockisland [.] com
(360) 378-6364

In this ongoing series, a variety of island directors gathers island actors and friends to read new, classic and prize-winning plays.

THIS WEEK!

True West
Written by Sam Shepard
Directed by John Davis
This work by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard is a character study that examines the relationship between two brothers. As conflict arises between the two, their roles are somehow reversed, and each man finds himself admitting that he had always wished he were in the other’s shoes.
Featuring: John Davis, Daniel Finn, Jacki Altier Roth and Dorian Oliver.

“It’s clear, funny, naturalistic. It’s also opaque, terrifying, surrealistic. If that sounds contradictory, you’re on to one aspect of Shepard’s winning genius; the ability to make you think you’re watching one thing while at the same time he’s presenting another.” –San Francisco Chronicle

Gubelman Theatre
Wednesday and Thursday, February 12 & 13 7:30 pm
FREE Admission! Festival seating
Doors open at 7:00 pm

So much music, so little time. If we could, I’m sure a lot of us would like to click all 5 answers below, but for today’s survey, we can click only one. What’s it gonna be?

Results from previous surveys can be viewed here.

National Theatre Live Presents CORIOLANUS

National Theatre Live, the National Theatre’s groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre live from the London stage, has come to Friday Harbor!

When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too. Famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and on returning from the field Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of an angry people.

National Theatre Live will broadcast the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Coriolanus, Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge, with Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, War Horse (film), BBC’s The Hollow Crown) in the title role and Mark Gatiss (Season’s Greetings at the National Theatre, BBC’s Sherlock) as Menenius, directed by the Donmar’s Artistic Director Josie Rourke.

More information about CORIOLANUS here.

Whittier Theatre, Monday, February 10th, 7:00 pm

Adults $20 ($18 for Members available at box office only)
Students $10

SJCT’s partnership with National Theatre Live was made possible through a generous bequest from the late Dodie Gann.

Arthur Whiteley Lecture Series next Thursday

The next lecture in 2014 Arthur Whiteley Lecture Series takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday February 13, in The Commons, UW Friday Harbor Labs.
John and Colleen Marzluff will present Dog Days, Raven Nights

Twenty years ago, fresh out of graduate school and recently married, John and Colleen Marzluff left Arizona for a small cabin in the mountains of western Maine.

Their mission: to conduct the first-ever extensive study of the winter ecology of the Common Raven under the tutelage of biologist Bernd Heinrich. In their book, they eloquently chronicle their three-year endeavor to research a mysterious and often misunderstood bird. They also shared the unique challenges and joys of raising, training, and racing the sled dogs that assisted them in their work.

Accompanied by Evon Zerbetz’s lovely linocut illustrations, Dog Days, Raven Nights is a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the adventures of field science and an insightful exploration of the nature of relationships, both animal and human.

Did you know that you can get a free ride (and save yourself paying car fare on the ferry) to Island Hospital in Anacortes if you have need of their services. Check this out…

FREE taxi service for San Juan County patients

Patients who live in San Juan County can receive free round-trip taxi service from the Anacortes Ferry Terminal when obtaining medical services from Island Hospital, hospital-operated clinics or outpatient services.

Eligible Hospital Services

• Cancer Care Center
• Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Emergency Services
• Laboratory Services
• Pain Relief & Supportive Care
• Physical, Occupational & Speech Therapy
• Plastic Surgery
• Psychiatry & Behavioral Health
• Respiratory Therapy
• Inpatient/Outpatient Surgery Center
• Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine

Eligible Clinics & Off-Campus Services

• Anacortes Family Medicine
• Fidalgo Medical Associates
• Island Surgeons
• Island Hospital Sleep Wellness Center
• Skagit Regional Clinics – Urology

How to reserve free taxi service:
Those who wish to use this service need only call Mert’s Taxi, (360) 708-6358, the day prior to your appointment and arrange to be met upon arrival at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal.

For more info, visit www.islandhospital.org/freetaxiforislanders.

Peg Hope and Cynthia Burke have a new project they would like to share with you. Here’s Peg with the story…

Cynthia Burke and I are collaborating to bring films that we hope are worthy of viewing, with a rather flexible goal of “raising global consciousness” (Think globally, act locally?), to our island community – once a month, on Tuesday nights not occupied by the FH Film Festival. We are calling this undertaking the Second Tuesday Film Festival, as this title will help folks remember when the films will be showing.

The first film is on Tuesday, February 11, at 7 pm at Spring Street International School. It is one that got both Cynthia and me to thinking about doing this – the movie “I Am,” produced by the Tom Shadyac, the guy who did a bunch of movies, (including Ace Ventura Pet Detective), made a bunch of money, then had a powerfully transformative experience stemming from a concussion he suffered while bike riding … set off with a film crew to investigate what’s wrong with our world and how we can fix it, ended up discovering what’s right with our world… It’s a wonderful film. Lots more information about it is available on the film’s website: http://www.iamthedoc.com/thefilm/.

We’ll have posters up about it this weekend, giving the basic details — showing at school, folks should come early for snacks and a good seat, movie will start promptly at 7:00. We’ll have a donation jar, and hope to raise funds for a variety of worthy causes. We are open to suggestions for both future films to show, and causes to support. Continue Reading

Click for larger image

Here’s this month’s little bit of history, Part VI in our series from the San Juan Historical Museum…

February brings us another Valentine’s Day, when some lovebirds get engaged or married, children share cards at school, and we all celebrate friendships. San Juan Island has probably seen more weddings than any other place of similar, small size! In these charming 1905 photos shared by their family, there is a most delightful story.

Emily Guard and Frank Jensen celebrated with a double wedding ceremony when the bride’s sister Alice joined them to marry the groom’s brother Joseph. The San Juan Historical Museum would like to expand its collection of wedding photos from all eras, not just the turn of the century. What’s in your closet to share? Please be a sweetheart and contact us for details.www.sjmuseum.org.

Francie and Kayla

Mark your calendars, folks! San Juan Island’s 24th Annual Children’s Festival is happening Saturday, May 3th, 2014! We are pleased to announce that we have the root’n-est, toot’n-est, theme, this side of the Mississippi:

Wild Wild West!

This year we have selected a committee that’s been working hard to make the old west come alive:

• Adrienne Bourne
• Angelia Procaccini
• Kim Fitts
• Heather Clark
• Angela Carlson
• Sally Thomsen
• and Morgan Johnston.

Inquiries and activity ideas should be directed to Sally Thomsen,
play [@] islandrec [.] org, or Morgan Johnston,
Morgan [@] islandrec [.] org.
As always, the Children’s Festival will run from 10am-2pm at the Fairgrounds building. For more information, please call 378-4953 or visit www.islandrec.org