Named “Northwest Vocalist of the Year” six times in the past 15 years by Seattle’s jazz magazine, Earshot, Greta Matassa is increasingly recognized for her unique versatility and smooth vocals. With hints of Ella, Sarah, Billie and Carmen, her talents have been lauded as “worldly and dynamic.” The Seattle Times has proclaimed Greta a “Seattle treasure” and wrote that “She can give Ms. Streisand a run for it!”

Matassa stops in Friday Harbor on Saturday, August 10 at 8:00 p.m. at San Juan Community Theatre.

Matassa’s fascination with songs began early, growing up with parents who were big jazz fans and had a lot of jazz music around the house. “I really liked the music from the thirties and forties…early Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday,” she said. “I used to listen to a lot of Fred Astaire, a lot of Frank Sinatra. I never took lessons.”

She has released eight CDs in her career, including “I Wanna be Loved” on Resonance Records, which remained on the national jazz charts for radio airplay for three months.

The Business Partner for the concert is Robert Hare Stavers Photography. Tickets are $26 for adults, $13 for student reserved and $5 student RUSH at the door. The SJCT box office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets may also be purchased on-line at www.sjctheatre.org

You can make a positive impact on a child’s life and help assure all kids start the school year with confidence by donating to the School Supply Fund Drive.

Your support makes a difference for our teachers too.

Islanders Bank and the businesses listed below are proudly sponsoring the “Gear Up For Our Schools” 2013-2014 Campaign from August 7th – August 27th.

We hope to collect:

• #2 Wood Pencils with erasers
• Color pencils
• Erasers, Rulers & 8” Scissors
• 3 hole college & wide ruled notebook paper
• Spiral wide ruled notebooks
• Black/Blue pens
• Graph paper
• Glue sticks
• Highlighters: green, pink, yellow & blue
• Fine tipped colored markers
• Crayons (standard & large)
• Pencil/supply boxes & pouches
• Water based markers & paints
• 3 ring 1.5” & 2 “ binders w/pockets on inside cover
• Divider tabs w/ pockets on both sides
• Pencil sharpeners
• Green & red correcting pens
• 3 hole binders (zippered & non-zippered)
• Kleenex
• Zip-lock bags (gallon, sandwich or snack)

Collection Bins can be found at the following business locations:

• Friday Harbor Drug
• Islanders Bank Lobby
• Kings Market
• Market Place
• Office Center

On behalf of our students & teachers ~ THANK YOU!

Paideia Classical School is cooking Paella, Spain’s most famous dish!
An amazing combination of rice, seafood, meats, and vegetables prepared in huge Paella pans.
A vegetarian (no meat or seafood) option is available.
Visit us at the BBQ tent Wednesday from 5:00 – 7:00 pm

Here’s a note from Deanna Eltinge at the Port, letting you know what’s in store this weekend…

I just wanted to give you this weekend’s schedule for the Port’s Music in the Park:

Friday evening 5:00 – 7:00 pm will be ‘Blues on Tap’ and Sunday afternoon 2:00 – 4:00 pm will be ‘Larry Murante & Caroline Cruso’.

Pack a picnic and join us on the waterfront for fabulous and free music!

Debbie Pigman sends this note over about the Art Market this afternoon:

We’re excited to have David Bayley join us at the Art Market Friday afternoon, 4:00-6:30pm.  David’s jazz and ragtime music will bring a festive, complementary flair to the event! David has just returned from a week full of Blues workshops in Port Townsend, so be prepared to hear a few new “licks”!

And don’t forget… Massage at $1 per minute – Plus a variety of artwork for sale: jewelry, ceramics, photographs, baskets, knitwear, canvas bags, felted clothing, bread knives, soaps, and more.

The Art Market runs every Friday until August 30.

Are you happy? Do you want to know what makes people happy? Come out Tuesday, August 13 at 7 pm to view HAPPY, the weekly documentary offering from the Friday Harbor Film Festival at the FHFF office (10 First St., next door to The Toy Box. Admission is by donation, including free popcorn. Seating is limited.

HAPPY takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real life stories of people from around the world and powerful interviews with leading scientists in happiness research. HAPPY explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion.

The Friday Harbor Film Festival is in need of volunteer help in several areas, including event planning, festival crew, movie venue crew, merchandise and concessions, hospitality, computer work and technical support. Training is provided. Details are on the website: www.fhff.org/volunteer. Call Gail Richard, volunteer coordinator, at 378-5835 or 650-269-8014 for further information.

Plan now to attend the 1st Annual Friday Harbor Film Festival on October 11 – 13. Films will be organized under 4 themes: local heroes, explorers and adventures, tales from the heart and issues to consider. Filmmakers will be on hand throughout the event to introduce their films and participate in a forum on documentary filmmaking, mingle with filmgoers and answer questions. Full information, including trailers for some of the films to be presented, is on the website, http://www.fhff.org.

Join San Juan Island artist Nancy Spaulding to learn how she utilizes photography and sketching on site during an artist workshop scheduled for 2 p.m., Saturday, August 17 meeting in the American Camp parking area. Nancy’s workshop is for all levels of experience. Bring paper, pen, pencil, or pastels, a digital camera, sturdy shoes and a sunhat (if necessary). Call the park at 360-378-2240, ext. 2233, or the library at 360-378-2798 for more information.

A formal art education was the plan but Nancy left the University of Arizona shortly before earning her degree in order to join the domestic peace corps. She served as a VISTA Volunteer to two years. Following that experience she kept up with her hands-on approach to art and has managed to continue working as an artist over the years and into the present time..

Nancy and her husband Lewis, social worker turned artist, spent 25 years as serigraphers, each developing their own distinctive style. Their hand pulled silk screen prints were accepted into many well known juried art shows and fairs throughout the western United States. They were able to support themselves and their family on the art circuit.

In 1987 Nancy and Lewis moved to San Juan Island where they built their home and studio. The island suits them as a place where they can live close to the land.

“An island with edges but yet broad sweeping vistas provides a meditative environment,” says Nancy. “It is a place removed, but not so much as to feel separate from the rest of the world. I often laugh and say you can see the rest of the world from here!”

Since 2000 Nancy has worked primarily with dry pastel. “The creative process has captured my soul. I can’t imagine a day without drawing or painting or dreaming of some new composition.”

Many people collect Nancy’s work and she has pieces in the collections of Whatcom Museum of Art, the San Juan Public Library, and at Peace Island Medical Center.

Bob Wilson of San Juan Surveying

Just heard that Bob Wilson, of San Juan Surveying, LLC, has been featured in a nationwide Professional Land Surveyors’ publication called Point of Beginning (POB) Magazine. He was interviewed for POB’s “Solo Notes”, a series that focuses on small business owners in the land surveying profession.

Check out this online electronic magazine article: “Surveying the Island Life” – Pretty cool, huh? You can find more information on San Juan Surveying at their website: sanjuansurveying.com.

Don’t forget! The Mullis Community Senior Center parking lot sale will be this Saturday, August 10, starting at 9:00 am. Come early and get one of Bonnie’s famous cinnamon buns. Coffee will be available too.

At 11:30 the barbecue will start under chef Butch’s direction. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be available.

This should be a great sale. All of the spaces have been booked, so there will be lots of items for sale. After a peek at one person’s collection, it seems she must be selling her entire household goods. Bring money. There will be lots of ways to spend it. If you have items to donate to the Mullis Center to sell, you may bring them in on Friday.

The season’s second performance of the Life and Times of General George Pickett is scheduled for 8 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, August 7 in the Gubleman Theater at the San Juan Community Theatre. It is the first time Pickett has been in the “The Gube” since its inception in 1996. Join Mike Vouri and Michael Cohen for a slightly different feel, both interactive and intimate, in this long-running San Juan Island tradition. Call the theater at 378-3210 for tickets.

The current staff of Aeronautical Service (well most of them anyway…)

It’s 4:30 in the morning and still very dark when the crew for Aeronautical Services shows up at the sort ramp in Anacortes. UPS trucks will soon arrive bringing their daily load of packages from Seattle distribution centers. By 7:00 those packages will have been sorted from trailers into Aeronautical trucks bound for ferries to Guemes, Lopez, Orcas and Friday Harbor where they will again be sorted by island personnel into smaller trucks for final delivery to the customer. This must also be coordinated with aircraft departing Anacortes carrying “air parcels” and scheduled to arrive at each island just in time to link up with Aeronautical’s drivers before they begin their delivery routes.

This routine has varied over the years but beginning with Les and Marilyn Lebar, and one small aircraft, Aeronautical Services has without interruption provided the San Juan Islands with this service since 1973. In recognition of the past 40 years, Aeronautical will be hosting an anniversary celebration this Saturday, August 10 from noon to 3:00 PM at their Friday Harbor office located at the airport (112 Airport Circle Dr. – next door to Ernie’s Cafe). This is an open invitation to anyone who would like to go. Meet the current staff, reacquaint yourself with a past employee, enjoy something to eat or just stop by for the cake and coffee!

The Fabulous Rhythmatics will be at Music on the Lawn on Wednesday

Wednesday, August 7, 6:30 -8:15 pm, Island Rec’s Music on the Lawn, FREE Summer Concert Series. 405 Price Street, San Juan Island Historical Museum

Fabulous Rythmatics is celebrating their 20th anniversary as an Island Band!  Playing mostly cover rhythm & blues, this talented group will have you dancing ‘till the sun sets!   Go to www.islandrec.org or call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information.  Bring a picnic dinner.  Pets and alcohol are not permitted. Sponsored by IPS, Islander’s Insurance and FANS, (Families and Neighbors support Island Rec.)

The Photography Exhibit at the County Fair could use some help this year. Anyone interested in helping set up at any time on Tuesday, Aug. 13, please get in touch with me at 317-4095 or email dustrude [@] mac [.] com

The day is broken into 3 shifts: 9:00 to noon; noon to 3:00, and 3:00 to 6:00, but if you can’t quite swing 3 hours, we’ll take whatever you can give. No photographic experience necessary – we’ll just be hanging photos all day.

A few shifts are also still available while the fair is open, Wed. through Sat., overseeing the exhibit and answering questions if anyone asks.

Popeye the Harbor Seal – Keith Busha photo

Here’s a beautiful photo by Keith Busha of Popeye the Harbor Seal who used to live down by the port docks here in Friday Harbor. Click it to see it larger.

For those who don’t know, he’s the inspiration for the Seal sculpture down at the Port’s Fairweather Park by the Port office. Haven’t seen Popeye in a long time so it’s great to see this. Thanks for sharing, Keith!

Here’s a message from Joanne Runyan, Immunization and Communicable Disease Coordinator over at San Juan County Health and Community Services:

Preparing for school is full of excitement and the time for new school clothes, school supplies, lunch bags, and back packs. But, it’s also the perfect time to make sure children are up to date on their vaccines. Getting all of the recommended vaccines is one of the most important things parents can do to protect their children’s health.

When children are not vaccinated, they are at increased risk for disease and can spread disease to others in their classroom and community-including babies who are too young to be fully vaccinated, and people with weakened immune systems due to cancer and other health conditions. Schools are highly susceptible to outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Children ages 4 to 6 and getting ready for kindergarten, are due for boosters of four vaccines: DTaP
(diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), Varicella (chickenpox), MMR (measles,mumps,rubella) and polio. Older children-like pre-teens and teens-need Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis), MCV (meningococcal conjugate virus) and HPV. College-age students need to be sure they are up-to-date on flu, meningococcal, HPV, and Tdap, as well. A yearly flu vaccine is recommended for ALL children 6 months and older.

Immunizations are one of the top 10 public health accomplishments of the 20th Century. They have significantly reduced the incidence of numerous infectious diseases, many of which are dangerous, even deadly. A child’s risk of infection is much reduced by vaccines because they work with the body’s natural defenses to help it safely develop immunity to disease.

Visit or call your health care provider or the San Juan County Public Health Department at 145 Rhone Street, Friday Harbor, 378-4474 to get your children up-to-date on their immunizations. For further information on immunizations, visit the Immunization Action Coalition at www.vaccineinformation.org or www.immunize.org. Let’s keep our schools, children, and community safe and healthy!