The Conscientious Projector Documentary Series hosted by Rob Simpson

Rob will be hosting a special film he is putting together with informative clips on Ho’oponopono:  The Hawaiian Forgiveness Ritual as a key to your life’s fulfillment.  Popcorn and coffee courtesy of the Friends of the San Juan Island Library.

Monday, April 22nd 7:00 pm Main Salon

Puget Sound Concert Opera (PSCO) incorporates an innovative concert opera format, allowing audience members to see, hear and feel the music up close and affordable in intimate venues. This personal experience can be lost in the typical large, American opera houses, especially in combination with the distractions of scenery, staging and costuming. With PSCO’s popular concert opera format, audiences can see, hear and feel the performance as if they were on stage.

Béatrice et Bénédict

Based on the Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing, Béatrice et Bénédict is the tale of two young people who hide their attraction to one another by fighting incessantly. That is until all their friends conspire to trick them into marrying! A charming, funny story set to the gorgeous music of Hector Berlioz. Music will be sung in French with a narration in English. Our stellar cast includes Deborah Blakesley and Colin Ward in the title roles along with Courtney Ruckman, Amber Rose Johnson and Ryan Bede. Specially arranged and Conducted by Bernard Kwiram with a chamber ensemble and piano.

Saturday, April 20 at 5:00pm at Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church

425 Spring Street, Friday Harbor Washington

Suggested Donation: $20 general, $10 students/seniors

Cole helps out in the kitchen

I just heard about a cool post on Val Curtis’ blog “Bon Bon Break” where she posts recipes and talks about getting your kids more involved in helping with meal preparation, making better food choices, and trying new and different foods. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“The game changer for improving your child’s eating habits is involving them in the process from beginning to end.”

“People often ask me why [my kids are] such good eaters. I think it’s simple. They eat what we eat and they are aware and involved in the entire process.”

The recipe has multiple places with the notation “KF”, for “kid-friendly step” to encourage you to have them help out.

It’s pretty cool – check it out at this link.

“My name is Kate and I approve this recipe.”

Some lucky shoppers got a surprise on Saturday – a free live preview from members of the cast of the San Juan Community Theater’s upcoming production of “Into the Woods”. Check it out!

Upcoming event at the Grange – The San Juan Islands Chapter of the WA Native Plant Society is hosting an evening presentation by Dr. Sarah Reichard, Director of UW Botanic Gardens.  The presentation is on her book entitled “The Conscientious Gardener”, and will be held on April 24th at 7 PM at the San Juan Grange Hall in Friday Harbor.
Light refreshments will be served.  All are welcome.

Ian Byington offers his workshops at Skagit this week.

Skagit Valley College/San Juan Center director Randy Martin says this is the week to brush up on your computer know-how:

Ian Byington will offer four workshops designed to enhance computer skills. Introduction to Word will be offered on Wednesday, April 17 from 9:00 a.m. – noon. Intermediate Word will take place Wednesday, April 17 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Introduction to Excel will be offered Thursday, April 18 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. PowerPoint will be offered Thursday, April 18 from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The cost of each of class is $46.

All classes have limited enrollment, so call today to register of for more information, 378-3220.

Island to Island: Together We Can Make an Impact

CJ Woods and Coleton Cartmill

Hi, we are CJ Woods and Coleton Cartmill – juniors at Friday Harbor High School. Together, we are doing a community project involving a meal packaging event, which was made possible by Vic and Mo Woodward last year. The goal is that as a community we make 12,000 meals in one afternoon. These meals then will be sent to help those less fortunate in places like the Island of Hispaniola.

To make this a reality, Coleton and CJ are determined to raise $3000, which will produce the 12,000 meals. If you do the math, (and it is hard to believe), 25 cents equals one meal. The meals produced are then shipped to foreign countries in which our sponsoring partner, Children of the Nations (COTN), delivers to seven third-world countries across the globe, including Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The theme, Island to Island, is a reflection of what this community did last year by sending teams to the Dominican Republic as well as being actively involved in last year’s meal packaging event. Last summer CJ participated in a trip down to the Dominican Republic after his involvement in the meal-packaging event. CJ said, “I was able to see the impact first hand as the team I was a part of got the chance to provide these meals to those in need in the poorest sections of this country. In a way, we all realized how fortunate we are to have more than one meal a day. Most of the meals made in the Meal-Packaging event are the only one these kids will have. In fact, many kids have one meal a day, and these meals we package might be that one meal.”

You can toss some coin into one of these donation jars at various local merchants around town. This one is at The Big Store.

We find this project to be more than just a school requirement. It is an opportunity for us all on San Juan Island to join as one to help make the world a better place. Seeing all the people from all walks of life participate in the building of these meals last year was more meaningful than just about anything we have ever done. Together, we can make an impact.

The meal packaging event is planned for Saturday, May 4th, at 5:00-7:00 P.M. It’s a free, volunteer event. The location will be the Friday Harbor High School. All can come to help.

And yes, we are also asking for donations. Again, we are trying to raise $3000 by the end of April in order to make this a reality. We have already started fundraising and some money has come in. But with little time available, and much to fundraise, we are willing to accept anything.
To donate, you can send a check to Minor Reinforcement, a local nonprofit organization, or give your donation to Cheri Hancock or Sylvia Sullard. Their contact information is (360)472-0113  istop4cops [@] aol.com (Cheri) or (360) 378-4544 or sly [@] rockisland.com (Sylvia).

If you can’t donate, we would still love you to come to the event. No matter what you look like, think like, or act like, you’re part of the community. Let’s come together to make something special happen. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact CJ Woods at jdawg42 [@] live.com or Coleton at coletoncartmil [@] yahoo.com. Or you can reach us at (360) 298-0502. For more information on the project you can check out www.cotni.org.

Author Event with Mike Vouri at Griffin Bay Bookstore

“The Pig War – Standoff at Griffin Bay” an Author Event at Griffin Bay Bookstore, Saturday, April 20 at 7:00 PM

Griffin Bay Bookstore is proud to invite the community to attend a special event for San Juan Island historian Mike Vouri, on Saturday evening, April 20, 7:00 pm. Mike will present the just-released second edition of The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay. First published by Griffin Bay Bookstore in 1999, and now distributed by the University of Washington Press, this definitive new edition has been revised and expanded with additional photographs, maps, drawings, and 100 more pages of text that provide fresh insights into the boundary dispute that confounded diplomats of three nations, but never quite descended into a shooting war.

Don’t miss this chance to hear Mike talk about new discoveries about the boundary dispute that began in 1859, when Great Britain and the United States almost went to war over the Northwest boundary when an American farmer shot a British pig.

“I’m frequently asked, ‘Why more work on a book already in print?’” said Vouri. “The answer is simple: Fourteen years have passed since the first iteration and when you work with a topic everyday as I have, as park historian, there has been no end to “Ah Hah(!)” moments either in the park or visiting the archives of three nations.”

Among these was an encounter between U.S. Coast Surveyor Steam Active skipper, James Alden and Gov. James Douglas of the Crown Colony of Vancouver Island; a struggle over a revolver at the height of the crisis period between George Pickett and a rebellious subordinate; and a wealth of information about the joint occupation that did not appear in the first book.
But even as the new edition was going to press a whole new body of information arose, which could not be included, Vouri said. “And that’s the beauty of history,” he said. “It is a dynamic, ever-changing process.

Sources for The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay include U.S. Coast Survey records, Hudson’s Bay Company documents, the National Archives of Great Britain and images from the Library of Congress, the National Archives and the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

About the author
Mike Vouri has for 18 years been a National Park Service historian/ranger for San Juan Island National Historical Park. In addition to Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay, he has published Outpost of Empire: The Royal Marines and Joint Occupation of San Juan island (DYNW/UW Press, 2004), Images of America: The Pig War (Arcadia Publishing 2008) and co-authored with his wife, Julia Vouri, Images of America: Friday Harbor (Arcadia Publishing, 2009) and Images of America: San Juan Island (Arcadia Publishing, 2010). For more than 16 years he has toured the region in the one-act play, “The Life and Times of General George E. Pickett.” He has been featured on the History Channel (“Forgotten Wars”) and in the pages of The Smithsonian (June 2005).

Friday Harbor Elementary School welcomes the Kindergarten class of 2013-2014! Registration for next year’s Kindergarten class will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 23 and 24th in the school office. Parents who wish to enroll their children for the 2013-2014 Kindergarten session should call the school to set an appointment. To be eligible, students must be five years of age by August 31, 2013. Please call the elementary school at 378-5209 ext. 1 to make an appointment.

Please bring your child’s birth certificate and immunization records. If needed, birth certificates may be obtained at the San Juan County Health Department. Their number is 378-4474.

It’s time for the Wolf Hollow Spring Fling Rummage Sale
Saturday, April 20, from 9:00 – 2:00 at the Friday Harbor American Legion
110 First Street
Items accepted Thursday, 4/18 and Friday 4/19
3:00 – 6:00 pm at The Legion

The San Juan Historical Museum is pleased to welcome author Richard Blumenthal for a book signing and discussion. MARITIME PLACE NAMES Inland Washington Waters is a historical text on Washington state maritime place names. It includes every named island, bay, point, inlet, pass, harbor, channel, strait, canal, passage, peninsula, sound, shoal and rock identified on current nautical charts. Variants and more obscure local names are frequently included as well as historical names that did not stand the test of time. The manuscript generally identifies the individual who named the place, when, why and for whom. It also identifies the chart where the name first appeared and the early settlement history of each place.

Heavily annotated, the manuscript makes extensive use of quotes of the observations from our earliest explorers to document their reasons for various names and to provide readers an impression of what Puget Sound country looked like 150-200 years ago.

About the author

Author Richard Blumenthal

Richard Blumenthal began boating on Lake Washington at age five. Throughout his childhood, he cruised in the San Juans with family, learning of the secrets held by the numerous islands. Eventually, he became more interested in local maritime history. He researched the journals of early explorers and transcribed the material to get a better sense of their efforts, the hardships they faced and the places they visited. Some of these journals are available in his other books The Early Exploration of Inland Washington Waters, With Vancouver in Inland Washington Waters and Charles Wilkes and the Exploration of Inland Washington Waters.

Suggest donation is $5 and museum members are admitted at no charge.

San Juan Historical Museum Resource Center
Saturday, April 20, 6:30 pm

Please contact the museum for further information at 360.378.3949 or [email protected]

Bill and Rita Ament

Joining forces with the Zumba Fitness corporation, Bill & Rita Ament are bringing “The Great Calorie Drive” to our community. The benefits of working out and dancing in Zumba are numerous. One example is that Rita has lost 74 pounds in the past ten months. It is fun, you dance, laugh, sweat, work out and feel fabulous. In a one hour Zumba class you actually burn approximately 750 calories.

And not only that, but when you attend one of Bill & Rita’s Zumba classes, Zumba Headquarters will donate money for those 750 calories to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and Feeding America – major organizations feeding millions worldwide and in the United States. You will not only be burning calories in a Zumba class and feeling good, you will be also be donating those calories to feed the hungry. Continue Reading

With Springtime upon us OPALCO sends a reminder to all island members regarding landscaping around OPALCO facilities.

Transformers and meters must remain visible and accessible to OPALCO employees at all times. This helps create easier access for our line crews to make repairs, and maintain equipment. In turn, it also helps with shortening any outage times, continuing reliable service and providing a safe environment. Landscaping could make it difficult to locate or access the equipment, especially in periods of bad weather or at night.

All members are responsible for providing and maintaining the required clearances to OPALCO equipment, facilities, features and meterbases. Below are the guidelines to follow:

• 10 feet from all obstructions on the front (opening) side of the transformer.
• 3 feet to all other obstructions such as shrubs, sidewalks, boulders, etc.

OPALCO is committed to safety for its members and employees, and we express our appreciation to all members for their cooperation in following the guidelines specified above.

For planting instructions please call OPALCO Line Clearance at 376-3500. You can also access further information on our website: www.opalco.com. Go to the “Facility Installation Specifications Booklet” for further information and landscaping diagrams.

OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative electrical utility serving more than 11,000 members on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 95% greenhouse-gas free and is generated predominantly by hydro-electric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937.

Friday Harbor Art Market “Call for Vendors” – Deadline is April 19 – Cynthia Brast photo

The Friday Harbor Art Market is seeking art, food and farm vendors for its 2013 season, running every Friday from June 21 until August 30 from 3pm – 7pm, at the Brickworks Plaza. Applications are due by April 19. Contact (360) 378-0951 or pigmansartworks [@] rockisland.com for an application.

Linda Francis soaps

Geneva Mottet knits

Lauren Jawer pottery

 It’s next Saturday, April 20

7:00 – 9:00 pm at the SJI Grange Hall. Karen Marshall calling with Eric Anderson on piano and Shaun Hubbard on fiddle. No partners needed. All dances taught. No experience necessary. $10/person donation (students half price). Information, 378-3836.

Check out this interesting piece by WSF Employee Dan Twohig and see what you think. SlowingDownWSF (pdf)