VCA’s Diamond Gala sparkles with record-setting results

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Hundreds of generous island arts aficionados dug deep to celebrate the achievements and staying power of Vashon Center for the Arts at the organization’s 60th anniversary Diamond Gala.

The event broke records for the organization’s annual gala, netting approximately $400,000 — an amount made possible by three island families who each pledged a match of $50,000 in the auction’s “raise the paddle” section, boosting the total take from that portion of the auction alone to just over $300,000.

VCA Executive Director Allison Halstead Reid expressed her deep gratitude for the outpouring of support and lauded the community’s long-standing embrace and support of the arts.

“For six decades, VCA has helped make Vashon a more vibrant, connected and creative community,” she said. “That legacy exists because of islanders who understand that the arts are not an extra. They are essential to who we are.”

Proceeds from the auction will go to support VCA’s multi-faceted offerings including performances, exhibitions and arts education programs for local youth.

Youth programs now include free tickets to many VCA events for youth 18 or younger (more than 4,000 such tickets were given away last year); an increasing number of school assemblies showcasing major regional talent; year-round classes and camps in dance, theater, music and visual arts, with scholarships provided to those in need; and VCA’s long-running Artists in Schools program, which last year alone served more than 1,000 island students and employed 20 teaching artists.

That kind of access matters deeply to Halstead Reid.

“When a young person watches a friend sing, dance, act or play an instrument, something clicks,” she told auction-goers. “The arts become familiar, possible and personal. That is how a joyous lifelong relationship with the arts begins.”

The successful night of competitive fundraising for VCA began with the culmination of a month-long silent auction of more than 100 works by local artists as well as dozens of experiences and products offered up by island businesses and other donors.

Spirited final bidding for these items took place during a packed cocktail party in VCA’s atrium. This portion of the soiree also included a hit-parade medley from blockbuster musicals by Gabe Dawson and Louisa Moody, whose talents were nurtured as young students in VCA’s dance and theater education programs. Both have now embarked on vibrant careers in the arts.

The cocktail party was followed by a sumptuous dinner on the stage of VCA’s Kay White Hall attended by about 150 of the guests. It boasted two charming appearances by Sunny Thompson, an island singer, actress and recording artist best known for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in a critically acclaimed one-woman show.

Two members of Jigsaw Chamber Ensemble, cellist Sarah Rommel and violinist Ling Ling Huang, also serenaded dinner guests in a preview of the entire ensemble’s upcoming performance on Vashon as part of VCA’s current season.

Dinner guests bid on live auction items including vacation packages and two immersive dinners for 10 — one with the international stars of VCA’s upcoming PianoFête and another curated and presented by island jazzman Bruce Phares and his musical friends.

Then came the raucous “raise the paddle” bidding — the climax of the glittering Diamond Gala emceed with panache by Kevin Joyce and Martha Enson, of EnJoy Productions.

The event’s presenting sponsor was Beth de Groen and Windermere Real Estate Vashon. Supporting sponsors included Sawbones, Artisan Electric, Nashi Orchard, JR Crawford, Palouse Winery, Honey & Harmony Catering, Vashon Island Baking Company, Langland Dental and other businesses.

But the night of successful fundraising won’t end VCA’s celebration of its 60th anniversary. VCA will host a free, all-ages birthday bash from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 20. The afternoon will spill both indoors and out, and include door prizes, dancing, a treasure hunt, arts and crafts and a performance by Vashon’s own Portage Fill-Harmonic.

Find out more about the party at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Elizabeth Shepherd is a former editor and reporter for The Beachcomber. Since leaving The Beachcomber, she has freelanced as a communications specialist for Vashon Center for the Arts on two projects, not including the gala.