Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Student News Broadcast Production Crew Visits San Juan Island

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Last month a crew from Thurston High School in the South Redford School District in Michigan arrived on San Juan Island for an educational experience of a lifetime.

Student's Photo of a Whale Breaching

Media Studies Educator Kara Clayton shares her passion for Orcas and their struggle for survival with her students.  For the past three years she has brought a contingent of budding broadcasters to Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn to learn about the whales and their connection with our precious ecosystem.  Her ultimate goal is to have the students produce media  messages which they can spread around the world to create an awareness of the Orcas and how human actions affect them.

Students Captured More Than Whales on the San Juan Visit

“We might not all live near the Salish Sea but we are all connected by our habits,” Kara remarks.  “For example, if I dump something into the Rouge River which runs through the Detroit area, it may eventually impact a living creature in a body of water far away from Michigan.”  The students will produce a minimum of eight public service announcements and news/informational videos.

Of course, just getting 13 students and four chaperones all the way from Detroit to San Juan Island was no inexpensive feat.  This dedicated bunch of students sold cookies, held bowl-a-thon fundraisers, sponsored bottle and can drives, and video taped and edited events, all to raise the $25,000 price tag for the trip.

Student Photo of Harbor Seal

Though their trip is now captured on video and and they are back at home, their work on this project was not ended.  There was still an editing retreat planned to pull the elements together.  The results hopefully will be distributed on the internet, to San Juan Island’s Whale Museum, to Orcanetwork, and to anyone else who might be interested.   For more information about the project, check out their website, http://southredford.net.  During the school year they post their daily show on Facebook. You can also contact Kara at clayka01@southredford.net, and can see more of their photos on Photobucket

Kara notes, “This was not a commercial effort. It was an effort driven by love and stewardship for our planet.”  Brilliant!

The Tell-Tale Whale Tail Ends the Breach

You can read on-going news about the island’s top restaurant at Cohorestaurant.com and Facebook; or follow news on our two inns at Harrison House Suites and on Facebook; and Tucker House on Facebook.

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Friday Harbor Participates in American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Melanie Rollins, Cancer Survivor, Walked Proudly (Photo Courtesy of Marie DiChristina)

You may have heard of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event. It began in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, ran and walked around a track for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  Since then, Relay has grown from a single man’s passion to fight cancer into the world’s largest movement to end the disease.  Each year, more than 3.5 million people in 5,000 communities in the United States, along with communities in 19 other countries, gather to take part in this global phenomenon and raise much-needed funds and awareness to save lives from cancer.

Tiny Friday Harbor is no exception.  This year 15 teams of Islanders – 149 participants – camped out at the Friday Harbor High School track on the last weekend of July, from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning.  Each team had a representative on the track at all times during the event; because cancer never sleeps, the fight to end it cannot rest either.  With combined team effort, they raised over $46,100, which goes towards ground-breaking research, support for cancer patients, and guidance for people to take steps to prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable.

One of the most fun community-wide fund-raising events was the Soroptimists Team’s “Kiss for the Cure” contest.  Team members cajoled five local “celebrities” into “running for office” and sold “votes;” the winner of the contest was awarded the dubious prize of kissing a pig!  “Why a pig?”  Because pigs are smart; because pigs are cute; and because a pig played an important role in the history of the San Juan Islands as an American possession – the incident known as The Pig War.

Merritt Olsen Wins the Dubious Honor in the "Kiss for the Cure" Contest (Photo Courtesy of Ian Buyington)

The winner was Merritt Olsen, Executive Director of the San Juan Community Theatre.  Merritt’s kiss earned over $1000 – what a guy!  For those who might be concerned about the welfare of the pig, no need to worry.  Merritt was so respectful of the pink lady, he even thought to pop a couple Altoids mints before puckering up!  But frankly, Miss Pig was more interested in the Cheerios she was gobbling up than anything Mr. Olsen had to offer.   And we ALL respected her in the morning!

Soroptimist Team Leads the First Lap (Photo Courtesy of Marie DiChristina)

Every Relay for Life starts with The Survivors Lap, an inspirational time when survivors circle the track together and help everyone celebrate the victories we’ve achieved over cancer.  After that, all team members were led around the track by the Soroptimists team.  Though the event is held for a very serious cause, there were lots of fun events throughout the weekend with small prized for best costumes on the themed laps, dunk booth, limbo, water-melon eating contest, cake walk, three-legged race and more.  The silent cake auction, representing all the birthdays of cancer survivors, brought in even more dollars, and lucky winners could eat their cake and had the convenience of the track right there to walk off the few extra calories from the cakes.  For more detail one of the top dollar cakes, see www.harrisonhousesuites.com/blog.

Stephanie Prima-Sarantopulos and Friday Harbor Mayor Carrie Lacher Ham It Up for the Western Theme Lap (Photo Courtesy of Marie Di Christina)

The highlight of every Relay is the emotionally-moving Luminaria Ceremony.  People purchase paper candle-lit luminaries adorned with the names of the person they want to remember or honor – those lost to the disease, those still fighting their battle, or those celebrating their victory.  In Friday Harbor a slide show with photos of those honored and remembered was continually run while the long list of names was read.  The luminaries lined the track and bleachers, creating a visually beautiful field, and participants walked the dark track in silence, most with tears streaming down their face as they remembered those who lost the fight.

In the morning, the tired but very proud participants gathered once more to make a personal commitment to continue the fight against cancer – to work for the day when there are fewer deaths and more birthdays, to create a world where cancer will no longer threaten the lives of our loved ones.

Luminarias Remind Us of Hope (Photo Courtesy of Ian Buyington)

For more photos and a video set to a great Melissa Ethridge song about survivors, go to San Juan Update.  For more information on Relay For Life, visit The American Cancer Society website.

You can read on-going news about the island’s top restaurant at Cohorestaurant.com and Facebook; or follow news on our two inns at Harrison House Suites and on Facebook; and Tucker House on Facebook.  Participant Stephanie Prima-Sarantopulos has more photos on her Facebook page.

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Friday Harbor Celebrates National Historic Preservation Month

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

My husband and I are in the process of designing a home.  We want a bungalow style, and spent a month walking and driving around the neighborhood where I grew up, studying the beautiful architectural details of those old homes.  Certainly some of them were no great gems, but the majority had distinct, appealing characteristics rarely seen now-a-days.  These embellishments give a home its architectural personality and have been lost over the years.  They are expensive, take a specialized craftsmanship to design and fabricate, and do not necessarily add practical functionality.  But they do add a huge aesthetic value to a home. Unfortunately when homeowners weigh the myriad factors in their new home’s design, oftentimes, these elements are priced out.

That’s why it’s so important to preserve the old buildings that we have.  Though only one square mile in size, Friday Harbor boasts nearly 150 historic buildings reflecting the community’s civic, commercial and residential history.  In 2008, it was selected as a Distinctive Destination by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Being one of Washington’s few seaport villages to survive the turn-of-the-century fires that engulfed early Seattle and other cities, its authentic downtown streetscape and postage-size Memorial Park are the gateway to discovering the rich history, rural character and pristine marine environment of the San Juan archipelago.

Looking at old black and white photos of the town leaves the impression that all the buildings were drab and lifeless, though I doubt that is true.

Beautiful Historic Home Now Houses a Cafe

Harrison House Suites, Tucker House Inn, and Coho Restaurant, just a block and a half off the main street, are all century-old historic wooden buildings, lovingly restored and surrounded with beautiful gardens.  They look so pretty with the multiple trim colors and the vivid ornamentation of the gardens, I can’t help but wonder if they ever looked this good even when they were new.

This month, in honor of National Preservation Month, there will be plenty of activities to highlight the town’s history.  Five museums – American Legion’s War & History museum, the Museum of Flight (near Ernie’s Café at the Port’s aviation site), the Whale Museum, the San Juan Historical Museum, and the Islands Museum of Art – are collaborating on special events for visitors, and free guided walking tours are available throughout the month.  For more information, contact Sandy Strehlou, sstrehlou@fridayharbor.org, or call (360) 378-2810.  You can also check out www.historicfridayharbor.org

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San Juan Islands Dining Coho Restaurant

Monday, March 9th, 2009

We are asking all those who are attending the Coho Wine Benefit Dinners for Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to bring one of the following from Wolf Hollow’s Wish List. Those who are not attending the dinner are welcome to help too!

Wolf Hollow Wish List Spring 2009

Heating pads (24 hour type)
Frozen meats and fish, especially salmon
Motion Activated Camera (call Wolf Hollow for further details)
Hand Tools (spades, shovels, rakes)
Hose Hangers (heavy duty)
Plug-in timers for lights
Pine shavings (for animal bedding)
Iams canned kitten food (part of baby bird diet)
Packing Tape
Digital Video Camera (for education program)
Ride-on Lawnmower (to maintain paths)
Good quality, dry, cat, kitten and dog foods
Colored copier paper (light blue, yellow, purple, pink)
Tall Extension Ladder
Wood Chips (for paths)

Questions? Call 378 5000 or email wolfhollow@wolfhollowwildlife.org

Lodging and Dining Friday Harbor, WA San Juan Island
Harrison House Suites and Tucker House Inn
Coho Restaurant

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Friday Harbor Celebrates Centennial, San Juan Island, WA

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

The Town of Friday Harbor was incorporated on February 9, 1908 and the entire town is busy preparing for the big birthday bash – a progressive celebration in less than a month.
The festivities begin at 2 pm at the Grange where the formal birthday cake will be displayed. It will be big enough to serve 375 guests. A wonderful yummy carrot cake emblazoned with the Town of Friday Harbor’s historic logo made by San Juan Island Bakery will be cut by the Mayor at 3:30. There will be also be exhibits and the contents of the time capsule to view and music and spoken word performances from 2 – 8 p.m.
Just a few steps away, is our second venue – the Fire Station. There, we will have more music but the main event is the Beard Judging Contest. The 59 contestants -with their scraggly beards will have their first chance for a shave since summer. There will be hamburgers and hot dogs served by the Fire fighters.
Then you can head a few blocks away to the Yacht Club where we will have a salmon dinner with all the fixin’s – even peas. There will be another birthday cake – this one a chocolate mousse cake….to die for. You can burn off those calories as you dance the night away with Devorah’s band. It should be a fun celebration.

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