Lopez Summer Workshops

Submitted by The Lopez Island Family Resource Center

The Lopez Island Family Resource Center works hard to provide an exciting and accessible program to Lopez residents and visitors alike! This year, the LIFRC is offering 85 fun and educational workshops. Already, 17 classes have filled, so sign up soon! Some classes are longtime “bestsellers,” while others are brand-new and ready to be explored by curious Lopezians and visitors.

One of these brand-new workshops is an Adult Seafaring daytrip aboard the classic 24-foot wooden ketch, “Tern.” This trip offers the opportunity to learn sailing basics while traveling from Hunter Bay dock to a wild beach on Decatur Island. It promises to be a fabulous adventure!

Another exciting new workshop for adults (ages 16 and up) is Nathan Donnelly’s Light My Fire LIKE A BOSS! Nathan Donnelly is a contestant on the upcoming Season 6 of the History Channel’s survivalist show, “Alone,” and he will be sharing his incredible knowledge about making and maintaining a campfire in a variety of situations. Donnelly is also offering Basics of Outdoor Survival for ages 9-12 and “Naturally Curious” for ages 6-8.

If you are more interested in learning about local food sources from the land and sea and want to learn how to identify, sustainably harvest and prepare them, you may want to check out Doug Benoliel and Tamara Buchanan’s Northwest Foraging class or Dr. Ryan Drum’s Seaweed Ramble. Alaya Battalia will also be offering a new Dilly Beans Canning Class, which will teach the basics of canning and provide you with a delicious jar of dilly beans to bring home with you!

Another novelty workshop is Storybook Soundtracks, led by professional narrator and music teacher Arika Rapson. In this interactive class, kids ages 4-6 will take part in bringing books to life by creating and performing musical soundtracks to go along with stories.

If your child is a bit older, Missoula Children’s Theater, the largest touring children’s theater program in the United States for first through 12th graders, will be returning to Lopez to offer Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Each participant will have the chance to audition and become a star in the play, and the week will wrap up with two final performances at the Community Center.

If acting isn’t preferred, perhaps your child would like to spend mornings at Library Summer Camp doing reading and small projects, and learning through play with friends. Or maybe you or your kids (ages 9+) would like to get out on beautiful Fisherman Bay! There are sailing lessons for all levels, and our experienced instructors make the classes enjoyable and educational. If your kids would rather be IN the water, sign them up for swimming classes with our fabulous new swim instructor and LIFRC Summer Workshop intern, Ellie Poehlman!

Each year, efforts are made to keep LIFRC classes affordable. Scholarships for sailing, swimming and other workshops are available for local youth, as are payment plans. This year, to receive a scholarship, fill out a scholarship request form available in the LIFRC office (23 Pear Tree Lane, between the post office and bank) and submit it by May 24 to be eligible for a 2019 scholarship.

The resource center’s summer workshop program is truly one-of-a-kind, considering all of the classes offered on our little island. Papier-Mache, Mountain Biking for Beginners, Beginning Fly Fishing, Stand-Up Paddle Boarding, Outdoor Adventures, Orchestra Camp, Lavender Harvest Celebration, Creating Patterns, Basketball Camp, Golf Clinic, British Soccer Camp, and Youth and Adult Tennis are just a few of the many offered… something for everyone! To find out more and to sign up, visit www.lifrc.org and go to the Summer Workshops tab or call the LIFRC office at 360-468-4117. Brochures are available at Isabel’s, Holly B’s Bakery, chamber of ommerce, Southend Market and the ferry landing. We hope you join us this summer!

Lopez Summer Workshops