WHAT'S HAPPENING

What’s Happening

Island haunting time arrives

The haunting of Whidbey Island is in progress this weekend as islanders volunteer to get their wits scared out of them at varied venues, among them a haunted Roller Barn and Haunted Trail. It all culminates on Halloween Night. Here are some of the hair-straightening highlights.

Haunted trail: Watch out for spooks on the Haunted Trail at Cornet Bay Environmental Learning Center on Halloween day, Oct. 31, from 2 to 6:30 p.m. The event will mix education with fright as you learn about creepy critters and “Halloween creatures” in the area. Interpreters will lead groups along the haunted trail, where strange creatures lie in wait. Depending on the weather, there may be a bon fire with spooky story telling. Inside the Learning Center,the interpreters plan to have educational displays and activities, story telling and an eerie box of composting worms. Admission is free but donations are welcome. Call 675-2417.

Fall Harvest Parties

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 31

Methodist Church: 6-8 p.m., 1050 SE Ireland St., carnival games, treats, prizes and fun. Admission is canned good (especially peanut butter or pork and beans) for Help House. Call 675-2441.

Family Bible Church: 6:30-8 p.m., 2760 N Heller Rd. Pumpkin Patch Party for children in grades 6 and younger. 20 game booths, snacks, prizes and fun, illusionist and drawings for prizes. Admission, $1 per child. No scary costumes please.

Lighthouse Christian Center: 6:30-8:30 p.m.,1767 NE Regatta Drive. Safe fun place for families and children. Great American heroes costume contest. Call 679-4853.

Living World Fellowship: 6-9 p.m., NW Crosby Avenue. Candy, Hayrides, pony rides, a maze, inflatable toys, games, chili cookoff, costume contests. No admission fees. Call 675-5008.

FRIDAY, NOV. 2

Comedy Night: With Derrick Cameron starts at 6:30 p.m., Oak Harbor Yacht Club. $15 per person includes spagetti dinner, comedy and dessert auction. Cameron has performed in Seattle, New York and Los Angeles as well as on the Tonight Show. Sponsored by Soroptimists. All funds go to buying computers for Oak Harbor School District. Tickets at Discount Party Store or call 675-6636.

SATURDAY, NOV. 3

Democracy and the Media brunch: 9-11:30 a.m., Henderson’s Restaurant. Sponsored by North Whidbey Democratic Club. Speaker: Paul Newman, political columnist in Whidbey News-Times and KDWB 1110. Topic: Getting back to Athens: Democracy and the media in the 20th century. Menu includes scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, oatmeal, muffins, fruit, juice and coffee. Call 679-2942 or e-mail nwdc@democrat.com

Rebecca Riots Returns to WICA to Benefit Saratoga Woods

Rebecca Riots returns to WICA on Thursday, November 8 at 7:30pm for a concert to benefit the Saratoga Woods purchase and the Whidbey-Camano Land Trust. This acoustic folk trio from Berkeley, CA embodies a gentle, yet powerful energy that blends three distinctive voices into some amazing harmonies. Their music reflects the intensity and compassion that exist in the meeting of the personal and political, and has been described as "fresh radical folk." The three women who make up the group are all former teachers, and have been touring nationally since 1998. Named "Best Band with a Conscience" by the Bay Guardian, Rebecca Riots has shared stages with Utah Phillips, Cheryl Wheeler, Rhiannon, Martin Sexton, Nina Gerber, and many others. The Seattle Folklore Society writes, "Their feminist material and dynamic delivery stopped a large crowd of people dead in their tracks at the Seattle Folklife Festival." The WICA performance is among the last for this group before they part ways to pursue individual plans.

Public acquisition of the 118-acre Saratoga Woods Preserve was completed on

Friday, October 12, 2001. The Whidbey-Camano Land Trust was able to close

the transaction ahead of schedule, in exchange for an almost $9,000

reduction in the $750,000 sales price, and the property was immediately

conveyed to Island County.

Save the Woods on Saratoga raised almost $750,000 through some 400

donations, ranging from $10 to $100,000.

Funds raised over and above this first phase of the Saratoga Woods Preserve

acquisition will be used for its restoration and enhancement, to make the

site as attractive and inviting to the public as possible. Some of the

immediate work envisioned for the Preserve are:

Clearing of invasive, exotic and noxious weeds

Revegetation of disturbed sites with native plants & grasses

Providing access to scenic water-view lookout

Building a kiosk with information & trail maps

Establishing defined parking area for up to 10 cars

Blocking off motorized traffic to all other areas

Vandal-proof trash receptacles

Landscape designer, and SWS founding member, Fran Abel, is donating an

initial design concept for the entrance area to the Woods. Byron Moffett of

The Cottage Garden has volunteered to prune the beautiful, but long

neglected, fruit trees. The local AmeriCorps team has committed to help

with weed clearing work.

Friends of Saratoga Woods is being formed to carry out this second,

enhancement phase of the project and to provide vital stewardship to protect

the land for future generations. All donors to the project will receive an

automatic one-year membership in the Friends of Saratoga Woods.

Drawing of the winning raffle ticket for the Georgia

Gerber sculpture, "Dance of the Deer," will be held as part of this

celebration concert.

To reserve tickets, call the WICA Box Office at 360-221-8268 or 800-638-7631.

“Big” debuts next Friday

A big, boisterous, production of “Big, the Musical,” suitable for the entire family, debuts Friday, Nov. 2 at Whidbey Playhouse in Oak Harbor.

The show, directed by Sue Riney, is based on the popular movie that starred Tom Hanks. The musical burst onto the Broadway stage in 1996, giving new life to the movie’s storyline. The Playhouse production will include the show-stopping piano-dance sequence featuring Josh and MacMillian, president of MacMillan Toys. Audiences will also enjoy the boisterous chorus of youngsters who bounce around throughout the show. Overall, the show is described as “tuneful, funny and sweet.”

Performance dates are Nov. 2, 3, 9 10, 16, 17, 23, and 24 at 8 p.m.; Nov. 8 and 15 at 7:30 p.m.; and Nov. 4, 11, 18 and 24 at 2:30 p.m. For ticket information call 679-2237. Whidbey Playhouse accepts all major credit cards. The theater is located at 730 SE Midway Blvd., Oak Harbor. Inquire by email at playhous@whidbey.net.

Musical hits

from the past

Some great music from the 1940s and ‘50s will star in “Three Hits and a Miss,” presented by the Community Concert Association on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 a.m. in Oak Harbor at XXXXXXXXXXXXX.

“Three Hits and a Miss” combines three men and a woman from the 1999 show “Forever Plaid,” in which they perform hits from the 1940s and 1950s.

Also scheduled this season by the Community Concert Association are internationally acclaimed Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago on Feb. 9, and Robert Post on April 21. Post uses physical comedy, absurdist theater, dialects, mimes and dialogue in his one-man presentation.

Show tickets cost $20, or $16 for military and family members, and are available at the Daily Grind, 1351 SW Barlow St., Oak Harbor. Call 675-2267.

Five women, one dress

Tickets are on sale for WICA’s production of Five Women Wearing the Same Dress.

During an ostentatious wedding reception at a Tennessee estate, five reluctant bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below. These five very different women discover a common bond in this wickedly funny, irreverent and touching play by Alan Ball, author of the Oscar-winning film American Beauty.

Directed by Don Wilkins, the play is at WICA in Langley. Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, 26, 27. Ticket prices are $12 adults, $10 seniors/students, matinee $8 all seats. Call the box office at 1-800-638-7631.

Nightlife: Improv Group performs at Kasteel Franssen the first Saturday of the month from 9-11 p.m. The group’s classic jazz meets anyone’s listening and dancing needs. You can hear them Nov. 3 at the restaurant.

Dixieland sounds: Oak Harbor’s Dixieland Band plays at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Mi Pueblo Grill Mexican Restaurant and Lounge, 916 SE Bayshore Dr., Oak Harbor. Anyone is welcome to join the band. Call 240-0813. Through the end of the year, all donations will go to disaster relief.

Tyee tunes: Every Saturday night there’s karaoke at Tyee Lounge, 405 South Main in Coupeville. Singing starts at 9 p.m. and lasts to 1 a.m.

Family karaoke: All ages can sing along at Mi Pueblo on Thursdays and Oak Harbor Brew Pub on Sundays. The singing with Sound Entertainment lasts from 5-9 p.m.

For Pete’s Sake: It’s karoake nights every Tuesday starting at 8 p.m. at For Pete’s Sake. The fun lasts until midnight.

Captain’s Galley: Every Wednesday is Karaoke night; every Friday is open mic. In Coupeville.

Herb Day: Blues to country or pop with Herb Day’s band, 6:30-10:30 p.m., every Thursday and every third Saturday of the month at Kasteel Franssen. Karaoke with Gerlie and Company, or a live band is in the lounge every Saturday.

Step up to the mic: Every Thursday, Gerlie and Co. host a karaoke competition at El Cazador Mexican Grill and Cantina, 32195 S.R. 20, Oak Harbor, and the evening features a $50 prize for the best singer. On Wednesdays, Gerlie and Co. are at El Calzador’s for Ladies’ Night. Call 675-6114.

Off the Rock

Entertainment at Rockfish Grill: The Rockfish Grill serves fresh Northwest cuisine and pours Anacortes ales and lagers brewed on the premises in their own facility, the Anacortes Brewery. They're smoke free and families are always welcome. The Rockfish Grill and Anacortes Brewery, 320 Commercial Ave. www.anacortesrockfish.com. Call (360) 293-8903.

Ride the Wild Buffalo: Wild Buffalo House of Music in Bellingham hosts live music Tuesday through Thursday and on weekends. The tunes may be smokin’, but the atmosphere is smoke-free at the dance-friendly venue, which features wine, microbrews, cider and non-alcoholic beverages at 208 West Holly St. For more information, call (360) 752-0848, or visit www.wildbuffalo.net.

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