Keeping us safe, and changing the oil...

Let’s see what’s up, good friends:

• The Family Umbrella Group’s Luncheon & Auction is today…here’s the writeup from last week (scroll down a bit) when you planned to get your ticket, and today’s the day!

Janet sees the royal wedding while in India...

• Just got a note from India that my good friend Janet Thomas caught the royal wedding at Westminster Abbey on wide-screen TV in a Buddhist monastery guest house in Dharamsala with photos of His Holiness Dalai Lama, Gandhi & Manchester United on the wall….afterwards, they ate banana toffee pie.

Speaking of which, I hear the staff at Islanders Bank (who never miss a chance to dress up) are dressing for the wedding today…drop by & check them out!

Joe, in action tonight in Nashville

• Tonight, former islander Joe Bongiorno plays a concert with his beautiful solo piano music in Nashville…it does feel like he’s everywhere. Last Friday I heard his tunes playing at chiropractor Mark Earnhart’s office, at Island Studios, at a counseling office, and at a bookstore downtown. So I turned him on at my office when I got home to work – I love working to his music. He last played on the island in February, at a special Valentine’s Day concert at The Rumor Mill.

By the way, his show tonight is on Internet radio…you can hear him live, for free. Check it out – plan a quiet, relaxing night with Joe at home, tonight.

Lorie at the sales desk at The Second Act

• It’s been twenty years – and you can help celebrate! Here’s more from Lorie Narum at The Second Act:

Second Act is celebrating 20 years of doing business in Friday Harbor and you are invited! Come to Vinny’s  Restaurant (155 West Street)  this Sunday May 1st  between 1:00pm to 3:00 pm to celebrate with Karrie King.

Finger food and libations will be served along with a Fashion show starting at 2:00pm. Karrie would like to thank all her customers and consignors for making Second Act a thriving, viable, and “green” business for all these years! Deb Dardanelli the founder of Second Act will be there along with present and past employees to celebrate.

Come one, come all. It will be a Second Act good time!

It was great to run into Bob & Jamie at Haley's this week!

• The last three shows of Island Stage Left’s Trying are this weekend!

• When you think about Green Buildings, what is your vision? Here’s one from Anna Howden’s blog that will inspire you (if you’re not already….!)

• Can’t believe the Island Studio Tour is only a month away….it’s the first weekend of June.

• Saturday night the Orcas Horns are coming to our island! Jan from the Community Theatre has more:

Orcas Island’s “Premier Party Band” jumps over to Friday Harbor for their first San Juan Community Theatre performance on Saturday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Home-grown musicians with professional roots, the eight-man group shares some powerful R&B, soul, jazz, rock and blues as they showcase their skills with the trombone, trumpet, flugelhorn, guitars, flute, piano, drums, bass, tenor and baritone saxophones.

The band (featuring Steve Alboucq, Gregory Books, Craig Canine, Martin Lund, Tony Morales, Gene Nery, Bruce Russell and  Dimitri Stankevich) got its start a few years ago after working together during the annual One World Music Festival and fundraiser at the Orcas Center.  Trumpet player Steve Alboucq says the combination worked so well, that it just made sense to keep going.

The individual band members’ resumes are filled with a variety of musical experiences, including working with Mel Torme, Isaac Hayes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, jazz trumpet legend Willie Thomas, Ricki Lee Jones and Frank Sinatra.

The Theatre is setting up special dancing areas so folks who wish to, may move more freely to the groovin’ sounds.

The Orcas Horns are here on Saturday!

On Saturday there are a couple of separate evenings planned to help raise support for local schools….here’s the scoop for Paideia School‘s event Saturday night, followed by Spring Street International School‘s Auction & Dinner:

A Night of Family Fun: Paideia School‘s Hoedown

Seventh & eighth graders at Paideia School...

We’re celebrating ten years of classical education with a “Hoedown Under the Stars” which includes a fabulous barbecue dinner, silent auction, dancing and a display of photos from the 10 years. It’s fun watching the kids grow up and go on to Friday Harbor High School and now college!

The event is Saturday, April 30th at the Beaverton Valley Business Park Building, 70 Saltspring off Beaverton Valley Road.  The silent auction begins at 5pm, dinner at 6:15, and dessert and dancing will start at 8pm.

Like our big event in 2008 at the fair ground, we’ve transformed the large building with a romantic dance floor, country store of $5-20 items, picture booth, Sweet Tooth Saloon for Italian sodas and Andy’s Chuckwagon serving up his mouth-watering smoked ribs and fire roasted bread.

Advance reservations are $25 for adults, $10 for children 6-12 yrs and 5 and under are free. Just call 378-8322 to reserve your seat at this price, otherwise it’s more at the door! Babysitting is available for those who need it, but it’s really a family friendly event!

Kris Brown
[email protected]
home 360-378-3432

+++++++++++++++++

The annual Spring Street International School Spring Fling Auction and Celebration!

Did you know that 60% of Spring Street International School (SSIS) students receive tuition scholarships? SSIS is holding a Live & Silent Auction, ‘A celebration to raise money for scholarships,’ will take place on Saturday, April 30, from 5-9pm at the SJI Yacht Club.

The evening will feature Indian Cuisine by Gretchen Allison (of Duck Soup Inn) & Laurie Spaulding. Many wonderful items are up for bid in the silent and live auctions: fabulous spa services, artwork, plane trips, Mariner tickets, and other goodies from the Islands and beyond, including bidding on amazing people like Dr. Ray Damazo ‘the Safari Dentist’ and Dr. Kirk Johnson, author of ‘Cruizin’ the Fossil Freeway’ (with illustrator Ray Troll) to come and speak to the community as part of Spring Street’s Speaker series. Admission is $25 for individuals, $40 for couples. To reserve tickets, call SSIS at (360) 378-6393. THANK YOU!!

The All-School photo from the fall for Spring Street International School - Saturday's event is set to raise scholarship money for the kids at SSIS.

With royal weddings & basketball playoffs & hockey playoffs & all kinds of other things going on, let’s don’t forget that there are people hurting in the South, where those tornados tore stores & houses & dreams from their foundations and scattered them across the countryside.

Most of my family graduated from the University in Tuscaloosa, so my brother sent me this incredible vid of a helicopter flyover of destruction that seems to never end of a tornado that touched down & was eating up the town in a wide & terrible swath.

Remember the good people of Alabama. It hurts right now.

Look for these signs along Argyle...you can drop in & hear the whole story, and see these historic places firsthand! Check historicfridayharbor.org for details!

Let’s see what’s up:

Kate & Keith...on Sunday!

• Couple of chances to catch good music this weekend, at the Rumor Mill – Rewind (Tom & Tami Doenges, and Kate Schuman) play Saturday night at 7pm, while Kate plays with Keith Busha on Sunday from 6-8pm. See ya there!

• You know the Health Fair is Saturday at the Mullis Center from 10am-2pm, right? Last year’s was a blast – don’t miss it this year!

• Caroline at SSIS has more about this weekend’s upcoming auction:

This time-lapse video of Tom Small’s sculpture “Light Egg” is amazing! Watch the video and you see how Tom manipulated granite and electricity to bring stone to life. For me, the art captures the living, breathing reality of geologic time–a reminder that what may appear permanent is not. Folks will have to ask Tom or go to his website to learn the artist’s perspective on his work. Tom Small’s sculpture is one of many wonderful offerings available at the Spring Street International School Auction this coming Saturday at the San Juan Yacht Club between 5:00 and 9:00pm. People can call the school to reserve tickets (378-6393) or come to the door. $25 a person; $40 a couple. The auction is a celebration to raise funds for scholarships and service!

Here is the video and the website:

www.tomsmallsculpture.com

Thanks to the generosity of individuals and businesses from our Islands and the region, we offer many silent and live auction items sure to please.

Earlier this week (when it was sunny!) it was nice to see why the school district's buses always look so good, as driver Mary Elford gave hers a good scrub.

• Matt & Maureen have a halibut dinner for you this weekend, and more – here’s the scoop:

We would like to invite you to take advantage of this rare opportunity to enjoy the consumption of an entire halibut from head to toe from start to finish.  Matt Marinkovich just got back from fishing and he has offered up a “fresh off-the-boat” halibut to be consumed by those who care about food on San Juan Island.

Madden Surbaugh – Delegate to the Terra Madre Slow Food Event in Italy for Land & Sea this last October – will share tales of his adventure as only he knows how this Saturday 4/30/11.

The late afternoon/early evening dinner event goes from 4 -7 pm, Saturday April 30 at the very welcoming Marinkovich Estate, 252 Treeline Drive, off Portland Fair Road.

Puget Sound saltmaker Steve Gutmann will also be there to show off San Juan Island’s very own table salt (can you believe it? – it’s delicious!!) , AND Farmer/Seed Producer/Beekeeper/Hive Builder Pablo, of the farming duo of Cam & Pablo/Heritage Farm CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture), will also be there, showing his new beehive design, and the many packaged flower seeds from his newly minted, San Juan Island based, Zoetic Seed Company!

It should be quite an evening. Dinner will feature fresh caught Alaxka Halibut from local commercial fisherman Matt Marinkovich. Matt will demonstrate how to filet the halibut, then cook it up right there for you – we believe it will be the best halibut you’ve ever had! Dinner will also include locally grown vegetables, potatoes, rice, and local breads and cookies for dessert. Wine will be available and you may also bring your own beverage of choice. Table settings will be provided.

We might also fire up the cob oven if the weather is right!

Halibut Dinner: $20/person or $35/couple
360.317.5890
r.s.v.p. phone or email

Give me a small world - this report by Jim Maya, visiting New York: "So, we're sitting in this charming little restaurant in Greenwich Village, having a glass of wine and chatting about all our adventures in NYC. We have even been doing the subways by ourselves. All of a sudden Carolee's eyes got big and she said, I don't believe it! I looked at her and she said, I think it's John, from Market Place! I turned around to look at his back and said, John? His head moved a bit, and then he turned around. It was him! We had a great laugh. He's visiting his sister who is a professor at NYU."

• The Farmers’ Market is looking for a new manager – here’s the job description by Market secretary Bill Arney (click for more): Continue Reading

Here’s Eva Cassidy with Sting’s Fields of Gold…

Theresa Mathews tells me that everyone’s favorite hairdresser has been out of work for a month & a half, and probably won’t be back in action for another couple of months or so…can you help? Here’s more (and thanks, Teresa, for your good heart in letting us know!):

Connie, always smiling...

Connie Auge experienced a life threatening illness, and has had major surgery to correct the problem. She is healing beautifully, and will continue to do so at her parents’ house in the Tri Cities until she is well enough to come home. She is being monitored daily by some of the best medical professionals in the state, and her spirits continue to improve.

To help off-set some of her expenses and extensive lost wages, an account has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank. To learn more, please visit the Wells Fargo Branch in Friday Harbor, and ask about making a deposit to the “Connie Auge’ Benefit Fund.” (By the way, you can donate at ANY branch, so if you’re off-island it’ll work too…just ask.)

This week, the early arrivals included Marilee, Mickey, and Fabia (from left, in the back), and Camilla, Sue, and Athlene, with their knitting.

They’ve been meeting at the Library for ages, and they’re ready for you to drop by. Bring your knitting & meet the Chix with Stix in the meeting room from 10am-noon every Monday. They’re going into their third year, and everybody’s welcome.

The magic of knitting...

Athlene tells me they sometimes have as many as a dozen folks come along, working on their latest sweater or hat or scarf (and more!), and that it’s a wonderful social time, as well as a chance to give each other help & advice. Mickey says it’s more to visit than to work, because adding the social aspect makes it nicer. She says it’s great to get free advice, and if you’re knitting & get stuck, there’s always someone to help. “We inspire each other,” she says with a smile.

Sue tells me there also a group at the Mullis Center at 4pm on Wednesdays…so drop in!

I found this down at Griffin Bay Bookstore right after I visited with my friends at the Library....

It’s the Bare Naked Ladies, on a cruise ship…having a great time:

Time to get out on the water....

Well, the sun’s out & the sky is blue, so it’s time for paddling, too! Here’s more from Martha, as they get underway this week:

You don’t have to go to Hawaii to paddle a Hawaiian-style outrigger canoe!  The San Juan Canoe and Kayak Club has a Youth Paddling Team. From April 28th to June 16th kids ages 5 to 17 will be coached in the six-man outrigger canoe. The older or more advanced paddlers will have the opportunity to try the high-performance single and double outriggers and get coaching from former Olympic Kayaker and World Masters Canoe Champion David Halpern.  The team will meet at 4pm on Thursdays at Jackson Beach.  For more information, contact Martha Isbister at 472 0063 or mjisbister (at) yahoo.com

They're coming back! Photo by Kathleen Foley....

My friend Dot wants us to know:

The San Juan Island Garden Club will be meeting on May 3 at 1:00 pm at the Mullis Center.  The featured speaker is Barb Jensen.  Topic is an update of the Western Bluebird restoration project.  Please contact Joyce Harrell 378-6146 or Dot Vandaveer 378-8360 no later than April 30 if you want to attend.  Seating is limited.  We hope you will join us for tea, coffee, and dessert and to enjoy this informative and wonderful presentation.

You know the cow & pig on Roche Harbor Road...they were all ready for Easter this past weekend...photo by Josie Byington, wildlife photographer.

There are a lot of cool things going on around here…check it out:

• On Friday night there was a little crowd of folks celebrating at Haley’s, so I checked in on them – turned out one was Sue Olson, who was on-island to celebrate her 40th birthday! You’ll remember her dad Frank Kelly, who was once the schools superintendent here….

That's Sue (dark hair, middle) with the big smile....

• National Geographic just put out a thing that says we’re one of the top 10 trips you should plan this year -here’s the story. (I think NG is one of the top ten magazines you should read, too…)

• Ferry folks checked in – the rates go up for the season on May 1st…here’s the story:

The peak season begins Saturday, May 1 with an additional 35 percent surcharge applied to full fare vehicle/driver tickets. The peak season surcharge does not affect passenger fares or frequent user multi-ride fares. Peak season fares will be in effect Sunday, May 1 through Friday, Sept. 30. Summer parking rates at Anacortes will also be in effect May 1 through Sept. 30. Detailed fare information is available.

By the lake...

• Did you see that Lakedale (that’s OUR Lakedale, here on the island) is featured this month on the cover of Sunset Magazine?

Wahoo!

You know island artist Sam Connery used to work with Sunset, right?

• This weekend: It’s the Orcas Horns at the Community Theatre — 7:30 p.m.

Our island neighbors shake up the Whittier stage with R&B, soul, jazz, rock and blues.

Tickets: $18 for adults; $9 for student reserved, with $5 student RUSH at the door.

Last weekend the Elegant Edibles was an "Eggsquisite" Bake Sale at the Community Theatre...Abby (left), Norma, and Carole and a mob of volunteers were there to sell baked goods for the SJCT fundraiser.

• Get your tickets for the Whale Museum’s fundraiser – here’s more:

5th Annual Celebration of the Orca Greeting Ceremony
Each summer, our resident pods of orca whales come together in what are called “greeting ceremonies.” In this spirit, The Whale Museum invites all orca supporters to our 5th Annual Celebration of the “Orca Greeting Ceremony.” This Fundraising Dinner and Auction will be held on Friday, May 13 at the Mullis Center in Friday Harbor.  The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a happy hour & silent auction followed by a gourmet dinner, raffle, live auction and dessert auction.  For more information, call (360) 378-4710 ext. 30.

That's the new sous chef at The Bluff, working with Chef Kyle - Kaia welcomes Aaron to the island! He started at the restaurant this weekend - stop by & say hey!

• You know Kate & Keith are playing at the Rumor Mill this weekend, right?

Wildlife trainer & keeper Josie plans the Trap....

• Our cat Nala usually stays in the house, but left for a walkabout a couple of weeks ago…we left food out & someone’d come to eat it, so we guessed she (or raccoons) were around…so we made a little box with her food, so when she ate it would either grab her or at least make a racket.

It worked. Josie went out at 4am Sunday morning & talked her into coming for dinner, and now she’s home & doesn’t seem to mind at all.

Thanks, Girl Scouts!

I love it that there are people like Stephanie (she works at Harrison House/Tucker House) who think up ideas like The Great Island Cleanup & then make them happen – it’s people like her who make this a great place to live! Thank you, Stephanie!

She filed this report about how it all turned out:

Hi Ian,

As I am finishing up the final documentation on the Great Island Clean-up, it occurred to me that you might like to hear some of the “trash tidbits” that didn’t get released.

You probably heard that we had over 200 volunteers who picked up over 5,000 pounds of litter on the island.  What people may not know is some of the interesting details on this litter.  For example,

• the litter that was collected on Beaverton Valley Road alone took over two and a half full, standard-bed pick-up loads
• there were 44 bags of trash collected in the Town of Friday Harbor alone
• some of the volunteers kept track of the alcohol cans and bottles they collected; these comprised most of the litter picked up on the county roads.  On San Juan Valley Road alone, over 475 beer bottles and cans were picked up
• the most ironic find was a bag of Organic Kelp Meal wrapped up in a ball of kelp on one of the beaches
• the largest find was a range hood on Bailer Hill Road
• the most unusual find was a military smoke marker, unexploded and shaped just like a bullet, on Grandma’s Cove
• some of the interesting finds were a pair of motorcycle chaps, a coconut shell, scissors, toothbrushes, a wooden baseball bat, an antique wine bottle, a bed pillow, welcome mats, a cabinet door, many car parts, and a nest of garter snakes (though of course they wouldn’t quality as litter, though they sure would startle you!)
• some of the clever volunteers from The Cutthroats had saved large dog food bags to use for collecting litter in place of large plastic garbage bags

All in all, we were heartened by the tremendous response by volunteers, and are pleased at how “light” the island looks without all the cans, bottles, papers, and plastics rolling around on the roads and beaches.  Now that we’ve gotten the island looking pristine again, we encourage ALL islanders to pick up litter when they see it.  It’s so much easier to just stop and pick up a can or two here and there, rather than trying to clear away mountains of litter.

Many of the volunteers have expressed an interest in making the Great Island Clean-Up a twice-a-year event, and some of the organizing committee is backs this idea as well.  If any of your readers are interested in participating in the organizational aspect of another clean-up, please contact me (Stephanie (at) tuckerhouse.com) and I’ll put you in touch with the rest of the group.  I personally will not be able to head a Great Island Clean-Up for Fall, because we’re heading into our busy season at the inns, and I will not have time to devote to a project of this magnitude.  However, I would love to see another volunteer pick up the banner and run with it, and I will give all the support and direction I can.

Lastly, Ian, I would like to once again thank all the volunteers and businesses who supported this project.  What a magnificent effort!

Sweet Eats and Savory Thymes,

Stephanie Prima-Sarantopulos
Great Island Clean-Up Instigator

Ross (left), Lincoln & Rik found a lot to pick up at Third Lagoon! Thanks, you guys!

Mr. Sawyer's got surgery scheduled May 9th.....

I saw ace FHHS teacher Greg Sawyer Saturday night at the prom, and he told me the good news – in a couple of weeks he’ll receive a new kidney, as a matching donor has been found.

The donor is a friend (who says they’d rather be kinda quiet about it), and the years-long search will end on May 9th. Greg told me he’d send more info soon – in the meantime, that’s the greatest news I’ve heard in a while.

People were eating out all over town...we caught up with (from left, in red) Amy, Grace, Emily, Ryan, Wilson & Malcolm at the Bluff, where they were enjoying a nice dinner before heading over to the dance.

Saturday night you could hear the music…

Conner & Lydia had a good time at the dance....

This year’s prom was held at Downrigger’s, so Josie & I went down to check it out. The restaurant was a good choice to stage the event, as there was room for food, room for Mark Gardner to shoot photos, the dj kept things hopping and the dance spilled out onto the deck on a beautiful spring evening.

The boys were handsome & the girls were beautiful and the chaperones were smiling & a fun time was had by all.

Snuggling up with the Easter bunny, that's Carolyn Talbott and Becca Schuhow...photo by wildlife photographer Josie Byington

A little sprinkle & a little gray didn’t keep zillions of island kids & their mamas & papas from descending on Jackson’s Beach to look under logs & around the sand for eggs, and more…sponsored by the Fire Department, this annual hunt has happened for a couple of decades or more, and is a decidedly island way to help celebrate the day. Good to see you there!

We found 'em! Presley & McKenna show off their eggs to Ken & Heather at Jackson's Beach on Sunday.