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Tag: Whidbey Island

Sirithiri | Attending a Writers Conference, or, ‘I love you more than…’

BY SIRI BARDARSON
October 29, 2014

Whidbey Life Magazine was a sponsor of this weekend’s 2014 Whidbey Island Writers Conference and, as a blogger for WLM, I was allowed to go as a member of the “press.” What a blast! I felt I knew the secret handshake or the special wink as I breezed into lovely Chat House settings and convenient classrooms in the uber-charming waterfront town of Coupeville on beautiful Whidbey Island.

Kudos to Kim Cottrell, Executive Director, and Terry Persun, Conference Director and their hard working staff and volunteers who handled the many details of this successful event!

Illustration by Siri Bardarson

At morning registration at the Rec Hall, the energy was palpable, similar to when I stand next to the huge lavender bush in my backyard on a sunny, summer day and hear the honeybees rattle the air with their industry. There was real bustling and conversation while the attendees registered but what I also felt was the interior whirring of wordsmiths and word artists. The sound of a bazillion ideas, hopes and dreams and the words that help manifest them.

I found a seat at a table where other attendees were poring over their conference program and finishing up their Continental breakfasts. I considered my responsibility as a member of the “press” and I asked each person the reason they were here. The answers were as varied as the ages, genders and looks of my six tablemates: learn to pitch, continue as a lifetime writer, this is my birthday present to myself, get motivated to finish my project. The youngest writer was staying at her family’s beach cabin; this was her first conference and she was working on a middle-grade fantasy novel set on Whidbey Island.

And then it was time to go find the answers to our questions or the information to help us reach our goals and we hurried off to our Chat House sessions.

Bardarson with conference presenter and fellow WLM contributor Deb Lund (photo by the author)

My Chat House session was nearby and I was grateful for the walk. I was already too excited and I was only two hours into a full weekend! As everyone clambered into car pools, I saw the swarm of ideas released into the morning sky like a swarm of honeybees or those cool murmurations of starlings that have been filmed and posted to YouTube.

But all these ideas and words that my fellow writers have aren’t coordinated like the drones of honey making. No—each writer was tasked with finding out how to make the perfect container for his or her words and to create a writing project. That is the beauty of the Writers Conference: come and figure out what you need to know because it takes more than a butterfly net or a video camera to capture the huge cloud of words that surround a good idea.

This year’s conference had a wonderful menu of presenters and classes. I was interested in working on conflict in my current project and I heard professional advice on this tricky craft skill presented two very different ways. On one hand, the published writer spoke in a linear way about plot points and strategies, while in a similar class the next day, a different published writer dished out the same excellent advice with the tone of your best friend who loves ya! People don’t learn the same way and writing is certainly not a one-size-fits-all exercise, and it was great to hear two different approaches to an identical craft issue.

The conference attendees have travelled home now and some of us are already at the computer or chewing on a pencil stub. I can hear across the universe—the soft whirring and grating sounds that we writers make as we sort and sift and work our way through one more word choice or craft experiment. Writers, like all artists, make decisions constantly, tiny and big. It is a lot of work.

My boy and I used to play a game. One or the other of us would start it.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?”

“No,” the other would answer.

“Well, see those fir trees over there?” The other would look into the distance and smile. “I love you more than all the pine needles on all the fir trees in all the forests of the universe.”

“Mmmm, that’s a lot,” the other would contemplate and smile more broadly.

In this silly game, the thing to be counted can be anything. After this weekend, having met so many wonderful people and communed with the huge number of ideas and words that exist in the vast collective consciousness of writers, I have an idea for the next time I play the game, for the moment when it is my turn to express a huge, incalculable, infinite number.

“I love you more than all the beautiful words and wonderful ideas of all the writers in the universe!”

Good luck, my fellow word artists and thank you, Whidbey Island Writing Conference 2014!

Siri Bardarson is a musician who writes a lot. She is ecstatically happy when she makes stuff!

Read more about the conference from blogger Dianna MacLeod and view photos from David Welton’s photo essay here.

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October 29, 2014
Mutts strut in style at Bayview Corner this weekend

BY DAVID WELTON
Oct. 27, 2014

On Saturday, Oct. 25 Whidbey mutts dressed up and competed for prizes at the ninth annual Mutt Strut at Historic Bayview Corner. Judges debated the merits of the costumes and tricks of the dogs and humans complete with embellishment by the entertaining emcee Jim Freeman. This annual event is sponsored by Goosefoot.

Erin Wilkie’s two daughters with their two Boston Terriers.

There were two #1 Hawks Fans

Leah Hartley holds the hoop for Spinnaker Gale

Larry Johnson turns the tables as a human in a dog costume

Larry Johnson embarrassed his daughter Kayla by dressing as a dog. He won a special prize, a gift certificate to Neil’s Clover Patch, and told her he will go in costume. We hope to see more photos of that occasion.

Princess Leia times two with their doxy droid

They score a 4 and a 6 from the judges, emcee Jim Freeman says that makes them ten.

The judges make impossible decisions

The judges confer about the awards. Prizes include 44 pound sacks of dog food and treats from local pet supply stores. Prizes were awarded for best dog costume, best trick, best celebrity dog, & best owner/dog costume combo).

A couple of clowns

The Chihuahua has to climb a ladder to get into his baby carriage when clowning duties are over.

Gail Liston and Brian Plebanek arrive Renaissance style

Koa the golden retriever and Buddy the pug accompany Gail and Brian of Vino Amore Wine Shop in Freeland.

Jim Freeman and Marian Myszkowski give an award to Leah Hartley during the awards ceremony.

(All photos and commentary by David Welton)

Read more about the Mutt Strut from blogger Les McCarthy.

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WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 27, 2014
Lost and Found: Daniel James Brown Rescues the Past

BY MARTHA McCARTNEY
Whidbey Life Magazine contributor
October 1, 2014

I remember reading about the 1936 Olympics and Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in track and field. But I was completely surprised when I was told about the medals won by the young men of Washington that same year.

I knew nothing until I interviewed the local sculptor, Jeff Day, who told me that his father, Chuck Day, had won a gold medal as a member of the eight-man crew who rowed for the University of Washington. Day told me some fascinating stories about his father and also about “The Boys in the Boat”—the book that made it to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list.

The Gold Medal-winning crew of University of Washington (photo courtesy of Jeff Day)

The author, Daniel James Brown, lives not far from Seattle and has written three books of nonfiction. Brown’s first two books were finalists for the Washington State Book Award. His first, “Under the Flaming Sky, The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894,” was a finalist for a Barnes and Noble Discover Award. His second book, “The Indifferent Stars Above,” is a story of survival about a young woman who was a member of the Donner Party. All three books required a vast amount of research, which took years to complete. All are historically accurate accounts of actual events but, more notably, are imbued with the human emotions and psychological impacts of the people involved.

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Whidbey Island Writers Conference

Friday Oct. 24 at 8 a.m. thru
Sunday, Oct. 26 at 4:30 p.m.
in Coupeville, WA

Full Conference includes:

Workshops, keynotes, agent pitch session,
editor consultation, “Write Night” party, panel discussions and
Saturday night Keynote with author Daniel James Brown

Registration and information: www.nila.edu

______________________________

“Part of what I have to do is put myself behind the eyes of the characters to experience what they must have felt, what they did feel as told through their own journals,” Brown said. “All those details are necessary to bring the story alive—for the reader to have a meaningful connection to the past.”

Brown became familiar with the story of the UW crew when approached by his neighbor who was caretaking her terminally ill father. She was reading one of Brown’s books to her father, Joe Rantz, and arranged a visit between the two men. During that visit the neighbor’s father talked about his life. He was a member of the crew that won Olympic Gold during the 1936 games in Berlin—games that were orchestrated and attended by Hitler, who stood on a tall podium to make him higher than anyone or anything else.

Brown grew up in California and graduated with a master’s degree in English literature from UCLA, then taught writing at San Jose State University and also at Stanford University. He relocated to Washington and was employed as a technical writer before making a commitment to writing nonfiction full-time. His second book was finished and published when he met Rantz. He immediately asked him if he could write a book about his life. Rantz declined, but agreed to tell him more if he wrote a book about the boat.

After years of investigation and writing, the end result is an amazing account of a pivotal time in world history. The United States was being ravaged by the Great Depression, the devastation of the Dust Bowl and being pulled into a European conflict soon to become World War II, while in Germany a great fraud was being packaged and sold to an unsuspecting populace culminating in perhaps the most evil deeds ever inflicted upon humanity.

“When I first heard the story,” Brown said, “I knew I wanted to write it and I knew that I wanted to include all the correlating events that had an effect on the lives of these nine young men chosen for the crew. There was an enormous amount of research. A lot of it came from journals, diaries, photographs and newspapers that were kept. It was a significant event in their lives. Boxes full of mementos have been passed down and saved—the families waited 75 years and hoped the story would be told one day.”

While writing “The Boys in the Boat” Brown explained that he formed a deep connection with each of the characters and felt compelled to tell their story, which had been overlooked and mostly forgotten. The men had to overcome personal hardships and endure great physical challenges. In addition, a key element for success was for them to put individual egos aside and become—in some sort of mystical and spiritual way—one combined living entity of men and wood which, as Joe Rantz said, was “The Boat.”

Brown admits that even he did not fully grasp the parallel between the teamwork required of the crew and the alliance needed between nations in those dark times. However, it seems woven throughout the book and the message is timely.

Brown’s first book, “Under a Flaming Sky,” was written as a result of his own family history. His grandfather, then just a child, narrowly escaped the tragic firestorm of 1894 in Hinckley, Minnesota. The fire devastated the northern Minnesota region and killed over 400 people who were trapped when two forest fires advanced rapidly and converged. Brown’s grandfather and great grandmother boarded a train taking residents towards safety. When the train became engulfed in flames many perished but some survived by immersing themselves in a shallow swamp. His great grandfather died, having stayed behind to fight the flames.

In the preface of “Under a Flaming Sky” Brown writes about the emergence of the human story that came from his intensive inquiry. “It tells us of men, women, and even children, lost, alone in the heat and the smoke, terrified and pleading with God for mercy, who in the end found no mercy and had no choice but to crumple to their knees and lay their heads down unwillingly on pillows of flame.” It is that human story that touched the author and, in turn, is communicated in a visceral way to the reader.

“I am interested in ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances and doing things outside the realm of what they thought possible,” Brown said.

Brown’s writing is more than facts and dates and places; it’s gripping and compassionate—filled with the very heartbeats of the people involved.

Daniel James Brown is scheduled to participate in the upcoming Whidbey Island Writers Conference to be held Friday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Oct. 26 in Coupeville. He will be giving the keynote address on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 25.

To learn more about “The Boys in the Boat” and Daniel James Brown you can access the website at www.danieljamesbrown.com.

The Whidbey Island Writers Conference is organized by the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. Registration and information is available at www.nila.edu.

Image at top: Daniel James Brown, author of “The Boys in the Boat” (photo courtesy of NILA)

Martha is a poet, photographer, mixed-media artist, persistent gardener and candle-maker. She has never really gotten over not being photographed for a Richard Brautigan book cover. Currently she is learning to navigate by using her inner compass, which she keeps pointed towards her own true north.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 1, 2014
Don’t Miss the Free Whidbey Island Farm Tour this Weekend

BY CAROLYN TAMLER
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
September 17, 2014

As little as nine years ago some people on Whidbey were opposed to farming on the island, according to Karen Krug, owner of Spoiled Dog Winery. “There were some negative attitudes,” she said, “from people who didn’t understand farming as a good use of the land.”

Krug was looking for creative ways to inform people about what farmers do and how they are being good stewards of the land. “A great many people had no connection with the farmers,” she said, “even people who lived next door to a farm.” Her solution was to organize a committee to educate the public.

Betsy & Walter—mascots for this year’s Farm Tour (artwork created by Stacey Neumiller)

Thus was the first Whidbey Island Farm Tour created in 2006, through the joint efforts of the newly formed committee and the Whidbey Island Conservation District, a group that was chaired by Krug. The concept from the beginning was that the tour would be free, so that it would appeal to families.

Initially, Spoiled Dog Winery was the major financial supporter of the event with the Conservation District and WSU Extension as contributors in-kind. In ensuing years, however, additional sponsorships and grants have been obtained from the Port of South Whidbey, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, Coupeville Port, Whidbey News Group and many area businesses listed on the farm tour website.

In addition to the pinot noir grapes they grow for some of their wines, the 25-acre Spoiled Dog farm is home to llamas, cows, horses and chickens. Krug noted that most of the people who visited before the tours began were unaware it was a traditional farm that includes the vineyards. Visitors usually meet Blue or Sami and quickly understand the name for the farm and the winery.

Sami sleeping, with the cows in the pasture behind (photo by Karen Krug)

Coupeville artist Stacey Neumiller was brought in to create the brochure and advertising for the first tour. She came up with the idea of having an artistic mascot for each of the years. “I had done a painting of a cow with Whidbey Island on it prior to the first Farm Tour,” Neumiller said. After the first year, I showed a print of the cow to Karen and suggested the idea of using the paintings as mascots. She agreed and the rest is history.”

In partnership with the Whidbey Island Conservation District, the annual Farm Tour has continued to thrive and grow. The current Chairperson of the Farm Tour is Hal Schlomann who, with wife Gretchen, owns Fern Ridge Alpacas. Sarah Cassatt of the Conservation District is this year’s Administrator of the Farm Tour.

_______________________________________

The 2014 Whidbey Island Farm Tour
is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21.
For a map, a list of the participating farms
and more information,
visit the website at
http://www.whidbeyfarmtour.com/
________________________________________

Schlomann said he appreciates that the tour is a cooperative effort. “The committee provides help, enrolls sponsors for the tour, coordinates the event with the participating farmers and distributes promotional materials.

“Residents of the island need to recognize the importance of farms to our local economy on several levels,” he added, “including agri-tourism, traditional farm stands and commercial produce served in many of the local restaurants.”

He also admitted he gets great pleasure showing visitors how to bump noses and make friends with an alpaca.

Hal Schlomann shows off his girls to a visitor (photo by Carolyn Tamler)

With the growing popularity of the “Buy local” movement on Whidbey, there is also an increasing awareness of the value and quality of locally grown and raised products that are available here at the farmers’ markets and in the local grocery stores.

This year’s Farm Tour includes 14 participants, whose farms vary widely in appearance and in the types of produce being raised; the map of the tour participants also lists the eight farmers’ markets that run the length of the island.

So if you don’t know about the variety of produce (vegetables, berries, lavender, grapes, flowers and trees) livestock (cows, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, alpacas, llamas and horses) water produce (mussels) and fiber that comes from Whidbey Island, the Farm Tour this weekend invites you to learn and be dazzled.

Image at top: Karen Krug at the door to Spoiled Dog Winery (photo by Richard Duval)

Carolyn Tamler was a marketing research and community involvement consultant in the Seattle Area for many years before moving to Whidbey Island, where she has become known as a writer who enjoys telling the stories about the many businesses and entrepreneurs on the island.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

September 17, 2014
‘Hot Club’ in a Cool Town—Home of DjangoFest NW

BY RUSSELL CLEPPER
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
September 10, 2014

San Francisco has one. Detroit has one. France had the first one. Even Hulaville has one. Whidbey Island has joined the club. The Hot Club, that is—the Hot Club of Troy to be precise.

The Hot Club of France was a jazz appreciation society formed by a small band of Parisian students in the early 1930s. They promoted a style of music known as “hot jazz,” descended from the Dixieland jazz of New Orleans. This progressed into the Chicago style of jazz of which Louis Armstrong was the best known proponent.

Bandleader Troy Chapman concentrates on laying down a Django groove with the Hot Club of Troy. Photo by David Welton.

The club eventually hired Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli, along with three other musicians, to become the Quintette du Hot Club de France. The name was shortened over the years to simply Hot Club of France and the gypsy jazz style of music they elaborated became one of the most influential musical movements of the 20th Century.

Our island version of the Hot Club is not named after a place, however. There’s no town of Troy between Clinton and Oak Harbor. But there is a person named Troy on the island and he happens to be an exceptionally fine guitarist who has mastered several styles of jazz, but whose first love is the gypsy jazz style of the great Django Reinhardt.

“I mean the pun is obvious,” said Troy Chapman, band leader of the group. “I just thought it would be a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, that I’m one of the few people who has a name that’s actually a known town; I should take advantage of that.”

Bassist Kristi O’Donnell enjoys a brief moment between songs. Photo by David Welton.

In fact, there may be as many as 26 towns in the United States named Troy, besides the one they are all named after—that ancient city-state with the wooden horse problem. None of them, however, can lay claim to being a host city for world-class gypsy jazz as can little ol’ Langley on Whidbey Island.

Langley has been on the radar of Django disciples for more than a decade. The Whidbey Island Center for the Arts will host the 14th year of DjangoFest this coming Sept. 17 through 21. World class artists such as Stochelo Rosenberg, Gonzalo Bergara and Florin Niculescu are slated to perform and lead workshops. On Friday, Sept. 19, the Seattle gypsy jazz quintet Pearl Django will perform as they have for each of DjangoFest’s preceding 13 years. Chapman joined the group in 2010 and is recognized as one of North America’s leading gypsy jazz guitarists.

Keith Bowers takes a turn on lead guitar. Photo by David Welton.

Enter Trio Nouveau, the high-flying, hard swinging, quick picking jazz band founded by Whidbey residents Keith Bowers and Kristi O’Donnell. Chapman is a regular in the group, which focuses more on the Great American Songbook collection of popular songs from the 1920s to the 1950s. However, Bowers and O’Donnell share Chapman’s love of Reinhardt’s style of playing and the three of them wanted to play that style at select venues around the island.

Chapman said, “I didn’t want to do it as Trio Nouveau, because Trio Nouveau plays a different kind of music. The Hot Club of Troy is very much about the purity of the sound of Django Reinhardt and his music. We’ll be playing mostly Reinhardt compositions.”

The Hot Club of Troy has been performing this summer at Useless Bay Coffee House, Ott & Murphy’s Cabaret and a new venue on the island, the Roaming Radish (5023 Harbor Hills Drive in Freeland, formerly the Beachfire Grill). Their next performance is from 12 noon until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Useless Bay Coffee, the day before DjangoFest begins. The trio will continue the gig there at that day and time throughout the Fall

The Hot Club of Troy at a recent performance at Useless Bay Coffee. Keith Bowers in the foreground with Kristi O’Donnell on upright bass and Troy Chapman. Photo by David Welton.

“We’ll play wherever anybody asks us to play,” said Chapman. “If you like gypsy jazz, you will really like this. If you like Django Reinhardt, you will really like this. If we get a good response, we’d like to do this for about the next 20 years.”

To see WICA’s complete schedule for DjangoFest 2014 and to order tickets, go to http://www.wicaonline.org/djangofest-northwest/.

Russell Clepper is a singer-songwriter who plies his trade locally and around the country. He is also a substitute teacher for the Oak Harbor School District.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

September 10, 2014
From Leprechauns to Soap Bubbles: ‘I Reckon a Fella Could Do That’

BY MARTHA McCARTNEY
PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID WELTON
VIDEOS BY ROBBIE CRIBBS
*See addendum for a sunrise bubble-making session information
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributors
September 3, 2014

When Tom Lindsay was six years old he remembers making a leprechaun out of roof tar. Now he makes bubbles. Once you know his story you’ll see a definite design trajectory.

Lindsay was born in the hot flatland of west Texas into an extremely supportive and encouraging family. His maternal grandfather, “Papaw,” had a tremendous impact on the way Lindsay solves problems.

Tom Lindsay, age 10, at work in the family workshop (photo courtesy of Tom Lindsay)

“Papaw and I would go into our family shop—it was small and narrow, a converted chicken coop—where we tinkered with all sorts of things and he taught me how to use tools. There was a buckboard-seat bench where he would sit and watch me. I remember one day it was so hot that his glasses were steamed up and I told him he didn’t need to stay, he could go into the house. He shook his head and said ‘You are a boy after my own heart.’”

“Papaw always bought Craftsman tools—‘has to be Craftsman’—he’d say. One day we were at the hardware store and saw a drill press. I can still recall the smell of it. I asked Papaw if we could make one and he answered ‘I reckon a fella could do that.’ That was his answer to a lot of my questions. We did build one, but instead of the drill lowering as usual, we rigged up a hydraulic car jack to raise the piece to be drilled.” From that time forward, Lindsay explained, he was able to see things from a different point of view.

An opalescent sphere rests on the water’s surface (photo by Martha McCartney)

The Lindsays moved from Texas to California when he was seven. He continued school and graduated from Stanford. For a time he worked in the solar industry and then in electronics. He invented and patented an electromagnetic shielding gasket that was sold to manufacturers of computers and telecommunication equipment. Later, he became Director of Exhibits at the Children’s Discovery Museum in San Jose.

One of the largest tasks during that time was the complete demolition of the existing water exhibit, which, Lindsay explained, needed a new look and updating regarding methods for keeping the water free from bacteria. Lindsay, with a team of highly skilled designers, successfully installed the current interactive exhibit called “Water Ways,” one of the most imaginative in the country. Throughout his working life, he seems to have utilized an “I-reckon-a-fella-could-do-that” ingenuity.

Even though a bubble room was included as part of the exhibit at the Museum, Lindsay recalled an earlier experience with bubbles that he thinks may have started his fascination. On a camping trip to the Sierras he wore a huge backpack while pushing a jogging stroller loaded with his son, an inflatable raft and a bubble-making kit. “I took the raft originally because it was the only way I could get [my son] settled down to go to sleep,” Lindsay said, “but then I also knew there was a lake. It was a place I had been before.”

He described what happened out on the lake as surreal. The large iridescent bubbles floated out over the still water and then—instead of bursting as he expected—they ricocheted lightly, drifted back up into the breeze and then finally settled, resting for moments before bursting. The raft was surrounded by mystical opalescent gazing balls reflecting the sky. He and his son were enchanted.

As things tend to do—life moving in circular paths—Lindsay is now a grandfather. Remembering how the bubbles had entranced his son at the lake, he wanted to share this with his young granddaughter and so he set out on a quest to make bubbles.

Lindsay is the kind of guy who is compelled to rework systems and processes. He wanted to make big bubbles—really big bubbles—and lots of them.

Lindsay has learned to make bubbles and he paints the wind in Coupeville (photo by Martha McCartney)

The most widely used method for making large bubbles involves dipping the strings—“wicking”—into soap solution. Bubbles and bubble tubes can be made for only a few seconds, until the solution dries. Some bubblers are experimenting with a “no dip” method that pumps the soap to the wicks but, Lindsay said, it didn’t work as well as he wanted.

After hours of research and experimentation he built a bubble system with a pressurized pouch housed in a backpack that feeds into manually controllable hollow wands to soak the wicking in a continuous stream. The bubble solution is made of bio-degradable dish soap and a mixture of food-grade products. He has dubbed this method “bubble streaming.”

Lindsay weaves his bubble wands (photo by David Welton)

Not only can the soap be continuously fed to the wicking, the operator is completely mobile. This system provides the ability to move around while creating streams of bubbles. Freedom of movement has made it possible to influence the shapes and sizes of the bubbles coming from the wands. It is possible that bubble making may now evolve into an art form incorporating dance, music, photography—there are many potentialities.

Lindsay in the Langley Harbor at sunrise (photo by David Welton)

Watching the process is mesmerizing. The shapes and swirling colors are stunning. The wind currents pull and elevate the bubbles into an ethereal ballet of sensuous movement. So much is dependent upon the landscape, which takes on the role of backdrop and changes the reflections on each surface.

All of this to say: wow–this is amazingly beautiful and fun to watch.

Lindsay tries to capture the Langley Harbor shoreline (photo by David Welton)

Tom Lindsay Designs (tomelindsay@gmail.com) is located in Freeland at the Freeland Art Studios, and from his workshop—now better equipped and larger than a chicken coop—he designs and builds water installations for children’s museums located throughout the country. Providence Children’s Museum in Rhode Island just recently received water features from Lindsay.

Lindsay at work on a water installation for a children’s museum in his studio (photo by David Welton)

Tom Lindsay will be painting the wind with bubbles in Langley during the first annual “Arts Alive” event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 13. “Arts Alive” is a showcase of artists who will provide demonstrations throughout the town of Langley.

You really do not want to miss this.

*Tom Lindsay will do a special “sunrise” session making bubbles as an introduction to ‘Arts Alive’ on Sept. 13 at 6:30 a.m. at the Langley Harbor. Throughout the day he’ll be making more bubbles, weather permitting, at Seawall Park.

Langley Harbor at sunrise framed by a Tom Lindsay bubble stream (photo by David Welton)

The bubble-creating experience with Tom was captured in two videos by local artist and videographer Robbie Cribbs of Sound Trap Studios.

Interview with Tom Lindsay video link: http://youtu.be/3JEgGymPLUY

This second video is short film, “The Sacred Life of Bubbles” of the bubbles at sunrise at the Langley Harbor:

“Sacred Life” video link: http://youtu.be/AfM6-9WXJiU

Both videos were shot, edited, and produced by Robbie Cribbs.

Image at top: Tom Lindsay waves his arms and magic happens. (photo by Martha McCartney)

Martha is a poet, photographer, mixed-media artist, persistent gardener and candle-maker. She has never really gotten over not being photographed for a Richard Brautigan book cover. Currently she is learning to navigate by using her inner compass, which she keeps pointed towards her own true north.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

September 3, 2014
What’s Happening: Thursday, August 28-Sunday, August 31

SUBMITTED BY KATY SHANER
Whidbey Life Magazine Guest Contributor
August 27, 2014

The Visitor Information Kiosk welcomes you to Whidbey Island and the many places to visit while you are on the island. In this handout you will find events and activities happening this weekend.

Since 2008, the Visitor Kiosk has welcomed over 18,000 visitors to Whidbey. The island offers a wealth of activities, places to stay, eateries, shopping and an abundance of the natural environment to enjoy and appreciate.

Whidbey Island, ‘as a crow flies’ is 45 miles long but by road about 60 miles. There are public beaches open to visitors, hiking trails, five state parks and the only one of its kind in the whole of the US – the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve!

Welcome and enjoy your visit. Do come back.

The Visitor Information Kiosk is funded by the Greater Freeland Area and Langley Chambers of Commerce. Prepared by Katy Shaner Manager and Volunteer Coordinator – Visitor Information Kiosk ktshaner@whidbey.com Contributions from drewslist@whidbey.com and Whidbey Life Magazine www.whidbeylifemagazine.org

THURSDAY

AUGUST 28^th, 2014

CLINTON THURSDAY MARKET Indoor/Outdoor Market at the Clinton Community Hall. Held on Thursdays through August 28^th 3:30 – 7:00. Lesedi African Food and fresh produce. The Lunch Box will be serving up Whidbey Ice Cream in handmade fresh waffle cones! www.clintonthursdaymarket.comLocated 1/4 mile from the ferry on 525.

SOUTH WHIDBEY STATE PARK CONCERT this Thursday from 6 – 7:00. Listen to acoustic guitarist Quinn Fitzpatrick in the outdoor amphitheater. Bring a picnic dinner if you like! After a successful career both playing and teaching guitar in the San Francisco Bay area, he relocated to Whidbey Island. Quinn’s music covers a wide spectrum of emotions and styles. There is no charge for this concert, but a Discover Pass is required for all vehicles that enter the park. www.parks.wa.gov/585/South-Whidbey-IslandQuestions? foswp@gmail.comSouth Whidbey State Park 4128 S. Smuggler’s Cove, Freeland

ISLAND SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL proudly presents “RICHARD III” and“THE TAMING OF THE SHREW”. Weekend schedule: • Thursday and Saturday “Richard III” at 5:00. • Friday and Sunday “Taming of the Shrew” at 5:00.Seating is limited for Richard III. Richard IIIis not appropriate for children under 10. Admission is FREE! A pass-the-hat donation after each performance supports the program. Dress warmly. Arrive early, allow time to park. House opens at 4:15 for all performances. No late seating. PLEASE: No toddlers & babes in arms. Under the Big Top tent located at 723 Camano Ave, behind Langley Middle School. www.islandshakespearefest.org Service dogs only, please.

FRIDAY

AUGUST 29^th, 2014

11^th ANNUAL WOODPALOOZA this Friday thru Monday, September 1st 12 – 9:00 at Zech Hall, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Free Event. OPENING RECEPTION FRIDAY AT 5:00. This year’s show promises exceptional work of Whidbey’s Finest Woodwork! The Guild seeks to support professional woodworkers as well as inspire and educate the budding amateur and provide awareness to the general public of the skills available locally from its talented members. The Guild includes makers of furniture, cabinetry, architectural woodwork, turners, clock makers, sawyers, carvers, restorers, musical instrument makers, boat builders and refinishers. For more information, www.woodpalooza.com WICA 565 Camano Avenue, Langley info@wicaonline.org www.wicaonline.org

ROB SCHOUTEN GALLERY presents “Island Times… Greenbank and Beyond” Paintings by Byron Birdsall. Sunday Afternoon Reception September 14^th from 1 to 4:00. Painter Byron Birdsall is an artist with a national reputation for his depictions of nature. The show opens this Friday and runs through Monday, Sept. 29. Greenbank Farm 765 Wonn Road, #C-103. Gallery Hours are 10 to 5:00 daily. 360.222.3070 www.robschoutengallery.com

“STORIES FOR A SUMMER NIGHT” at 6:00 with Jill Johnson, South Whidbey’s resident storyteller. Sit around Jill’s imaginary campfire to listen to the stories she conjures up. The South Whidbey Commons is located in the heart of Langley by Second Street Plaza. A nonprofit organization, the Commons brings together people of all ages, provides workplace training for young people, and serves as a venue for events and activities. Beverage and food sales, book sales, and donations fund our programs. 124 Second Street www.SouthWhidbeyCommons.org 360-221-2414

KINOBE!(say Chi-no-bay) this Friday 7 – 9:00. Please join us for this very special performance. Born near Lake Victoria in Uganda, Herbert Kinobe is a gifted Ugandan multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer known for his inspired synthesis of African roots and global fusion. His latest CD, Searching for Survival, was recorded in Uganda with his band WAMU SPIRIT and released spring 2013. Learn about Kinobe: kinobemusic.com Enjoy award-winning wines. Selections from a small plate menu are available. Cover charge: $9 per person Reservations recommended. Cabaret Room Ott & Murphy 204 First Street, Langley 360-221-7131 www.swedehillcellars.com

ORCA NETWORK this Friday, 8:00 pmJoin Howard Garrett of the Orca Network in the outdoor amphitheater for his power point presentation, “At Home with Southern Resident Orcas.” Learn about Whidbey Island’s local Killer Whale population in a beautiful setting. There is no charge, but a Discover Pass is required for all vehicles that enter the park. Questions? foswp@gmail.com. South Whidbey State Park is located at 4128 S. Smuggler’s Cove, Freeland.

SUMMER ART TOUR this Friday – Sunday 10-5 (last weekend). Showcasing the Whidbey Island Arts Community. Participating Artists from Freeland to Oak Harbor. Booklet available for artists studios’ locations. www.whidbeyworkingartists.com

LANGLEY SECOND STREET MARKET 3 – 6:00 Fridaysthrough September 19. Across the street from Useless Bay Coffee Company. This week at the market we will have an awesomely eclectic mix of farmers, crafters, bakers, florists & great music! www.langleymainstreet.com

SWINGIN’ IN SUMMERTIME WITH TRIO NOUVEAU at Ciao! This Friday at 6:00-8:00. The sweet and lively sounds or Trio Nouveau www.kristio.comare paired with the fresh and savory cuisine of Ciao to create an enjoyable evening. Stunning sunsets over Penn Cove are part of the ambiance this time of year. No Cover Charge and gratuities for the musicians are appreciated. Seating for dinner begins at 5:00. Ciao Nuovo Napolitana Restaurant 701 N. Main Street, Coupeville www.ciaowhidbey.com

SATURDAY

AUGUST 30^th, 2014

BAYVIEW FARMERS’ MARKET Saturdays from 10 – 2 at Bayview Corner. Customers take note! This year the market season runs through November & December in the greenhouse at the Bayview Farm & Garden, and eating local has been extended into the holidays! www.bayviewfarmersmarket.com

WHIDBEY ISLAND: REFLECTIONS ON PEOPLE AND THE LAND Join authors Elizabeth Guss, Janice O’Mahony & Mary Richardson 2–4:00 at Whidbey Island Winery “One Island, Many Stories” The beauty and ineffable spirit of Whidbey Island engenders deep feelings of connection and protectiveness in its people. Enjoy a short reading, ask questions and share ideas. The authors will be available to sign books. Royalties support the Whidbey Camano Land Trust. www.wclt.orgWhidbey Island Winery 5237 Langley Rd, Langley www.whidbeyislandwinery.com360-221-2040

SHAKIN’ THE VINES Whidbey Island Winery. Spoonshine & Ali Marcus! 6:00. $20 Spoonshine returns to close out another wonderful year! Joined by acoustic sensation Ali Marcus, they’re sure to get you clapping, stomping, and dancing the night away! This season’s ending sensation! Tickets online: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/674271360-221-2040Spoonshine www.spoonshine.com Ali Marcus www.alimarcus.com 5237 Langley Rd. www.whidbeyislandwinery.comService dogs only, please.

SPOILED DOG WINERY Music at the Vineyard This Sunday, from 2-4, Nathaniel Talbot. Wander through the vineyards, drink a glass of wine and enjoy the music. Bring a chair. Winery open Friday 12 – 5:00, Saturday 11 – 6:00, Sunday 12 – 5:00. 360-661-6226 for appointments at other times. 5881 Maxwelton Rd, Langley. www.spoileddogwinery.com

SUNDAY

AUGUST 31^st, 2014

SUNDAY MUSIC AT BLOOMS WINERY TASTE FOR WINE & ART Joann Hamick Quintana this Sunday 3-5:00. Enjoy a little taste of country this Sunday when Joann Hamick Quintana will be performing original tunes and old favorites. Joann has a unique blend of folk & country. The new art show for July and August is “Clay, Glass and Steam” with the work of Carol Rose Dean of Dean Tile, SteamPunk art by Jacob Bloom and glass jewelry of Sherren Anderson, plus Rust Revival jewelry and more.Bayview Corner Cash Store, 5603 Bayview Rd. www.bloomswinery.com360-321-0515

THE HOT CLUB OF TROY Playing gypsy jazz in the Spirit of Django Reinhardt invites to you brunch at the Useless Bay Coffee Company 12 – 2:00.Enjoy your favorite breakfast or a hearty lunch on the Garden Patio in sunny weather or inside the Cozy Café if it’s cool or misty. www.facebook.com/thehotcluboftroy Useless Bay Coffee Company 204 First Street, Langley www.facebook.com/uselessbaycoffee

TILTH FARMERS’ MARKET Composting basics and acoustic guitar at Tilth this Sunday. Learn how to make rich compost from yard and food waste.Janet Hall, director of Waste Wise, presents two half-hour classes at 11:30 and 12:15.Quinn Fitzpatrick, acoustic guitar maestro, is the featured musician. The market is open from 11 – 2 with fresh produce, concessions, unique gifts. SNAP cards and Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons are welcome. 2812 Thompson Road and Hwy 525. Look for the scarecrow. www.southwhidbeytilth.org/market

SUMMER SUNDAYS AT GREENBANK FARM Play, Walk, Listen, Wander, Eat … Slow Down … Enjoy! Each Sunday throughout the Summer from Noon till 4:00. Greenbank Farm invites you to: • Play Cornhole, a bean bag toss, and other games or look for letterboxing clues on the Farm! • Walk the beautiful trails; unleash your dog • Listen to the Music of Street Performers • Eat yummy food (the ice cream truck cometh) • Enjoy the offerings of our resident art galleries & shops Notice: The shops at the Farm are open 10 – 5:00 http://greenbankfarm.biz 360-678-7700

OUR ADVERTISERS HELP THE VISITOR KIOSK WELCOME YOU TO WHIDBEY. PLEASE VISIT THEM WHILE YOU VISIT OUR FAIR ISLE.

Blooms Winery “Taste for Wine”

Whidbey Island Vintners Association

Harbor Inn

WiFire Coffee Bar

Whidbey Telecom

One Spirit Garden

Whidbey Life Magazine

Whidbey Island Bank

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August 27, 2014
Celebrating 100 Years at Freeland Hall

BY KATIE WOODZICK
Whidbey Life Magazine contributor
August 18, 2014

Freeland Hall is filled with thousands of memories.

Middle school Valentine’s Day dances with dreamy crushes, live punk shows, the Black Cat Ball, Inauguration Ball and Harvest Moon Ball. The list is endless.

Jenica Cerda remembers listening to her father’s band play at the hall as a young girl:

“That place is magical…dancing out on the open floor, which felt HUGE at the time.

“I remember running around outside with other kids who had gotten bored with whatever was happening inside. We would play tag and hide-and-seek in the dark all around the building. I remember falling asleep in the back of the hall, despite the loud music, on a bed of blankets that my mom had made. Then I woke up in my own bed.”

WLM joined the history of weddings, parties, and fundraisers that have been held at Freeland Hall with their magazine launch party in May 2014. (photo by David Welton)

The First Thursday Club, founded in 1902 by Mrs. Alma Gearhart, consisted of eight other women in the community. The club discussed topics of interest such as “the harm of wearing long skirts, how to manage a husband, medicine and the art of healing, noted women of the world, what should be the attitude of earnest women toward their fallen sisters and property rights of women in the state of Washington.”

The Freeland Improvement Club came up with the idea for Freeland Hall in 1914 and approached the First Thursday Club, whose members donated $25 “with the stipulation that a separate room be provided in the hall for their use.” Volunteers started to build the hall in 1915.

Freeland Hall, looking good at 100 years of age! (photo by David Welton)

In 2004, the hall was chosen as a local historic site. Located on the corner of East Shoreview Avenue and South Freeland Drive, the wood building—dappled with bright red doors and window frames—overlooks the water.

Whidbey Island is a popular destination wedding location that brings several nuptials a year to Freeland Hall. The hall is booked solid for weddings from May through September; the rest of the year weddings happen once or twice a month, on average.

The Whidbey community is invited to celebrate the hall’s 100^th birthday. The celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. Everyone is invited to atend and enjoy food, music, a beer and wine garden, a raffle, bingo and games with prizes.

“The celebration is to honor the history of the hall, and the community,” said Keasha Jennings, co-operator of the hall. “It is the goal of the Freeland Hall to raise funds to use for community events to help meld the members of our community together.”

“We are a small community,” she continued, “and we rely a lot on our local businesses and community members for growth and success. We want to say thanks and give honor to the members of our community, from business owners, workers, families and children for all the support the hall has received over the past 100 years, and to give cheers to another 100 years!”

Image at top: Freeland Hall exterior signs (photo by David Welton)

Katie Woodzick works at Hedgebrook as an External Relations Manager. She is also an actor and director who can be seen on local stages. She is excited to play Little Red Riding Hood in “Into the Woods,” opening October 10 at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts.

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August 20, 2014
Whidbey’s All-Island Book Clubs Event Generates List of ‘Best Reads’

BY DONNA HOOD
Whidbey Life Magazine guest contributor
August 19, 2014

Book aficionados from 20 of the 40 book clubs on Whidbey Island recently gathered to share their top reads for the past year (see list below). This is the eighth gathering of the group since its founding in 2005 by the Book Owls Book Club.

The best sweatshirt slogan belongs to the Dear Gentle Readers Book Club whose slogan, “Our book club can beat up your book club,” is tongue-in-cheek intimidating. Sporting the sweatshirts are Blair McDaniel and Anne Sullivan. (photo by Donna Hood)

In the big tent dubbed Henry by Island Shakespeare Festival founder and director Rosie Woods, more than 125 book club members picnicked, exchanged books, vied for raffle prizes, and enjoyed inspiring presentations by Island Shakespeare Festival actors. Island Shakespeare Festival was the beneficiary of the $500 collected by passing the hat.

Table signs display some clever and amusing Book Club names. One of the most descriptive club names is ROMEO, which stands for Retired Old Men Eat Out. (photo by Donna Hood)

Book Clubs who did not receive an email invitation to this year’s event should contact Donna Hood at donnahood@whidbey.com to be sure their club is on the list for 2015.

All Island Book Clubs Event #1 Picks for 2014

“And the Mountain Echoed” by Kaled Hosseini
“The Swerve by Stephe”n Greenblatt
“A Tale for the Time Being” by Ruth Ozeki
“Agent Zig-Zag” by Ben Macintyre
“1000 White Women” by Jim Fergus
“House Gir”l by Tara Conklin
“The Round House” by Louise Erdlich
“The Rosie Project” by Graeme Simsion
“The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown
“Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers
“Light Between Oceans” by M. L. Stedman
“The Lewis Series” by Peter May
“Operation Mincement” by Ben Macintyre
“The Keeper of Lost Causes” by Jussi Adler-Olsen
“My Beloved World/True American Dream” by Sonia Sotomayor
“Where Did You Go” Bernadette by Maria Semple
“Caleb’s Crossing” by Geraldine Brooks
“Mink River” by Brian Doyle
“The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles and Their Secret World” by Stephen Kinser

Photo at the top: Some 125 book lovers gathered under Henry, the big tent behind Langley Middle School, to exchange books, vie for raffle prizes, disclose their #1 reads for the year and enjoy several soliloquies by Island Shakespeare Festival actors. (photo by Donna Hood)

August 20, 2014
Location, Location, Location: Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA Program

BY DIANNA MACLEOD
Whidbey Life Magazine contributor
August 13, 2014

What’s true for homebuyers is equally true for writers: place is paramount.

The Captain Whidbey Inn in historic Coupeville on Whidbey Island (all photos by Martha McCartney)

According to novelist Molly Gloss, “The small, essential details of place make the fictional world whole and convincing, as if these particular people could only have performed these particular acts in this particular setting.” Her remarks, delivered at the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA Residency Program held at the Captain Whidbey Inn Aug. 4-12, had the writers in attendance nodding their heads and taking notes. The Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA Program is one of the writing programs offered by the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA), located on Whidbey Island.

If place is as important as Gloss claims, there’s a kind of genius at work in NILA’s choice of venue. The Captain Whidbey Inn—intriguing, suggestive, evocative—is not unlike a good tale. It contains twists and turns: narrow passageways, blind alleys, innumerable staircases inside and out. It grafts myth to fact: although reputed to be constructed from trunks of the Madrone tree, it’s hard to believe the twisted stems of such trees could produce logs straight enough for building. The Inn’s history is filled with reversals and surprises: today’s front door was originally the back door because in the early 1900’s most guests arrived by boat and entered from Penn Cove. The Inn has what writers call “backstory” and what the rest of us call a past: it formerly served as a boarding house, private residence, post office, general store and girls’ school. The Inn is even reputed to have a hovering presence, a ghost of its own—and it’s not who you might think. Even the name of the Inn has changed—as if the original name, Whid Isle Inn, was a working title abandoned for something better suited to the evolving story. Here in this setting, with its “details of place”—treadle sewing machines, steamer trunks, spinning wheels, crank phone, pump organ—gathered the 57 students enrolled in NILA’s master’s program for ten days of study, discussion and debate about the art and craft of writing.

The origins of the program, a story in itself, begins in 2002 with a five-person team of designers including current director Wayne Ude. They faced the kind of hurdles that keep innovative programs like NILA’s from ever taking off. “I faced mountains of blankety-blank paperwork,” he recalled. But with a doggedness not always typical of the visionary, Ude methodically won the necessary approvals from state, federal, and agency authorities for his hybrid program—part online, part on-the-ground.

“As of this residency’s graduation on August 9th, 52 alumni will have completed the program,” Ude said. “We’re about as large as we ever intend to be.”

Despite its growth, the program has managed to keep a front-and-center focus on a community in which established and aspiring writers encourage and mentor each other.

Nowhere is this more evident than the evening readings held in the Inn’s dining room. Against a backdrop of old mirrors hanging on the wall, students—both new, continuing and about to graduate—read their poetry, fiction, and nonfiction to their peers in an atmosphere of delight, pride, and encouragement—the kind shared by working artisans devoted to their craft. It’s further testament to the program that many graduating students remain in the fold, volunteering their time and skills to improve NILA—expanding social media, refining information technology, spreading the word. In NILA’s case, there are no better ambassadors than the graduates themselves.

Fiction author Doyce Testerman is one such ambassador. An instructional designer in academia and a working writer, Testerman was initially skeptical. “The focus of most MFA programs seems to be turning out teachers of writing,” he observed. “I wanted something focused on living as a writer.” Testerman is exactly the sort of person for whom the program is designed: those with busy lives, families, jobs. Before enrolling, he weighed the sacrifices. “In order to attend the residencies, I’d have to chew up all my vacation time, leave my wife and three kids for periods. Why? My agent and publisher didn’t care if I had an MFA.”

After enrolling in a nine-day residency to sample what NILA had to offer, Testerman signed on. “I knew I would become a better writer. The faculty and students make me want to try harder. When I see what students and grads bring to the readings, I step up my game to match.” The 43-year-old Denver-based author is due to graduate next August.

Fantasy writer Nicole J. Persun is four days into the MFA program. A published writer, the 20-year-old native of Port Townsend was introduced to Wayne Ude five years ago by her father, who is also a writer. “I started my first novel at the age of 13,” she recalled. “When I was very young, my father made up bedtime stories with me.” In fact, Persun’s final project for her bachelor’s degree was a comparison of actual events in the life of her father, Terry Persun, and events in the fictional lives of his characters. Because NILA is in her own Northwest backyard, Persun hesitated before applying. Her association with Ude helped tip the scales. “Wayne has seen my development as a writer,” she said. Affordability was also a factor. “I decided not to go $100,000 into debt for a two-year degree.” Active in several writers’ associations as a board member and/or instructor, Persun had ample opportunity to compare MFA programs, both on paper and through word of mouth, before settling on NILA. “It was my first and foremost choice,” she said.

Former cop Craig Anderson is the first veteran to be enrolled in the program. After 26 years in the military, Anderson enrolled in Eastern Washington University to develop his writing skills. Upon submitting a short story and a chapter from his novel-in-progress (“Alone Against the Dead” featuring a retired military cop as protagonist), Anderson was accepted by NILA. Together with Ude, Anderson had to climb the “mountains of blankety-blank paperwork” to ensure the 9-11 GI Bill would cover his tuition. But he considers it well worth his time. “I’m a native of Spokane. I don’t have to move, I don’t have to uproot my life. This program works for working people.” After 15 years in public relations, 55-year-old Carla Sameth knows the power of image and the potency of story. Teaching others to write memoir has reinforced that knowledge. “For years I’ve been helping other people tell their stories; now I want to tell my own,” she said of her reasons for enrolling in NILA’s MFA program. A resident of California, Sameth plans to write about her own experiences as well as continue to help others—community college students, youth, incarcerated populations—write about theirs.

Although Jim Gearhart, 48, is a student in the MFA program, he is also about to become editor-in-chief of NILA’s biannual magazine, “Soundings Review.” Like Testerman, Gearhart “test drove” the program by enrolling in a residency in the summer of 2012, hoping to learn more about his chosen genres: fantasy, science fiction, nonfiction and essay. “I’d taken online courses and felt there was something missing,” he recalls. “Here at the NILA residency, the morning workshop is a turbo-charged writing group.” He also likes the opportunity NILA provides for students to continue to react to each other’s work online after the residency has ended.

“The atmosphere here is incredibly supportive,” commented Gearhart. “There’s no feeling of competition. You learn from your fellow students. We’re in it together.”

Gearhart’s sentiments are widely shared. “The people involved in NILA are a large quirky family,” added Testerman. “We keep track of each other, of our personal bogeymen.” It’s just as Molly Gloss said: these people could only have written these words in this setting. All together, at the Captain Whidbey Inn, in early August 2014.

One can’t help but feel that the ghost drifting up and down the twisted staircases of “Whid Isle Inn” would agree.

For more information about the MFA program, NILA’s individual residencies, or the October Whidbey Island Writers Conference visit nila.edu. To learn more about the writers mentioned in this article, visit their individual websites.

(All photos of the Captain Whidbey Inn by Martha McCartney)

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Dianna MacLeod received her journalism degree from the University of Michigan and is an alumnae of Hedgebrook writing retreat for women. Under the critical eye of her Whidbey Island writing group, she hopes to complete her novel, “Sainted,” in 2015.

CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

August 13, 2014