In appreciation for all your hard work and contributions
the Ag Guild invites you to a fireside celebration of Brickworks at wonderful Lakedale Lodge

Please join us for wine and scrumptious appetizers

Monday February 6th
5:30—7:00

Please RSVP to sanjuanagriculturalguild@yahoo.com

This is your night!

Brickworks celebrates:
Islands Farm Festival, San Juan Island
October 14 – 17

Join us Saturday, October 15th
First Annual Friday Harbor Farm Harvest Parade, San Juan Island.
2:30-3:30 pm

Fire up the tractor, gussy-up the goat, dress the baby as a carrot or just come as you are! Join us as we celebrate the end of the summer farm season and SJI’s farm heritage–past and present. Starting at Fairgrounds, down Argyle then Spring St. Ending with refreshments at the Brickworks on Nichols Street.

Join us to CELEBRATE!
4th Annual Autumn Harvest Festival
Sunday, October 16, 4:30-8:30pm
Brickworks Plaza, 150 Nichols Street, Friday Harbor

Showcasing local food, chefs, beverages and spirits!

Dinner includes two glasses of wine/beer, cocktails available; raffles and games with fantastic prizes; local art sale and silent auction; dance to live music!

Purchase real bricks engraved with your name, or the name of a loved one, that will be laid in front of the building.

Celebrate the new site and the completion of the plaza! Support us in beginning the building renovation!

Co-Sponsored by the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild and the San Juan Farmers Market Association

Admission $75, limited seating

Tickets available at Market Chef, Griffin Bay Bookstore, Saturday Farmers Market

Or contact:
Peggy @ 378-9571: pweir@centurytel.net
Elaine @ 378-6690: elainemkendall@yahoo.com

Come find your favorite vendors and their delicious produce, colorful bouquets, fresh seafood and meats, grass-fed burgers, hot sausages, baked goods, pizza, and more!

Off-street parking has been graciously offered for the Saturday market by Mi Casita, Key Bank, the San Juan County Health Department, and Wells Fargo Bank.  Short-term parking is available at the Brickworks, and there will be a Veggie Valet for shoppers who wish to check their purchases at the market for later pick-up.

Market vendors and the Market Band look forward to welcoming you to their new home at the Brickworks on September 10, 10am-1pm.

The Art Market will run for four weeks in 2011 in the afternoon from 5-8pm, beginning this Thursday, August 11. Then we’ll gear up for a full season in 2012, running from June until September.

Our vision has been to provide a venue for local artists and local musicians, and to bring locals and visitors into town to do a little shopping before, during and after the Art Market and to enjoy dinner at one of our many restaurants.

The new art market will complement existing ongoing events. We will now have Island Rec’s Music on the Lawn on Wednesday evening, the Brickworks Art Market on Thursday evenings, Music at the Port on Friday evenings, the Farmers Market on Saturday mornings and Music at the Port on Sunday afternoons.

Please join us this Thursday, August 11, between 5 and 8pm as we kick off our first Friday Harbor Art Market at Brickworks.  Local artists! Local music! Lots of fun!

For information about participating at the market, please contact Debbie Pigman, dpigman1234@yahoo.com or stop by the market on Thursday to talk with her.

Pete Kilpatrick, Ravenhill Construction and volunteer overseer of renovations at Brickworks, needs crews of volunteers for the next two weeks, July 25—August 5. There’s lots to do, he says. “Just show up at the site next week at anytime.” Monday, July 25, is the day for screening pea gravel. Then it needs to be rolled. Pete expects to begin laying the pavers shortly thereafter next week.

The Ag Guild has raised the necessary funds to complete Phase I, building the outdoor plaza in time to hold a mid-week Arts Market and the Saturday Farmers Market this summer. Funds cover the costs for construction materials. With donations of equipment and many hours of volunteer labor, “We’re moving toward finishing,” Pete says.

If you want to join in and help out, contact Pete: raven@interisland.net or just show up anytime on any day over the next two weeks. He’ll put you to work.

Peter Kilpatrick, Ravenhill Construction, is volunteering to oversee our renovations. He gave us an update a few days ago: All the prep work for porous pavers and porous concrete is finished. The white pipes you may have noticed are drain pipes, not a septic system. They’ve been put down as an engineered system for drainage into the Town of Friday Harbor’s storm drainage system. This means that water is filtered by the porous pavers and porous concrete before it heads into the Town’s system.

What’s next? More rock will be added for a sub-base. Once the new rock is down, a 50X50 section of porous concrete will be set in, followed by a layer of finer rock and more prep work for putting pavers in.

In mid-July Pete says, it’ll be time for laying brick over the whole area. This will be done with all volunteer labor. Mildred Foss, San Juan Topsoil, will offer technical assistance and help supervise this big volunteer effort to lay 5,000 square feet of pavers.

We’re calling on volunteers to come and be a part of this laying down of bricks at Brickworks! If you’re interested, get in touch with Peter Kilpatrick by e-mail: raven@interisland.net.

There’s no doubting Pete’s enthusiasm when he says: “The big, final piece will be when we take the chain link fences down. This alone will change Friday Harbor a lot. It will be a big impact. People will be quite surprised by how nice it will be, how big a public area it’s going to be.”

Ag Guild Chair, Bruce Gregory, thanked the 100 or so gathered at Brickworks for on-going support and gave the official thumbs-up: the renovations are underway. He noted how important everyone’s support and contributions are, “It doesn’t matter how big or small,” everyone’s help matters. Board member Susie Wampler, our event organizer extraordinaire, welcomed all and spoke about the future “ripple” effect of Brickworks, how it will enhance the neighborhood around Nichols Street and bring a heretofore-unused area of Friday Harbor to life with a Farmers Market and Town Center. She pointed to the children scampering around with fistfuls of cookies, “This is for them. This is for the future.” Susie also praised the volunteer contractors for taking on this first phase of renovations, preparation of the outdoor plaza. Brad Gislason and Thor Black will also be on hand with heavy equipment as the project continues.

Jane Burton Bell, now actively raising funds for Brickworks, was thrilled to announce that the Ag Guild had just that morning received an anonymous $25,000 donation. This strong show of support from an individual donor is a gift that puts the Ag Guild more than halfway toward its goal of raising $50,000 for completion of the plaza this summer, in time to hold the Farmers Market and a mid-week Arts Market outdoors.

Friday Harbor Mayor Carrie Lacher also spoke to the crowd, “I am happy to be here today for this historic occasion — this reclaiming of a portion of the Town of Friday Harbor’s history. I am looking forward to the economic incubator aspect of the Market taking root here and helping revitalize this area of Town. By the end of summer, there will be new energy in this corner, filling this courtyard, and helping move our community into a dynamic future.”

The mood was festive, even on a cloudy day. Seeing that construction is about to begin, seeing visible evidence that Brickworks is a dream coming true, raised the enthusiasm level and the Ag Guild received more offers of help and financial support. We’re proud to say that Brickworks is indeed a hands-on community endeavor.

It’s official: We’re breaking ground and launching renovations.  We’re inviting all to help us make this a special occasion. Join us for refreshments and in celebration as we give a toast of thanks to our volunteer excavation crew: Peter Kilpatrick and Pat Bryant, and to Myron Williams for donating heavy equipment.  They’ll be doing the work to ready the plaza for outdoor markets this summer.

Sorry for the short notice, but we’re relying on volunteer labor and just yesterday, we learned the crew had time in between other jobs. They said, “let’s go,” so we’re scurrying around to get the word out about this important occasion.

Renovations are now officially underway.   See you Saturday.