Happenings | June 8 edition
Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 8, 2023
Trash bins come to Vashon
Last week, King County Local Services installed 10 new public trashcans in or near the town core of Vashon, at locations including Vashon Theatre, the Bank Road bus stop, the crosswalk in front of May Kitchen + Bar, the crosswalk in front of Vashon Pharmacy, the Village Green, and Vashon Center for the Arts.
According to the Vashon Chamber of Commerce, the cans will be emptied by the county’s Conservation Corps twice a week during the summer, and about once a week during the winter.
Vashon-Maury Island Community Council helped push and coordinate the effort to bring the receptacles to Vashon. This is a one-year pilot program, as the County has not earmarked funding past 12 months for maintenance and trash removal for the bins, said Amy Drayer, executive director of the Vashon Chamber.
Vashon 101
Vashon historian Bruce Haulman will present “Vashon History: Contact to Present” as part of Vashon Heritage Museum’s eight-part webinar series, Vashon 101, at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 8, on Zoom. Haulman will discuss major turning points that shaped the human history of Vashon. Find out more and register here. (To read more about Vashon 101, see page 5.)
Coffee with the Chief
Coffee with the Fire Chief is back — Join Vashon’s fire chief, Matt Vinci, on one of the following dates to discuss fire district funding, staffing, apparatus, and stations. In addition, Chief Vinci will be available to answer questions regarding the district’s August 2023 ballot measure and WSRB insurance rating improvements. Upcoming places, dates and times are: 8 to 9 a.m. Thursday, June 8, at Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie; 8 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 14, at Cafe Luna; 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, June 24, at Dockton Fire Station; and 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday, July 1, at Burton Fire Station.
Caregiver Support
The Vashon Care Network invites family caregivers to join others in a safe, supportive space to share the experience of caregiving. Support circles are offered from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday at the Vashon Lutheran Church. Come together with others to share your concerns and struggles, make meaningful connections, and find inspiration and new energy. If you need someone to stay with your loved one so you can participate, please let the organizers know. Join us for coffee, tea, cookies and community. Contact Kathy Shafel at kshafel@comcast.net or 206-718-1458 or Tory Hayes at victoriansmith@comcast.net or 206.304-4544 with questions.
Meet Teresa Mosqueda
Teresa Mosqueda, candidate for King County Council representing Vashon, will take questions from islanders about what matters on Vashon and how King County can help. Join her at 1 p.m. Friday, June 9, on the lawn and patio in front of Vashon Community Pub and Smokehouse, in Vashon Village.
Graduation Day
This weekend, Vashon High School will celebrate the Class of 2023 with a car parade for graduates, through the center of town, at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 10, with Voice of Vashon emcees announcing the graduates as they pass by. A full graduation will take place at 6 p.m. that same day, at VHS Stadium.
Welcome Corps gears up
Erin Durrett and Safa Jneidi will speak about organizing two new Welcome Corps groups to bring refugee families to Vashon at the Indivisible Vashon Immigrant/Refugee Rights Group online meeting at 11 a.m. Friday, June 14. Durrett’s group will support an LGBTQ family experiencing violence and persecution in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, while Jneidi’s group will sponsor some of their family members who escaped Syria and are currently stuck in Turkey and Egypt. Learn more about the Welcome Corps program and how you can get engaged by joining the meeting online.
Community Council meets
Vashon-Maury Community Council will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at the Land Trust Building and on Zoom here. Highlights will include news from John Taylor, King County Local Services; a community discussion on the proposed levy lift by Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, and votes on news for a new Vashon Town Plan Committee.
Join the band
Do you want to march in this summer’s Strawberry Festival Parade with the Vashon Island Marine Band and Procession but don’t know what to wear? Don’t let costume worries keep you from participating. Visit the Salish Sea Critters Maker Booth at The Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 17, and leave properly festooned. Make a fish, a jellyfish, or an anemone hat. All ages welcome! Contact vashonmarineband@gmail.com with questions.
Celebrate Juneteenth
In honor of Juneteenth, the Vashon Juneteenth Committee and Mukai Farm & Garden is hosting a family-friendly day of recognition and celebration of the contributions of Black Americans and culture from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 18 at Mukai Farm & Garden. Kim Archer of Tacoma will be performing live music, and local Chef Chantel Jackson of Thyme Well Spent will provide food for purchase. The program will also include a talk on Vashon Island’s Black History.
The announcement of General Order No. 3 by Union Army Commander Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom for enslaved persons in Texas on June 19, 1865, a date which is widely regarded as the end of slavery in America, coming almost a year and a half after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Changemakers wanted
Mythologist Michael Meade and transformational facilitator Arne Rubinstein will present ideas and practices of rites of passage during a workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 24, offering a viable framework for transformation and leadership that can change individual lives and alter social patterns. The workshop is designed for change-makers, leaders, mentors, youth, and those seeking to clarify their gifts and deepen their sense of life’s purpose.
Sign up for the workshop online here.
