Activities & Events
For Activities & Events, scroll to the bottom of the page, or click here to jump to that section.
We are Hiring!
Orcas Senior Center is currently seeking applicants for a Companion Services Coordinator.
Go here to read more about the position and Companion Services.
COVID-19: Be in the Know
On March 31, 2021, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that all residents of Washington 16 years and above will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination on April 15, 2021. Read the press release here.
To see the latest information about San Juan County’s COVID vaccination effort, including eligibility, announcements of vaccination dates, and to schedule a vaccine appointment, go here.
Do you know a community member who needs extra assistance with signing up for the COVID-19 vaccine? If so, help is available through a collaboration between San Juan County Health and Community Services, Orcas Senior Center, and Orcas Community Resource Center.
Please contact San Juan County Senior Services Specialist Jami Mitchell at (360) 376-7926 or Jana Webb from Orcas Community Resource Center at (360) 376-3184 for details regarding this assistance.
Keep up to date with the latest information about COVID-19 locally, statewide, and globally:
San Juan County
Washington State Department of Health
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
World Health Organization
How Many Books Can You Find?
Introducing Orcas Senior Center‘s Little Free Library! May thanks to all who made this a reality, especially former OSC employee, Vicki O’Keefe (pictured), now Orcas Island School District Librarian for envisioning this project. Also, thanks to Stu Stephens for masterfully building it complete with cedar shake roofing. And thank you to OSC’s Art with Carla class, Carla Stanley, Karen Johnston, Barb Garrett, Jari Brenner, Sharon Inman, and Kim Rose, who artfully designed and painted the library with images from classic books and local Orcas authors. Orcas District Committee members Allan Rosato and Darcey Miller, installed and weatherized the library to complete the project.
So, on your next trip to town, stop by Orcas Senior Center at 62 Henry Road, borrow a book, and check out our Little Free Library masterpiece. While you’re at it, how many classic books can you find in the artwork?
Mask-Maker, Mask-Maker
Super volunteer Maggie Kaplan has been hard at work hand-making masks for our community and visitors alike since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, she has raised over $15,000 in donations for her masks! All proceeds have been donated to Orcas Senior Center! Thank you Maggie!! (Maggie has even had so much time on her hands from being stuck at home that she’s sewn a beautiful quilt made of all the leftover mask fabric!)
You can pick up your very own stylish and well-sewn masks from her carport at 158 Palisades Drive.
Read more about Maggie and her masks in this article from the Islands’ Sounder here.
Buddy Check-In in the News!
The Islands’ Sounder printed an article about the monumental effort by staff, volunteers, super volunteer Joe Symons, and coordinator John Slater about the creation and implementation of the Buddy Check-In program in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the article here.
Are you a senior? Would you appreciate a regular phone check-in by an Orcas Senior Center volunteer during your self-isolation?
Are you interested in volunteering as a buddy?
Contact John Slater at John@orcasseniors.org or (360) 919-9318 or click on the button below.
Real Time Air Quality Measurements @ OSC
As part of its Air Quality Monitoring Project, San Juan County has installed a PM2.5 monitor on the Orcas Senior Center building.
What are PM2.5? PM2.5 are microscopic particles that are only a few percent of the diameter of a human hair in size. Their microscopic size allows them to bypass the protective areas of the nose and throat and penetrate deep into the lungs, potentially causing health problems. On Orcas Island, the most common sources of PM2.5 are motor vehicles, residential wood burning, and seasonal forest fires.
The box below shows up-to-date readings from the PM2.5 air quality monitor installed at the Orcas Senior Center. Any number less than 50 is considered safe. Click on the “Purple Air Map” text at the bottom to get even more information from the sensor and to see readings in other locations.
For public health guidance from San Juan County Health & Human Services for PM2.5 concentrations, go here.
Activities and Events
** For more information about the event, expand by clicking the green plus (+) sign to the left of the title. **
| Event Title: | Date(s) and Time(s): | How to Participate: | Description: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting of the Minds: Rediscovered Fruit: Conserving the Islands’ Ancient Food Forests by Madrona Murphy from Kwiaht |  | Wednesday, April 21 1:00-2:00pm | Meeting ID: 860 8924 6607 Passcode: 293821 Join Here Without the required technology? Dial-In by phone: (253) 215-8782 Would you like an email reminder? Register Here in advance. | When the US Coast and Geodetic Survey maps of the islands were completed in 1897 large orchards were everywhere. The San Juan Islands were growing and exporting fruit throughout the Northwest and the county at an astonishing scale for such a small geographical area. While the industry has waned, the trees and their varieties adapted to our island climate, and their unique seedling offspring are still a critical component of the islands’ foodscape and a surprisingly dynamic agroecosystem supporting diverse species of bats and birds. Madrona Murphy is a Reed graduate in botany and political science who worked as a technician at the University of Washington’s Center for Cell Dynamics at Friday Harbor Laboratories before establishing and managing Kwiáht's genotyping laboratory. As Kwiáht's botanist she also conducts botanical surveys, designs re-vegetation plans for restoration projects, and grows native food plants and heritage apple varieties in Kwiáht's research garden. Born and raised on Lopez, Madrona is currently pursuing studies of native food plants, local populations of salmon, heritage fruit trees, black-tailed deer, and island bats. Suggested donation $5 Donate Here ALL ARE WELCOME! Optional: To receive an email reminder with the Zoom link the day before the event, Register Here in advance. Otherwise, simply login at the appointed time. |
| the virtual vineyard with Doe Bay Wine Company |  | Sunday, April 25 5:00-6:00pm | Register Here | Join Orcas Senior Center and Doe Bay Wine Company’s Cole Sisson as we traverse through Tuscany for this month’s tasting! Cole and special guest, Matthew Fleming, US ambassador for La Spinetta Vineyard will join us to discuss this selection of great spring wines. Also joining us is Julien Kos, our resident cheesemonger from Cheeseland Inc. who will teach us about the cheese specially selected to pair with your wine. The three La Spinetta wines include a white made with a vermentino grape, a dry rosé, and a sangiovese. To participate, register here. Then, purchase and pick up your wine, cheese, and crackers Doe Bay Wine Company at 109 North Beach Road Thursday-Monday 11am-5pm by Saturday, April 24. (1 bottle wine, cheese, crackers: $30; 2 bottles wine, cheese, crackers: $50; 3 bottles wine, cheese, crackers: $90) On Sunday, April 25 at 5:00pm, pour your wine, grab your cheese and crackers, and come join your friends on Zoom! ALL ARE WELCOME. |
| Orcas Socrates Café |  | Second Sunday of every month 4:00-5:00pm | Register Here | Beginning Sunday, March 14 at 4pm, and every second Sunday of the month, Orcas Senior Center will virtually host Orcas Socrates Café. This is, by all intent, an opportunity to gather as a community for a broad conversation on philosophical perspectives. The method of conversation was developed by Christopher Phillips, who created the café framework using the Socratic method of discussion. The book, Socrates Café: A Fresh Taste by Philosophy , that explores the author’s reasons for forming and facilitating discussion, will be available at the Orcas Island Library and Darvill’s Bookstore. Orcas Socrates Café is not a book club, but rather a conversation where everyone will be encouraged to exchange philosophical perspectives based on their experiences. We hope you will be compelled to join us in a progression of questions which will broadly and thoughtfully encourage a friendly community dialog. To read more about the Socrates Café concept, go here. To register for Orcas Socrates Café, go here. |
| Fresh Start in 15 Qigong Practice with Joan Roulac |  | Wednesdays 9:00-9:15am | Contact Joan Roulac at Joan@MountaintopMusings.com or (360) 298-2789 or Register on Joan's website here. | In addition to Joan Roulac’s T’ai Chi Chih Joy through Movement series beginning on March 16 by Zoom, she would like to invite you to join her weekly Fresh Start in 15 Qigong practice. Fresh Start in 15 is a playful 15-minute practice that meets Wednesday mornings at 9:00am. Qigong combines mindfulness, meditation, and movement in nourishing ways that gently strengthen our immune system, elevate our energy, and build better balance. Joan has been teaching Qigong and T’ai Chi Chih since being accredited by Justin Stone in 1987 and has taught thousands of students in California, Oregon, and Washington. To learn more about the weekly Fresh Start 15 class or to register, go to here, email Joan at Joan@MountaintopMusings.com, or call her at (360) 298-2789. The fee for this class is by donation and all are welcome to join. |
| Book Club |  | Third Tuesday of every month 12:00 to 2:00pm | Contact Stephen Bentley at (360) 376-2299 or stephen@swbentley.com | March: What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies April: The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish May: My Ántonia by Willa Cather June: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart July: The Cold Millions by Jess Walter August: Endless Night by Agatha Christie September: Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Cara Safina October: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman November: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey December: This Perfect Day by Ira Levin January 2022: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah February: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf March: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell April: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois May: The Alienist by Caleb Carr |
| Meeting of the Minds: Forage Fishes and the Beach: The Role of Local Shorelines in Marine Ecosystem Recovery by Tina Whitman |  | Wednesday, May 19 1:00-2:00pm | Meeting ID: 860 8924 6607 Passcode: 293821 Join Here Without the required technology? Dial-In by phone: (253) 215-8782 Would you like an email reminder? Register Here in advance. | This Meeting of the Minds presentation will share the latest scientific understanding of the importance and status of marine shoreline habitats in the San Juans, highlighting connections to regional food webs. Opportunities and local actions to promote the recovery of Chinook salmon and the southern resident orca will also be explored. Tina Whitman is staff scientist for Friends of the San Juans where she has managed shoreline research, restoration and protection programs since 2002. Tina received a Master of Science from the University of Oregon and has worked on coastal habitat conservation in island communities in New England and the Pacific Northwest. Suggested donation $5 Donate Here ALL ARE WELCOME! Optional: To receive an email reminder with the Zoom link the day before the event, Register Here in advance. Otherwise, simply login at the appointed time. |
| Spring Clean-Up at Orcas Senior Center |  | Sunday, May 2 11:00am-3:00pm | Simply show up at Orcas Senior Center at 62 Henry Road for all or part of the time. | Are you itching to get outside in this beautiful spring weather and socialize safely? Orcas Senior Center will have the perfect opportunity for you on Sunday, May 2, from 11:00am to 3:00pm. We need help cleaning up our grounds, and will be weeding, raking, deadheading, trimming, and much more. Bring your gardening tools, come on by for all or part of the time, and help us make our grounds beautiful again! Snacks, sandwiches, and water will be provided by the Orcas Senior Center Tea Ladies. Work gloves, masks, and social distancing required. Please leave your power tools at home. For more information, call (360) 376-7929 or email admin@orcasseniors.org. |
| the virtual vineyard with Doe Bay Wine Company |  | Sunday, May 23 5:00-6:00pm | Register Here | Join Michel Vekved, Orcas Senior Center and Cole Sisson, Doe Bay Wine Company, as we traverse through regions of Mexico for our May tasting! Mexico may be well known for mezcal and tequila, yet it is also home to the oldest wine industry in the Americas. We will learn about wines from several regions in the country. To participate, register register here. Then, purchase and pick up your wine, cheese, and crackers Doe Bay Wine Company at 109 North Beach Road Thursday-Monday 11am-5pm by Saturday, May 22. On May 23 at 5:00pm, open your wine, cheese and crackers and come join your friends on Zoom! |
| Orcas Senior Center Stamp Club |  | Quarterly: Friday, May 28 Friday, August 27 Friday, November 26 2:00pm | Register Here | Stamp Collectors Unite! Are you wondering what to do with that old stamp collection that you inherited from your great uncle? Did you find an envelope of old stamps stashed in a drawer, and wonder if they are worth anything? Have you been thinking about stamp collecting, but don’t know where to start? Or do you already actively collect stamps or stamp-related items (such as old postcards) and what to find someone to trade with? Join Orcas Senior Center’s Stamp Club Quarterly Meetings. Friday, May 28, 2:00pm Friday, August 27, 2:00pm Friday, November 26, 2:00pm Bring stamps to show and share; bring questions to ask and learn! Need supplies? We will also be putting together a large order of collecting supplies to get a discount from Amos Advantage. All are welcome! Register Here in advance. |
| Life Line Health Screenings |  | Thursday, June 10 @ Orcas Senior Center | Register by calling toll free 1-888-653-6441 or text the word "circle" to 797979. | There is a simple, convenient way for you to get preventive health screenings and learn your risk for stroke, heart disease and other chronic conditions. These painless screenings go beyond your regular checkup to identify dangerous plaque buildup or blockage, a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease. The screenings are accurate, affordable and will give you valuable information about your health that you can share with your doctor. We are pleased to host Life Line Screening, who will be on site on Thursday, June 10 at Orcas Senior Center to conduct these valuable screenings. These five vital screenings are offered for only $149 and take 60 to 90 minutes to complete. If you register today, you will receive a $10 discount. Register by calling toll free 1-888-653-6441 or text the word "circle" to 797979. State and County COVID-19 recommendations will be followed, including, but not limited to wearing masks, social distancing, and disinfecting surfaces between clients. |