Pamela Hoke works on her painting outside of her new shop next door to the Dr.’s Office

A gallery and gift shop with a very specific mission just opened in a new space sharing the historic Victorian building with the Dr.’s Office Treatment Café, 85 Front Street, across from the Friday Harbor ferry landing. The Nature Connection Gallery & Gifts is a goal of artist, veteran of corporate branding and retailing, and now emerging author, Pamela Hoke from Stuart, Florida (www.PamelaHoke.com), to inspire a deeper connection with nature, through fine art, hand-made jewelry and fine crafts, natural soaps and candles, nature therapy books, and introducing nature-centered creativity workshops at Lakedale Resort. There will be a special open house held Saturday, May 18th, 6-9pm to celebrate the opening with refreshments and snacks. Continue Reading

The Island Sinfonia will present its spring concert on Orcas at the Emmanuel Episcopal Parish Hall on Sunday, May 12 at 2 p.m.   The varied program will feature “Variations on a Shaker Melody” by Copland; “Habanera” by Chabrier;  “The Swan of Tuonela” by Sibelius – featuring Ginni Keith on English horn; Lerner and Loewe favorites; “Meditation” from Thais by Massenet – featuring Scott Heisinger on violin; “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” by Gluck – featuring Linda Slone on flute; and the “Czech Suite” by Dvorak.

The orchestra, formed more than 20 years ago by Mother Kateri on Shaw Island, is composed of 25 musicians from San Juan, Shaw, Lopez and Orcas islands, and is under the leadership of Ned Griffin. Six student musicians from local schools also participate and swell the ranks of the string section.

As this is Mother’s Day, they hope many mothers will attend.  Light refreshments will be served at the intermission.

Admission is free, although donations will be appreciated.  Island Sinfonia is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Richard and Sherri Daly. He’s the Cheesemonger, she’s the CEO (that’s Cheese Executive Officer) of SJI Cheese – Two really cool people opening a cool new shop

There will be a new cheese shop in town in about a month or maybe less. San Juan Island Cheese will be in the 155 Nichols St. building. (that’s right across Nichols from Brickworks, right where Sea Shepard Gallery was for a while). They are currently doing a major remodel inside and out. They will be offering local northwest cheeses mostly from the Puget Sound area but also some as far as Portland and maybe even northern California. And of course some Wisconsin (because really, how could you have a cheese shop without Wisconsin cheeses?) and some from Europe as well.
And what goes well with cheese? Wine of course. They’ll have a cheese tasting counter and will offer up good pairings of wine. A small deli for a quick sandwich, a couple of tables inside and an outdoor dining area in the back. It looks like it’s going to be a real first-class establishment.

Next week is National Bike to Work Week. If that’s too tough to swallow, how about Next Friday (the 17th) is National Bike to Work DAY. And if that’s also too much, well then just enjoy these facts…

Bicycles – Good for you and Good for the Planet

A few bike parking vs. car parking statistics just for interest’s sake:

Number of bikes that can be parked in one car parking space in a paved lot: 6 to 20
Number of racks for bicycle parking in Seattle: 1,900
Estimated cost of constructing one parking space in a paved lot: $2,200
Estimated cost of constructing one parking space in a garage: $12,500

Recreational bike riding is a safe, low-impact, aerobic activity for people of all ages. Bike commuting is an ideal solution to the need for moderate physical activity, which can be practiced five times a week. A 130-pound cyclist burns 402 calories while pedaling 14 miles in an hour. A 180-pound cyclist burns 540 calories while pedaling 14 miles in an hour. (source: www.bikeleague.org)

Scotch Pine

In honor of Arbor Day, Lopez Island Grange #1060, Orcas Grange #964 and Friday Harbor Grange #225 will distribute free Scotch Pines this Saturday at the grocery stores on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands.  You can pick your free tree in the parking lot at your local grocery any time after 10:00 AM.  Alex Gavora, organizer of the event says, “We’ll give away trees until there’re all distributed.”

The trees are donated by  Evans Nursery (376-4961).  John Evans of Orcas Island has been arranging for the free Arbor Day trees for several years.

Whoa – I only set out to shoot some Senior Portraits but I ended up meeting quite an amazing young woman in the process… She is the latest featured portrait on This is Our Town. Check it out…

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.

CATS’ annual Teddy Bear Picnic returns to San Juan Community Theatre on Saturday, May 11.
The FREE event from noon to 2:00 in the patio garden and Gubelman Theatre features face painting, crafts projects, refreshments and, of course, teddy bears!
This year, local musician Kirk Fuhrmeister (Isle Be Jammin’) will be providing the entertainment—playing music, singing and telling stories to the young audience.
The refreshments will include PB & J or grilled cheese sandwiches, fruit, juice and cookies in the shape of bears.
“CATS members look forward to the annual gift of the Teddy Bear Picnic to the children and grandchildren of our community,” said Picnic coordinator Mary Sliger. “It is great fun for the children and equally fun for CATS members, parents and grandparents.”
Each child also receives a complimentary stuffed bear from CATS and a book from the Early Learning Consortium and Critical Needs Task Force.

This story is from the San Juan Community Theater’s blog – Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday are the last dates of Into the Woods. Check the theater’s website to get info and tickets…

Ted Soares – SJCT prop wizard

Baby dolls that look real, a not-too-big golden harp, and a white Heifer OH MY!
Those are just a few of the challenges that faced property master Ted Soares as he obtained the props for Into the Woods. Ted has quite a bit experience dressing sets and props from his old days with NBC in Burbank. Plus, he’s been our property master here for most of our staged productions for more than six years now and has been involved in SJCT since its beginnings in 1989.

Ted says he has had to be a bit more creative with Into the Woods and began searching catalogues several months ago to find just the right items for each scene. He lucked out on the internet with the white heifer—it had to be durable and unbreakable since it has a “fall” during one of the scenes—a company on the East Coast was able to ship out the fiberglass cow. Then there was the hen…which wasn’t as easy to find as a rooster. On one of his trips to Palm Springs, friends who had worked on the original production with Bernadette Peters helped Ted shop and they found just the right size to match the golden eggs at a store called “The Cocky Cactus.” The harp was also difficult…he ended up finding one small enough in a catalogue and then found an angel at the 99 cent store that he could then spray paint gold.

Ted says he continues to enjoy all of the challenges of putting together the props and making them work for actors, so that everything blends right in and matches the period of the show. “I think it pays off…the shows look great!”

And in addition to finding the items, Ted is there, behind the scenes during every show, choreographing the props—making sure the actors get the props at the right time in the right form. He even has to make sure the cow gets some padding before her fall so she doesn’t get bruised.

Bicolor Lupine

Join San Juan Island National Historical Park integrated resources chief Jerald Weaver and historian Mike Vouri for a virtual Bloom Week tour of American Camp in full blossom scheduled 6:15, Thursday, May 9 at the Village at the Harbor, 547 Spring Street.

The program is free. Call the Village at 378-7144 for accessibility information.

The vast, open prairie landscape of San Juan Island National Historical Park’s American Camp unit is uniquely beautiful and rather unexpected in the western portion of the Pacific Northwest, where evergreen forests dominate the cliffs to the shoreline.  On the prairie, you can stroll through the same spring wildflowers and ruffling grasses that the native peoples experienced hundreds of years ago.

“Among the wildflowers currently blossoming at both park units are camas, chocolate lilies, sea blush, shooting star, small-flowered blue-eyed Mary, fiddle-neck fern, death camas, field chickweed, bicolor lupine and faun lilies,” Vouri said. “If you haven’t visited the park yet this spring don’t delay, but if you can’t, don’t miss this brief, but spectacularly beautiful program.”

Click this link for more photos: Continue Reading

Here’s FHHS’s Rod Turnbull to let you in on what’s going on in the various FHHS Sports Teams’ post season –

It is a busy time of year, but some exciting things are happening.  In the world of athletics, this is one of the most hectic, but also most fun times of the year. Spring teams have either entered into, or are about to begin the post season portion of their season.  The post season for our teams will begin with a District Tournament.

The play during the District 1 Tournament seeds the 1A teams from District 1 for advancement to the next level of post season, known as Tri-District.  The District tournament is held because there are now nine 1A teams in District 1 that play in three different leagues.  There are five 1A, teams (Blaine, Nooksack, Meridian, Lynden Christian, and Mount Baker) in the Northwest Conference (NWC), one 1A team (FH) in the Northwest 1A/2B/1B conference, and three 1A teams (Coupeville, Kings, and South Whidbey) in the Cascade Conference. FH aligns with the five teams in the NWC by playing each other during the regular season to determine seeding into the District level of post season play.

Click here for the schedules and further explanation of the post season. (PDF)

Join the San Juan Historical Museum in welcoming Sam Buck the 2nd to the Historical Museum for an evening of great tales by a San Juan Island original. In his new book, The Bucks Stopped Here, Sam relates the history of the Buck Family, 1918-2012, and their involvement in and love for the San Juan Islands. Sam’s father was elected county attorney in 1920 and served 16 years, interrupted by a 2 year term in the Washington State Legislature.

The book tells the story of the Buck family and island life during these years, the changes that occurred and the development of Friday (Brown) Island and Cape San Juan. The book takes a look at island history through the eyes of an islander born in 1927. With his deep involvement in the community, Sam shares his personal story of life in the San Juan Islands covering 85 years and four generations.

Saturday, May 11, 6:00 pm
Suggested donation $5, museum members admitted at no charge.
Please contact the museum for further information at 378-3949 or museum_admin [@] sjmuseum.org

Volunteers are needed on Saturday, May 11th at 9am for the first work party on the loop trail being built at Peace Island Hospital. This destination trail is also a spur off the Airport Trail section of the American Camp Trail. This project is being done by volunteer labor with materials supplied by the Peace Island Volunteer (PIV) group.

Meet by the large rock pile near far parking area. Wear sturdy clothes & boots. Bring water, snacks, gloves & small hand tools, such as clippers, loppers, hand saws, rakes. Work will last approximately 3 hours. The next work party will be Saturday May 25th – then additional ones will be scheduled each Saturday in June starting on the 8th.

Check the PIV web site peaceislandvolunteers.org for detailed info on the trail project & work party description. Please contact volunteer co-ordinator Cinda Pierce at cpiemna [@] rockisland.com or 370-5998 with questions or to sign up. 10 – 15 workers are needed for each session to complete the trail this summer.

Lower Argyle Avenue, Friday Harbor, WA 1917

Celebrate Heritage Month in the San Juan Islands May 2013.
Free guided walking tour of historic Argyle Avenue, the wagon road that became one of Friday Harbor’s most important residential neighborhoods.
Rain or shine, Saturday, May 11th, 10:00 am-11:30 am.
Meet at Acanthus Antiques, 460 Agyle Avenue.
Info: 360.378.2810, sstrehlou [@] fridayharbor.org
Preservation Month events are coordinated by the Town of Friday Harbor.
Go to www.historicfridayharbor.org for the full calendar.

Just got this note from Kris over at Printonyx, so plan accordingly people. And please no pushing or shoving when they re-open…

“Well we have been waiting a long time! Gene has finished the building in record time. The day of our MOVE is finally here! If everything falls into place (we hope it will), we will be closing this Friday May 10th through Monday May 13th. while we move into our new space next door. We hope to be open on Monday, but it might not be until Tuesday. Thank you for your patience as we transition and get everything set up. We are looking forward to serving you better in our new space.”

And there’s more. Check this out – the building they are moving out of is for sale and has been marked down:

Clark Gilbert is slated to run through Steamboat Springs as he participates in the MS Run the US Coast to Coast Relay

MS Run the US, an exciting endurance relay spanning from Los Angeles to New York, has awarded one of its coveted running partnerships to Clark Gilbert, Friday Harbor resident, to take on the 162 mile leg from Vernal, UT to Steamboat Springs, CO with stops in Dinosaur and Craig, CO. He will be running the equivalent of a marathon each day for a total of seven consecutive days in support of MS research.

“I started running in 1976 with my first half marathon in the spring of 1978. First marathon was during the summer of 1978. To date I have run over 40 marathons and/or ultra-marathons. Running has and is making a positive impact to my life. Besides the health and fitness benefits, running has been a major part of my social life as well as the foundation of college and career. Running has been good to me in many ways.”

Clark has been training for this event daily and is preparing both mentally and physically for the grueling challenge that he has taken on in support of the cause.

“Now, I can use running to help such a great cause as the MS Run the US. Dollars raised will go directly to public education and the search to help cure multiple sclerosis.”

The exciting event is dedicated to raising national disease awareness and funds to further the research of multiple sclerosis, a disease which according to Medical News Today is estimated to affect 400,000 Americans. This unique relay will enjoy high visibility on the national level with regional promotions that tie-in with MS Chapters in each city on the tour.

And YOU can help support him too:
Please come and join Clark before he heads off to Vernal, Utah to run 165 plus miles in 7 days – basically a marathon a day for seven days. Talk with him about why he wants to do such a thing. All proceeds will go to MS education and research.

• What: Wine Tasting event for MS Run the US
• Date: May 16, Thursday
• Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Where: San Juan Vineyards Piano and Wine Bar.  55 Spring St.
• Cost: $10.00 per person includes two glasses of wine and appetizers

About MS Run the US, Inc.
MS Run the US, Inc. is dedicated to raising awareness and funds to support multiple sclerosis research while inspiring others to get involved in the fight against MS. Founded in 2009 by Wisconsin native Ashley Kumlien of Brookfield, Wisconsin, MS Run the US, Inc. was inspired by her mother, Jill Kumlien, who has lived with MS since 1980. All donation proceeds support research through The National MS Society. For additional information on the company, please visit http://www.msruntheus.com/.

A street perfomer who makes balloon animals takes a quick iPhone break, on a sunny weekend day near the Empress Hotel on the Inner Harbour.

I thought I would take a moment to report in from 7 miles away that Victoria had a sunny summer–like weekend just now, just like you. I see it is my purpose in life to report to you what I see in the streets, so here goes:

•  Hockey isn’t going very well. Our beloved Canucks lost their playoff series last night with San Jose, but people will still crowd the bars, taverns, and pizza places, to see the other guys play. Meanwhile, it’s nice to see that the Mariners are playing Victoria native Michael Saunders regularly in the outfield, and using Jason Bay (Trail, BC) a good bit lately.

The music scene is quite diverse in lower-island Vancouver Island, as you can tell from the way this used CD shop is organized.

• Someone asked me 2 months ago if it was a good idea to come see Butchart Gardens, with the rainy late-winter weather and all.

I’ve seen the gardens in all four seasons, and there is no bad time to catch them. However, the next few weeks are a brilliant time to take that short ferry trip from Friday Harbor to Sidney to visit, with all the springtime blooms. Since the twice a day ferry doesn’t start until mid-June, that means you’ll have to spend the night, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be glad you did.

It was fun to run into Princess Leia at a used DVD shop downtown…. photo by NASA photo contributor Josie Byington.

• People asked me what music is like here in the Victoria area, and I can say with assurance that it’s alive and diverse, with Sting, Leo Kottke, Steve Miller, and other famous groups dropping by, while the coffee houses and taverns seem to have someone playing somewhere nearly every night.

It was cool to see 25-year-olds cheering for classic rock band at the Irish Times the other night, older folks at the sky Festival last summer, and a mix of all kinds of music set for the summer program in Beacon Hill Park. Sounds good.

It was cool to run into islanders James Krall (he’s teaching in Alaska these days), Nancy Young (she’s selling real estate on the island), and grandaughter Jenny MacDonald (she’s at the University of Victoria) all getting together to take Nancy & James’ mom Ann to dinner for her 80th a few weeks ago in downtown Victoria – James flew in just for the occasion, and it was great to see a surprised grandmother. Happy birthday, Ann!

• One of the interesting things about living on this side of the water from the island is discovering that folks have concerns about looking after the area, just like islanders do.

Local islander Steve Miller has a date in June in Victoria…..

We’ve attended protests at the legislature addressing forest use, attended lectures that speak to the Kinder Morgan pipeline, heard about what people think about coal trains, and found a number of folks ready to work hard to be good stewards of the province’s resources.

To go with all that, the provincial election is in a week, and presently the NDP (liberal) folks are expected to take control of the legislature from the Liberals (middle-of-the-road), with the Greens hoping to win a few seats (they were only 3 percentage points from winning a by-election in November), and the Conservatives (called the Tories) expected to cut into vote totals, but only a bit…the Tories presently don’t hold a seat in the 85-seat legislature, and so far I haven’t seen one of their signs anywhere, although I’m guessing they’re putting their money into other parts of the province, where they have a better chance.

If that seems unbalanced or something, consider that Alberta next door has 87 seats, and only nine are NDP or Liberal there.

Spotted in Cool Street Village, just a few blocks from downtown….take what you you need!

Travel correspondent Ian Byington’s special reports to the Update are posted whenever the prose is clear, the photos crisp, and the weather nice enough to go out & play in. He & Josie currently live in Victoria, BC after nearly two decades on San Juan Island.