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The holidays provide an opportunity to lift your favorite gardener’s spirits with the gift of a gardening book – or two. There are a wide variety of volumes filled with beautiful images and educational content to help gardeners learn something new and provide inspiration for the seasons to come. For the gardener with a passion for a specific plant family, publications are available focused on individual species, from pansies to succulents and dahlias to peonies. Still more provide guides beyond the plants to include insects, pollinators, bir...
The kingfisher is a year-round resident in this area, but often difficult to photograph. They are shyer than other birds and fly away with a loud voice to announce their dislike of being disturbed. You can see them on perches over saltwater shorelines and lakes where they detect small fish and dive down head first to catch them. During nesting time, they create burrows in sand banks that are several feet deep. The kingfisher is one of the few species where females are more colorful than males,...
Theater Arts Guild presents “The Secret Garden, the Musical” with performances on Dec. 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount Vernon. Advance reserved seating tickets: $34 1st section; $32 2nd section; $26 3rd section; $20 4th section plus applicable fees. Discount night Dec. 12: $20 all seats plus applicable fees. Tickets online at lincolntheatre.org/live-theatre-secret-garden-musical. Skagit Symphony presents “Timeless Elements, The Composer is Dead,” a famiily concert and children’s music fair, on Sunday, Jan. 26, in McIn...
What happens when you are plucked from your life in India and sent to England to live with an unknown reclusive uncle? That's the answer we find in this charming tale of "The Secret Garden: The Musical," brought to Mount Vernon's Lincoln Theatre by the Theater Arts Guild. Set at the turn of the century and opening in India with the 10-year-old orphaned and spoiled Mary Lennox (Evangeline Essex-White opening night), having lost both her parents during a cholera epidemic. This complex, nuanced...
Skagit Community Band with special guest A’Town Big Band will present a free concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at Maple Hall in La Conner. Enjoy an evening of holiday cheer with the SCB as they perform a program of festive and exciting holiday music. Joining the SCB will be the A’Town Big Band putting its own spin on “Swinging” holiday favorites. More info at: www.skagitcommunityband.org. Theater Arts Guild presents “The Secret Garden, the Musical” with performances on Dec. 12-15 and 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount Verno...
There is a Chinese saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For the 13 year old Mary Agnes Coyne, her three-thousand-plus mile journey to America from County Galway, on Ireland's western central coast, starts with the hardest, most reluctant step of all: being kicked out of her parents' house, and for the worst of all reasons: falsely accused of being a whore by her mother in the aftermath of her half-brother Fiach's attempt to rape her in her bed. If there is a...
Skagit Community Band with special guest A’Town Big Band will present a free concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at Maple Hall in La Conner. Enjoy an evening of holiday cheer with the SCB as they perform a program of festive and exciting holiday music. Joining the SCB will be the A’Town Big Band putting its own spin on “Swinging” holiday favorites. More info at: www.skagitcommunityband.org. Theater Arts Guild presents “The Secret Garden, the Musical” with performances on Dec. 6-8, 12-15 and 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount...
Jo Wolfe has a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. The executive director of the Skagit County Historical Museum says that its recent fall party netted the museum about $25,000 – a new high for an event that is just three years old. The new fire detection system, paid for by the raise the paddle segment of last year’s fundraiser, is up and running. When problems are detected, the system alerts Guardian Security, which calls the La Conner fire department, all in a matter of minutes. Visitors and participants in museum-sponsored pro...
November is the month to be thankful and the library has so much to be thankful for. First, we are so thankful for all our faithful patrons. It is such a joy to see each and every one of you in the library attending programs, checking out books, working on homework or just simply relaxing with a good friend or a good book. We are also thankful for the amazing support we continue to receive from our community who helped us build our beautiful new library and continues to support us through our...
You can find these woodpeckers in coniferous and mixed forests in this region. Their consistent and quiet drumming on trees will give them away, and so do the small holes all in a row. They wait until the sap runs out, then return to feed on sap-trapped insects. Hummingbirds have been known to get a free meal from the sap and insects, too. During wintertime they are quiet, eat insects and berries. In spring, they excavate a hole just for their nest. During this time, we have heard them drum on...
Theater Arts Guild presents “The Secret Garden, the Musical” with performances on Dec. 6-8, 12-15 and 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount Vernon. Advance reserved seating tickets: $34 1st section; $32 2nd section; $26 3rd section; $20 4th section plus applicable fees. Discount night Dec. 12: $20 all seats plus applicable fees. Tickets online at lincolntheatre.org/live-theatre-secret-garden-musical. La Conner Swinomish Library offers holiday ukulele classes, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursdays, Dec. 5, 12, 19. Learn to play easy...
It's always nice to have connections. Just ask the staff at La Conner Swinomish Library. Its connections extend not only across town with several local art partnerships but by extension to the other side of the world. The library this year has displayed in its children's section the popular "Path to La Conner" quilt comprised of panels, depicting familiar storefronts on First Street. The La Conner-centric imagery was inspired by "Path to Edo" quilt work created by Japanese students and part of...
As summer fades and the weather cools, the season for vibrant floral arrangements continues. Autumn and winter provide a unique palette of greenery, berries and branches, perfect for creating eye-catching displays. Whether for hosting holiday gatherings or crafting thoughtful gifts, fall and winter arrangements offer a natural, rustic charm that's easy to achieve with materials from your own backyard or local woods. Foraging essentials Fall is ideal for gathering evergreens, branches and other...
La Conner Swinomish Library presents Night Sky Photography with acclaimed local photographer Andy Porter, 5-6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21. Learn how to capture the perfect night sky photograph. No camera necessary. La Conner Swinomish Library offers holiday ukulele classes, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursdays, Nov. 21, Dec. 5, 12, 19. Learn to play easy two- and three-chord songs with Simme Bobrosky. NITE Theater presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” through Nov. 24 at the Lincoln Theatre, based on the hit movie. Pay-what-you-can night Thursday, Nov...
Fans of the movie “Legally Blonde” will know to wear pink to NITE Theater’s production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” which opened last Friday and plays at the Lincoln Theatre weekends through Nov. 24. Bring daughters and granddaughters to this spirited, upbeat and nonstop fast-paced, energetic show. From the opening number “Omigod You Guys,” there is a 20th century feminist fairy tale vibe. This is also a group journey, with the Delta Nu sorority sisters, a portion of the ensemble cast – youthful, primarily female and all confident – fil...
After being sidelined by COVID-19 in 2020, the popular Friends of the Salish Sea lecture series is back on the big screen in Anacortes. Florian Graner, world-renowned diver, biologist and cinematographer, kicks off Lecture Series 2.0 with “Beneath the Salish Sea,” 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15. Graner enthralled a lecture series audience in 2012. Graner is the founder of Sealife Productions, a wildlife documentary production company. A Ph.D. marine biologist specializing in marine mammals, he brings extensive subject knowledge to his cin...
La Conner Swinomish Library offers holiday ukulele classes, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursdays, Nov. 14, 21, Dec. 5, 12, 19. Learn to play easy two- and three-chord songs with Simme Bobrosky. NITE Theater presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” through Nov. 24 at the Lincoln Theatre. Based on the hit movie, follow the cast of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” as Elle Woods defies expectations. Sensory-friendly performance on Sunday, Nov. 17, and a pay-what-you-can night on Thursday, Nov. 21. Advance reserved tickets: $38 first tier, $34 second...
From start to finish, volunteers made this year's Art's Alive a success. They greeted almost 1,800 visitors during the four-day show the last weekend in October, plying them with wine, beer and appetizers, answering questions and ringing up sales. Before and after, they planned the show, hung its art and took it all down again Monday, Oct. 28. In between duties, they admired one another's art. Six of the 10 invitational artists featured on the first floor of Maple Hall and 16 of the 51 artists i...
The annual Skagit County Pioneer Picnic in La Conner is not only steeped in history but also benefits local historical preservation. That was reinforced Nov. 1 when the Skagit County Pioneer Association Board of Directors approved presentation of $4,500 in proceeds from August’s pioneer picnic to the Skagit County Historical Museum. The picnic, in addition to serving as a fundraiser for the county museum, has been a summer tradition in La Conner for more than a century. It features a program that honors a Skagit Pioneer Family of the Year a...
Great food, great art, great company, all right in town pleased artists and patrons alike at this year's Art's Alive. Oct. 25-28 in Maple Hall. La Conner Arts Foundation board member Sheila Johnson reported traffic was good all weekend, indicating positive final sales and attendance numbers. All art sold contributes directly to the La Conner Arts Foundation scholarship fund....
Turning and turning in the widening gyre * The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi ** Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape...
Floral Pumpkin Party: A Fun Night of Crafting & Creativity. 6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 6, at ERTH, 105 S. First St., La Conner. Instructors Riley Banaszak and Mary Lou Page will help you decorate your own pumpkin with dried flower appliqué. $20. Refreshments provided. Space is limited. Call 360-399-1126 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. to register. NITE Theater presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” Nov. 8-24 at the Lincoln Theatre. Based on the hit movie, follow the cast of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” as Elle Woods defies expectations. Sensory-...
The most dramatic and, indeed, catastrophic events can begin almost imperceptibly, as a glacial ice sheet melting away or 2023 becoming the hottest year on record, adding to the list of prior years being the hottest ever. For Eilish, a scientist working for a technology company in a bit-in-a-future Dublin, Ireland, the election of rightest nationalists two years before the start of Paul Lynch’s haunting Booker Prize winning 2023 novel is that event. As “Prophet Song” opens, everything is normal for this mother of four, her oldest son a high...
Along with snow geese and trumpeter swans we have many other birds in this area that join us during wintertime. One of our favorites are the Barrow's and common goldeneyes. A white, crescent-shaped teardrop in front of the male's eyes distinguishes the Barrow's from the common goldeneye, which has a white dot in that area. The females have brown heads and greyish bodies. They like marine waters, dive for aquatic insects and small fish and also feed on mollusks on dock pilings. This photo was...
“This Machine is Made for Earth”: The Madrona Project at MoNA. Poets will converge at the Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St., La Conner, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, to offer a reading and discussion from the most recent issue of the anthology series, “The Madrona Project: This Machine is Made for Earth,” recently published by Empty Bowl Press in Chimacum. Free for members, $15 suggested donation for non-members. RSVP: monamuseum.org/events/madrona-project-nov2. Celtic Arts Foundation traditional Scottish breakfast, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sa...
