In this Arts and Artists podcast, you can listen to a lively conversation with sculptor Christine Clark who created the beautiful metal Tribute Baskets at Waypoint, Bill Baran-Mickle, of the Public Arts Committee, and Bruce Weiland, who coordinated the community effort to bring Waypoint Park into being.

Bruce tells the story of how Waypoint Park came into being, and how the community worked together to transform an ugly chain-link fenced-in property to a thing of beauty at the corner of 305 and Winslow Way.  

The Waypoint Park sculpture is the first new public art since the Public Arts Committee (and funding) were restored in 2014. Bill Baran-Mickle tells us how the restoration of the Public Arts program and its funding brought Christine Clarks’s large metal sculptures here to grace Waypoint as the culmination of its place in this community.  

... and Christine describes the inspiration and significance of the four large metal baskets, what the motifs represent, and how they honor BI’s cultural heritage.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/tast-036-holidays-with-joe-pulicicchio/

In this podcast Joe Pulicicchio and Bob Ross talk with T&C Markets Becky Fox about the past year's adventures in produce and what to expect in 2017.

Becky, who serves as Web Content, Social Media and Advertising Manager for T&C Markets, joins Bob and Joe for their last interview for the 2016 year. Together they reminisce about their past discussions from early spring through the seasons and discuss some of the differences between planning for Thanksgiving and planning for Christmas meals.

Joe and Becky each offer their own personal perspectives about holiday food and what it means to them, and share with us some of what lies ahead as we consider what we might expect in terms of fresh produce as we head into the 2017 season.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio tech and editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this “What’€™s Up” podcast, BCB host Sonia Scaer speaks with University of Washington Professor Leslie Rosenberg. He will speak at the next Open Mic Science on Tuesday, Jan 3rd, at 8pm at the Treehouse Cafe. His talk is titled “What’s The Universe And What’s It Made Of?”

Professor Rosenberg works in the Physics and Astronomy Building at UW. He describes himself as an experimental cosmologist. Through observations, and not just theory, he'll describe in his talk how we can measure what the universe is made of.

He says: “In the case of dark energy you measure the outward expansion of the universe (and) with dark matter you measure how things move relative to how you think they’re going to move given the masses you think they have.”

Experimental cosmology groups throughout the world collaborate on experiments in particle physics using shared resources to enable scientists to better understand what comprises the "dark universe".

The "dark universe" is a topic we may have heard about, but the perspective from a scientist in the trenches is unique. We expect Professor Rosenberg to talk about the Axion Dark Matter experiment and the implications of progress in this field at Open Mic Science night. The material will be presented in a way that will fascinate the layperson, making these complex concepts more digestible.

Credits: BCB host: Sonia Scaer; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 18-minute community podcast for this holiday season of generosity, we meet a high school student leader, a City employee and a street ministry volunteer who have made it easy for you to donate dry, clean, warm socks to the nearby homeless folks who need them in this wintry weather.

Their "Boxes of Socks" donation program enables you to bring socks -- either new or freshly laundered -- to metal drop-off boxes that look like blue newspaper stands in numerous locations like:

• Bainbridge Island City Hall
• the Bainbridge ferry terminal
• Island Fitness, south of City Hall
• Wildernest, on Winslow Way
• Buckley & Buckley Real Estate, in Winslow Green, or
• Harley-Davidson in Silverdale

The idea was hatched during a recent conversation between the City's Communications Manager Kellie Stickney and Steve Rhoads.

As you'll hear on this podcast, Steve is a competitive cyclist and local volunteer for fundraising for good causes like Helpline House and Housing Resources Bainbridge. Steve has ministered to street people for the past four years, and knows their needs first hand as a formerly homeless person himself.

Joining our podcast conversation is Julia Gray, who is the student president of the Social Justice League of Bainbridge High School. She and her fellow students have focused their generosity this year on a series of activities for the homeless. For example, she and her fellow students have traveled to Compass House in Seattle to help provide warm meals to the downtown homeless. Her Social Justice club is asking for your help in reaching their goal of 1,500 pairs of donated socks this season.

For further information about donating, contact Kellie Stickney at the City of Bainbridge Island. The program is working in cooperation with a Seattle nonprofit called WeCount.

WeCount is a Seattle based 501c3 organization founded by tech entrepreneur Jonathan Sposato and community activist Graham Pruss. Using web and smartphone technology, WeCount.org enables people experiencing homelessness to ask for items they need to survive, and enables the community to make direct donations on a hyper-local basis. WeCount also works closely with social service organizations to help people transition out of homelessness permanently.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/cafe-052-healthy-youth-and-socializing/

How can we help our youth create and sustain positive, healthy relationships?  

It’s an important question for all of us, adults and youth alike, and yet we all know how messy and challenging relationships can be. Who among us is able to navigate all of our relationships well? To be successful at relationships, we need a number of skills: active listening, compassion, boundary setting, collaboration, and the ability to regulate one's emotions and impulses. It is a lifelong journey.

In this podcast, BCB host Christina Hulet explores this ability to create and sustain healthy relationships--what psychologists call sociability--with soccer coach Ballan Campeau of BIFC club soccer and the Bainbridge High School team, and two of his athletes, Tyler Moravec and Quinn Millerd.

In sharing their experiences of creating solid relationships on the soccer field and beyond, they encourage us, as parents and community members, to think about what we might do from the sidelines to foster these skills and better support our youth.

This podcast is part of the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance’s 9-month educational campaign called “Beyond the Report Card: Cultivating What Matters." Designed for local parents, educators and other adults who care about teens, the campaign focuses each month on a different attribute–such as sociability, empathy or curiosity–to help our youth thrive. These attributes are based on a framework called The Compass Advantage, which was developed by our very own Marilyn Price Mitchell, PhD, a local developmental psychologist and researcher.

To sign up for weekly resources or to learn more about the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance and specific things you can do to support our youth, visit BIHealthyYouth.org.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; BCB audio tech: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Diane Walker.

[NOTE: December 16th post-publication update: The Bloedel Reserve did not have sufficient advance reservations to proceed with the New Year’s eve party discussed in this podcast. So that planned event is now cancelled. But if you like what you hear in this podcast about the idea, encourage Bloedel to consider offering something similar 12 months from now. The original podcast description is as follows.]

Ring in the New Year at beautiful Bloedel Reserve’s one-of-a-kind party!

In this podcast, Ed Moydell, Executive Director tells us about Bloedel’s first-time-ever New Year’s Eve bash and the many Bloedel programs it supports.

All of Bloedel’s friends from Bainbridge or around the county and Seattle are welcome to come and party the night away with interesting appetizers, a sumptuous sit-down dinner service, and late night snacks, swanky signature cocktails and abundant champagne, swinging dance music by the amazing Freddy Pink band.

If midnight Pacific time is past your bedtime, no worries - we’ll toast the ball drop in New York City at 9:00pm Pacific, and again at midnight when the Seattle skyline lights up.

Be a part of an exciting new holiday tradition designed to bridge generations, bring the community together, and sustain outstanding programming at the Bloedel, such as “Strolls for Well-Being” and events such as the Holiday Village, Family Day, as well as maintaining the beautiful gardens.

Tickets are still available at the Bloedel Reserve website -- but not for long. Reservations are requested to be made as early as possible, ideally by Friday, December 16th, to ensure that arrangements for the evening can be planned in advance.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Debby Haase describes the annual event called "Spiral of Light" which commemorates with candlelight, harp music, chanting and labyrinths the Wednesday December 21st winter solstice as the longest night of the year.

This annual event, initially celebrated at the local Waldorf School, will take place this year at the Dayaalu Center at 159 Wyatt Way in Winslow, from 7pm to 9pm. Doors open at 6:45pm.

As explained on the Dayaalu website, this is a "beautiful and profound ceremony that honors the symbolic rebirth of the sun and the promise of renewed life."

In this podcast, Debby explains to BCB's Channie Peters that the event was originally celebrated at the Bainbridge Island Waldorf School where Debby was formerly a teacher.

The event this year is facilitated by Debby and by Kathryn LaFond, with special guest Judy Friesem playing the harp. Participants will carry candles around labyrinth-like spirals, accompanied by the sounds of toning, chanting and song.

This ceremony for 2016 is likely to be an uplifting antidote to the stresses and anguish of a distressing year in the national news.

The suggested donation is $15. You may either register in advance at the Dayaalu website, or simply come early at 6:45 and pay at the door.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 15-minute podcast, BCB's Channie Peters and Victoria Irwin of Eagle Harbor Books welcome award-winning environmentalist and writer, Mary Ellen Hannibal, whose new book is "Citizen Scientist: Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction."

Mary Ellen will speak with Eagle Harbor bookstore visitors on Saturday December 10th at noon. There, she'll invite conversation and describe the new citizen science opportunities for wildlife lovers. She has ideas for those of us who want to resist the ongoing extinction of species by participating as volunteers in wildlife observation and monitoring programs, some of which are now substantially assisted by mobile smartphone technology.

Mary Ellen's research had been already revealing the accelerated extinction and loss of animal and plan species even before the 2014 publication of Elizabeth Kolbert's influential best-seller: "The Sixth Extinction". Now, her new book about Citizen Scientists is receiving acclaim by many, such as climate activist Bill McKibben.

Mary Ellen gives examples of ways that birders and others who enjoy the great outdoors can help conserve species by identifying them and their locale.

She describes, for example, a new social media platform on iPhone called iNaturalist that collaboratively, through a network of enthusiasts and experts, identifies species and then systematically informs scientific teams and wildlife conservation managers about the presence of various plants and animals.

Both for adults and whole families, Mary Ellen is pointing to ways that we can both enjoy the beautiful outdoors and take a stand against the accelerated loss of species.

And, in a community where the City of Bainbridge Island has recently taken the lead on a program to restore and attract pollinators to our island -- like bees, butterflies and certain birds -- Mary Ellen mentions how significant the decline in pollinator species is proving to be to our food-production capacity. See BCB's previous podcast on the City's Pollinator Improvement Project.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 14-minute conversation with Rev. Jaco ten Hove, we learn about the 9th annual gathering in Winslow on Saturday December 10th for community members to read aloud the inspiring words of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

All are welcome to gather at noon that day, fair weather or foul, near the gazebo on Winslow Green, to be welcomed by local clergy, and to take turns for about a half-hour reading the 30 paragraphs from that inspirational UN document.

Rev. ten Hove from Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church, and Rev. Dee Eisenhauer from the Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, will open the event by reading the Preamble.

The Declaration has been acclaimed by a former Pope, and is celebrated and promoted by such organizations as the Quaker-affiliated American Friends Service Committee, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, the American Library Association, Amnesty International and a vast number of human rights organizations. It was signed by the US and 47 other UN General Assembly members from France and Britain to China; no country voted against it. The Soviet block countries abstained.

As noted by Jaco, this yearly tradition sponsored by the Interfaith Council of Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap is a much-needed inspirational vision in 2016 as an antidote to the divisiveness and hate speech directed toward immigrants, refugees and religious minorities during the US 2016 election campaign.

Joining Jaco in the arrangements for that day will be Reed Price, who is a long-time active member of the Interfaith Council. The tradition was started in 2008 in a year when the economy was collapsing and people were losing jobs to a sweeping recession and losing homes due to mortgage foreclosures.

Eleanor Roosevelt was among the world leaders responsible for writing the Human Rights declaration in the years of resolve following the close of World War II concentration camps and Japanese-American internment camps.

As Jaco notes, the noble mission of the United Nations is nowadays suffering hard times as the United States Congress has failed to authorize the full payment of US dues to the organization. Unlike 126 of our allies and friendly nations around the world that are fully funding their share of UN dues, the US has shorted the UN on more than a year's worth of dues for both its main mission and peacekeeping activities.

No reservation is needed to join in. You are welcome to simply show up on Winslow Green at noon on Saturday Dec 10th.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Madi Williamson is a young Bainbridge woman who, at age 21, took leave from her job for two weeks, and then for three months, to provide heartfelt hands-on care and comfort to Syrian refugee families in Greece.

In this podcast, Madi shares with BCB's Barry Peters her remarkable and beautifully told stories of the experience of helping refugee families, and then realizing that she had come away with a level of understanding, meaning and insight she couldn't have gained in other ways. She talks about visiting the Greek island of Lesbos where boats with refugee families stream ashore, and her extended stay at the encampment with over 100,000 refugees at the Greece-Macedonia border village of Idomeni.

Madi urged her step-dad, Andre Kamber, to take a break from his professional financial career for a similar experience of helping refugees. You'll want to sample the previous BCB podcast conversation with Andre, and with Alice Medoza and Ellin Spenser, who recently told BCB of their experiences helping refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, similar to Madi's experiences.

Here, Madi explains the poignant moment -- the sight of a drowned 6-year-old boy whose body washed up on a beach on a Greek island -- when Madi decided that she needed to drop what she was doing in her life at age 21 and go lend a hand.

Madi offers a remarkably articulate and gripping description of the experience of being there, and the meaning of that experience when she brought it all back to Bainbridge.

She and her young friends then proceeded to create a website at KeepItInSight.com that offers resources for teachers to share the story with students, and also offers a starting point for anyone who would like to take a break from everyday routine and travel to where the refugee needs are greatest in and around Greece.

Please also listen to BCB's previous podcast interview with three other Bainbridge Islanders who traveled to Greece to help refugee families -- Madi's stepdad Andre Kamber, retired teacher Alice Mendoza, and realtor Ellin Spenser.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/cafe-50-healthy-youth-and-curiosity/

In this podcast, we hear directly from two of our very own Bainbridge High School students, Emma Russell and Maya Hathan, on how we as parents, teachers and community members help encourage or, in some cases, inhibit the natural curiosity among youth.

Why is this so important?

According to local developmental psychologist, Marilyn Price Mitchell, “research suggests that intellectual curiosity has as big of an effect on performance as hard work. When put together, curiosity and hard work account for success just as much as intelligence. Another study found that people who were curious about a topic retained what they learned for longer periods of time. And even more impressive, research has linked curiosity to a wide range of important adaptive behaviors, including tolerance of anxiety and uncertainty, positive emotions, humor, playfulness, out-of-box thinking, and a noncritical attitude -- all attributes associated with healthy social outcomes.”

In her recent article, Marilyn also notes that “psychologists view curiosity as a life force, vital to happiness, intellectual growth, and well being.” 

Wow, that’s powerful.

And yet, while curiosity is innate in kids, it can also unintentionally be discouraged by adults. So how do we help our kids continue to wonder about the world, ask questions and actively seek out answers? And how do we foster that curiosity in a culture that prioritizes good grades and test scores?

Emma and Maya share their perspectives in this podcast, which is part of the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance’s 8-month educational campaign called “Beyond the Report Card: Cultivating What Matters”. Each month, the campaign focuses on a different attribute--such as empathy or curiosity--to help our youth thrive and is designed for local parents, educators and other adults who care about teens.

To learn more about the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance, including specific things you can to support our youth, or to sign up for weekly resources, please visit BIHealthyYouth.org.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this podcast, we meet the Bainbridge Performing Arts professional team that is readying a local cast and instrumentalists for December 2 to 18 performances of the popular holiday classic set in the early 1940s: "A Christmas Story, The Musical".

Speaking with BCB podcast host Channie Peters are BPA theater director Joanna Hardie; music director Elizabeth Faye; and choreographer Debbie Pierce. BCB took its recording equipment to meet them backstage at BPA while the cast started their Monday evening rehearsal of dance routines on stage.

This musical show had rave reviews on Broadway and it plays on TV every Christmas. BPA's version is based on the 1983 American comedy Christmas movie "A Christmas Story", from Jean Shepherd's book "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash". For this theater production, BPA will prominently feature a large band of instrumentalists playing the swing and big-band sounds of the 1940s. And the cast will rise to the occasion with a combination of song and dance numbers.

As BPA says, this show offers "sweet nostalgia for adults and great fun for the kids." It's set in the 1940s in a fictional town called Hohman Indiana, and its main character is 9-year-old Ralph Parker who is preoccupied in pursuit of a particular Christmas gift he can't get off his young male mind.

BPA will have a special "pay-what-you-can" preview at 7:30pm on December 1st. Then, the show runs with matinees and evening performances each day of each weekend from Friday Dec 2nd through Sunday the 18th (with only a matinee show on Saturday Dec 3rd).

BPA is hosting an "ugly sweater contest" with a winner and prize at every performance, so, as BPA says, come dressed "in your holiday finest (or worst)".

Tickets are on sale at the Bainbridge Performing Arts (BPA) website.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/tast-035-pizza-with-brendan-mcgill/

Join BCB's Tastes of Bainbridge host Bob Ross as he talks with Brendan McGill,  chef/owner of Hitchcock, and pizzaiolo Brandon Thompson, his partner in their new venture: Bruciato.

Bainbridge residents have been watching with interest as significant changes take place in the facade of the old Winslow Hardware.  Yes, a new pizza place is coming to the island, but this isn't just any pizza: it's classic Neapolitan pizza.  Bruciato pizza will be cooked in an Italian oven and prepared with tomatoes from Italy by chefs who've been specially trained in Naples. 

Now expected to open in early to mid December in the heart of town (at 240 Winslow Way East), Bruciato has been in the works for three years.  Listen here as Brendan and Brandon discuss the commitment they made to learn the cherished and highly respected techniques of this type of pizza.

From the slow fermentation process of the dough to the required use of authentic San Marzanno tomatoes and the delicate treatment involved in building each pizza, the two restaurateurs share their excitement about their new venture, discuss some of the locally sourced toppings they plan to use, and describe their designs for the exciting space to come.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Diane Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

At the Tuesday Dec 6th Open Mic Science event, climate scientist Derik Broekhoff will explain why the Paris Climate Agreement is at a critical juncture, and the importance of State and local climate change actions at a time when federal action seems less likely than before.

He will report his experiences attending the UN Climate Change Conference in Morocco with delegations from all over the world in the week following the surprising outcome of the US election.

His Tuesday Dec 6th 8pm presentation is titled: "Paris Climate Agreement: One year after". The monthly first-Tuesday “Bainbridge Island Open Mic Science” conversations are free and informal and offered in the back room of the pub at the Treehouse Café in Lynwood Center.

In this podcast interview with BCB's Sonia Scaer, Derik explains the crucial next steps to successfully implement the Paris Climate Agreement. He shares an anecdote about the continuing commitment to the climate agreement that was expressed by the delegates from China even after hearing about the US election outcome.

During the Presidential campaign, candidate Trump expressed skepticism about actions to address climate change science and vowed to withdraw support from the Paris agreement supported by President Obama.

The Morocco event commemorated the first anniversary of 196 countries coming together for the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris to seek consensus on a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below a 1.5 degrees Centigrade increase from pre-industrial levels.

In this podcast, Derik talks about the collaborative effort and commitment by every participating country to develop and submit their strategies and plans toward mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Each country faces different geographical, political, and resource challenges in how they tackle the ambitious Paris Climate Agreement goals. But while policies can be set at a national level, there is a lot that can be done at the state and local levels; such as support for public transit and policies to discourage housing sprawl that prolongs commuting time and causes excessive use of cars.

In his Open Mic Science presentation, Derik will talk about what the agreement means and some of the next steps to track emissions, to measure progress, and to provide financial resources to poorer countries. And in light of the recent election, he wonders how the rest of the world will react if the US withdraws from the Agreement. He is hopeful that the same level of commitment will be sustained by other countries like China. And he is seeing great strides at the state and city level in “moving the ball forward”.

For Open Mic sessions like this one, the public is invited to grab a beverage and explore ideas in various aspects of science and technology in an informal, social setting. Inspired by Café Scientifique, the gatherings are committed to public understanding of science. For more details about the Science Café program on Bainbridge Island, check out the Open Mic Science website.

Credits: BCB host: Sonya Scaer; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/tast-034-talking-turkey-with-joe-pulicicchio/

Did you know that Thanksgiving isn't the best season for green beans? or that what we sometimes call yams are really sweet potatoes?

This month Joe Pulicicchio, Director of Produce and Floral for Town & Country Markets, joins Tastes of Bainbridge host Bob Ross to take a tour along the Thanksgiving table.

After a brief soliloquy about pumpkins, we learn which fruits and vegetables are most likely to be fresh and tasty for your Thanksgiving meal: potatoes, yams, beans, squash, cranberries -- you name it, Joe can tell you where it comes from and even -- sometimes -- how to cook it! 

PS: If you're worried about those green beans, don't be: try their one-pound bag of French beans, add a little Garlic Expressions dressing, and your guests will be thrilled!

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Diane Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/tast-033-friends-of-the-farms/

Heather Burger, the Executive Director of Friends of the Farms, is our fun and informative guest on this edition of BCB's Tastes of Bainbridge series. 

Heather talks about growing up in the midwest, its influence on her attitudes about food and farming, how that led her to the significant position that she now holds. 

Obviously passionate about and joyfully committed to her leadership role, Heather discusses the mission and values of the Friends of the Farms Organization.  The primary goals of FOF are to expand the amount of publicly-owned farmland, to educate our community about local agriculture and to provide opportunities for new farmers.

Heather also explains how folks can support the organization both financially and through the many volunteer opportunities available.  And, in closing, she provides an enlightened and thoughtful discussion about the many ways Islanders can support and participate in local agriculture.

For more information about Friends of the Farms, visit their website at http://friendsofthefarms.org.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... https://www.bestofbcb.org/wu-311-barn-artists-at-bac-in-november/

Two of Bainbridge's premier art organizations, BARN and BAC, are collaborating to bring you an exciting November exhibit.

In this informative podcast, Lindsay Masters, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts’ Executive Director, and Mark Nichols, Bainbridge Artist Resource Network’s Executive Director, tell us about each of their organizations and how their missions are synergistic.

Their collaboration will be exemplified during the month of November, when BAC will serve as the public gallery for 42 artists who have honed their artistic skills at BARN. Some have never exhibited their artwork in public before, but all have met the standards of the jury for this exhibition.

Listen here as Lindsay describes the jurying process for the beautiful BAC gallery and tells us about the many additional offerings and services provided by BAC, from art classes for seniors and opportunities for local BI students to demonstrations at nursing homes, on ferries, and beyond.

Mark Nichols talks about the new BARN, which includes 11 different studios for very different artistic endeavors, including Book Arts, Electronic and Technical Arts, Fiber Arts, Glass Arts, Jewelry Making, Kitchen Arts, Metal Arts, Printmaking, Woodworking & Small Boat Building, Writers, and Media Arts.  All these offerings will be housed within BARN’s soon-to-be-completed building, off New Brooklyn Road, near the Fire Station.  

We're all looking forward to this new 25,000 sq ft building -- especially the Commons area where artists can relax, have a cuppa and share ideas!

More information about each organization can be found at bainbridgebarn.org and bacart.org.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Diane Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

Atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, and the World War II era, are being brought back to life by the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum.

In this 15-minute podcast conversation with Bainbridge Historical Museum's board member, Dennis Tierney, we learn about the upcoming public event called "An Evening with J. Robert Oppenheimer". That in-character interpretation of Oppenheimer -- the "Father of the Atomic Bomb" -- will be on stage at the auditiorium of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on the evening of November 15th, following appetizers and a reception.

On-stage that night as Oppenheimer will be Clay Jenkinson, a nationally renowned humanities scholar, author and social commentator. Clay has appeared here before sold out crowds in previous Historical Museum fundraisers in roles such as Thomas Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. Jenkinson is celebrated as an entertaining presenter, and as a researcher and commentator for films of Ken Burns and an NPR radio series.

In this podcast, Dennis Tierney explains that Oppenheimer was not only a remarkably well-educated scientist, but he also held sway with his scientific and engineering peers by virtue of his commitment to academic learning, even in diverse areas of languages and religious thought. And yet, after years in the 1940s pulling together the efforts of top scientists and engineers of his day in the Manhattan Project, he was later attacked during the McCarthy era for his prior beliefs and activities and deprived of his security credentials.

In this BCB podcast conversation, Dennis also explains that this event sets the stage for the opening, on the December 7th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, of a new historical exhibit about Bainbridge Island in World War II. There, the Historical Museum will revisit not just the dreadful military internment of Japanese Americans, but also the code-breaking radio activities at Battle Point and Fort Ward, and the building of mine-sweepers for the Navy in the former boat works of Eagle Harbor.

In support of this November 15th fundraiser, Dennis reflects on the valuable role played by the Historical Museum in helping us connect to our local history, and in supporting a stronger sense of community through a deeper form of citizenship.

Tickets for the event are available through the Museum's website. The ticket price includes the 6:30pm Art Museum reception, appetizers and beverages, the 7:30pm performance, and some financial assistance to the nonprofit Historical Museum.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 15-minute podcast we learn about filmmaking from three local filmmakers -- the 2016 Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival Director Matt Longmire, and long-established professional filmmakers Katie Jennings and Courtney Jones.

This 18th annual Celluloid Bainbridge festival is occurring on Saturday and Sunday, November 5th and 6th. Daytime Saturday is for free filmmaking workshops open to the public at Rolling Bay Hall. That evening, tickets are available for an Opening Night Party at The Marketplace at Pleasant Beach, followed by special featured screenings. All day Sunday, from 10am to 9pm, tickets are available for you to enjoy several categories of shorts and feature-length films.

In this BCB conversation, professional filmmaker Courtney Jones describes how he recently filmed his feature-length drama almost entirely on Bainbridge with an experimental mix of cinema camera and mobile phone cameras. It's called "Wood Witch: The Awakening", and it's enjoying its premier at the festival.

Katie Jennings describes her good fortune in having a film career that started in public television, has included a stint as resident filmmaker at Islandwood, and now includes films for nonprofits, businesses and individuals. At the festival, she will show her one-hour portrait of a remarkable woman who was one of the last fluent native language speakers of the northwest tribes. Katie's film is: "Huchoosedah: Traditions of the Heart."

And BCB's host Barry Peters briefly mentions BCB's community video podcast about "Owen's Playground" that will be shown at the Festival with other short docs on Sunday the 6th at 12:30pm.

For further information and discount-priced tickets in advance, go to the Celluloid Bainbridge website. The festival is sponsored by Arts and Humanities Bainbridge.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Learn about the quarterly theater school offered by Bainbridge Performing Arts for community members of all ages, and hear about the upcoming November 3rd and 4th shows in the Fall Play Festival that will feature this Fall's theater school graduates.

On Thursday and Friday, Nov 3rd and 4th, the Festival consists of a double bill. See the 2nd to 5th graders perform the tall tales attributed to Baron Munchausen. And then see the 5th to 8th graders perform three of the celebrated myths of ancient Greece where a legendary huntress named Atalanta plays a major role: Tales of the Heroine Atalanta. Shows start at 7pm.

Our podcast guests are BPA's new Education Director Liz Ellis, and one of this Fall's theater school graduates Red Scheetz who performs in one of the upcoming shows.

Liz spent much of her young life around theater, and specifically at BPA. She explains the advantages of attending theater school. Students learn a combination of theater skills -- like acting, singing and dancing -- along with life skills such as listening, participation and teamwork. Liz points out that our community is rich with experienced theater teachers -- such as a stand-up comedienne and a Tony Award winner to name just two.

Our teenage guest, Red, says she's been attending 8 or 9 rounds of the BPA theater school during the past 5 to 6 years, and that's resulted in performing in 8 to 10 productions.

For tickets, visit the Fall Play Festival page of the BPA website. There's special pricing for kids at only $5, with adults at $10.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; and BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

“Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) is a holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and also around the world in other cultures. On Bainbridge Island it will be celebrated at the Museum of Art for 5 days beginning November 1st.

The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to remember and honor the dear ones who have died (including pets), and to help support their spiritual journey. Good food is always involved!

This will be the third year that Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) has helped our community celebrate this occasion.

In this podcast, BIMA Education Director Kristin Tollefson describes how this year’s celebration will take place over five days, beginning on Tuesday, November 1st when the ofrenda (altar of offerings) will be formally opened to the public in a quiet ceremony from 3:30-5:30 pm.

During this time, the public may begin to come in and place a copy of a photo or other memory of a loved one who has passed. For the next five days, people may come into the ofrenda in the Orientation Gallery to visit it and place their offerings. There will be a 15 minute screening on a continuous loop in the auditorium of Dia de los Muertos by Ray & Charles Eames

Then on Saturday, November 5th, there will be a fun celebration with music, public presentations about the ofrenda, face painting, crepe paper flower making and other activities for children and families. Also on that Saturday, there will be a special lunch offered at the Bistro, with Mexican hot chocolate and pane de muerto.

For more information, please see the Day of the Dead event page on the Museum's website.

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Eagle Harbor Book Company brings Paul Bannick back to our island on Sunday October 30th. He'll talk at the Art Museum about his newest book, which showcases exquisite intimate photos of four species of owls in the wild, together with extensive research gained by studying these owls in their habitats.

In this podcast, Paul talks with BCB host Channie Peters about how he was able to photograph and observe the Northern Pygmy, Burrowing, Great Gray, and
Snowy Owls throughout the course of a year in each of their different natural habitats. He explains the importance of understanding these indicator species as a way of understanding our bigger environment and our interconnected web of existence.

Paul's illustrated talk is on Sunday October 30th at 4 pm and is free to the public. Seating is limited for this event in the auditorium of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. So Eagle Harbor Bookstore recommends calling them at 842-5332 to reserve your seat.

Or, better yet, customers who either preorder from Eagle Harbor Books on the web -- or who buy the book at the door of the Art Museum -- will receive priority seating. Others will be seated on a first-come basis as long as seats are available.

For more details see the Eagle Harbor Books webpage describing Paul Bannick and the event featuring his new book: "Owl: A Year in the Life of North American Owls."

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Tim Bird; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 18-minute podcast, we meet a local Bainbridge retiree who had an extraordinarily successful professional career as an advisor and to investors.

Our guest, Paul Merriman, describes the educational seminar that he will offer at no charge, on "10 Simple Steps to Improve Your Investing Confidence and Build a Better Retirement Plan."

Bainbridge Community Foundation (BCF), along with Paul's Merriman Financial Education Foundation, are delighted to offer the free seminar to the public on Thursday Nov. 3rd, from 6:30 to 8:30pm in the comfortable auditorium seating of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.

This talk is primarily directed to individuals who are in the wealth accumulation phase of their lives and wanting to save more wisely for the future. A later seminar next year will focus on how to be smart about taking distributions in your retirement years.

In this podcast conversation, Paul offers examples of topics he'll cover on Nov. 3rd:
- the two best investments for first-time investors;
- how much money you need to accumulate to retire;
- how to select the best-performing mutual funds;
- five kinds of mutual funds that should not be in any portfolio;
- 10 ways to protect your portfolio from loss; and
- three ways to double your income in retirement.

Paul also describes his passion for education, and why he created a personal foundation to aid in that effort. He describes some of the books and articles available from his website. He describes how happy he is to help offer a quarterly course in investing at Western Washington University. And he mentioned his enjoyment of producing an educational podcast series, which can be found at his website.

There is limited seating in the auditorium of the Art Museum. To confirm your seat, register for the free event on the Bainbridge Community Foundation website.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Conductor and Music Director Wes Schulz talks about the four upcoming concerts in our local orchestra's new 2016-17 season, its 44th. Each concert will be totally unique to Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra, and never before performed here.

The season kicks off on the evenings of November 12th and 13th with “The British are Coming.” The music comes from three great English composers - William Walton, Vaughan Williams, and Elgar - with “resplendent orchestration, grandeur, and pomp” (as only the British can do it).

Particularly unique and special will be the second concert, Mahler’s Symphony #1, which will be performed in March by Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra together with the orchestra of the University of Puget Sound. The performance of that symphony requires a large number of instruments and musicians, so the combining of these two orchestras will bring us a spectacular performance. Each of the two Mahler performances will be off-site - at the Bainbridge High School on March 4th, and at the University of Puget Sound campus on March 5th.

In this podcast, Wes also provides some insight into the creative process of how a symphony concert comes together.

See further details about the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra and its season of classical performances at the website of Bainbridge Performing Arts.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Tim Bird; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Fresh from her latest appearance on NBC's "Today" show, internationally recognized author, speaker and educator, Michele Borba, Ed.D, joins our BCB podcast by Skype to describe the upcoming talk she will be giving to parents of teens.

Her speaking event will be at the Commons of Bainbridge High School on Wednesday Nov 9th at 7:30pm -- the evening after election day. The event is brought to you by the local Raising Resilience organization, and co-sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Healthy Youth Alliance.

Michele Borba's latest book is called "Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in an All-About-Me World," which is available locally at Eagle Harbor Books. The topic of encouraging our kids to learn and practice empathy will be a significant part of her talk.

That talk is a major event in the Healthy Youth Alliance's 8-month educational campaign called "Beyond the Report Card: Cultivating What Matters", which is designed for local parents and other adults who care about teens.

That campaign just started and it's not too late to participate at the Healthy Youth website.

In this 13 minute podcast, Michele explains that empathy is a trait that any of us, and certainly teens, can learn and practice. As she says, empathy isn't "just for girls", and it isn't something that you're either born with ... or not.

Hosting this interview is local BCB volunteer Christina Hulet, herself a mother of two children, and Healthy Youth Alliance director Cezanne Allen MD.

Cezanne explains the Healthy Youth Alliance's current 8-month offering of events and readings that are designed to enable busy adults to learn effective ways of helping teens advance beyond the anxieties and pressures of their lives.

Learn more about the Healthy Youth Alliance 8-month learning campaign at

You're welcome to download free copies of her "Unselfie" discussion guide for parents, and her discussion guide for educators, at the BCB web page for this podcast.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 20-minute podcast, board member Catherine Camp of the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN) interviews BARN's first executive director, Mark Nichols, who was hired one month ago after a nationwide search.

Mark joins BARN on the eve of its exciting planned move in early 2017 from its existing facilities for artisans and their studios in Rolling Bay to a magnificent two-story building now under construction at the site of the former Christmas tree farm off New Brooklyn Road.

Mark recounts his multi-faceted professional career -- ranging from creative roles in themed entertainment organizations like Disney, to international arrangements for a traveling exhibition, to a leadership role at a community theater center -- and many other roles in between, often in the role of producer.

In response to Catherine's question about Mark's vision for the future of BARN, Mark describes it as a place where community and intergenerational activity will thrive, and as a "third place" that offers opportunities for encounters and creativity beyond what is found at our two other regular "places" -- home and work.

Mark tells personal stories of transitioning from a busy career to a decision to research an ideal community destination and then to move across the country to Bainbridge Island. He talks about finding what he and his wife came for -- an engaging community. He offers anecdotes about finding dedicated Bainbridge residents at a candlelight winter vigil at the Japanese-American Memorial, then as a volunteer producing stage sets for BPA productions, and eventually being invited to serve on the BPA board.

Catherine encourages us to learn more about the many creative activities, classes and studios at BARN by visiting the BARN website.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

In this podcast, meet noted author and 21-year Bainbridge resident Kathleen Alcala, who earned the "Island Treasure" award of Arts and Humanities Bainbridge, and who is launching her new book about food and community on our island at an event hosted by Eagle Harbor Books.

Come to the comfortable auditorium of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on Thursday October 13th at 7:30pm, to hear Kathleen describe her new book: "The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Northwest Island".

Kathleen explains in this podcast that the "northwest island" is, of course, our own. And the book is replete with insights of long-time islanders who have gone back to the land (or sea) to produce food. Kathleen's interviews with them offer insights on what matters in the long run, and what's sustainable.

In this podcast, Kathleen talks about what she learned from local residents who have become food producers, gardeners and growers. For example, she mentions Bob and Nancy Fortner, who had been Winslow booksellers before turning their homestead into Sweetlife Farm, producing goods for our farmers market. And she mentions local tuna fisherman Paul Svornich. And then there's local Day Road farmer Betsey Wittick.

As one reviewer of her book has said: "By focusing on the food in one place, Alcala is able to pull together cultural and cross-cultural experiences, environmental debates, and ... issues of economic justice that underpin all food production."

In this conversation, Kathleen reflects on her experience of farm markets and farm stands in Mexico with her family, her early experience in living in a small rural town in Colorado, and many of the civic issues that have engaged her in two decades of life on Bainbridge Island.

Her book is enriched by the photographs it includes from much-admired island photographer Joel Sackett.

Further details about her book can be found at the website of University of Washington Press.

An inspiring article that grows out of her bookwriting experience can be found on her blog site: "Ten Things a Clueless Eater Can Do".

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this podcast, author Pete Fromm talks with Eagle Harbor Book Company’s Victoria Irwin, and with BCB host Channie Peters, about his new memoir.

He'll be at Eagle Harbor Books on Friday, October 14th, 1-2 pm, for what promises to be a fascinating lunchtime talk.

His new memoir "Names of the Stars: A Life in the Wilds" is most definitely not a sequel to Indian Creek Chronicles, written 13 years earlier, though there are superficial similarities. In both cases, we meet a man who goes into the wilderness, alone, to nurture and study fish eggs.

But Pete Fromm isn’t the same man he was in Indian Creek Chronicles, when he ventured into the wilderness, alone, to babysit salmon eggs for the Fish & Wildlife Service for seven months. Now, he isn’t just parenting fish eggs, but also two sons (age 9 and 6). They desperately wanted to go with him but couldn’t because of the dangerous neighborhood, with the densest population of grizzly bears in the lower 48. This time, Pete’s experiences in the wild are richer, with greater depth, in the context not just of the beauty and risks of wilderness, but also in the context of his emotional depth gained from years of life experiences and relationships.

Pete’s experiences, both external and internal, and his recounting of them, make him the perfect guest for Eagle Harbor bookstore’s brown bag lunch venue, when we can sit down for an informal chat, ask questions, and get to know this personable, thoughtful adventurer and writer.

Reservations are not required, but requested so that space and drinks can be thoughtfully planned. Further details are at the Eagle Harbor Books website.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Tim Bird; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-032-farm-intern-catherine-nguyen/

In this podcast BCB host Bob Ross introduces us to Heyday Farms intern Catherine Nguyen.

Nguyen, a recent college graduate, stopped by our booth at the Bainbridge Farmers Market to discuss her interest in food and the deep commitment she has developed about making healthy food available to all. 

Catherine talks about her decision to choose Bainbridge Island as a place to do an internship, and tells us what it's like working with Brian MacWhorter of Butler Green and Heyday Farms.  We also learn about the journey that led her to becoming a farmer during her studies. 

Listen here and learn about one young woman's dream for a future in food and agriculture and hear about the role she sees herself playing in that future.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

Under the guidance of chef Melinda Lucas, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art’s bistro has evolved into a full service, full menu restaurant popular with both museum visitors and local residents.

Listen here as chef Lucas shares the story behind the Bistro's evolution from grab ‘n go food bar (making precooked, prepackaged food sourced from vendors), to a limited menu food bar with lunch items cooked internally by a chef, to a full service, sit-down restaurant with an expanded menu.

Originally trained as a pastry chef, Melinda’s menus are varied - both hearty and light, seasonal, fresh, and always delicious. She describes her cooking style as simple and basic, with fresh, organic, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. And did we say she's a pastry chef?  Ask the locals: her chocolate chip cookies and ricotta pound cake are to die for!

In addition to Melinda, the bistro now has a catering chef, Marcielle Herring, who is responsible for the menus and preparation of food for special events, which include museum events, such as member preview parties, and also events booked by companies, organizations or individuals.  So now, in addition to the expanded chef-prepared lunch menu, the BIMA bistro offers special dinners on Tuesday evenings to accompany the museum’s continuing film series, and offers catering for special events at the art museum.  

So -- the next time you get a chance, stop in and sample the new wares at the BIMA Bistro: you won't regret it!

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 12-minute podcast, we meet best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith, via Skype from his home in Edinburgh, Scotland. He will be flying in to speak on Bainbridge Island about his latest detective novel, Precious and Grace, and his many other series of books.

His free event at the Commons room of Bainbridge High School, on Saturday Oct. 15th at 2:30pm, is being hosted by Bainbridge Public Library, Eagle Harbor Books and Liberty Bay Books.

As you'll hear in this conversation with BCB's Channie Peters, Mr. McCall Smith is the author of several diverse series of novels and is also professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh. He has served with many national and international organizations concerned with bioethics.

The author was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and was a law professor at the University of Botswana. His latest book, the 17th in his series of "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" novels, takes place in Botswana and features the fictional lead character Precious Ramotswe as the country's premier lady detective.

As our BCB host asks in this interview: "How does an emeritus professor of medical law -- a gentleman -- get inside the head of a woman from Botswana?"

For further information about this "West Sound Reads" event, visit the website of Eagle Harbor Books.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-030-joe-pulicicchio-on-fall-produce/

Joe Pulicicchio, Director of Produce and Floral for Town and Country Markets, returns to the BCB broadcast studio to talk with host Bob Ross about some of the squashes and other items becoming available as we begin Fall and the holiday time of the year.

While continuing to focus on the current produce available, and the challenges of bringing fresh, top quality materials to the shelves of a major local supermarket, Joe also looks back through the past year and discusses some highlights of seasonal changes.

This summer, Joe feels, was one of the best he can remember for cherries and other stone fruits. But it's already time for him to begin looking to the future: here are some of the things he's thinking about as we head into the last quarter of 2016 and prepare for 2017.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 13-minute conversation with Cezanne Allen, learn about the upcoming 8-month live and online campaign of the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance, called: "Beyond the Report Card: Cultivating What Matters".

Participation is being offered at no charge to parents, grandparents, coaches, teachers and anyone else interested in helping kids thrive.

The campaign, which starts October 4th, includes a print booklet, weekly blog posts, relevant articles, weekly Facebook posts, monthly BCB podcasts, and handouts at events.

In addition, on Nov. 9th, there will be a guest lecture by Michele Borba PhD, author of "Unselfie".

The aim of the Alliance is to create an 8-month learning adventure leading to a community culture where every child has what they need to thrive, connect, contribute, learn and prepare for a fulfilling career.

The Healthy Youth Alliance is a collaborative partnership of organizational leaders, teens, parents, teachers and individuals working together for positive youth development. For this project, Raising Resilience (where Cezanne comes from), joins with the School District, Rotary Club, Bainbridge Community Foundation, Bainbridge Youth Services and the local Boys and Girls Club.

From October to May, the campaign will devote a month to exploring -- online and in live events -- each of eight traits of a healthy state of mind: empathy, curiosity, sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness and creativity. Those traits are derived from a framework developed by local developmental psychologist Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD.

Much of the learning will focus on practical ways that those 8 healthy traits can be nurtured by parents, guardians, teachers and anyone working with youth.

National trends show that 12th graders with “high” quality of life scores, reflecting their perception of their own mental and physical health, is trending downwards. These trends are reflected in the UCLA American Freshman Survey, which shows that the emotional health of incoming college freshmen is at its lowest level in three decades.

Bainbridge Island is notable not just for academic excellence in its schools, but also for being a community that cares about the wellbeing of its kids. That caring goes beyond external success evidenced by grades, extra-curricular achievements and accomplishments. This campaign is designed to help our youth discover their basic goodness and understand that “success” is not just what they do, but who they are.

Because participation is mostly online, with coordination of all resources through BHYA’s web page, there are no prescribed meetings or workshops requiring attendance. Participants can access materials online at their own time and convenience.

For further information, visit the website of the Bainbridge Healthy Youth Alliance.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

The Bainbridge Spartans took their team across the Puget Sound and to beautiful Memorial Stadium to play Lakeside, but they were not satisfied with the beautiful view. The Spartans wanted to start the Metro football season with a win and they did. The final score was 20-7.

Bainbridge's defense was on full display, shutting the Lakeside offense down in the red zone. Of the 4 times Lakeside reached the Bainbridge 20 yard line, no points were given up.

Eric Jung was the MVP of the game, scoring all three Bainbridge touchdowns. His first was in the second quarter, when he intercepted Lakeside QB A.J. Allen and returned it 20 yards for 6. His other two TDs were on an 28 yard pass completion from QB Gannon Winker, and an emphatic 63 yard rushing touchdown. 

The Spartans next face Bishop Blanchet in their second home game of the season.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-299-paula-becker-on-betty-macdonald/

In this podcast, BCB host Wendy Wallace speaks via Skype with Seattle author and historian Paula Becker.  Becker will be reading from her new book, Looking for Betty MacDonald: The Egg, The Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I, at Eagle Harbor Books on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 3pm.

For those unfamiliar with Betty MacDonald and her writing, she had an instant hit in 1945 with her first memoir, The Egg and I, a hilarious account of the newly married author’s life on a chicken ranch in nearby Chimacum, Washington. This bestselling book -- which was made into a movie starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert -- sold over a million copies in less than a year and catapulted MacDonald into fame.

Long fascinated by MacDonald -- who wrote three more memoirs along with the engaging Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books for children before her untimely death at age 50 in 1958 -- Paula Becker decided to further explore this intriguing author.  She obtained permission from MacDonald’s family to access archives and personal materials never seen by the public, and visited former homes and other locations written about in MacDonald’s works, taking time to explore all the nooks and crannies of MacDonald’s world.

The culmination of Becker's investigations and discoveries is this exciting new biography, and it's a fascinating subject -- not just for those of us who grew up reading The Egg and I and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, but also for anyone curious about the Pacific Northwest, small town life, chickens, a woman’s post-war perspective on life in the U.S., or who simply wondered why that road they sometimes pass on the way to Port Townsend has such an unusual name.

More information about Paula and her writing can be found on her website, www.paulabecker.org and at historylink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington state history, where Paula is a staff historian.

Credits: BCB host: Wendy Wallace; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 14-minute podcast, we learn from this year's Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival director and judges what it's like to review and rate a host of films of various genres that have already been submitted to this year's festival.

The deadline for film submissions is September 30th, with the selected films to be announced October 5th, and the festival occurring at the historic local Lynwood Theater on November 5th and 6th.

In this podcast conversation, Matt Longmire, who is this year's director of the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival, introduces his two seasoned reviewers -- Gem Seddon (who studied cinema in England and has been an archivist for the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle) and Pernell Tyus (who has a vast array of hands-on professional filmmaking experience over 30 years). Check out his credentials at the Internet Movie Database.

We learn that there is already an excellent and abundant set of films submitted. We hear how the judges assess the films of various genres. Although eligibility depends on a Northwest connection, the true criteria for the festival is overall film quality. And, as we learn, quality can be found in many aspects, for example, camera work, performances, sound, story, and the ability of the film to engage the viewer.

This is the 18th annual festival sponsored by Arts and Humanities Bainbridge. Since this is a long-time Bainbridge-based event, the festival is waiving submission fees for Bainbridge filmmakers, even though submissions are welcome from throughout the Northwest. The last chance deadline for submittals is September 30th, as announced on the festival website.

In the interest of full disclosure, we should say that BCB itself has submitted a video to the Festival -- namely, an assemblage of three of BCB's community video podcasts about the grand opening of our local Owen's Playground.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-029-farm-interns/

In this episode of Tastes of Bainbridge, Li Schmidt and Ruven Stein, two of Brian MacWhorter's summer interns at Butler Green, Farms talk about being farm interns.

Listen here and learn what motivates them and why they have chosen to pursue this work in agriculture and food.  The two interns, both college graduates, are articulate and thoughtful in their discussions as they share how they first got interested in food production and what their thoughts and aspirations are as they look ahead.

For all those who worry about millennials and what they bring to today's culture, this interview presents us with encouragement for a surprisingly bright and rosy future.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 10-minute podcast, we preview an upcoming play at Bainbridge Performing Arts (BPA) with director Teresa Thuman and actor Tim Takechi. The play, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile", will be on stage at BPA from October 7th to 23rd.

Tim (who will play Einstein) and Teresa tell BCB about this smart, sophisticated comedy where playwright Steve Martin imagines a young Picasso and young Einstein sparring about art and science in a Paris cafe in 1904.

As they describe it, Picasso and Einstein are joined by a small cast of eccentric and hilarious characters at the beginning of the 20th century before the world wars, the Industrial Revolution and momentous social change have had their massive effects on the world. Steve Martin’s comedic style is evident in the fast witty dialogue and humorous situations played out by a cast of 12 local actors from Bainbridge Island, Kitsap and Seattle.

Details and tickets may be be found at the theater event page of the BPA website

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Tim Bird; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 26-minute podcast conversation, we learn what's special and what's significant about the City's just-finished update of the Comprehensive Plan for the Island's 10-20 year future.

The public is invited to attend either of two September open house and public hearing events to hear about the final draft or offer comments: (1) Saturday Sept 17th from 10am to 11:30 (plus a hearing), or (2) Thursday, Sept 22nd from 4:30 to 6pm (plus hearing).

During this podcast, comprehensive planning expert and adviser Joe Tovar summarizes the salient features of the 10-element revised and rewritten document that represents two years of intense work by island residents, City staff and representatives of the Planning Commission. And Jennifer Sutton, the project coordinator and a Senior Planner for the City, is on hand to add her thoughts.

As Joe Tovar points out, the report's main conclusions about land use are notable -- namely, that our City of about 23,600 people already has adequate zoning and infrastructure to accommodate the next 20-years' forecasted population growth of about 5,000 additional residents. The state's Growth Management Act requires that we be prepared to accommodate that share of the state's potential growth. The update continues to envision most of our growth being in Winslow and centers like Lynwood and Rolling Bay, rather than causing sprawl in the 90% of the Island that is planned to remain mostly green and open.

Joe also highlights ways in which the completion of the update paves the way for implementation steps for the City Council -- such as the adoption of water conservation measures for our underground water aquifers, and activities to reconcile the City's ordinances to the goals embraced by the Plan.

This City Plan update is also notable for taking note of climate change and including provisions for coping with its effects, as recommended by Island-based nonprofit Eco-Adapt. It was funded by Bainbridge Community Foundation to provide science-based assessments and advice.

To download your copy of the final draft of the Plan, go to the City's "Navigate Bainbridge" web page.

To join the City's email list for further announcements about the "Navigate Bainbridge" Plan update process, or other city issues, sign up here.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

The Bainbridge Spartans started their home slate with a hard-fought loss versus the Olympic High School Trojans 19-7.

A couple of large early game penalties and a second half strip sack stalled the Bainbridge offense for a majority of the game.

One offensive bright spot was the new wide receiver Lyle Terry. The 6'3" Senior, long a basketball team star, showed the home crowd his talent by catching the only touchdown for the Spartans and making two more receptions of more than 10 yards.

Gannon Winker replaced injured quarterback Riley Dunn and had a game to remember. He didn't throw an interception, one touchdown pass, and had a 70 yard touchdown run, only for it to called back.

Next week the Spartans head to Vancouver, Washington, looking for their first win against King's Way Christian (2-0).

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-028-heyday-farm-chickens/

In this, our first in-the-field interview for Tastes of Bainbridge, we talk with Brian MacWhorter about the egg and poultry operation at Heyday Farm.

Join BCB host Bob Ross as we walk around the farm, meeting the animals and talking with Brian, a well known Bainbridge Island farmer and owner of Butler Green Farms.

You'll also meet Catherine Nguyen, a summer intern at Heyday Farm, and learn more about being a farmer and the internship program.  Brian's deep commitment to educating young people about agriculture, food and sustainability comes through strongly in the interview: listen and learn!

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this fascinating and informative podcast, you'll hear Frank Buxton and John Ellis, co-founders of The Edge Improv and curators of the popular smARTfilm series at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. They describe the next offering of their "Tuesday Night Film Series", which starts on Tuesday September 20th with a series of six Movie Musicals.

Joining this podcast conversation is their good friend and movie raconteur, Frank Ferrante.

Ferrante will be a special guest on opening night of this series, helping to kick off the Marx Brothers classic, "Animal Crackers". Ferrante has spent 30 years impersonating the best of Groucho Marx to the delight of audiences around the world. Hear him talk about the history of the Marx Brothers films and how he became drawn to the legendary Groucho.

Listening to this podcast, you will also hear Frank Buxton and John Ellis trading stories and fascinating facts about the evolution of film, and music in films, when even during silent films, music was an integral part of the show.

Each of the Tuesday night film screenings are preceded by light and tasty dinners (sold separately) in the art museum’s bistro, prepared by chef Melinda Lucas and her talented staff. And after each film there is always scintillating Q & A with film experts, conversation and discussion.

The films in this series are:

• Sept. 20 (opening night) – "Animal Crackers".  The classic Marx Brothers film. And, in person, special guest Frank Ferrante - star of "An Evening with Groucho".
• Sept. 27: "Gold Diggers of 1933"
• Oct. 4: "Top Hat"
• Oct. 11: "Stormy Weather"
• Oct. 18: "On the Town"
• Oct. 25: "West Side Story"

Tickets can be purchased for the series or for individual films at biartmuseum.org.

Enjoy the comfortable Art Museum auditorium seating and this Summer's remarkable new laser projector that presents the movies in more vivid detail.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Tim Bird; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 12-minute podcast, local author and illustrator Lynn Brunelle joins us in the BCB studio to tell us about her upcoming visits to Eagle Harbor Books and the Kids Discovery Museum "KidiMu". She'll be sharing insights from her latest book, "Big Science for Little People: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Child Discover the Wonders of Science".

She’ll speak to educators, parents and other adults at the bookstore on Thursday Sept. 22 at 7pm (with light refreshments) and have an interactive science presentation for kids at KidiMu on Friday Sept. 23 at 4:30pm. Neither a ticket nor an advance reservation is required for either event.

With 4 Emmy awards for her work on the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” television show and over 40 books to her credit, Lynn is a master at messages. In this book, she uses an engaging tone and quirky humor and illustrations to inspire kids (and adults) to fall in love with the wonders of science.

In this interview, Lynn describes how she believes that everyone is born naturally curious about the world. And she says that the world needs that passion to flourish as we search for solutions to global science-related issues. Her books have numerous fun experiments and tips for using common household items to explore scientific principals in ways that the whole family can enjoy.

More information about Lynn and her books can be found on her website.

Watch her website in order to catch her upcoming hilarious music video to celebrate her new book. At BCB, we heard a rumor that the music for this particular promotional video will be borrowing (with a smile) from the Broadway hit: Hamilton, the musical.

Credits: BCB host: Wendy Wallace; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 14-minute podcast conversation, we meet three of our Bainbridge Island experts on why it's worth preparing for an earthquake or other emergency, and how you can do that in your home and neighborhood.

They describe three upcoming local events on preparedness.

On Wednesday Sept 28th at 6:30pm, see a movie on our earthquake prone Bainbridge geology. The filmmaker is Cameron Snow, last year's recipient of the local Island Treasure award. The on-film story-teller is retired geologist and local resident Greg Geehan.

On Sept 29th, from 7:30 to 9pm, hear insights and advice from experts and community leaders at Bainbridge High School Commons. The panel includes a geologist, leaders of the City, Fire Department, and county-wide Department of Emergency Management.

And on Saturday October 1st from 11am to 3pm browse an expo at City Hall with booths, starter kits and how-to information.

In this podcast, our City's Emergency Management Coordinator Amber Richards explains the upcoming events in greater detail. Then, Assistant Chief Luke Carpenter of the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, who will moderate the Day 2 panel discussion, explains the reasons why preparedness is so vital on an island like Bainbridge. And our third guest, Scott James, talks about the value of gathering with our neighbors to create more resilient and prepared neighborhoods. He mentions insights he's learned during the course of writing his upcoming book on Prepared Neighborhoods.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-027-bainbridge-island-fruit-club/

This week Darren Murphy, president of the recently formed Bainbridge Island Fruit Club, comes to the BCB broadcast table at the Farmers’ Market.  Listen as Darren tells BCB host Bob Ross about the newly formed club, its goals and expectations, and the many club activities happening now and planned for the future. 

Darren discusses many of the more typical fruits grown on Bainbridge and some of the challenges of managing them from planting through harvest.  An obvious expert in fruit cultivation and management, he talks about apples, pears, plums, grapes, and many more fruit varieties.  He also has strong thoughts regarding using fruit for food complete with some creative recipe suggestions.

The Bainbridge Island Fruit Club (BIFC) meets once a month throughout the year.  Visit www.bifruitclub.wordpress.com   to learn about upcoming meetings and applications for membership.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-293-bainbridge-quilt-festival-september-10/

On Saturday, September 10, the Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild will again sponsor their popular one-day-only Quilt Festival -- their Fourth Annual! From 10 am to 5 pm over 100 quilt entries will line the sidewalks of downtown Winslow  -- and if you're a quilter, It’s not too late to enter!

As you stroll along Winslow Way, admiring this year's quilts, special quilt ambassadors in bright green aprons will be available to watch over the quilts and answer your questions. And then, if you're feeling inspired, you can head over to the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, where there will be a hands-on quilt sew-in. Anyone who's interested can go up to the 2nd floor work room, sit down at a sewing machine, choose some fabric, and be guided to make a contribution to our next Wounded Hero quilt, which will be donated to a veterans’ shelter in Kitsap County.

And you can do more than look: Many of the quilts can be purchased -- or, for just $2, you can purchase a raffle ticket for a chance to win a beautiful 57: x 66” quilt, “Star Struck," made by the Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guilders.  Raffle tickets may be purchased at the information booth on Madrone Lane, at Esther’s Fabrics on Winslow Way and during the Bainbridge Art Walk on September 2nd.

For more information about the Guild, the Festival and for entry forms, go to BainbridgeQuiltFestival.com <http://bainbridgequiltfestival.com> .

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Diane Walker.

At 7pm on Sept 7th, the Port Townsend Film Festival will be previewing eight short films at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, as a sneak peek at some of the 97 films that will be showing in Port Townsend's celebrated annual festival on the weekend of Sept 23-25.

In this podcast interview, Film Festival executive director Janette Force tells BCB about the special program she has put together for this preview, consisting of eight short films. They range from science fiction to a documentary about the outdoors, and from animation to live actors, including both documentaries and narratives.

The breadth of the preview ranges from a film by a first-time filmmaker (Seattle architectural firm Olson Kundig producing “Welcome to the 5th Facade”) to one that won an Academy Award for Best Short Film (“The Stutterer” directed by Benjamin Cleary).

The films run from 1.5 minutes to 15 minutes. The first half of the program will be 30 minutes, with an intermission with beverages and light snacks, followed by another 33 minutes of films.

Regardless whether you will be able to attend the 17th annual film festival in Port Townsend, you will be delighted by this preview. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, if you have been wondering whether to spend a day or two or three in beautiful Port Townsend, attending this sneak peek may just push you over the edge.

The eight short films from the festival that you will see on September 7th are:

"Entre les Lignes": Directed by Emmanuelle Remy, Christelle Alion and Tom Casacoli.

"Simon Beck - Snow Artist": Directed by Sindre Kinnerød.

"Pickle": Directed by Amy Nicholson

"Welcome to the 5th Façade": With Olson Kundig.

"Kick Ass Katy Lee": Directed by George Gage and Beth Gage.

"Sole Mates": Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard.

"Stutterer": Directed by Benjamin Cleary

"Throw": Directed by David Larson, Darren Durlach

Purchase tickets to the BIMA preview at Brown Paper Tickets.

For more information about the Port Townsend Film Festival, see the Festival website.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

Meet Dale Henderson (described by Yo-Yo Ma as “a very gifted musician, a natural cellist”) on Sept. 4th when he and distinguished pianist William Chapman Nyaho will be performing the three Bach da Gamba Sonatas at Bloedel Reserve.

Weather permitting, the concert will be outside at the Visitor’s Center. This is the grand finale of the Bloedel summer concert series. Admission will be at 6 pm (not earlier). Picnicking will be allowed, and alcoholic beverages may be purchased at Bloedel only (please do not bring your own).

In 2010, acclaimed cellist Dale Henderson took his passion for Bach’s music to the masses by playing Bach’s cello suites in the New York City subways, believing that this might re-energize widespread love for Bach and classical music.

He did this again, year after year, just for the love of Bach. For Bach’s 326th birthday on March 21, 2011, Dale invited other musicians to join him - and the “Bach in the Subways movement” was born. “In 2015 thousands of musicians in 150 cities in 40 countries offered Bach’s music freely to the public in subway stations, train stations, on moving trains, on street corners, in cafés, malls, restaurants, zoos, and concerts open to all. More Bach was played and heard in a single day than ever before in history.”

In this podcast, Dale tells BCB about what compelled him to play the Bach cello suites in the subway, and how he continues to be fueled by his passion for bringing Bach to the public. The da Gamba Sonatas, while less well known than the cello suites, inspire him with the nuanced and sensitive interplay between cello and piano.

Dale has performed as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestra cellist, and made his professional solo debut at the age of 13 with the Buffalo Philharmonic. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and attended the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Nyaho is a Ghanaian American who has studied music at Oxford University (UK), Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve, Switzerland, the Eastman School of Music, and University of Texas where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He performs as soloist with various orchestras, including the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.

Dale and Nyaho began collaborating last year, sharing their passion for performing Bach.

Also joining us for this BCB podcast is Bloedel's Programs and Events Manager, Shayla Miles, who chose this Bach program for the culmination of the summer concert series.

Tickets can be purchased at the Bloedel Reserve website.

BCB apologizes for some background noise on this skype recording.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-290-kindred-spaces-performance-at-bima/

In this episode of What’s Up Bainbridge, artist Amy D’Apice returns to the BCB Studio to tell us about her upcoming presentation, “Kindred Spaces: The Performance." This Bainbridge Arts and Crafts event is scheduled for September 8th at 7:00pm. It will be held at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.

Amy lives and makes art in Thailand. She has a great fan base in the US and has been on Bainbridge Island this summer offering workshops and showing her art. As a traveler she is always on the lookout for scenes that may be common across cultures and she says part of her creative process is taking something that is messy and try to make it into something that is beautiful.

In “Kindred Spaces: The Performance”, Amy has created a multimedia presentation to talk about the “creative process,”melding music, art, and storytelling to cover lots of topics in the process of creating art.

This presentation was inspired by her blog, Art Conspiracy, [http://artconspiracy.net/blog/] where she shares with her audience not only what she is working on but also the process toward completing, or not, the art work.  To her surprise, Amy learned that her fans love to hear about that process. Amy says “It’s a messy process and it’s not perfect” but having insight into what an artist goes through is apparently fulfilling to artists and non-artists alike.

Not only will Amy's presentation entertain and teach us about the creative process, but in removing the mystery from the artist's experience she helps bring us to a new understanding of the work itself. 

For more information on this event and how to get tickets, please visit

http://bacart.org/exhibitions/future-exhibitions/

http://bacart.org/kindred-spaces-the-performance/

Credits: BCB host: Sonia Scaer; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 12-minute podcast, we connect to the Alaska home of Susan Marie Conrad -- a photographer, kayaker and author -- to hear about her upcoming slide show and talk about her courageous solo 66-day kayaking journey of more than 1,000 miles in the Inside Passage to Alaska.

She will speak and show slides at Eagle Harbor Books on Thursday, Sept. 1st at 7:30pm.

Her newly published memoir is titled: "Inside: One Woman’s Journey Through the Inside Passage". The book describes the perils and uplifting experiences of her solo trip. It includes the details of planning a journey like this, as well as the greater, personal impact it had on her life afterwards.

In this short podcast interview with BCB's Wendy Wallace, Susan shares with us the ups and downs of traveling alone in the wilderness and the amazing natural beauty she encountered in the coastal landscape.

As a person with over 25 years' experience in the paddle sports industry, Susan has guided numerous kayak tours and instructed students in beginning and advanced techniques of ocean kayaking.

Her articles and photographs have appeared in "Sea Kayaker", "Canoe and Kayak", "Adventures Northwest", magazines and countless newspapers, guidebooks and historical journals. Susan is always thrilled to share her passion for water travels and hopes to inspire others to take on new adventures in their own lives at any age.

More information can be found at Susan’s website.

Credits: BCB host: Wendy Wallace; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-288-barbara-earl-thomas-at-bima/

Award-winning, acclaimed Seattle artist, Barbara Earl Thomas, whose solo show, "Heaven on Fire" is currently exhibiting at the BI Museum of Art, will speak at the museum's Eye on Artist event on August 27th. 

In this podcast , Barbara gives BCB a preview of her talk, sharing what inspires her, her choice of materials and her methods.  Her widely acclaimed show, favorably reviewed by numerous critics, spans over 30 years of her lively works in egg tempera, linocuts, blown glass, and expansive paper cuts in a site-specific installation, and includes some of her thought provoking writings. 

Bainbridge Island Art Museum's Eye on Artist series is part of the museum's mission and focus on education, providing the public with an opportunity to hear featured artists speak about their work.  The talks are in BIMA's Frank Buxton auditorium and are followed by a reception with the artist.

This will be a particularly auspicious Eye on Artist event because it will be the launch of BIMA's new book about Thomas' show, "Heaven on Fire". 

Tickets for the Eye on Artist event can be purchased here. (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2579870).

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker

On the evening of this year's Earth Day, scientists gathered to read poems of lament -- or "keening" -- with poetry speaking for endangered species. The poems were written by local Island poet Bobbie Morgan. 

The word “keening” comes from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic term caoineadh ("to cry, to weep"). It is a lament for the dead customarily for women to wail or keen at a funereal (source: Wikipedia).

In this 10-minute video podcast, we see an excerpt from the event, including the readings of four poems for four endangered animal species. During the program on that Earth Day evening in April, twenty poems were read by 20 current (and future) locally-resident scientists, depicting threatened animals from 20 biological regions (“biomes”) of the world.

Bobbie hopes that this poetry will enhance our experience of science and bring us to a stronger vision of a healthy future for our natural environment and earthly home.

This event was publicized by Earth Art Bainbridge -- a project of Sustainable Bainbridge -- which sponsored a series of explorations of climate change by artists and writers in our community, which were presented prior to, and on, Earth Day weekend.

The evening was made possible by Bobbie and the scientists who volunteered to read her poetry. John McKenzie, who is the volunteer cinematographer and executive editor of this video podcast, also voluntarily created a slideshow that played during the readings. Marcus Lang and Dusty Collings performed music that enhanced the experience of the evening.

Sue Steindorff and Jeny Vidal made the Dayaalu Center available for the event, in the heart of Winslow. Additional partners and sponsors included: Artopia Creative, OfficeXpats, Arts and Humanities Bainbridge, Sound Repro and Sustainable Bainbridge.

The 66-minute video of the full event can be viewed on the Art for Climate Change website. You can also visit Art for Climate Change on Facebook.

Credits: BCB volunteer cinematographer and executive video editor: John McKenzie; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 15-minute podcast, we meet the filmmaker and film festival organizer, local resident Matt Longmire, who is working with Arts and Humanities Bainbridge to make the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival newly exciting for 2016.

Matt explains that the two-day festival, on November 5th and 6th at the historic Lynwood Theater, will be focusing more than before on bringing the best of filmmaking from throughout the Northwest.

As you can tell from the name "celluloid", the Bainbridge event has a long history, dating back to the days when films were typically distributed in the good old analog way, rather than in today's typically digital format. And the series used to be limited solely to films that had a direct connection to Bainbridge -- either through the residence of the filmmaker or an actor, or because of its locale or subject matter.

In addition to this 2016 Bainbridge film festival, Matt is currently also the successful organizer of the Seattle Web Fest -- which screens web-based fiction and nonfiction video series that are sourced from Seattle and around the world.

Matt explains in this podcast conversation the many categories of filmmaking that are available in this year's bigger-than-ever festival, and how filmmakers can submit their work to the juried review process.

Awards will be given for the best film in each of the following categories: Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Student Film, Web Series, Music Video, and Local Bainbridge Film.

Tune into this podcast for interesting behind-the-scenes stories about what it takes to organize a local film festival these days.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 30-minute podcast conversation, we learn about ideas and strategies to enable participants of all ages to make the most of the remarkable new creative space for artisanry, learning, making and doing, called Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN).

We meet Catherine Camp, the board member and vice president for operations at BARN, who introduces us to the new BARN project for engaging local youth in the activities and programs of BARN.

With her in the studio are three local high school and college students who share their thoughts on the great value of having an all-ages creative space for learning and mentoring. Those podcast participants are:

• Maya Nathan: a Bainbridge High School senior, who is this summer's BARN intern;
• Finn Mander: a Bainbridge High School senior who is a long-time volunteer at BCB (which is soon to be part of BARN), and who is also a leader of the 2-year-old BHS Radio Club. In the coming school year, Finn will be a leader of the new student club for video news production, called Spartan News.
• Madeline Corbin: who is going into her junior year at Seattle University, having graduated from Bainbridge High School two years ago. As a BHS senior, Madeline had served as editor in chief of the Spartan Standard newspaper at BHS.

The podcast conversation explains some of the activities being pursued with BARN Youth Engagement project funds granted by Bainbridge Community Foundation. For example, we hear explanations of the upcoming Teen Camp and the fledgling Youth Council.

The Teen Camp is scheduled for August 15th to 19th (six hours per day), and is open to teens age 14 to 18 who would like to experiment with glass, fiber, metal, wood and food. It's an exciting week of activities designed to explore the breadth of hands-on crafts available at BARN. It meets at the 2,500 square foot interim BARN facility in Rolling Bay.

Meanwhile, construction is underway on a 25,000 square foot two-story BARN center for craft and invention, just 10 minutes walk from Bainbridge High School, which is expected to open before next Spring.

Credits: BCB host: Barry Peters; BCB audio editing: Madeline Corbin and Barry Peters.

In this heartwarming podcast, Finn Mander introduces Liam, Eimon, Eli, and Zachari who are all active participants in the programs offered by the Bainbridge Island Boys and Girls Club. In this eclectic podcast, they share their stories, favorite moments, and advice for other kids interested in joining the club. The underlying theme of the discussion is how important community really is.

BCB was introduced to the Boys and Girls Club in the spring of this past year when they hosted the club for a four week audio engineering course. Within those four weeks, the kids learned about podcast making, live sound recording, sound editing and mixing, working in a professional environment, and how to conduct interviews. At the end of the course, they tested their knowledge by taking part in the creation of this podcast with the help of their teacher, Finn Mander.

The Boys and Girls Club is currently working on a project called the “BGC Radio,” which is an online community radio station run by the kids of the Boys and Girls Club. It is an amazing opportunity for the kids to learn about how streaming works, how sound is edited and recorded, about music as a whole, and about being a part of a community project.

The Boys and Girls Club offers many different activities for the kids of Bainbridge Island to learn about different aspects of their community and society as a whole. Their ultimate goal is helping prepare students for high school graduation and college by exploring career paths, developing leadership skills, caring for their community, engaging in positive behaviors, expanding their creativity, and learning how to live a healthy lifestyle and make the right choices. Through taking part in these activities, the kids learn a large amount, have fun, and make friends. Outside of these activities, the kids also have time to work on homework, play with friends, and learn from staff at the facility in the Coppertop area of Bainbridge Island.

You can learn more about the Boys and Girls Club at: http://positiveplace.org/locations/bainbridgeisland

The BGC Radio can be listened to at:

http://tunein.com/radio/Boys--Girls-Clubs-Radio-s266762/

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and publisher: Finn Mander. Dogfish Bay Studios; music splash: Dave Bristow.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-026-joe-pulicicchio-chili-roast/

T&C's Joe Pulicicchio returns to the Taste of Bainbridge series as we further explore how a major local grocery business can constantly make top quality fresh produce available on a regular basis through the changing seasons of the year.

As the Director of Produce and Floral for Town & Country Markets, Inc., Joe provides new insights about the challenges that need to be addressed as various fruits and vegetables reach peak flavor and ripeness and make it to the shelves at just the right time.  In this interview he discusses the end of berry season and the excellent melons of all types and flavors that are just becoming available. 

A highlight of the discussion is the fast approaching chili roasting season and Joe explains what dates in August the roasting will take place and at what stores.  Roasting chilies in late summer is time-honored tradition with wonderful aromatic benefits and making the chilies more accessible for exceptional recipes.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker

From BCB...

http://bestofbcb.org/tast-025-heyday-farm-creamery/

Heyday Farm Creamery proprietors Vicky and John McGarrity visited the BCB Tastes of Bainbridge booth at the July 30 Farmers’ Market.

Listen here as the McGarritys explain why they have moved their entire operation to Bainbridge Island from Hansville to join the Heyday Team. Now producing their signature goats milk cheeses on Bainbridge, they'll soon be offering cows' milk cheeses, and by next spring they plan to bring out sheep milk cheeses. 

Vicky and John are committed to achieving the highest level of quality in the food they produce.  Here they discuss some of the processes that are required to produce their cheese varieties, including the unique pasturing system that allows them to grass feed their animals and use a barley fodder process when fresh grass is hard to find.

And did you know you could hear taste?  We decided to try: there was an on-air tasting that explored the various and subtle differences in the cheeses. Listen and see if you can feel the flavor!

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 13-minute podcast, Deb Rudnick -- an environmental scientist and the longtime chair of the Bainbridge Island Watershed Council -- describes the upcoming Bainbridge Island Beach Cleanup, on Saturday September 17th.

On that day, volunteers around the country will be making a difference on their local shorelines, working for both natural beauty and the health of shore birds and marine creatures.

Deb explains that this first-of-a-kind cleanup day for the island's 56 miles of shoreline is being made possible by a wide range of local organizations:

• Sustainable Bainbridge, and component groups:
  • BI Watershed Council
  • Bainbridge Beach Naturalists
  • Zero Waste Bainbridge
• BI Land Trust
• Islandwood
• BI Parks and Recreation District
• Bainbridge Parks Foundation
• City of Bainbridge Island
• Bainbridge Island Harbormaster

Some marine creatures have died from ingesting large amounts of small plastic debris and waste. There's been a huge response by concerned citizens, as nearly 800,000 volunteers removed more than 18 million pounds of trash during the 2015 International Coastal Cleanup one year ago.

Volunteers are encouraged to register in advance of the Saturday event by emailing Sustainable Bainbridge. Advance registration allows you to express an interest in the preferred stretch of beach where you'd like to help, and it will result in your obtaining advice and support in your efforts.

Deb explains that you're welcome whether you're an individual, family or group. It's an all-ages event, so long as you're safely able to get down to the beach of your choice. Children should be under the supervision of an adult.

The main effort is focused from 10am to 2pm that Saturday, but your help is appreciated even if for only part of that time. Further information can be found at the Sustainable Bainbridge web page for the event. There's also a Facebook page.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-285-womens-leadership-retreat/

Are you leading authentically? Are you living from your values and with a sense of purpose? What would that look like?

In this podcast, BCB host Christina Hulet explores these questions with Brooke Rufo-Hill and Penny Koch-Patterson, organizers of an upcoming two-day retreat on Authentic Leadership for Women. Brooke and Penny talk about their own journey as women leaders, and their efforts to create a retreat that speaks to our highest callings.  

The retreat will bring together a dynamic group of courageous and curious women looking to transform the way they live, work, and lead. It is designed to be highly personalized, experiential, and interactive. The retreat will draw on many contemporary resources and thought leaders, including the work of Tara Mohr and Amy Cuddy. It will also provide various leadership assessment and visioning tools, and include personalized coaching sessions.

The Authentic Leadership for Women retreat will be on Thursday and Friday, October 6th and 7th at IslandWood. Space is still available! For more information, please visit: www.authenticleadershipforwomen.com.

Bainbridge Community Broadcast listeners can take advantage of a $200 retreat discount (use discount code: BCB).

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker; social media publisher: Diane Walker

It's time for that popular annual tradition for cyclists of all ages, called Bike for Pie.

In this 12-minute podcast, meet three bicycling enthusiasts from the island's longest standing bicycle advocacy group, Squeaky Wheels, as they describe the annual Bike for Pie bicycling event for the whole family that attracted 470 participants last year -- 350 adults and 120 youth.

BCB volunteer - and Squeaky Wheels board member - Peter Harris introduces us to club president Ross Hathaway and treasurer Bruce Bachen.

The event occurs on Sunday August 7th. That day, you can sign-in as early as 8:30am, and no later than 10:30am. Each participant chooses either the family-friendly route or the longer challenge route for cycling enthusiasts.

Home base is the central green between BPA and City Hall (the site of the Bainbridge Farmers Market). For cyclists returning from their bike rides, pie is served from 11am to 1pm.

During those hours of pie eating, music will also be served up by the popular local band called "Ranger and the Re-Arrangers", whose music is a cross between a spirited Parisian cafe and a gypsy campsite.

Sign up now, by the end of the day on Monday August 1st, and receive a discount on your registration for the event.

Or, you can register through the day of the event at the BikeforPie.org website, where more details about the event and the routes can be found. Or send an email to info@SqueakyWheels.org

Fourteen local businesses are supporting this popular event this year.

According to Ross, the local homemade fruit pies promise to be "pure ambrosia", but, considering the exercise you'll get, Ross's tagline for the event is "Slim Your Thighs and Bike for Pie!".

Credits: BCB host: Peter Harris; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 5-minute video podcast, meet Andre Pomeroy, a sculptor who quarried, sculpted, polished and installed a remarkable boulder-sized rendition of a family of four sea lions. His art is now a favorite climbing object for children at play at the innovative and inclusive "Owen's Playground" on Bainbridge Island.

The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy who passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy. 

In his video conversation with BCB's Channie Peters, Andre explains that he had the four-member Marshall family in mind when he rendered the four sea lions in the boulder -- representing mom and dad (Stacy and Kelsey), plus Owen and his brother Elliott. As he explains to Channie, when he showed the work to Stacy and told her about her four family members being represented in the stone, she cried ... and he cried.

Andre explains that the suggestion came from Stacy that he create a sculpture large enough for children to climb on. As you'll see in this video, during our filming of the interview, one child after another approached and was drawn into the massive sculpture. One after another, they climbed on the sea lions, embraced them and played on them -- all in an entirely spontaneous and unrehearsed way.

The animals depicted by the artist are Steller (sometimes called Northern) sea lions, with large strong facial features. The artist named the work "Love's Safe Harbor", and you can find those words carved into the hard striated patterns of the beautifully patterned Serpentinite stone that came from the sculptor's own quarry in Marblemount, Washington.

Andre estimates that the physical chiseling and carving of the massive boulder involved at least 100 hours of physical labor, but the hours devoted to envisioning the design and other preparations and subsequent installation are many times that number. Andre reports that this is his largest work, although he mentions that he created a large sculpture some years ago for John Denver depicting a whale and a giant squid in a dramatic encounter.

In this podcast conversation, you can hear Andre's happiness at being able to bring his artistic work to such a joyful public place where it is being enjoyed by so many children and people of all ages.

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 4-minute video podcast, meet Barb Trafton, a long-time islander who has supported many projects for parks, and is the current executive director of the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation that coordinated the fundraising for the "Owen's Playground" project on Bainbridge Island. This is a chapter of a multi-part BCB video podcast series.

As Barb describes in her interview, the project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, was supported by a very wide-ranging set of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

Funding of the project started with donations from friends and family at the time of the October 2013 memorial service for Owen. 

As noted on the playground's website: contributions and donated time came from "community members, local organizations, educators, parents, caregivers of those with disabilities, pediatric occupational and physical therapists" and many others. Design was donated by Studio Hanson|Roberts, and laborious hands-on construction work and building of the park's artistic features came from a combination of paid and donated time from the staff of the Parks District. Further funding was provided by Bainbridge Island Rotary Club, the BI Parks Foundation itself, red buckets of collections given at local businesses, the Goldberg family of Harper's Playground, family and friends of the Marshall's ... and many kids! Some children set up lemonade stands. Others competed in a climbing-wall fundraising event.

The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy Marshall. Owen passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy.

In this podcast conversation, you can hear Barb describe the remarkable range and diversity of funding sources that culminated in the joy and excitement of the opening day, on Saturday, June 16th.

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 5-minute video podcast, meet Terry Lande, our island's longtime Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District. Terry's staff gave their all -- and then some -- to the hands-on creation of this inviting and inclusive "Owen's Playground" at Rotary Park on Bainbridge Island.

In his conversation with BCB's Channie Peters, Terry explains that his team at the Parks District were so inspired and attracted by the idea behind Owen's Playground that several of them worked on the project long beyond their paid hours.

Terry invited his whole Parks District staff team to come to work at the playground on the last day before the grand opening event, correctly realizing that the hands-on experience would be memorable and fulfilling.

The Parks District played a key role in bringing the project to realization. The Owen's Playground project found a home in the park thanks to a unanimous vote of the commissioners of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District ("Parks District") to earmark 13,000 square feet at the existing Rotary Park (which also includes two ball fields).

The project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, has been embraced by hosts of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

Design was donated by Studio Hanson|Roberts, with the laborious hands-on construction work and building of the playground's artistic features coming from Terry's Parks District team, including, for example, Dan Hamlin and David Harry.

Further funding was provided by Bainbridge Island Rotary Club, the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation, buckets of collections at local businesses, the Goldberg family of Harper's Playground, family and friends of the Marshalls ... and kids!

See the prior chapters of this BCB community video story, here:

Owen's Playground - Meet Stacy Marshall

Owen's Playground - Meet Ann Lovejoy

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 7-minute video podcast, meet Ann Lovejoy, our island's much-beloved advocate for organic gardening, who brought her passion for plantings to the innovative and inclusive "Owen's Playground" on Bainbridge Island.

Ann is the author of 18 books about organic gardening and the winner of the American Horticultural Society's award of excellence in writing. She heard that Owen's Playground had space for a sensory garden, and she proceeded to create an expansive wonderland of plantings that delight the senses and that extend far beyond the modest initial plans.

In this podcast conversation, you can hear Ann's insights about the types of blossoming and fruiting plants that she chose, and the reasons why.

The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy Marshall who passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy. This is chapter 1 of a 7-part video series.

The project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, has been embraced by hosts of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

See the prior chapter of this BCB community video story, here:

Owen's Playground - Meet Stacy Marshall

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 6-minute video podcast, meet Stacy Marshall, the visionary behind the innovative and inclusive "Owen's Playground" on Bainbridge Island. The park's name is in memory of the son of Kelsey and Stacy who passed away at age 6 in 2013, of complications associated with cerebral palsy. This is chapter 1 of a 7-part video series.

The project to create an inclusive park, designed to be safe and accessible for all, has been embraced by hosts of individuals and organizations who made the creation of this remarkable play space a true labor of love.

Funding of the project started with donations from friends and family at the time of the October 2013 memorial service for Owen. 

Four months later, the project found a home thanks to a unanimous vote of the commissioners of the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District ("Parks District") to earmark 13,000 square feet at the existing Rotary Park (which also includes two ball fields).

Design of the playground began in March 2014. As noted on the playground's website: contributions and donated time came from "community members, local organizations, educators, parents, caregivers of those with disabilities, pediatric occupational and physical therapists" and many others. Design was donated by Studio Hanson|Roberts, and laborious hands-on construction work and building of the park's artistic features came from a combination of paid and donated time from the staff of the Parks District. Further funding was provided by Bainbridge Island Rotary Club, the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation, buckets of collections at local businesses, the Goldberg family of Harper's Playground, family and friends of the Marshalls ... and kids!

In this podcast conversation, you can hear the joy and excitement as Stacy looks around on opening day, Saturday, June 16th, at a dream come true.

Credits: BCB videographer and video post-production: John McKenzie; BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 12 minute podcast, NPR’s “Founding Mother” -- the legendary Susan Stamberg -- and Marcie Sillman, KUOW’s renowned broadcast journalist, give a preview of their subsequent on-stage conversation at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art on the subject of “The Importance of Arts Coverage.”

Stamberg’s easily recognizable voice was the hallmark of “All Things Considered” public radio show for over 14 years, and she established a much-respected professional standard as the first woman to anchor a daily news program. She has interviewed thousands of distinguished and distinctive people in politics, arts and culture, science and in many walks of life. She has won innumerable awards in broadcast journalism and radio. And she has been mentor and inspiration to hundreds of aspiring journalists regardless of gender.

Marcie Sillman has been a premier broadcast journalist with Seattle’s KUOW since 1985, on our local “All Things Considered” show, and famously, “The Beat,” covering Seattle’s local arts scene. In 2013, she was part of a team that created a daily news magazine on Puget Sound issues and culture, called "The Record", and she is now doing full-time cultural reporting for KUOW, including episodes for "Art of Our City."

Both renowned journalists have now focused almost exclusively on their commitment and passion for covering arts and culture. Listen to this podcast to learn why.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 20-minute podcast, Lara Hansen -- who is the co-founder, executive director and chief scientist of the Bainbridge-based nonprofit called EcoAdapt -- describes the Bainbridge Island Climate Impact Assessment report that she is presenting to our local City Council on July 26th.

The report is the culmination of a year's work for a project that involved collaboration by the City, funding by Bainbridge Community Foundation, and cooperation with organizations like the Bullitt Foundation.

The report assesses the impact that climate change is already having locally, how that impact will affect decision-making for public policy, business activity and actions by individuals for their home and daily living. The report goes on to make recommendations to the City, and to individuals, for actions that can now be taken to deal more effectively with those climate change impacts.

Lara is a member of the board of directors of Sustainable Bainbridge, and has discussed climate change issues in prior BCB podcasts such as:

CAFE-031 EcoAdapt helps COBI comp plan to adapt to climate change

CAFE-007 Lara Hansen on Climate Change

By proclamation, the City Council unanimously voted to declare the week of July 24, 2016 to be Climate Change Adaptation Week.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 20-minute podcast conversation, meet Colin Cushman who was appointed to serve as the Pastor of Seabold United Methodist Church, and who started his tenure just three weeks ago.

Pastor Cushman is the successor to prior Seabold Pastor Robert Henry, who served for about five years.

Colin loves music and has practiced with many instruments since his childhood, ranging from piano to African drums. He's excited about the use of music in worship. He put that interest into practice during his three-year tenure as the minister of music for a multiracial and multicultural congregation in the Boston area.

Colin talks about his engagement in a variety of social justice causes, including work with the Black Lives Matter movement and organizing for racial justice. He has visited Ferguson twice and worked in that racially torn city with the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He also describes some of the significant work he has been doing around gender equality, sexism, environmental issues, and third world internationalism.

Colin is a Washingtonian who grew up in Kent. He did his undergraduate education at Willamette University in Salem Oregon and his Divinity School work at Boston University. His main area of expertise is Biblical studies and theology, especially as those subjects intersect with social justice concerns.

This is BCB's fourth podcast in its series of conversations with Clergy on Bainbridge.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

The Golden Rule, first launched in 1958 by a former U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and Quaker, with a mission to stop atmospheric nuclear testing, has only been recently restored after it fell into disrepair and sank in 2010. The vessel, slightly over 30 feet in length, is back in action  plying waters as a peace boat--but not after an improbable resurrection.

This summer, the vessel is touring the Pacific Northwest. One of its stops was the City Dock on Bainbridge Island, July 15 and 16. It plans to participate in Fleet Week in Seattle in August.

Helen Jaccard, who helped crew the vessel last year and is providing shore support this year, spoke with BCB’s Reed Price about the history, relaunch, and modern mission of the boat.

To learn more about the vessel and its voyages, visit https://www.facebook.com/VFP-Golden-Rule-Project-221122271247448/,  http://vfpgoldenrule.org or email vfpgoldenrule@gmail.com

Credits: BCB host and audio editor: Reed Price; publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-283-amy-dapice-sept-at-bac/

Amy D'Apice isn't shy about her art. In this podcast she shares the secrets and stories of the last nine months as she has been creating art for her solo exhibition this September at Bainbridge Arts & Crafts.

Though a long time Bainbridge Islander, about four years ago Amy moved to Chang Mai, Thailand, where she paints for most of the year. Each summer she returns to Bainbridge Island to visit with family and friends, and shares her art.

Wherever she is, Amy has always been drawn to the unnoticed spots of beauty in the world around her. A constant for her is the reliability of those spaces: the cracks in the sidewalks, the alleyways, the window sills, the street urchins. And she paints them.

Amy details her journey in her blog, Art Conspiracy (http://artconspiracy.net/blog/). She shares the good stuff as well as the hard, the times when inspiration hits and the times where she just has to show up and hope for the best.

In September, we get to see the fruits of her labor, and the process along the way. Come and celebrate "Kindred Spaces" with Amy this September.

There are lots of chances to meet Amy and view her work:

Exhibition: September 2-October 2

Artist's Reception: September 2, 6:30, BAC

Artist's Talk: September 3, 12:30, BAC

Multimedia Presentation: September 8, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art

Amy also teaches workshops all summer! Get the details at http://bacart.org/education/workshops/

Amy will also be participating in Paint Out Winslow this August - join her! For more information visit http://bacart.org/artists/paintoutwinslow/

This demo is part of a series of artists demos at Bainbridge Arts & Crafts; Georgia will be speaking with BCB regularly to introduce us to each month's education programs. It might be a demo, it might be a workshop, or just an introduction to the artists featured for them coming month. For more information about programs at BAC, check their website (bacart.org) early and often to learn what's coming up.

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Diane Walker; publisher; Georgia Browne.

In this 25-minute podcast conversation, Hilary Franz looks back to her favorite community accomplishments during her four years of service on the Bainbridge City Council, from 2008-11. She tells about the farm on the north end of the Island that attracted her to move here in 2000. And there's a story about sheep and roosters.

She explains that, even though her years on City Council were burdened by the severe national recession and a collapse of the local economy and local government funding, it was also a time of innovation and working for shared island values.

She discusses favorite memories of those years such as:

• improving the Winslow downtown by repairing the pipes of Winslow Way, widening sidewalks and creating bike lanes;
• protecting the harbor and Puget Sound from stormwater runoff;
• honoring the historic home in Eagle Harbor for the liveaboard community;
• creating incentives for greener building and more affordable housing;
• updating the zoning code to preserve local farming;
• taking action to resist climate change by working on home energy audits and energy efficiency refits;
• innovating with a public-private partnership to put solar panels on the City Hall roof; and
• looking for projects to allow community members and local government to be more effective together.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

In this 18-minute podcast, we meet the enthusiastic and convivial executive director of the Children's Discovery Museum of Bainbridge, Susie Burdick, who this week starts her one-year term as President of Rotary of Bainbridge Island.

Susie brings decades of experience leading nonprofits in theater, culture, and human services. And she's obviously inspired to take the helm of the local Rotary chapter, which has a well-deserved reputation as a very active local service organization that supports so many good causes -- both locally and internationally.

Susie starts by sharing the excitement and inspiration she gained by attending an annual gathering of Rotarians last month, where about 45,000 people from over 180 countries gathered in Seoul, Korea. She explains how that experience has uplifted her vision of what's possible, and how an organization can do so much to make the world a better place.

Susie also announces the exciting news that the Rotary's remarkable annual fundraising event -- the Auction and Rummage Sale that took place on July 2nd -- set a new fundraising record. All of the net proceeds of the big one-day sale will support community nonprofits, plus beneficial local programs and international humanitarian causes. This was the third successive auction chaired by Tom McCloskey, who was named the Bainbridge Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

Later in this conversation, Susie talks about what she's learned from her years of leading the Children's Discovery Museum ("Kidimu"). She also shares a personal love story about what brought her to Bainbridge in the first place.

Throughout this conversation, Susie offers touching insights about the workings of organizations that are out to make the world a better place.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-024-jon-garfunkel-on-educulture/

Last week at the Farmers Market BCB host Bob Ross joined EduCulture founder Jon Garfunkel. EduCulture focuses on building bridges between K-12 schools and their community, with an emphasis on edible education, heritage and human rights education and a strong core of hands-on student-centered programs. 

In this podcast Jon explains the importance of getting students out on the farms and into the fields to learn everything from how to sow seeds to various growing techniques and best harvesting methods.  A fervent and dedicated educator, he strongly believes in the need to reach out to young people and teach them about how food is grown and where it comes from. 

Later in the program we hear from another dedicated educator of young folks, Farmer Brian McWhorter of Butler Green Farms and Heyday Farm. To learn more about EduCulture, be sure to check out their website at http://educultureproject.org/ .

Credits: BCB host Bob Ross; audio editor Chris Walker; publisher Diane Walker.

From BCB...

http://bestofbcb.org/tast-023-joe-pulicicchio-on-melons/

This discussion, the fourth in our series with Director of Produce and Floral for Town and Country Markets, Joe Pulicicchio, is all about berries, peaches, avocados and melons.  Now that the berry season is wrapping up, Joe talks about some of the challenges of accessing the best avocados, including the importance of waiting for the right oil content and why the current supplies are a little pricey.

For all you melon fans, Joe is happy to report that melon season is just around the corner.  He reports that melon lovers can expect a wide variety to be available this summer.

In conclusion, he wraps up the interview with some thoughts about the upcoming Hatch green chilies season which will begin towards the end of July.  The roasting process, which which will be held at Central market sometime around the end of the month, creates one of the best summer smells. The roasted chilies will be available for purchase in various quantities.

Joe’s popular blog ‘FRESH TALKER’ can be found at the Town and Country website:  www.central-market.com     

Credits: BCB host Bob Ross; audio editor Chris Walker; publisher Diane Walker.

In this 12-minute podcast interview on the rehearsal stage of Bainbridge Performing Arts (BPA), we meet the young lead actor and two of the Directors who will present "James and the Giant Peach" on the BPA stage from July 28 to 30. Tickets are now available.

Join our conversation with Director Victoria Whitlow and Musical Director Michelle Abad, who also describe the multi-week kids theater camp at BPA which has generated the large ensemble and lead cast for this production.

In addition, this podcast includes a delightful little exchange with 10-year-old Trey Field-Bennett, who plays James in this show. He has also performed in several prior BPA productions.

Victoria and Michelle provide details about the annual kids theater camp for children in grades 4 through 10 that BPA is conducting for 4-½ weeks this summer.

We learn in this interview that the theater camp is a character building experience in a couple of ways. The participants in the camp become the characters in the resulting play, and the experience itself builds character traits and on-stage confidence that the kids and their parents value.

This production features a "wickedly tuneful score" (as BPA says on their website) by a particularly popular musical composer of the day.

As BPA says, the stage rendering of this popular children's book is an "adventurous musical about courage and self-discovery" that can delight audiences of all ages.

See additional details at the BPA website.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

The author of the recently published book, "Creative Strength Training: Prompts, Exercises and Personal Stories for Encouraging Artistic Genius", Jane Dunnewold, will be giving a talk on August 12th at the BI Museum of Art about strategies and exercises for cultivating creativity. She will also offer a workshop on August 13th.

In this 9-minute podcast interview, the author explains that having strategies for bringing forth our inner creativity, whether for writers or artists in any medium, is not unlike any athlete who trains with exercises that are both physical and mental. And this will be the subject of her lecture, relevant to anyone aspiring to be more creative. Copies of her book will be available for purchase and signing after the lecture.

Jane has also been a teacher for over 20 years, and is a former president of the International Surface Design Association. "Surface design" in this context applies to the design of the patterns and textures on the surfaces of textiles (including, for example, quilts).

In this interview, Jane also talks about the workshop she will be giving on August 13th that will incorporate principles from her extensive experience teaching surface design techniques that have a broad application beyond quilting.

In our BCB podcast studio, two board members of the BI Modern Quilt Guild, Kerry Smith and Kathy Dwyer, also tell us about the Guild and about the upcoming Quilt Festival on September 10th. They explain that they are currently welcoming submission of quilts from local quilt makers. See the Festival page of their website.

Tickets for the lecture can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets, as can tickets for the workshop. Or visit the Guild’s web page for the event.

BCB apologizes for the poor sound quality of the skype connection to Jane Dunnewold during our BCB interview with her at her home in San Antonio, Texas.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 10-minute podcast, Scott Brown, author of "Active Peace: a Mindful Path to a Nonviolent World", describes his August 5th Bodhi Center workshop based on the book’s themes and mindfulness practice.

With a Masters degree in ecopsychology and transpersonal psychology from Naropa University, Scott Brown has been a visionary peacemaker bridging the divide between psychology and spirituality, the personal and the political, mindfulness and activism.

Scott is a leading advocate for bringing the principles and practices of restorative justice to bear on the full range of social issues, and transforming activism into peacemaking. Scott worked for over 15 years on the front lines of environmental activism with organizations including Greenpeace, the Idaho Conservation League and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. He is the founder of Active Peace, LLC and cofounder of the Colorado Center for Restorative Justice.

In this Skype interview from his home in Boulder, Scott talks about how he will draw on the themes in his recently published book, Active Peace, to guide participants to deepen their connection to nature, strengthen relationships, expand their capacities as a peacemaker. With rich experiential practices that cultivate clarity, courage, happiness, and resilience, we can innately understand what we need in order to move beyond the separateness that he believes is the root cause of why we do so much violence to ourselves, others, and the earth.

The workshop “Creating a Culture of Peace” will be on Friday, August 5th from 6:30-8:45 pm at the Bainbridge Bodhi Center. There is a $15 suggested donation.

Visit the Active Peace website.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 17-minute podcast conversation, meet Jane and Dave Danielson -- the two long-time islanders who are the new owners of Eagle Harbor Book Company, the Island's iconic independent bookstore on Winslow Way.

When Morley Horder, who has owned our beloved neighborhood independent bookstore for over 20 years, wanted to sell, he turned to Jane Danielson, long time employee, and her husband Dave. Both are lifetime lovers of books and bookstores, hanging out in them everywhere they travel, including Capetown, South Africa.

In this interview for “Who’s on Bainbridge,” we learn that while Jane has worked a variety of jobs at the bookstore, including events coordinator, Dave has had a very distinguished legal career, including doing human rights and social justice work in Africa. He has worked with Desmond Tutu’s organization, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, among others.

On a break from her work in the bookstore, Jane also traveled with Dave to Africa, and helped to develop an archival center in Uganda.

They met in the bookstore. Who knew that bookstore romance could develop into bookstore ownership? But thankfully for us Bainbridge Islanders, it did. So our much loved independent bookstore, an anchor and icon in downtown Winslow, will stay in local hands - ownership, management and, most importantly, the staff who we all have come to depend on.

After slogging through the legal and administrative business of changing hands, Jane and Dave envision a bookstore that will become even more a hub to meet authors and raise and discuss ideas in the community. They envision collaborating with other local organizations and businesses to offer opportunities to gather and discuss important current events, informed by relevant books available in the store.

And you can meet them at the upcoming store event. Jane and Dave will host an Open House at the bookstore 7-8pm on Thursday July 7th to both honor Morley’s enduring 20-year leadership, and to introduce themselves to our BI community.

In this highly competitive age of e-books and Amazon instant downloads, we hear in this podcast conversation how the Danielson's are inspiring us to continue to support our most centrally-located independent bookstore in our downtown.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

To help us get in the mood for Bainbridge Island Grand Old Fourth celebrations, BCB is pleased to offer our local Amabile Choir's renditions of songs about America by American composers.  Here, we offer a 5-minute video podcast of excerpt's from the Amabile Choir's Spring Concert 2016: "From Sea to Shining Sea".

These excerpts include, for example:

• "Route 66"
• "42nd Street"; and
• a refreshing arrangement of "America"

In this video, Amabile Choir is seen in the dramatic space of St. Barnabas church.

Performing with the choir are local jazz musicians.

At their Spring Concert, the Amabile Choir performed songs about America, written by American composers. They took a musical journey across America, with songs celebrating our heritage and our American dream, including spirituals, patriotic songs, jazz, and old favorites. Amabile's website describes their approach to be "choral music expressed with love."

Conducting the Amabile Choir is Anne Pell.

Credits: BCB video producer John McKenzie; BCB social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-279-shakespeares-much-ado-at-bloedel/

Shakespeare returns for a third season at Bloedel this summer! Now under the inspired direction of Kate Carruthers, his classic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing,  will be airing at the Reserve July 8-24.

The Bloedel Reserve meadow and sheep shed are sure to again prove to be the perfect setting for Shakespeare's delicious insights into the human condition as Kate and her crew of gifted actors bring another stirring performance to their stage.

Listen here as Kate and her lead actors (Kylie McKenzie Soder (Beatrice), Pete Benson (Benedick), and Gary Fetterplace (Dogberry) share with us the challenges of directing and performing Shakespeare, and discuss the distinctly feminist message of this particular play.  We guarantee you'll be struck once again by Shakespeare’s genius as an observer of human nature: the social themes he portrays here are still extraordinarily current.

As in prior years, the gates will open at 6pm.  Bring your blanket, low lawn chairs, friends and a picnic to enjoy before the play begins at 7:00.  And this year there'll be an extra treat: attendees will be able to purchase wine and locally brewed beer onsite. Please note: audience members are requested NOT to bring their own alcoholic beverages into the Reserve.

More detailed information and tickets may be found at bainbridgeperformingarts.org. Get your tickets soon: audience size is limited, and these shows sell out very quickly! 

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Tim Bird; publisher Diane Walker.

In this 23-minute podcast, our new Superintendent of the Bainbridge Island School District, Peter Bang-Knudsen, responds to questions about his personal background -- such as his discovery of his passion for helping kids -- and his forwarding-looking goals and vision for our public schools, teachers and students.

Our elected School Board conducted a national search and chose Peter, who graduated from Bainbridge High School, has children in our schools, knows our community well, and has been serving as Assistant Superintendent since 2010. He was hired by our much-admired outgoing Superintendent Faith Chapel, who found Peter in a leadership role in the Bellevue school district.

Faith is retiring after a long career in education and about 8 years service to BISD as superintendent.

Peter officially takes on his new role on July 1st. In this conversation recorded on June 23rd, he responds to questions about:

• Experiences during this transition period
• How his interest in education arose
• Examples of early formative experiences in public education
• His professional career path
• Examples of his responsibilities as Assistant Superintendent in recent years
• His support for ongoing collaboration with our four other local government units (City, Fire, Parks and Library)
• His views on emerging policy issues and practical concerns
• His thoughts on the right balance in a small district between special options programs and more widely shared curriculum and approaches
• His views on the most important measures of success for our public schools
• What Peter's message might have been if he had spoken at the recent commencement for graduating seniors

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

In this 12-minute podcast, two of the longest serving members and officers of the Bainbridge Kiwanis Club describe this July's upcoming events. John Jay is current president, and Fred Grimm is a past president. And the two of them describe some details of the Club's new membership drive that is now underway, looking for additional men and women to grow the ranks and sustain their community service commitments.

For July, the big annual events for the Club will be the Grand Old Fourth of July festivities, and then the All Comers Track Meet for runners of literally all ages.

For July 4th, the Kiwanis event will be the put-put miniature golf activity in Waterfront Park, accompanied by the annual Kiwanis role of serving as Marshalls of the parade, and staffing the booth next to the golf links.

For the All Comers Track meet, the events occur on six Monday evenings, from 6pm to 9pm, for the last 3 weeks of July and the first three of August. Participants span all ages from those barely old enough to run to those old enough to celebrate completing the 100 yard course.

John Jay describes the mission and motto of the Kiwanis international service organization and explains how the Bainbridge club carries out the goal of "changing the world one child and one community at a time." That leads to a focus on youth at many age levels - High School (with the Key Club), Woodward Middle School (with the Builders Club), and Head Start pre-school (with members doing voluntary readings to the children).

The Club was founded on Bainbridge in 1958, and, in this podcast, Fred and John recount several of the community leaders that have been members over the decades.

For more information, check out the local club's Kiwanis website.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

This month's podcast report of activities at BARN - Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network - tells the story of the merger of the long-standing Field's End group of writers with the BARN Writers studio. The two are coming together as one!

Telling the story of this exciting merger are Nancy Pearson, the studio lead for BARN Writers, and our BARN board member and monthly podcast correspondent Catherine Camp.

Ever since 2002, Field's End has been the go-to group for both budding and established professional writers on Bainbridge Island. That year, aspiring writer Nicole Vick asked the Bainbridge Public Library board to host a group that could offer professional quality writing classes. Acclaimed novelist David Guterson ("Snow Falling on Cedars"), then a Library board member, helped form the group.

Nancy Pearson was an early active member of Field's End. She explains in the podcast the excitement of merging these two writers' groups into one. The merger will increase the opportunities for professional training and peer-to-peer collaboration, and it will offer the advantage the dedicated BARN physical facilities, as compared with the prior shared use of the Library by Field's End.

BARN Writers -- and 10 other BARN artisan studios -- currently operate out of substantial but interim space in Rolling Bay. And, as Catherine Camp explains, a two-story, well-equipped, 25,000 square foot home for the diverse set of artisan studios is under construction in the heart of the island. It will be ready for occupancy - and for a continuation of hands-on workshops, classes, open studio sessions, and more - by spring 2017.

This podcast explains the many activities and events for writers that are currently being offered by BARN.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-276-bloedel-summer-concerts/

Bainbridge Singer/Songwriter Ethan J. Perry and his Remedy Band will kick off this summer's Bloedel Concert Series Saturday, June 25th at the Bloedel Reserve: doors open at 6pm.

The beautiful grounds of Bloedel Reserve will be the setting for three concerts this summer with offerings for a variety of musical tastes.  On June 25th Ethan J. Perry and the Remedy Band will bring their “Americana Indie Technicolor Jazz” style music to the Bloedel stage.  Ethan is a Bainbridge Island singer/songwriter, and the band includes other BI talent.  Expect high energy music with thoughtful lyrics!  

This kick-off concert will also include the Seattle-based Duke Evers Band.  They self-describe as “rip roaring, barn burning rock-n-roll sound with pop melodies that’ll make your toe shoot right out of your boot!”

Next up, the Dusty 45s, Seattle’s rockabilly, swing and jump blues band will perform on August  14. Melding styles ranging from Country Twang to Jump Blues and Surf to R&B, the Dusty 45's also use Dixieland and jazz elements -- another high energy band guaranteed to get fans on their feet.

The season will close in a more classical mode with quite a coup: on September 4th Dale Henderson, whom Yoyo Ma describes as “a very gifted musician and natural cellist” will perform Bach's gamba sonatas at Bloedel with pianist William Chapman Nyaho.  

Henderson initiated the Bach in the Subways movement in March of 2010. Since then it has become an international event, held every March to celebrate Bach’s birthday and raise appreciation for classical music.  On March 22, 2015, Bach was played in public places in 130 cities, 40 countries, 6 continents.

The three concerts will be in different locations around the Bloedel gardens, where families are invited to bring a picnic and enjoy the music.  Wine and beer from Bainbridge Island Brewing will be sold on the grounds; guests may only consume liquor purchased on site.

For more information about all three concerts go to bloedelreserve.org. To purchase tickets for the June 25th concert click here.

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Tim Bird; publisher Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-022-joe-pulicicchio-on-fruit/

This week T&C Produce and Floral Director Joe Pulicicchio  talks about this year's berry, peach, and apricot crops and shares a few favorite recipes.

In this, our third interview of a 6 part series, Joe, the knowledgeable and dynamic Director of Produce and Floral for Town and Country Markets, talks with with BCB host Bob Ross about the intricacies and challenges of growing and delivering top quality strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Joe also touches on the upcoming apricot and peach season and explains the important role weather plays in the whole growth and delivery process -- and don't miss what he has to say about favorite recipes!

This series of BCB interviews is designed to explore the many types of fresh produce one finds at T&C Markets, including behind the scenes stories about how and where they are grown and how arrivals must be scheduled to meet customer expectations.

For more about the challenges of delivering fresh produce, visit Joe’s popular blog ‘FRESH TALKER’ on the Town and Country website:  www.central-market.com.

Credits: BCB host Bob Ross; audio editor Chris Walker; publisher Diane Walker.

Some traditions define a community. For our island, the combination of the Rotary Club's annual Auction and Rummage Sale, and the Grand Old Fourth of July parade and celebration, are two unique and defining events. And this year they coincide in the same long weekend -- on Saturday July 2nd and Monday July 4th.

In this podcast, we learn about the remarkable uniqueness of our island's Rotary Club Auction and Rummage Sale from Tom McCloskey, who is in his third year of chairing the annual auction and loves what this charitable event does for the community.

In this 15-minute conversation, Tom takes us behind the scenes and explains the many ways this remarkably large and much-loved event benefits the community and charitable causes.

Tom points out that all of the net revenues from the annual Rotary auction and sale benefits the community -- through the Rotary's annual community grants to local nonprofits, the funding of large community projects, more than a dozen scholarships for local graduates, and multiple international projects. None of the proceeds are used for the Rotary Club's own operating budget.

In the podcast, Tom gives us the run-down on this year's dates:

• Friday June 24 to Wednesday June 29th (8am-8pm): drop-off your donated household or business that are underutilized with the curb-line volunteers at Woodward School;
• Friday July 1st (5pm-8pm): scout out the items you need on Preview Night at Woodward
• Saturday July 2nd (8am-2pm): Auction and Rummage Sale, at Woodward School.

Hear from Tom all about the makings of an event that attracts over 5,000 shoppers and is staffed by 120 Rotary members and 1,400 community-wide volunteers.

And learn additional details - including what can and can't be accepted for donation, and the availability of pickup at home for those with special needs - on the Rotary Auction web site.

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-274-claudia-mckinstry-at-bac/

Come learn about egg tempera from Bainbridge artist Claudia McKinstry, who will be giving a demo at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Saturday, July 2 at 12:30 pm.

In this podcast Georgia Browne, Bainbridge Arts & Crafts publicist, introduces us to long-time Bainbridge artist Claudia McKinstry. Claudia will be the featured artist in the BAC gallery for the month of July.  

Claudia has been a Bainbridge Island artist for over 40 years, painting in oil, watercolor and egg tempera.  Listen here as she tells us why she likes using egg tempera, what its characteristics are, and about her demo on July 2nd.  

Egg tempera has a very long history, and there are many recipes for the medium.  Claudia's recipe starts with eggs from her own chickens. Her demo promises to be fascinating, for artists and non-artists alike.

This demo is part of a series of artist demos at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts; Georgia will be speaking with BCB regularly to introduce us to each month's educational programs. It might be a demo, it might be a workshop or just an introduction to the artists featured for the coming month. For more information about programs at BAC, check their website (bacart.org) early and often to learn what's coming up.

Credits: BCB host Channie Peters; audio editor Barry Peters; publisher Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/tast-021-chef-judith-weinstock/

On the scene at Bainbridge Island's May 28 Farmers Market, BCB Host Bob Ross talks with chef and author Judith Weinstock  about her history with the Streamliner Diner, her cookbooks, and her tasty baked goods.

In this podcast, self-described Food Muse Judith Weinstock discusses her philosophy about food and why she made a commitment early to make this her life’s work. 

Listen here as Jude describes her early involvement with the very popular Streamliner Diner, her eventual move to developing the Kingston Hotel Cafe and the two cookbooks that came from those ventures.

She is currently working on a book about kids and food and cooking and is committed to the concept of teaching children about food and where it comes from early in their development. 

Judith is well known for the occasional but sumptuous Sunday morning brunches she serves at her residence on the back patio (also known as The Underground Cafe).  For more about those Sunday morning adventures, visit her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FoodMuseInspirations/ .

Credits: BCB host Bob Ross; Audio editor Chris Walker; publisher Diane Walker.

In this 12-minute podcast, learn what's special and spiritually uplifting about the increasingly popular musical form from India called kirtan chanting.

Also, hear about the remarkable upcoming musical performance at 7pm on Sunday June 12th at the Dayaalu Center in Winslow, when the husband and wife kirtan chanters called "Shantala" will be joined by three top instrumentalists.

Benjy and Heather Wertheimer have been leading kirtan (sacred chanting) worldwide since 2001 as the duo "Shantala". As is said on the Dayaalu Center website: "They are known for their special gift of bringing the audience into a vast and loving experience through their unique blend of exquisite voices with instruments of India and the West. Together they create music with beauty, passion, and reverence."

BCB's interview guests include Tyler Ryan, the production and creative director for Shantala, and Jeny Vidal, a program director at Dayaalu Center, who describes the remarkably varied activities and services that are available at the Center.

Tyler describes each of the five musicians who will perform on June 12th. For example, in addition to the Shantala duo, Steve Gorn is a Grammy Award winning Indian classical music performer on the bansuri. Bibi McGill is a powerful guitarist who also serves as musical director on tour with Beyoncé. And Sean Frenette is an instrumentalist who has performed three times at Carnegie Hall.

Kirtan chanting is typically a call and response participation, but you are welcome to come and enjoy and listen, whether or not you choose to participate in the chants.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this podcast, we meet Pam Galvani, a calligraphy artist with 39 years of experience who is offering an introductory 4-hour workshop to give you a taste of the joys of calligraphy. No prior experience is necessary to enjoy creating in this ancient art form.

This learning opportunity is part of our Art Museum's series of twice monthly Saturday workshops -- in this case, a 4-hour class that starts at 1pm on Saturday June 18th. You can register and pay online here.

As explained on this podcast by Art Museum Education Director Kristin Tollefson, this is the latest in the series of Art Museum workshops and classes that introduce methods and practices of art forms that often reflect what's being exhibited in the museum.

For this introductory class, Pam Galvani will supply the pens and materials and show you the basics of italic letterform. That lettering technique was first used in 15th century Italy and now underlies a very elegant form of our contemporary cursive handwriting style. For those of you who have recently invested in an Apple Pencil and iPad Pro screen for lettering and drawing, here's an opportunity to shift gears, slow down, and experience pen and ink on fine paper.

In this interview, Pam shares the humorous story of her discovery of calligraphy as a passion, 39 years ago. She was a new mom and needed an away-from-home activity during the hours her babysitter was available. The answer, to her great delight, was a calligraphy class. And the rest is history.

Have a listen to Pam's gentle and insightful description of the experience of pen and ink calligraphy that she finds such a satisfying experience.

Also meet Heather Griffin, the Museum's new Education Associate.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 30-minute podcast conversation with Steve Romein and Ty Cramer, we meet the husband and wife who are the founders and innovators at a uniquely Bainbridge Island farm, store and destination for lodging and farm-kitchen meals, Heyday Farm.

This podcast is a combination of personal stories and anecdotes by Ty and Steve, and a set of insights into the latest new offerings of an innovative island farm and business. Steve talks about growing up in a traditional farm community in the mid-west. Ty describes how they found the properties that became their farmlands. They explain that their goals include benefiting the local community, preserving its history, and showing how delicious the food can be when raised with healthy and holistic farming practices with hands-on care.

We learn about the organic and intensive agricultural methods that have been a Heyday signature from the start. And we go behind the scenes with Steve into the secrets of managing the animal kingdom's own best source of compost and fertilizer. Plus, you can listen in for what's happening on the produce side with new partner and long-time island farmer Brian McWhorter, and in the egg and poultry farming operations. And then there's the dairy creamery.

You can hear about the increasingly popular Heyday Farm lodging program which is attracting a widening range of overnight guests. And then there's the farm kitchen with menus by executive chef Tad Mitsui that are making it a destination for those who love good food.

We hear about the growing product line at the Heyday Farm Store that is helping to make Lynwood Center a dinner-planning destination.

Bob Ross, who conducts BCB's interviews at our local farmers market is our host with Steve and Ty in our BCB studio.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

As described in this 10-minute podcast, David Weinstock is offering a seven-hour workshop (10am to 5pm on Saturday June 25th) to teach practices that are intended to put us in touch with our deeper values. He finds that such practices can transform self-limiting beliefs, habits and reactions into resources for healing and connection.

This workshop uses role-play, movement, stories, witnessing, sharing and courageous caring to learn new skills that can:

• Deepen empathetic listening skills;
• Cultivate a centered presence in stressful times;
• Make decisions and take actions that align with our values;
• Nurture intimate connections and cultivate community

David Weinstock is: a certified International Nonviolent Communications Trainer; a Somatic Coach; an Aikido Instructor (30 years); and originator of "Somatic Consensus". He has led community workshops in schools, prisons, businesses, intentional communities and organizations around the world.

For more information or to register for this one-day workshop, go to his Liminal Somatics website or contact him by email.

Space at the venue - which is the Bodhi Center in Winslow - will be limited to 20 participants.

Podcast Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

In this 12-minute podcast, BCB's Channie Peters interviews three BPA mainstays about an upcoming one-night June 11th extravaganza honoring departing Resident Music Director Josh Anderson. Josh reflects on nearly four years of BPA musical productions. He is joined in this backstage recording session by BPA's Executive Director Dominique Cantwell and Production Manager Deirdre Hadlock.

In honor of Josh's impending move to the Minneapolis community theater scene, the June 11th show -- "Mr. Anderson and Friends: A Going Away Spectacular" -- will feature a host of BPA favorites. The cast will include: Joanna Hardie, Jasmine Joshua, Kylee Gano, Rebecca Lane, Colleen Gillon, James Sgambati-O’Donnell, Ryan Sgambati-O’Donnell, Michelle Abad, Jalyn Green, Emily Kight, Shannon Dowling, Ellen Dessler, Gregory Conn, Luke Walker, Justin Lynn, Jesse Smith, Ryan Bohannon, Kayla Teel, Olivia Lee, Brian Pucheu, Paula Elliot, and Ken Michels.

In this podcast conversation, Josh reflects and laughs out loud about the host of varied musical productions -- from "Shreck" to "Hair" --in which he played a leading creative role during his Bainbridge Performing Arts tenure. Dominique and Deirdre add their thoughts about the uplifting collaboration that Josh brought to each production. You can read Josh's farewell letter.

On Saturday June 11th at 7:30pm, expect music, merriment and memories, including hits from the shows of Josh's last 4 years. Backed by the BPA Mainstage Band, many of BPA's finest performers will "tug at your heartstrings, celebrate our talented BPA community, and make you laugh."

Tickets for the one-night show are "pay-what-you-can" and will benefit Josh's move to Minneapolis.

Credits: BCB host: Channie Peters; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/podcast-whats-bainbridge-paraguays-recycled-orchestra-june-1-bpa/

Ten members of the globally renowned Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, Paraguay will come to Bainbridge to meet with area students on May 31 and give a free concert Wednesday, June 1, 2:00 at Bainbridge Performing Arts.

These ten students are representatives of Paraguayan youth orchestra of about 100 musicians that live next to a giant landfill, playing music from instruments made entirely out of garbage. The vision of Favio Chávez, music director of the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, is to provide access to hope and a better life for his pupils. Now known globally, the orchestra’s music is the portal to a life beyond the intergenerational cycle of extreme poverty.

Listen here as Reed Price interviews Dr. Gloria Burgess, the founder of Lift Every Voice Foundation, who has been instrumental in bringing these young people and their director to Bainbridge Island, where they will meet with music students at area schools and members of the Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to their free concert on Wednesday, June 1 at 2 pm at BPA, there will be a 7 p.m. showing of "Landfill Harmonic," the documentary about their journey, at Bainbridge Cinemas at the Pavilion. Following that showing the musicians will be on hand to answer questions.

The visit to Bainbridge Island is organized by the Charter for Compassion and is sponsored by Bainbridge Performing Arts (BPA), BI/NK Interfaith Council, Eagle Harbor Congregational UCC, Jennifer Saez and Susan Lorenz—BainbridgeIslandLife.com, Perry Foundation, Town and Country Markets and Winslow Cohousing.

Donations will be accepted at each event, and online here: http://www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org/collections/special-events/products/recycled-orchestra

Credits: BCB host Reed Price: publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-268-june-at-bainbridge-library/

This month the library's John Fossett discusses book groups, book sales, and the Summer Learning Programs.

Did you know there are three library-hosted book groups (one on the ferryboat!)?  In this podcast John tells us about these -- and explains how to start your own book group with  pre-assembled book group kits that include facilitation guides.

This month there will also be two Friends of the Library book sales, and toward the end of the month look for the kick off for the library's Summer Learning Program for both kids and adults. Read 10 hours and get a free book; read 100 hours and get a tee shirt! There will be Summer Learning events for kids and adults all summer long.

And don't forget: on June 11 you are invited to a community conversation with KRL to identify shared aspirations.

June 1 - Wednesday, 7:30 - 9 pm -- Books on Tap

June 2 - Thursday, 1 - 4 pm -- Friends of the Library Book Sale

June 4 - Saturday, 10 am - noon -- Learn to Download Library eBooks & Audio

June 6 & 13 - Monday,  2:30 - 4 pm -- Career Center: One-On-One Appointments

June 8 - Wednesday, 7 - 9 pm -- Island Film Group - What's Up Doc?

June 9 - Thursday, 4:40 pm Seattle to Bainbridge Ferry Tales Book Group:

The Paris Wife

June 11 - Saturday, 10 am - 3 pm - Friends of the Library Book Sale

June 11 - Saturday, 10 am - noon, KRL Community Conversations

June 14 - Tuesday, Noon -  5 pm -- Career Center: One-On-One Appointments

June 14 - Tuesday, 6 - 8 pm -Career Center - Interviewing Skills

June 15 - Wednesday, 7:30 - 9 pm Travelogue: The Future of Wildlife in East Africa.

Grant and Barbara Winther, U.S. representatives of the East African Wildlife Society (EAWLS), will present a travelogue on the problems and solutions the Society is tackling in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda).

June 21 - Tuesday, 1 - 2 pm - Waterfront Book Group - "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"

June 22 - Wednesday, 7 - 9 pm - What Do You Know: Birding with Gene Bullock

June 24 - Friday,  1:30 - 3 pm - The Salon: A Forum for Conversation

June 28- Tuesday, 7 - 8 pm - 4th Tuesday Book Group: "The Cat's Table"

Stop by the branch and pick up your copy of Inspire Magazines, the library’s quarterly programing guide or visit online at www.krl.org

Credits: BCB host Joanna Pyle: audio editor Chris Walker; publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 28-minute conversation, Bainbridge residents Ellin Spenser, Alice Mendoza and Andre Kamber describe their personal experiences traveling overseas recently to care for refugee families arriving from war-torn Syria.

What can the rest of us do to help?

This Saturday, as Ellin and Alice explain, we can bring contributions of used clothing, shoes, bikes, sports equipment, baby carriers and strollers for refugee families, for donation to Salaam Cultural Museum, the organization that helped our 3 Bainbridge guests travel to comfort the fleeing refugees, as described on this podcast.

Please drop off donated items this Saturday, May 21st, between 9am and 4pm, at the garage of the home on 589 Grow Ave., Bainbridge.

In this podcast, Ellin describes how she went to the island of Lesbos in Greece -- the homeland of two grandparents -- and put her professional realty career on hold while she personally cared for refugee adults and children arriving in unseaworthy boats from Turkey.

Andre likewise paused his professional investment advising career after being inspired by the December 14th candlelight vigil at the Japanese Exclusion Memorial.

Alice, who is a retired Bainbridge teacher and winner of the 2008 Island Treasure award, cared for refugees in Greece and has since then been telling her stories in local schools and service club meetings.

Each of our guests describes the experience of feeling the desire to take some action to express compassion toward these families, especially in the context of the divisive and fear-mongering remarks of some of the US Presidential candidates.

There are additional ways for concerned Bainbridge residents to help:

• see what local congregations are doing by visiting the website of the Interfaith Council of Bainbridge and North Kitsap;
• write to political leaders urging compassionate responses by the US to the needs of refugees;
• communicate with other Islanders on the Facebook page for "Bainbridge Islanders for Inclusivity".

Credits: BCB host, audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/spec-006-bainbridge-schools-foundation-seminar/

This is a recording of a seminar sponsored by Bainbridge Schools Foundation on the subject “The State of Education on Bainbridge Island.”

On Tuesday, May 11, The Bainbridge Schools Foundation gathered a group of education experts and politicians at IslandWood to address funding, staffing, and other challenges affecting the Bainbridge Island School System.

Panelists for this event included:

• State Senator Christine Rolfes of Bainbridge Island, who has been a leader in legislative efforts to achieve ample funding for public education in our state;
• Attorney Tom Ahearne, an attorney who lives on Bainbridge Island, who has been the leader of the legal effort at the State Supreme Court to order ample funding for education as required by our State Constitution;
• Bainbridge Island School District board president Mev Hoberg;
• Superintendent-elect for our Bainbridge School District, Peter Bang-Knudsen;
• Amanda Ward, a much-respected teacher of Social Studies in Bainbridge High School
• Panel moderator: Peter Murchie, a board member of the Bainbridge Schools Foundation.

After moderator Peter Murchie introduced the five distinguished panelists, attorney Tom Ahearne proceeded to explain the current status of legal efforts seeking to achieve ample funding for public education in our state.

The first 38 minutes of the seminar focused primarily on issues of funding for public schools. Then, from minute 38 through minute 54, there was discussion of the teacher shortage in our state and our District’€™s efforts to respond to that situation.

From minute 54 to the end, the moderator turned to questions for the panelists from the audience. The overall duration of the recorded event is approximately one hour, 46 minutes.

Credits: BCB audio recorder and editor: Barry Peters; BCB social media publisher: Diane Walker.

From BCB... http://bestofbcb.org/wu-267-may-events-at-barn/

May at the BARN offers a wide variety of learning opportunities, including:

May 15: Introduction to Raspberry Pi, a $35 open-source computer that fits in the palm of your hand

May 21-22:  Make bone bookmaking tools and objects by hand with Jim Croft

May 24: Viscosity printing with Denise Kester and the monthly meeting of the Book Arts/letterpress group

May 26: Writers Roundtable and Chiaroscuro Wood Cut Relief Carving with Ann Schuster

May 28: Basic stone setting with round and square tubing, taught by Jennifer Stenhouse

... and on Mondays there will be a series of workshops on chain necklace-making taught by Jane Martin.

For more information about these and other BARN offerings, visit the BARN website at http://www.bainbridgebarn.org.

Credits: BCB host: Joanna Pyle; audio editor: Chris Walker; publisher: Diane Walker.

In this 20-minute podcast, two Bainbridge retirees - David Harrison and Elaine Von Rosenstiel - explain how they and other islanders (most of them over 65) have created a nonprofit startup company that has an idea and an app to enable Seniors to express their generosity.

In the podcast, they tell stories and anecdotes about the fun they had developing this inventive idea. They describe their website and new smartphone app that enables a Senior to keep track of the dollar amount of senior discounts they receive from day to day. Then, the app allows the Senior to generously earmark those discounts to a nonprofit charitable organization of their choice.

So, if a Senior today receives a $4 discount for a ferry ride, track it in the Boomerang Giving app. If, tomorrow, you get a movie discount of $5, track it in the app. When it adds up to, say, $20, use the app to forward those discounts to your favorite charity that you can choose on the Boomerang Giving website.

The mission of this new startup is straightforward: To empower older Americans – including the 3.5 million who are turning 65 each year – by creating new opportunities to give back and join others in strengthening their communities.

As they say on their website, Boomerang Giving is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started in 2013 by 7 local people who were motivated to do something about the strong desire of older Americans to contribute to their communities in meaningful ways. They realized that the “aging of America” results in 10,000 folks turning 65 each day – 3.5 million baby boomers turning 65 each year.

Locally, for example, you can use the app to direct dollars to a nonprofit like Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network (BARN). However, the idea has gone national, and you can choose virtually any qualified 501c3 charitable organization by picking from a vast national database on their website.

Credits: BCB host and social media publisher: Barry Peters; BCB audio editor: Chris Walker.

In this 15-minute podcast, we meet the new Planning and Community Development Director of the City of Bainbridge Island, Gary Christensen. Gary started in his new leadership position with COBI in April.

Gary is a listener and is reaching out to meet Bainbridge community members and hear their views and suggestions for the City. He walks to work from his new home in downtown Winslow. He's interested in encouraging citizen involvement in the ongoing 2-year project to update the City's long-term Comprehensive Plan.

Gary has 29 years of local government experience, most recently as the manager of the Skagit County planning and development department, and participated in that county's comp plan update and in administration of shoreline issues. Gary has a masters in regional planning from WSU.

City Manager Doug Schulze conducted a national search for a successor to Kathy Cook, a 20-year City staff veteran who looked back on her City career in a recent BCB podcast. Several citizen volunteers participated in the review of finalists, as noted by Jon Quitslund in our recent podcast with him.

Gary emphasizes that an important leadership quality is the ability to build strong relationships. Rather than solutions coming from one person, he says that an effective planning director understands that you need assistance from others: co-workers, elected officials, and the community. He feels that you need to believe in solving community issues through collaboration and communication, and by being transparent and incorporating effective public participation. He added that the best conceived plans are community inspired.

Credits: BCB host and social media publisher: Barry Peters; BCB audio editor: Tim Bird.