The Buzz

Introduction Bainbridge Island, nestled in the heart of Washington’s Puget Sound, is not only known for its picturesque landscapes and vibrant community but also for its proximity to one of nature’s most magnificent creatures: the orca, or killer whale. These intelligent and social marine mammals have been captivating residents and visitors alike for generations, making […]

Bainbridge Island’s Linda Wolf, a renowned writer and photographer, has achieved remarkable success throughout her career. As the founder of Teen Talking Circles, Wolf has made significant contributions to youth empowerment. Her diverse accomplishments include serving as a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Citywide Mural Project, co-founding Women in Photography International, authoring three photography […]

The Great Blue Herons are a familiar sight on Bainbridge Island, sharing their habitat with the majestic eagles, their archenemies. While not as abundant as gulls and other recognizable shore birds like Canadian Geese and Mallards, the herons have established a remarkable presence on the island. What sets the herons apart is their nesting behavior. […]

Enhancing Birding Experiences in the Pacific Northwest Birding, the observation and study of birds in their natural habitats, is a popular activity for nature enthusiasts and bird lovers. Bainbridge Island, located in the Pacific Northwest region of Washington state, offers a diverse range of bird species and stunning natural landscapes, making it an ideal destination […]

A few things have put Bainbridge Island on the national map. Our high-profile governor calls Bainbridge home. Its history inspired the bestselling novel Snow Falling on Cedars. And, increasingly, our island is known across the sporting world as the birthplace of pickleball—one of the fastest growing sports in the country with millions […]

Lori Blevins-Schilling is no stranger to major lifestyle adjustments. She founded Bainbridge HeArt & Soul: Art as Therapy Studio with her family, after a head-on car crash that left her with a traumatic brain injury and the need for several surgeries. Dealing with physical, mental and emotional challenges, Blevins-Schilling found her life […]

We islanders love our avian friends (except possibly that territorial owl on the Gazzam trail). We invite them over with feeders full of seed and suet (homemade, of course) and skulk along the water lines with binoculars to spot even more. As the days get longer, many islanders look for certain special […]

If pickleball has a cousin in the golf world, it might be disc golf. The rapidly growing sport is especially welcoming of new players with its easy learning curve and low cost of entry. Players navigate a course of distinctive chain baskets with inexpensive flying discs—no golf clubs or memberships required. As […]

Picture an apple. The shine of its skin, the star of seeds at its center. Statistically speaking, if each of those seeds were planted, they would most likely grow into completely different varieties of apple trees—different from the parent fruit and different from one another. Because most apple varieties are not self-pollinating, […]

Suzanne Selfors excitedly forged ahead early this year with two new ventures: a book co-written with her son Walker Ranson and ownership of a bookstore. “Braver: A Wombat’s Tale” will be released June 23. It was set to launch with a celebration at Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo, which she bought in […]

If you’ve noticed more gardens popping up around the island (and on your friends’ Facebook feeds), that’s because there’s a budding trend in our midst. According to the National Gardening Association, the number of households that currently grow food has risen 200 percent since 2008. Since the novel coronavirus took hold, changing […]

Ken Stern grew up surrounded by languages. His grandparents spoke Yiddish and his friends spoke Italian, though he never learned either himself. At age 8, Stern moved with his family from Brooklyn, New York, to the suburbs and found himself missing the linguistic and cultural diversity of his former neighborhood. In high […]

Bainbridge Island has been lauded for being the only place in the world where the chicken coops are nicer than the houses. But chickens, as it turns out, aren’t the only feathered friends receiving all-star treatment on the rock. Every morning for nearly two years now, Maxine Steele gets out of bed […]

Sgt. Trevor Ziemba, a police officer for nearly 30 years, recalls a time when he would get a 911 call for a mental health crisis— “a suicidal subject, a person under the influence, someone having a psychotic episode”—and the best he could do was send the troubled person to a hospital. At worst, he […]

By Alorie Gilbert When students and teachers file through the doors into the inspiring, light-filled new Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary School, there are few reminders of the aging building it replaced last year, save one. Like an old friend, welcoming them at the main entrance, is a tree. A very special one—a beloved Japanese maple […]

Google “the art of conversation” and you’ll find more than 1.7 million results for books, videos, blogs, memory tips, guided tours, TED talks and even seven-step systems for improving your ability to chat. Apparently, many, many of us have lost the gift for gab. Happily, a gamut of island groups recognizes the value […]

At the start, Bainbridge Island Rod and Gun Club members fished for salmon in the Sound and hunted wild game in the woods. It was 1929, and “the island had a very rural character then,” said David Ward, president of what is now the Bainbridge Island Sportsmen’s Club. The island has changed a […]

The headlines are somber—wildfires rampaging, polar ice melting, glaciers vanishing, oceans rising. Even so—or perhaps especially so—Bainbridge will be celebrating Earth Day throughout the month of April with events that will inspire, educate and foster family fun. “We’re so bombarded with messages about the denigration of the Earth. There has to be […]

By Juliet Shields Did you know that we have an animal shelter with a nationally recognized lifesaving rate of over 96 percent right here in Kitsap County? Just ask Abby. When this husky mix arrived at Kitsap Humane Society in Silverdale, she was severely underweight and suffering from what a vet later determined to be […]

Bainbridge may be host to waves of big-city style growth, but when it’s time for a haircut, islanders and visitors alike can still find a dose of small-town charm at the island’s barbershops. Choose from three different establishments—Sandy’s, Cuts Above or Chuck’s—where customers can get a quality trim as well as quality time […]

While shuttling between her home in Suquamish and her jobs in downtown Winslow and Poulsbo, Debi Schneider measures her commute not in minutes spent on 305, but in numbers of songs she’s heard. “A longer commute means more of my favorite songs from the ’70s,” she laughed. To Schneider, who grew up on […]

Cameron Snow admits she sees the world differently than most. That became apparent in fourth grade when she was asked on a science test to explain how a vacuum works. In response, Snow sketched a landscape with a deer on a cliff. Today, as a professional artist and documentary filmmaker, Snow knows that […]

Imagine you’ve just spent a long day painting a school in Pokhara and pause to feel the sweat trickling down your neck as you gaze at the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. Or picture yourself tasting Nepali momos for the first time while locals share stories in a tranquil teahouse. Each summer, these […]

Through their company Earthbound Expeditions, islanders Matthew and Danna Brumley arrange journeys to vastly different sites around the globe, but the focus remains unwavering: immersive, insider travel experiences for the culturally curious. From a nine-person office near downtown Winslow, the company partners with arts organizations to craft itineraries that travelers can’t find elsewhere. […]

It’s no easy feat showing up for a 5:30 a.m. fitness class before heading off to a full day’s work at Bainbridge Island public schools. That’s why Terra Claiborne, Kyanne Hawkins, Diane Bedell and a handful of other island educators spur each other on. They are regulars at the semiweekly, predawn classes at Barrecor, […]

You can track down ancestors on a number of internet sites these days or take a DNA test to find links to your family’s murky past. But if you really really want to shake your family tree, the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society stands ready to help. Members gladly share information about how […]

Don’t be afraid to use your seam ripper. Dawn Janow took to heart that advice from her grandmother and zealously wields the razor-sharp, pointy-edged tool as she creates costumes for theater productions around Bainbridge Island. For those who have nervously stitched up a child’s Halloween costume, what Janow and other designers do […]

Bainbridge Islanders love rocks. Heck, we live on one. Lucky for us, we’re surrounded by a handful of gifted residents bejeweling it with precious metals and gems. For those seeking fine jewelry traditionally defined as exceptionally made gold or platinum set with precious gemstones such as diamonds and rubies Alina Korotkina’s luxurious […]

Richard lemieux reached his low point on a rainy Christmas night in 2005. Homeless and living in a van with his dog Willow for the prior eight months, LeMieux stood in the middle of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and prepared to step off the railing into the darkness below. LeMieux was an […]

How many Bainbridge Islanders does it take to stuff and sort 13,000 envelopes in less than an hour? “Usually 100 to 150,” said Tracey Denlinger, executive director for One Call for All, the local organization focused on making giving easier for donors and fundraising simpler for local nonprofits. Each October the Filipino […]

Growing up above a Philadelphia funeral home, Tim Dinan didn’t think there was anything unusual about living alongside caskets and having the nickname Digger. Even when he realized his family was unique, he chose to embrace his birthright. Dinan, the newest owner of Bainbridge’s Cook Family Funeral Home, has made burial services […]

Imagine a card game that you never tire of. One that sharpens your intellect and focus and allows you to gather with old friends and also make new ones. It’s the game of bridge and it is played every Tuesday and Thursday at the Bainbridge Island Senior Center. Because it is […]

They knock over trashcans, nest in the attic and stalk neighborhood cats. Or so go many common perceptions about the wildlife on Bainbridge Island. Local author Amanda Mander hopes that young islanders will be interested in getting to know the real truth about raccoons, squirrels and coyotes, to name a few. After […]

Thirty years ago, a trip to the Nicaraguan island of Ometepe forever changed the way Deb Russell saw the world. The then teen was among the first student delegates to travel to Ometepe as part of the Bainbridge Ometepe Sister Islands Association, an annual cultural exchange started by a group of philanthropists […]

Some fun owl facts: Owls are colorblind and have no sense of smell. The males build nests and invite females to join them. And they mate for life. Wildlife enthusiast and entrepreneur Emmy Sunshine learned these bits of information while researching and observing screech owls and building them boxes to nest in. […]

Puget sound yields an abundance of edible wildlife, but shellfish are perhaps among the most fun to find and catch. More than just a chance to play on the beach, shellfishing brings families and friends together and nothing beats the joy of digging out that first clam or pulling up a pot […]

As wendy Orville turned the handle of her large Takach etching press during a recent visit to her studio, she mused on the process of making a monotype print. “I never know what’s going to happen when I run a plate through the press. The surprise of the process is addictive.” Her […]

Their Audiences may be young, but area authors, illustrators and musicians who focus on kids never dumb things down. And they encourage children—and parents—to have fun. “Our music is meant for families to enjoy together,” said Korum Bischoff, drummer and backup singer with the band Recess Monkey. “We’re parents, too. We want […]

Passion. People find it in unique ways. Sarah Pearl found hers when she stumbled upon manure at 8,000 feet on the John Muir Trail. A lifelong hiker, Pearl was on a three week 210 mile solo hike in honor of her late father. He had been a Sierra Nevada mountain guide […]

At His Recording Studio next to Johnson Farm, Johnny Bregar has to contend with the occasional noisy tractor. It’s no big deal though. He just texts the farmers next door and asks if they can pause for a bit. “I’ve never gotten a bad reaction from them,” he said. It’s just one […]

For Leigh Calvez, it was love at first spout. She met her first whale, a humpback, in 1992 on a whale-watching voyage off the Massachusetts coast. When the animal exhaled, mist rained down and Calvez felt peace. She wanted more. For nearly three decades since, whales have been her passion. In her […]

On a Busy Friday afternoon, community members gather to assist visitors at Bainbridge Island’s food bank, to discuss a job search with counselors, and to share stories over a cup of tea. Helpline House—a place where people feel welcome to both give and receive support—is humming along under the guidance of […]

It’s as much an experience as it is a store. One that gently lingers long after you’ve parted. It’s Churchmouse Yarns & Teas. It’s an LYS, a local yarn store. “It’s part of our brand, part of our existence,” said co-owner John Koval. “We want people to understand that yeah, we […]

For most folks, by the time they hit their mid-40s, their athletic prowess has significantly softened. But islander Chris Exarhos is not by any stretch “most folks.” Recently ranked first in Washington state—and ninth worldwide!—in the men’s 45- to-49 age group of CrossFit competitors, 46-year-old Exarhos just keeps getting stronger. For […]

They Gutted and remade the gallery—and blew up the name. But folks at The Art Project want you to know that it’s still the island’s heart of art, just as it was when the sign out front said Bainbridge Arts & Crafts. “This beloved organization, the first and longest-standing art nonprofit on […]

Eavesdrop on tourist conversations on the Bainbridge Island ferry and you will often hear visitors proclaim, “It’s so green!” Open, green space is indeed one of the many attributes that make Bainbridge so beautiful and unique. But since 1996, the number of undeveloped, 10-plus-acre parcels has dropped from 96 to just 35. […]

You may know her as an actress, writer and director, but Dinah Manoff sees herself as a mother and teacher. Having grown up between New York and Los Angeles, Manoff left the “factory town” of Hollywood 13 years ago with her husband, Arthur Mortell, to raise their three boys on Bainbridge […]

In the dark winter months, we in the Pacific Northwest can get pretty desperate. Craving sunshine, we dutifully double down on vitamin D while dreamily checking airfares to tropical destinations, perhaps in the glow of a special lamp designed to keep the winter blues away. A startup on Bainbridge is working to […]

It’s 2018. At the U.S. southern border, children are being detained and confined in what has been described as a “tent city.” For Lilly Kitamoto Kodama, who was a child incarcerated at Manzanar and Minidoka during World War II, the news takes her back in time. “When I read about children placed […]

Ahhh Bainbridge Island. Farmers’ markets, boutiques and garden tours, beaches, boats and winding country roads. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll discover something rather unexpected serious manufacturing. Perched on the south side of Day Road, not far from Bainbridge Yoga House, stands AGS Stainless, the family-owned company that produces prefabricated […]