Doug Charles, Eleanor Parks & Will Parks with Todd Spalti's original octopus

By the SeaDoc Society

Local wine store receives the Octopus Award for its efforts to ensure the health of marine wildlife and their ecosystems.

Last week, Compass Wines, under proprietors Will Parks and Doug Charles, received the SeaDoc Society’s coveted Octopus Award. This award recognizes groups or individuals who go above and beyond to help the SeaDoc Society accomplish its mission to ensure the health of marine wildlife and their ecosystem.

During the last two years, Compass Wines has been instrumental in helping SeaDoc fund science needed to improve the health of local marine wildlife populations. In addition to being corporate sponsors for SeaDoc’s major Wine Fundraising Auction, Compass Wines also donates a portion of the proceeds from sales of their “Salish Sea” wine to benefit the SeaDoc Society.

Compass Wines’ support has helped SeaDoc carry out a number of scientific studies ranging from determining best practices for restoring endangered northern abalone, to investigating the origins of contaminants in killer whales.

State Legislators attend the May 10 Annual Meeting of the League of Women Voters of the San Juans. From left, Representative Dave Quall, Senator Kevin Ranker, Representative Jeff Morris. Photo courtesy Don Jarrell

Annual League Meeting Brings State Legislators to Orcas

The league of Women Voters of the San Juans’ received kudos from State Legislators Dave Quall, Jeff Morris and Kevin Ranker at their annual meeting May 10 at the Orcas Hotel.

The luncheon meeting was open to the public, and among other business, thanked Orcas Islanders for forming a sub-unit that will meet on Orcas Island. Longtime LWV of the San Juans’ members Libby Blackwell and Sara Jane Johnson attended the luncheon, as did new LWV members Marian O’Brien, Cathy Ferran, Barbara Kline and Margie Doyle.

After conducting the annual meeting, the floor was turned over to the three state legislators who expressed their appreciation to the work of the LWV in the San Juans, saying their forums were always well-attended, informed and civil.

As part of its program of special events to be held in conjunction with “Journey Stories.” this summer’s special exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, The Orcas Island Historical Museum is organizing an exhibit of visual art and poetry entitled “The Art of the Journey.”

The Museum invites all Orcas Island artists and poets to submit a piece of work to be included in this exhibit, which will be on display throughout the month of August at the Orcas Island Senior Center.

“Journey Stories” is an exhibit which explores the varied stories of Americans as they have emigrated, migrated and meandered around our vast country. Artists and poets have long used their work as an opportunity to chronicle such journeys, or to express the thoughts and emotions related to inner journeys or life passages. It is hoped that this exhibit will be an energetic gathering of work about journeys of all kinds.

Artwork can be of any size in any two-dimensional medium, and pieces should be framed or otherwise display-ready. Poetry will be printed and mounted for display.

s. jaen black will perform original songs as well as read from her various written word adventures

This Friday, May 21, at 7 p.m., s. jaen black will be performing at The Trading Company at the corner of North Beach Road and Prune Alley.  She will read from her novel, Bastante, as well as present excerpts from her second novel, Manifest Content, and a third book of nonfiction, Greenhorn, a collection of true horse adventures.

Also, she will perform a few original songs.

Performance, if weather allows, might be held on the lawn, so, dress accordingly. Donations appreciated.

PTSA Book Fairs are always swamped with excited readers and great books

Plans for the PTSA Book Fair this Friday and Saturday were highlighted at the May 13 PTSA monthly meeting. The Scholastic Book Fair takes place at the Orcas Island School Library from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Reports from the Orcas Island Prevention Partnership Community Coalition, Readiness to Learn K-12 program, Elementary School Principal Kyle Freeman and Orcas Island School District S(OISD) Superintendent/High School Principal Barbara Kline were also given at the meeting.

Bob Connell reported on the recent School Site Surveys, conducted with parents, staff, students and the OISD community at large. The next meeting concerning the results and significance of the surveys will be this Wednesday, May 19 at 3:30 p.m. in the school library. The findings of the surveys will be incorporated in the School Improvement Plan.

Orcas Island Parks and Recreation District (OIPRD) Commissioner Ian Lister reported that the OIPRD board decided to place a funding proposition on the November 2010 ballot.

Catherine Pederson retired as the Founding Director of the Orcas Choral Society last weekend. The following are her remarks on May 8 and 9, 2010 at the receptions following the Orcas Choral Society’s Spring Concerts

In an attempt to express my thanks for everything that has led to this evening’s celebration, I’d like to go back to our beginnings for a minute to acknowledge the contributions of Dale Pederson – his boundless enthusiasm for the Choral Society, his organizational abilities and his determination that this group would succeed – and I’m not sure it could have succeeded without Louellen McCoy’s dedication as well, as a gifted pianist, accompanist and friend. We old timers set a steady course in those early years – of love of music, steadfastness in friendship and respect for each other, and of being a meaningful part of the community – of singing each other’s songs.

We have worked at staying with that course over the years – and I leave feeling we’ve done that.

Lance Evans and Janet Brownell were awarded the Michael and Penny Sharp-Sky Award for Voluntary Service that Builds and Sustains Community and Mary Blackstone was selected to receive the Peter Fisher Award for Dedication to the Cause of Fair Housing at OPAL CLT’s recent annual meeting.

OPAL president Helen Bee had the honor of presenting the award to Evans and Brownell.

She reminded the audience of the many activities each of the couple participate in and volunteer for including many organizations that benefit children such as coaching girls’ middle school basketball, serving as an EMT, and as board members of the medical center, OICF, OIEF, Children’s House, Orcas Rec, school board and more.

Blackstone was lauded by Kari Van Gelder who spoke of Blackstone’s 9 years of service with OPAL, beginning as a volunteer, serving on the board and as an officer, including 3 years as president.

Lisa Nakamura (center) spruces up Christina's restaurant in preparation to open "Alliium." She is helped by her sister Jan and her niece Zoe.

World-renowned Chef brings Family Atmosphere to Landmark Restaurant

Lisa Nakamura is on Orcas Island full-time now, and with her family is painting walls, scrubbing floors and preparing to open “Allium,” Orcas Island’s newest restaurant, within the next few weeks.

She comes to Orcas Island from a position as Head Chef at the esteemed Herb Farm restaurant in Woodinville, famous for its 9-course dinners. But Lisa emphasizes that Allium will be a family restaurant for the Orcas community too. “This restaurant is not about being fancy or ‘cutting edge.’ As you see, it’s a family affair and will be for the family of community.”

It will be open six days a week (closed Tuesdays) in the summer, and in the winter months it will continue to be open four days a week.

“I’d like this to be a neighborhood restaurant; part of the Eastsound scene – not a fancy, gussied-up affair, but just like someone’s house where you’d have a good dinner and conversation.”

Allium is the Latin name for the lily family, which includes onions and their allies.

Catherine Pederson, Founding Director/Artistic Director of the Orcas Choral Society.

Orcas Choral Society members mounted the stage for the last time under the direction of Society Founder and Artistic Director Catherine Pederson this past weekend.

Following the Saturday evening performance, at a public reception held in the Madrona Room, the Choral Society presented Pederson with the gift of a rose garden and fruit tree orchard at her home.

Pederson said that after 33 years as choir director, she “still had something to say,” and thanked Louellen McCoy, piano accompanist for the group for its first 25 years, charter members who still sing with the choir –Marilyn Andrews, Stan Miller, and Katie Jensen — Pederson’s late husband Dale Pederson, OCS Board Director Phil Burbo, all the choristers who have sung through the years, and especially the audiences who have followed the choir from the Grange and the School Gym to Orcas Center.

The Gala Receptions on Saturday and Sunday were arranged by a team of  Mary Poletti, Penny Sharp-Sky, and Jan Cleveland.

Catherine Pederson, Orcas Choral Society Founding Director/Artistic Director, will retire after the Spring Concerts on Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9 at the Orcas Center

If you ask Catherine Pederson what she is proudest of in her 33-years as Founding Director/Artistic Director of the Orcas Choral Society, her answer may be a surprise.

For she has steadfastly, modestly – but proudly – led the community choir through performances of world chorale classics, beginning with selections from Handel’s Messiah, to pieces commissioned specifically for the Orcas Choral Society, with Broadway musicals, international premieres, ethnic and folk songs, world music and Gilbert and Sullivan thrown in between.

But, after months of reflection following her announcement to retire after the Spring Concerts next weekend, Catherine’s answer is that she takes the greatest pride in the fact that “So many people have told me, ‘The Orcas Choral Society was the first place I got to know other islanders – where I made my first friends.’”

The seeds for the Orcas Choral Society (OCS) were planted long before Catherine and her family came to Orcas Island in 1972.

Whitney Hartzell helps students plant a tree as part of the Fruit Tree Tour

“We’re the earth’s immune system kicking in.”

Whitney Hartzell and Owen Cheever returned to Orcas Island earlier this month from their six-week Fruit Tree Tour and have already dived into plans and programs for this summer’s Farming Education Sustainability for Teens (FEAST) program.The pair are natural teachers and leaders who are keen to reach young minds and offer hope in a sustainable future.

During February and March, Owen and Whitney traveled through California on the world’s largest recycled-vegetable oil caravan, with Common Vision’s 7th annual all-volunteer Fruit Tree Tour.

With a group of 20 educators on the caravan buses, (nicknamed Fridgey, Bassi, the Lioness, Bu and Kitchen) they visited a different school each day, in communities such as Compton, East Oakland and Watts. The buses, customized for the purposes of the tour, were customized to include sleeping quarters, a traveling office, kitchen and refrigerator, where 600-1000 trees were kept dormant at 40 degrees until planted,and were regularly misted to keep their roots moist.

State Senator Kevin Ranker and State Representatives Dave Quall and Jeff Morris will be honored guests and speakers at the League of Women Voters of the San Juans annual meeting at 12:30 p.m. , Monday, May 10 at the Orcas Hotel.

Attendance is open to any interested person.  Reservations are required and must be made by April 30.  Cost of the luncheon is $20.  To register, contact Nancy Wight at 378-3810.

The three District 40 legislators will provide their perspectives on the regular and special sessions of the Legislature, which ended April 12.  The meeting will also feature a special award for a local “Woman Making a Difference,” election of officers and raffle of a handmade, patriotically themed quilt.

Spring Concerts on May 8 and 9

By Kathi Ciskowski

The Orcas Choral Society is celebrating its 33^rd year with “Songs We Love To Sing.” Choir and instruments combine to take the listener on a musical journey of some of the favorite Orcas Choral Society pieces over the years.  Catherine Pederson, Founding Director/Artistic Director, will be retiring following this concert. This will also be the last concert for Patty Johnson, accompanist. The concerts will take place at the Orcas Center on Saturday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 9 at 2 p.m.

Many of the pieces that “made the final cut” have stories or memories from past concerts.  The power of relationships through music, love, and nature reflect the unique aspects of life on Orcas Island as well as into the entire world of human experience.  The program could also be seen as a 33 year old musical journey of the Orcas Choral Society.

Expressing a love for the sea and its creatures, “The Celtic Mass for the Sea” ,by Canadian Cape Breton islanders Scott Macmillan and Jennyfer Brickenden, had its United States premier by the Orcas Choral Society and was performed again on Orcas in 2002.

Contributed by S. Jaen Black

Last night’s concert at the Grange — the Wanderers and Tom Rawson — proved to be a sweet, sweet night of musical history, charming musicians, and a true hootenanny.  It was the first concert I’ve ever been to that the audience sang nearly as much as the performers, and it is because all of the musicians sincerely were there to make sure NOBODY ever forgets people like Woody Guthrie and the three thousand songs he wrote.

The Wanderers, the well-seasoned duo of Carl Allen and Bill Murlin, opened the show with the news that this year marks the fiftieth year of their musical collaboration. That is remarkable and a blessing as they sure did bring us a lot of fun and great music with lots of old Woody songs and more.  Carl plays guitar, harmonica, and Bill plays banjo and guitar.

Also, they brought along a friend, Jim Portillo, that played an intriguing electric bass ukelele with strings made of polyurethane, which gave it a resonance like rubber, very rich sound for such a small instrument.  Besides perfect licks, he had a great classic, statue-like stance of a bluegrass bassist, never wavering, and then later, it was revealed he was blind and had only been playing a few weeks.

Contributed by Andrea Cohen

As part of its program of special events to be held in conjunction with Journey Stories, this summer’s special exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, The Orcas Island Historical Museum is organizing an exhibit of visual art and poetry entitled “The Art of the Journey.”  The Museum invites all Orcas Island artists and poets to submit a piece of work to be included in this exhibit, which will be on display throughout the month of August at the Orcas Island Senior Center.

Journey Stories is an exhibit that explores the varied stories of Americans as they have emigrated, migrated and meandered around our vast country. Artists and poets have long used their work as an opportunity to chronicle such journeys, or to express the thoughts and emotions related to inner journeys or life passages. It is hoped that this exhibit will be an energetic gathering of work about journeys of all kinds.

Artwork can be of any size in any two-dimensional medium, and work should be framed or otherwise display-ready. The Museum will Poetry will print and mount poetry for display.

By Jonathan White and Joe Gaydos

While driving home from a recent storm water workshop, a friend asked, “Is run-off from my small property really making its way to the ocean and causing damage?  My family has lived here 20 years, and we care about the environment as much as anyone.  Why is this suddenly becoming a problem?”

It’s a good question, and one that resonates with many of us.  When we look to science for the answer, we find that it isn’t always exact enough to show specific effects from specific human behaviors.

While science may not be able to tell us the specific effect of each and every household on water quality, it does tell us something unequivocally:  that polluted run-off is making its way into our environment in quantities that are measurable and damaging.

Mike Kaill, of San Juan Island, maintains a public aquarium at the end of Spring Street where he cares for anemones, fish, and other marine creatures.  The aquarium, intended for educational purposes, circulates seawater from the harbor.  Several years ago, Mike noticed that some of the critters were dying, so he tested the water.  What showed up surprised him.  In repeated tests over the last three years, surfactants and other compounds were showing up in lethal doses.

Rosedanie Cadet, Steve and Taylor Diepenbrock work on the Limbé Project in Haiti

Rosedanie Cadet’s philanthropic project for the people of Haiti, Helping Hands Noramise, is having an informational gathering on Wednesday, April 14, at the Benson Hall Emmanuel Episcopal Church from 6 to 8 p.m.

Volunteers Steve and Taylor Diepenbrock have recently returned from working in Haiti, and Taylor will present a slide show of his photography there, as part of his Orcas High School senior project.

Also scheduled is work from a  Portland videographer, and Rosedanie Cadet will join the Diepenbrocks in a question and answer session, and letting people know how they can be a part of this project, a sustainable food plant to process and transport Haitian fruits and vegetables.

Although the April 14 event is not a fund-raiser, Steve Diepenbrock says donations to the project will be most welcome.  “The Haitian people are so appreciative of the efforts to help,” he says.

Rosedanie adds, “I look forward to seeing you there!”

For more information, go to www.noramise.org

Gabriel Kahane, Featured Guest at the 2009 Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, will perform at a Funhouse benefit at Bredouw's Barn

From the Funhouse

Come enjoy an evening of great music, Tuesday, April 20th at 8 p.m., as we welcome back two amazing musicians you met at last year’s Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.

In this one-night engagement, Gabriel Kahane and Rob Moose will give an intimate concert at the Bredouw Barn. Cost is $20/$10 for students and proceeds will benefit the Funhouse.

Address: 885 Mount Woolard Road (Bredouw Barn).  For more information visit the Funhouse website at www.thefunhouse.org.

All ticket purchases will be through BrownPaperTickets.com – specific event link is: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105972.  Seating is limited to about 80 people, so make your reservations early!

KindlingsFest comes once again to Orcas Island this July

KindlingsFest 2010 Registration is  Open

Pastor Dick Staub of the Orcas Island Community Church has issued an invitation to enjoy a few days this summer the third year of  KindlingsFest, an event inspired by British author C.S. Lewis of The Chronicles of Narnia and the social group, Inklings

Staub says, “In just three years, [KindlingsFest] has become a favored gathering of thoughtful, creatives for whom God is of central importance. KindlingsFest uniquely integrates the spiritual, intellectual and creative in satisfying ways.”

This summer, KindlingsFest takes place July 14 through 17. The theme is”Friends for the Journey,” with speakers and artists:

• Poet Luci Shaw (on her friendship with Madeleine L’Engle);
• Dr. Hal Poe (on the Inklings);
• Dr. Jeff Keuss, youth culture guru, (on “iPod, YouTube, WiiFit – friendship through the eyes of Emerging Adults”;
• Actor and arts advocate Nigel Goodwin.

Dr. Jerry Root will present devotions each morning with composer, singer and songwriter Jeff Johnson. Singer/songwriter-in-residence Bob Bennett and artist-in-residence Kathy Hastings will be featured at the summer event.

Registrations can be made at http://www.thekindlings.com/kindlingsfest/

German Peacemaker Heinz-Jürgen Metzer meditating on the selection-site tracks at the Bearing Witness observation at Auschwitz-Birkenau

A Spiritual Encounter with the Jewish Holocaust of World War IIwill take place at “Yom Ha-Shoah” on  Sunday April 11. A Candle Lighting Commemoration and a showing of the documentary film “Raising the Ashes,” will take place at  3 p.m. in the Eastsound Fire Hall Community Room. Since 1996, people from many countries and faith traditions gather on the sacred  grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi death camp in Poland, for an interfaith “Bearing Witness Retreat.” “Rising the Ashes” is a film that documents the first of these retreats. This Yom Ha Shoah commemoration is hosted by Ginni Stern, the international coordinator of the annual, interfaith Bearing Witness Retreat held on the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau. A reflective sharing circle and candle lighting will follow the film Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate for literature and a Holocaust survivor wrote: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation”. For more information, contact Ginni Stern at 376-4320, ginni@zenpeacemakers.com or go to www.zenpeacemakers.org/auschwitz