Reason #9:  Anacortes is well known for its arts and crafts and is home to artists, art galleries and the Anacortes Arts Festival, www.anacortesartsfestival.com, which is held annually the first weekend in August. Many thousands of people come to Anacortes each year to participate in the arts booths, entertainment, food and other activities.  Anacortes has seven galleries and art walks are the first Friday evening every month and are very popular.  www.anacortesart.com.  We don't stop at arts and crafts...Anacortes is proud of ACT, Anacortes Community Theatre, Dance Center, a division of Anacortes Youth Arts, the Anacortes Waterfront Festival in May and the Anacortes Jazz Festival in late summer.  There's more like the Oyster Run late September in which thousands of motorcyclists come t... 04/15/2009

Reason #8:  During the past decade Anacortes has invested heavily in infrastructure with newly remodeled schools, a new police station, a new community center, and a new library that is now the city's pride and joy.  Anacortes Public Library has a fabulous website with lots of information and is very user friendly.  Please take a moment and visit the website at http://library.cityofanacortes.org.  Stay tuned for Reason #9...         04/13/2009

It's the 26th Annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival held the whole month of April.  The tulips are starting to show color and there's 100's of acres to view these spectacular blooms.  There's also acres of daffodils.  It's a huge tourist attraction and people come from all over just for this event.  Check out the website for lots of information.  http://www.tulipfestival.org/                     04/11/2009

Reason #7:  Anacortes is home to many fine eateries in a steadily growing business sector.  Restaurants offer everything from fast food to fine dining including local fare, seafood, Mexican, Italian, Greek, Chinese and contemporary Northwest cuisine.  Anacortes boasts excellent bakeries and pizzerias.  When visiting our lovely city stop in one of these popular establishments and sample the food.  You won't be disappointed!  Stay tuned for Reason #8...  04/02/2009

Reason #6:  Anacortes residents take pleasure in many outdoor activities.  Here you can enjoy sailing, power boating, whale watching, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, golf, camping, sport fishing, bird watching, scuba diving, beach combing and much more.  Anacortes is homeport for numerous sailing and power yacht charters.  Whale watching in the San Juan Islands is especially exciting with our three pods of resident Orca whales. 03/05/2009

Reason #5:  Anacortes is known as the "Gateway to the San Juan Islands and Sidney, BC".  Anacortes is the largest city on Fidalgo Island which is the easternmost of the San Juan Islands and jump-point to the rest of the world-renowned archipelago.  Anacortes is assessible by bridges from the east and from Whidbey Island to the south.  It is also home to the Washington State Ferry terminal, serving the rest of the San Juans and Sidney/Victoria, British Columbia.  Stay tuned for Reason #6... 03/05/2009

Reason #4:  Anacortes homeowners enjoy the use of 3000 plus acres of city-owned forestlands and 20 different parks within the city limits.  Washington Park is our largest which includes 220 acres jutting into Rosario Strait on the western edge of Anacortes, offering territorial views. The park has a day use area and overnight camping facilities. At Sunset Beach, on the north shore, there is a boat launch, rest rooms, reservable picnic shelter, playground and open play area.  It's a wonderful recreation area. http://www.cityofanacortes.org/Parks/WaPark/wa_park.htm.  Stay tuned for Reason #5... 02/27/2009

Reason #3:  Anacortes boasts over 20 miles of saltwater shoreline and five freshwater lakes in or near city limits - Whistle, Campbell, Cranberry, Heart and Erie making Anacortes a fisherman's paradise!  Whistle Lake is a large lake with many rocky outcroppings on which to sit and a network of trails leading hither and yon.  The lake's north end is typical of a woodland lake, but the southern portion is sprinkled with deep coves and passages.  You can even look down on Whistle Lake from the summit of Mount Erie, where you'll often find climbers clinging to rock faces.  This area contains perhaps the most remote section of the Anacortes Community Forest Lands.  The species of fish found in Whistle Lake are bass, cutthroat and perch.  Lake Campbell offers a wonderland of activities.  Some... 02/16/2009

Reason #2:  Anacortes is located within 90 minutes of Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.  When interest turns to nightlife, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. are within driving distance.  Vancouver, B.C. will be home to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.  Very cool!  Go to http://vancouver.ca/visitors.htm to learn more about this exciting city so near to Anacortes.  Closer to home is Skagit County's own McIntyre Hall.  McIntyre Hall is a premiere performing arts and conference facility located on the Skagit Valley College Mount Vernon campus and is dedicated to bringing you a variety of arts, educational, entertainment and cultural offerings throughout the year.  Visit http://www.mcintyrehall.org/ for more information.  Stay tuned for Reason #3...       02/11/2009

Reason #1: Anacortes has less rainfall than Seattle. The average yearly precipitation for Anacortes is 26.1 inches and Seattle's yearly precipitation is 37.2. That's a difference of 10.1 inches. Anacortes is located on Fidalgo Island and one of the San Juan Islands which is considered to be in the Banana Belt region of western Washingon. The weather is not typical of the weather for the remainder of the western part of the state. Tune in next time for Reason #2... 02/02/2009

Tomorrow (Thursday, the 15th) in the lobby in front of  Brodniak Hall from 5:30 to 6:30, the Chamber of Commerce is hosting a reception / meet and greet for Jim McNally and the Wrestlers For Life organization. Afterward, everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the wrestling match in the Williams Gym. Jim does an amazing job raising money while helping the kids learn the value of community service. The Wrestlers For Life program sends kids into the community to help with all sorts of things in exchange for donations that go to the American Cancer Society. Come down tomorrow night, meet Jim and the wrestlers and learn more about this very cool community outreach program. Refreshments will be served! Then, grab a hot dog from concessions and go cheer on the Seahawk Grapplers!   www.Li... 01/14/2009

So the sun came out for about 30 seconds today and I just couldn't help myself! I started thinking about summer.... the beach.... and I suddenly found myself checking the tide tables! Here is the link for Anacortes / Guemes Channel area tide tables - courtesy of NOAA. You may not need it today - but you'll thank me when it's time to back the boat in or pack up the family and head to Washington Park! Tide Tables Go Summer!   www.LiveInAnacortes.com 01/14/2009

Would you like to see a once-in-a-lifetime Olympic moment? Were you in the Watercube watching Michael Phelps stand on the podium with the National Anthem playing? I wasn't - but that would have been pretty cool! What if you could be there when someone smashes a speed skating record or on the sidelines to watch the legendary Eddie the Eagle and his spectacle of a performance? The emotional power of the Olympics comes through loud and clear on the TV - you could be there - feeling the pulse of the crowd when an athlete accomplishes something no one ever though possible or displays a level of sportsmanship or sacrifice that goes beyond human boundaries. The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are about to take place in our backyard, and, believe it or not, the first phase of individual event ti... 01/10/2009

The Skagit Valley Herald and the Anacortes American are reporting that Bill Evans, longtime Anacortes resident and athletic coach, has been named as the head football coach at Anacortes High School. That is GREAT NEWS for Seahawk fans! Bill is a great guy -my own son has had him for a couple of classes and speaks very highly of him. He has a past record as a winning head football coach, and is very well-respected among the kids at the high school. Congratulations to both Bill and the Seahawks! Read the whole story here. 01/09/2009

Save the Sydney Anacortes Ferry! The organizing meeting to save the international ferry run between British Columbia and Anacortes, WA will be held tomorrow evening (1/7), 6:00-7:30, at Anacortes City Hall.  The agenda includes key information on the Anacortes Ferry run and the ramifications of the potential cancellation, development of an action plan, and a comprehensive contact list.  The Anacortes Chamber of Commerce will also be coordinating the Jan. 15 Anacortes Ferry Advisory Committee community meeting scheduled for the Senior Center. Please put this one on your calendar and plan on attending.  It is very important that we implement a www.AnacortesCommunityBlog.com 01/06/2009

The Washington State DOL announced how funds will be spent, and luckily there will be improvements made to the Guemes Island and Anacortes ferry docks. Skagit County Guemes Isl. Ferry Dock rehabilitation combined with the Skagit County Anacortes Ferry Dock - total rehabilitation $1,522,572 Skagit County:      Construction usually brings some minor inconveniences, but these improvement are necessary.    www.AnacortesCommunityBlog.com 01/06/2009

Taste Anacortes Tickets Available     Taste Anacortes is back!  This is a fun event and great way to taste the great restaurnats of Anacortes.   The event is the third Wednesdays of January, February and March.    Tickets are $20 to taste five restaurants on a route.  Tickets are sold through the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce.   www.AnacortesCommunityBlog.com 01/05/2009

Thank you to the The Anacortes High School Key Club! Saturday, Jan. 3 the Anacortes High School Key Clug will pick up your old Christmas trees and wreaths.  They do this in hopes taht you will donate canned food for the food bank or make a $5 donation to Key Club. To participate, put your tree out by 8 a.m with your donation! What a great program!  12/29/2008

In This Issue Week at a Glance   Taste Anacortes     Week @ a Glance   Wednesday, December 31 - chamber office closed at noon   Thursday, January 1 - chamber office closed - Happy New Year     Click here for full chamber calendar   Taste Anacortes Tickets Available      Taste Anacortes is back - the third Wednesdays of January, February and March.    Tickets are $20 to taste five restaurants on a route.   Taste Anacortes tickets make a great Christmas gift - stop by the chamber and pick yours up for any of the three months.   Just remember that we close early on Christmas Eve.   To learn more about the restaurants involved click here     $hop Anacortes $$   Purchase $hop Anacortes dollars - they make a great Christmas gift.  These gift certificates are redeemable at nearly 40 chamber m... 12/29/2008

After 3 weeks of snow we can see grass in Anacortes!  It is very rare to get more than a skiff of snow in the beautiful seaside town, but this year we got a couple of feet of snow!  Fidalgo Island does not have the equipment to deal with this type of snow, so the town was crippled. The good news is that many Anacortew home owners shopped in Anacortes instead of going to the big city for Christmas shopping.  Local retailers had a good year as evidenced by the empty shelves on Christmas eve.  With this economy the boost was appreciated. But the snow is melting and Jingles is glad to see the grass back.  The days are getting longer and spring will be here before you know it!   www.AnacortesRealEstateBlog.com www.AnacortesHomeTeam.com 12/28/2008