Four Whidbey Island residents were recently awarded $500 grants from the Whidbey Island Arts Council.
Blessed with sunshine and a hefty turnout, organizers are calling Whidbey General Hospital Foundation’s ninth annual Tour de Whidbey a great success.
Oak Harbor resident Joshua Elliot is making a big change. He said he received a call from the big man upstairs, and he’s ready to respond whole-heartedly.
There will be a special concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland. Trinity’s musical director and Brothers Four member, Karl Olsen, will welcome two of his partners from the group, Mark Pearson and Mike McCoy, as well as keyboardist Ted Brancato.
Meerkerk’s Autumn Rhododendron Sale Oct. 2 and 3 has blossomed into its First Annual Fall Garden Festival.
Religion Notes
On Monday, while reading Facebook posts, I learned of the unintentional death of the 16-year-old son of treasured college friends. Two days later, when Justin’s parents appeared before the media to say it appears their son died in a tragic prank or a choking game accident, it seemed clear that my support of them would begin here.
Blustery weather will benefit local kite flyers participating in an annual festival on Central Whidbey Island.
In its 15th year, the Whidbey Island Kite Festival will provide one of the last chances of the year for people to fly their favorite kites on the wind swept fields of the Camp Casey Conference Center Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Bicycle designer and marketer Grant Petersen said, “Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.”
Well, it’s a pretty safe bet that he wasn’t talking about the Tour de Whidbey at the time. In fact, it’s a pretty safe bet that Petersen has never heard of the Tour de Whidbey. Nevertheless, his words describe it well.
There are studies that show playing music can help senior citizens prevent diseases like dementia or Alzheimer’s. There are studies that say learning an instrument increases the human growth hormone to fight osteoporosis. But 75-year-old William DuBay can’t exactly say who wrote these studies, or how they work. It doesn’t matter. Because DuBay has experienced the benefits of learning a new instrument first hand.
Immediately after the tragic Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 it was difficult to find a business or home that wasn’t flying an American flag. Outreach for families and organizations in need was abundant. But as time wore on and years passed, the zeal for helping others slowly tapered off. But, one Oak Harbor community is working to keep the loving spirit alive.
I grew up near the foothills in Southern California and each fall we worried about wildfires. The year the foothills near my home caught fire was the year my dad was acting principal of the nearby high school and stayed with several hundred students evacuated to the school when the foothill fire sprang up, dangerously near our neighborhoods.
Three clergymen nationally known as the “Interfaith Amigos” are featured in the seventh annual Whidbey Interfaith Vigil of Peace and Hope held 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23 at St. Augustine’s-in-the-Woods Episcopal Church in Freeland.