Richard Fadem will offer a literature class this fall focusing on the novel Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot. The class will meet on Thursdays, 10:00-12:30 at the Senior Center, from September 30th until November 18^th.  The Oxford World Classics edition, available at Darvill’s, will be used for the class.

Registration will begin after Labor Day at the Senior Center. The fee for this class is $25, payable by check to Ruthie Newman at the first class. As always, any surplus will be donated to the high school’s college scholarship or English program.

According to Richard Fadem: “George Eliot is a great English writer and in the 19th century second as a novelist only to Dickens. But as a novelist she is very nearly unique because she is first of all an intellectual who happens also to be a superb imaginative writer. Her thought as much as her imagination permeates her fiction.  She read widely in philosophy, history, and of course literature and she possessed a brilliant mind.

“Everything George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) has written is exceptional in its intelligence and understanding.

By Madie Murray

Mia Kartiganer, September Farm to Cafeteria Celebrity Chef

The Farm to Cafeteria sponsored Celebrity Chef Lunch days start September 16 with Mia Kartiganer of Mia’s Cafe serving Mia’s Lasagna with Veggie’s and Fruit Dessert to all having lunch in the school cafeteria that day.   Friends and family of K-12 students, teachers and administrators are all invited and encouraged to have lunch with their kids.

Mia will be followed by Anne Garfield of Rose’s in October, Lisa Nakamura of Alium in November, Madden of The Quilted Pig at Rosario in December, Charles Dalton of The Kitchen in January, Geddes Martin of Ship Bay in February, Bobby Olmsted of Cafe Olga in March, David Mowry of Country Corner in April and Christina Orchid of Red Rabbit Farm in April.

These incredible chefs dedicate several hours of their time prior to the day of their lunch working with the cafeteria staff developing the menu and preparing the fresh local items that will be served.  Then, on the day of the lunch, they are again working hand-in-hand with the cafeteria staff to cook and personally serve the lunch to 300+ students, parents and teachers.   It is a win/win event where local, well-known chefs and community “foodies” have the opportunity to personally interface with the cafeteria staff, our public school students, teachers, administrators, parents and all who come to lunch that day.

Celebrity Chef lunches began in November of 2009 with Charles Dalton of The Kitchen being the first.  Since then it has become one of the Farm to Cafeteria stellar events.   Any Island amateur or professional chef wishing to participate in our Celebrity Chef lunches are encouraged to do so by calling the Farm to Cafeteria Coordinator Bruce Orchid at 376-2608.  The months of May and possibly early June 2011 are currently open.

Valerie Buxbaum, playing Igraine, entreats Gaius, played by Freddy Hinkle in Arthur, The Begetting, playing the first two weekend in September

Arthur, The Begetting opens at the Grange Sept. 3

The Actors Theater of Orcas Island announces five performances of Arthur, The Begetting by Seattle playwright and actor, Jeff Berryman. This powerful play is the first in a series of plays retelling the story of King Arthur.

Valerie Buxbaum portrays Igraine, Queen of Dumonia and  furutre mother of King Arthur. The play follows Igraine  from the day of her marriage to Teyrnon, King of Cornwall, played by Zack Knight, to a time twelve years later when Ambrosius, the warlord who has briefly united Britain after the retreat of the Romans, has been murdered. The assailant is unknown and suspicions are flying among the competitors for his vacant throne.

Igraine has visions that convince her that she will have a son (Arthur) who will be the High King who will unite Britain.  Igraine struggles to understand conflicting and unclear visions of who is to be the father of the coming child; besides her husband Teyrnon,  she considers Emrys Powys, played by Indy Zoeller, and Uther Pendragon, played by Evan Buxbaum, who are also vying for the vacant throne.

Closing the Emmanuel Parish Brown Bag concert series at noon on Wednesday, August 25 will be Martin Lund and guests.

Also featured will be Mackie Blackburn and Robin Gropp, who will play their violins. Mackie, who will be a senior this fall at Orcas High School, received the Virgil Cleveland Memorial Scholarship this year, and attended the Seattle Youth Symphony Marrowstone Music Camp in Bellingham. This scholarship is funded by donations at the Brown Bag Concerts.

Martin Lund is a versatile composer, arranger, and musician who plays many instruments including piano, flute, saxophone, clarinet, accordion, in many styles, including classical, jazz, blues, rock and country.  He spent over 20 years in Los Angeles playing a variety of music in radio and television.

Martin is regularly featured in productions at the Orcas Center and every year hosts local musicians in his One World Music concerts, benefiting the Fun House.

The Music Committee of Emmanuel Parish thanks all the artists who have generously contributed their musical talents this summer to the Brown Bag series, making this annual scholarship possible.

Report from the San Juan County Fair
By Brigid Ehrmantraut

The Fair began in full swing today, Wednesday; a little chilly in the morning (the guinea pigs were shivering in their cages and houses had to be found for a few) but the sun came out in the afternoon and a couple of kids even managed to get a light sunburn. Bring hats and sweaters!

Still life (art work, horticulture, jams and jellies, sewing, etc.) was primarily judged late Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning (yes, Emily’s “ginormous cabbage” did win a blue ribbon).

Some animals have already been judged, some will wait until later in the week. 4-H animals are judged in two ways:  the first is showmanship, where the creature’s owner is judged on his/her knowledge and familiarity with the animal.  4-H kids are evaluated in four age classes:  primaries, juniors, intermediates (that’s me), and seniors.  Second, type class, where the animal is judged against other exhibits of its breed or breed standard and/or on its general health and temperament.

Clara Weick Schumann in her concert performance days

Music Lovers Seminars this Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon at St. Francis Church; talks given by Laila Storch

The “Clara and Robert” concerts featured this Tuesday and Wednesday at the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, embrace the romantic movement of the 19^th century as it features the compositions of Clara and Robert Schumann.

What do the Schumanns and the Romantic movement have to say to us today?

In his history of western cultural life, From Dawn to Decadence, Jacques Barzun describes romanticism as “An outburst against abstract reason and a search for order,”  and “a state of consciousness” rather than an ideology. Romanticism arose in the early 1800s as dissatisfaction with the neo-classicism of the previous century and an enthusiasm for new forms arose. While romantic expression “validated passion and risk while not excluding reasoning and reality,” it does not of itself mean foolish, unreal, or sentimental to the point of stupidity.

The stories of Clara and Robert Schumann’s lives of love, loss and gifts personify the highest ideals of the Romantic movement.

Slated to appear at the next Brown Bag Concert at noon on August 18 at Emmanuel Church is “Music From the Heart.”

Performers Ron Myers and John Liger formed the duo fifteen years ago, and they have played for audiences from Sacramento, Calif. to Bellingham, Wash. Five years ago they recorded a CD, “Walkin’ on Air,” which is still available today.

John grew up in a musical family, and after discovering jazz in his teens he began singing in choirs and ensembles. After graduating from college he put entertaining aside for awhile serving as a navy carrier pilot, then with Boeing as a manufacturing engineer and then starting several successful businesses of his own.  Finally, eight years ago, he began to devote himself full-time to music. In addition to appearing on stage in numerous shows, on radio, at weddings and at private parties and clubs, he also is the leader of “Those Guys from Orcas”. With “Music from the Heart” he demonstrates his versatility in many genres of music, and lists as his role models such talents as Mel Torme, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Kris Kristofferson and Nat King Cole who have shaped both his taste and style.

Orcas Island is a place with a unique fabric of community; our lives interwoven together. I believe that strong schools are an essential part of this fabric of community. The Orcas Island school bond is an opportunity for us to keep our community strong by voting “yes.” There are several groups of islanders that I would like to speak to with special encouragement to vote yes; these three groups are the senior islanders without school age children, my peer group; more affluent islanders, and working families with children struggling to meet financial obligations.

We seniors benefited from an education when we were young, and now it is our turn to support education for the next generation. Some say that “we don’t need good buildings for good education”, or “we didn’t need that stuff when I went to school.” However times have changed since we went to school. This generation of students is being challenged to prepare for participation in a competitive, high tech, global economy that requires infrastructure far beyond what we needed. We should provide what is needed now.

The Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival will open Friday, Aug. 13th on a note of celebration of the life of George Shangrow, the popular conductor, musician and lecturer who was killed in a car accident  July  31st.

A Champagne Tribute will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Madrona Room at Orcas Center. All who knew him are invited to attend.

Shangrow was scheduled to conduct  Music Lovers Seminars throughout the Festival. Over the years, islanders have come to cherish his knowledge, wit and passion for music.

A Chamber Music Festival Endowment account , which will fund the sponsorship of the traditional Spring Music Lovers Seminar, will receive gifts in George’s memory. The Spring Seminar will be named in his honor.

Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann and her husband, Artistic Advisor Jon Kimura Parker, will dedicate their performance of Brahms’ masterpiece “Quartet for Piano and Strings No. 2 in A Major” at the end of the “Duets, Duos and Duels!” concerts  Aug. 13th and 14th to Shangrow.

For tickets to this concert, please call the Chamber Music Festival office @ 376-6636 or go online to www.oicmf.org.

Susan Osborn

Orcas Islander Singer/ Songwriter Susan Osborn will be presenting this week’s free Stage on the Green Concert at 5:30 p.m., Sunday August 8.

Her material will include originals as well as some old favorites that have influenced her music through the years.  Bring a picnic and friends and join in this annual celebration of summer.

Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo create theater of storytelling at the Senior Center this Saturday

The Journey to Orcas

Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo and Nancy Wang of Eth-Noh-Tec will bring together the journey stories of four Orcas Islanders this Saturday, Aug. 7 at the Senior Center, from 3 to 5 p.m.

“Journeys That Shape Our Lives” will relate not only the journeys of travel and location, but the journeys of the heart and profession that brought the four performers to home on Orcas Island.

Robert and Nancy have organized the event in part as thanks for the “miracle story” of their lives with the Orcas community. When first invited by the Orcas Center to perform, they thought the San Juan Islands were in the Caribbean. But once here, “the sense of community touched us deeply, as well as the concern for the environment and te natural beauty.”

They felt that they could be the conduit between urban and rural communities, reaching out to many cultures. As third-and fifth-generation Americans, raised in white communities, Robert and Nancy say they have been able to be very comfortable in the “twin worlds” of white and non-white ethnic communities.

Larsen votes to pay for wars

Ballots have arrived in the mail.  Please, before you vote for U.S. Representative, be aware that the incumbent, Rick Larsen, has voted “yea” for $1 trillion for wars.  Taxpayers of San Juan County are responsible for $53.7 million for military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.  What do Larsen’s “yea” votes really mean for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, for our own soldiers and their families?

Each time I try to write about all that war entails – the troop deployments and air strikes, military contractors, money spent for military base building, armaments, and fuel, the training and arming of foreign soldiers and police, destroyed civilian infrastructure, night raids and check points, detentions and interrogations, people fearing for their lives, traumatized, burying dead family members, sickness and poverty – words fail to capture the fullness of the fear, devastation and suffering of war. Representative Larsen, our incumbent, has consistently voted “yea” for us to pay for all of this.  Can you imagine other ways, more effective ways, to spend our money to increase human security?

George Shangrow

George Shangrow died in a head-on car collision on Saturday, July 31, on his way to the Meathow Valley Chamber Music Festival, where he was scheduled to be a guest lecturer. He was planning to return to Orcas Island for the Music Lovers’ Seminars at the Oras Island Chamber Music Festival, Aug. 12-28.

From the Orchestra Seattle Chamber Music Singers website:

As you likely now know, George Shangrow died in a car crash on Saturday. He was 59 years old. We will all miss him terribly.

In 1969, when he was still a teenager, George founded the Seattle Chamber Singers. Ten years later, he formed the group that would become Orchestra Seattle. Over the past four decades, George touched the lives of thousands of musicians who worked with him in these and other ensembles, audience members across the region and around the world who experienced his unique brand of music-making, and countless others who knew him as the host of radio’s “Live By George.”

George possessed a rare combination of musical gifts—conductor, harpsichordist, pianist, teacher, speaker—that he employed in the most intimate chamber music as well as the grandest works for chorus and orchestra.

I will be voting no on the school bond despite the tent revival evangelism of its proponents. Tens of thousands of schools in this country are in the same position the Orcas schools are in. They will not be replaced in this economic environment if ever. Even if they are replaced the amount children will learn will not improve. I could fill a whole car with well documented studies on why the government monopoly public education system is a failed paradigm.

The children who excel in school excel despite it not because of it. Now, there are those who will say that not all children come from healthy environments and the school is keeping them from falling off the cliff. If this is the case then let’s call it what it is, a glorified Children’s House, and quit pretending education is happening. IT IS NOT!

My son Oliver (who never attended a day of school, public or otherwise) got a GED after 30 days of study. His percentile ranking against all high school graduates nationwide on the five exams was, 93, 75, 66, 66, and 50.

Pub Night at the Orcas Hotel with Gene Nery and Martin Lund 6 p.m.

Betty Reynolds, author of An Artist’s Journey to Bali will be at Darvill’s at 7 p.m. The book is a cultural exploration into the mysterious and colorful Indonesian island of Bali. In her beautifully illustrated artist’s watercolor sketchbook, the author shares her good fortune of meeting many Balinese who allowed her to witness important aspects of their lives and culture, and to participate in the religious rituals that mark their passage through the major stages of life.

Saturday, July 10

Orcas Island Farmer’s Market 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Village Green in Eastsound.

Indian Island Marine Health Observatory Field Research Days
Join local scientists and community volunteers at Eastsound Waterfront Park in conducting surveys of fish and intertidal animals on low tide days during the spring and summer.  Wear appropriate footwear for walking to the island (wet sand, gravel, shallow water), and come on down to the beach!11:30 a.m. until the tide comes in.

By Stan Matthews
County Communications Program Manager

At 1 p.m. on Friday, July 2 friends, family, associates and county employees will gather in the Superior Court Room on the 2^nd floor of the San Juan County Courthouse to dedicate a plaque honoring the late Superior Court Judge John Linde.

The proclamation, issued by the County Council in honor of Judge Linde, reads in part, “so that all who enter will know the significant contribution that the Honorable John O. Linde made to the furtherance of   justice for the benefit of the citizens of this County.”

Linde served as a District Court Judge in San Juan County for 21 years. He was in private practice in Friday Harbor when Governor Christine Gregoire appointed him to be the first Superior Court Judge for the newly created San Juan County District in December 2007. He was elected to a full term in 2008.

Judge Linde died in December 3, 2009 at age 62.

Early historical parades showed a more rural Community in Motion .

By Tom Welch

Our tradition of historical parades on Orcas Island began in the early 1950’s when the newly-organized Orcas Island Historical Society organized the first parade in 1952. Intended to stimulate interest in the history of Orcas Island in general, and the Historical Society and Museum in particular, early parades were long on horse-drawn farming equipment and short on cars and trucks.

When these first parades were organized, many sons and daughters of our early pioneer settlers were still alive and active in the community. They expected to see exhibits and activities that reminded them of their early years. Draft horses, teams pulling wagons and buggies, a horse-drawn threshing machine from a Crow Valley farm, an old doctor’s buggy: all spoke volumes to parade watchers of life on Orcas Island in the days when agriculture was the predominant industry.

Irene O'Neill and her mom Jane Barfoot, dressed in pioneer clothing for a Historical Days parade

The community embraced the annual Historical Days parades wholeheartedly, with social and fraternal organizations such as the Oddfellows, Stitch and Gossip, The Madrona Club, Rebekah Lodge, and others walking, riding in cars or trucks or on floats of their own making.

The public is invited to join Bill and Valerie Anders and Orcas Island Historical Society for an evening to kick off the Smithsonian Exhibit’s “Journey Stories” with a dinner and talk at Orcas Center on Sunday July 11th.

This event is being generously underwritten by the Anders Foundation, with all proceeds going towards the Museum. The evening will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a delicious light supper, wine included, in the Madrona Room.  At 7:30 p.m,. all will adjourn to the Center Stage, where Bill and Valerie Anders will each speak on their life journeys.

At 8:45 p.m. all will return to the Madrona Room for dessert and coffee.  During the course of the evening, a silent auction will take place, with items including a signed, framed iconic photograph of “Earthrise”, taken by Bill Anders from moon orbit during Apollo 8.

The cost of this very special evening will be $75 inclusive. To attend this informative and entertaining evening, RSVP to the Museum at 376-4849 by Thursday, July 8th with check by mail or in person, or call in with credit card information.

Parade entry deadline is Saturday, June 26!
By Lance Evans, Executive Director
Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce

“Community in Action” is the theme for this year’s parade, scheduled for Saturday, July 3.  The parade will begin at 11 a.m. We celebrate the people, organizations, and businesses who volunteer, donate, create and do so much for our community.  Truly, a Community in Action!

Our Grand Marshals for this year’s parade are two people who have been community members in action for many years – Dick & Velma Doty.  This year the Chamber is providing cash prizes for the best floats in the parade!   We want you to be creative … have some fun with your entry.

First Prize is $250 … Second Prize is $150 … and Third Prize is $100! To be eligible for these prizes, your float needs to be built on a vehicle, or towed behind one.  The judges are looking for creativity, entertainment value, and representation of this year’s theme (Community in Action). Please be sure to enter, even if it’s not a float …

Islanders representing community non-profits and the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) sat down last Friday morning, june 18, to share “The Power of Stories.”

The event was sponsored by Endow Orcas, a collaboration led by the OICF among nonprofit organizations to create ‘planned gifts’ from community members that will one day mature and fund endowments for non-profit organizations. Planned gifts include bequests (from will or trusts), charitable trusts of various types, and other planning strategies.The interest on endowment funds will be used to support island non-profits in their mission.

Retiring OICF Board Member and Endow Orcas Chair Joe Cohen facilitated the meeting, and described the treasure of stories, and the potential for legacy-giving and endowments to bring fulfillment to people. The group engaged in three exercises to draw out each person’s story and learn of their passions and motivation, as a model for engaging potential legacy-builders.

The first exercise was a circuit of the room, participants giving their name, describing the “people that I come from,” and relating what they learned or received from their people.