Boaters, kayakers, sailors, and those enthralled with coastal British Columbia make sure to cruise along with Jim and Betty Wright to Princess Louisa Inlet at Griffin Bay Bookstore, Saturday night, June 8, 7:00 pm. Betty will present slides and her book, Adventuring to Princess Louisa Inlet, the stories of their many trips to British Columbia’s magnificent Princess Louisa Inlet, first in the 1950s in a 16 foot outboard, and most recently in 2012. Continue Reading

Liz Varvaro from the High School’s Food for Thought program has this message for you:

Well, this year blew by! We are approaching our LAST Community Dinner of the school year Wednesday. This menu is a favorite!

Chef Andy is serving HOUSE-SMOKED BABY BACK RIBS!!!   Wooohooo!

It’s an open house at the High School with Student Exhibitions, Art Walk-a-Bout and Jazz Band Performance.

The Community Dinner BBQ will be served OUTSIDE in our lovely courtyard behind the Middle and High Schools. Feel free to bring a picnic blanket and soak up the sun (yes, there WILL be sun).

The Menu:

• House-Smoked Baby Back Ribs drenched in BBQ sauce
• Grilled Chili-Lime Chicken (a returning favorite)
• Slow Cooked Baked Beans
• Cornbread and Honey Butter
• Cole Slaw and Caesar Salad
• Strawberry Shortcake made by the Baking Class

Wednesday June 5^th

Dinner starts a little early this time 5:00 – 7:30
$10 for Adults and $5 for children under 12

See you there!

Macalister Arendt advertises the upcoming performance of “Glimpse of the Great Land” on her back

Spring Street Middle School invites you to attend their performance of
Glimpse of the Great Land

A play for 23 voices, student written and performed

Created from the names of real 19th century children who passed through Ellis Island alone.

San Juan Community Theatre, Tuesday June 4th, 7:00 p.m.

Before Ellis Island opened, eight million immigrants arriving in New York were processed at Castle Island between 1855 and 1890. Thousands of these were children who traveled alone. Their names appear on the ships’ manifests, along with the date, their country of origin, and the port from which they departed. No further record of them is known.

All of the words in this play were written by us, the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders who walked a mile in our character’s shoes. Each of us has taken one of their names. We have spent the school year researching their contexts and writing their diaries.

This play is an hour and twenty minutes in length. There is no intermission.

The children portrayed and their players:

• Gabriella Luppicci, played and written by Genesee Davis
• Fritz Jaeger, played and written by Jacob Kaden
• Sabine Eberhart, played and written by Marcella Kirkland
• Aidan O’Donnell, played and written by Cole Hamilton
• Ernst Dreschler, played and written by Lucas Gao
• Kirsten Hoffman, played and written by Lydia Downs
• Domenico Bianchi, played and written by Aiken Durham Guckian
• Mirele Lieberman, played and written by Addi Kessler
• Anton Brandt, played and written by Zach Fincher
• Kathleen Nolan, played and written by Caroline Bryant
• Lothar Brauer, played and written by Silas Holden
• Salvatore Mattarazzo, played and written by Brian Fleming
• Kai Jacob Baer, played and written by Matthew McElrath
• Katya Babashinsky, played and written by Stella McCauley
• Bridget Gallagher, played and written by Vida Wight
• Itzhak Altbauer, played and written by Quinn Lacrampe
• Teodora Palmintero, played and written by Ren Di Bona
• Herschel Abramavitz, played and written by Erich Atwell
• Mary Fitzgerald, played and written by Riley Mulcahy
• Mendel Nussbaum, played and written by Diego Anderson
• Vincenzo Colombari, played and written by Skyler Reynolds
• Hamel Zegbeim, played and written by Frank Mulcahy
• Gabby Kastner, played and written by Macalister Arendt

I Want You!! (to take me home)

They have a lot of cute cuddly kitties to choose from over at the Shelter. Now’s the time to go pick out just the right one to take home with you! Or two. They’re easier if you have two – they hang out and play together. Give them a call at 378-2158.

See more photos here…  Continue Reading

Jahmira here had had quite enough of the busy market and needed to take a nap on mom’s shoulder. That would be Kristen. They were visiting our small town, all the way from their small town of Mendocino, California.

This is what happens on Front Street when the ferries come and go. A production of Dustrude Photography done for the San Juan Update. Three days of shooting from many different angles and three different ferries coming and going. A little music from Freeplaymusic.com, some editing in Adobe Premiere and and it’s ready for prime time. Many thanks to Lakedale Resort and their Ferry Landing Suites, and Friday’s Crabhouse for the overhead shot locations. Click the icon in the lower right corner to see it full screen. And maybe click on the gear icon too and set it to HD at 1080p for the best quality.

Concrete Cast Leaf, created by Debbie Pigman – Mark Gardner photo

Just a reminder for everyone to come out and enjoy the San Juan Island Artists’ Studio Tour this weekend, June 1-2, from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. 15 studios, 41 artists! Maps can be found at any studio and various places in town including Island Studios and the Chamber of Commerce.

Cynthia asked me to share this with you so here it is…

Looking for some summer help – June – September at my Red Checkered Picnics kiosk out at Limekiln Point State Park. The perfect person would:

• Enjoy good food and love to sell it!
• Enjoy people – especially talking with tourists
• Enjoy whales and love to learn and talk about them
• Enjoy a beautiful park setting to work in
• Be self motivated and reliable
• Be always ready with a smile

Must have transportation to and from the park.
Pay is not high (minimum wage) but rewards of working in the park and seeing the whales are some of the benefits!
Please message me if you are interested. Cynthia’s, of Course Facebook page – or by phone: 360-317-7178
Hours are generally 10:00 – 6:00 – will have 4 – 5 hour shifts most days.

Humpback whales are becoming a much more common sight around here – Jim Maya photo

Jim Maya sent this note over to share with you:

We spent Wednesday afternoon watching some lovely Transient Orcas in Swanson Channel BC, our first Orca sightings since Saturday.

We have been relying on Humpbacks for whale watching, which is a new development. There seems to be a trend of resident Humpbacks developing in our area over the last few years. Very exciting!

On the way back to our dock at Snug Harbor (The best dock to leave from if you want to see Orcas!) we heard a report of inbound whales. To old salty sea captains, like me, that means whales coming in from the ocean west of Victoria, but probably more Ts.

Then the sweet words came over our radio! Js! We’ve seen them only four times since March so the news was especially sweet.

The Js were happy and all accounted for, including Granny, their 100ish year old matriarch.

See my images below from yesterday. Continue Reading

Minnie Knych says Sue and Bill with the Legion could use your help for the Legion’s Parade Float. Here she is with more:

Planning and Preparation for the 4th of July Parade Begins Now

Sue Carnes and Bill Ray are preparing a 4th of July float to represent Post 163 in the 4th of July Parade. Do you want to participate? The theme is MASH of the 1950s.

Sue needs your help. Do you have fatigues, field jackets, helmets etc? If so will you participate on the float wearing those? Or will you loan them for others to wear? They also need Army blankets, volunteers to sit in wheel chairs and volunteers to push wheel chairs.

To be a part of this fun project, please call Sue carnes at 378-8730 or email her at: [email protected]

Minnie Knych

Do you love football or cheerleading? Do you want to have fun and learn the basics of this American fall sport? Come signup and join the Friday Harbor Tigers football team or cheer squad! Our programs will include Flag (7-8 y.o.), Freshman (9-10 y.o.), Junior (11-12 y.o.) and Senior (13-14 y.o.) football teams and a cheer squad.

• When: June 11, 12 and 13, 2013 – 2:45 – 4:30 pm
• Where: FHAA Clubhouse – far end of the FHES fields

Coaches will be there to answer any questions. All coaches will be certified 1st Aid/CPR and USA Football safety. Visit http://usafootball.com/#education for more information about the certification and how you, as parents, can be certified.

Register by June 15, 2013 and receive $20 off registration fees AND participation in the Fourth of July float!!

Jenny Wilson from the High School sends over this request for volunteers:

The Community Service-Learning Projects class at Friday Harbor High School is a chance for juniors to explore their passions and strengths by designing a project with a community partner that addresses a need in the community. By designing and completing a meaningful project it is hoped that students will leave a lasting legacy for the school, community and themselves.

The semester is soon coming to an end and students have been working diligently all semester to complete their projects. On Wednesday June 5th, 2013 (5:30 – 7:00 P.M.), students will be giving presentations demonstrating all that they have accomplished and learned this term. We need community members to come and give valuable feedback to our students about their projects. It will truly be an exciting evening to learn about the National Park Service planting project, playhouses for the fairgrounds, painting and tutoring at the elementary school, making capes and hats for the mammogram departments at local hospitals….. just to name a few.

For those of you who have assisted us before, I think you will be impressed with how far we have come as a school in our efforts to make community connections and do real world work. For those of you who have not attended these presentations, it’s an opportunity to see the accomplishments of students in our school. We are proud of the passion students have for their service projects.

We need approximately 15 evaluators:

• For What: Community Service-Learning Presentations
• Where: Friday Harbor High School
• When: Wednesday, June 5th
• Time: 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
• Why: Give feedback to students about their projects

Please respond by email at: jennywilson [@] sjisd.wednet.edu if you can evaluate.
Thank you for all you do on behalf of the students and their learning!

Jenny Wilson
Community Service Projects Teacher
Friday Harbor High School

A note from San Juan Soccer president Travis Ayers:

Dear Fellow Procrastinators;

A big thank you to everyone who has already signed up for soccer.  For those turning and running the other way on Spring St. when they see me, no hard feelings!

I wish that I could filter these messages for only those who haven’t signed up yet.  However, I can’t and time really is growing short.

Help me help you save the most $$ and sign up for soccer before midnight on May 31st.  PLEASE don’t wait until the last minute in case you need my help with registration.  I won’t be checking email Friday evening!

A few other important notes:

1. Was your child born in August 2007?  Due to mismatched deadlines (U5/U6 is Aug. 31 and older groups are July 31) no programs will show up for your child.  Hopefully we can avoid this next year, but one way around it is to change their birth month to July, register, then go back in and correct it.  Don’t forget that last part!
2. We want to give you money!  (OK, as a ref that is.)  Anyone interested?
3. Need a scholarship?  Ask!  Let’s get those kids playing.  Scholarships do not apply to the late fees that kick in June 1st.

Please email me at Ayers [dot] Travis @ gmail [dot] com if you have any questions or trouble with registration.  Looking forward to another great season!

Sincerely,

Travis Ayers
President
San Juan Soccer

7 days and 171 miles later, Clark Gilbert crosses the Finish Line in Steamboat Springs, CO. Way to go Clark!

Clark Gilbert has just completed his segment of the MS Run the US event, in which he ran 171 miles from Vernal, Utah to Steamboat Springs Colorado over the last 7 days. Here’s a quick message from Clark:

Shaun Hubbard took first place in the Brann Cabin Bake-Off

Thank you to all who came and enjoyed the homemade pie, music and a spectacular sunset Wednesday night, May 22, at San Juan County Park’s 2nd Annual Brann Cabin Bake-Off. The Parks department would like to give a special “thank you” to Mike Cohen for sharing his musical talent and Gretchen Allison, previous owner of Duck Soup Inn, who donated the first place prize of a private pie baking session.

Sandy Strehlou also deserves a round of applause for her organization of Heritage Month festivities and inviting the Parks department to participate. The winners, judged by people’s choice, were:

• First place – Shaun Hubbard for her bourbon, chocolate, pecan pie
• Second place – BJ Brandli, for her old fashioned apple raisin mini pies
• Third place – Judy Cumming’s “Odie’s favorite apple pie” took third place

The Brann Cabin Bake Off was created in 2012 to raise awareness of the Historic Brann Cabin, a circa 1900 original homestead residing in San Juan County Park. The cabin is in its final stages of restoration. People wishing to donate to the Brann Cabin restoration and interpretation project can contact the Parks office by email (parks [@] sanjuanco.com) or call 360.378.8420. The San Juan County Parks Department is also on the lookout for photographs from any era that depict the cabin, historical interpretation and research, and exhibit suggestions.