Island News

Can you spell F-U-N? The 4th Annual Orcas Island Adult Spelling Bee returns

Calling all word nerds, spelling enthusiasts, and brave souls willing to face the dictionary! The 4th Annual Orcas Island Adult Spelling Bee returns on Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m. at the Orcas Center, promising an evening of friendly competition, community spirit, plenty of laughs, and perhaps a few spectacular spelling mishaps! Hosted by the Orcas Island Public Library, this beloved annual event brings islanders together for a lively celebratio

C Street Brass returns to the islands for two free community concerts

C Street Brass will return to the San Juan Islands October 26 and 27 as part of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s Musicians-in-Residence program. Known for their energetic performances and wide-ranging musical style, the ensemble moves comfortably between traditional chamber music, jazz, and popular music, creating concerts that are engaging and accessible to audiences of all ages. During their island visit, C Stree

Orcas Center art show opening | “The Art of Expression”

The Visual Arts Committee of Orcas Center announces the opening of a new show on October 23 (5:30 to 7:00 pm) featuring works from “Art with Carla” – a weekly event at the Orcas Island Senior Center. Wonderful art is the result when community members come together to express themselves in an environment with no rules, no right or wrong. This show, entitled “The Art of Expression” is an exhibit of curated […]

A very special night of drumming with TAIKOPROJECT at Orcas Center

TAIKOPROJECT celebrates 25 years of taiko creativity and innovation with a new concert production entitled “25.” Featuring new compositions and choreography and stunning costumes by acclaimed designer Sueko Oshimoto, “25” will take audiences on a thundering roller coaster of the senses on Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m. at Orcas Center. Taiko is a dynamic Japanese percussion art that uses large hollow wooden drums to create thunderous, earth-shaking

One-act play | Grabbing the Hammer Lane: A Trucker Narrative

“Grabbing the Hammer Lane: A Trucker Narrative” is a searing, 60-minute, one-act play about prodigal rebellion and fleeting moments of redemption, written by and starring David M. Proctor.  He will perform on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m., Orcas Center.  Matt, a long-haul trucker, hits the road to find himself and the freedom he craves — only to become imprisoned over time in a steel cell on 18 wheels. Clarence remains at home, […]

Orcas filmmaker Ken Kwapis on the strange, improbable story of The Shaggs

The prophecy said famous. It never said why  For four decades, director Ken Kwapis has moved between some of Hollywood’s best-known films and television series, directing He’s Just Not That Into You, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and A Walk in the Woods, and seminal episodes of The Office, Freaks and Geeks, Parks and Recreation, and more. But it was an obscure record by three sisters from rural New […]

I’m Not the Church Lady | Step away from the pedestal, Rosie

Or, maybe I need to notice where life keeps putting me Over the past couple of months, I’ve become a member of two Boards of Directors here on Orcas. This has never been on my bucket list. In fact, being in a leadership position where I’m expected to make decisions is almost comical. My life’s work has been about empowering others to make their own decisions—not being the person making […]

Actors Theater’s new, old-time radio show coming to the Grange

Radio station KIXP and Actors Theater of Orcas Island announce the debut of “On the Rock”, a new old-time radio show! In the style of “Prairie Home Companion” and similar shows, it features local musicians, Orcas-based sketches and other delights. Hosted by Clint McCune with house band Minnow Creek, the first show features Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms and poet Tish Knapp, among others. If you’d like to be part of […]

Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson

Library event | A better world is possible

What does it take to imagine a better future—and what can the next generation teach us about making it happen? Join award-winning journalist Meera Subramanian and beloved poet and author Maleea Acker for an inspiring conversation about our changing planet, the power of young voices, and the places we call home. Meera’s new graphic nonfiction book, A Better World Is Possible: Global Youth Confront the Climate Crisis, illustrated by Danica Novgorodo

Light the Night coming up at Community Church on October 31

Join us at Orcas Island Community Church on October 31st for Light the Night, a fun-filled community celebration for all ages! Bring your family, invite your friends and neighbors, and come enjoy an evening of fun, fellowship, treats, activities, and community. You do not need to attend OICC to participate—this event is for our entire Orcas Island community! Come as you are, bring a friend, and help us LIGHT THE […]

Sign-ups open for 2026 Battle of the Bands at Orcas Center

Sign-ups are now open for the 2026 Battle of the Bands, Orcas Island’s local music event of the year, returning to Orcas Center on Sunday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. Hosted by Pedro LopezDeVictoria and Jamey Moriarty, the night pits original music by Orcas Island artists head-to-head across a range of categories, with audiences dancing along and cheering on their favorites. Organizers promise a night of laughs, a few tears, and […]

Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens to visit Orcas Garden Club

Please join the Orcas Island Garden Club on Wednesday, October 21,2026 as we welcome Barb Faville, from Meerkerk Gardens to learn all things rhododendron. Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens is a 53-acre peaceful woodland oasis located on Whidbey Island. During this talk you will Learn about Meerkerk’s history and the distinguishing characteristics of rhododendrons which will increase your appreciation of the vast variety of these plants. You’ll

Orcas Library, students explore banned books

The Orcas Island Library was fortunate to receive a grant from Brooklyn’s Books Unbanned group this spring, and we’ve been thrilled to put it to work with our local teens. With the grant, we’ve now run two teen cohorts exploring censorship, challenged books, and the role young people can play in the conversation. Our first cohort of three teens planned three of our monthly Teen Book Boxes, each featuring a challenged […]

Announcing 6th Annual Island Market / Funhouse Commons gingerbread house contest

Get ready for the 6th Annual Gingerbread House Contest sponsored by the Funhouse Commons & Island Market , a holiday Gingerbread House Contest for ALL AGES with cash prizes! Registration to participate in the gingerbread house competition opens on Monday, October 12th through the Funhouse Commons website. There are no entry fees to participate but you must register by Monday, November 30th in order to participate! Only one (1) entry per person, […]

I’m Not the Church Lady | Marketing as a spiritual practice

Marketing as a Spiritual Practice I think maybe God has a Bingo cage. You know the kind—the big wire ball somebody cranks around at Bingo Night while everyone sits staring at their cards, waiting to see what number comes tumbling out. “B-12!” People look down. Nope. “G-46!” Someone puts a little marker on his card. “I-7!” And so it goes. Except I’m beginning to suspect that somewhere along the way […]

OCS students learn from Orcas Island musician Jim Bredouw

Students at Orcas Christian School had an opportunity to learn from one of Orcas Island’s longtime musicians and sound engineers when Jim Bredouw visited the school to share stories from his career, projects and music. Bredouw spoke with OCS middle and high school students about his experiences in music and sound engineering, taking students through several stages of his life, including his years as a guitarist, his career in sound engineering, his time in […]

Library to feature art of Shawna Marie Franklin

Shawna Marie Franklin will be October’s featured artist at the Orcas Island Library. Her monoprints and paintings will be displayed in a show entitled Being with Kelp: Ongoing. The subject began as an artistic endeavor when Shawna’s kayaking career ended in 2019, and continues today. Shawna has found in Bull Kelp a subject of great beauty and design options, a metaphor for her love of the ocean and a means to […]

Artworks featured artist for October is Maria Papademetriou

Orcas artist Maria Papademetriou  describes her work is a kind of visual storytelling used to create a narrative, mood,, or message. “My creative process is multilayered and intuitive, using found objects, ceramics, and old photographs. “From a very early age,  4 to be exact, I have been fascinated by the discarded and the forgotten. I strive to give these objects, a new life and a new story. “Through my art, I seek […]

Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson

Experience a night of fingerstyle guitar with Calum Graham

Fingerstyle guitarist Calum Graham will bring his intricate, genre-bending playing to the Orcas Center stage on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.orcascenter.org. Born in British Columbia and now based in Victoria, Graham has spent nearly two decades building an international following with original music that is both technically dazzling and deeply felt. Acoustic Guitar magazine named him one of the world’s top 30 guitari

Orcas Youth Chorus is back

Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity to work with local musician, Stormy Hildreth, for a reboot of the Orcas Youth Chorus!  Middle and High School Students are welcome to attend this weekly class on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 in the Black Box to expand their musical theory and knowledge, rehearse using healthy vocal techniques, practice standing with poise and posture, and confidently sing rich harmonies with friends. Performance opportunities w

Japanese music masters Také to Ito perform at Odd Fellows

The sounds of traditional and contemporary Japanese music come to Orcas Island when Také to Ito, featuring koto master Curtis Patterson and shakuhachi master Bruce Huebner, perform at Odd Fellows Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 8. Také to Ito – a name evoking také (bamboo) and ito (string), brings together two musicians who have devoted much of their lives to the study and performance of Japanese music. Their […]

David B. Williams comes to Orcas Library for ‘In the Range of Fire and Ice’

What stories can a mountain range tell? On Wednesday, October 7 at 6:00 p.m., the Orcas Island Public Library welcomes award-winning author and naturalist David B. Williams for a special conversation about his book, In the Range of Fire and Ice: A Human and Natural History of Washington’s Cascades. Williams will be joined in conversation by Amy Frost, Executive Director of the Lopez Island Historical Society. Blending human and natural history, […