Arts Briefs | Feb. 5 edition
Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 5, 2026
David Nihill
The well-traveled Irish comedian David Nihill will bring his wit and stand-up skills to a show at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Nihill is the winner of the prestigious annual San Francisco Comedy Competition (previous finalists include Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and Dana Carvey) and runner-up in the Moth’s largest U.S. Grandslam storytelling competition. Find out more at davidnihill.com and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Jam in the Atrium
Kicking off its 5th season, the Jam in the Atrium free jazz series will commence from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Joining island bassist and Jam maestro Bruce Phares will be two renowned Earshot Jazz Hall of Fame designees, pianist Marc Seales and percussionist D’Vonne Lewis.
Constantly in demand, Lewis tours and plays in styles ranging from jazz, big band, funk, hip-hop, rock, Brazilian and African music. He has recorded and performed with a constellation of stars that include Macklemore and Ryan Lewis; Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra; Maria Schneider; Digable Planets; Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam and tap dance legend Savion Glover.
Since the 1970s, Seales has toured and recorded with jazz greats including Ernie Watts, Joe Henderson, Art Pepper, Benny Carter and Mark Murphy, and played legendary performances in Seattle jazz venues including Jazz Alley, the New Orleans Creole Restaurant, the Ballard Jazz Festival, and the now-shuttered Tula’s Jazz Club. As an educator, he mentored two generations of aspiring artists as professor of music at the University of Washington, where he served as chair of the jazz studies program.
Find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Music at Moonwood
Join other music lovers at a house concert series, Music at Moonwood, for an intimate performance by New York City-based jazz pianist and composer Zander Knodt at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7. Doors will open at 5 p.m. for drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Knodt, who grew up on Vashon, will blend jazz with classical and contemporary influences in a program ranging from beloved jazz standards to original compositions inspired by the works of Schumann and Mahler. His performance will be featured on a stunning 1905 7-foot grand piano.
Hosted in a private residence on Vashon, Music at Moonwood showcases a curated selection of local, national and international talent in a distinctly beautiful private setting. Space is limited. Find out more and secure your seat via TicketStripe.com at tinyurl.com/2r4uzrv3. The address to the concert site will be provided upon registration.
“A Guitar at the Opera”
Classical guitarist Davide Sciacca, who performs internationally and teaches in Italy, will play an intimate and free recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, in the atrium of Vashon Center for the Arts.
The recital, coinciding with Sciacca’s residency at Vashon Artist Residency, will offer a candlelight experience in VCA’s atrium space, with bistro tables as seating.
“A Guitar at the Opera” will explore the meeting point between opera and guitar. Centered around the music of Vincenzo Bellini — the great Sicilian opera composer from Catania — the program features lyrical transcriptions inspired by “Norma,” alongside works by Italian, Spanish and contemporary composers.
Performing on a guitar built by fellow Catanese luthier Flavio Alaimo, Sciacca will deliver a concert and storytelling experience, where opera, guitar, and cultural roots meet in an intimate and engaging musical dialogue.
Find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Fairyoke
“Love Boat Fairyoke,” a karaoke event to benefit the Vashon High School theater program, will be hosted by the Washington State Fairies (Jennifer Potter and Tami Brockway Joyce) at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at the Vashon Eagles clubhouse at 18134 Vashon Hwy SW. A membership drive for The Eagles is also underway. Find out more at vashoneagles3144.com.
“Right in the Eye”
“Right in the Eye,” an adventurous all-ages cinematic experience, will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at Open Space for Arts & Community.
A creation of Jean-Francois Alcolea, “Right in the Eye” features the silent films of pioneering filmmaker Georges Melies, accompanied by a live score performed by three virtuoso performers on a wide range of instruments. These include piano, percussion and guitar, along with other unexpected oddities including aquaphone, theremin and even plastic take-out lids.
The production showcases 12 films, blending live performance with visuals of the technical wizardry and boundless imagination of Melies at the dawn of cinema.
An all-ages workshop taking viewers behind the scenes of “Right in the Eye,” will take place at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, at Open Space. Billed as a “journey where history meets wonder,” the workshop will include exploration of the instruments used by the musicians and a closer look at the groundbreaking special effects achieved by Melies.
Find out more and get tickets at openspacevashon.com.
Love Duets 7
A long-awaited continuation of six previous Love Duets showcases, presented by Vashon Events before COVID hit, will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at The Station, 17816 Vashon Hwy. SW.
The roster of performers includes Chris Anderson and Kim Thal; Danny and Laura Powers; Kenny and Indigo Alton; Marnie Wingett and Jacob Viramontes; Gillian and Nick Simmons; Martin and Melissa Feveyear; Allison Jones and Doug Pine; Guido and Bianca Perla; Jane Spakowsky and Paul Moomaw; Rusty Willoughby and Rachel Flotard; Jennifer Stills and Damon Gardyne; and Sarah Christine and Wesley Peterson.
In addition to musical performances, community members are invited to participate by reading a short love poem — either an original piece or a favorite work that speaks to the heart — during transitions between acts. Those interested in reading can contact Vashon Events via Facebook or email at vashonmusic@gmail.com.
Proceeds from Love Duets will support the Vashon Events Music Instrument Library and the organization’s year-round community arts, culture, and charity events calendar.
Find out more at vashonevents.org.
Vashon Film Institute
Vashon Film Institute presents a regular series of independent and international films at Vashon Theatre.
The 2025 supernatural body horror film, “Together” — called “fiendishly fun” by RogerEbert.com — will be screened at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13.
The Film Institute will also partner with artist Natalie Woodlock to present a screening of Ang Lee’s 2005 queer love story, “Brokeback Mountain” at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15 at Vashon Theatre.
Over the last couple of years, Woodlock has organized screenings of the film, providing viewers with handkerchiefs and asking them to write down the scenes that made them cry — a project she is now continuing on Vashon. She is currently making a screen-printed artists’ book, illustrating the “Brokeback” scenes that brought audience member to tears.
Woodlock, based in Seattle, is an alumna of the Vashon Artist Residency.
“To me, Brokeback Mountain is a perfect film,” she said. “This project is about the connective power of film, and of the transformative ability of tearjerkers to create ritual spaces for catharsis and release.”
Find out more and get tickets at vashonfilminstitute.com/vfipresents.
Love Stories with a twist
Seattle cellist Michelle Dodson and storyteller Merna Ann Hecht will present “Love Stories with a Twist” at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Wine Shop Vashon, at 17206 Vashon Hwy SW.
The program, in honor of Valentine’s Day, includes thematic musical interludes and storytelling with surprise twists in each tale. The evening will include a tale of unrequited love of a mythic kind, a story that touches on a deep love for the natural world and a beguiling, all-ages fairy tale wrapped in imaginative imagery.
Dodson is an accomplished cellist who performs widely in the Puget Sound area. She also teaches cello and composes. She has accompanied Hecht for several years in different venues including a program in 2019 at the Black Cat Café titled “Singing Hope in A Dark Time.”
Hecht, an islander, is a nationally known storyteller, a poet and a teaching artist and activist with global youth. Her repertoire of stories is collected from many cultures, and she considers each one “a wisdom tale asking listeners to suspend their disbelief and allow their imaginations to follow the transformations of the mythic and storied world.”
Salish Sea Early Music Festival
Salish Sea Early Music Festival will present Ukrainian harpsichordist Olena Zhukova, Canadian viola da gambist Susie Napper, Canadian pardessus de viole player Mélisande Corriveau and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan in concert at 12 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16, at Vashon’s Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, at 15420 Vashon Hwy SW.
The concert “France & Italy: Pardessus, Gamba, Flute & Harpsichord,” will feature an unusually sonorous ensemble of instruments that were last commonplace during the early decades of the 18th century in France. It will include music by Louis-Antoine Dornel, Louis and Francoise Couperin, Archangelo Corelli and Andre Cherona.
Find out more about about the concert and other upcoming programs in the series at salishseafestival.org. There is suggested donation of $20-$30 dollars for the concert, with those 18 and younger admitted free.
