Here’s a thought…
“Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.”
HEATHER FRENCH HENRY
Want to sign this petition to end public fireworks on Orcas Island?
||| FROM THOM CARNEVALE ||| We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon our local leaders and event organizers to end public fireworks displays. While fireworks have long been associated with festivities, the significant harm they cause to animals, the environment, and public resources can no longer be ignored. The explosive noise and
Thor Hanson book signing scheduled for Market Garden
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Join award-winning conservation biologist and local author, Thor Hanson for an engaging talk and signing of his most recent bestselling book, Close to Home, The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door. His book offers a hands-on natural history for any local patch of
Leadership San Juan Islands recruiting for next class
||| FROM LEADERSHIP SAN JAN ISLANDS ||| Leadership San Juan Islands (LSJI) has begun recruiting for Class XVIII, running from December 2026 through May 2027. Information and the application are available on the website. https://lsji.org/ ZOOM link for July 16- https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9711929268?omn=87661620425 Our twelve-day flagship program will include three overnight retreats
Olga Daze announces musical lineup
Olga Daze kicks off this Saturday, July 18, at 10:00 am ||| FROM SUSAN GORDON BENTLEY for OLGA DAZE ||| We’re pleased to announce a fantastic musical lineup arranged by Clint McCune. Starting with Speeces Pieces opening at 10:00am, music will be performed throughout the day until close at 2:00pm.
Poetry Gardens contest deadline July 31, 2026
||| FROM DENICE KULSETH for TOWN OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| Poems must be submitted by Friday July 31, 2026, to be entered in the Friday Harbor Poetry Gardens Contest sponsored by the Town of Friday Harbor and the Friday Harbor Arts Commission. Entry is free and open to San Juan
Land Bank July 2026 meeting and agenda
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold its monthly meeting Friday, June 17. The meeting is scheduled from 8:45am – 11:10am via Zoom. The meeting will also be available for in person public attendance at the Mullis Community Senior Center on San Juan Island,
Welcome to Orcas Island Health Care District monthly newsletter
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| One of the most important things a health district can do is make sure the people it serves have access to clear, reliable information about their health care — what's available, how to use it, and what's coming. We are happy to introduce
Ready for Medicare?
||| FROM PEGI GROUNDWATER ||| Will you be turning 65, retiring or qualified for Social Security Disability Benefits for 24 months in the next year? Then you will be eligible to join Medicare. Enrollment in Medicare is not automatic for most people, so you’ll probably need to enroll. There is
‘You Can’t Hide’ show for two nights at Orcas Center
Comedian Casey Skinner performs and leads workshop ||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center's summer of comedy continues with another hilarious show for two nights of laughs. You Can't Hide follows comedian Casey Skinner and his true story of accidentally landing in "the most dangerous hotel
Thunderpussy to play next Orcas Center summer concert
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center is proud to present its annual Summer Concert Series on the Village Green, bringing free, live music to the heart of Eastsound. This vibrant outdoor series, supported in part by Joe Brotherton and the Doe Bay team, celebrates community,
NY Times bestselling and award-winning author coming to Darvill’s
||| FROM DARVILL'S BOOKSTORE & ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Please join Darvill's Bookstore & the Orcas Library in welcoming NY Times bestselling and award-winning author Stacey Lee. Stacey will discuss her new historical YA novel “HEIRESS OF NOWHERE,” which takes place on Orcas Island in 1918. Stacey Lee is the New York
Acting classes this summer at Orcas Center
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Acting class with Paula Russell begins Sunday, July 19, from 1 to 3:30 at Orcas Center. It runs every Sunday through Aug. 30, and is for ages 18-100+ with all levels of experience. The workshop is for everyone interested in exploring
Letter to Editor | Why I support Jennifer Swanson for County Council
||| FROM SOOZ STAHL ||| I've gotten to know Jennifer Swanson through operating the Shaw Island post office for the past two years. Shaw didn't have a designated postal worker when USPS hired me for the role, and mail delivery was sporadic and unreliable. I had been working at the
I’m Not the Church Lady | Recovering my willingness to not already know
The invitation to wonder is where real conversation begins ||| I'M NOT THE CHURCH LADY by ROSIE KUHN ||| A friend called the other day. He said, “Rosie, you are so brilliant. You could charge four times what you currently charge, and I guarantee more people would be knocking on
Letter to Editor | Thank you from Orcas Island Garden Club
||| FROM EVANGELINE O'SULLIVAN for ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Our hearts are joyful after another wonderful Garden Tour event this past June, 2026. On behalf of the Orcas Island Garden Club, we are delivering a wholehearted thank you to our wonderful garden community and supporters. Thank you to the generous
Sister island ukulele jam at Doe Bay
||| FROM MARCY MONTGOMERY ||| Hawaiian guest musician Maka Gallinger is featured on Tuesday, July 21st, for a fun class and jam at Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island. This island-to-island music exchange brings a beloved Hawaiian singer and ukulele player to Doe Bay Resort for a friendly ‘Kanakapila’ jam
Midnight Mutterings | The shed
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| Time goes so fast and moving house goes so slowly. (I use the term ‘moving house’ in the literal sense here. I wrote two weeks ago about my efforts to move an existing house from the place it was built and lived in
