Island News
Local headlines from around the San Juans
Friday Harbor Poetry Gardens contest winners announced
The Town of Friday Harbor and Friday Harbor Arts Commission have announced the winners of their third Poetry Gardens Contest. A blind judging process was used to review 162 entries submitted by San Juan County residents. Selection of the 30 winning poems was made by current Washington State Poet Laureate Derek Sheffield who noted they make “a really strong, evocative selection” for the Poetry Gardens. Winning poems will be published […]
Orcas Center presents “No Time To Waste” + Jaeger & Reid
Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m. | Center Stage, Orcas Center Orcas Center will present an evening of documentary film and live music on Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m. on Center Stage. The program opens with “No Time To Waste,” a documentary about the late Betty Reid Soskin, the National Park Service ranger who retired from the Park Service at 100 years old. Soskin died at home at the end of […]
Your 2026 Friday Harbor Film Festival experience starts now
Plan your festival, reserve your seats The 2026 Film Guide and Festival Schedule are live, and passholders can now start building their Festival experience! With 34 feature documentaries and 20 shorts to choose from, plus a full rundown of the Program Guide, filmmakers, and everything else new this year, we’ve got the details in our latest blog post — read it before you start building your festival weekend. READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT The […]
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
San Juan Islands Museum of Art presents Alison Stigora: Constellation
The San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) is proud to present Alison Stigora: Constellation, an immersive, site-specific installation created for the museum’s dramatic glass atrium. Commissioned by SJIMA, the exhibition brings together more than one hundred suspended sculptures made from driftwood and reclaimed shattered glass with changing natural light and sound, transforming the atrium into a shimmering environment that shifts th
Island Voices | Come hear what your neighbors have to say
Ten island writers. Ten unique voices. One night of stories, poems, essays, and the unexpected. Join the Orcas Island Public Library for Island Voices on Friday, September 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Emmanuel Parish Hall, an evening celebrating the writers and storytellers who live right here in our community. Each writer gets just a few minutes at the microphone, so the evening will move quickly and offer a wonderful mix of […]
October highlights from Orcas Senior Center
Orcas Senior Center offers a variety of ongoing classes, social groups, wellness activities, and creative programs throughout the month. All programs are open to everyone, regardless of age, and new participants are always welcome. A full calendar with dates and times is available at www.orcasseniors.org/calendar-of-events. This Month at the Senior Center: Fitness & Wellness: Chair yoga Arts & Creativity: Art with Carla, quilting, needlework, and w
Orcas Center | When a cello recital meets a clown show
Karen Hall’s ‘Delusions and Grandeur’ Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis as genre-blurring jester and cellist Karen Hall peels back the layers of formality, leaving you with only the humanity and insanity of the artist behind the instrument. And yourself. Orcas Center presents Karen Hall in “Delusions and Grandeur” on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. Featuring Suite No. 1 in G Major by JS Bach and personal […]
Updated | Coming to Orcas Center | Kids Got Talent show
UPDATE: The time for Saturday’s show has been changed to 6 p.m. Orcas Center’s annual youth talent show will highlight the island’s youngest performers who will sing and dance, do skits or play an instrument. The show is on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m., and will be hosted by 12-year-old Agathe Elverum. Kids Got Talent is directed by Clint McCune. The show is […]
Yoga & Ukulele Thursday mornings at Orcas Center
Yogalele’s fall season is now in session! Join us Thursday mornings from 8:30 to 9:15am in the Madrona Room at Orcas Center to stretch and strum, pluck and smile, experience savasana, and possibly learn a few new moves and chords. All levels (yoga and ukulele) welcome, each class tailored to the attendees. Bring your mat and your ukulele if you have one (ukes are not required, non-players always welcome!) and get your […]
Coming to Orcas Center | Yungchen Lhamo in concert with Rafe Pearlman
Internationally acclaimed Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo, recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Artist Award from the City of Kingston Arts Commission and the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs, will make her first-ever visit to Orcas Island this fall. She will perform in concert at Orcas Center on Saturday, Oct. 3, with Rafe Pearlman as the opening artist. Yungchen will sing some songs a cappella, others accompanied by guitarist John Alevi
Call to Artists | Community show: Six X Six
Art intake on October 22; Art Opening on October 23 The Visual Arts Committee of Orcas Center announces a new community show — “Six x Six” – to open on October 23. For this show, we will be filling the Madrona Room with a multitude of small works of art, each measuring approximately six inches by six inches. Space permitting, up to six pieces per artist will be accepted. […]
Call to artists | ‘Of the Water’ community show at Orcas Center
Art intake on September 23; Art Opening on September 25 The Visual Arts Committee of Orcas Center announces a new community show — “Of the Water” – to open on September 25. For this show, the VAC welcomes artists to contribute pieces that reflect their own interpretation of the theme. Space permitting, up to three pieces per artist will be accepted and all art mediums will be considered for display. Community shows […]
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Portraits in Pencil | An exhibition by Mick Stevens at Senior Center
Every pencil stroke tells a story. This September and October, Orcas Senior Center hosts Portraits in Pencil, a captivating exhibition featuring the work of longtime Orcas Island resident and accomplished artist Mick Stevens. Creating art since 1973, Mick brings decades of skill to these remarkable portraits, each one rich in detail and quiet depth. His expressive drawings go beyond likeness, capturing the personality and spirit of each subject wit
Play for pride, pleasure, prizes at upcoming Library event
Calling all book lovers, trivia buffs, and literary know-it-alls! Put all those hours spent with your nose in a book to good use at Literary Trivia, Thursday, September 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Orcas Island Public Library. Gather a team of 2–4 and get ready for four rounds of ten questions covering everything from beloved classics and literary genres to books-to-film, famous quotes, banned books, and a few surprises along […]