Here’s a fun video for a Sunday morning. Enjoy!

The Tease is playing tonight at the Rumor Mill starting at 8:00.

The Chameleons are at Herb’s starting around 9:00.

Check out this video made in 1951 by the Bonneville Power Administration, that shows the manufacturing, delivery and laying of the first power cable from the mainland to the islands. It’s from the history section on OPALCO’s website and there are more videos on Opalco’s YouTube site. Pretty cool!

Shannon Evans is a 2nd grade teacher at Friday Harbor Elementary School, where she has taught since 2006. She and her daughter Joanna, a 5th grader at FHES, moved to the island for the Mayberry-esque community and the inspiring natural beauty.

Click here to read more.

ThisIsOurTown.com is a glimpse of the people and businesses that shape the personality of Friday Harbor & San Juan Island. It is a project of Dustrude Photography.

Parent volunteer John Davis with Ula Grace. Not pictured: Eden Light

Congratulations to Ula Grace and Eden Light, two Stillpoint School students who were chosen as state semifinalists in the 2013 Letters About Literature program! Ula, a graduating 6th grader, and Eden, a 5th grade student, were chosen from approximately 3,400 students in Washington State to be selected as state semifinalists!

Letters About Literature (LAL) is a nationwide reading and writing project for intermediate students. LAL is sponsored by the Washington State Library, the Office of Secretary of State, and The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Stillpoint School is thrilled to honor the accomplishments of our students, and we would like to thank our wonderful parent volunteers for all their help and support as our school participated in this contest for the first year!

Island Stage Left will be presenting William Shakespeare’s  Taming of the Shrew this Summer. On Thursdays thru Sundays, July 11 – 28 at Roche Harbor, and Fridays thru Sundays, August 2 – 18 at 1062 Wold Road. Admission is free and donations are appreciated. More information is available at www.islandstageleft.org.

The Taming of the Shrew – a riotous battle of the sexes!

Fairies torment a politician in the upcoming production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe

Eighth grade students from Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon, will offer free performances of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta Iolanthe at three community performances during the first week of June:

• Monday, June 3, 2 p.m. at the Mullis Community Senior Center on San Juan Island
• Tuesday, June 4, 1 p.m. at the Shaw Community Center on Shaw Island
• Wednesday, June 5, 1 p.m. at the Orcas Center on Orcas Island

Iolanthe is a topsy-turvy love story involving fairies, magic, politics, and the struggle between law and nature. Catlin Gabel’s updated production sets the play in Washington, D.C., with a cast of environmental activists, corrupt political bureaucrats, and a Portlandian urban farmer and his pet chicken, all singing Gilbert & Sullivan’s sublime music. People of all ages will enjoy this political fairy tale.

Since 1988, 8th graders from Catlin Gabel have sung their way through the San Juan Islands in June, performing in schools, community centers, and residential care facilities. It is the highlight of the year for these students. “Performing Gilbert and Sullivan in the San Juans is a treasured tradition at our school,” said drama teacher Deirdre Atkinson, one of the teachers who will accompany students on the tour. “The students look forward to it all year. They love visiting the islands and meeting people, and they come home with great memories.” As the capstone project of their 8th grade year, Catlin Gabel students present a full-scale production of one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic operettas.

Catlin Gabel serves Portland and the world as an educational catalyst, drawing together dedicated educators, motivated students, superb curricular resources, and thoughtfully applied technology, in a beautiful and functional setting, all for the purpose of forming bold learners who become responsible action-takers for life. Catlin Gabel is an independent, non-sectarian, progressive coeducational day school serving 750 students from preschool through twelfth grade. Its roots go back to the Portland Academy, founded in 1859. The school occupies 60 acres on Barnes Road, five miles west of downtown Portland.

For more information, contact:
Nadine Fiedler (503) 297-1894 ext. 301,
fiedlern [@] catlin.edu
Catlin Gabel website: www.catlin.edu

Board to Search for Replacement to Complete Term
On Thursday, May 16th, the OPALCO Board of Directors accepted George Mulligan’s resignation from the board with great appreciation and gratitude for his five years of service.

Board president Chris Thomerson said,

“George’s ability to assimilate, refine and revealingly summarize complex financial issues provided the Board with a valuable perspective. His dedication and commitment to OPALCO and its membership has served the Co-op well over the last five years. George will be missed for his expertise—and his willing friendship.”

Mulligan’s seat on the OPALCO board represents District 1, which includes San Juan, Brown, Henry, Pearl, and Spieden Islands. OPALCO’s Directors will conduct interviews in search of a replacement to be appointed to the board to finish out Mulligan’s term, which expires in 2014. A permanent replacement will be voted in by the members at OPALCO’s annual meeting in May, 2014.

Come enjoy Pie, Games, Campfire and Music at the Annual Brann Cabin Bake Off
May 22, 2013 6:30pm-9:00pm
San Juan County Park
Free to the Public: Donations Welcomed
Funds raised will contribute to the doors, window, interior finishing, landscaping and interpretation for the Brann Cabin
For pie bake off instructions call: (360) 378-8420
or email parks [@] sanjuanco.com

Correction – – The location for Friday evening’s presentation is at the Historical Museum’s Resource Center on 405 Price Street – not at the library as was previously reported.

When master carpenter William Crook arrived on San Juan Island with his wife and two children in November 1875 he had come to the end of the line in a journey that began when he left his native Yorkshire in 1856.

Learn more about how this legendary family came to embody pioneer self-sufficiency and the island way of life during this evening Power Point presentation with Park Ranger Doug Halsey and San Juan Island Historical Museum Executive Director Kevin Loftus scheduled at 7 p.m., Friday, May 17, at the San Juan Historical Museum’s Resource Center, 405 Price St. Halsey and Loftus will be joined in a discussion by several long-time island residents with memories of the Crook farm and family. 

The program will continue the next day (Saturday May 18) with an open house of the Crook house at English Camp. The open house will be hosted by San Juan Island NHP and historical museum staff and volunteers as a part of the museum’s Historical Home Tour. It will be the first time the 1903-vintage house has been open to the public since the park was created by Act of Congress in 1966.  Continue Reading

Singer-Songwriter and Grammy Nominee, Ruthie Foster

We’ve got a great blues artist… and grammy nominee coming to the San Juan Community Theater… Ruthie Foster will be here on Saturday for a concert and a free guitar demo in the afternoon.

Turn up the speakers and check out this video of her singing Phenomenal Woman…

For the complete press release, follow this link: Continue Reading

The Friday Harbor High School Concert Band will perform the Pacific Northwest premiere of a piece by Friday Harbor resident and nationally-renowned composer, Alex Shapiro

Alex Shapiro

On May 23, 2013 at the San Juan Community Theatre, the Friday Harbor High School Concert Band, under the Direction of Matthew Frost, will perform a new electroacoustic wind band piece, Tight Squeeze, created by composer, Alex Shapiro. The piece was part of the Composers and Schools in Concerts’ (CSIC) Commissions in Concert series in which CSIC and a consortium of seven schools from different cities across North America commissioned a piece.

• When: May 23, 2013
• Time: 7 p.m.
• Where: San Juan Community Theatre

“We at Composers and School in Concert are very excited for the Friday Harbor High School Concert Band’s performance. This consortium is allowing students to have the unique experience of learning from a professional composer without the immense cost usually associated with commissions.”– Lisa Oman, Executive Director and Founder of CSIC

For more information about CSIC’s Commissions in Concerts series, email the Composers and Schools in Concert at [email protected] or call (916) 248-5541.

Composers and Schools in Concert (CSIC) was launched in late 2011 to give high school-music students the opportunity to work closely with professional composers.  Led by Director Lisa Oman, CSIC is the only organization in the United States dedicated to providing high school age students the experience of working with a professional composer. Through musical collaborations, students are offered invaluable insight into the career of a professional composer.

San Juan Prevention Coalition sends over this invitation:

We met Monte at the WA. State Prevention Summit in 2012, his stories and photos really spoke to our youth. We think you will find it illuminating, too! Please join us this Friday, May 17th 12:15pm-1:15pm at Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church.

“I spent most of my professional life fighting against drug abuse and those who profit from it. As the lead prosecutor for the federal Organized Crime/Drug Enforcement Task Force, I was an eyewitness to some of the darkest aspects of humanity – criminal organizations that traffic in human misery through the sale of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other harmful drugs. Through interviews of thousands of drug users, I know that boredom is often cited as an excuse for early experimentation with drugs or other destructive behavior. In my view, the cure for boredom is to tap into the sense of wonder we all experienced as little children. In the end, this is infinitely more satisfying than anything the drug culture can offer.”

RSVP: 378-9683 or email: prevention [@] centurytel.net Cynthia Stark-Wickman, Executive Coordinator

Just heard this from Amelia over at Pelindaba… way to go Pelindaba – Congratulations! Here’s her announcement…

“We are very pleased to announce that Pelindaba Lavender Farm has been, again, voted “BEST Public Garden” in local NBC affiliate King 5/Evening Magazine’s annual “Best of the Northwest Escapes” contest – for the 5th year in a row!

We are honored by the continued support our ever-growing community of friends, customers and followers have shown us 5 years in a row.

Thank you for your continued support of Pelindaba Lavender Farm!

Click the poster for a larger version

It’s this Friday at the Seaside Lawn at Roche Harbor – A hootenanny barn dance pig roast family fun night dance dinner combo from 6:00 to 10:00 PM with proceeds benefitting the 4H San Juan Livestock Club. Tickets are available at the door or by email at: hootenanny4h [@] hotmail.com

The new Printonyx building on the left, and a pile of rubble that was the old building on the right – Kevin Holmes photo

…and into the new.

Printonyx moved out of their old building and into the new one this past weekend, and this morning the old one came down. They are very excited to be in a new space that will work much more efficiently for their business without all the quirks of the old converted home that was their old building. The new one really is a nice place – if you haven’t seen it yet, you really should stop by and check it out.