LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY

With Magsy
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Places & Travel
  • Updated Weekly

Margaret Croom is ‘Magsy’, a local of Whidbey Island, Washington. Whether you’re a local, a would-be islander, or just someone who loves a good story, ”Local Whidbey” is your weekly dose of community, inspiration, and a reminder that the best places aren’t just found on maps—they’re found in people. Are you an AUDACIOUS ISLANDER(tm)? For more info, go to https://LocalWhidbeyPodcast.com

  1. 4d ago

    Creative Economy Builders: Why World Class Actors Are Choosing Whidbey

    When we talk about Whidbey’s creative economy, we often talk about the people who live here and build something.  But there’s another piece of a creative economy that may be just as important:  Can you create something compelling enough that talented people choose to come here—and then choose to come back?  Every year, Island Shakespeare Festival brings professional actors, directors, designers and theater artists to Whidbey to create work alongside local talent.  They live here. They eat here. They shop here. They become part of the community. Some return year after year. And sometimes, the work they create here begins to belong to Whidbey itself.  Today I have three people who can tell that story from very different perspectives.  Olena Hodges is the Executive Artistic Director of Island Shakespeare Festival. She grew up on Whidbey, left the island for professional theatrical training, and ultimately came home to help build professional theater in the community where she first discovered it. Davion Brown is an internationally nomadic freelance artist originally from Australia. This is his third season with Island Shakespeare Festival. This summer he played Robin Hood—and now he’s moved from interpreting someone else’s story to writing one of his own. He’s the playwright behind ISF’s current project, Marcellus Andronicus: The Curse of House Andronici. an-dro-NEE-sigh  And Brandon Gregory is originally from Atlanta and now lives in Baltimore. He returned to Whidbey for his second season with ISF and is directing the current project.  So today, I don’t just want to talk about putting on Shakespeare.  I want to talk about something bigger.  Why do professional actors come to a little island in Washington to make theater?  What makes them come back?  What happens when an arts organization moves beyond presenting existing work and starts creating new work here?  And what would it take for Whidbey to become not simply a place that appreciates artists—but a place where artists come specifically to create? ISF WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  2. Sep 23

    CREATIVE ECONOMY BUILDERS: SHAPING OAK HARBOR'S CREATIVE FUTURE

    When people hear the words arts commission, they may picture a committee that chooses murals, reviews public art, or helps organize cultural events. But an arts commission can do something much bigger. It can help shape how a city sees itself. It can influence what our public spaces look like, which stories get told, where creativity shows up, and whether residents feel like they live in a place with its own cultural identity. That’s why I wanted the Oak Harbor Arts Commission represented in this season of Creative Economy Builders. Oak Harbor is the largest city on Whidbey Island, and it’s also a city in transition. There are conversations happening around downtown, public spaces, arts access, cultural identity, events, tourism, and what kind of community Oak Harbor wants to become over the next decade. Today I’m joined by JR Russell, Chair of the Oak Harbor Arts Commission. JR brings an interesting perspective to the role because creativity isn’t just something he advocates for — it’s part of his own life. By trade, he’s a magician. So today I want to talk less about JR’s résumé and more about the work: what the Arts Commission is responsible for, what it wants to accomplish, where Oak Harbor’s creative opportunities are being missed, and why arts and culture matter to the economic future of a city. JR Russell, welcome to Local Whidbey. SUBMIT AN IDEA TO THE ARTS COMMISSION JR RUSSELL MUSICIAN | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  3. Sep 16

    FINDING HOPE: A NEW LIFE ON WHIDBEY

    Today's guest is Catherine Markel, who moved to Oak Harbor with her husband in late 2024. They didn't know anyone here, and they weren't moving because of the military. They simply found Whidbey, fell in love with it, and decided to make a very different kind of life. Catherine came from a career as an attorney handling child abuse case—a job that left her angry at the world and frustrated by what she saw happening around children and the people responsible for helping them. She knew she didn't want to work full time anymore. She wanted to do things she had never had the opportunity to do before. Then she Googled "volunteering on Whidbey Island." And that's where this story takes an unexpected turn. She found HOPE Therapeutic Riding Program, rediscovered a love of horses she'd had as a child, and found something she wasn't necessarily looking for: a community of women who supported one another while helping riders with very different needs find connection, confidence and joy. Today, Catherine isn't just a volunteer. She's an instructor and a board member. And she says that the women and volunteers at HOPE became her family—and helped her become less angry, less wary, and more hopeful. I was particularly interested in Catherine's story because sometimes reinvention isn't about finding another career. Sometimes it's about finding the people and the place that allow you to become a different version of yourself. So let's talk about leaving one life behind, finding a new one on Whidbey, and what horses—and a remarkable group of women—have taught Catherine along the way. CATHERINE'S WEBSITE | HOPE INSTA | HOPE WEBSITE   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  4. Sep 9

    MELODY TODD COMES HOME WITH FRESH EYES

    Today's story is a reinvention story, but with little different perspective on Oak Harbor a lot of us do not have. Sometimes reinvention means leaving. Sometimes it means starting over. And sometimes, after years away, it means coming home. My guest grew up right here in Oak Harbor. After high school, she left and spent the next 20 years building a life in Lake Stevens. Along the way, she created Honest Chatter, a blog that became a place for real conversations about life, wellness, style, and the things that matter to us beneath the surface. Eventually, she and her high school sweetheart made the decision to return to the place where they grew up—and together, they took over a business in Oak Harbor. But coming home hasn't simply been about returning to what they knew. She's looking at Oak Harbor with fresh eyes. She's reconnecting with people, building community, and using her voice and her growing presence on Instagram to encourage people to see this town not simply as a place where they happen to live, but as a place worth loving. And I think that's particularly interesting in a Navy town like Oak Harbor, where people are constantly arriving, leaving, putting down roots, or wondering whether they should. There's a fascinating space between the longtime residents and the transient military community—and she's interested in what happens in that space. So today we're going to talk about leaving home, coming back, what changes when you see your hometown through adult eyes, and what it takes to help create the kind of community you want to live in. VISIT MELODY: INSTAGRAM | BLOG | FACEBOOK   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  5. Sep 2

    THE NEXT WALLA WALLA? MAKE IT CASCADIA TEA ON WHIDBEY ISLAND

    What if the next great agricultural story in Washington isn’t wine, apples or berries—but tea? That may sound improbable. Washington has never exactly been known as tea country. But on Whidbey Island, a group of farmers, entrepreneurs and culinary professionals are betting that the Pacific Northwest could become home to something entirely new: a thriving tea-growing region. The ambition is enormous. Vale, a matcha-making company, has acquired 365 acres on North Whidbey, plans to plant tea across roughly 200 of those acres, and ultimately hopes to grow one million tea plants. The goal isn't simply to produce matcha. It's to see whether tea can take root here—and whether an industry can grow around it. If Walla Walla can transform itself into a destination defined by wine, could Cascadia one day be known for tea? I was at the Vale Farms unveiling on Wednesday, August 26, and recorded presentations from Luke, Fife, Eva and Chef Jeffrey. The outdoor setting made recording challenging, so you'll hear some of their story through those presentations and some through interviews they recorded afterward specifically for this episode. You'll hear how a health scare changed Luke's direction, how a global matcha shortage sent the Vale team to Japan, how tea plants made their way from Hawaiʻi to Whidbey, why this team believes the Pacific Northwest could one day become known for exceptional tea—and what they're hoping to discover about the flavor of tea grown right here. Because they're not trying to recreate Japan on Whidbey Island. They're trying to discover what Whidbey Island tea might become. I hope you enjoy this special presentation, which I'm calling “The Next Walla Walla? Make It Cascadia Tea on Whidbey Island.” VALE FARMS WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM    Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  6. Aug 26

    THE CAREER SHE DIDN'T PLAN, THE LIFE SHE BUILT

    'Barbara Fuller on Starting Over and Finding a New Purpose' Today's guest has reinvented herself more than once. Barbara Fuller began her career as a police officer in San Mateo, California. After being injured on the job, she was forced into an early retirement and had to figure out what came next. Rather than stepping away from work altogether, Barbara went back to school and built an entirely new career in environmental health and safety, risk assessment, and project management. In 2012, she and her wife moved to Whidbey Island and her career in EHS was fulfilled on the mainland. Recently Barbara eventually found another way to put her experience and her belief in public service to work. She ran for Island County Auditor in 2022, joined the Island County Civil Service Commission, and is now running for Auditor again. But this isn't a political interview. What interests me about Barbara's story is the person behind those titles—the willingness to start over, the belief that public service matters, and the idea that even when you don't get the outcome you hoped for, you can still accomplish what you set out to do. And then there's the other Barbara: president of the Whidbey Island Basset Hound Club. Because I have a feeling there are probably a few things a Basset Hound can teach us about life that you won't find in a government manual.   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  7. Aug 19

    HE BOUGHT A FOREST THEN REINVENTED IT

    Welcome back to Local Whidbey Podcast. I'm Magsy, and this week I'm bringing you a conversation from Season One that I decided deserved a second look through the lens of my Reinventions series. When I originally interviewed Scott Price, I thought of him simply as an interesting islander—the creator of Price Sculpture Forest in Coupeville. But listening back, I realized there was a much bigger reinvention story here. Scott spent much of his career in commercial real estate, including as a senior real estate program manager with Microsoft and owns and manages many types of his investment properties. After years of working in that world, he and his wife began planning their eventual move to Whidbey Island. What happened next took them—and the property they had purchased—in a direction they never anticipated. Today, Scott is running a nonprofit and bringing together two things he and his wife love: nature and art, while creating something that the entire community can experience. And I think his story is a wonderful reminder that sometimes the most meaningful reinventions aren't planned at all. Let's go back to my conversation with Scott Price. SCULPTURE GARDEN WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

  8. Aug 12

    BUILDING RUBY: A COUPLES NEXT CHAPTER

    Another great local story in my REINVENTION SERIES. For many people, retirement or a career change marks the beginning of something different. But today's guests didn't wait for one chapter to end before beginning the next. Martha Valle has spent her career creating memorable experiences as a bartender with Morale, Welfare and Recreation on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Earlier this year, Tony Valle retired from the U.S. Navy after years of military service and now works as an aircraft structural assembler. Together, they're bringing something new to downtown Oak Harbor—Ruby Lounge + Kitchen. Ruby isn't simply another restaurant or bar. Their vision is a gathering place where craft cocktails, Latin-inspired food, music, dancing, wine tastings, mystery nights, and mixology workshops come together to create memorable experiences. It's the kind of place designed to bring people together, celebrate community, and offer something a little different for Whidbey Island. But every great space begins with a story, and in Ruby's case, that story includes friends, mentors, tradespeople, neighbors, and a community that helped transform an idea into reality. Today we'll talk about building a dream while still balancing careers, creating a place where everyone feels welcome, and why sometimes the most rewarding reinvention is one you build together. Martha and Tony, welcome to Local Whidbey Podcast. FOLLOW RUBY LOUNGE + KITCHEN: WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM   Follow LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY at @LocalWhidbeyPodcast ... Link: INSTAGRAM and on Facebook. You may also get to know Magsy and subscribe for invites to her supper club, at https://withmagsy.com. PODCAST SPONSORED BY THE OAK HARBOR CREATIVE ARTS FOUNDATION. Click on link to show your support for the Oak Harbor Performing Arts Center.

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About

Margaret Croom is ‘Magsy’, a local of Whidbey Island, Washington. Whether you’re a local, a would-be islander, or just someone who loves a good story, ”Local Whidbey” is your weekly dose of community, inspiration, and a reminder that the best places aren’t just found on maps—they’re found in people. Are you an AUDACIOUS ISLANDER(tm)? For more info, go to https://LocalWhidbeyPodcast.com

Information

  • Creator
    With Magsy
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    58
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    LOCAL WHIDBEY WITH MAGSY

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