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Instead of my regular La Conner Swinomish Library column, Jim Airy, who was board chair during much of the 2020-2022 state audit period and I would like to respond to the recent article about library audit findings in the May 15 La Conner Weekly News. The board and the library recognize the importance of accountability and transparency for the operations of our library district and are committed to ongoing improvements to our service and to compliance with state laws and regulations and library policies. Jim Airy’s response: The recent state a...
We’re splitting the difference between singles and the album drop for La Conner born and raised musician, Anna Tivel. I first discovered Tivel while covering the 2023 Christian Lee Hutson/Fenne Lily tour stop in Seattle for The Daily of the University of Washington. From the moment she began to sing, I knew I was in for a treat. There’s a great fear of unknown openers in concert going, but Tivel surpassed all expectations with her haunting voice, narrative lyricism and command of the stage. To my surprise she then uttered a familiar name, “La...
This is the time when the male American Goldfinch looks his best! You can't miss seeing them with their bright yellow feathers and they hope that the females will do the same. They come to seed feeders with sunflower and thistle seed, or look for seeds on grasses and in deciduous trees and shrubs. It helps them not to mow everything, and even let a thistle plant grow for the fun of seeing them eat those seeds. During wintertime, their plumage changes and they look more subdued like the females...
Mark your calendars for some upcoming fun activities. Skagit Community Band free ensemble concert: “Postcards of Gratitude” at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at Maple Hall. This concert features groups that represent all sections of the band, including Fluteus Maximus, Barefoot Jazz Dixieland, Skagit Brass Quintet and more. Expect to hear traditional music, jazz, show tunes and more. As a backdrop to the music, there will be a silent dessert auction with a variety of sweet selections on display. Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Info: www...
Friday was a Lucky day in La Conner, and not just because of the Northern Lights. An upbeat, hour-long morning program at La Conner-Swinomish Library by award-winning author and musician Lucky Diaz made the day special as well. Diaz, a bilingual force of energy, came to celebrate with area children and parents the wonder and joy that can create magic in the lives of young people. "I do this for the kids," Diaz told the Weekly News. "I started doing this to entertain my oldest daughter. I'd...
When you’re facing issues with your garden, from troubled roses to fungus on your fruit trees or even perplexing plant identification, you need not rely on uncertain advice from neighbors or online forums. Visit a WSU Extension Master Gardener Plant Clinic in Anacortes or Burlington for reliable answers and assistance. The free Master Gardner Clinics offer extensive on-site resources, including a comprehensive library, print materials, access to online resources and microscopes for plant identification and disease diagnosis. The plant clinic v...
Mark your calendars for some upcoming fun activities. La Conner Guitar Festival 2024, May 17-19. Listen to, play and shop for the world’s finest handmade instruments with three days of events and exhibitions in Maple Hall and evening concerts at the Civic Garden Club. Vendors room open 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday in Maple Hall. Luthiers exhibitions 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday in Maple Hall. Evening concerts 7-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Civic Garden Club. Tickets on s...
"The Force" was with the Skagit River Poetry Foundation on Saturday May 4th, Star Wars Day, as 125 community members gathered to support our nonprofit at our fourth annual auction at historic Hillcrest Park Lodge in Mount Vernon. We want to thank everyone who celebrated with us and our donors who could not attend as we hosted our Star Wars-themed fundraiser – even Darth Vader made an appearance. We are happy to announce that in only three hours the love and support of our guests raised over $...
An overflow crowd was on the same page with author Janet Yoder at La Conner Swinomish Library last Friday. Nearly 50 people attended Yoder's one-hour presentation honoring the legacy of revered late tribal linguist Vi Hilbert, who made preservation of the Lushootseed language and culture her life's mission. "We're so thrilled with this turnout," library director Jean Markert told the Weekly News afterward. "It's pretty incredible." Incredible is also a word often used to describe Hilbert, whom...
Hear about a really smart man whose son has written a book about him: “Leonid Hurwicz: Intelligent Designer: How War and the Great Depression Inspired a Nobel Economist.” Michael Hurwicz will read at the Skagit Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday, May 12 at 2 p.m. The elder Hurwicz journeyed as a Polish Jew from 1930s Warsaw to America in 1940 at age 23. As an economist and statistician, he realized “there are two kinds of games in economics. One is the game where people use only legal moves. Then there is the true game, the one like...
Mark your calendars for some fun activities this coming week. Swinomish Yacht Club Opening Day Boat Parade, 3-4 p.m. Saturday, May 4. Grab a viewing spot along the La Conner boardwalk at the Swinomish Channel for the "Under the Sea" theme parade of members' decorated yachts. Salish Sea Early Music Festival, 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, Fir-Conway Lutheran Church, 18101 Fir Island Road. "Renaissance Psalms, Irish Baroque and Folk: Three Centuries of Folk Song" features guitarist Oleg Timofeyev and flut...
Celebrate the farm-raised flavor of the Skagit Valley from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, with the release party of “Genuine Skagit Cooking.” Break bread in tribute to the farmers, food producers, and residents who have opened their recipe boxes saluting Skagit’s agricultural way of life. While enjoying bites of small plates featured in the cookbook, guests will also be first in line to take the cookbook home. “Genuine Skagit Cooking,” from the organization Genuine Skagit Valley, features over 45 recipes from food producers, small business owners an...
The Skagit Valley Chorale celebrates in song May 4 and 5 in a cross-genre collaboration led by Artistic Director Yvette Burdick showcasing the talents of nearly 100 local musicians, including 11 Chorale singers hailing from La Conner. La Conner bandleader/trombonist Vince Fejeran has been instrumental gathering talented local jazz musicians for a big band backing the Chorale's singers as they present music performed long ago and far away by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. A music educator...
The Skagit Valley Chorale and friends are bringing audiences a musical time capsule of life in mid-twentieth century America on May 4 and 5. Artistic Director Yvette Burdick has assembled a unique program of music originally performed by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, one of America’s most popular entertainment ensembles in the last century. Under Waring the Pennsylvanians grew from a small jazz band whose members often put down their instruments and sang, to a 60-piece ensemble with big band, strings, glee club and soloists who r...
Cole Porter, Samuel and Bella Spewack were right: It pays to “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” so you can follow all the ins and outs of a 1940s musical rendition of “A Taming of the Shrew,” at the center of their own “Kiss Me Kate,” which opened last week and plays through May 12 at Anacortes Community Theatre. Stop reading and go online now to get any remaining tickets. “Shrew” is one of William Shakespeare’s most accessible and enjoyable plays, the story that starts with the beautiful second daughter Bianca, who, while pursued by suitors, canno...
Lots of great things are happening at the library this month. First, we want to welcome Richard Vendiola, our new tribal liaison. Richard has a background in education and moved from Auburn to Swinomish in August with his wife, Jennifer, a special needs teacher in Oak Harbor. Richard enjoys chess, tennis, bike riding and walking Ollie, his boxer-mastiff mix. He is currently reading “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann. We are excited to have Richard on board! Thank you to everyone who supported the La Conner Swinomish Library in thi...
Skagit Adult Day Program held a very successful dinner/auction April 13, grossing over $66,000 at Bertelsen Winery. A highlight was Joy Post sharing her caregiving story with grace and humor. It was followed by “A Day in the Life of Bradford House” a heart-warming video. The Raise the Paddle/Fund-a-Need then brought in an amazing $15,500! Joe & Kelly & Friends provided the music. Field of Beans Catering served the buffet dinner. Stokes Auction Group provided lively auctioneer Paul Schenfeld. Mike Yeoman of KAPS was emcee. Local businesses inc...
The Skagit Historical Museum's annual Sale at the School runs 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Sunday, April 19-21 at the Skagit City School, 17508 Moore Road on Fir Island. Museum Director Jo Wolfe is excited about this year's sale pieces. The vintage treasures and collectibles include a room of tools, model cars and costume jewelry and other items from the estate of Daralene Youngquist, who died last summer at the age of 99. "Year after year, people save their lovely items for this sale," said Wolfe....
Local gardening stores offer a multitude of soil mix choices this time of year. This overview of the attributes of soil and how to amend commercially produced potting soils will increase the success of your container and raised bed plantings. This article is posted on the Ask a Master Gardener Blog and provides a comprehensive explanation and strategies for improving commercially produced soil. All soil primarily consists of sand, silt and clay mineral particles. Sand is visible to the naked eye. Clay is the size of bacteria. In a natural...
It's nesting time and the flicker male is searching for the perfect spot to raise his young. Once he has located it, he will attract a female by drumming with his beak on metal or hard wood. This behavior does not cause any harm and will subside once the decision has been made where to nest. In this area, we mostly see the red-shafted flicker, while in eastern areas the yellow-shafted is more common. Females lack the red mustache marks. Even though woodpeckers are often not wanted because of...
The Skagit River Poetry Foundation invites our community to a galaxy far, far away and presents an evening fit for a Jedi at their annual auction, A New Hope: “May the 4th” (Force) Be With You from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 4 (Star Wars Day), at Hillcrest Park Lodge in Mount Vernon. This “Star Wars”-themed extravaganza will appeal to young and old alike as they take a trip through the Foundation’s history and share their mission of supporting literacy through poetry. The featured event will be the live and silent auction where attendees will bi...
Anacortes Community Theater presents “Kiss Me Kate” with a run from April 19 through May 12. “Kiss Me Kate” is a timeless and elegant show with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare’s comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” and the conflict on and off-stage between Fred Graham, the show’s director, producer and star, and his leading lady, his ex-wife Lilli Vanessi. It’s suitable for ages 14 and up. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets a...
Authors will read excerpts from the “Madrona Poetry Project Empty Bowl Cookbook” at Village Books in Bellingham, April 8, 6-7 p.m. Readers include Tele Aadsen, Luther Allen, Jane Alynn, Michael Daley, Jessica Gigot, Georgia Johnson, Charles Chuck Luckmann and Bill Weissinger. Information: villagebooks.com/ Poets Nancy Pagh and Michael Dylan Welch will read as part of the Madrona Poetry Series April 13 at 7 p.m. at Pelican Bay Books, 520 Commercial Avenue in Anacortes....
A dreamy, bluesy Frank Sinatra crooned the air at the 5-star Saratoga Inn in Langley as I entered the dining area for the complimentary breakfast last week. And after that, an Amy Winehouse song. Just another sweet touch to the Inn's island hospitality. Classy. A scrumptious coffee cake, laden with cinnamon and sugar, served with orange juice was the first course. Followed by a Mediterranean Strada made from sourdough bread, eggs, peppers, olives and feta cheese with a side of fresh fruit, it...
Keeping it real is a popular phrase that movie director Stuart Rosenberg coined in the 1980s. But these days, there’s a question as to whether general reality even exists. That uncertainty was explored by Everett Community College philosophy professor Mike VanQuickenborne during a one-hour presentation at La Conner Swinomish Library last week. VanQuickenborne appeared here as part of the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau. His interactive program included several references to “The Matrix,” the classic 1999 science fiction action film that...
