Welcome to the Orcas Senior Center

Activities and Events by Zoom

We are excited to announce a reintroduction of our activities and events by Zoom. Check out the latest activities and events below. New to Zoom? Go here to learn how to Zoom Like a Pro.

** To expand the event for more information, click 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: Forage Fishes and the Beach: The Role of Local Shorelines in Marine Ecosystem Recovery by Tina Whitman		Wednesday, January 20 1:00-2:00pm	Meeting ID: 860 8924 6607 Passcode: 293821 Join Here Without the required technology? Dial-In by phone: (253) 215-8782	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
the virtual vineyard with Doe Bay Wine Company		Sunday, January 24 5:00-6:00pm	Register Here	Join Orcas Senior Center and Doe Bay Wine Company’s Cole Sisson in the virtual vineyard for a fun and informative hour of wine tasting and food paring on Sunday, January 24th at 5:00pm. This month’s virtual vineyard will be featuring natural wines from a small producer in Austria named Meinklang Farm. Spencer Corley and Amie Stevens will join us to discuss the winery and answer your questions on natural and minimal intervention wines. There will be three options and we will be pairing the wines with a special gruyere cheese, also from Austria. Sparkling: Pinot Noir Rosé White: Grüner Veltliner Red: Blaufränkisch To participate, register Then, purchase and pick up your wine, cheese, and crackers at Doe Bay Wine Company at 109 North Beach Road Thursday-Saturday 11am-4pm by Saturday, January 23rd. (1 bottle wine, cheese, crackers: $30; 2 bottles wine, cheese, crackers: $50; 3 bottles wine, cheese, crackers: $70) On Sunday, January 24th at 5:00pm, open your wine, grab your cheese and crackers and come join your friends on Zoom!
Your Life in Words Workshop by Diane Craig		Wednesday, January 27 Time TBD	Email Diane Craig directly for questions and registration at penwithlady@icloud.com	In its effort to continue offering programming during COVID, Orcas Senior Center once again offers Your Life in Words, an online workshop that focuses on the desire to write one’s life story beginning January 27, 2021. Facilitated by Diane Craig, reporter and office manager at the Islands’ Sounder and Orcas District Committee secretary, Craig describes the six-week course as an “opportunity to write the story you’ve always wanted to share, the one friends and family have said you should write.” Anyone who has thought about writing their life story, but unsure of where or how to begin, is invited to participate. Participants should have access to an internet connection, preferably an audio and visual connection, however those with only an audio connection won’t be turned away. Facing a blank sheet of paper with a heart full of stories can feel daunting. Your Life in Words will focus on making the process a little more welcoming and comfortable and, hopefully, more productive. For questions or to register, email Diane at penwithlady@icloud.com and put Workshop in the subject line. The number of participants is limited to 12 at this time. Cost: $45 OSC members; $60 guests. Ten percent of registration revenue will be donated back to Orcas Senior Center to help with the costs of the valuable services they provide our community.
Seniors Have (Virtual) Talent		Saturday, January 30 6:00pm	Event will be aired on the Orcas Senior Center and Orcas Center websites (www.orcasseniors.org and www.orcascenter.org). Interested in performing or have questions? Call, text, or email Didier Gincig at (360) 298-0362 or orcasdidier@gmail.com. All submissions must be received no later than Saturday, January 23.	Orcas Senior Center and Orcas Center are excited to announce a collaboration on the much-anticipated Seniors Have (Virtual) Talent! The event, featuring talented community members, will be aired on the Orcas Senior Center and Orcas Center websites Saturday, January 30 at 6:00pm (www.orcasseniors.org and www.orcascenter.org). Do you have a talent to perform? Record yourself using your phone (or other device) telling a favorite joke, singing a song, reciting a poem, telling a testimonial about Orcas Senior Center, playing an instrument, or performing a skit with your dog or cat – family acts are encouraged! (See below for recording guidelines) If you are interested in performing or have questions, call, text, or email Didier Gincig at (360) 298-0362 or orcasdidier@gmail.com. All submissions must be received no later than Saturday, January 23. Don’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to see your talented community! Attendance is free, but your generous donation will be much appreciated. ALL ARE WELCOME! Seniors Have (Virtual) Talent Recording Guidelines: 1. Testimonial – Record yourself using your phone (or other device) answering the question, “What does the Orcas Senior Center mean to you?” • ONE minute or less in length. • Use LANDSCAPE (horizontal / wide) NOT portrait (vertical / tall). • Use 1080p (Settings > Camera > Record Video > 1080p HD at 30 fps). • Record within 5’of the camera in a quiet environment (you can decorate the background and include a costume if you like). • Use good lighting. 2. Performance – Record yourself using your phone (or other device). • THREE minutes or less in length. • Use LANDSCAPE (horizontal / wide) NOT portrait (vertical / tall). • Use 1080p (Settings > Camera > Record Video > 1080p HD at 30 fps). • Record within 5’ of the camera in a quiet environment (you can decorate the background and include a costume if you like). • Use good lighting.
Book Club		Third Tuesday of every month 12:00 to 2:00pm	Contact Stephen Bentley at (360) 376-2299 or stephen@swbentley.com	August: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton September: The Widows of the Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey October: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers November: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern December: East of Eden by John Steinbeck January: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert February: A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe March: What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies April: The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish
Meeting of the Minds: Air Quality Monitoring in San Juan County by Kyle Dodd		Wednesday, February 17 1:00-2:00pm	Meeting ID: 860 8924 6607 Passcode: 293821 Join Here Without the required technology? Dial-In by phone: (253) 215-8782	The County has been affected by poor air quality due to wildfire smoke for several days at a time over the last several years. Although the source of the smoke is from fires hundreds of miles away, with the right conditions there can be impacts to air quality here. This presentation will cover work over the last couple years to study particulate matter 2.5 levels in the County which inform health related messages to the public. Recent work has led to the installation of low-cost sensors around the County. Kyle Dodd is the Environmental Health Manager for San Juan County Health & Community Services. Kyle has spent the last 22 years working for local health jurisdictions in Washington State, and has been with San Juan County since 2014. He grew up in Blaine and spent many summer nights camping on Patos Island during childhood which drew him back to the area. Suggested donation $5 Donate Here
Orcas Senior Center Stamp Club		Friday, February 26 2:00-3:00pm	Meeting ID: 848 3262 5870 Passcode: 950007 Join Here Without the required technology? Dial-In by phone: (253) 215-8782	Please join us for our first virtual Stamp Club meeting at Friday, February 26 at 2:00pm! Bring stamps to show and share; bring questions to ask and learn! Need supplies? We will also be trying to put together a large order of collecting supplies to get a discount from Amos Advantage.
Meeting of the Minds: Forage Fishes and the Beach - The Role of Local Shorelines in Marine Ecosystem Recovery by Jenny DeGroot		Wednesday, March 17 1:00-2:00pm	Meeting ID: 860 8924 6607 Passcode: 293821 Join Here Without the required technology? Dial-In by phone: (253) 215-8782	Unbeknownst to many islanders, coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kitsutch) spawn and rear naturally in the San Juan Islands, and little is known about them to date. This discussion will focus on what we know about this wild population and the challenges they face presently. Jenny De Groot is the owner of Speckled Trout Consulting, LLC, a fisheries consulting company, and received her MSc. from the University of British Columbia and BSc. from the University of Minnesota. Jenny worked on research projects in Alaska, British Columbia, and Antarctica, studying sea otters, harbor seals, Weddell seals and coastal cutthroat trout, before making her home in the San Juan Islands. Suggested donation $5 Donate Here
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	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

Hospital Boards Decide Not to Sell Hospice of the Northwest

Thank you for letting the the two Skagit County public healthcare districts know your disapproval of selling Hospice of the Northwest to a private equity-owned organization. They listened! The public healthcare districts have officially decided not to move forward with selling the nonprofit.

Read more about the decision here.

Mask-Maker, Mask-Maker

Super volunteer Maggie Kaplan has been hard at work hand-making masks for our community and visitors alike since March. 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!!

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.

Cozy VIRUS Attire For Sale

Local screen-printing and graphic design artist, Jennifer Rigg is at again with her VIRUS design just in time for cold weather! She is now offering this separate, yet together design on long-sleeved t-shirts and hoodies. Jennifer will donate the profit of your purchase to Orcas Senior Center.

Show your support for Orcas Senior Center by adding one of these cozy designs to your wardrobe and don’t forget to buy some for your holiday gift giving.

To view and purchase attire, go here.