The Actors Theater of Orcas Island announces the third annual festival of short plays written by local playwrights. This year, the festival has a great range of plays by both first-time writers and writers from the first two festivals. As usual, the presenters will be a collection of the best actors on Orcas as well as several novice actors. The 2008 Playfest also features six directors, and is another showcase of experienced and new talents.
Joshua and Lauren (Mr. & Mrs. Josh Gage) were married on January 19, 2008 at the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa, California in a beautiful outside courtyard ceremony officiated by Barry Martinez and Scott Harris. They were honored it was attended by many family and friends, especially by all those who traveled from Orcas. Josh and Lauren will make their home in Seattle, Washington near the UW were Josh attends college. They will take their honeymoon this June on a Caribbean Cruise leaving out of Florida. They are so blessed and happy to be together.
Art Thiel, author and sports writer for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, will speak on “all things Seattle Sports – Sonics, Mariners, Seahawks, Huskies – and the upcoming Beijing Olympics, when he come to the Orcas Library on Friday, April 25.
Anthony Manuel’s Island Inspiration All Stars are back in full force at Orcas Center on Saturday, May 3, performing 14 new dances.
“Language” contains fast-paced lyrics to instrumental classics.
Orcas Island artist Hannah Alex-Glasser is feautured in a solo show, “Strata,” which opened on Thursday, April 3, at the Catherine Person Gallery, one of the East Edge contemporary art galleries in Seattle. The exhibition includes her hand-formed and kiln- and pit-fired ceramic sculpture as well as a central installation, “Shorelife/Ebbtide.”
Cara and Phil Cohn, co-owners of erb’s Vegetarian Restaurant, will celebrate Passover with a Seder and full course vegetarian meal for 30 guests.
In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Lopez Island Friends of the Library will have guest poet Molly Swan-Sheeran reading her work on April 17. A resident of Lopez, Molly has been writing poetry for 43 years and reading her poems in public venues for 30 years. Her online chapbook can be seen at www.celticswan.com/poems.htm which includes some spoken word recordings.
Fulfilling, healthy meals are the “special sauce” to be added to the next Home on the Grange concert when the Chris Bramble Band plays a community dance at the Lopez Island Grange Hall on April 26 at 7:30 p.m.
If spring is in the air, then the Orcas Island American Legion Auxiliary Unit Scholarship fundraising is in full swing – and they deliver not just the sizzle, but the steak too. Their annual scholarship steak dinner will be held at the American Legion Post, 793 Crescent Beach Drive, on Saturday, April 19, from 5:00 to 8 p.m. The dinner costs $15 per person and includes a choice from the many delicious desserts prepared by the auxiliary.
Spring cleaning, shake out all the winter blahs, just because you deserve it – all good reasons to take advantage of the Healing Arts Center spring healing faire on April 19 and 20. The practitioners at the center will be donating hundreds of hours of discounted sessions as a fund raiser for maintenance and operation of the historical facility.
The Turn Point Light Station, built in 1893 on Stuart Island, has a new lease on life. Due to the efforts of BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner Nick Teague and the small Orcas-based non-profit Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society (TPLPS), the Light Keepers program is on the road to success.
Curious about the origins and context of a piece of music or how to follow the developing theme central to a composer’s work? Music Lovers’ Seminars (MLS) focus on the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s (OICMF) concert programming and intriguing topics close to the hearts and minds of musicians and music lovers. First initiated during the ’07 Festival Season, MLS are also planned to be offered during the spring and fall. An enthusiastic participant during the ’07 Season described her experience after attending a seminar: “One would think you could not make the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival more intimate and approachable than it is and always has been, but no! The Music lovers’ Seminars add a dimension and opportunity for appreciation for all levels of musical sophistication.”