See ya on da ice! Guys on Ice Opens March 8

Guys on Ice – Bob Stavers photo

The secret world of Wisconsin ice fishing comes alive with music and laughs at San Juan Community Theatre March 8-10 and 14-17.

Guys on Ice, written by Fred Alley with music by James Kaplan and directed by Laura Concord, spends a day in the life inside an ice shanty.

SJCT’s Gubelman Theatre’s stage has been transformed into the cozy setting, where we meet Marvin (Miguel Andreas Herbert), Lloyd (Eric Concord) and Ernie the Moocher (Dorian Oliver), fishing buddies and home-grown philosophers. While waiting to hear if Marvin has landed a gig on a cable TV fishing show, they swap corny jokes, share beer (Wisconsin’s Leinenkugels brand), tell tall tales and sing original tunes like “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit” and “The One That Got Away,” that are both melodic and catchy. “While there is a lot of silliness going on,” said Laura Concord. “Guys on Ice is a story of true friendship and a show that will appeal to the blue collar Guys and white collar Guys and all the Gals that love them.”

As part of the look at this Midwestern lifestyle, the Theatre will have Leinenkugels beer for sale in concessions during the play’s run. Plus! Anyone who comes in cheesehead ware gets a free beef jerky during intermission!

The Business Partner for Guys on Ice is Whidbey Island Bank. Tickets are $16 for adults, $8 for student reserved and $5 student RUSH at the door. Thursday, March 14 is Bargain Night: tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for student reserved. 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.

Here’s a quick note from Rock Island’s Mike Greene about the new Broadband Forum:

Hello, I wanted to take this opportunity to let you all know a bit more about the San Juan County Broadband Forum that was just launched a few days ago.

This forum is a result of the cumulative effort of five community members from Orcas and San Juan.

Our goal is to provide a non-biased platform to discuss Broadband technologies in general, and to also provide a platform for the community to weigh in on the OPALCO plan. It is our desire to make this site the “GO TO” place to learn about broadband technologies in use around the world and specifically how that relates to our island communities.

We have also licensed a customized speed test app that the San Juan Broadband community can use to test their broadband service and those results will then be plotted out on a map of the islands. This map will be available on the website as well.

The site URL for our SJC Broadband Forum is: http://sjcbroadbandforum.org/

Registration is easy and quick, for Facebook users it is a two click process, for standard registrations there are 4 fields to complete and that is it. Registration URL is: http://sjcbroadbandforum.org/register.php

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me or any of our group at: comments [@] sjcbroadbandforum.org

Don’t forget – Sunday March 10th, Daylight Savings Time begins. Set your clock ahead!

San Juan Island National Historical Park Expands
Land Protected for English Camp will Provide New Recreation Opportunities for Park Visitors

English Camp just got a little bit bigger – Contributed photo

The National Park Service (NPS) and The Conservation Fund announced today the conservation and addition of a 34-acre property to San Juan Island National Historical Park (NHP). The newly protected land, located along 2,500 feet of pristine shoreline on Westcott Bay, will enable the NPS to enhance the park’s educational and recreational offerings at English Camp.

Known to many San Juan Island residents as part of the Westcott Bay Sea Farm, the property also offers rich upland forest and wetland habitats. The land was previously owned and managed by the Webb family. Representatives of the Webb family, local conservation groups and the NPS approached The Conservation Fund with the intent of protecting the property and perpetuating Bill and Doree Webb’s vision for the land to remain free from adverse development. The Conservation Fund and the NPS worked together to design a unique conservation plan that would preserve the land’s natural state, while enabling the family or subsequent owners of the historic sea farm to continue to use a portion of the tidelands for oyster farming operations.

(Click for more photos and the rest of the story…) Continue Reading

It’s Yappy Hour at Haley’s this Thursday!

Grab your mates and head over to Haley’s Bait Shop, 175 Spring Street for your favorite libation and a bite! A portion of your tab will go to The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor.
Thursday, March 7th – 5:00 til 6:30

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San Juan Dragons Spaghetti Dinner

Don’t Forget! It’s tonight – Tuesday, March 5 from 5-7 San Juan Dragons Lacrosse Club Spaghetti Fundraiser at the Masonic Hall (above Dance Happy/Second Act). $12. Amazing dessert action. Perfect spot to have dinner before the Winter Sports Awards.

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Messier Marathon

Fiona Norris of the San Juan Nature Institute sends notice over of a telescope party this coming Saturday. Check this out:

The night of March 9 is the best opportunity, weather permitting, to explore the heavens to find some, or all, of the 110 deep sky objects listed by comet hunter Charles Messier in 1781. On that night, San Juan Nature Institute in collaboration with amateur astronomer Geneva Mottett, has organized a Messier Marathon. The venue is a private home near False Bay and directions will be provided on registration.
The cost per person is $20 and registrations can be made on line at  www.sjnature.org or by emailing science [@] sjnature.org.

Participants are invited to arrive at 6 p.m. for an introductory talk and to spend the night exploring the night sky. It will be cold so we recommend you bring warm clothes, folding chair, brown bag supper and flasks of hot drinks- cocoa is suggested! Bring your own binoculars and share telescopes provided by local astronomy buffs. This will be a night to remember so stay as long as you like.
This is the first of four workshops planned by San Juan Nature Institute in the next few months. Lichen workshops on Lopez and San Juan Island, wild flower walks on Yellow Island and a marine exploration at low tide in May are being arranged. Details will appear in the press and on the website www.sjnature.org.

Stories From Around the Pacific Rim
Coming October 11-12-13, 2013

The 1st Annual Friday Harbor Film Festival will present entertaining, inspiring, educational and award winning full length and short documentaries about the diverse Pacific Rim and one of the largest features on earth; the Pacific Ocean. The variety of film subjects range from island cultures, marine ecology, environmental issues and human interest. Directors and Producers of many of the Films will be on hand throughout the event to introduce their films, give workshops on documentary film-making, mingle with film goers and answer questions. Check out these links for their Sponsorship Opportunities, Press Release and Website.

Nancy Hansen of the Soroptimists sent over a report on what they were up to last weekend. Here’s her story:

Soroptimists of Friday Harbor – Contributed photo

Each year Northwestern Region of Soroptimist International of the Americas holds an Area meeting with clubs in Skagit/Island/San Juan counties. This year it was hosted by SI Fidalgo Island at the Swinomish Casino outside Anacortes. At these meetings we share information about what our clubs are doing during the year. There is a fundraiser for a specific cause. This year it was “Days for Girls”

www.daysforgirls.org – an International sustainable feminine hygiene and empowerment program. We donated approximately $1000 to their cause along with donated items to help sustain them.

There were approximately 170 Soroptimists present. 14 members from SI Friday Harbor with 3 S-Club girls from FHHS.

S-Club is Soroptimist sponsored service organization at FHHS. There are 20 members. They do community service such as visiting the convalescent center patients and preparing packages for “Any soldier” in Afghanistan.

Soroptimist International is an international volunteer organization working to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world.

Announcing the Community Arts in the Park competition

Grab your paints and brushes, allow your imagination to run wild, and submit any two- or three-dimensional piece of art by April 12 to the first Community Arts in the Park competition, sponsored by San Juan Island National Historical Park.

The competition, designed to celebrate ecology through art, is part of the park’s annual Bloom Week spring celebration, which kicks off May 5 with a week of wildflower walks and other events and culminates in the Wildflower Festival May 11 on the American Camp parade ground.

“Through this program community members have the opportunity to raise awareness of San Juan Islands’ natural diversity, said park superintendent Lee Taylor. “Works will inspire community connections to local ecology and outdoor stewardship.”

Entries must be a creative rendering of a San Juan spring wildflower(s). All contest participants will receive a certificate of appreciation for their work as community artists and conservation leaders. A panel of local artists, botanists and naturalists award prizes to the top three entries with ribbons given to the top 10 entries, which will be displayed at the American Camp visitor center during Bloom Week. The first cut will be made based on original design and artistic composition. Continue Reading

The other day I ran into Gina and Vikky, the Weight Watchers leaders here in Friday Harbor, and they told me that every time someone finds out they run the meeting here weekly, they get the same response: “I had no idea that Weight Watchers is here!”, so we thought we should let you know. Here’s Gina with the goods…

Guess who’s been getting healthier while losing weight at the same time? Well, the Members of San Juan Island Weight Watchers, of course, and we invite you to join us!  Come find us in the Community Meeting Room of the Administration Building behind Islanders Bank, who generously donates our meeting space.

Gina (L) and Vikky showing off their “before” photos

We gather every Thursday morning: Doors open at 8:15 am and meetings start at 8:45 am.  Weight Watchers has been on the island since late 2010, and Local Members have lost a total of 3,453 pounds!  You read that right – almost 2 TONS!  Our Island is getting a little lighter and a lot healthier, and we want to share our success with you.  Everyone is welcome to visit a meeting for free so give it a shot.  Contact Gina and Vikky at SJIWeightWatchers [@] gmail.com for more information.

Coming at you straight from the Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor, it’s this week’s Pet of the Week. Here’s Jan with the lowdown:

Byron is the Pet of the Week

This handsome man, who we have named “Byron”, was brought to the shelter a few weeks ago by a kind islander who started feeding him when he showed up as a stray.  He is SO friendly and loving, we know he must have had a good home at one point.  We think he is about 4 years old.  He gets along well with other cats and has a very calm demeanor.  We’re not sure how he feels about dogs, but we suspect he’d be just fine with a dog. Come meet him at 111 Shelter Drive or call 378-2195 for more information.

Also – If you would like to receive updates from the Animal Shelter about upcoming events and happenings at the shelter, please email Jan Murphy: pets2homes [@] interisland.net and provide your email address to stay in the loop!

Minnie Knych lets us know that the next Team Trivia game will be at the Legion on Tuesday, March 5.  The game starts at 6:00 PM.  If you want dinner before trivia, Michelle Novak is back and will be serving ham and potato soup with fresh rolls and a salad for a reasonable price.

Here’s another winner John Miller shot last week. Have a great weekend!

“Spread Eagle” by John Miller. Click to see larger version

I just heard from Cynthia that she’s starting a new series of Yoga classes this month. Here she is with more:

Time to start fresh and renew! Become Strong, Stretched and Centered!
We are offering a new series of Yoga Classes at XYZ movement arts beginning in March!
For the month of March – Unlimited Classes w/Cynthia – $50.00
These apply to all & only Yoga and Zumba classes taught by Cynthia!

Schedule:
Tuesday – Starts March 5th
6:30 – 7:30 AM- Morning Yoga w/Cynthia – A medium paced & invigorating AM Yoga class sure to start your day off great!
8:20-9:20 – Zumba w/Cynthia – Dance your morning away!
12:00 – 1:00 – Gentle Yoga w/Cynthia – A great class for beginners & anyone seeking a restorative & rejuvenating experience

Wednesday – Starts March 6th
8:20 – 9:20 – Power Sculpt Yoga 1 w/Cynthia – A full body workout incorporating deep stretch & light weights to sculpt & invigorate the body

Thursday – Starts March 7th
6:30 – 7:30 AM- Morning Yoga w/Cynthia – see description above
8:20 – 9:20 – Zumba w/Cynthia – see description above
9:30- 10:30 – Power Sculpt Yoga 1 w/Cynthia – see description above

High School Band poses with raffle winners Joan Byrne and Pamela Williams – Contributed photo

The Friday Harbor Band Family and Friends collected donations from a number of local businesses (listed below) for a raffle/fundraiser. All of these businesses gave donations without hesitation to support the band trip. With all of the generous donations we were able to put together two very nice gift baskets to raffle off.  The drawing was held on February 3. Joan Byrne won the Large Family Fun Basket and Pamela Williams won the Mom’s Basket. The raffle raised $764.00!!! The High School Band will travel to Florida in 2014 for their band trip.

Thank you to these businesses for supporting our children!!!

• Be Chic Boutique
• Lavendera Day Spa
• San Juan Florist & Gifts
• Pelindaba Lavender
• Island Studios
• The Sweet Retreat
• Griffin Bay Book Store
• Paradise Lanes
• San Juan Pasta Co.

Joan Byrne (L) and Pamela Williams – Contributed photo

The Lighter View – Inspirational family movies on the 1st Monday of each month over at St. David’s Episcopal Church.

The March edition is From Time to Time, a movie about  love, family and a young boy who begins an adventure that unlocks family secrets laid buried for generations.  The film stars Maggie Smith and it won the Adult Jury Prize at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.

Free organic popcorn and water provided, bring your own soda if desired.

Time for discussion/reflection afterward.
Monday, March 4, 7:00 p.m. 760 Park St., Teen Room, Gryphon Hall, door on left (Building next door to Saint David’s Episcopal Church)

Winnie Adams, Director of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative sends this letter:

OPALCO MEMBER BYLAW CHANGE INITIATIVE

A group of co-op members on Lopez Island, organized as the Lopez Chapter of Citizens for Safe Technology, recently submitted a petition asking for a change to the OPALCO bylaws related to the construction of wireless facilities. The number of signatures was adequate to meet the bylaw requirements for member initiated amendments (Article XIV, Section 2), however, the proposed language of the bylaw change was ruled impermissible by OPALCO’s legal counsel on the basis that is was in conflict with OPALCO’s articles of incorporation. The letter sent to Citizens for Safe Technology is available to view at http://tinyurl.com/cfbemxh. Continue Reading