Living on an island drives the point of environmental immediacy home like nothing else. All of our garbage needs to be hauled off the island, all of our gasoline needs to be barged here, when something so benign as laundry detergent enters our storm water system, the fish in the bay three blocks from us die. It comes as no surprise that a community so aware of the fragile beauty surrounding it, hosts a festival like no other, a festival that Entertains – Inspires – Enlightens; the annual Friday Harbor Film Festival.  Held in early November each year, it features documentaries about the people, cultures and the environment known as the Pacific Rim.

34 films will be screened in five venues around Friday Harbor, one of them being - we are very excited to announce - the Earthbox Inn & Spa. The other venues are in short walking distance of our hotel, making attending the festival a leisurely stroll around quaint Friday Harbor with possible ice cream, sushi and martini stops in between films.

This years marvelous movie line up includes “More Than Honey”, about the bee die-off all over the world and the implication not only to our food – 1/3 of our food wouldn’t exist without bees - but also to the very survival of our race.

“Breaking through the Clouds” is a documentary about Lolita, the Orca, who was captured from our waters 44 years ago and held since in an illegally sized tank at Miami’s Seaworld. Last year’s legal inclusion of Lolita as an endangered species makes the return to her home and family a real possibility.

Each American throws out an average of 4.5 pounds of garbage per day. Where does it all go?  “Trashed”, Winner of the Earth Grand Prix-Special Award at 2012 Tokyo International Film, bravely and provocatively investigates the fastest growing industry in the US: the garbage industry.

Over the course of the three days there will be four special events, giving our northern 98502 a fancy 90210 feeling. On Friday, November 6, during the Opening Night Gala,  “The Graduate’s” Katharina Ross and “The Big Lebowski’s” Sam Elliot will receive the Andrew V. McLaglen Lifetime Achievement Award. Local legend Sam Buck II, the oldest San Juan Island resident being born here, will be celebrated as the local hero he is and remembered for his influence on island culture.

On Saturday, November 7, 2015, there will be a Film maker's Forum in the morning and a Film Maker’s Soiree at night at the local Yacht Club.

On Sunday, November 8, the festival will close with an Awards Presentation ceremony and a final showing of the movie being selected by the Audience Choice Award.

Tickets are available ONLINE or by phone: 360-378-3210.

Check out the Earthbox Inn & Spa's terrific lodging specials for this time of the year.