Asleep at the Wheel

Here’s more from Jan at the Community Theatre:

It’s a special treat, y’all, when the famed Asleep at the Wheel makes its first stop ever in Friday Harbor for not one, but two shows on Sunday, October 24 (4 & 7:30 pm)!  The western-swing, boogie and roots-music band and nine-time Grammy Award winners are celebrating 40 years of Americana entertainment.

Since first making a splash in 1970, opening for Alice Cooper and Tuna in Paw Paw, West Virginia, the band has been rolling along with 25+ albums, including their 2009 collaboration with Willie Nelson: Willie and the Wheel (nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Americana Album).

Founder and front man Ray Benson keeps the wheel reinventing itself, with a new revue-style concert bound to keep us on our feet, kickin’ up some fun in the Whittier.

Artist information:  www.asleepatthewheel.com – see you there!

Everybody's looking for a meal...photo by Kevin Holmes (thanks, Kevin!)

Take a look around you…what do you see?

We did it! The newly constructed King Sisters trail is complete!

• Diane from the Land Bank would like to invite you to the celebration of the new trail – here’s the scoop:

Land Bank King Sisters Preserve
Trail Celebration ~ Saturday, October 23rd
The San Juan County Land Bank invites you to celebrate the newly constructed King Sisters trail, thanks to the efforts of San Juan Island Trails committee volunteers, FHHS Community Project Class, San Juan Island Bear Cub Scout Den #5, FHHS Dollars for Scholars, Land Bank volunteers, and countless others. A brief ceremony will be held at 2:00 p.m. after which refreshments, pumpkin carving, and the trail walk will take place.

Date: October 23, 2010
Time: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Meet: 3759 San Juan Valley Road, San Juan Island
Questions: Please call 378-4402 for more information

• It’s all on Friday this week – the Friday Harbor High homecoming‘s parade, pep rally, football game AND dance are all in one day. See you there!

• A book signing you won’t want to miss – here’s more from Nancy:

Gigi Callaizakis, Ph.D. will be at Griffin Bay Bookstore on Friday, October 22, 2010 from noon to 2 p.m. to sign copies of her book, “Working With Your Enneatype Using Essential Oils.” Callaizakis has almost 20 years of experience with the Enneagram and will also be available to answer questions about the value of combining these two modalities of personal work.

• Making plans for next week – Kevin at the Historical Museum wants you to know that one of the elders of our island tribe is going to speak:

The San Juan Historical Museum hosts San Juan Island legend Sam Buck for a night of stories on Monday, October 25, at 7 p.m. This is a unique opportunity to ask Sam questions about his family history, growing up on San Juan Island, his career in real estate development, current local topics or anything else. Sam has many wonderful stories to share and may even sing a song or two.

• Speaking of cool historical things (and books), Laura at Griffin Bay Bookstore tells me she’s seen a pre-release copy Julia & Mike Vouri‘s new book of photos of the history of San Juan Island, and it’s awesome. The book’s slated to be released on November first, and will be available around town and at the Museum.

Lynn Mercer working on a painting at the new Island Arts League Studio...photo by Peggy Sue McRae

I stopped in to talk to Lynn Mercer today at the Island Arts League’s spacious light filled new studio space.

The League has been around since 1997. Back then I taught some drawing classes through the League in the basement of the Episcopal Church (hauling my still life, including a Greek column, around in the backseat of my car for the six weeks of the class).

From there the League moved to the Gray Top Inn at the Fairgrounds. Now, finally, thanks to the generosity of the Arts League board president Trudy Dallas’s family, the League has a home in the blue building at 774 Mullis St. (behind Whidbey Island Bank).

Providing art education to Islanders and studio space for local artists is the mission of the Island Arts League. Open studio time is available to the public on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 on and Friday afternoons from 1:30 on. The first studio visit is free. After that subsequent visits are $5. Members may use the studio anytime between 6 am and midnight daily. Membership is $25 a year.

Stay tuned: Classes and workshops have already been held and more are sure to come. The future looks bright for the Island Arts League!

For more information, call Lynn at 378-1675

Captain Charles Moore is coming to Friday Harbor next Tuesday, at the Community Theatre at 7:30pm.

It’s a special and wonderful thing – and I’m telling you now so you make plans to come.

One of the foremost authorities in the world about how plastics are polluting & killing our oceans is Captain Charles Moore.

He’ll be here on the island giving a presentation at the Community Theatre on Tuesday, October 26th at 7:30pm in a special event put together by my friend Doris Estabrooks and sponsored by several local groups. Here’s more:

A Sea of Simmering Synthetic Soup

When people think of the deep blue ocean they see images of pure, clean, unpolluted water. That’s no longer true.  Plastics have been around for less than 100 years, yet we now find them covering shorelines and ocean surfaces around the world.

The support to bring Captain Charles Moore to our island to speak has been heart-warming.  Everyone is looking forward to having him here to speak on  COMBATING THE OCEAN’S  PLASTIC PLAGUE , at the Community Theatre, October 26th, at 7:30 p.m.

Captain Moore s work has been highlighted in numerous major media outlets including ABC s Nightline, Good Morning America, National Public Radio, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, and the David Letterman Show.

This event is sponsored by:

Soroptimist International
Ace Hardware of Friday Harbor
San Juan Island Community Foundation
San Juan LEO Club
Best Western Friday Harbor Suites

Looking forward to a full house!
Doris Estabrooks

++++++++++++++++++++++
for more information (and a little fun), check out these:

Capt. Moore on the Colbert Report

Algalita Marine Research Foundation

Sam Connery was clowning around for the camera as he stocks up on Fresca with a trip to King's Market.

Let’s see what’s next…

• Whoa! Even the BBC is in on it – here’s their report about Tucker the poop-sniffing dog who helps with killer whale research.

Gemma and the girls on the ferry going to their off-island soccer games were getting fired up for the game, getting everything ready, including their hair.

• Stacy Germain from the PTA has a big garage sale this weekend – be there! Here’s more:

Hey Ian – I was hoping you would help get the word out about the annual garage sale next Saturday the 23rd at the elementary school gym from 9:00-2:00. All proceeds go to benefit the PTA. Donations can be dropped off at the elementary school gym on Wed, Thur, or Fri from 4:00-6:00. Costumes and gently used coats are welcome but please no other clothes or electronics. Thanks Ian!

• Do you have your costume ready? Ha – didn’t think so. Here’s your chance to really look good this year – you can rent a costume at the Community Theatre’s costume shop (over at the PARC building off Beavertone Valley Road, next to Extreme Fitness) – go check ’em out this Saturday & Sunday from 10am-4pm, and the next Friday & Saturday as well. Adult costumes are $25, and kids’ costumes are $15.

• Did you read Anna Howden‘s article “Redesign without the Remodel: Formal Area Conversion” on her Design Banter blog? She’s a good writer…check it out!

Homes available...

• Nancy had the Home Trust has homes available…here’s more:

The Home Trust will be completing 14 new homes in Sun Rise in February, and there are still homes available! There are one, two, three and four bedroom models available. We can help homebuyers with an annual income as low as $19,000 own a home, and we’ve already built it for you!

These new homes have a variety of green features and are located on a site with a water view! To learn more about them and the eligibility restrictions, check here or see www.hometrust.org or call 378-5541.

Susie's boots at the football game the other night...

• Rebecca from Island Rec has this on tap for tomorrow:

School lets out early on Wednesday, October 20th, so stop by the Elementary School for Island Rec’s 3rd Annual Touch-A-Truck event taking place from 11:00am-1:00pm.

Kids and adults alike will get a chance to explore ambulances, fire trucks, dump trucks, backhoes and so many other big rigs.

Kiwanis will be on site giving away free hot dogs so stay for lunch!  Your child could win a brand new toy truck or even a chance to get driven to school with a friend from the sheriff, in a real patrol car!  This event is free and open to everyone. Call 378-4953 for more information.

Hey, it was in late August when I saw Tony & Lisa out on the docks, but I waited till now to post this picture...seemed like a good day to do it, while the ice cream shop is still open....

• Plan ahead! Get your wreath now! Here’s more, from Mary Fowler:

The Friday Harbor High School PTSA/Class of 2011 is now taking orders for their annual holiday wreath sale. This is a PTSA/FHHS Senior Class key fund raising event for the year, helping to pay for graduation activities and events and events and keeping the cost of participation as low as possible for our students.

Beautiful, Aromatic, Fresh, long lasting 24″ wreaths of Northwest evergreens with pine cones and berries with a handmade bow in your choice of color for just $25.00! Wreaths make great gifts for friends, family, neighbors, and business associates.

Please be generous in your support. Orders may be placed with any Friday Harbor High School Senior Class member or contact: Mary Fowler, Committee Chair, [email protected] or 360-378-6007. We will be happy to have a student from the FHHS class of 2011 contact you to take your order.

Orders may be placed until Wednesday, November 10, 2010 and wreaths will be delivered beginning November 26th. We will also have our holiday wreaths available for sale at the Islands Artisans Holiday Marketplace, November 26 &27, 2010 at FHES. If you don’t need a wreath, donations to support our program are also accepted.

FHHS seniors Clara (left) and Nana worked the phones for last night's Phonathon, which raised over $30K from our generous community. Photos for the Update by Madi McPadden.

It was cool last night to see how well it worked: Couple of dozen volunteers, including school administrative staff & students and mamas and papas, plus a committed & energetic board, and a bunch of phones.

In a little over three hours they called most of the island to ask for a little help, and many islanders responded. The evening was sponsored by the San Juan Public Schools Foundation…at the end, I asked board member Lisa Anderson how we did, and she said at the final bell, over $30,000 was pledged, with more likely to roll in, over the next few days. (By the way, the four service clubs on the island – Rotary, the Soroptimists, Kiwanis, and the Lions – each donated $500 to the cause.)

I did a little turn on the phones as well, and first of all, I’d like to thank everyone who didn’t treat me like a telemarketer…mostly folks said, “Oh, yeah, I knew you were going to call!” and either pledged an amount (most were about $25 or so, some were in the hundreds), or said maybe next year – which is good, too – there are a fair number of islanders who are pretty strapped right now.

The generally positive response was much appreciated as we all do our part to make up the shortcomings of budgets the best we can. If you weren’t contacted last night, but still want to help, check out the budget priorities for this year, and use the Donate button on the left of the site to give.

Highlights from the site....

Starting at 4:30 till about 8 tonight, volunteers will be calling island residents to ask for contributions to the San Juan Public Schools Foundation…give what you can. It’s for the kids.

I was looking through the Foundation’s website at the highlights of the past year, and it’s pretty impressive – check out the kinds of things that’ll make you proud of the good work our schools are doing.

Stacy and Meghan came in first (you can see them finish in the video below)....

Yesterday the first Run Ladies Run Half Marathon started around 9am with an auspicious opening of the clouds to allow the sun to shine on the event at the start…it was a cool & pleasant day for the run, which went from Town out to False Bay & back for the 13.1 mile course.

Over sixty runners took part in the all-women’s race – mostly islanders, but I did meet a couple of folks from Salt Lake City who came to run. Meghan Hoffman & Stacy Tangney came in together first (their time was 1:45:21 & 1:45:22, so it was pretty much a tie), for the record…and a great time was had by all. Race organizers Boo Boo Keane & Kerry Andrews put on a flawless race, with well-stocked aid stations, a nice well-marked course, and cool hats at the end.

Boo Boo & Kerry see the runners off, into the sun...

Nikki, with Adam

Yesterday Nikki Fink passed away…condolences & heartfelt love to her mom & dad Yvonne & Gary Bowman, her boy Xander, and her partner Adam. She was surrounded by friends and family….

Here was the post last week bout Nikki.

Cynthia Elliot (Adam’s mom) is in Seattle with the family…

Dearest Nikki ~

You were a shining example of how to live life to the fullest.

You brought so much joy and love into the lives of anyone who knew you and I never heard a word of complaint from you, ever. You are a brilliant light, and you are deeply loved.

Words cannot express how much you will be missed……..

Madden is head to Italy this week...

Remember Madden, who ran Steps restaurant for years in Friday Harbor? He has a place over on Orcas now (the Quilted Pig), and he was chosen to go to Italy next week – here’s more from Linda & Maureen with the local Slow Food movement:

Hi Ian – Yes, Madden’s going as our Land & Sea, Slow Food San Juan chapter’s delegate to the Terra Madre event in Turin Italy next week, Oct 21-25.

All the Slow Food chapters can nominate delegates they think should go. This year for the first time Slow Food had 2 or three more times nominated delegates than open delegate slots, so we were really happy Madden was chosen. Continue Reading

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It goes without saying that we live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.

There, I said it.

One of the underappreciated, and sometimes unnoticed, parts of this island: the sounds. And sometimes the absence of them.

We don’t have much in the way of traffic noise or industrial noise or crowd noise…we actually live in a pretty quiet place, which is even quieter in the woods & on the beaches & in the hills. The sounds we do get, without trying, are the wind off the ocean (maybe that’s what the Puget sound really is), the sea when it comes to the sand, the birds who sing just for each other, and to us.

That may be my favorite part of living here – the chance to hear one’s own thoughts, one’s own feelings, one’s own heart.

Oren & Peggy has something special tonight:

Let’s Roll out the Barrel, it’s Oktoberfest time once again!

Friday Harbor’s own Van Alen Blaskepelle Oktoberfest Band will make a command performance Saturday evening, Oct 16th, 6-9pm at the Rumor Mill on First Street. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the Friday Harbor High School & Middle School spring Hawaii trip.

Plan on enjoying dinner, the Mill crew will go all out Saturday evening, featuring a special Oktoberfest menu including Sauerbraten, Rouladen, Sausages, homemade cabbage rolls, German potato salad, house cured &  smoked corned beef, cottage style smoked Bratwursts, Black Forest Cake & Apple Strudel.

A special selection of German wines, Oktoberfest Lager & Pilsner will be featured. All ages are welcome, arrive early, seating is limited.

For More information, daily specials & entertainment, e-mail [email protected] or snoop at www.facebook.com/rumormillfridayharbor .

Hope to see everyone there,
Oren, Peggy & the Mill Crew

Humpback whale off South Beach this week...photo by Ivan Reiff/Western Prince

They’re big – can’t miss ’em. And it’s pretty awesome when the humpbacks come to see us around the island. Here’s the report from Ivan at Western Prince a couple of days ago:

This time of the year you never know what you’ll see. Two days ago there were 12 humpbacks between Race Rocks and Stuart Island. Yesterday we had five just west of Henry Island.

Slipping away...photo by Jim Maya

And here’s a note from Jim Maya at Maya Charters:

This month has been absolutely amazing so far. Yesterday we had 9 humpback whales come into Haro Strait (some at Turn Point, some off the west side of San Juan Island) and all three pods of Resident Orcas!!!

Dripping flukes, earlier this week...photo by Katie Jones

Meanwhile, Katie Jones has some amazing shots as well – to see a HUGE version of the flukes above, click here.

And here are some other friends in the water…

That's K25 - Scoter - a young adult male showing off his flying skills....photo by Katie Jones

A harbor seal, looking at you...photo by Katie Jones

Francie Hansen playing with the residents at the Village at the Harbour, making sachets...she & Beth Spadafora have a fetish doll-making workshop comoing up, too...

I caught up with Francie Hansen today at the Village at the Harbour where she and Beth Spadafora were making fresh lavender sachets with resident seniors. Francie will be teaching a Fetish Doll Making workshop on Saturday, October 23rd at the Island Artist’s League’s new studio located at 774 Mullis St. (the big blue building behind Whidbey Island Bank).

I asked Francie about her upcoming workshop and just what a fetish doll is? She said she thinks of the fetish doll as a “good energy totem.”

Having traveled extensively in Africa and India and having worked with Native Americans, she has witnessed first hand the making of meaningful crafts using only the simplest materials. The fetish dolls at Francie’s workshop will be made out of simple materials both natural and found, “Using bits of texture and ‘terrifics’ that have been in your drawers forever and you can’t bear to part with, we will assemble your own personal fetish doll which will continually bring you healthy, happy wishes when you place it in your home.”

For more information, email Island Arts League, <IslandArtsLeague (at) gmail.com>  or phone Lynne at 378-1675.