The history of glass goes back to Egypt and Mesopotamia. It goes back in the Northwest too, with…read morePilchuck (1971) and Bullseye (1974). After college, Dale Chihuly had the opportunity to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice on a Fulbright. On his return he founded the glass program at RISD and the Pilchuck school on forestland in Stanwood. The buildings in a rough Northwest style were made from trees cut and milled on site. Many of the glass buildings are open at the sides, cooling the glass furnace glory holes which run continuously. The students who live on on the land work any hours of the day and night as well. There is a more structured Summer program with international, national and regional artists leading themed classes. There is an emphasis in the program to introduce non-glass artists to glass. Glass art is a tricky thing. It can be too beautiful. Dale Chihuly is a larger than life artist, founder of the American modern glass movement, and from friends who have worked for him, generous. But glass art can't be judged by the heady aesthetics of contemporary art. So the contemporary art world often gives a cold shoulder to glass, and Chihuly specifically. That's unnecessary. Glass art is glass art. The Northwest would not be a world class glass center without his vision and ambition. The Pilchuck school has a once a year open house, one day. They also host tours for established groups seven days in May. That is the only opportunity for the public to visit. There is a fee for visitors, $20-$25+. It's fascinating to see all the glass art experiments scattered around the studios and residences. It's one of those dream artist residencies. We don't have castles here, but we have trees. And the buildings, many artist-built, are a great tribute to the trees on the land from which they grew. Well worth applying as an artist if you want to challenge yourself with glass. If you are curious about glass art, it is a very special place to visit on the rare days it's open. World class glass.

I don't think I can write a better review than Robert so I won't even try. This is one of the best…read moreschools in the world for glass, if not the best. Some of the most esteemed glass artist have studied here, had residency, or passed through the school. It is in the middle of nowhere but it is beautiful. The pond, the shop, the stump garden, the views, the installations in the forest, the bay...they all add up to an experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else. If you have a chance to visit or study here you should seize the opportunity.

I recently took a wet felting class with Janet King. It was all that I could have hoped for. Janet…read moreis an amazing artist and was a wonderful teacher. The school was very helpful in helping with accomodation and travel info. Whitby Island is so beautiful, and the town of Coupeville a delight. Cant wait to go back.

I took a nuno felting class here two summers ago and loved it! We had double tables and plenty of…read moreroom to work in addition to large sinks, a drier and outside clothes lines. We could work safely in to the evening. I'm registered for another class this coming summer and look forward to visiting Coupeville again! It's a wonderful town.

Bordering my Grandma's house in Oak Harbor, Broad View Elementary School has been a place I have…read morevisited my entire life (she started living in the house before I was born). The school has a large grassy field, playground, and swings. Growing up, and nowadays when I visit my Grandma, I come to play, walk, or swing. A fence to the side by the dumpsters is kept open during non-school hours to allow public access to the grounds. Even on holidays it does not get too busy. When I was growing up, it was busier. However, that was before they added a perimeter fence. Wildlife also frequent the field, which can be fun to watch from the deck on my Grandma's house.

Not only is the produce incredible but it's local and the people you meet are helpful. I only…read morerecently learned about the weekly produce boxes and am already planning for the next year! I had never tasted a kiwiberry until I picked up this box and now I'm hooked. Really the monthly cost is way less than I would spend in a grocery store and this is way better quality!

Oak Harbor Intermediate School has a lovely field open to the public during non-school hours. The…read morefield is grass and has a gravel walking/running path/track around it. The shape of the path is not exactly an oval, more curved rectangular in shape. There are also a few areas open for play/that contain different exercise equipment. I would guess these are used in physical education (P.E.) classes as part of the school's offerings and potentially are available for use in home-schooling physical education curriculums based in the area. In my experience coming here, I have yet to find the field and track in heavy usage on a given visit. Personally, I like less traffic when walking/running a path/track. So, in that sense this is a perfect place to come early in the morning and get some distance in.

Our son Bentley has been going to Sylvan for about two months now…read more Bentley despises school, is not eager to learn, and was testing almost two full grade levels behind when we enrolled him at Sylvan. The past two months, we've seen big change not only in his attitude towards learning, but his ability to sound out words and recognize them. He LOVES going to the learning center and actually looks forward to tutoring. Not to hurt the feelings of any of the teachers, but Mrs. Wilson is his absolute favorite - he always talks about how fun it is to learn with her. At his last assessment, he had improved more than we had anticipated, and we couldn't be more happy. Their professionalism and efficiency is genuinely impressive. We are so happy we made the decision to enroll Bentley into tutoring at Sylvan. We couldn't encourage others more to look into this establishment.

When I first got in contact with the Sylvan Learning center of Oak Harbor, it was during a…read morestressful time and Michelle was immediately welcoming with open arms! It was definitely a relief because going into a tutoring program is sort of a hit or miss. So far, Sylvan has been amazing for our daughter and we have recognized a huge improvement in her studies. All of the staff have been incredibly amazing and I cannot thank them enough for coming into our lives! From Crystalyn being so flexible with our schedule and Michelle and her husband being so kind, I would recommend any of my friends children to come here if they need a little push. Thanks Sylvan for everything! You have gained lifelong clients.

We stopped by to check it out for future adventures. Small parking lot but plenty of spaces, clean,…read moreand the staff were friendly. We were able to get information and pamphlets.

Every time I called no matter the reason each person was so kind and patient with me. They made me…read morefeel really listened to. Thank you so much each and every one of you. Robin Smith

Due to the fact that child care and preschools are hard to come by in this military town, we were…read morereferred to the SVC ECEAP preschool. It is a state-funded preschool that is free for families who qualify. Preschool is Tuesday-Friday and there is a morning class(8:30am-11:30am) and afternoon class(12:15pm-3:15pm). Although there are no classes on Mondays, the office is still open. Since this preschool is put on by Skagit Valley College, parents can actually earn elective credits every semester just by having their children attend the school! They do tours of the college so you can see what it's all about. Even though I am not currently taking other classes at SVC, I love the fact that I can still utilize their services being that I'm enrolled by having my son attend the preschool. There are a lot of great other resources for parents to help support their children whether it be educational, emotional, financial, etc. There is a parent council for those who want to get more involved and they have frequent luncheons so you can meet and socialize with other parents. Towards the end of the year, kids who will be going to Kindergarten will get to go on a school bus and get a sneak peak at a real grade school class room. This is an absolutely wonderful preschool with amazing teachers and staff! My sons teachers were Miss Patricia, Miss Jill, and Miss Sonni. They are all very attentive to each of the children and you can see how passionate they are as teachers. I really appreciate all that they do and we will miss them terribly!