Skagit County Vistors & Residents Guide | March 2010 by Skagit Publishing

skagit county a f r e e r e s o u r c e f o r v i s i to r s & r e s i d e n t s d e ta i l e d m a p s i n s i d e

2010-2011 Skagit Publishing

Table of contents Farm & Field.................................................... 6 Flowers, Display Gardens, Farmers Markets, Wineries

Recreation.....................................................12 Whales, Kayaking, Hiking, Parks, Fishing, Cycling, Golfing, Birding

History & Heritage......................................22 Tribes, Museums

Skagit County Today....................................24 Performing Arts............................................28 Events..............................................................38 Calendar.........................................................43 Transportation..............................................54 Weather.......................................................105 Community Profiles Mount Vernon...............................................46 Map.........................................................................................................48

Big Lake / Clear Lake...................................61 Map.........................................................................................................63

Burlington......................................................64 Map.........................................................................................................66

Padilla Bay......................................................70 Map.........................................................................................................71

Conway / Fir Island......................................72 Map.........................................................................................................73

La Conner......................................................74 Map.........................................................................................................79

Anacortes/Guemes Island..........................80 Maps.......................................................................................... 84, 87, 91

Sedro-Woolley..............................................92 Map.........................................................................................................95

Upper Skagit..................................................98 Lyman, Hamilton, Concrete, Rockport, Marblemount, Newhalem and Diablo Map.......................................................................................................100

Advertiser Index.................................. 106

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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SKAGITPUBLISHING

Welcome to Skagit County!

hether you’re here for a long weekend or looking to put down roots, you’re in a special place that stretches from saltwater beaches on the Salish Sea to snow-capped Cascade peaks. And of course the Skagit River, which has defined our region for centuries, runs through it. Our guide can help you discover it all — and help you settle in and enjoy the outstanding quality of life here. Skagit County’s location between Seattle to the south,Vancouver, B.C., to the north, the San Juan Islands to the west and the North Cascade National Park to the east made it a great place to live, work and play. There are jobs here in traditional and emerging industries and at our busy ports, and we’re just a short commute on Interstate 5 to major employment centers. Housing is affordable and our communities care about their schools. Our mild climate, ample rainfall and fertile soil combine to make agriculture the top industry here. Daffodils start the procession of color in early spring. They’re followed by tulips in April, a great time to visit. Skagit County is world-famous for its tulips and tulip festival. Remember, though, Mother Nature has the last word on bloom times. Strawberries come on strong in June, followed by raspberries and blueberries. Fall brings apples, pumpkins and an invitation to visit a host of family farms throughout the valley during the Festival of Family Farms. A meandering trip through the valley with stops at roadside stands is a treat spring through fall, and in winter the fields and skies can be full of snow geese and trumpeter swans. The pace is different here, whether you’re at a cafe in an artistic coastal community like Anacortes, La Conner or Edison, or if you’re in the historyrich downtown of Mount Vernon, Burlington or Sedro-Woolley. Plan to spend more than a day. Check into one of our hotels, quaint inns or rural retreats and give yourself time for some shopping in old-fashioned downtowns full of unique shops or modern malls and outlet stores with the latest fashions — and bargains. There are art galleries and museums to explore, wineries to visit and bistros, pub and restaurants where you can relax after a full day. The theater community is active, and there’s plenty of nightlife, including two vibrant casi nos and live music in various establishments. No matter the season, the great outdoors is at your doorstep. Take a day to go whale watching off Fidalgo Island, hiking in the North Cascades or cycling through the Skagit Flats. You will see why we think Skagit County is indeed special. Welcome, and enjoy your stay whether it’s a day or a lifetime. goskagit.com

editor Jack Darnton jdarnton@goanacortes.com

Display Advertising Manager Deb Bundy dbundy@skagitpublishing.com

Writers Beverly Crichfield, Joan Pringle, Vince Richardson, Dan Ruthemeyer, Elaine Walker, Gordon Weeks

Photographers Kimberly Jacobson, Joan Pringle, Scott Terrell, Frank Varga, Elaine Walker, Matt Wallis

cover design/layout Patricia Stowell

graphic designers Ashley Crerar, Jody Hendrix, Erika Jennewein, Gabe Mannino, Christina Poisal, Patricia Stowell

Advertising consultants Brian Backman, Sandy Everett, Stephanie Fussell, Stephanie Harper, Leah Hines, Marcus McCoy, Rachel Reneer, Kathy Schultz, Kim Streit, Paul Tinnon

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Skagit County

farm & field

A mild climate, ample rainfall and fertile soil combine to make agriculture the top industry in Skagit County. In 2007, the county was home to 1,215 farms, covering 108,541 acres, that together produced $256 million in produce. More than 90 crops are grown in Skagit County. Among the top crops are blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, tulips, daffodils, cucumbers, specialty potatoes, Jonagold apples and vegetable seeds. In 1940, Skagit County was home to 3,242 farms covering 152,758 acres; by 1974, those figures had dropped to 850 farms on 108,972 acres. In 1989, the nonprofit organization Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland was

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

formed. The organization became a land trust in 1992 so it could accept and hold easements to permanently protect farmland. Residents and visitors can get a first-hand look at working farms and talk to their owners and managers during the annual Festival of Family Farms in October. The event was launched in 1999 by the Washington State University Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, with cooperation from the Skagit Valley Herald and Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. The inaugural event drew about 2,500 visitors; by 2008, the tour attracted 20,000. The annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, launched in 1984, is staged during the entire month of April, usually the peak time for tulip blooms. The rainbow-colored fields draw an estimated 300,000 visitors and pump about $65 million in revenue into the county. goskagit.com

skagit farm facts • Among Washington counties, Skagit ranks first in the production of nursery/greenhouse, floriculture and sod; second in peas; fourth in corn for silage, milk and other dairy products from cows, and colonies of bees; fifth in potatoes; and sixth in organic products, tops in Western Washington. • Skagit farmers produce about onethird of the world’s beet seeds. • Skagit grape growers planted more than 110 acres between 20022007. • 20 percent of Washington’s strawberries are grown in Skagit County.

Visit

Locally Grown Food. Scenic Beauty.

Homemade Ice Cream

Shakes, Shortcake & More… Espresso • Snacks Preserves • Picnic Tables Self-Guides Tour Flower Baskets • Gifts

ORGANIC BERRIES Fresh in Summer Frozen year-round

May - Flower Baskets • Veggie Starts June - Strawberries July - Raspberries July-September - Blueberries October - Pumpkin Patch OPEN DAILY MAY 1 - OCTOBER 31 Hwy 20, 3mi east of Rockport (360) 853-8173 www.cfarm.com goskagit.com

Rural Character. Cultural Heritage. Wildlife Habitat. Brought to you by some of the world’s best agricultural lands. Right here in Skagit Valley. You can help to protect and preserve this precious, irreplaceable resource. Join Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. Your membership gives SPF a stronger voice to keep Skagit Valley farming, now and in the future.

www.skagitonians.org 360.336.3974 SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Flowers

The Skagit Valley’s

mild climate, evenly distributed rainfall and fertile farmlands provide an ideal environment for bulb growing, primarily daffodils, tulips and irises. Skagit is the top county in the United States for its production of tulip, iris and daffodil bulbs, reports the Washington State University Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. The flowers are the center of the county’s largest and longest celebration, the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, conducted the entire month of April. A beautiful Skagit Valley tradition blossomed in 1906, when Mary Brown Stewart planted a few tulip bulbs from Holland. By 1997, 700 acres were used for bulb farming in the valley, with a value of $42 million. Although the tulip bloom is a major tourist attraction in the Skagit Valley, the tulip industry is centered primarily on the bulbs themselves. The bulbs are machine-graded, and the large bulbs are marketed. The bulbs to be planted usually come from the farm’s previous harvests. Planting is conducted in the fall, primarily in September and October. The flowers are picked beginning in late March. The exact time of the harvest varies due to weather conditions. Bulbs remain in the ground until the summer, when digging up and cleaning begins. For the most part, human labor is used for the cutting of flowers while digging, sorting and cleaning of bulbs largely is mechanized. The amount of labor used by each grower depends on the size of the farm and ranges from 120 to 800 workers. These workers are usually part-time farm workers and high school and college students.

Display gardens

Washington Bulb’s Roozengaarde

nic areas, food, espresso and restrooms. During the spring, about 250,000 bulbs are planted in the garden. About 130 varieties are represented, approximately 80 of them tulips. For more information, call (360) 424-8531 or visit the Web site www.tulips.com.

The Dutch windmill is the beacon that will guide you to Washington Bulb’s Roozengaarde display, three acres of The Washington State University tulips at 15867 Beaver Marsh Road in Northwestern Washington Research and Mount Vernon on display all of April Extension Center hosts its Discovery during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Skagit Valley Bulb Garden at 16650 State Route 536 in West Roozengaarde — the Dutch term for Farm’s Tulip Town Mount Vernon. Admission is free. “Garden of the Roozens’’ — is a division It is open from dawn to dusk, seven of Washington Bulb Co., Inc., the largest Find out how the tulip became the days a week. bulb grower in the United States. Visitors “world’s peace flower’’ by taking a tour of Gardens showcase shade plants, cool can purchase potted tulips, daffodils and Tulip Town’s International Tulip Peace colors, hot colors, Japanese plants, easy hyacinths. The site offers a gift shop, pic Garden, hosted during April’s Tulip Fescare, evergreens, ornamental grass, ground covers, irises, heather, herbs, “Come for the food... ...Stay for the fun!” small fruits and vegetables. A greenhouse is used to host workshops on starting seeds and plant propogation. Working composters are operated by Open Daily Since 1963 Skagit County Master Composters, a April 1 division of Skagit County Public Works. December 22 Hand-Dipped Ice Cream, Local teachers and students learn and April - Tulips & Daffodils May Flower Baskets • Veggie Starts plant at the Dig-It garden maintained Shakes, Shortcakes & More... June - Strawberries • Veggies Espresso • Snacks • Preserves • Homemade Pie by WSU Master Gardeners, who also July - Tayberries • Raspberries • Veggies Picnic Tables • Flower Baskets • Gifts July to Sept. Berries • Corn • Cucumbers maintain the North Cascades Fuchsia October - Pumpkin Patch • Squash • Fall Decorations • Hayrides Society’s fushsia garden. Nov. to Dec. - Christmas Trees • Wreaths • Garland • Ornaments Information: www.skagit.wsu.edu 360-424-6982 • 15565 State Route 536 • Mount Vernon and (360) 848-6120. Hwy. 20 West to Avon Allen Rd., go south (left) to Hwy. 516 go right. We’re 1.5 miles on the right.

WSU Discovery Garden

SCHUH

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

FARMS

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tival by Skagit Valley Bulb Farm, Inc. at 15002 Bradshaw Road, Mount Vernon. The tulip fields offer about 70 varieties. Enjoy the art gallery, children’s activities, gift shops, espresso bar, Tulip Cafe, and browse through the bulb catalogues. Flowers are shipped anywhere in the United States. A public area is available for kite flying. Patrons can take a trolley ride to see the fields, and the routes are designed for elevated views for photo opportunities. Tulip Town features a reproduction of the DeGoede Village windmill.

farmers markets

Anacortes Farmers Market 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 15 to Oct. 9 Depot Arts Center Seventh Street and R Avenue • Offerings include seafood, carvings, clothing, honey, photography and baked goods. Keri Knapp, (360) 293-7922 info@anacortesfarmersmarket.org www.anacortesfarmersmarket.org Concrete Saturday Market 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays May 29 to Sept. 11 Concrete Senior Center 45821 Railroad St. • Live music and bake sales hosted by nonprofit groups most Saturdays. goskagit.com

Ron Rothenbuhler, (360) 856-2093 Island Hospital Farmers Market and Wellness Fest Noon to 3 p.m. Thursdays July through September (tentative) Island Hospital 1211 24th St., Anacortes • Fresh produce from local farms. Guest vendors also offer healthy food, and wellness booths offer healthy living information and cooking demonstrations with samples. Suzie DuPuis, (360) 299-1300, ext. 2567 Mount Vernon Farmers Market 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays late-May to October The Revetment on the Skagit River at Gates and Main Streets Afternoons Wednesdays June to September Skagit Valley Hospital, 1415 Kincaid St. • The market welcomes WIC Farmers Market coupons, Senior Farmers Market coupons and food stamps. Offerings include herbs, organic produce, cut flowers, handmade soaps and skin care products, jewelry and honey. www.mountvernonfarmersmarket.org Sedro-Woolley Farmers Market 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays mid-May to midOctober Hammer Heritage Square Ferry and Metcalf Streets www.sedrowoolleyfarmersmarket.com • Offerings last year, including some that are organic, included berries, fruit, beef, lamb, oysters, cheese, milk, honey, coffee beans, plants, flowers, baked good and crafts. Gilda Gorr, (360) 724-3835 Skagit Valley Farmers Market 3-7 p.m. Fridays mid-March through December 19193 Highway 534, Conway, head east off Interstate 5 exit 221

Produce stand open daily • Free space for vendors. All produce must be grown locally, all products must be made by the vendor locally or with products grown by the vendor locally. Offerings include Samish Valley grassfed beef. www.skagitvalleyfarmersmarket.com

berry timetable • Strawberries appear at roadside stands first, usually in early to mid-June. The main season for the June-bearing varieties is short, generally three to five weeks, but you can find strawberries all summer. • Raspberries and blueberries come on next, appearing in late June and July. • Don’t forget marionberries, tayberries, loganberries, boysenberries and blackberries, which join the parade in July.

You Community Natural Market Since 1973 Award winning deli

Certified Organic Produce Natural Health & Beauty Care No Harmful or artificial sweeteners, flavors or preservatives OPEN DAILY IN DOWNTOWN MOUNT VERNON

www.skagitfoodcoop.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

wineries The temperatures and growing conditions in Skagit County are similar to those in the

Loire Valley in France and the Northern Rhine Valley in Germany. So it was only a matter of time before Skagit winemakers, along with importing grapes from Eastern Washington, began cultivating some homegrown vineyards. According to the Skagit Valley Wine Association, the county is home to 20 to 30 grape producers and five wineries with vineyards. The association reports that the local industry began in 1995 when Pasek Cellars Winery opened in Mount Vernon and produced a few hundred cases a year. These days, more than 25,000 cases are produced in the county.

CHALLENGER RIDGE VINEYARD AND CELLARS

43095 Challenger Road, Concrete www.challengerridge.com (360) 853-7360 DIRECTIONS: Take exit 232 off Interstate 5. Head east on Cook Road, east on Highway 20, turn left after mile post 85 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; two miles before Concrete â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and head east on Challenger Road. HOURS: Open for public tastings from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment. PROFILE: Challenger Ridge Vineyard and Cellars produces Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Cabernet, Syrah and Pinot Noir, and soon will offer a Cabernet-Syrah blend, a Muscat and a black currant dessert wine. The 7.7 acres of vineyards are four parcels planted with Pinot Noir, and the business also contracts a few acres of grapes in the Yakima and Red Mountain appellations. A new structure was added in 2003 to allow the processing and bottling of up to 3,000 cases annually.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

EAGLE HAVEN WINERY

8243 Sims Road, Sedro-Woolley www.eaglehavenwinery.com (360) 856-6248 DIRECTIONS: From I-5, take exit 230 toward Burlington, turn west onto W. Rio Lista, and left at the signal onto Burlington Boulevard (Highway 20). Follow Highway 20 east. About 4.5 miles east of Sedro-Woolley, turn right onto Sims Road. HOURS: Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, and by appointment. PROFILE: Eagle Haven Winery began making wines in 2003 and produces four fruit wines and five grape wines, totaling about 800 cases annually. The vineyard is surrounded by a 40-acre apple orchard and a native salmon-bearing stream and includes a tasting room and wine garden.

GLACIER PEAK WINERY

58575 Highway 20 (milepost 104), Rockport www.glacierpeakwinery.com (360) 873-4073 DIRECTIONS: From 1-5 exit 230, turn west onto W. Rio Vista, turn left at signal on Burlington Boulevard, and follow goskagit.com

signs east on Highway 20 toward Concrete. Travel about 45 miles to milepost 104, just east of Rockport. HOURS: Daily July-September, noon to 5 p.m. MondayThursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Sunday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends and holidays May 1-Oct. 15 and by appointment. PROFILE: Established in 2002, Glacier Peak Winery sports 5 acres that produce the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estate wines, including Pinot Noir, Agria and a German grape called Siegerrebe for white wine. Glacier Peak also produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. Annual production is about 750 cases.

PASEK CELLARS

18729 Fir Island Road, Mount Vernon www.pasekcellars.com (360) 445-4048 DIRECTIONS: Off I-5 exit 221, just west to Conwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Skagit Barn. HOURS: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily PROFILE: Gene and Kathy Pasek started Pasek Cellars in 1995 and opened a tasting room on Mount Vernonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s First Street in 1997. In 2002, the winery was moved to a larger facility on Old Highway 99 South, just south of downtown Mount Vernon, and the tasting room to Conway in the Skagit Red Barn. A longtime favorite is cranberry wine, and other offerings include Arabica coffee dessert wine, blackberry dessert wine, blackberry wine, Chardonnay, guava, loganberry, Muscat Canelli, passion fruit, pineapple, raspberry and Syrah Port.

TULIP VALLEY VINEYARDS AND ORCHARDS 16163 State Route 536 (Memorial Highway), Mount Vernon www.tulipvalley.net (360) 428-6894 DIRECTIONS: Four miles west of Interstate 5 at Mount Vernon on State Route 536 (Memorial Highway), just east of Beaver Marsh Road. HOURS: Winter hours are noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, except when it snows. Call for other hours. PROFILE: Tulip Valley produces red and white table wines from Eastern and Western Washington grapes, and Red Barn traditional artisan hard ciders from locally grown apples. The wines and ciders are available in the tasting room at the 1920s roofed dairy barn April through December. The wines include Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Sangiovese Saignee RosĂŠ and the ciders include Sweetie Pie, Jonagold, Fire Barrel, Burro Loco and Scrumpy. goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Skagit County

recreation The great outdoors donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get much greater than what can be found within or slightly beyond the borders of Skagit County. Everything from plying the waters of Puget Sound in a kayak to climbing to the top of 7,740-foot Liberty Bell Mountain in the North Cascades awaits the avid outdoor recreationist. How about casting a line into the salty waters of Puget Sound or into any number of freshwater rivers, many of which boast runs of steelhead and salmon? Or climbing into a raft and floating the Skagit River during the summer, then returning in the winter to see bald eagles? In the winter, head to the hills for cross country and backcountry skiing as well as snowmobiling.

whales The breathtaking scenery

and varied wildlife of the San Juan Islands draw thousands of visitors to the area each year for close encounters with nature, especially orcas. Three pods of Southern Resident orcas, the J, K and L pods, have a 150-square-mile home range centered in the San Juans. These sociable mammals often delight boaters with their company, especially in summer and fall. Tourists aren’t the only ones taking advantage of Anacortes’ proximity to world-class orca watching — more and more they are joined on charters by locals. Two charter companies provide whale-watching excursions from Anacortes. Island Adventures has a ticket sales office and shop at 1801 Commercial Ave. Cruises depart from Cap Sante Boat Haven’s A Dock this year. Call (360) 293-2428 or (800) 465-4604 or visit www.island-adventures.com. Mystic Sea Charters also operates from Cap Sante’s A Dock. Call (800) 308-9387 or visit www.mysticseacharters. com. Both outfits offer guaranteed sightings, meaning you can go out another day if your boat is one of the few that doesn’t spot an orca, gray, minke or humpback whale. And there is much more to see in the San Juans, including 80 wildlife preserves, rugged shorelines, historic sites, bald eagle nests, barking seals, chattering cormorants and, in early spring and late summer, golden-skinned stellar sea lions. goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

kayaking

ayaking is a great way to get out on the waters of western Skagit County and the nearby San Juan Islands, whether for a quick paddle or a trip lasting several days. Paddlers can enoy beautiful vistas and see wildlife from a different perspective while gliding quietly along a shoreline or exploring a secluded cove. Sea kayaks typically are used in the waters of Puget Sound. They are longer, have faster hull speeds and are less affected by the weather than kayaks designed for inland waters. Anacortes is a good place to get started. Businesses there offering kayak rentals, instruction and hourly and multi-day tours include the Sea Kayak Shop, www.seakayakshop.com, and Anacortes Kayak Tours, www.anacorteskayaktours.com. The saltwater is where most of the action is, but Skagit County has plenty of lakes, rivers and sloughs to enjoy depending on your expertise. A major Northwest kayaking event to watch for is the Deception Pass Dash held each December. Close to 200 kayakers race from Bowman Bay in Deception Pass State Park through the pass as the tide changes from flowing into the inlet waters to ebbing back out to sea. More information can be found at www.outdooradventurecenter.com. The Hole in the Wall Paddling Club is made up of local kayakers from the region who encourage safe kayaking. The club meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Breazeale Interpretive Center on Padilla Bay for presentations and to exchange information with fellow members. For more information, go to www.holeinthewallpaddlingclub.org.

kayaking • 24 Hour service with warm and friendly staff • Fresh hot baked cookies every night • Expanded Continental Breakfast • Group and Corporate Rates • Free Wireless Internet • Non-Smoking Facility 3300 Commercial Ave Anacortes, Washington 98221

Phone/Fax: 360-293-1100

themarinainn@comcast.net www.marinainnwa.com 14

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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hiking From sea-level tromps to mountain summit treks, there is a trail in Skagit County for every hiker. No matter where one decides to roam — a rocky coastline, under the thick canopy of an old-growth forest or atop a sky-scratching peak — be prepared for spectacular scenery. Weather plays a role in the planning process, but there are plenty of options year-round. Whether one is looking for a simple day hike or an all-out backpacking excursion, trail specifics can be found inside publications stacked like cordwood on shelves of local bookstores. For information about North Cascades National Park, call or visit its headquarters in Sedro-Woolley. goskagit.com

The center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can be reached at (360) 854-7200. The Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday to Saturday and Sunday to Thursday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 360854-7245. The North Cascades Visitors Center in Newhalem is open daily May through October from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In July and August, the center is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. While North Cascades National Park does not require entrance fees or parking passes at some trailheads, other trailheads as well as picnic areas and recreation sites in the National Forest do require a federal recreation pass. A Northwest Forest Pass is valid at all National Forests in Oregon and

LANG’S HORSE & PONY FARM www.comeride.com (360) 424-7630 • Guided Trail Rides By Reservation • Children’s Birthday Parties at the farm • Riding Lessons for Children and Adults • Horse Camps • Girl Scout Horsemanship Badges • School Field Trips to our farm Visit our website for trail ride rates, and our monthly coupon specials. SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Washington. A day pass is $5, while an annual pass is $30. Northwest Forest Passes, along with other types of passes, can be purchased by calling (800) 270-7504 or online at www.naturenw.org.

Family-friendly hikes Evergreen Trail Location: Rockport State Park Distance: 3 miles Destination: Loop trail Difficulty: Easy Elevation gain: Minimal • Getting there: From Sedro-Woolley, take Highway 20 east for 37 miles to milepost 96.5. Watch for the sign for Rockport State Park. • If you go: This is one of the area’s top hikes for a number of reasons. It’s relatively easy, and the 670 acres of Rockport State Park are close. The trail’s complexion changes with the seasons. Hiking the length is just as fulfilling in light snow as it is in the summer sun. And if there is some light rain, you don’t have to worry about getting soaked as the trail has a ceiling of thick canopy. This trail winds through a fantastic old-growth forest estimated to be 400 to 600 years old. The forest gives hikers a glimpse of what the Skagit Valley looked like hundreds of years ago.

• If you go: The trek is a classic Cascades hike and one of the most popular. Because Sauk Mountain is one of the lowest peaks in the area, snow arrives late and leaves early, so hoofing it to the summit in late spring or early summer is the prime time. Watch for wildflowers and bring a camera. The road to the trailhead is rough, so be prepared for ruts. Prepare for switchbacks as the journey to the summit begins. It is sensory overload once the summit is reached. Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan can be seen in all their glory.

Sares Head Location: Sharpe Park/MontgomeryDuban Headlands Distance: 1.1 miles Destination: Sares Head Difficulty: Easy Elevation gain: Minimal • Getting there: Take Highway 20 west to just past Pass Lake. Turn west on Rosario Road. The park entrance and parking area are on the left in 1.7 miles • If you go: This trail is in Sharpe Park/Montgomery-Duban Headlands, which boasts 110 acres of forest and about a mile of shoreline. For the straightforward route to Sares Head, take the Upper Trail. Just follow the well-placed signs on the Sauk Mountain trunks of trees at intersections. Location: East of Concrete Even on the worst of days, this hike Distance: 4.2 miles is worth the effort. Though the trail Destination: Summit of Sauk Mouncan get muddy during the rainy season, tain the scenery along the way more than Difficulty: Moderate makes up for damp feet. Elevation gain: 1,200 feet Once at Sares Head, it is 180 de• Getting there: Take Highway 20 grees of jaw-dropping scenery. east to milepost 96, about seven miles Venture onto the bluff for spectacueast of Concrete. Turn left on Sauk lar views of Deception Pass, Deception Mountain Road (Forest Road 1030). Island and Rosario Beach. The San After about 7.5 miles, go right at a Juan Islands dominate the views to the fork. The road-end parking lot is 0.2 west. On a clear day, the snow-capped of a mile ahead at an elevation of 4,350 Olympic Mountains stand out against feet. the blue backdrop of the sky. 16

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Pomona Grange Park Location: North of Burlington Distance: 1 mile Destination: Loop trail Difficulty: Easy Elevation gain: None • Getting there: Interstate 5 to exit 232 (Cook Road). Turn east on Cook Road. Proceed north at the stoplight on Old Highway 99. After about 3.5 miles, the park will be on the right. If you reach the fish hatchery, you have gone too far. • If you go: Pomona Grange Park is one of the best-kept secrets in Skagit Valley and an excellent hike for all ages. It is a short, easy jaunt that will enhance trekkers’ understanding of nature. The trail has 18 interpretive signs that explain in detail the area’s flora. There are two bridges. One crosses Friday Creek and leads to the Samish State Fish Hatchery. Make sure to stop by the holding ponds to check out the salmon fry. The other bridge leads to the creek’s shoreline. Shadow of the Sentinels Location: Baker Lake Distance: Half-mile Destination: Loop trail Difficulty: Easy Elevation gain: None • Getting there: From Sedro-Woolley, follow Highway 20 east for 17 miles to milepost 82. Turn north on Baker Lake Highway. After 15, the trailhead and parking area are on the right past the Koma Kulshan Guard Station. • If you go: This interpretive trail is a combination of asphalt pavement and boardwalk. It is barrier free and wheelchair accessible. The trail was designated a National Recreational Trail in 1980. It was improved in 1990 as part of the Koma Kulshan Hydroelectric Project. Encounter 600-year-old trees and learn about life in the forest through numerous interpretive signs.

goskagit.com

parks From North Cascades National Park in the east to Deception Pass State Park in the west, there are plenty of parks to explore in Skagit County. So let’s start with the largest. North Cascades National Park is part of a complex that includes the Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas. The complex hosts hundred of thousands of visitors each year. Hikgoskagit.com

ers, backpackers, campers, climbers, boaters and fishermen take advantage of the area’s unique outdoor opportunities. One need not leave the car to take in the breathtaking surroundings. Simply drive over Highway 20 and gawk out the windows as the rugged, snow-capped peaks go by. The highway is closed for winter be-

tween the Ross Lake Trailhead (milepost 134) and Silver Star Gate (milepost 171) because of avalanche danger. The pass typically reopens in late April or early May. Up-to-date conditions can be found at www.wsdot.wa.gov/ traffic/passes/northcascades. Recreational opportunities abound within the borders of the complex. Stop by the park’s headquarters in

I-5 Exit 227 (College Way) East on College Way to Riverside Dr. - North 2 blocks *FREE* 2009 Riverside Dr. Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Reservations: 360-424-4141 www.daysinn.com/hotel/04735

Deluxe DayBreak Breakfast Wireless Internet • Truck Parking • Local Calls • HBO PATRON Mexican Restaurant on-site Restaurants & Shopping within walking distance. Near Cascade Mall & Outlet Shoppes of Burlington

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Sedro-Woolley, the wilderness Information Center in Marblemount or the North Cascades National Park Visitors Center in Newhalem for details. The Marblemount and Newhalem centers are closed in winter. Hiking, whether for a day or a week, is big. Hundreds of miles of trails crisscross the park. They extend from the banks of rivers to the summits of peaks. The park offers a full range of camping experiences. Whether your idea of camping is from a car, RV, boat or on a strenous trek into the wilderness, it can be found within the park’s boundaries. North Cascades National Park contains four car-accessible campgrounds (plus several group camps). All are along Highway 20. Facilities and prices vary. Campgrounds include Goodell Creek, Newhalem Creek, Gorge Lake and Colonial Creek.

tent sites, 143 utility sites and five hiker/biker sites.

of Pat-Teh-Us, a Noo-Wha-Ah Indian chief and signer of the Point Elliot Treaty. Rasar State Park, an old farm The town was named by William site, is a 169-acre camping park with J. Mckenna, who plotted the original 4,000 feet of freshwater shoreline on townsite of Bay View in 1884. The land the Skagit River. Wildlife observation for the original park was donated to opportunities, especially for eagles, are the state in 1925 by the Skagit County excellent, particularly in late fall and Agricultural Association with the early winter. understanding that it would become There are four miles of hiking trails a state park. Additional parcels were and a playground in the day-use area. acquired up until 1968. A paved trail meanders from the dayOn a clear day, park users can see use area downhill to an old hay field. the Olympic Mountains to the west A display at the base of the descent and Mount Rainier to the south. explains the role of loggers and farmers The park has 46 tent spaces, 29 utilin the Skagit Valley. ity spaces and four cabins. The paved path ends at the river. It is replaced by a dirt trail that leads in both directions. Rasar has 18 standard campsites more and 20 utility sites.

Rockport State Park, about eight miles east of Concrete, is a 670One of Washington’s most visited acre park of ancient forest. The entire parks, Deception Pass State ecosystem remains intact, creating a Park is a 4,134-acre marine and natural forest with a canopy so dense camping park with 77,000 feet of that little sunlight reaches the ground. saltwater shoreline on Rosario Strait, Impressive 250-foot Douglas fir Deception Pass and Skagit Bay. About trees dot the landscape along with tall 28,000 feet of freshwater shoreline can cedar and maple trees. be found along Pass and Cranberry Practically every type of fern can lakes. be found in the lush understory, along The park is famous for scenic views, with elderberry and salmonberry old-growth forests and abundant bushes. wildlife. Rugged cliffs tower above the Rockport is open to day use only turbulent waters of Deception Pass. and is home to one of the best lowland Make sure to park at either end of hikes around. The Evergreen Trail the Deception Pass bridge and walk takes hikers back 100 years, allowing across it. The views are breathtakfor a glimpse of the Skagit Valley’s past. ing and nerve-rattling. Far below, the Altogether, there are about five miles waters of Deception and Canoe passes of trail within the park. boil with ripping currents. Recreational opportunities include Bay View State Park is a 25camping, picnicking, sightseeing, acre campground with 1,285 feet of boating, paddling, hiking, swimming, saltwater shoreline. The park’s Joe interpretive trails, fishing, scuba divHamel Beach is on Padilla Bay. More ing, bird watching, beachcombing and than 11,000 acres of the bay are desigbicycling. nated as a National Estuarine SanctuWith 36 miles of trails and much ary. Breazeale Padilla Bay Interpretive more to do, one day may not be Center is a half-mile north of the park. enough. The campground boasts 167 Bay View State Park was the home 18

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

skagit county parks Skagit County Grandy Lake Park Howard Miller Pomona Grange Park Sharpe Park Steelhead Park Mount Vernon Bakerview Park edgewater park hillcrest park lions park Little Mountain Park Anacortes Anacortes Community Forest Lands storvik park Washington Park Sedro-Woolley Riverfront Park Burlington Maiben Park rotary park Skagit River Park

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fishing

hether your preference is saltwater or freshwater, Skagit County has many fishing opportunities. All five species of salmon – chinook, coho, sockeye, chum, pink – can be compelled to bite in local rivers and bays. Trout species, such as steelhead, rainbow, cutthroat, brown and brook, can be landed in numerous lakes and rivers, while warm-water species, including large and smallmouth bass, perch, crappie and bluegill, can be hooked as well. Numerous alpine lakes dot the landscape of the North Cascades. Just grab the pack rod and day pack and head into the hills. On the marine waters, there are just as many opportunities. Saltwater species include lingcod, halibut and, of course, salmon. Anacortes is a good place to get out on the saltwater in search of salmon, lingcod and halibut. There are several charter services more than willing to lend a hand. Of course, before making a cast into any body of water, be sure to check the state’s regulations. The thick pamphlet detailing the regulations, titled “Fishing in Washington,” can be picked up free at most sporting goods stores. Anglers 15 and older need a license to fish in Washington. There are numerous types of licenses; goskagit.com

be sure to purchase the one that best fits your needs. Visit the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Web site at www.wdfw. wa.gov often to check for emergency closures, etc. Here are some fishing hot spots: Skagit River: Check the latest regulation pamphlet for season, size, catch, limit and gear restrictions. Species and solid fishing months with runs are listed below. • Chinook: July-August • Winter steelhead: December-April • Summer steelhead: June-November • Coho: September-November • Chum: October-November • Pink: August-September

be fished successfully day or night and is a trophy trout producer. Large rainbow and brown trout prowl the waters. Pass Lake is usually excellent in early spring and late fall for fish averaging 15 inches, with some cracking the 28-inch mark. Big Lake: Open year-round, this large lake is great for pan fish. Largemouth bass, crappie and yellow perch can be caught. Fishing tends to be best during the spring and summer months when warmer water livens up the fish.

Campbell Lake: Open year-round and stocked annually with cutthroat, the lake is known more for its warm-water species than its trout. Spring and summer are the best time to hook large(Pink salmon return in odd-numbered years.) mouth bass, yellow perch, black crappie • Sockeye: July and bullhead catfish. • Sea-run cutthroat: August-October Clear Lake: Open year-round, the Samish River: Check the latest regu- lake was the beneficiary of a triploid lation pamphlet for season, size, catch, rainbow trout plant this past year. Fish limit and gear restrictions. Species and lucky enough to have survived the sumsolid fishing months are listed below. mer will be even larger. Look to hook • Chinook: August-October rainbow, cutthroat, largemouth bass and • Chum: October-November yellow perch. • Coho: September-November Lake Shannon: The Baker River • Winter steelhead: December-March • Sea-run cutthroat: August-October reservoir is open from the last Saturday in April through Oct. 31. Best fished by Pass Lake: Open year-round to fly boat, Lake Shannon offers excellent kofishing, this catch-and-release lake can kanee fishing. Chumming is permitted. SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

cycling

rom the Skagit Flats to mountain passes in the North Cascades, cyclists have plenty of options when riding around Skagit County. Make sure to pick up a Skagit County Bike Map at the local chambers of commerce. For cyclists in search of long stretches of open road, the Skagit Flats is the place to put rubber to pavement. The area is a haven for numerous bird species. Migrating snow geese and tundra and trumpeter swans winter over in the valley. In the southern half of the flats, roads meander through 35 miles of farmland and dike districts. If climbing is more your style, then pedal east into the North Cascades and have a ride to remember as you venture

golfing

here are golf courses with nine holes, 18 holes and one with 27, so take your pick. One thing that Skagit Valley golf courses have in common is great views. From their fairways and greens, you can see Mount Baker, Big Lake or the waters of Puget Sound. And this being rural Washington, there are going to be wooded areas along the courses and maybe even some wildlife. Despite the rainy weather, the heartiest of the golfers in the Skagit Valley can play nearly every day.

7,006 yards. One of the challenges of the course is that its hilltop location makes for a lot of up and down along the 18 holes. 4127 Eaglemont Drive (360) 424-0800 www.eaglemontgolf.com

over 5,477-foot Washington Pass. With craggy terrain, steep climbs and hairpin turns, this route is a test of endurance. But once you’re over the pass, it’s basically all downhill to Winthrop.

Cycling events 29th annual Tulip Pedal April 17 La Conner www.active.com

20th annual Skagit Spring Classic May 8 Burlington www.skagitbicycleclub.org 2010 Bike MS Ride Sept. 11-12 Mount Vernon www.nationalmssociety.org (360) 757-1900 www.avalonlinks.com

Skagit Golf & Country Club Burlington Skagit County’s lone private course, Skagit Golf & Country Club’s 18-hole layout is on relatively flat terrain. Avalon Golf Links While the front side of the par-71, Burlington 6,063-yard course has tree-lined narrow There is plenty to choose from at fairways, the back side is more open, alAvalon. There are three 9-hole courses at lowing golfers to pull out their drivers. Avalon — North, South and West — and The course’s greens are challenging. each has its own personality. They are small and fast. They differ in yardage. The North The first nine holes opened in the plays as long as 3,430 yards, the South at 1920s, with the second nine opening in 3,400 and the West at 3,250. 1971. And just because the West course is 16701 Country Club Drive Eaglemont Golf Course the shortest, don’t think it isn’t with(360) 757-0530 Mount Vernon out challenges. It is the tightest driving www.skagitgolfclub.com The 18-hole course on the hills along course of the three. Similk Golf Course the east side of the city gets rave reviews. The three courses opened in 1991. Anacortes In 2009, it made Golf Digest’s list of Avalon is home to the “Pay For 18, the top 10 golf courses in Washington, Play All Day” special, where some golfers This course sits between Fidalgo coming in at No. 9. Opened in Septemplay as many as 72 holes in a day. and Similk bays, giving golfers unique ber 1993, Eaglemont plays as long as 19345 Kelleher Road views, but also sometimes bringing light

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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breezes into play. The 18-hole, par-72 public course plays as long as 6,200 yards. It is among the oldest golf courses in the valley, having opened in 1929. 12518 Christianson Road (360) 293-3444 Overlook Golf Course Mount Vernon The nine-hole public course sits on the east side of Big Lake. Overlook opened in 1985. It plays as long as 2,213 yards. 17523 Highway 9 (360) 422-6444 Sedro-Woolley Golf Course Sedro-Woolley This nine-hole public course plays as long as 2,309 yards. 839 Fruitdale Road (360) 856-4641

great-horned owls and northern shrike From Interstate 5, take exit 231 near may be seen. In summer, there are Burlington. Just west of the freeway many nesting species, including marsh bridge (near the Washington State wrens, Virginia rails, soras, bluePatrol office), take Josh Wilson Road winged and cinnamon teals, wood west toward Anacortes for about six ducks, tree swallows, and northern miles. At the end of Josh Wilson Road, flickers. Jensen Access: geese, shoreturn right onto Bay View-Edison Road. birds, seaducks, eagles, snowy owls. Drive north less than one mile, past North Fork Access: short-eared owls Bay View State Park. The Breazeale he Skagit Valley is a birdand northern harriers. Interpretive Center will be on your watcher’s dream in winter, • Washington Park outside Anaright, 1.4 miles past the state park. The when thousands of snow geese, cortes. Best fall through spring. This trails and parking lot are always open swans and eagles stop here. Farther seabird watching area is visited by and free of charge. east are an abundance of eagles dining Pacific loons, common murres, pigeon The annual Upper Skagit Bald on salmon around Marblemount and guillemots, marbled murrelets, gulls, Eagle Festival, usually hosted in FebRockport. cormorants and many sea ducks that ruary, was canceled for 2010 because The Skagit Audubon Society’s list of include harlequin ducks. of the lack of funding. For updated recommended sites includes: Another spot to see birds is the information on the festival and the • Samish Flats Padilla Bay and Padilla Bay National Estuarine interpretive center, call (360) 853-7626 Alice Bay. Best fall to spring. Many Research Reserve on Padilla Bay. or go online to www.skagiteagle.org. raptors, waterfowl, and passerines. Good area for snowy owls, short-eared owls, peregrines, gyrfalcons, prairie Centrally located close to Shopping, falcons, merlins and kestrels, making Attractions, North Cascades this a target area for finding five falcon Highway & San Juan Island Ferry. species. • Skagit Flats on Fir Island, the 600 sq. ft. Guest Rooms, Full Hot area between the north and south forks Breakfast Buffet, Outdoor Heated Pool of the Skagit, is best fall to spring. It is a good place to see snow geese, trumpeter and tundra swans and raptors. • Skagit Bay-Skagit Wildlife Area, Mount Vernon Wylie Slough Area: Sparrows, wood(360) 428-5678 peckers and other woodland birds,

birding

www.cottontreeinns.com

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Skagit County

history & heritage The explorers were followed by trappers and traders of the Hudson’s Bay Co. during the 1820s. Water served as the primary transportation system for people and goods. In 1858, white explorers made their first recorded trip up the Skagit River in search of gold. Major Van Bokkelen and his party paddled canoes up the Skagit to the Baker River, and then up the Baker to Baker Lake; they reportedly found the Native Americans friendly and some traces enjoying the bounty of the land and sea, before Spanish of gold in the river banks, but not enough to prompt them and British explorers began touching down onto its shores to return. in the late 1700s. In 1791, the Spanish Eliza expedition disThe first permanent white settler is believed to be Wilcovered and named Guemes Island and Padilla Bay. A year liam Munks, who set down roots on March Point on Fidallater, Joseph Whidbey of Capt. George Vancouver’s expe- go Island in 1859. The first white settlers to take advantage dition discovered Deception Pass and Whidbey Island. of the fertile soil of the Skagit Valley were Michael Sullivan

Native Americans — including members of the Skagit, Samish and Swinomish tribes — lived in Skagit County for thousands of years,

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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did you know? • Today’s scenic North Cascades Highway is the same corridor Native Americans used as a trading route from the Eastern Plateau country to the Pacific Coast for more than 8,000 years. The first state funding to explore a possible route through the Cascade Range was appropriated in 1895. The North Cascades Highway officially opened in 1972. • In 1883, a Confederate veteran platted the town of Atlanta on Samish Island to be "a sanctuary of persecuted Confederates and other sympathizers with the lost cause." A staunch Unionist promptly platted the town of Samish immediately adjacent. (www. skagitriverjournal.com) • In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Anacortes boomed, hoping it would be a railroad terminus. But the railroad magnates passed the city over, and dreams of becoming the “New York of the West” went bust.

and Sam Calhoun, who in 1863 diked off shore areas near La Conner. Calhoun claimed that their first crop produced 1,200 bushels of barley from 21 acres. Four years later, the first store was established in Skagit County, a trading post in La Conner. Blocking the settlement up the Skagit River were two monster logjams that had accumulated over the centuries, one a half-mile wide and the other extending upstream for almost a mile. Government surveyors declined to offer funds to clear the logjams when they determined the bill would be $100,000. A local organization formed by seven loggers, with the help of local donations, in the late 1860s tackled the jams. It took them six months to cut a narrow channel through the first jam and two years to breach the second. The river was now clear, and homesteads began popping up along the river. In 1870, the first steamer reached Mount Vernon, bringing settlers; within four years, regular steamer goskagit.com

service was available from Seattle. Anacortes was named and got a post office in 1876, and Burlington was founded in 1882. Enterprising residents were catching salmon on the Skagit River, and the fish were processed at canneries in Anacortes. Other residents were launching timber and farming businesses. The area was part of Whatcom County, and residents in 1883 petitioned the territorial government to become a separate county; that year, Gov. William A. Newell established Skagit County, named after the tribe. H.P. Downs, F.E. Gilkey and H.A. March were named the first commissioners. In 1889 — the year Washington became a state — the first steam locomotives moved up the rails into Skagit County. By 1901, Skagit’s main cities were connected on lines from Seattle, and the upper valley line had reached Baker, later named Concrete. Soon after, the line continued east on to Rockport.

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

tribes SWINOMISH TRIBE In 1855, the Treaty of Point Elliott established the Swinomish Reservation as a permanent homeland for the Swinomish, Kikiallus, Samish and Lower Skagit tribes. The 8,155acre reservation is located on a small peninsula of Fidalgo Island, across the Swinomish Channel from the town of La Conner. The aboriginal Swinomish tongue was Lushootseed, a variant of the wider Salish language. The Swinomish were closely related to the Skagit

tribe and inhabited the territory at the mouth of the Skagit River and the adjacent part of Whidbey Island. The Swinomish were primarily a fishing people, thanks to the abundance of salmon, and the fish were preserved and stored for winter consumption. The tribal members also spent their summers traveling the Puget Sound area gathering berries and meat for winter. During the 1850s, the tribe came under the influence of the Roman Catholic faith. By 1884, 75 percent of the reservation natives were employed

OUR WICKIUP

American Indian Art

Museum & Retail Shop 100’s of Timeless Treasures

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360-826-3876

30732 SR 20 • Sedro-Woolley (Just west of Lyman) 24

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

in logging, farming and milling. The tribe is the principal employer on the reservation, and the services it provides include a fish-rearing and hatchery facility, a casino, a fish processing plant, a tribal water system, social services, the Swinomish Tribal Health Center, a Housing/Utility Authority and the Northwest Indian College/work training program. A traditional longhouse replica for ceremonial revival was dedicated in 1996. The tribe has 778 enrolled members. The governing body is the 11-member Swinomish Indian Senate, and members are elected to five-year terms. Information: www.swinomish. org.

UPPER SKAGIT TRIBE The Upper Skagit people are descendants of a tribe that inhabited 10 villages on the Upper Skagit and Sauk rivers. The 84-acre Upper Skagit Reservation is east of Sedro-Woolley, and another 15 acres of undeveloped commercial land is located along Interstate 5 near Alger. The enrolled tribal goskagit.com

by neighbors to the east, the tribe states. The Samish Indian Nation used to stretch over a seven-county region of Northwest Washington. The Samish people were respected for their skills in carving canoes and constructing longhouses. The tribe reports that it had more than 2,000 members in 1847, but raids from northern tribes and epidemics of measles, small pox and the flu dropped the population to about 150 by the time the Point Elliott treaty was signed. The Samish were among 13 tribes that took part in the treaty, but the Samish and Lummi were inadvertently omitted from the final draft. In 1926, the Samish Indian Nation adopted a written constitution and opened tribal enrollment. The Samish’s status as a federally recognized Indian tribe was lost through a clerical error in 1969 when it was left off the republished list by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It took more than 26 years of administrative and federal court proceedings to regain recognition for the Samish Indian Nation in 1996. The Samish Indian Nation is governed by an 11-member Tribal Council elected to oversee the welfare and resources of the tribe, its government, enrollment and justice. A General Council, all voting age members, participates in the government and cultural gatherings of the tribe. Information: (360) 292-6404 and www.samishtribe. nsn.us.

museums population is 504. Headmen of the Upper Skagit Tribe were among the signatories to the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott, but the federal government said the Upper Skagit was not one group, but villages that made up the Upper Skagit. No reservation was granted for the tribe. The tribe gained formal federal recognition in the early 1970s. A decade later, the tribe acquired its small reservation of federal trust land east of Sedro-Woolley. The tribe’s $28 million Skagit Casino Resort opened in Bow in 1995, followed by the $11 million, 103-room hotel and conference center in 2001. The tribe provides limited primary care services in a 4,500-square-foot medical clinic built in 1995. The tribe is governed by the seven-member Upper Skagit Tribal Council. Council members serve for staggered three-year terms. Information: www.upperskagittribe.com and (360) 856-5501.

Anacortes Museum 1305 Eighth St., Anacortes (360) 292-1915 Children’s Museum of Skagit County 550 Cascade Mall Drive (Cascade Mall), Burlington (360) 757-8888 www.skagitchildrensmuseum.net La Conner Quilt Museum 703 Second St., La Conner (360) 466-4288 Museum of Northwest Art 121 First St., La Conner (360) 466-4446

SAMISH INDIAN NATION

Sedro-Woolley Museum 727 Murdock St., Sedro-Woolley (360) 855-2390

Linguistically and culturally, the tribe is grouped as Coast Salish, speaking a dialect of Coast Salish known as “Straits Salish” rather than the Lushsootseed dialect used

Skagit County Historical Museum 501 Fourth St., La Conner (360) 466-3365

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Skagit County MAJOR EMPLOYERS

today

3) Shell Puget Sound Refinery, petroleum processing, Anacortes LARGEST PUBLIC EMPLOYERS 4) Janicki Industries, composite tooling (Source: Economic Development Association supplier for aerospace, space defense, of Skagit County) marine, wind energy and ground transportation industry, Sedro-Woolley 1) Skagit Valley Hospital, Mount Vernon 5) Dakota Creek Industries, ship building and ship repair, Anacortes 2) Island Hospital, 6) Snelson Companies, Inc., a pipeline, Anacortes utility and mechanical construction 3) United General Hospital, and fabrication company, Sedro-Woolley Sedro-Woolley 7) Tesoro Northwest, oil processing, LARGEST PRIVATE EMPLOYERS 1) Regence BlueShield, health insurance, Anacortes 8) Skagit Gardens, growers, horticultural Burlington brokers, garden centers and landscap- 2) Tie: Draper Valley Farms, Inc., ers, Mount Vernon chickens, Mount Vernon; and the 9) Haggen, Inc., retail grocery stores and Skagit Valley Casino Resort, resort pharmacies, Bellingham and casino, Bow

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

10) Trident Seafoods Corporation, sea food processing, Anacortes

PORT DISTRICTS THE PORT OF SKAGIT COUNTY

FOUNDED: 1964 MAJOR FACILITIES: Skagit Regional Airport, La Conner Marina, Bay View Business and Industrial Park. GOVERNANCE: Three commissioners, elected for six-year terms, and an executive. JOBS ON PROPERTY: 1,090 full time, 67 part time. MAJOR TENANTS: BCG Northwest, LLC (aka Nordic Tugs, Inc.), Woodinville Lumber, Inc. (Tri-County Truss), Westport Shipyard, Inc. (Pacific Mariner), Hexcel Corp., Volant, Team Corporation, goskagit.com

Lindal Building Products, Inc., Golden The public hospital opened in 1958 Harvest, Inc., Dunlap Towing Co. after voters passed a bond measure. INFORMATION: (360) 757-0011, www. Offerings include outpatient diagnosportofskagit.com tics and rehabilitation services, surgery, acute care, a Family Birth Center, heart THE PORT OF ANACORTES and vascular care, orthopedic services, FOUNDED: 1926 and surgery and cancer treatment at MAJOR FACILITIES: The 950-slip ma- its Regional Cancer Care Center. The rina Cap Sante Boat Haven, Anacortes hospital has 137 beds, and all rooms are Airport, 30-acre marine terminal private. The hospital also has a clinic on GOVERNANCE: Five commissioners, Camano Island. The hospital received a elected from five individual districts, top five-star rating for the quality of its who serve four-year terms, and an execu- coronary interventional procedures and tive director. total hip replacement by HealthGrades, JOBS ON PROPERTY: 750 the health care ratings company. The MAJOR TENANTS: Dakota Creek hospital reports it is ranked number one Shipyard, Puget Sound Rope, Skipper in the state for coronary interventional Cress yacht sales, Northwest Marine procedures. Technology, Micro Aerodynamics, Transpac Marinas, San Juan Airlines. United General Hospital INFORMATION: 2000 Hospital Drive (360) 293-3134 Sedro-Woolley 98284 www.portofanacortes.com www.UnitedGeneral.org (360) 856-6021 INCOME Services at the public hospital include 2008 Estimated Average Household a breast care suite, a cancer care center, Income: $65,039 diagnostic imaging, a fitness center, mas2008 Estimated Median Household sage therapy, physical therapy, pulmoIncome: $50,777 nary rehabilitation and a sleep center. 2008 Estimated Per Capita Income: The hospital reports that it consistently $24,651 is rated one of the top hospitals in the (Source: Claritas Inc., May 2008) state for its care of patients with pneumonia, and heart failure or heart attack.

MEDIAN HOME PRICES Skagit County - $230,000 Guemes Island - $422,500 Anacortes - $300,000 La Conner - $233,500 Burlington - $229,000 Mount Vernon - $228,000 Lyman/Hamilton - $223,750 Sedro Woolley - $191,000 Concrete/Up River - $125,000

(Source: Northwest Multiple Listing Service, year-to-date December 2009)

HEALTH CARE Skagit Valley Hospital

1415 E. Kincaid St. Mount Vernon 98274 www.skagitvalleyhospital.org (360) 424-4111 goskagit.com

Island Hospital

1211 24th St. Anacortes 98221 www.islandhospital.org (360) 299-1300 Services at the public hospital include a birth center, a cancer care center, critical care, diagnostic imaging, emergency services, physical therapy and rehabilitation, prenatal care, surgery and a sleep wellness center. Island Hospital also manages family care clinics in Anacortes and on Lopez Island. The hospital recently was honored as a national “100 Top Hospitals’’ for performance improvement by Evanston, Ill.-based Solucient, a national heath care information corporation.

AN ASSISTED LIVING COMMUNITY

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

EDUCATION

La Conner Library

Founded in 1926, Skagit Valley Col614 E. Morris St. lege began last fall with 3,663 full-time (360) 466-3352 students on the Mount Vernon campus at 2405 E. College Way; the Whidbey Mount Vernon Library Island campus at 1900 S.E. Pioneer Way, 315 Snoqualmie St. Oak Harbor; the San Juan Center, 221 (360) 336-6209 Weber Way, Friday Harbor; the South Whidbey Center, 11042 Highway 525 Sedro-Woolley Library #138, Clinton; and the Business Resource 802 Ball Ave. Center, 204 W. Montgomery, Mount (360) 855-1166 Vernon. Information: www.skagit.edu. Skagit County is home to seven NEWSPAPERS school districts: Anacortes, Burlington- Skagit Valley Herald (daily) 1215 Anderson Road, Mount Vernon Edison, Concrete, Conway, La Conner, (360) 424-3251, www.goskagit.com Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley.

LIBRARIES

Anacortes American (weekly)

901 Sixth St., Anacortes (360) 293-3122, www.goskagit.com

Anacortes Library

1220 10th St. (360) 293-1910

The Argus (weekly)

1215 Anderson Road, Mount Vernon (360) 424-3251, www.goskagit.com

Burlington Library

820 E. Washington Ave. (360) 755-0760

Courier-Times (weekly)

1215 Anderson Road, Mount Vernon (360) 424-3251, www.goskagit.com

Concrete Herald (monthly)

(360) 853-8213

La Conner Weekly News

(360) 466-3315

RADIO STATIONS

KAPS 660 (Mount Vernon)

Country music. kapsradio.com

KWLE 1340 (Anacortes)

Adult contemporary music, local news and sports. 1340thewhale.com

KBRC 1430 (Mount Vernon)

Classic hits. kbrcradio.com

KSVR 90.1 FM (Mount Vernon)

Broadcast news, public affairs programs and music in English and

Thanks Mom, for choosing Life.

humanlife.net We Respect Human Life and Work Together to Protect It, at All Stages and in All Conditions.

Your local HUMAN LIFE affiliates: Anacortes 360-293-3005 28

Sedro Woolley 360-856-6561

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

Mount Vernon 360-424-1943 goskagit.com

Spanish from Skagit Valley College. ksvr.org

TELEVISION/ PUBLIC ACCESS

Channel 10, Anacortes.

Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government access channel broadcasting City Council and Port of Anacortes Commission meetings, public notices, community events and related programming. Access Skagit Television: Skagit 21, Mount Vernon.

racing 4796 Old Highway 99 North Road Burlington (360) 724-3493 www.skagitspeedway.com The Skagit Speedway, located on Old Highway 99 between Burlington and Alger, hosts auto racing, motorcycle races and demolition derbies from April through September. Camping is available.

cinemas

Can be seen on Comcast Cable AMC Lowes Cascade Mall 14 channel 21 in the greater Skagit Valley 14 screens viewing area. Broadcasts public meetings 200 Cascade Mall Drive, Burlington for cities and the county, along with www.amctheatres.com public notices and events. (888) 262-4386

CASINOS

Skagit County Population

SKAGIT SPEEDWAY

Anacortes Cinemas

1998

2008

Skagit County

98,700 117,500

Anacortes

13,900 16,640

Burlington

5,525

8,460

Concrete

785

845

Hamilton

300

325

La Conner

775

885

Three screens 320 445 Lyman 5984 N. Darrk Lane 415 O Ave., Anacortes Bow www.liveanacortes.com (877) 275-2448 (360) 293-7000 Mount Vernon 22,540 30,150 (360) 724-0222 www.theskagit.com Lincoln Theatre 10,030 Sedro-Woolley 7,805 The Skagit Valley Casino Resort One screen includes a 103-room hotel and confer712 S. First St., Mount Vernon Source: the Washington State Office of Financial ence center, more than 780 slot machines www.lincolntheatre.org Management, Forecasting Division in the casino, three restaurants and live (360)336-8955 entertainment. Take Interstate 5 to Bow Hill Road (exit 236) and head east for a couple of blocks, then turn left onto malls The Outlet Shoppes at Burlington Darrk Lane. Cascade Mall 201 Cascade Mall Drive, Burlington 448 Fashion Way, Burlington Swinomish www.shopcascademall.com www.theoutletshoppesatburlington.com Northern Lights Casino (360) 757-2070 (360) 757-3549 12885 Casino Drive Anacortes (360) 293-2691 (888) 288-8883 www.swimonishcasino.com Table games, slots, restaurant, Bingo, poker, comedy, live boxing, banquets, RV Now at Holland Drug.... park. Home Medical Equipment and Supplies Take Interstate-5 exit 230 and head Right here in Beautiful Downtown Sedro-Woolley west to the west side of the Duane Berentson twin bridges onto Fidalgo Holland Compounding Pharmacy Island. Custom-made medications for humans and pets. Skagit Valley Casino Resort

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Skagit County

performing arts and Mark Tobey — Skagit County has attracted a wide variety of artists who infuse their works with the essence of the region’s deep forests, rich farm fields, sheltered and salty bays, and, of course, the Skagit River. Take a stroll through any city or town and find a variety of galleries and art studios. Spend a day at the regionally renowned Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner to view some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest works. And then there are the hundreds of local artists who comprise the many arts groups. Music and dance have found a wel— few areas in Washington state offer come home, too, with plenty of commuthe artistic and cultural diversity found nity support. A professional symphony, in Skagit County. opera group, orchestra, a handful of From the early days of influence for community theater groups, volunteer some of the “Northwest Mystics” — inchorales and choruses all thrive to create ternationally known artists Kenneth Cal- a rich cultural backdrop for the commulahan, Morris Graves, William Cumming nity to enjoy.

Dance, opera, classical music, volunteer and professional theater, prestigious art museums, eclectic galleries

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

Venues MCINTYRE HALL The spectacular McIntyre Hall is Skagit County’s premier performing arts hall, located on the Skagit Valley College campus, and offers 651 seats and a conference center that can accommodate up to 300 people. Since it opened in 2004, the hall has offered up a variety of entertainment, from plays and dancing by local theater groups and concerts by local musicians, to national touring shows and productions by internationally known performers. McIntyre has a stunning performance lineup planned for its 2010-2011 season, including the production of the classic opera “Madame Butterfly” in Februgoskagit.com

large-scale musicals, smaller comedies and dramas, and even edgy “fringe” shows written and produced by locals. Some upcoming shows include: • “Getting Away With Murder,” a comedy/thriller by Broadway heavyweights Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, and directed by Elizabeth Lundquist, April 2-24. • “I Love a Piano,” the musical by Irving Berlin, directed by ACT veteran Willow McLaughlin, May 28 - June 26. (360) 293-6829 www.acttheatre.com

BRODNIAK HALL Anacortes High School’s Brodniak Hall has welcomed a variety of community productions throughout the years. Built in 1975, the 804-seat theater attracts not just school performances and events, but also community concerts, festivities and more. (360) 293-1200 www.anacortes.k12.wa.us

ary and March by Skagit Opera; a show (360) 336-8955 by the African group Ladysmith Black www.lincolntheatre.org Mambazo in March; “Oklahoma!” by the PHILLIP TARRO THEATRE Skagit Valley College Drama Department ANACORTES in May and more. Skagit Valley College’s 210-seat Phillip COMMUNITY THEATRE (360) 416-7727, ext. 2 Tarro Theatre, located on the college’s (866) 624-6897, ext. 2 The Anacortes Community Theatre Mount Vernon campus, is an intimate www.mcintyrehall.org was founded by a loyal group of local venue perfect for smaller productions, theater aficionados in 1964, and has panels or workshops. LINCOLN THEATRE since evolved into a thriving theater The theater is home to the college’s organization with its own cozy building Drama Department and its seasonal stage Built in 1926, this historic vaudeville offering up a variety of staged producproductions. and silent movie house in downtown tions year-round. (360) 416-7723 Mount Vernon has been renovated Visitors can expect to see a helping of www.skagit.edu through the years into a premier stage for a variety of performances and events, everything from local school concerts, Enrich Inspire Entertain community-sponsored children’s events, PERFORMING ARTS AND CONFERENCE CENTER theater group productions, national touring acts and lecturers to community Featuring a Variety of festivals, benefits and workshops. World Renowned Artists At the same time, the Lincoln Theatre is a unique venue to catch showings of and Community Presentations both independent and the latest films, and live, high-definition broadcasts of Available for Performances, Banquets, some of the world’s best opera from the Receptions, Meetings and More. Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and the National Theatre in London. 360.416.7727 mcintyrehall.org 2501 East College Way, Mount Vernon

McINTYRE HALL

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

p.m. Sundays and Mondays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Admission is free for museum members, $5 adults, $4 seniors, $2 students and free for children 12 and younger. (360) 466-4446 www.museumofnwart.org

RIVERBELLE DINNER THEATRE

MUSEUM OF NORTHWEST ART The Museum of Northwest Art on First Street in La Conner is one of the most influential art museums in the Pacific Northwest region, focusing on exhibiting, preserving and interpreting Northwest art and artists. The museum was founded by a tightknit group of local artists as the Valley Museum of Northwest Art in 1981 in the historic Gaches Mansion, now the home of the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum. As the mansion quickly filled with a variety of art from renowned Northwest favorites Mark Tobey, Clayton James, Philip McCracken, George Tsutakawa,

RiverBelle Dinner Theatre, owned by Wendy Bell, is a cozy dinner theater on the second floor of the renovated Old Town Grainery Building in historic downtown Mount Vernon. Audiences can head to the RiverBelle for a complete Friday or Saturday evening out, enjoying a catered dinner and dessert and an entertaining comedy, Paul Havas and more, the museum board drama or musical. decided to move to a larger space. Some of the theater’s upcoming proIn 1995, the new Museum of Northductions include: west Art opened its doors in a 12,000• “Taffeta Memories,” a musical review square-foot space in downtown La from the 50s, April 16 - May 22. Conner. The museum includes a two• “Trouble at the Tropicabana,” a story gallery space, a Benaroya Glass musical and comedy based on the classic Gallery featuring works by established “I Love Lucy” television characters, July and up-and-coming glass artists, and the 23-Aug. 28. museum store. • “Blithe Spirit,” a dark comedy diThe museum has grown to include a rected by Wendy Bell, opening Sept. 10. permanent collection of more than 2,500 (360) 336-3012 pieces of art from Northwest artists, e-mail final_curtain52@yahoo.com and the MoNA Link program that helps coordinate art education in local schools. The museum also offers a full season showtimes of art workshops, activities and exhibits from nationally known artists. The museum is open from noon to 5 Get current dates and times

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| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

for events in the A&E 360 arts and entertainment section each Thursday in the Skagit Valley Herald. Check the events calendar online at: www.goskagit.com.

Performance goskagit.com

tion attracts professional singers and actors from around the world and is supported by a stalwart group of volunteers. The group has staged such wellknown operas as “Carmen,” “The Barber of Saville” and “La Traviata,” and routinely offers smaller stage performances featuring soaring solos and duets. (360) 422-5070 www.skagitopera.org

THEATER ARTS GUILD

Groups SKAGIT SYMPHONY The nonprofit Skagit Symphony is one of the area’s homegrown volunteer musical groups, made up of top-notch musicians from the Pacific Northwest, who play to entertain, promote the appreciation of classical music and even provide musical entertainment to youth across the region. The group started out in the early 1960s as the Skagit Valley College Community Orchestra and was founded as an independent organization in 1992. Since then, it has became a major cultural force in the community, offering opportunities for the public to enjoy full orchestral performances, and through its youth programs, for elementary aged students to learn about classical music and experience a free musical performance each year by the symphony. This year’s scheduled performances: • Masterpiece Concert: 7:30 p.m. March 20, featuring soloists Joe Robinson on the oboe and Mary Kay Robinson on the violin, with performances of pieces by Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. At McIntyre Hall. goskagit.com

The community volunteer theater group Theater Arts Guild was established in 1992 with the goal of providing a creative outlet for aspiring young actors and performers. Since then, the group has become recognized for its varied theatrical offerings, everything from large-scale musicals with a cast of 50, to smaller dramatic offerings, includ• Young Soloist Concert: 2 p.m. May ing “Salome,” and edgy comedic musical 23, featuring soloists Christina Bucking- romps, including “The Rocky Horror ham on the violin and Ruth Buckingham Picture Show.” on the violin, and pieces by VaughanKids work alongside adults — many Williams, Bach and Schumann. At from the same families — to improve McIntyre Hall. their acting and performing skills and (360) 848-9336 have gone on to much larger theater www.skagitsymphony.com companies and organizations. The group typically offers two major shows a year in SKAGIT OPERA the fall and spring, complete with elaborate costumes and sets, and top-notch The nonprofit Skagit Opera began in local talent. 2003 as a small group of local singers and Upcoming shows include: stage performers and has since evolved • “Back to the 80’s: The Totally Aweto a regional opera company producing some Musical!”: April 9-17 at McIntyre some of the best operatic programming Hall. A retro look at students of the age in the Pacific Northwest. The organizaof the Rubik’s Cube, Max Headroom and

Native Art by Native Artists Come and Experience the Art of the Northwest Coast.

We feature limited edition prints, carvings, jewelry, woven cedar bark work and selected gift items. 708 Commercial Ave • Anacortes, WA 98221• 360.588.8200 ext. 6 SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

SKAGIT VALLEY CHORALE The Skagit Valley Chorale was formed in 1984 from a small group of 30 local singers and has since blossomed to include more than 100 voices performing in a variety of venues and events across the globe. The adult chorale has traveled to New York City, performing in a prestigious production of Mozart’s “Requiem” in Carnegie Hall, and the Nina Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The group performs two concerts a year, the “Heralding Christmas” concert and its spring production, “Celebrating Song.” Audiences are just as likely to hear a solid rendition of an opera classic as they are a more contemporary song from the past decade. For a sampling of the group’s songs, check out its upcoming performance: • “Celebrating in Song” spring concert: 7:30 p.m. April 24, and 2 p.m. April 25, at McIntyre Hall. www.skagitvalleychorale.org the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their last year of high school. www.theaterartsguild.org

CANTABILE OF SKAGIT VALLEY

The 20-member Cantabile of Skagit Valley is a nonaudition choir that brings a smooth, flowing and lyrical style of singing to audiences during its various The nonprofit Fidalgo Youth Sympho- performances each year. ny has been offering young and talented Founded in 2006, the choir has quickly musicians in Skagit, Island, Snohomish become a music staple in Skagit Valley, and Whatcom counties an opportunity often collaborating with other performto reach their musical potential for 15 ing arts groups for shows that feature years. music from the Romantic era to today. The symphony consists of a Youth Or- The group often lends its voices to perchestra that studies and performs a more formances to benefit charitable organichallenging repertoire; the Junior Orzations — especially those dedicated to chestra, comprised of intermediate level children. players; and the Sinfonette, designed for (360) 466-1783 www.cantabileofskagitvalley.org beginning musicians. Each year, the groups perform four classical concerts for audiences in front SKAGIT RIVER of large audiences at McIntyre Hall and SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL other local venues. (360) 421-2527 Each year in August, the nonprofit www.fysmusic.org Shakespeare Northwest brings audiences a taste of the English bard’s tragedy and comedy during its month-long Skagit

FIDALGO YOUTH SYMPHONY

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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River Shakespeare Festival in Mount Vernon. Audiences pack into McIntyre Hall to watch as top-notch actors from across the Pacific Northwest breathe life into Shakespeare’s timeless stories with breathtaking costumes and sets. Typically, the group produces two Shakespeare classics each season. The group has expanded its offerings during its nine years to include free outdoor public performances across Skagit County during the festival to help introduce a new audience to classic Shakespeare and theater. www.shakesnw.org

ALGER LOOKOUT THESPIAN ASSOCIATION ALTA is a local theater organization based in Alger, but drawing on talented actors from across the Skagit Valley. The group typically produces one big show a year in the cozy 100-seat Alger Community Church it calls its home and stage. www.altatheatre.com goskagit.com

META PERFORMING ARTS

LYRIC LIGHT OPERA

For 12 years, the nonprofit META Performing Arts (formerly the Northwest Children’s Theatre) has provided exciting performing opportunities for young children and teens, and several fully staged engaging and family-friendly shows each year. META was founded with the goal of offering kids of all races and ethnicities — especially those considered “at-risk” — education and life-skills (literacy, communication, cooperation) development to youths through participation in the creative process of theater and onstage performances. Each year, the group offers live, free performances for school-age children, a performing arts summer camp and year-round theater and acting workshops. META’s next performance is the Broadway smash musical “Annie,” June 4-13, at McIntyre Hall. (360) 466-3072 www.metaperformingarts.org

Lyric Light Opera, founded in 2006, attracts professional-level and community-theater talent for large-scale musical productions known for lavish sets, intense music direction and choreography and elaborate costumes. The nonprofit group was set up as a company to provide family friendly entertainment and provide an opportunity for up-and-coming actors and performers to work with professionals in the field and improve their skills. Since the group was founded in 2006, it has produced two musicals a year and gained a loyal following. Upcoming productions include: • “The King and I”: The Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical, June 1927, at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon. (360) 387-3948 www.lyriclightopera.org

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Visual Arts In the 1930s and 1940s, painters such as Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan, Mark Tobey and Morris Graves found inspiration in the beauty of Skagit County and each other. Graves had a cabin on Fidalgo Island, Anderson lived much of his life in nearby La Conner and Callahan completed a large mural for the Anacortes Post Office. The four were dubbed the Northwest’s “Mystic” painters after a 1953 Life magazine article catapulted them to national fame. Motivated by these creative roots, a group of art patrons founded the nonprofit Museum of Northwest Arts in 1981 in La Conner to preserve, exhibit and interpret the work of significant Northwest artists. MoNA’s 2,500-piece collection includes pieces by noted artists including the four Mystics, Hilda Morris, George Tsutakawa, Richard Gilkey, Doris Chase, Paul Horiuchi, Ambrose Patterson, Viola Patterson, Frank Okada, Clayton James, Philip McCracken, Dale Chihuly, Mary Randlett and Max Benjamin, as well as work by many emerging artists. MoNA’s 12,000-square-foot museum at 121 S. First St. is open daily until 5 p.m. Admission is $2-$5. The region’s beauty continues to inspire artists and art events. Fine galleries are spread throughout the county, from Conway to the Cascades, with large clusters in La Conner and Anacortes. During tulip season, art exhibits spring up around the valley, most notably Art at the Pickle Barn and ALN Art Bash, which run throughout April during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The area also has a strong component of accomplished fabric artists. Anacortes’ Fidalgo Island Quilters hosts a Quilt Walk during the tulip festival at many of the city’s stores and businesses, and a biennial Quilt Show, this year April 2 - 3 at Anacortes Middle School. La Conner has a Quilt and Textile Museum in the restored Victorian Gaches Mansion, 703 S. Second St. The museum hosts its annual Quilt Fest Oct. 1-3 with displays, classes and activities at multiple sites.

Anne Martin McCool

The Anacortes Arts Festival, Aug. 6-8, also delves into art in many forms — visual, musical, culinary and performance art. The largest local event dedicated to art, it brings about 90,000 people to Anacortes each year to see what 250 booth artisans have to offer, to dance to an eclectic range of music on several stages, to observe artists at work and to check out the Art at the Port fine art exhibit in a marine warehouse. This year’s port show “Next” will be juried by Esther Luttihuizen, who has directed Northwest public art collections and founded and managed galleries.

Art Walks All of Skagit County may be inspirational to artists, but it’s the western side of the county that puts art out where everyone can see on easy walking tours. • The La Conner Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition re-opens March 1 with about 12 new pieces. With its nooks and crannies and waterfront docks, La Conner is a fun site for an annual sculpture show. Works are selected by a La Conner Arts Commission jury. All are for sale, and a commission on sales helps fund public art in La Conner. Cards with information about the artwork and a self-guided sculpture walk map are at each piece.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

• Arts on the Avenue, an outdoor sculpture exhibit in Anacortes, features 11 sculptures, many by noted artists in prominent locations along southern Commercial Ave. All are for sale, with prices from $1,500 for James Lapp’s galvanized steel “Eve Goblet” at Compass Wines to $55,000 for Joseph Kinnebrew’s painted steel “Red Cubes” at 13th and Commercial. A portion of sales benefits public art in Anacortes. Maps are at each sculpture and at the Anacortes Visitors Center. • Arts in Anacortes by the Anacortes Arts Commission, is a free guide to more than 300 pieces of publicly displayed art in Anacortes, including a WPA mural of halibut fishermen, carved Samish story poles, a wall of copper-colored dots that resolve into an image of pioneer Annie Curtis, a glowing dorsal fin-shaped sculpture, and a library and hospital that double as art museums. There are works by noted sculptors Philip McCracken, Gerard Tsutakawa, Leo Osborne, Deborah Copenhaver, Tsul-ton (Bill Bailey) and Tracy Powell; paintings by Kenneth Callahan, Max Benjamin and Alfred Currier; and life-sized murals by Bill Mitchell. Get a brochure at the Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, the Anacortes Parks and Recreation office at City Hall or at anacortesartscommission.com. • First Friday Gallery Walks, 6-9 goskagit.com

p.m. first Fridays in Anacortes, often include opening receptions at such venues as Scott Milo Gallery, Anne Martin McCool Gallery, Texture Gallery, Opulence Hair Salon and Day Spa, Anne Martin McCool Gallery, Insights Gallery, Adrift Anchor Art Space and the Depot Arts Center. Other galleries and shops often host events at the same time. â&#x20AC;˘ Third Saturday After Hours Gallery Walks are 4-6 p.m. on third Saturdays in La Connor at A Class Act Gallery, Two Moons Gallery, La Conner Seaside Gallery, Fairy Godmother, restaurants and the Next Chapter Book Store. Meet artists, taste local wines, shop and dine out. â&#x20AC;˘ Skagit Artists Together Studio Tour is July 17 and 18. About two dozen select artists from Mount Vernon, SedroWoolley, Conway, La Conner, Anacortes and Edison open their studios and share their passion for watercolor, oil, pastel, Sumi ink, acrylics, metal, photography, printmaking, ceramics, driftwood, basketry and glass art. Maps and brochures will be posted at www.skagitartiststogether.com. goskagit.com

The Conway

Muse

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Skagit County

events

to 4 p.m. July 17 along several blocks of Commercial Avenue in Anacortes. The event is celebrating its 30th year. From dawn until late in the afternoon, ANACORTES vendors will hawk a variety of “treasures.” WATERFRONT FESTIVAL Admission is free. Visitors to Anacortes can enjoy a taste www.anacortes.org of the city’s rich marine heritage and culture during the free two-day Waterfront ANACORTES Festival on May 15-16. ARTS FESTIVAL Events include a quick-and-dirty One of the Pacific Northwest’s preboatbuilding competition and race, a mier arts events, the Anacortes Arts Fesmodel and radio-controlled boat parade, tival is gearing up for its 49th year with kids’ wooden boat building, musical another lineup of fine art, crafts, music, entertainment, plenty of vendors hawkart demonstrations and more Aug. 6-8 in ing marine gear, free boat rides, a marine downtown Anacortes. swap meet and more. The festival that started in 1962 as a Dive into the waterfront experience showcase of local art has grown through at the gala dinner the Friday night before the years to include a prestigious art the festival weekend. show, a fine art opening event at the Port Tickets are $50 and can be purchased of Anacortes warehouse and more than through the Anacortes Chamber of 250 juried artisan booths from around Commerce office. the region, offering a wide variety of arts www.anacortes.org and crafts along six blocks of Commer-

ANACORTES

SHIPWRECK DAY

Old furniture, clothes, lamps, boat gear, tools — you name it — can be found during the annual Shipwreck Day giant swap meet and sale from 8 a.m.

cial Avenue. In recent years, the festival has added a concert series of performances starting the week before the event, artist demonstrations and an “experience art”

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

showcase that allows visitors to watch an array of art mediums being produced. The event not only adds color and spice to the city’s summertime offerings, but serves to encourage art and culture throughout the Northwest region, festival organizers say. Over the past 20 years, the festival has awarded more than $500,000 in grants and scholarships to artists and art organizations. (360) 293-6211 www.anacortesartsfestival.com

OYSTER RUN

Follow the rumble and thunder on the fourth Sunday in September to downtown Anacortes, where between 10,000 and 15,000 people and thousands of motorcycles gather during the Oyster Run Motorcycle Rally. It’s a motorcyclists dream, with every make and model of motorcycle represented — from refurbished antique Indians to the newest Harleys and Suzukis. This year’s event is Sept. 26. It’s part touring and part gathering. Motorcyclists ride in their best leathers along scenic back roads west to Anacortes, goskagit.com

often stopping along the way to enjoy some local oysters. The free downtown event includes motorcycle vendors, musical entertainment and an offering of local culinary favorites, including succulent oysters prepared by a few restaurants. www.oysterrun.org

shine, during the Berry Cool Car Show, featuring between 150 and 200 automobiles of all makes and models decked out in their finest. Most of the events are free; others cost money to participate. (360) 755-9649 www.ci.burlington.wa.us

BURLINGTON CONCRETE BURLINGTON HARVEST FESTIVAL AND PUMPKIN PITCH

CONCRETE FLY-IN

Interested in planes? Then Concrete has the event for you — the annual Concrete Fly-in July 23-25 at the Concrete Pumpkins away! Put your trebuchets Airport. and catapults together and see if you Each year, more than 200 planes, have what it takes to hit the mark during many of them antiques, and pilots from this year’s Burlington Harvest Festival as far away as Canada and California and Pumpkin Pitch on Sept. 25 at Skagit converge on Concrete to show off their River Park in Burlington. aircraft and enjoy a weekend of live Each fall, a few creative groups get music, food and comaradarie. The event together to design and construct a device typically attracts 1,300 visitors. to hurl a gourd and hit targets. The team (360) 853-8767 that comes closest to the marks wins. www.concrete-wa.com While the teams are setting up, kids can build small cars out of zucchinis and play games. www.ci.burlington.wa.us

GHOST WALK/ FALL COLOR FESTIVAL

Some say Concrete’s ghosts still haunt the town's historic buildings and alleys. Visitors can see for themselves, and get an inside glimpse of the town’s colorful past during the annual Ghost Walk starting at 8 p.m. Saturdays in October. Take the scenic route east on the Old Cascades Highway to Concrete and an evening tour of some of the town’s historic sites, guided by local historians dressed in period clothing. Find out more about Concrete and decide for

BERRY DAIRY DAYS

A nod to Burlington’s agricultural heritage, Berry Dairy Days is one of the oldest and sweetest festivals in Skagit County. The family-friendly event established in 1937 by the Burlington Fire Department continues for its 73rd year June 18-20. Be sure to stop at one of the booths around town to sample the luscious strawberry shortcake served up by the Burlington-Edison High School cheerleaders. The event kicks off Friday with the Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue at Skagit River Park, followed by the famous Haggen’s Tractor Parade at 7:30 p.m., musical entertainment and a fantastic fireworks display at dusk over the water at Skagit River Park. Activities continue Saturday with the 2-Mile and 10K Road Run, the Costco Grand Parade down Fairhaven Avenue and a fun-filled festival with plenty of barbecued salmon, vendors, pony rides, inflatable games, live music and children’s activities at Maiben Park. Sunday is all about the show and goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

yourself whether there are ghosts still lurking. If you’re interested in making the ghost walk part of a relaxing fall weekend getaway, drive the “magic 30 miles” east of Sedro-Woolley along the North Cascades Highway to Concrete, take in some spectacular fall colors and stop in at the local wineries for a taste of eastern Skagit County’s bounty and harvest activities during Concrete’s Fall Color Festival, Oct. 9-16. (360) 853-8767 www.concrete-wa.com

La Conner ART’S ALIVE!

Get a glimpse of art in the making during one of Skagit County’s premier art gatherings, Art’s Alive! on Nov. 5-7 in La Conner. Art’s Alive! has morphed through the years from a festival highlighting a rich tapestry of artwork from local renowned artists, including Charles Krafft, Philip McCracken, Robert Sund and Max Benajamin, to a gathering of thousands of regional artists showing off their works and demonstrating their crafts on the street and in local businesses in downtown La Conner. Check out some of the best regional art during the Invitational Art Exhibition and Open Show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Maple Hall, and a new Emerging Artist Exhibit. An artist’s reception featuring Georgia Gerber will be held Friday evening from 5 to 8 at Maple Hall. And, as always, enjoy steaming hot chowder cooked up by local restaurants

that compete for the best recipe during the Chowder by the Channel fundraising event hosted by the Kiwanis on Saturday afternoon at the La Conner Middle School. The artist's reception costs $5; admission to exhibits is free. (360) 466-4778, (888) 642-9284 www.laconnerchamber.com.

mount vernon SKAGIT VALLEY HIGHLAND GAMES

The wail of the bagpipes, thump of the drums, high-stepping Highland dancing and colorful tartans — it’s time for the annual “Scottish 3-ring circus” of the Skagit Valley Highland Games on July 10-11 at Edgewater Park in Mount Vernon. There’s plenty of the Scottish to

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| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

celebrate in this part of an annual circuit of Highland competitions held in the Pacific Northwest and Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Enjoy world-class bagpipe, drumming and Highland dance competitions; Highland athletic contests, including the famous caber and sheaftoss; sheepdog and flyball trials; a gathering of the clans; Scottish country dancing demonstrations; arts, crafts, top-notch musical entertainment, a beer garden and a sampling of Highland food, all against the backdrop of the Skagit River. The event often draws more than 10,000 people from across the United States, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. One-day or weekend passes are available. (360) 416-4934, (888) 416-4934 www.celticarts.org

sedro-woolley BLAST FROM THE PAST

It’s back to the good ol’ days of family fun and fare during the annual Blast From the Past on June 4-6 in downtown Sedro-Woolley. Visitors can celebrate the warmer weather with festivities that include some local shopping and a sidewalk sale, arts, crafts and food from more than 50 vendors, a breakfast, an open house at the Sedro-Woolley Museum and a large car show of vehicles of every make and model. goskagit.com

It’s all family fun, with hula hoop, jump rope and pie-eating contests on Saturday and other family-friendly activities and games on Sunday. The event is free. (360) 855-1841 www.sedro-woolley.com

CASCADE DAYS

Visitors can celebrate the warmer weather with festivities that include some local shopping and a sidewalk sale, arts, crafts and food from more than 50 vendors, a breakfast, an open house at the Sedro-Woolley Museum and a large car show of vehicles of every make and model. It’s all family fun, with hula hoop, jump rope and pie eating contests on Saturday and other family friendly activithe Pro West Rodeo, with bareback ridties and games on Sunday. ing, barrel racing, and more. The event is free. Since this year’s schedule of events (360) 855-1841 likely won’t be finalized until spring www.sedro-woolley.com. 2010, visitors can go online to the City of Sedro-Woolley’s Web site, www.ci.sedroLOGGERODEO woolley.wa.us, and click on the link to Sedro-Woolley’s trademark celebraLoggerodeo, or call (360) 770-8452. tion of its logging history has combined with its love of equestrian pursuits for 75 years. Something unique seems to happen every year, such as the Beard and Whisker Contest in 2009. It’s anyone’s guess what will pop up this summer in the 76th annual Loggerodeo festivities, an event always held the last days of June and first few days of July. One of the prime attractions is the carnival, which generally stays in town for the better part of a week in a spacious location at Riverfront Park at the south edge of town. Visitors can stop along the Mount Vernon Office way at the rodeo grounds on Polte Road, 3780 E. College Way peek in at the old car show off Township Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Street, or shop at the craft bazaar in the Ph: 360-424-0300 park. 1-800-697-4118 Downtown, folks participate in the Email: homes@skagittraditionrealty.com street dance and live music at Hammer Heritage Square, visit the chain-saw www.SkagitTraditionRealty.com carving and logging demonstrations, and Hablamos Español watch the kiddie and grand parades. A tour of the Sedro-Woolley Museum, across from the old City Hall on Murdock Street, is a quieter way to learn a bit about the area’s early history. And what’s a Fourth of July celebration without fireworks? The annual light display is at Riverfront Park. Then there’s goskagit.com

FOUNDERS DAY

Sedro-Woolley celebrates its wild and whoopin’-it-up wooly past with a reenactment of a famous robbery, games, a museum open house and an honoring of one of its pioneering families during its annual Founders Day event the second weekend in September.

Concrete Office 44580 State Route 20 Suite G Concrete, WA 98237 Ph: 360-853-8888 Email: vallareeo@yahoo.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

The event kicks off in the morning with a community breakfast served up at the Sedro-Woolley Community Center. Then visitors can watch the heart-pounding action of a shootout by “bandits” in early 20th-century cowboy gear and guns reenacting the October 1914 robbery of the Sedro-Woolley First National Bank downtown. The historic Sedro-Woolley Museum opens its doors to visitors and holds a ceremony to honor a chosen pioneer family that helped shape the city into what it is today. Sunday’s events include a giant car show with every make and model on display, and a community picnic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (360) 8551841 or visit www.sedro-woolley.com.

and local musicians and performers take the stage for family-friendly entertainment. Admission to the fair is free on Wednesday, Aug. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Regular admission is $9 adults, $6 seniors and students. www.skagitcounty.net

SKAGIT VALLEY TULIP FESTIVAL

Nothing defines the Skagit Valley like its explosively colorful bloom of tulips. To celebrate the beauty of this magnificent flower, the valley is again welcoming visitors throughout April for its 26th annual Tulip Festival. The Tulip Festival has become one of the biggest regional events around, attracting between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors to view between 400 and 700 acres of tulips primarily grown by two longstanding tulip families, the Roozens of RoozenGaarde and the DeGoedes of Tulip Town. It’s a month-long tourism powerhouse with a list of activities to please the whole family. SKAGIT COUNTY FAIR Local businesses open their doors Skagit County celebrates its balmy to showcase their products, including summer and agricultural heritage with homemade cheese, wine and oysters. farm animals, music, a carnival, arts, Visitors can enjoy art of the tulips during crafts and more at the Skagit County Fair several themed art shows. Aug. 11-14. Special events during the festival The 115th fair is the highlight of the include the Tulip Festival Street Fair in summer season. Local 4-H and Future downtown Mount Vernon; the Tulip Farmers of America students from across Pedal 20-, 40- or 60-mile bicycle ride; the the region demonstrate their talents Kiwanis Salmon Barbecue that’s served by competing for ribbons with their up daily at Hillcrest Park in Mount livestock, and providing a little public Vernon; the “Antiques Safari” antiques education about their animals. Eager students show everything from chickens, appraisal event at the Cascade Mall in Burlington; and most recently, a new pigs, goats, rabbits and dogs to llamas, crowd-pleaser, the Battle of the Bands horses, sheep, cattle and cats. competition from noon to 4 p.m. every Check out other displays of phoSaturday in April. tographs, paintings, flowers, canned Tulip time also coincides with the goods, colorful and creative quilts from Skagit Tulip Fly-In and Airshow at the award-winning regional quilters, fruits, Skagit Regional Airport. Visitors can vegetables and more. check out a variety of aircraft — and take Fairgoers also flock to the four-day flights. event for the carnival. And, of course, This year, the Tulip Festival, Norththere’s nothing like the fair food — corn west Agricultural Business Center and dogs, elephant ears, fries, barbecue and Washington State University are hosting more from local vendors. the prestigious World Tulip Summit, the Other vendors sell everything from arts and crafts to jewelry, soaps, clothing first of its kind held in the United States and small gifts. Local businesses also are since its re-establishment. You can also learn a little about the history of tulips at on hand to show off their products and the International Tulip Peace Garden at talk about their services, while regional

Tulip Town. Many events are free; others include a price for admission. (360) 428-5959 www.tulipfestival.org.

SKAGIT VALLEY FESTIVAL OF FAMILY FARMS

COUNTYWIDE FESTIVALS

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

The best time to go farm hopping is the first weekend in October during the annual Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms. Working farms of all sorts are winding down from the hectic growing and harvesting season. They are eager to show visitors just what they do. From a cattle ranch in Concrete and alpaca farmers in Sedro-Woolley to shellfish growers in Bow and berry and produce farmers in Mount Vernon and Burlington, tour participants can gain a fair comprehension of the time, energy and effort our area farmers expend to keep the rest of us well-nourished. Activities at participating farms aim to keep even the kids engaged. Youngsters can race crabs or veggie cars, milk an artificial cow (and pet a real one!), get lost in a corn maze, build a scarecrow or ride a pony. Meantime, mom and dad can sample the apple cider, eat barbecued oysters or corn on the cob, or pick out a pumpkin for Halloween. (360) 421-4729 www.festivaloffamilyfarms.com

goskagit.com

calendar

JANUARY 23 ROBERT BURNS

SCOTTISH EVENING (Mount Vernon): Celebration of Scottish poet Robert Burns includes a dinner featuring traditional Highland cuisine, music and dance from Scotland, and a reading of Burns’ poetry at Hillcrest Park Lodge. (360) 416-4934 or (888) 416-4934

FEBRUARy 20 MARDI GRAS CELEBRATION

03 EASTER EGG HUNT

SMELT DERBY (La Conner): 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. at several venues around town. Pancake breakfast, 5K and 10K Smelt Run/ Walk, fishing, prizes, live music and more. www.laconnerchamber.com

MARCH 06 MONA STYLE

(La Conner): 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum of Northwest Art, 121 First St. Features 25 selected artists selling handcrafted clothing, wearable art and home accessories. www. museumofnwart.org

APRIL 01 SKAGIT VALLEY

TULIP FESTIVAL Wine-tasting, viewing of the tulip fields, music, a street fair, tours of local businesses that highlight local agriculture or products, self-guided bicycle tours, tours of Deception Pass, a fly-in at the local airport and the World Tulip Summit. April 1-May 3. (360) 428-5959 or www. tulipfestival.org

(Sedro-Woolley): High school students from the woodworking program highlight their skills and compete for prizes.Vendors and local information. April 10-11. www.sedrowoolley.com

POETRY FESTIVAL (La Conner): Includes poetry readings, workshops and panels presented by a combination of regional and national poets, some of whom have been working with local schools to assist with literacy and poetry. May 20-22. www. skagitriverpoetry.org

10 Spring Wine Festival

(Anacortes): April 10-11 at the Port of Anacortes warehouse with 48 wineries and 12 restaurants. Local restaurants will hold wine-maker dinners. Saturday evening enjoy the reds, whites and blues music walk. (360) 293-7911 or www.anacortes. org

24 SKAGIT FLY-IN

AND AIRSHOW (Burlington): 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Skagit Regional Airport. Displays of dozens of aircraft from across the region, flying demonstrations, kids’ activities, food and more. Free parking and admission. (360) 7570011

JUNE 05 KIDS FISHING DERBY

(Anacortes): 7-11 a.m. at Heart Lake outside Anacortes. Kids 13 and younger fish for free. www.anacortes. org/news.cfm

MAY 05 BLAST FROM THE PAST (Sedro-Woolley): Event includes a 01 OPENING DAY BOAT PARADE downtown sidewalk sale, hula hoop, (La Conner): 3 p.m. on the Swinomish Channel. All boaters are encouraged to participate in this parade celebrating the opening of boating season in the area. (360) 420-9448 or www.laconnerchamber.com

01 KIDS’ FISHING DERBY

(Sedro-Woolley): For ages 14 and younger, 8 a.m. at Northern State Pond just outside of Sedro-Woolley. Bring your own bait and gear. www. sedro-woolley.com

(Anacortes): A nod to Anacortes’ marine heritage features boat-building competition and race, kids’ wooden boat building, music, vendors and more at the Cap Sante Boat Haven. May 15-16. www.anacortes.org

jump rope and pie-eating contests, games, music, a car show and more. June 5-6. www.sedro-woolley.com

10 KIDS R BEST FEST

(Anacortes): 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Storvik Park in Anacortes. Kids games and activities all day. dustins@ cityofanacortes.org

18 ST. MERRYFEST

15 WATERFRONT FESTIVAL

goskagit.com

20 SKAGIT RIVER

10 WOOD FEST

(Concrete): Enjoy a parade down Main Street, music, activities, games and contests, and Cajun food throughout town. concrete-wa.com

27 LA CONNER ROTARY CLUB

(Sedro-Woolley): 1 p.m. at Riverfront Park. Kids from 0-12 can hunt for eggs. www.sedro-woolley.com

(Anacortes): Carnival, food booths and beer tent, live music and salmon dinner at St. Mary Catholic Church. June 18-20. (360) 293-2101

18 BERRY DAIRY DAYS

(Burlington): The celebration of the city’s agricultural history includes salmon barbecue, shortcake served up at booths around town, a fantastic

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

calendar fireworks display over the Skagit River, music, a festival of fun at Maiben Park, tractor parade, 10K Road Run, car show and Grand Parade down Fairhaven Avenue. June 18-20. (360) 755-9649 or www. ci.burlington.wa.us

28 LOGGERODEO

18 MUSEUM OF NORTHWEST

ART AUCTION (La Conner): The largest fundraiser for the museum, this event features the works of more than 300 painters, printmakers, sculptors, glass and ceramic artists, photographers and more. Enjoy an auction preview open to ticket holders and guests on Friday and Saturday. June 18-19. (360) 466-4446, ext. 109 or www. museumofnwart.org

(Sedro-Woolley): Sedro-Woolley’s trademark Fourth of July celebration and celebration of its logging history includes a carnival, chain-saw carving and logging demonstrations, kiddie and grand parades, an old car show, craft bazaar, fireworks and a rodeo. June 28-July 4. (360) 770-8452 or www.ci.sedro-woolley.wa.us

24 CEMENT CITY STREET FAIR (Concrete): “Healthy” summer celebration offers up arts, crafts, a sidewalk sale, live music, fitness activities, health screenings, poetry readings, healthy food and more. www.concrete-wa.com

24 SAMISH BAY BIVALVE BASH

AND LOW TIDE MUD RUN (Bay View): Race through the mud flats up to your knees, create a oyster shell sculpture worthy of a prize, try your luck at an amateur oyster shucking competition and don’t forget to grab some beer and more oysters during this eighth annual event. www.bivalvebash.com

JULY 10 SKAGIT VALLEY HIGHLAND

GAMES AND CELTIC FESTIVAL (Mount Vernon): Highland spirit with a weekend of piping, dancing and drumming competitions, country dancing, a gathering of the clans, Highland athletic competitions, sheepdog trials, crafts, music, food and a beer garden. Bring your kilt. July 10 -11. (360) 416-4934, (888) 416-4934 or www.celticarts.org

16 WHAT THE HECK FEST

(Anacortes): Music festival featuring more than 40 bands and performers from across the United States and Canada. Also features films, art and literature readings. July 16-18. www. whattheheckfest.com

AUGUST 05 106TH PIONEER PICNIC

06 ANACORTES ARTS FESTIVAL

(Anacortes): One of the Northwest’s premier arts events includes concerts at the Port of Anacortes the week before the festival weekend, a showing of more than 250 juried artisans’ works downtown, more music, food, a prestigious art show and fine art opening and art demonstrations. Aug. 6-8. (360) 2936211 or www.anacortesartsfestival. com

16 SKAGIT ARTISTS TOGETHER

19 FATHER’S DAY BOAT SHOW

(La Conner):View powerboats, enjoy a swap meet and food at the La Conner Marina to benefit the Skagit Bay Search and Rescue Organization. June 19-20. 360-466-3300 or 800232-8879

17 SHIPWRECK DAY

19 SKATEFEST

(Anacortes): 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Ben Root Skate Park. Three levels of skagit boarding competition offered. nicolej@cityofanacortes.org

26 BARK IN THE PARK

(Anacortes): 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Storvik Park. Includes pet parade, costume contests, vendors and more. nicolej@cityofanacortes.org

STUDIO TOUR Glimpse the creative process of artists as they demonstrate in their studios across Skagit County, and enjoy art shows at several local galleries. July 16-17. www. skagitartiststogether.com

08 JUST FOR FUN POKER RUN

(Sedro-Woolley): Travel around some of the area’s most breathtaking scenery, motorcycle-style, to benefit Skagit Hospice. www.sedro-woolley. com

(Anacortes): 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. between 10th and Third streets in downtown Anacortes. Find your treasures at this citywide flea market. (360) 293-7911

23 CONCRETE FLY-IN

(Concrete): More than 200 planes from as far away as Canada and California converge on Concrete. Enjoy a weekend of live music, food and comaradarie. July 23-25. geebee856y@yahoo.com

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

(La Conner): 11 a.m. in Pioneer Park. Celebrate the area’s pioneer heritage. Salmon barbecue lunch and music by the Polka Dot Band. (360) 707-0536 or www.laconnerchamber.com

11 SKAGIT COUNTY FAIR

(Mount Vernon): Celebrate the county’s agricultural heritage with farm animal showings, a fun-filled carnival, craft and hobby displays, vendor booths, music, entertainment and more. Aug. 11-14. www. skagitcounty.net goskagit.com

calendar

14 LA CONNER CLASSIC YACHT 26 OYSTER RUN AND CAR SHOW (La Conner): Celebrate the town’s maritime and automotive history with a viewing of antique cars and yachts, a pancake breakfast, vendor booths and kids’ activities. (360) 466-4778 or info@ laconnerchamber.com

SEPTEMBER 01 QUILT WALK

More than 90 quilts from members of the Contemporary QuiltArt Association will be displayed in shops in downtown La Conner for public viewing. Sept. 1- Oct. 3. www. laconnerchamber.com

11 ANACORTES ANTIQUE AND

MACHINERY SHOW (Anacortes): Antique engines and classic farm machinery displayed. (360) 293-1915 or www.anacortes. org/news.cfm

11 FOUNDERS DAY

(Sedro-Woolley): Sedro-Woolley celebrates its wild and whoopin’-it-up woolley past with a re-enactment of a famous robbery, games, a museum open house and an honoring of one of its pioneering families. Sept. 11-12. (360) 855-1841 or www.sedrowoolley.com

16 DR. BROOKS GUILD HOME

AND BOAT TOUR (Anacortes): Annual tour of some of the best architecturally interesting homes, buildings and other structures in the Anacortes area. Event benefits Seattle Children’s Hospital. (360) 293-3309

MOTORCYCLE RALLY (Anacortes): Listen to the rumble of the engines as every make and model of motorcycle converges on downtown Anacortes for music, food and some prime bike viewing. www. oysterrun.org

OCTOBER 01 LA CONNER QUILT FESTIVAL (La Conner): Features a “Show and Tell” dinner that’s open to the public; workshops led by premier national and regional quilters; several public viewings of a variety of quilts by award-winning quilters; vendors and more. Oct. 1-3. www.laconnerquilts. com

02 12TH ANNUAL

FESTIVAL OF FAMILY FARMS Visit some of Skagit County’s finest food offerings, and sample shellfish, beef, berries, produce, milk, cider and more, while taking in some activities and fun along the way. Oct. 2-3. (360) 421-4729 or www. festivaloffamilyfarms.com

ghosts still haunt its historic buildings and alleys.Visitors can see for themselves, and get an inside glimpse of the town’s colorful past during the annual Ghost Walk starting at 8 p.m. Saturdays in October. Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30. (360) 853-8767 or www. concrete-wa.com

09 FALL COLOR FESTIVAL

(Concrete): Drive the “magic 30 miles” east of Sedro-Woolley along the North Cascades Highway to Concrete, take in some spectacular fall colors and stop in at the local wineries for a taste of eastern Skagit County’s bounty and harvest activities. Oct. 9-10. (360) 853-8767 or www.concrete-wa.com

‑

NOVEMBER 05 ART’S ALIVE!

(La Conner): Watch as renowned regional artists demonstrate their skills and peruse fine art at several shows during this weekend of art and steaming chowder. Nov. 5-7. (360) 466-4778, (888) 642-9284 or www. laconnerchamber.com.

03 SKAGIT VALLEY FARM PEDAL DECEMBER Ride along an 18- or 35-mile route in Skagit County while stopping at farms 11 HOLIDAY HOME TOUR along the way. www.laconnerchamber.

com

09 CONCRETE GHOST WALK (Concrete): Some say Concrete’s

(Sedro-Woolley): Get a glimpse inside some of the city's historic homes — and its historic museum — all decked out in colors and lights for the holidays. www.sedro-woolley.com

25 BURLINGTON

HARVEST FESTIVAL (Burlington): Pumpkins away! Put your trebuchets and catapults together and see if you have what it takes to hit the mark in this pumpkinthrowing event. Enjoy zucchini car racing and kids’ games. www. ci.burlington.wa.us

goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Mount Vernon

Community Profile

Mount Vernon The “River City”

kagit County’s largest town was incorporated in 1893, and named after George Washington’s home in Virginia. The “River City’’ is home to the county’s only college, Skagit Valley College, and is the county seat of government. Built in 1932, Skagit Valley College offers students two-year degrees and job preparation in 25 professional/ technical programs. The campus includes the new state-of-the-art performing venue, McIntyre Hall Performing Arts Center. The old town section of the downtown, next to the river waterfront, offers an eclectic selection of shops and the historic Lincoln Theatre, built in 1926 to showcase vaudeville performers and silent movies. The new Skagit Station was built in 2004, and offers stops for Skagit Transit and Greyhound buses, Amtrak Cascades trains and taxis.

Mount Vernon hosts four annual festivals: the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival the entire month of April, the Skagit Valley Highland Games and Celtic Festival July 10-11 at Edgewater Park, the Skagit River Shakespeare Festival in July and/or August, and the Skagit County Fair Aug. 11-14 at the county fairgrounds.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 26,232 in 2000, an estimated 30,150 in 2008 Persons younger than 5: 8.4 percent Persons younger than 18: 29 percent Persons 65 and older: 12.5 percent High school graduates: 78.8 percent Bachelor’s degree or higher: 18.6 percent Home ownership rate: 57.3 percent Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

City of Mount Vernon 910 Cleveland Ave.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

P.O. Box 809 Mount Vernon, WA 98273 Phone: (360) 336-6211 FAX: (360) 336-0623 Web site: www.ci.mount-vernon.wa.us

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Mount Vernon • Administration Office 124 E. Lawrence Mount Vernon, WA 98273 (360) 428-6110 www.mv.k12.wa.us Elementary Schools • Centennial Elementary School 3100 Martin Road (360) 428-6128 • Jefferson Elementary School 1801 E. Blackburn Road (360) 428-6128 • Lincoln Elementary School 1005 S. 11th St. (360) 428-6135 • Little Mountain Elementary 1514 S. LaVenture Road (360) 428-6125 • Madison Elementary School 907 E. Fir St. (360) 428-6131 goskagit.com

Community Profile Garbage, sewer and recycling: City of Mount Vernon (360) 336-6218

Natural gas: Cascade Natural Gas (888) 522-1130 Water: Public Utility District #1 (360) 424-7104 Electricity: Puget Power (425) 452-1234 •Mount Baker Middle School 2310 E. Section (360) 428-6127

Middle Schools • LaVenture Middle School 1200 LaVenture Road (360) 428-6116

High School • Mount Vernon High School 314 N. 9th St. (360) 428-6100

“Get a great life”

Skagit County Democrats 300-A South First Street Downtown Mount Vernon

www.mountvernondowntown.org

Outside city limits: garbage, recycling and waste management (360) 757-8245 Big Lake Sewer, Sewer District #2 (360) 422-8373 Dump at the Skagit County Transfer Station (360) 424-3873

Welcome to the party!

CO IT U

Shop, Dine & Explore Mount Vernon

Voter registration: (360) 336-9305

• Washington Elementary School 1020 McLean Road (360) 428-6122

OCRA

Mount Vernon

NEW RESIDENT MOVE-IN PHONE NUMBERS

336.1555 www.skagitdemocrats.org

We are located on the eastside of the Skagit River @ Exit 226

(Mailing address: P.O. Box 761)

Comfort

his h a s n e ve r b e e n t

Easy

Quality Clothing & Footwear For Over 80 Years.

312 So. First Street, Downtown Mount Vernon • (360) 336-5598 Open Thursday til 8pm • Sunday 12-4 goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Ci P ndy

N 20th Pl

N Viewmont Dr Mountain View Dr Nylin Ct Streeter Pl Carmel Av N 21st St N Belair Dr

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

Park Av View Av

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Kylee Ct S 18th St

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Jefferson Elementary

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Taylor St

Mount Vernon High School

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Cleveland Anderson Ball Park

Vera St Skagit County Fairgrounds

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st Post Office S 1 Park St Park St 6th Street Park Cleveland W Hazel St E Hazel St Park West St Douglas St

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Police Department and Municipal Court

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S 4t N 5th St h S 5t St h St St N 7th St

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Exit City Hall Mount Vernon City Library Snoqualmie St226

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Emerson Alternative H.S. Chamber of Cosgrove St Cosgrove St Commerce, W Division St Amtrak Station Lincoln St

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Bend

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Exit 227

G Ted Reep Park

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Burlington

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Skagit River

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D dsor Win

Mount Vernon

goskagit.com

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McLaughlin Rd

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Northv iew Ct

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Montgomery Pl Brittany St

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d oo Dr Alpine entw nd r Po Crest B n r e av Loop L Be

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Alp in

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Digby Rd

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E Cedar Hills Dr Cedar Hills Pl

Pa rkv

S 39th Pl Montgomery Ct

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dence Pl Liberty Pl

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Phillips Loop

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Mou

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Little Mountain goskagit.com

Rd ark nP

Little Mountain Park J

Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

Barba ra

Skag

Ruby Peak Av

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N2 5th

S 25th St S 26th St

Granite St

Tomahawk Pl

Mohican Pl

Uplands Dr

Addison Pl

Cedar Ct

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Laurel Ct

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Ridg

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Eagle

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7 8 Landmark Dr

Dogwo

1-Scott’s Alley 2-Steve’s Alley 3-Seth’s Alley 4-Skyler’s Alley 5-Hickory Pl 6-Sumac Pl 7-Chestnut Ct 8-Sycamore Ct

1 2 Karli St

Nookachamps Rd

S 22nd Ct

p Rd

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0th S3 Withers Pl

E Blackburn Rd

Crosby Dr

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Bro

Michael St

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Jacob Pl Cody St

Sunray Ct Chestnut Loop

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nb Rai

Knap

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Grand

Carpenter St

Maddox Creek Ln Dig N Woodland Dr by E Section St Pl N Woodland Pa rk Ln Hasty Ln Pl Easy St

Little Mountain Elementary

Moody Pl

mon Eagle

Mount Baker M.S.

t yS eck Moody Ct

Barry Pl

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S LaVenture Rd

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E Kincaid St 25th Street Playfield

Moody St

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Moody St r St Carpente E Montgomery St

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Gunderson Rd

Mountain Springs Ln

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Hop

Marth

Maxine Dr Rita Dr

N 40th Pl

Tundra Loop

Mount Vernon Bakerview Park

Crested Butte Blvd Pa no ram E Fir St a Dr d Ridg Hidden Lake Loop r Lila e op R eD Chero cD Alison Av il fft ring Apache Dr idg r C sp err wer l Cherokee Ln b o l ay fl e d e e m il Earl Ct i Ct rn W W arab Mohawk Dr Mohawk Ct W cade Av r T Buckho Stonebridge L y a Comanche Dr Way W a asmine Pl t Tahom eC Pl Skagit River Pl Razor Pl Iroquois Dr bin Em um and l l p o Creek Dr Lupine Dr Swift e Lila U C Ct rald Monarch Blvd Glacier St cD Shawnee Pl r Shoshone Dr Rid Nooksack Loop ge Fulton St Wa Arapaho Pl Shuksan St y Fire Station Habitat Pl Cedarwood Creek Pl Ct No. 3

Summersun Montessori

Horton Ln

N 35th St

N 35th Pl

Hil

Tundra Ct

N 43rd Pl

N 30th St

J J Pl

EF ox

538

1-Paul Pl 2-David Pl Kulshan View Dr 3-Bakerview Pl 4-Timothy Pl 5-Schuller Pl Kulshan Av Helen Dr 1 LaVenture Irene Cir M.S. Mary Cir 2 3 Jacqueline Pl 4 Juanita Pl 5 Anne Pl

Tru m

Trumpeter Blvd

32nd Pl

E College Way N LaVenture Rd

N 33rd Pl

N 32nd Pl

Eastwind St

Skagit Valley College

N Belair Dr

Trumpeter Ln

Trumpeter Dr

Eastwind St

Eas t For k Noo kachamps Creek

N Trumpeter Dr

N Waugh Rd

Skagit Playfields

Sigmar Ln

Arbor St

Centennial Elementary

ne ca

Austin Ln

on 2

oo d

N 25th Pl

N 24th Pl

Martin Rd

McLaughlin Rd Exn

peter Trum Pl

Rose w

Barney Lake

k s Cree amp kach Noo

argaret

NW 30th St

Ci Pl ndy

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Mount Vernon

Firwood Ln N2 7th St

Monic

Northridge Way Briarwood Cir Club Ct

N 34th Pl

H Northwoods Loop Rd

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Mount Vernon

Community Profile CHAMBERS/ORGANIZATIONS

Downtown Business Association of Mount Vernon (360) 336-3801 Leadership Skagit Stephanie Hooper, (360) 707-5422 League of Women Voters of Skagit County Robin Pestarino, (360) 588-8177 Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce 105 E. Kincaid St., (360) 428-8547

Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland (360) 336-3974 Skagit Performing Arts Council (360) 336-3245 Skagit Women in Business Marjorie Plewinski catering@vipexpresso.com Skagit Women’s Alliance and Network (360) 856-2068

SENIOR SERVICES

FESTIVALS

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival April 1-30 Skagit Valley Highland Games and Celtic Festival July 10-11

Skagit Habitat for Humanity Wayne Wegner, (360) 428-9402

Department of Social and Health Services: (360) 416-7444 or 800-487-0416

Skagit Hospice Foundation (360) 416-5702

City utility discounts for low-income seniors: (360) 336-6218

Skagit County Fair Aug. 11-14

Skagit Land Trust (360) 428-7878

Mount Vernon Senior Center: (360) 336-5757

PARKS

The nation’s largest family mover.

UNITED Van Lines

US DOT 077949 • WUTC# HG-21969

211 Anderson Rd. Mount Vernon

Local/Long Distance/International Storage for Households & Business Records Boxes/Packing Free Estimates Family Owned & Operated

Central Moving & Storage LLC Since 1971

800-366-2694 360-424-7714 www.CentralMovingStorage.com 50

Home health care: OptionCare (360) 854-9604 or (800) 755-0484 Visiting Nurse Personal Services (360) 336-9693 or (800) 624-2714

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

Skagit River Shakespeare Festival July and/or August

HILLCREST PARK 1717 South 13th St. As a 30.75-acre park situated in the southern portion of Mount Vernon, Hillcrest borders 13th and Blackburn streets. Its facilities include a softball field, soccer field, four lighted tennis courts, two lighted outdoor basketball courts, picnic areas, playground equipment, walking trails, a rental gazebo, barbecue pits, community lodge and rental garden and a rental covered picnic area. EDGEWATER PARK 600 Behrens Millet Road Located in West Mount Vernon, this 66-acre park is situated along the scenic Skagit River. Facilities include four regulation softball fields, 25 camping sites (for tournament camping only) and a public boat launch. LITTLE MOUNTAIN PARK Little Mountain Road At 480 acres, it is the city’s largest and most impressive park. It is located near the city limits in southeast Mount Vernon. A 1.5-mile paved road leads to the top of the hill, ending at an elevation of 934 feet. From there, two covered viewpoints provide onlookers with a spectacular view of goskagit.com

It’s the Dog’s Turn for a Vacation!

Canine Cozy Care Offers: • Pampered Daycare & Luxury Boarding • Indoor & Outdoor Play Areas • An Elegant Salon & Boutique • Pet Limo Pickup & Delivery • All Suites include calming music, Radiant Floor Heating & Excellent Ventilation. • Full Offsite Fire and Security Monitoring with Video Surveillance By t ntmen o p Ap i nly O

Buy One Day of Boarding ~OR~ One Day of Daycare and

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FREE!

*First time customers only. Not good with any other offer. Limit One free day per customer.

360-939-CCCR (2227) www.cccresort.net Only 1.5 miles off I-5 at 300th St., Exit 215, East of the freeway LLC

We Measure Our Success by Yours.

Ruth Davis, Oak Harbor

Ken Tiscornia, Samish Island

Dan Peth, Bow

Alexis Nelson, Burlington

United General Hospital has been creating success stories since 1965. With the most advanced technology, expert staff, and a safe, friendly environment, we offer all the programs and services you need to live a healthier life. For high quality healthcare, community education, and innovative programs and events, think of United General Hospital as your partner in wellness. Because our success can only be measured by yours.

Sandra Smith, Anacortes

• Acute Care • Breast Care Suite • Cancer Resource Center • Community Education • Diagnostic Imaging • Diabetes Education Program • Emergency Room • Fitness Center • Intensive Care Unit • Occupational Therapy • Physical Therapy • North Puget Cancer Center • Pulmonary Rehabilitation • Sleep Disorders Center • Speech Therapy • Surgical Services • Wellness Programs www.unitedgeneral.org • 2000 Hospital Drive, Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 • 360-856-6021

Serving The Northwest For Over 50 Years

FREE Tire Replacement, First 25% - of Treadwear

MON-FRI 8-6 SATURDAYS 8-5

FREE FLAT REPAIR FREE ROAD HAZARD LIMITED WARRANTY VISIT US ON THE WEB: FREE MOUNTING & RE-BALANCING www.lesschwab.com FREE TIRE ROTATION FREE AIR CHECK

Our Business Is Earning Your Trust ANACORTES 360-293-5121

BURLINGTON 360-757-0038

2311 COMMERCIAL AVE.

PAT RIMMER TIRE CENTERS

MOUNT VERNON 360-424-8332

SEDRO-WOOLLEY 360-855-1033

1003 W. DIVISION

Burlington Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center

PAT RIMMER TIRE CENTERS

BRAKES • ALIGNMENT • SHOCKS • WHEELS • BATTERIES

Your destination for everything Skagit! www.burlington-chamber.com 360-757-0994 LODGING IN BURLINGTON Cocusa Motel 360-757-6044 www.cocusamotel.com 370 W. Rio Vista Ave, Burlington, WA 98233 Hampton Inn & Suites 360-757-7100 www.burlingtonsuites.hamptoninn.com 1860 S. Burlington Blvd, Burlington, WA 98233 Holiday Inn Express Hotel 360-755-7338 www.hieexpress.com/burlingtonwa 1003 Goldenrod Rd, Burlington, WA 98233 Sterling Motor Inn 360-757-0071 www.sterlingmotorinn.com 866 S. Burlington Blvd, Burlington, WA 98233

We chose Windermere We made a great choice.

REAL ESTATE

Anacortes Windermere Real Estate/Anacortes Properties 3018 Commercial Avenue 360/293-8008 ANACORTESPROPERTIES.COM

Mount Vernon Windermere Real Estate/Skagit Valley 1030 E. College Way 360/424-4901 WINDERMERESKAGIT.COM

Friday Harbor Windermere Real Estate/San Juan Island 100 First Street 360/378-3600 WINDERMERESJI.COM

Sinclair I.

Vendovi I.

Rosario Str it a

236

FIDALGO ISLAND

Deception Pass State Park

Burlington

536

Swinomish Indian Reservation

227

Fir I.

Skagit Bay

Conway

Oak Harbor

Concrete

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

226

Big Lake Big Lake

534

Lake Cavanaugh

Lake McMurray

SKAGIT COUNTY SNOHOMISH COUNTY

ISLAND COUNTY Penn Cove Ebeys Landing National Historic Reserve

532

5 Port Susan

20 A

208

530 206

SKAGIT TRANSIT

Skagit Regional Airport

Skagit Transit not only provides bus service throughout the county, but offers connector service to Bellingham, Everett and Whidbey Island. The main transfer location for most Skagit Transit routes is at 105 E. Kincaid St. in downtown Mount Vernon.

Located off Highway 20 between Burlington and Anacortes, Skagit Regional Airport sports terminal facilities, a restaurant, aircraft maintenance and related services.

AMTRAK

www.amtrak.com Amtrak’s Cascades line — which operates between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Eugene, Ore. — stops in downtown Mount Vernon at the Skagit Transportation Center, 105 E. Kincaid St.

Phone: (360) 757-0011

Anacortes Airport Phone: (360) 299-1829

The airport on the northwest corner of Fidalgo Island hosts corporate and private aircraft. San Juan Airlines (800-8744434) operates several flights a day to the San Juan Islands and Bellingham. Other services at the airport include fuel and rental cars.

Y COUNT UNTY N CO LA North Cascades National Park

Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

530

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

Wenatchee National Forest

SKAGIT COUNTY SNOHOMISH COUNTY

4 4

8 miles 8

16 kilometers

Arlington F

WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries

Washington State Ferries provides passenger and car service from its Anacortes terminal to the San Juans and Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. The terminal is located on Highway 20, a couple miles west of downtown Anacortes.

Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

ns an Jua S e h t ay to Gatew

7337 Miller Rd. • Anacortes, WA 98221

GUEMES ISLAND FERRY www.skagitcounty.net

Skagit County provides ferry service for passengers and vehicles from Anacortes across the Guemes Channel to Guemes Island. The dock is located at Sixth Street and I Avenue. The crossing takes five minutes.

One inch equals 7.3 miles One centimeter equals 4.6 kilometers

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Lake Chelan

SCALE: 1:460,000 0

210

COUNTY

TRANSPORTATION around the county www.skagitransit.org

IT AG

212

CAMANO ISLAND

OKANOG AN

AG IT

Darrington

Stanwood

Okanogan National Forest

North Cascades National Park

530

215

River Skagit

Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

221

N Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

SKAGIT COUNTY

Clear Lake

225

Marblemount

Rockport

538

218

WHATCOM COUNTY

Hamilton

Clear Lake

230

224

er Riv git a Sk

229

Mount Vernon

La Conner

WHIDBEY ISLAND

Lyman

231

Bay View

Whistle Lake Forest Area

SedroWoolley

Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

K Ross Lake National Recreation Area

UNTY CO

Bow

232

J North Cascades National Park

Lake Shannon

Padilla Bay

SKAGIT COUNTY

SPUR

r Rive uk Sa

Anacortes

WHATCOM COUNTY

Alger

240

Edison Guemes I.

Samish Bay Blanchard Samish I.

Cypress I.

242

CHE

Extra Roomy RV Super Sites on 26 Acres • 30amp, 50amp & 100amp Full Hookup Sites Coach House • Camping Cabins • Wi-Fi Throughout the Resort • 79 Channels of Cable TV Spotless Laundry Facility • Heated, Tiled Restrooms • Hot Showers Children’s Playground • Basketball Courts • Regulation Horseshoe Pit • Covered Picnic Areas

(360) 293-5355 • www.pioneertrails.com

Sinclair I.

Vendovi I.

Rosario Str it a

236

FIDALGO ISLAND

Deception Pass State Park

Burlington

536

Swinomish Indian Reservation

227

Fir I.

Skagit Bay

Conway

Oak Harbor

Concrete

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

226

Big Lake Big Lake

534

Lake Cavanaugh

Lake McMurray

SKAGIT COUNTY SNOHOMISH COUNTY

ISLAND COUNTY Penn Cove Ebeys Landing National Historic Reserve

532

5 Port Susan

20 A

208

530 206

SKAGIT TRANSIT

Skagit Regional Airport

Located off Highway 20 between Burlington and Anacortes, Skagit Regional Airport sports terminal facilities, a restaurant, aircraft maintenance and related services.

AMTRAK

Phone: (360) 757-0011

Anacortes Airport Phone: (360) 299-1829

Y COUNT UNTY N CO LA North Cascades National Park

Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

530

Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

Wenatchee National Forest

SKAGIT COUNTY SNOHOMISH COUNTY

4 4

8 miles 8

16 kilometers

Arlington F

WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries

Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

ns an Jua S e h t ay to Gatew

7337 Miller Rd. • Anacortes, WA 98221

GUEMES ISLAND FERRY www.skagitcounty.net

One inch equals 7.3 miles One centimeter equals 4.6 kilometers

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Lake Chelan

SCALE: 1:460,000 0

210

COUNTY

TRANSPORTATION around the county www.skagitransit.org

IT AG

212

CAMANO ISLAND

OKANOG AN

AG IT

Darrington

Stanwood

Okanogan National Forest

North Cascades National Park

530

215

River Skagit

Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

221

N Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

SKAGIT COUNTY

Clear Lake

225

Marblemount

Rockport

538

218

WHATCOM COUNTY

Hamilton

Clear Lake

230

224

er Riv git a Sk

229

Mount Vernon

La Conner

WHIDBEY ISLAND

Lyman

231

Bay View

Whistle Lake Forest Area

SedroWoolley

Mount BakerSnoqualmie National Forest

K Ross Lake National Recreation Area

UNTY CO

Bow

232

J North Cascades National Park

Lake Shannon

Padilla Bay

SKAGIT COUNTY

SPUR

r Rive uk Sa

Anacortes

WHATCOM COUNTY

Alger

240

Edison Guemes I.

Samish Bay Blanchard Samish I.

Cypress I.

242

CHE

(360) 293-5355 • www.pioneertrails.com

Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports & Recreation Agriculture Arts & Entertainment Autos Beauty & Wellness Computers & Elec. Construction Education Financial Health Care Home Improvement Hotels & Lodging Insurance Lawn & Garden Legal Pet Care Real Estate Restaurant Services Shopping Sports

SkagitBiz.com Yellow Pages

An easier & faster way to find local businesses

Skagitbiz.com

Hungry? Fill’er up At

Annie’s Pizza Station your Pizza Destination in Concrete Fuel your family’s appetite with amazingly tasty pizza, pasta, sandwiches, soft ice cream, soft drinks, beer & wine, and more! ~PLUS~ A variety of entertainment while you wait. Video games • TV • Magazines

We Deliver! 853-7227 Hours:

Tues-Sat 11am - 9pm Sun 2-8pm • Closed Mondays

44568 State route 20 • Concrete, WA

find your perfect

HOME

REALESTATE W EEKLY

Saturdays - Skagit Valley Herald Wednesdays - AA goskagit.com/reweekly

For more information call, 360.416.2126 â&#x20AC;˘ For classified advertising call, 360.424.4567

Welcome Home. New homes in Mount Vernon from the high $100s Model homes open daily. Quadranthomes.com/skagithighlands | (360)542-8359

Prices and availability subject to change without notice. ÂŠ Quadrant Homes 12/15/09. QUADRANT HOMES is a registered trademark of Quadrant Corporation. MORE HOUSE. LESS MONEY. is a registered trademark.

Community Profile the Skagit Valley, the San Juan Islands, Olympic Mountains and the county’s seasonal tulip fields. The park also provides numerous hiking trails and serves as an excellent hang-gliding location. LIONS PARK 501 Freeway Drive This popular 1.6-acre park is located on the east bank of the Skagit River near downtown Mount Vernon. Facilities include sheltered and unsheltered picnic areas, playground equipment and a recreational vehicle dump station.

Urgent Care

15TH STREET PLAYFIELD North 15th St. This 5-acre neighborhood park sports two Little League baseball fields, two youth soccer fields and playground facilities.

BAKERVIEW PARK 3101 East Fir St. Bakerview is a spacious 39-acre park located in Mount Vernon’s northeast quadrant. Facilities include four Little League fields, three soccer fields, four basketball courts and two sand volleyball courts. It also has a skateboard SHERMAN ANDERSON BALLPARK playground with four ramps and several 1501 Cleveland St. trick rails and a roller hockey area. Other Located on Cleveland Street half a amenities include outdoor barbecues, mile south of downtown Mount Vernon, children’s playgrounds, picnicking areas, Sherman Anderson is a 3.4-acre park fre- a disc golf course, restrooms and concesquently used to hold baseball competisions. tions, the annual Skagit County Fair and community events. It has a concession stand and grandstand seating.

More Convenience... • Staffed by board certified physicians • Provides care for non-life threatening injuries or illness for ages 3 months and above • Care for sprains, strains, fractures and cuts • Sports physicals • IV hydration and medication administration as needed • On-site lab and x-ray • Open 364 days per year

We also offer a full range of primary and specialty care. Monday - Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm Saturday, Sunday & Holidays 9:00am to 5:00pm 6.$*,7 9$//(<

0HGLFDO &HQWHU

:RUNLQJ WRJHWKHU IRU \RXU EHVW KHDOWK

1400 E. Kincaid Street Mount Vernon, WA 98274 Located on Level 1 of the Maynard L. Johnson Building

www.svmc.net • 360-428-6434 goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Community Profile

Mount Vernon

KIWANIS PARK Corner of Broadway and 18th Street This 8-acre neighborhood park is sponsored and partially purchased by the three Mount Vernon Kiwanis clubs. For additional information about Mount Vernon parks, call (360) 336-6213.

HEALTH CARE

Skagit Valley Hospital 1415 E. Kincaid St. (360) 424-4111 Skagit Valley Medical Center 1400 E. Kincaid St. (360) 428-2500

did you know?

Stay - Dine - Relax

Hartford Photography 2007

EXPERIENCE... • The abundant culture, arts & heritage • The downtown shopping district • The natural beauty & amazing festivals • The fresh harvest at the farmer’s market • And so much more!

105 E. Kincaid • Mount Vernon 360.428.8547 • www.VisitMountVernon.coM 60

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

• The former Darigold and Carnation Milk smokestack, no longer churning out fumes, is now Mount Vernon’s most visible monument to the tulip. Passers-by on Interstate 5 can admire the giant tulip paintings on the stack near the bridge to West Mount Vernon. During the 1950s, it sported the only steam whistle in town and would alert workers to the lunch hour. In 2007, the top was cut off due to safety concerns. At the same time, painters volunteered their time to add the new tulip design created by Esther McLatchy. goskagit.com

Community Profile

ust over the hills east of Mount Vernon lies a valley with a chain of beautiful lakes. Big Lake was born as a bustling logging company town, the valley dense with smoke from the production by hundreds of workers. Today, Big Lake is an upscale residential community of 1,153. According to the Big Lake Historical Society, the American Indian population had pretty much vacated the area by the time the Walker family became the first white settlers in the 1880s. The Walker Valley and Montborne areas were the first section of the lake to host settlers, schools and wood mills. In 1900, the Day Lumber Co. purchased the Parker Brothers mill for $100,000. For the first two years, all the company’s logging was conduct-

goskagit.com

ed around the lake near the mill. The company then built a steamboat for use on the lake towing log rafts. Big Lake became a company town, with the Day Lumber Co. constructing a two-and-half-story boarding house — which burned to the ground but was then rebuilt in 1905 — a large company store, a hotel, a school and a barbershop. By 1910, the work force was 250, and the number of company houses had increased from five to 75. The dry brick kiln had the daily capacity of 50,000 feet of lumber. The company uprooted the new tree stumps, plowed the soil and planted crops. The owners of the mill and some of the foremen lived on what workers called “Knob Hill’’; others dubbed it “Silk Stocking Row.’’ By 1921, Day Lumber Co. had 12 miles of railroad and two geared loco-

motives. In 1921, a fire destroyed much of the mill and surrounding buildings, closing the plant for almost a year. At its peak, the company produced as much as 21 million feet of lumber and 60 million shingles per year. But a mysterious fire in 1925 burned much of the company’s property, reportedly only the insured buildings. The mill was sold the next year, and most of the machinery went to Skagit Mill Co. A mill at Montborne closed during the 1930s. Big Lake became a small farming community. Today, Big Lake sports one grocery store, one restaurant, a school, a church and a golf course. Boaters and fishers can launch their craft at a public access spot on the lake. An annual historical display is presented from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 7, and from 1-5 p.m. Aug. 8 at the elementary school.

Big Lake / Clear Lake

BIG LAKE

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Big Lake / Clear Lake

Community Profile big lake DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 1,153 Persons younger than 5: 4.5 percent Persons 65 and older: 12.8 percent High school graduates: 90.2 percent Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher: 29.7 percent Home ownership rate: 77.7 percent (Source: U.S. Census)

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Big Lake Elementary School 16802 Lake View Blvd. (360) 855-3525

FESTIVALS

Third of July fireworks

PARKS

Boat launch on Big Lake on West Big Lake Boulevard and West Lakeview Lane

CLEAR LAKE

uring peak production about 1900, the Clear Lake Lumber Co. employed 2,000 people and was the largest inland mill in the Pacific Northwest, according to the Clear Lake Historical Association. The company went bankrupt in 1925, and with its main industry gone, Clear Lake evolved into a scenic bedroom community of 942 people. The Noo-Qua-Cha-Mish tribe was living in the Clear Lake area when the first white settler, John Isaacson, squatted in 1877. When he turned 21, he filed to homestead it. The Bartl family moved to the land from Mount Vernon in 1884 and established the first business, the Mountain View General Store. Jake Bartl had plotted the land as Mountain View, but when he applied for a post office with that name, he was told Washington already sported

a Mountain View. The name Clearlake was accepted, and the post office was added to the store in 1891. The railroad line was built through Clear Lake in 1890, clearing the way for the first lumber and shingle mill, the Day Brothers Mill, in 1891. Four decades later, all the Clear Lake mills were closed. Residents and tourists traveling along State Route 9 will find in Clear Lake the Clear Lake Market, a gas station/convenience store, two churches, welding and construction businesses, a fire department and Clear Lake Elementary. The Clear Lake Historical Association every other year hosts an old timers reunion. Everyone is welcome to attend the event the third Saturday in July. For information, call (360) 856-6798.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

clear lake DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 942 Persons younger than 5: 5.6 percent Persons 65 and older: 13.0 percent High school graduates: 88.1 percent Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher: 12.7 percent Home ownership rate: 72.5 percent

SCHOOL INFORMATION Clear Lake Elementary 23631 Lake St. (360) 855-3530

PARKS

Clear Lake Park on South Front Street

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Burlington

Community Profile

BURLINGTON

ubbed “The Hub City,’’ Burlington is the county’s cornerstone of commercial activity. The Cascade Mall was constructed in 1989 where Interstate 5 and Highway 20 connect. Shoppers flock from Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well to find bargains at the Outlet Shoppes at Burlington and other big box stores and franchise outlet stores. Burlington also is home to an eclectic small business downtown shopping district along historic Fairhaven Avenue. Burlington was platted in 1891, and gained its first post office, school, meat market, sawmill and saloon that year. The railroad company Seattle and Northern built a railroad through town that year. The town was incorporated in 1902. Burlington offers an extensive parks system along the Skagit River Park. The city also maintains Maiben Park, which contains Burlington’s Community Building and Senior

Center; Alpha Park, the traditional site for the city’s decorated 70-foottall Christmas tree; and Rotary Park, which offers soccer and softball fields, a concrete skate park and the region’s only four-court, outdoor sand volleyball site. The town has a new city hall and library. Burlington celebrates its agricultural roots and industries with the annual Berry Dairy Days celebration in June. Primary crops are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 6,757 in 2000, an estimated 8,460 in 2008 Persons younger than 5: 8.9 percent Persons 65 and older: 11.3 percent High school graduates: 78.4 percent Bachelor’s degree or higher: 11.7 percent Home ownership rate: 48.7 percent Sources: U.S. Census, Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

City of Burlington 833 S. Spruce St. Burlington, WA 98233 Phone: (360) 755-0531 FAX: (360) 755-1297 Web site: www.ci.burlington.wa.us

SCHOOL INFORMATION Administration Office 927 E. Fairhaven Ave. Burlington, WA 98233 (360) 757-3311 www.be.wednet.edu

Elementary Schools • Allen School 17145 Cook Road, Bow (360) 757-3352 • Bay View School 15241 Josh Wilson Road (360) 757-3322 • Edison School 5801 Main Ave., Bow (360) 757-3375 • Lucille Umbarger School 820 S. Skagit St. (360) 757-3366 goskagit.com

Community Profile

Burlington

• West View School 515 W. Victoria Ave., (360) 757-3391

FESTIVALS

High School • Burlington-Edison High School 301 N. Burlington Blvd. (360) 757-4074

PARKS

NEW RESIDENT MOVE-IN PHONE NUMBERS

Electricity: Puget Sound Energy 888-225-5773 Telephone: Verizon (800) 483-4000 Cable television: Comcast (800) 266-2278 Water: Public Utilities District (360) 424-7104 Waste Management: (360) 757-4068 Gas: Cascade Natural Gas Corp. (360) 336-6155

Berry Dairy Days June 17-20 BOERNER MEMORIAL PARK Located at the corner of Norris Street and West Fairhaven Avenue, this park is dedicated as a memorial to special people in the community. It serves as a day-use park for picnicking and small children. A large tot lot is provided along with picnic tables and benches.

SENIOR SERVICES

Burlington Senior Center (360) 755-0102 goskagit.com

SECTION STREET PARK This 1.17-acre neighborhood park is the site of a wetlands restoration project. It’s also the site for unorganized youth activities in the area. It is located on Section Street near the intersection with East Fairhaven.

Self Serve (You Wash) & Full Service (We Wash, Dry Dog Wash & Brush your dog)

CHAMBERS/ORGANIZATIONS

Burlington Chamber of Commerce (360) 757-0994 Burlington Parks Foundation Kathi Wallace, 18155 Joy Place, Burlington, WA 98233

ALPHA PARK Alpha Park is located at the corner of Fairhaven Avenue and Cherry Street. It is a quaint, well-groomed park often used as a summer picnic area. It is also the site of the community Christmas tree.

Open 6 days a week M, W, Th, F 9am-6:30pm Sat & Sun 10am-6pm

In addition to elevated tubs, raised drying station and equipment to groom your dog, we offer ramps and a lift table for dogs needing extra assistance.

145 Cascade Place • Burlington

PROFESSIONAL DOG & CAT GROOMING BY APPOINTMENT! DOGGY BAKERY

Behind Taco Bell, Burlington

www.soapydogwashandshoppe.com

757-6622

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Michael Pl

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BurlingtonEdison Regional Park

Nevitt Rd

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Exit 230

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ÂŠ 2010 Skagit Publishing

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| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Burlington

Community Profile ROTARY PARK Located on South Section Street, Rotary Park has four multi-use playfields, a covered picnic shelter, a children’s playground and two sand volleyball courts. The park also has a jogging path around its perimeter.

MAIBEN PARK Maiben Park is the site of a large stand of towering cedar trees and a off-road bicycle course. The Burlington Community Center/Senior Center is also located here. It can be rented for meetings and other functions by calling (360) 755-9649. Other features HIGHWAY 20 TRAIL of the park include covered and unLocated between Highway 20 and covered picnic tables, a barbecue pit, the Burlington-Northern Railroad tennis courts, basketball courts, playtracks, this park features a compact ground and a playfield for baseball. gravel jogging trail from Regent Street The park is located between Skagit to Peter Anderson, where it continues and Regent streets at Washington and eastward. Motorbikes are not allowed. Greenleaf avenues. LIONS CLUB PARK Located off Highway 20 at Regent Street, this park features picnic tables and a recreational vehicle dump site that is open to the public spring through fall.

SKAGIT RIVER PARK This 100-acre park is located at the end of South Skagit Street. It features 20 regulation-sized soccer fields, 24 horseshoe pits, a trail and dike access for pedestrian walking along the scenic Skagit River.

“Best Value in the Valley” • Free Continental Breakfast • Pool & Courtyard • Kitchenettes • Guest Laundry • Truck/RV Parking • Micros, Fridges & In-Room Coffee • Weekly & Group Rates

800-628-2257 360-757-6044

www.CocusaMotel.com

I- 5 Exit 230 • 370 W Rio Vista Ave Burlington, WA 98233

Burlington Anacortes KOA

GARDNER ROAD BAR Located at the intersection of Rio Vista and Gardner Road, this threelane boat launch and paved road provides public access to the Skagit River. For additional information about Burlington parks, call (360) 755-9649.

MUSEUMS

Children’s Museum of Skagit County Cascade Mall 550 Cascade Mall Drive (360) 757-8888

did you know? • Cascade Mall opened in the fall of 1989, around the time Burlington was tabbed by the Wall Street Journal as one of the fastest-growing small towns with the best investment opportunities in the United States. • The Burlington Library offers Music in the Stacks, free hourlong performances at 2 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month. • In 2007, the TreBarbaric team set a world record at the Burlington Pumpkin Pitch. Its trebuchet, a medieval-style catapult, hurled a pumpkin 1,866.8 feet at Skagit River Park. That’s more than five football fields.

• Quiet Country Setting w/ Hot Tubs and indoor pool • Cable TV • Free WiFi • Mini Golf • Kamping Cabins • Shaded pull-through RV sites

• Skagit River Park hosts several major youth soccer tournaments a year that draw teams from around the Pacific Northwest.

ONLINE RESERVATIONS: www.KOA.com 6397 N. Green Rd. • Burlington, WA 98233 360-724-5511 • 1-800-562-9154

• You’ll see boys and girls playing lacrosse in local parks. The Skagit Valley Flyers Lacrosse Club is based in Burlington.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

A Bank Is A Bank Is A Bank. Until You Have To Choose A New One.

As someone new to the area, you have lots to consider when you select a bank. If you like being close to your money – then location is important. And you may be glad to know one of our 18 branches is probably fairly close by. Then you have to look at what kind of bank you want. Do you feel better having your money in a big, national bank, or a multi-state, regional bank? Or would you prefer another kind of bank, like ours, that puts your money to work locally, helping your friends and neighbors? As a community bank, we rely primarily on deposits from people in the communities we serve, which we then use to make loans to folks in and around those towns. We also make it a priority to actively support the charities and events that make each of our communities special. And last, but definitely not least, there’s the stability and safety of the bank. Rather than us telling you we’ve been around since 1961, and how financially sound we are, you should see what independent sources think of us. Just go to www.bauerfinancial. com or www.bankrate.com. So if you’d like to make sure your money has a good home, we may be able to help ease your mind. Stop by any of our branches, or give us a call at 1-800-290-6508. We look forward to hearing from you.

Whidbey Island Bank

Making Life A Little Easier MEMBER FDIC

For more information about us, just go to www.wibank.com

Community Profile

Padilla Bay

The Bay View area is also home to during the yearly Oyster Run, when Skagit Regional Airport and the Skagit Harley-Davidson motorcycles fill Golf and Country Club. the streets touring restaurants in the county with oysters on the menu.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Population: 334 Persons younger than 5: 3.3 percent Persons 65 and older: 21.9 percent High school graduates: 87.8 percent Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree or higher: 10.1 percent Home ownership rate: 79.5 percent Source: U.S. Census

SCHOOLS

BAY VIEW

ugging Padilla Bay, Bay View is a community of 334 people located between Anacortes and Burlington. Bay View State Park is a 25-acre camping park with 1,285 feet of saltwater shoreline on Padilla Bay. The park is open year-round to camping and day use; some campsites are closed during the winter. The park is located four miles north of Highway 20 on Bay View-Edison Road. (888) 226-7688. More than 1,000 acres of Padilla Bay are designated as National Estuarine Sanctuary. The Breazeale Padilla Bay Interpretive Center is located a half mile north of the state park.

Bay View Elementary 15241 Josh Wilson Road (360) 757-3322

CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS

The Bay View Padilla Civic Association Mary Hall, (360) 757-4642

EDISON

irst homesteaded in 1869, Edison was born of logging camps, lumber and shingle mills and farming. Oyster cultivation began on the tide flats of Edison, which sits on Samish Bay, after 1900. Though it is one of the smallest towns in the county, Edison was one of the first to establish an accredited high school. Today, downtown Edison is home to a cafe, two taverns, two antique stores, two bakeries, a sweet shop and an arts gallery. It is a popular stop

Population: 133

SCHOOLS

Edison School (K-8th grade) 5801 Main St. (360) 757-3375 Burlington-Edison High School 301 N. Burlington Blvd. (360) 757-4074

BOW

he town of Bow is closely related to Edison, and the area is often referred to as BowEdison. Bow was formed when the Great Northern Railway rerouted its main north-south line to follow the foot of the Chuckanut Mountains in 1902 and at one time sported a large general store, a hotel, a meat market, a post office, a livery stable, a school and a church. It was a residential area and trading center, but when roads improved, farmers took their business to larger towns. The business district of Bow features two eateries, a gift shop and a post office on Chuckanut Drive; the Skagit Casino is located off the Bow Hill exit of Interstate 5. Colony Creek and Colony Road provide the only evidence of a socialist commune that once inhabited the area of Edison and Bow Hill. Called the Equality Colony, the members aimed to prove that people could live well without money by their own labors and cooperation. The colony had a blacksmith, a sawmill, a planer, a shingle mill and a printing plant. Dissent among its members caused its dissolution, and by 1906 most members had moved on.

SCHOOLS

Allen School (K-8th grade) 17145 Cook Road (360) 757-3352

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

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N 18th St

McFarland Rd

Benson Rd

Cook Rd Exit 232

Josh Wilson Rd

Ashten Rd

Skagit Regional Airport

Ovenell Rd

Young Rd

Deer Trails Ln

Thomas Rd

Emily Ln

Airport Dr

Sargent Pl

Fredonia

Bay View Elementary

Steele Rd Knudson Rd

Allen Elementary

Bradley Rd

Kamb Rd

Farm To Market Rd

Irene Pl

Walker Rd

Bay View-Edison Rd

Padilla Bay Shore Trail

La Conner-Whitney Rd Downey Rd

Marihugh Rd 2 1 3 4 Bay View Rd 5

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Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

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Bay View

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Island View Way

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Padilla Bay

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Chuckanut Dr Church Rd

Sam ish R iver

Rest Area

Skagit Valley Casino

Field Rd

D’Arcy Rd

Upper Skagit Indian Reservation

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Padilla Bay

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Conway & Fir Island

Community Profile

CONWAY and FIR ISLAND

way off exit 221. A bridge built in 1914 connects the small town to Fir Island, which is full of farmland and a birding paradise. Fir Island is formed by the Skagit River breaking into north and ntering Skagit County on Inter- south forks before it hits saltwater. state 5 from the south, the first When Conway was established in town travelers encounter is Con- the late 1800s, it was envisioned to become one of the area's largest communities. Merchants established shops and merchantiles along the eastern shores of the Skagit River, and a horsedrawn ferry barge made it possible for folks to cross. As upriver communities gained in stature, however, Conway shrank while the Mount Vernon and La ConLake Associates Recreation Club ner business communities grew. Today, the two-block downtown on Main A friendly, family oriented club with a Street includes two antique stores, a clothing optional lifestyle - on Highway 9 tropical fish store, the Conway Pub near scenic Lake McMurray.

Experience clothes-free recreation... bring a towel & a smile!

and Eatery and a Sons of Norway Hall. At the end of Main Street is Conway Park, which includes a baseball field next to the river and the bridge to Fir Island. Fir Island, the back way to seaside La Conner, is a winter home to snow geese and trumpeter swans. The island’s Skagit Wildlife Area is a game reserve for duck hunters and is also enjoyed by hikers and bird watchers. During berry season, local farmers set up roadside stands to show off their strawberry, blueberry and raspberry crops.

SCHOOLS

Conway School (K-8th grade), 19710 State Route 534 (360) 445-5785

Mother Flight Farm growers of fine organic produce

Come enjoy our seasonal organic fresh produce. Our organic produce can be found at local farmers markets & our farm stand.

VEGETABLES • BERRIES • GREENS

360-445-6833 www.larcnudists.com 72

Our farm stand is located on Fir Island Road through Conway and across the bridge. Turn right onto Skagit City Rd. ½ mile to our Farm (watch for signs) We are open April-October 10am till dusk Fri-Sat-Sun

360.445.3501 • 360.661.6098

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

motherflightfarm@gmail.com

goskagit.com

Pulver Rd

Jackpot Ln

Cottonwood Ln Sunset Ln

Dike Rd

Conway Rd

Dike Rd

Cedardale Rd

Pioneer Hwy

Franklin Rd

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ÂŠ 2010 Skagit Publishing C

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Conway Post Office

Boat Ramp

Nelson Rd 6

Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

Strawberry Point Rd

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goskagit.com

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Mount Vernon

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La Conner Marina Snee-Oosh Rd

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Goat Island

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Bay View-Edison Rd

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Conway & Fir Island

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

La Conner

Community Profile

La Conner

County Historical Museum, 501 S. Fourth St., constructed in 1968. A few blocks away, closer to the town’s wan 1869, John S. Connor purchased terfront, is the Museum of Northwest Art, 121 First St., which specializes in the trading post on the Swinomshowcasing the artwork of Northwest ish Channel — now occupied by artists. Another popular destination the totem pole plaza west of Maple is the La Conner Quilt and Textile Hall — and named the area in honor Museum, 703 S. Second St., which of his wife, Louisa Ann Conner. Two features a rotating exhibit of handCanadian immigrants, Michael Sullivan and Sam Calhoun, were the first made quilts, displayed in the historic Gaches Mansion. to start building dikes to reclaim the The acres of fertile farmland around surrounding flats from high tides and La Conner were first planted mostly annual flooding. with oats, grown primarily for the The picturesque town of La Conhorses of Seattle and California. But ner, located directly across from the La Conner today is best known for its Swinomish Indian Reservation, is considered by many to be the cultural production of daffodils and tulips and and art center for Skagit County. The attracts thousands of visitors during the annual month-long Skagit Valley town boasts three museums and is home to many visual and literary art- Tulip Festival during April. The Rainbow Bridge that connects ists, including novelist Tom Robbins the town with the reservation was (“Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,’’ “B is built in 1957. It was painted with For Beer’’). La Conner also sports sevorange rust coating, but the residents eral blocks of antique stores, restaurants, boutiques, pubs, gift shops and liked the color so much that it was never given the formal gray coat. The historic sites. town has a large marina and dry-dock. On a hill overlooking the town and surrounding flats sits the Skagit

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 761 in 2000, an estimated 885 in 2008 Persons younger than 5: 4.2 percent Persons 65 and older: 21.4 percent High school graduates: 91.1 percent Bachelor’s degree or higher: 34.9 percent Home ownership rate: 55.1 percent Sources: U.S. Census, Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Town of La Conner 204 Douglas St. La Conner, WA 98257 Phone: (360) 466-3125 Web site: www.townoflaconner.org

SCHOOL INFORMATION La Conner • Administration Office 305 N. 6th St. La Conner, WA 98257 (360) 466-3171 www.lcsd.wednet.edu

goskagit.com

Community Profile

La Conner

Elementary School • La Conner Elementary School 304 N. Sixth St. (360) 466-3172 Middle School • La Conner Middle School 305 N. Sixth St. (360) 466-4113 High School • La Conner High School 502 N. Sixth St. (360) 466-3173

NEW RESIDENT MOVE-IN NUMBERS

Best Seafood Restaurant 2009 • Waterfront Dining • Slow Roasted Prime Rib • Seafood An Experience You’ll Always Remember 360-466-4014 614 S. First St., La Conner (Downtown on the Waterfront)

Electricity: Puget Sound Power (360) 424-2930 Waste Management (360) 757-8275

CHAMBERS/ORGANIZATIONS

La Conner Chamber of Commerce 606 Morris St. (360) 466-4778 La Conner Alliance for Youth and Families (360) 466-1296 La Conner Boys and Girls Club (360) 466-3672 La Conner Institute of Performing Arts (360) 466-2665 goskagit.com

An enticing selection of common and uncommon plants Thousands of roses, rare perennials, new annuals, rhododendrons, fruit trees & vegetable starts Open Daily 15806 Best Road • Mount Vernon

360-466-3821

www.christiansonsnursery.com Vintage Home & Garden Gifts SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

La Conner

Community Profile SENIOR SERVICES

La Conner Senior Center, 104 Commercial St., (360) 466-3941

FESTIVALS

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival the month of April Skagit River Poetry Festival May 20-22

Arts Alive in November

PARKS

Pioneer Park John Hammer Park Gilkey Square Old Fire Hall Park

Dirty Biter Waterfront Park (the end of Calhoun Street) The end of Benton Street RV Park: Thousand Trails 16362 Snee Oosh Road (800) 884-1113

MUSEUMS

Skagit County Historical Museum 501 S. Fourth St. (360) 466-3365 La Conner Quilt Museum 703 Second St. (360) 466-4288 Museum of Northwest Art 121 First St. (360) 466-4446

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

I’m your online source for what’s happening locally. I can connect you to breaking news, events, contests, local ads and other useful resources. I’m here for everybody who wants to get the most out of living in Skagit County.

PQF goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Enjoy La Conner’s 3 Outstanding Museums

did you know?

• La Conner's Quilt and Textile Museum is one of only 12 quilt museums in the U.S.

SkAGIT COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

FEATUREd ExHIbIT February 13, 2010 - July 3, 2011

501 S. 4th St. • LaConner • 360.466.3365 www.skagitcounty.net/museum Monte Cristo © Darius Kinsey

Exhibiting contemporary regional art and works from our Permanent Collection. For admission and hours, visit www.museumofnwart.org or call 360/466-4446. Museum Store free and open to the public.

121 S. First St. • La Conner, WA

• The Swinomish Channel is the result of a dredging and diking project that made a navigable waterway through what was once called Swinomish Slough, a shallow collection of tidal sloughs, salt marshes and mud flats. The 11-mile channel, completed in 1937, created La Conner’s working waterfront. • The beautifully refurbished Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 413 Douglas Street was built in 1899. The Swinomish Indians carried the bell to La Conner from Astoria, Ore., by foot and canoe. • At the south end of town is La Conner Town Hall, one of Skagit County's oldest landmarks. Originally built in 1885 as a bank, it was later used as the jail. • The famous Swinomish Indian totem pole on the west bank of the Swinomish Channel is the only known totem pole carrying the likeness of a president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. • The cross-section of a giant cedar located on First Street next to the public restroom measures 11 feet, 8 inches across. The tree started growing around 1260 A.D.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

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Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Anacortes

Community Profile

ANACORTES

nacortes became Skagit County’s second city when it incorporated in 1891. The name is a Spanish-sounding version of Annie Curtis, the maiden name of the wife of city founder Amos Bowman. For many years a bustling fishing, canning, logging and mill town, Anacortes adapted as resources dwindled. Home to two major refineries since the mid-1950s, it has a strong industrial component with a growing number of boat building and service firms. Historic downtown Anacortes offers a selection of good restaurants and an interesting mix of shops, and the museum, library, marina esplanade and a historic snagboat are all within easy walking distance. Outdoors, trails lead to wonderful places through forests and parks, along marinas and waterfront bluffs, to the top of Mount Erie and around Heart Lake. Recreation choices are many: Fishing, hiking, biking, diving, climbing, whale watching, beach combing and much more.

You can catch a ferry for the San Juan Islands or Sidney, British Columbia, at the Washington State Ferries Terminal. Just get on 12th Street, go about 2 miles and veer right at the big intersection. A second, smaller ferry system serves Guemes Island from a landing near the end of Sixth Street. The city’s biggest annual event is the Anacortes Arts Festival, this year Aug. 7-9. Other major events include the Spring Wine Festival, April 10-11; Anacortes Waterfront Festival, May 1516; Bark in the Park dog festival, June 26; Kids-R-Best Fest, July 10; Shipwreck Day flea market, July 17; and the Oyster Run motorcycle rally, Sept. 26.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 24,557 in 2000, an estimated 16,640 in 2008 Persons younger than 5: 5.5 percent Persons 18 and over: 76.6 percent Persons 65 and older: 20.8 percent High school graduates: 89.3 percent Bachelor’s degree or higher: 27.8 percent Owner-occupied housing: 68.8 percent

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

Source: U.S. Census Bureau and the Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

City of Anacortes 904 Sixth St. P.O. Box 547 Anacortes, WA 98221 Phone: (360) 299-1950 FAX: (360) 293-1938 Web site: www.cityofanacortes.org

SCHOOL INFORMATION

Anacortes • Administration Office Upstairs at Anacortes Middle School, 2202 M Ave. Anacortes, WA 98221 (360) 293-1200 www.asd103.org Schools • Whitney Early Childhood Education Center 1200 M Ave. (360) 293-9536 • Fidalgo Elementary School 13590 Gibralter Road (360) 293-9545 goskagit.com

Community Profile

Anacortes

• Island View Elementary School 2501 J Ave. (360) 293-3149 • Mount Erie Elementary School 1313 41st St. (360) 293-9541 • Anacortes Middle School 2202 M Ave. (360) 293-1230 • Anacortes High School 1600 20th St. (360) 293-2166 • Cap Sante High School (alternative, grades 9-12) 1600 20th St. (360) 293-2166 • Anacortes Home Education Partnership 15510 Rosario Beach Road (360) 299-8995

NEW RESIDENT MOVE-IN PHONE NUMBERS

Garbage and sewer: City of Anacortes (360) 293-1921 Recycling: Rabanco (800) 942-5965 Natural gas: Cascade Natural Gas (888) 522-1130 Water: City of Anacortes goskagit.com

Cap Sante Court Retirement 360-293-8088

1111 32nd Street, Anacortes, WA 98221 www.CapSanteCourt.com

Logan Creek Retirement 360-428-0222

2311 E. Division, Mount Vernon, WA 98274 www.LoganCreek.com

The Finest in Full Service Retirement Living Studio, One & Two Bedroom Apartments Delicious Meals • Transportation Housekeeping • Activities SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Anacortes

Community Profile (360) 428-1598 Electricity: Puget Sound Energy (888) 225-5773 Voter registration: (360) 336-9305

CHAMBERS/ORGANIZATIONS

Anacortes Chamber of Commerce (360) 293-7911 Friends of the Forest (360) 293-3725 Island Hospital Foundation (360) 299-4201

SENIOR SERVICES

Anacortes Senior Activity Center (360) 293-7473

FESTIVALS

Spring Wine Festival, April 10-11 Anacortes Waterfront Festival, May 15-16 Shipwreck Day Flea Market, July 17 What-the-Heck Fest, July 16-18 Anacortes Arts Festival, Aug. 6-8 Oyster Run, Sunday, Sept. 26

PARKS

WASHINGTON PARK 6300 Sunset Ave. Day use and overnight camping facilities for tents and RVs are available at the 220-acre park on the far west end of Fidalgo Island. It has a boat launch, picnic shelters, playground, showers and laundry facility. A 2.3-mile loop road around the park can be walked or driven and offers views of Burrows Bay and other outlying areas. CAP SANTE PARK 1000 W Ave. It encompasses 37 acres of forested land. The view point from the top of Cap Sante provides clear views of Fidalgo and Guemes islands, March Point and Fidalgo Bay. VOLUNTEER PARK 1915 13th St. It is the city’s sports center with a fastpitch/Little League field, two reguFor Information Call: (360) 293-1915 or Check our Website: museum.cityofanacortes.org Anacortes Museum 1305 8th Street • Anacortes, WA

Exploring the history of Fidalgo and Guemes Islands through: • Educational Programs • Exhibits • Research Library • Special Events

The Carnegie Gallery 8th Street & M Avenue Gallery Open Year-Round Mon. - Sat., 10-4 Sunday 1-4, Closed Wednesday SPECIAL EXHIBIT "1910 - Looking Back 100 Years"

The W.T. PrESToN & Snagboat Heritage Center 9th Street & R Avenue Open weekends: April - October Open Daily: June, July, August Closed Wednesday NEW EXHIBIT "The Wawona & the End of the Age Sail"

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

lation baseball fields, a soccer field and basketball court. The park also includes a playground and walking paths. STORVIK PARK 1110 32nd St. It is the community-built Our Town Our Park playground. The nearly 9acre park also has a Little League field, two basketball courts, picnic tables and barbecues. CAUSLAND MEMORIAL PARK 710 N Ave. It is dedicated to Anacortes veterans. Built in the 1920s, the 2-acre park’s unique appeal comes from decorative rock and black and white mosaic structures and walls. The park includes a bandstand, amphitheater, terraces and picnic tables.

Port of Anacortes Welcomes You

Cap Sante Boat Haven 950 Slip Public Marina Summer Concert Series Anacortes Airport Hangars Available Maine Terminal Facilities Deep Water Wharfage Rent our Historic Transit Shed Event Center with 400 Person Capacity Commercial Property Leasing Call for Availabilty P.O. Box 297, Anacortes, WA 98221 360-293-3134 www.portofanacortes.com goskagit.com

Community Profile

Anacortes

JOHN AND DORIS TURSI PARK South of the Anacortes Airport on Pennsylvania Avenue It includes a pavilion made of raw cedar logs, enhanced wetland area, nature trail, picnic tables, playground and zip line. BEN ROOT SKATE PARK 2313 R Ave. It has a 7,500-square-foot concrete skate area, lights, seating and nearby restrooms. Each summer, the park brings skateboarders from all over the region for the annual Skatefest. KIWANIS WATERFRONT PARK 1708 Sixth St. The 2-acre park overlooks the Guemes Channel. goskagit.com

“

ACE OF HEARTS ROTARY PARK 38th Street and H Avenue It has a fenced off-leash dog area complete with watering station and wash-off hose. Additional plans for the park include a Little League field, restrooms and benches.

t es

” in Anacortes! n u F t s “Mo d an ” e lu

capsanteinn.com • 15 Restaurants Within 5 Blocks • 10 Minutes to Ferry Terminal • Walk to Antique Stores & Galleries • Oversized Deluxe Rooms With New Beds, Carpet & Paint • Hair Dryers, Refrigerators & Microwaves • HD Flat Screens

906 9th St. • Anacortes

Call Toll Free:

360-293-0602

800-852-0846

Located in Historic Old Town Across From The Marina

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

SCALE: 1:25,000 0

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ÂŠ 2010 Skagit Publishing

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| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Anacortes

Community Profile ROTARY PARK 701 T Ave. The 1.5 acre park runs along the shoreline of a Fidalgo Bay inlet north of the Cap Sante Boat Haven.

HEALTH CARE

Island Hospital 1211 24th St. (360) 299-1300

did you know?

For more information call Anacortes Parks and Recreation at (360) 293-1918.

Fidalgo Bay Resort

RV by the sea

• 163 Full Hook-up Sites • WIFI • Store/Gift Shop • Small Boat Launch Waterfront Facilities for • Laundry Facilities Weddings, Seminars, Etc. Online Reservations at www.fidalgobay.com 1-800-727-5478 • 4701 Fidalgo Bay Rd., Anacortes, WA Owned & Operated by the Samish Indian Nation

• In 1915, with 11 of the 41 salmon canneries in operation between Blaine and Olympia located in Anacortes, the city was proud to be the salmon-packing capital of Puget Sound. Today images of some of the early labels have turned downtown trash cans into street art. • Anacortes has almost one-half acre of parkland per household, one of the highest per capita parklands ratio of any city in America. • The Anacortes Museum was once a Carnegie Library, and the Depot Arts Center is inside the old Great Northern Railroad station. The trains stopped in 1956. • Thrift shops operated by Anacortes service clubs return more than $250,000 a year to the community. • Some estimate up to onefourth of Anacortes residents are descended from immigrants from another fishing village:Vela Luka, on the Island of Korcula, Croatia. The Vela Luka Croatian Dance Ensemble has celebrated that heritage for more than 30 years.

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

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SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Community Profile

Anacortes

Chandler’s Square Retirement Community is located within walking distance of the charming Anacortes downtown corridor. The magic of Chander’s Square is more than it’s location. The atmosphere of the community is relaxed, comfortable, cheerful, and energetic. Chandler’s Square truly offers an alternative environment from the standard retirement community.

IT IS A SLICE OF HEAVEN ON EARTH!

360 293-1300

1300 “O” Ave. Anacortes w w w. c h a n d e r s q u a re . c o m 88

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

eachers usually punish children for drawing on walls, but 50odd years ago a second-grade teacher tried a different tack with Bill Mitchell, a precocious 7-year-old who checked out art books and carried a sketch pad. She gave him a whole wall to fill up. Today Anacortes still offers its walls to its well-known artist, historian and generally quirky character, especially downtown, where passersby are occasionally startled and often charmed to encounter his nostalgic and distinctive life-sized murals of local characters. Mitchell’s subjects, more than 120 of them, come from all walks of life — fishermen, mayors, dancers, storekeepers, bar patrons, children, pets, musicians, boaters, church leaders and editors. One mural is a self-portrait of the mutton-chopped artist, seated in his trademark three-wheeled 1954 Autoette, which doubles as a wheelchair. Cheerfully eccentric and frequently cantankerous, Mitchell attacks his art and historical preservation projects with a missionary zeal. The first mural, of Fred White and his Safety Bike, went up in front of Marine Supply & Hardware on May 2, 1984, two years before the Vancouver Expo. Mitchell decided murals would be a good draw for visitors and followed the fair’s theme, transportation, so many of his murals feature trains, boats, cars, carts, trucks and wagons. They have proven wildly popular, collecting just enough snubs from art critics to keep them controversial. But tourists are frequently seen posing for photos with the murals, and pranksters occasionally embellish them with mustaches or hats — stunts Mitchell minds only if adhesives damage the mural’s finish. A list of Mitchell’s murals and locations is available at the Anacortes Visitors Center at Commercial Avenue and Ninth Street. goskagit.com

Community Profile

Anacortes

goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Anacortes

Community Profile

Books Toys Accessories Games Activities For all ages - newborn to young adult. There's even a play room for the kids! Open Monday - Saturday 10 - 6, Sunday 11 - 4 1005 9th Street Anacortes (360) 293-4801 www.readmeastoryonline.com

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

he Anacortes Community Forest Lands are one of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treasures. The 2,800 acres forever preserved from development under the Conservation Easement Program include forest lands, wetlands, meadows, Mount Erie, Sugarloaf Mountain and Cranberry, Whistle and Heart lakes. The semi-natural trail system stretches more than 50 miles for use by hikers and bicyclists with some trails also open to horses and motorcycles. Maps are available at City Hall, the Anacortes Visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Information Center and from local merchants. The Forest Lands are overseen by city staff and the nonprofit Friends of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. The group provides outreach and education with adult field seminars to youth day camps, and stewardship with maintenance and habitat restoration. More information on the organization is at www.friendsoftheacfl.org. goskagit.com

Community Profile C SCALE: 1:80,000

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1-Decatur Pl 2-Woody Ln 3-Samish St 4-Hideaway Pl 5-Jackson Rd 6-Guemes Pl 7-Upland Dr 8-Channel View Dr 9-Cypress Way 10-Hideaway Ln 11-Shaw St 12-Island View Dr

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scenic five-minute ferry ride takes you away from Anacortes to Guemes Island, where the pace is even more relaxed. You can stay for an afternoon and enjoy a bike ride and a stop for lunch at Anderson’s General Store, which has a cafe with fine ales on tap and is also a good spot for local information. Or you can make a long weekend of it at Guemes Island Resort, one of the last of the old-time fishing resorts that used to dot Puget Sound. The island is relatively flat and only five miles long. Cyclists can pedal off on several loops that cross the island’s pastoral center on the way to scenic saltwater views. A 15-mile journey lets you see almost the whole island. In the winter, birding is popular. Bring binoculars The highest point on the island is Guemes Mountain. There’s a nice hike up to the top, and from the summit, about 700 feet, the views are stunning. The Save Guemes Mountain campaign recently raised $2.2 million to purchase and permanently protect the 70-acre top of the mountain. Guemes Island Resort is at the island’s north end. The crabbing nearby is excellent, and the resort offers crab pots, aluminum skiffs and sit-on-top kayaks for guests to use. Adjacent to the resort is Young County Park, a good launch site and picnic spot. Guemes Island today is a mix of full-time residents and folks with vacation homes and cabins. The population can swell to 800 or so in the summer. There are a few art galleries — and many artists. Linetime.org, operated by residents, provides information on the island (ferry, tides, etc.) and community issues.

Anacortes C

Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Sedro-Woolley

Community Profile

SedroWoolley

he independent spirit of two towns, each refusing to give up its identity, formed the name and soul of the hyphenated town of Sedro-Woolley. The name game could have taken a stranger turn. A large section of town actually started out as “Bug,” thanks to free-thinking settler Mortimer Cook, who in 1884 settled 34 acres of the future city. Cook was acknowledging the mosquitoes, which thrived along the property’s river banks. But thanks to Cook’s wife and the influx of later settlers, the insectoid name was scrapped for the word “Sedra,” the Spanish word for cedar. Unfortunately, they misspelled it. Today, one is reminded of Cook's contributions each time the main route to Interstate 5 is traveled. Cook Road is a 10-minute connection to the busy freeway.

Meanwhile, a short piece away on the Skagit River, Phillip A. Woolley also was setting up shop, first for a sawmill, then for a town. Not inclined toward Cook’s creativity, Woolley chose his own last name for the town he founded. The two growing towns fast became twins and rivals. But finally in 1898, they agreed to put their rivalry behind them, if not their names. And so it was that Sedro-Woolley came to be — much to the confoundment of later sign makers who often misspelled the name, or left the all-important hyphen out. Logging used to be synonymous with the town and many residents' paychecks were dependent on the timber industry. With stricter environmental policies, logging declined. Today, Sedro-Woolley still honors its timber-history roots, but continues to look ahead at other economic opportunities. Janicki Industries employs more than 400 workers. The company works closely with aerospace and maritime industries to create hightech molds. It is owned by the Janicki

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

family, which operates Janicki Logging and Construction. For visitors heading eastward toward the mountain passes, SedroWoolley is an ideal stopping point, with several gas stations, groceries and Highway 20 fast-food restaurants, as well as a downtown that has many restaurants, health food, clothing, banks and an assortment of wellmaintained parks. Several events keep the past alive, including Loggerodeo, Washington's oldest continuously run Fourth of July celebration, which begins in late June, runs through the Fourth of July, and includes a parade, rodeo, logging show and chainsaw carving contests. Founders' Day is celebrated in September, with the Sedro-Woolley Museum honoring a founding family and local residents performing a loose re-enactment of a famous 1914 bank robbery.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 8,658 in 2000, an estimated 10,030 in 2008 goskagit.com

Community Profile

Sedro-Woolley

Persons younger than 5: 7.9 percent Persons 65 and older: 14.3 percent High school graduates: 81.3 percent Bachelor’s degree or higher: 9.3 percent Home ownership rate: 60.2 percent Sources: U.S. Census, Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting Division

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

City of Sedro-Woolley 326 Metcalf St. Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 Phone: (360) 855-1661 Web site: www.ci.sedro-woolley.wa.us

SCHOOL INFORMATION

• Administration Office 801 Trail Road Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284 (360) 855-3500 www.swsd.k12.wa.us Elementary Schools • Big Lake Elementary School 16802 Lake View Blvd., Big Lake (360) 855-3525 • Central Elementary School 601 Talcott St. (360) 855-3560 goskagit.com

• Clear Lake Elementary School 23631 Lake St., Clear Lake (360) 855-3530 • Evergreen Elementary School 1007 McGargile Road (360) 855-3545 • Lyman Elementary School 8183 Lyman Ave., Lyman (360) 855-3535 • Mary Purcell Elementary School 700 Bennett St. (360) 855-3555

• Samish Elementary School 23953 Prairie Road (360) 855-3540 Middle School • Cascade Middle School 201 N. Township St. (360) 855-3520 High School • Sedro-Woolley High School 1235 Third St. (360) 855-3510 Alternative School • State Street Alternative High School (360) 855-3550

sedro-woolley

museum & Gift Shop Weds. & Thurs. Noon - 4 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sun. 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. 725 Murdock Street • 360.855.2390 • www.sedrowoolleymuseum.org SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Community Profile

Sedro-Woolley

pits in each shelter and throughout the park, 50-plus picnic tables, four restrooms and an RV park. There is also a boat launch with restrooms and a picnic table. To make reservations for the park, contact City Hall at (360) 855-1661. BINGHAM PARK At Highway 20 and Cook Road, this park has a shelter, barbecue pits, about 10 picnic tables, benches, restrooms, a playground and a ballfield. MEMORIAL PARK Memorial Park, at State and Ball Streets, has a picnic shelter, picnic tables, benches, a playground, and barbecue pits, and is located near the Sedro-Woolley Library, senior center and community center. HARRY OSBORNE PARK At Highway 20 and Ferry Street, includes the Sedro-Woolley Information Center and a gift shop, housed in the caboose of an old steam train. METCALF PARK Located next to Holland Drug on Metcalf Street, this park is privately owned but maintained by the city. It has a picnic table, a bench, a maintained flower garden, and a view of a mural on the side of the Holland Drug building.

NEW RESIDENT MOVE-IN NUMBERS

Garbage and sewer: City Hall (360) 855-0929 Water: Public Utility District (360) 424-7104 Gas: Cascade Natural Gas (360) 336-6155 Electricity: Puget Sound Energy (888) 225-5773 Cable TV: Comcast (877) 824-2288

CHAMBERS/ORGANIZATIONS

Sedro-Woolley Chamber of Commerce (360) 855-1841

SENIOR SERVICES

Sedro-Woolley Senior Center (360) 855-1531 Refuse pick-up discounts for seniors (360) 855-0929

FESTIVALS

Loggerodeo the week of July 4th Founders Day in September

PARKS

RIVERFRONT PARK Located on the south side of town on the Skagit River, with a covered picnic area, two shelters, barbecue

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

LIONS (ROADSIDE) PARK Found on Highway 20 near Reed Street, has picnic tables, barbecue pits, and water available. SEDRO-WOOLLEY YOUTH BASEBALL FIELDS Tesarik Park — Highway 20 across from Ferry Street City Ballfields — Metcalf Street and Waldron Street Janicki Playfields — Cook Road, west. Riverfront Park — Township Street and River Road. SEDRO-WOOLLEY TENNIS COURTS Third and Jameson Sixth and Talcott goskagit.com

Sedro-Woolley A

Cascade Vista Dr

Carter St

Kathy Ln

Vecchio Ct

Stiles Ln

Avery Ln

wy sH ade asc NC

Adrian Ln

Suenic Rd

W State St

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N Reed St

Sedro-Woolley

ough Batey’s Sl

Morris St

Critter Ln W Talcott St Sunset Park Dr Nelson St W Nelson St W Bennett W Bennett St Sedro-Woolley St H.S.

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Calk in P l Wedmore Pl

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Warner St Talcott St

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Bennett St

Rd Rd

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Central Elementary Nelson St Mary Purcell Elementary

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Riverfront Park

Dunlop Av

Alexander St

Sterling St

Fidalgo St

Jameson St

Central Av

Ludwig Dr

Cove

River

River Rd

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ad ilro Ra

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Hoehn Rd

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Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA

ow Ln

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Carria

Rainb

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Fruitdale Rd

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United General Hospital

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Lafayette Rd

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Columbia Way Cougar Ln Whatcom Ln Brookshire Ln

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Fredrickson Rd

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N Murdock St

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Batey Rd

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Garden of Eden Rd Cherry Dr Hawthorne St

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Brick Ln Brickyard Blvd

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Klinger St

Dalton Ln Spring Ln

Raby Dr

Smallwood Acres Helen St

Trail Rd

Henson Ct

Sheila Ln

Willida Dr Ln Hub n r le L Delvan Hill Rd Wildflower Cully Rd mb on D Bassett Rd Way Bra mps Tho Ch 1 Memarles oria Jones l Cir Sweet Cicely Ln Starflower Ln Portobell d o Av d Ln tR Shoeshel Dr Alderwoo set Bas Dr Dukes zo Beachley Rd re Hill Ar Gateway Access Rd Golf Willard Course 2 Longtime Ln McLean Dr Cre Pl Ln Sa Marie ek pp Sa p p P R d l Creek Ln Rd Lucas Dr e F igl y & ar S Hw Sauk Mountain Dr cG G Apple Ln es M r ad ad Mountain Dr eR Presidio Pl Independence Blvd asc d Rallye Ln Norris St Cultus Mountain Dr NC Cedar Cheryl Dr Tree Dr Orth Way Dana Dr Summer Meadows Vickie Ln Ratchford Rd 3 Ct E Jones Rd Joh Coates Ln n Liner Rd W Jones Rd Evans Dr SCALE: 1:28,000 Debbie Dr Marcella Ln Evergreen Marcella Ct Lowell Ct Rowland Rd 0 0.25 0.5 miles Elementary Cascade Fair Ln Birchwood Hyatt Central Pl M.S. Pl Burrows Ln Ln 1-Jeanette St National Park Cabe 0 0.25 0.5 1 kilometer 2-Clifford St Richards Twin Holly Thurmond Av Murdock Ct Ln and Forest Service W Moore St Mead 3-Thresher Av Rd Information Ct One inch equals 0.45 miles ow P 1-Washington St Lions Park l Moore St Way City Hall, Marlene 2-Shadow Dr One centimeter equals 0.28 kilometers Waldron St Rd R Police and Metcalf Waldron St Di lte Lo ohre 3-Harrison St Union ane Ln Po o r Ballpark Fire Dept. Chester Av Chase Rd p 4 W Munroe St 4-Western St Munroe St Cemetery 2 3 Bingham v A Cook Rd 1 rthern Gibson St Park o N Rd Hammer 4 1 v Wicker Rd ler ern A Brook Pl 2 Harry Heritage ek South nk Mi Cre Osborne Square Community Westview Rd Cascade Tesarik 3 Park Dean Dr Orchard Ln Palms Ct Ferry St Center State rd Ballpark Chamber of Commerce kya Janicki Street Taylor Ln Woodworth St Woodworth St Pacific St ric Fields Lincoln St H.S. Post Office Library Thompson Ln

Union Rd

Ratchford Rd

Holtcamp Rd

Sapp R

S 3rd St

Rolling Pl

Prospect Rd Winter Ln Hodgin St

Collins Rd Collins Rd

Rolling Ridge Dr Hospital Dr Clara Pl

Plaza Dr Vista View Dr Alt Dr a Vista

Coppe r

Glenwood Acres Rd Pinto Ln

Coffman Ln Greenstreet Blvd Redwood Ln 11th St Bingham Pl Virginia Av Hunt Ln Claybrook Rd

Fairhaven St

lf L tca Me

Cummings Dr

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

goskagit.com

Sterling Rd

Harts Slough

Ridge Pl

Sedro-Woolley

Community Profile did you know?

• Many of the murals downtown were inspired by Darius Kinsey, a world-famous photographer of Western scenery, logging and railroads who had a photo studio in Sedro-Woolley in the late 1890s.

SEDRO-WOOLLEY SKATE PARK Murdock Street, directly across from City Hall

MUSEUMS

Sedro-Woolley Museum 727 Murdock St. (360) 855-2390

HEALTH CARE

United General Hospital 200 Hospital Drive Sedro-Woolley (360) 856-6021

We’ve Got What You Need

Commercial • Residential

SOLAR, WIND, GEOTHERMAL Commercial - Residential rightwayplumb-heat.com 360-855-2665 / 360-855-COOL 96

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

• For three-quarters of the 20th century, Northern State Hospital was one of three state hospitals in Washington for the mentally ill. By the time Northern State was shut down in 1976, the farm was growing enough food to sustain the hospital and send surpluses to the other hospitals. At one time it had the largest milking herd in the county. The hospital's 720-acre farm was laid out by John Charles Olmsted and James Frederick Dawson of the renowned Olmsted Brothers landscape firm. They created an institutional landscape that drew on the spiritual and moral benefits of nature, reflecting the then-popular therapeutic approach to illness and disability. In 1991, Skagit County purchased a 726-acre portion of the site east of town from the state for the purpose of developing a major regional recreation facility. Today you can walk trails there and play Frisbee golf.

goskagit.com

Community Profile

Get in the Loop.

Whether it’s relaxing with a cup of coffee in the morning or catching up on local news after a long day of work, the Skagit Valley Herald is the best way to find out what’s happening in Skagit County and the world. We’ll make sure it’s delivered to your home 7 days a week, for less than 50 cents per day. That’s a savings of 20% off of the newsstand price. Call 360.424.1900 or visit us at goskagit.com/services. Delivery to Skagit County, Stanwood, Camano Island and most of Island County goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Upper Skagit

Community Profile

LYMAN

to represent Skagit County in the first state assembly. Minkler was elected a state senator in 1906 and Lyman became a town in 1909; it is named after bout 1870, the first white the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early postmaster, Dr. Lorensettlers arrived in the Lyman zo Lyman. The Minkler mansion, area and began cutting trees built in 1891 and now listed on the and clearing land for farming. The area already was home to about 2,000 National Register of Historic Places, members of the Skagit tribe; the tribal last year was purchased to serve as the population was decimated by a small- new city hall at 8405 S. Main St. The pox epidemic during the early 1920s. larger space allows the town to offer more services through partnerships Logging operations along the Skagit with community agencies, including River were launched in 1873. Among the early settlers was Otto maternity support, legal assistance, energy assistance, crisis intervention, Klement, who established a trading medical assistance, literacy support post consisting of a store, hotel and and a teen clinic. saloon, all housed under one roof. A History lovers can check out the post office was established at the tradLyman cemetery, which dates back ing post in 1881, when a 60-mile mail more than a century and neighbors an route from Mukilteo to Lyman was early Native American burial ground. established by U.S. Congress. Across Main Street is the Lyman town Birdsey Minkler was one of the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first lumber mill operators, and park, which sports barbecue pits, a when Washington was granted state- covered picnic area, restrooms and a horseshoe pit. Lyman is also home to hood in 1889, Minkler was selected

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

a post office, library, fire station and tavern.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population: 409 in 2000, an estimated 445 in 2008

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION Town of Lyman 8405 S. Main St. P.O. Box 1248 Lyman, WA 98263 Telephone: (360) 826-3033 FAX: (360) 826-6473 E-mail: clerk_lyman@msn.com

SCHOOLS Lyman Elementary 8183 Lyman Ave. (360) 855-3535

goskagit.com

Community Profile

Upper Skagit

HAMILTON

he town about 13 miles east of Sedro-Woolley, located south off Highway 20, was founded in 1891 by John Hamilton. The town of 309 residents is located on the Skagit River. The river overtops its banks periodically, and residents have weathered many floods. A flood in 2003 hit almost every house in Hamilton, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C., is working to relocate the entire town out of the flood plain. The Hamilton Public Development Authority, created by the town in 2004, is working to move the town across Highway 20 to about 200 acres of private land on a dry hillside. The group hopes to raise about $4 million from the state and federal government. Hamilton residents would be goskagit.com

able to buy or rent in the new town at discounted rates. The earliest residents mined coal and iron and prospered from timber, and the population grew to almost 2,000 in the early 1900s. The population dropped after the mines closed and the timber industry declined.

The Hamilton town park on Main Street features a public picnic area, a covered gazebo with kitchen facilities, and restrooms. The town also sports a bar, grocery store, and post office. Hamilton is home to one of only two olivine mining operations in the country, managed by the Unimin Corp.

Seasonal Hours: Pending North Cascade Pass Closure A Local Favorite Ser ving Contemporary Dishes • Daily Specials • Choice Grilled Meats & Fish

• All-Natural Angus Beef • No Steroids or Hormones!

• Fresh, Local Produce & Organics • Ser ving All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Buffet Memorial Day Weekend Through Labor Day: Sat. & Sun. Only. 60147 State Route 20 • Marblemount, WA (Located around the corner from Chom’s Chevron & Buffalo Run Inn)

360.873.4503

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

Upper Skagit

Community Profile

Moon over Mount Baker A

Gallagher Rd

Wilde Rd

Lena Ln

Russell Rd

Dalles Rd

Skagitwilde Ln

Low

er F

in n

Boat

Concrete Launch Municipal Airport n c re t e Sauk Vall e y Rd

Pressentin Boat Launch

Finn ey Cre ek

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Creek

1-Owens Ln 2-Wyatt Ln 3-Memory Ln 4-Savage Rd 5-Pressentin Rd

Gee Creek

SCALE: 1:160,000 0

k ree yC

Little

k ree hC Fis

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| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

k ree er C De

rr Ca

Baker Dam

Concrete

Cape Horn

Oak Ln W Pressentin Dr

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Dixie Lake

S Skagit Hwy

reek Day C

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Challenger Rd

Lake Shannon Boat Launch

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

k ree Coal C

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Rasar State Park

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Bear Trail Ln Fox Ln S Skagit H wy Creek

Lusk Rd

Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Toole Creek

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2 y 1

es Hw Cascad Pinelli Rd

Cascade Trail

Snowberry Ln

Birdsview

Hamilton

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Birdsview Meadows Ln

Rd Baker Lake

Mu ddy Cre ek Petit St

Cabin Creek Rd

Healy Rd

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Riverfront Park Boat Launch

Hwy

S Lyma n Barben Rd Ferry Rd

eld

agit

S Sk

Snider Rd

r fi Wa

Lyman

Potts Rd

Walberg Rd

Hamilton Cemetery Rd

Lyman-Hamilton Rd

Skagit Riv

Robinson Rd

Prevedal Rd

Pipeline

Burrese

nter Carpe

ee Hill Rd Burp

Cedar Flats Ln

E Elk Run Rd

Lake Tyee

reek es C Jon

4 miles 4

8 kilometers

One inch equals 2.5 miles One centimeter equals 1.6 kilometers

goskagit.com

Community Profile

Stafford Ln

tin

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de sca Ca port k c o R

lley

k Va Rd

Chantel Ln

d eR

Marten Lake

Falls Lake

Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Cree k

Hilt Lake

Sauk County Park

iew in V

a unt

Lin

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Upper Falls Lake

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Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

Ranger Station Rd Po w

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530

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Kinley Ln

Milepost 100

Rocky Creek Ln

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Mart

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Hopkins Hill Ln

Boat Launch iver it R g a Sk

Howard Miller Steelhead Park

d alley R Sauk V

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Rd ley

Honeysuckl

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Saukview Ln

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Bar

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Bald Lake

Mountain Sauk Lake

Faber Boat Launch

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Olson

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e 1-Thunderbird Ln Cre 2-Thunderbird Pl an m k c 3-Henry Ln Ja 4-Yeager Rd 5-Sauk Store Rd 6-Adams Dr 7-Sauk City Rd 8-Sauk Connection Rd 9-Hornbeck Dr 10-Hornbeck Ln 11-Alder Dr 12-Steelhead Dr 13-Littlefield Rd Sauk 14-Allison Ln

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Foxglove Ln

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Upper Skagit

Valley thistles

Map produced by Fine Edge, Anacortes, WA goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

101

Upper Skagit

Community Profile Population: 309 in 2000, an estimated 325 in 2008

GOVERNMENT

Hamilton City Hall 584 Maple St. (360) 826-3983

CONCRETE

ncorporated in 1909, Concrete is the combination of two earlier towns: Cement City, where the Washington Portland Cement Co. was based, and Baker, home to a cement plant operated by the Superior Portland Cement Co. The two cement plants went under, but in its heyday, Concrete was a center of eastern Skagit County commerce with the cement plants as well as prospectorled mule trains coming up from the lowlands. Prior to 1921, several fires destroyed most of the original wooden buildings that lined Main Street. Since concrete was in ample supply, the subsequent commercial buildings were made of the non-flammable material. Historic plaques on many of the buildings list their construction dates. Three of the oldest wood frame structures that escaped the fires include the Baker Street Grill, the Assembly of God church and town hall. The Main Yard, near Silo Park, is the only surviving wooden structure of a business district called Superior Addition. Today, following a period of depressed economic times, Concrete is working to revitalize itself. Tourists stopping at Concrete can enjoy many amenities: restaurants, gas-station services, public restrooms and shops. A readerboard sign, held aloft by four totem poles, will direct motorists coming into the downtown district off Highway 20. Information is also available across the street at the Ted W. Anderson East Skagit County Community Resource Center.

102

The Henry Thompson Bridge was built between 1916 and 1918, and was named for the Skagit County commissioner who promoted its construction. At that time, it was the longest singlespan cement bridge in the world and is listed on the historic register. It was renovated in 2003. • Lower Baker Dam was completed in 1925 and raised to 293 feet in 1927, and was at the time the highest hydroelectric dam in the world. • Washington Portland Cement plant site was the first cement plant in town constructed in 1905. A limestone quarry is over the hill to the north. • Superior Portland Cement site is now known as Silo Park and was the site of Concrete's second cement plant completed in 1908. Remaining structures include the silos, office building, power generator building and safety sculpture. • Great Northern Railway corridor. The railroad from Sedro-Woolley reached Concrete in 1900, opening the area for commerce. Tracks were removed in 1996, creating the Skagit County Cascade Trail. • Historic buildings. The town hall, built in 1908, was the first schoolhouse and was originally located across from the State Bank of Concrete; the Concrete grade school was constructed in 1910 and the addition to the east in 1938. The Concrete

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

Theater was built in 1923 and the stage has entertained audiences from vaudeville to the movies.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS

Population:: 790 in 2000, an estimated 845 in 2008

GOVERNMENT

Town of Concrete 45672 Main St. Concrete, WA 98237 Telephone: (360) 853-8401 Fax: (360) 853-8002

CHAMBER

Concrete Chamber of Commerce 70460 S. Dillard, (360) 853-7042

SENIOR SERVICES

Concrete Senior Center 45821 Railroad St. (360) 853-8400

FESTIVALS

Cascade Days in August Fall Color Festival in October

goskagit.com

Community Profile Administration Office 45389 Airport Way Concrete, WA 98237 (360) 853-8141 www.concrete.k12.wa.us Elementary School â&#x20AC;˘ Concrete Elementary School 7838 S. Superior Ave. (360) 853-8145 Middle School â&#x20AC;˘ Concrete Middle School 45389 Airport Way (360) 853-8116 High School â&#x20AC;˘ Concrete High School 7830 S. Superior Ave. (360) 853-8143 Alternative Schools â&#x20AC;˘ Twin Cedars Alternative School (360) 826-6505 â&#x20AC;˘ Skagit River Schoolhouse (360) 826-6505

eagles along the Skagit. Rockport was founded in 1901 by Albert Von Pressentin and served as the end of a railroad line for many years, with as many as three trains departing daily to Burlington. The Rockport Hotel, built along the river, had 21 rooms with hot and cold running water. Rockport also was a destination for visitors en route to Newhalem when Skagit City Light was building its hydroelectric facilities on the Skagit River. Lying between Rockport and Marblemount, the little enclave of Bullerville was once a thriving lumber company.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND CITY FACTS Population: 102

MARBLEMOUNT

elcome to the American Alps" reads the sign that greets visitors entering Marblemount. The town, population 251, is situated on the last large river plain of the Upper Skagit River Valley deep into North Cascades country. Highway 20 follows the route of early Native Americans, pack trains and pioneer wagons as it passes through the Skagit River Valley east and eventually over the North Cascades mountain range. Marblemount is a tourist stop and quiet residential community now, but in its earliest days it was a major point of interest during an 1890s gold rush, functioning as a trading post and launch point for prospectors seeking their claims in the surrounding mountains and along the Skagit River.

Upper Skagit

SCHOOLS

PARKS Silo Park Bear Square Garden Club Park Skateland Park

ROCKPORT

ockport is a popular stop-off for eastern Skagit County visitors, who want to stretch their legs, or grab some gas and snacks. One popular stop is Howard Miller Steelhead Park, located on the river banks, with a playground, hookups for RVs and, of course, lots of access onto the mighty Skagit River. At milepost 96.5 on Highway 20 is Rockport State Park, a 670-acre camping park featuring old growth trees and the trailhead that begins the climb to the top of 5,541-foot Sauk Mountain. This rural community also is a major focal point of the annual Upper Skagit Valley Bald Eagle Festival in February, when tourists come up to view the wintering population of bald goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

103

Upper Skagit

Community Profile The town got its name in 1890 from Matilda Clark Buller, a hotel keeper who named the town for a mountain across the river, which resembled marble to her. At that time, there were more than 1,500 miners and prospectors in the area. Marblemount is rich with the history of the gold rush and a few buildings of the era still stand. In recent years, the community has seen a rise in tourism activity, in large part due to the revival of commercial interests. Vacationers have their pick of quaint lodges, cabins, inns and motels. Check out the tiny Wildwood Chapel, located across the street from Clark’s Skagit River Resort, or tour the Glacier Peak Winery. Marblemount is home to five eateries and two gas stations. The area is a popular destination for bird watchers, who flock to Marblemount from December through February to see bald eagles. Fisher men and women can launch boats on the Skagit River just over the bridge at the east end of town where the Cascade River Road begins its 23-mile path to Cascade Pass; it’s the original route east to Stehekin and Lake Chelan for American Indians, miners and prospectors. The North Cascade Chamber of Commerce, which services not only Marblemount but the greater part

of eastern Skagit County, operates a visitor information center from its headquarters at 59831 State Route 20 in Marblemount. The center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day from May to September. For more information about events or sites in the upper Skagit Valley, call the chamber at (360) 873-2106. Information also is available at the North Cascades National Park Service Wilderness Information Center on Ranger Station Road, off Highway 20, at (360) 873-4500, ext. 39.

to house employees who were building and operating the utility’s Skagit Hydroelectric Project. The Davis family homesteaded the area and remains of their primitive water power machinery can be seen on display in Newhalem. J.D. Ross, who envisaged and spearheaded the project, also promoted the first tours of the site. His remains are in a crypt in the hillside near the Gorge powerhouse in Newhalem. Today, the towns continue to serve as a stomping ground and home for workers involved with the Gorge, DEMOGRAPHICS Diablo and Ross dams. In recent years, AND CITY FACTS the number of resident plant operaPopulation: 251 tors and maintenance crew have been reduced due to automation and many CLUBS/ORGANIZATIONS functions are remotely controlled Marblemount Community Hall from Seattle. Many of the homes that 60155 Highway 20, Marblemount used to be filled with families have Connie Clark been removed, there is no longer a (360) 873-4631 school, services have been reduced and the population is quite small. For the traveler, the company towns also offer the last two stopoffs for travelers headed to eastern Washington via Highway 20. The two communities also are major stopping points for people wishing to see more stablished in 1918, the comof the North Cascades National Park munities of Newhalem and or Ross Lake National Recreation Diablo, located respectively at Area, two regions the communities Highway 20 mileposts 120 and 128, both access. Step aboard the 50-foot were constructed by Seattle City Light Alice Ross III for Seattle City Light’s Diablo Lake Adventure tours from June through September. For more information, call 206-684-3030 or visit www.SkagitTours.com. Visitors please take note: Newhalem has the last store — the Skagit General Store at milepost 120 — for many miles, until visitors have crossed the mountain passes and are in east• FRESH MEATS & PRODUCE ern Washington. • PICNIC & CAMPING SUPPLIES The North Cascades National • 24-HR ICE DISPENSING MACHINE Park Visitors Center is located at 502 Newhalem St., Newhalem.

NEWHALEM AND DIABLO

360-853-8540

• ATM • GROCERIES • FISHING TACKLE

44546 State Route 20 • 1/2 Mile West of Concrete 104

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

Skagit County Weather Skagit County lies at the same latitude as St.

Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Newfoundland, and Paris but has a milder climate than either due to the warming waters of the Pacific Ocean. That said, Skagit County has some of the most diverse weather of any county in Washington. The western end of the county lies in the Olympic Rain Shadow, thus getting some of the smallest rainfall totals in Western Washington. The eastern end reaches the western slopes of the Cascades, and can get more than 100 inches of rain a year. The communities of Anacortes, La Conner, Mount Vernon and Burlington, at the western end, enjoy a relatively mild climate, with minimal rainfall and mild temperatures. But not far east in the community of Sedro-Woolley, and then farther east in Concrete and Marblemount, you find a very different climate indeed. Anacortes, perched on the saltwater, gets an average of 26.5 inches of yearly rainfall. But, for every 15 miles to the east, rainfall increases by an average of 5 inches a year. And snowfall goes from an average of 5 inches annually in

Anacortes to more than 50 inches at the eastern edge of the county. Settlers at the turn of the 20th century selected the Skagit Valley for their homes because of the mild weather conditions and long growing seasons. Since then the Skagit Valley has developed into one of the most important agricultural regions of the state, with over 80 crops commercially grown. Summertime highs rarely go above 80, and during winter the lows usually stay above freezing. Spring is the longest season, lasting from early February to the first of July. During this time the weather is unpredictable, ranging from warm and sunny to cold and windy with steady rain. July heralds the beginning of summer, with very little precipitation and temperatures in the mid-70s. Fall is the shortest season, often lasting only the month of October before winter weather arrives in November. Like the early settlers, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find the mild weather makes Skagit County a great place to live. - Vince Streano

weather statistics mount vernon JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

anacortes

concrete

Hi Lo

Rainfall

Hi Lo

Rainfall

Hi Lo

Rainfall

45.5 49.2 52.8 57.7 63.9 68.6 73.2 73.8 68.5 59.4 50.7 45.9

4.02 2.84 2.73 2.43 2.21 1.83 1.16 1.49 1.87 3.22 4.48 4.08

45 48.5 52.3 57.8 63.6 68.2 72.1 72 67.3 59.1 51 46.3

3.55 2.47 2.29 1.81 1.55 1.36 .90 .99 1.47 2.64 3.83 3.82

41.7 47.2 53.1 60.4 67 71 76.8 76.9 71 60.8 49.1 43

9.48 6.85 6.66 4.34 3.23 1.41 1.41 1.72 3.45 6.77 10.41 10.36

33.6 35.1 37.1 39.9 44.7 48.8 50.6 50.9 47 41.9 37.8 34.6

34.5 36 38.1 41.6 45.7 49.6 50.4 52.6 49.9 44.5 39.5 36

31 32.8 35.2 39.3 44.7 49.4 52.1 52.5 48.9 43.3 37.1 33.1

Weather statistics provided by the Western Regional Climate Center goskagit.com

SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011 |

105

Directory of Advertisers ALBERT’S RED APPLE................104

ISLAND HOSPITAL...........................3

SCHUH FARMS................................8

ANACO BAY INN............................89

KOA

SKAGIT BIZ....................................57

ANACORTES ARTS FESTIVAL.......39 ANACORTES MUSEUM.................82 ANNIE'S PIZZA STATION...............57 BEST WESTERN COTTONTREE inns...................21 the BRIDGE at Mount Vernon...................27 BURLington

BURLINGTON-ANACORTES......68 LA CONNER QUILT & TEXTILE MUSEUM...................78 LA CONNER SEAFOOD & PRIME RIB HOUSE..................75 LAKE ASSOCIATES RECREATION CLUB....................72 LANG'S HORSE & PONY FARM....15

SKAGIT COUNTY DEMOCRATS....47 SKAGIT COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM...............78 SKAGIT HIGHLANDS.....................58 SKAGIT STATE BANK.....................56 SKAGIT TRADITION REALTY.........41 SKAGITONIANS TO PRESERVE FARMLAND...........7

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.......53

LOGAN CREEK RETIREMENT.......81

CANINE COZY CARE RESORT......51

MAJESTIC INN & SPA....................86

AND SHOPPE..............................65

CAP SANTE COURT

MARBLEMOUNT DINER................99

THE STAMP & COIN PLACE..........32

RETIREMENT..............................81

THE MARINA INN...........................14

STAR BAR......................................91

CAP SANTE INN.............................83

MCINTYRE HALL...........................31

SUMMIT BANK...............................61

CASCADIAN FARM..........................7

META PERFORMING ARTS...........34

SKAGIT VALLEY

CENTRAL MOVING & STORAGE...50

MOTHER FLIGHT FARM................72

CHANDLER"S SQUARE.................88

MOUNT VERNON

CHRISTIANSON’S NURSERY & GREENHOUSE.........................75

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.......60 MOUNT VERNON

SOAPY DOG WASH

CASINO RESORT......................108 SKAGIT VALLEY FOOD CO-OP.......9 SKAGIT VALLEY HERALD..............97 SKAGIT VALLEY HOSPITAL.............2

COCUSA MOTEL...........................68

DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION......47

COMPASS WINES..........................11

MUSEUM OF NORTHWEST ART...78

MEDICAL CENTER......................59

THE CONWAY MUSE.....................37

OUR WICKIUP................................24

SEDRO-WOOLLEY CHAMBER......57

COTTONS......................................76

OVENELL’S HERITAGE INN...........23

SEDRO-WOOLEY MUSEUM

DAYS INN - MOUNT VERNON.......17

PAT RIMMER LES SCHWAB..........53

& GIFT SHOP...............................93

EARTHENWORKS GALLERY.........76

PIONEER TRAILS RV RESORT......55

TAYLOR SHELLFISH......................70

EGG & DART

PORT OF ANACORTES..................82

THAI HOUSE..................................40

HOME AND FLORAL...................76

PORT OF SKAGIT COUNTY........107

TRI-DEE ARTS................................59

FIDALGO BAY RESORT.................86

READ ME A STORY........................80

UNITED GENERAL HOSPITAL.......52

FRONTIER BANK.........................103

REAL ESTATE WEEKLY..................58

WHIBEY ISLAND BANK ................69

GOSKAGIT.....................................77

RIGHT WAY....................................96

WINDERMERE REAL ESTATE........53

HOLLAND DRUG...........................29

SAMISH GALLERY

WORK OUTFITTERS......................47

HOTEL PLANTER...........................76

SKAGIT VALLEY

OF NATIVE ARTS.........................33

HUMAN LIFE..................................28

106

| SKAGIT county Newcomers Guide | 2010-2011

goskagit.com

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The Skagit!

EntErtainmEnt is our GamE! Play more than 780 of the most popular slots and table games, stay at our two fabulous hotels and dine at our three restaurants. Enjoy year-round headline entertainment in the Pacific Showroom or join in the fun with weekly live music and karaoke in Winnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lounge. The Skagit offers a FREE player Rewards Program with great discounts just for being a member!

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