Arts Briefs | June 4 edition
Published 10:30 am Wednesday, June 3, 2026
First Friday
Head out for a gallery cruise from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 5. New exhibitions are opening at Vashon Center for the Arts, VALISE Gallery, Vashon Senior Center, Windermere Gallery and other art spots in town. Swiftwater Gallery, which boasts works by its more than 50 local artists, will offer an artists’ talk at 6 p.m. by local printmakers Jean Echevarria, Brian Fisher and Deborah Taylor. Read more in The Beachcomber’s complete coverage of First Friday at tinyurl.com/24kx2tth.
VCA Spring Dance Concert
VCA’s Center for Dance will perform its annual spring concert at four performances between June 4 and June 7. The concert, inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” will feature queens, tea parties, rabbits and mad hatters as order, chaos, vanity and passion swirl across the stage.
The spring showcase is an opportunity for students of VCA’s Center for Dance and other dancers on Vashon to show off original choreography, spectacular costumes and outstanding artistry. For more information and tickets (free for youth 18 and younger) visit vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Phil Cushman speaker series
Speaker Mika Ahuvia will explore the topic of “Ancient Jewish Magic: Between Protection and Desire,” in the latest installment of the ongoing Phil Cushman Memorial Speaker Series at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at Vashon Havurah, 15401 Westside Hwy SW. Ahuvia will share her insights into amulets, incantation bowls, and ritual texts that reveal a vivid Jewish world of healing and harm, protection and desire, and explore what traces of these practices remain in Jewish life today.
Cosmic Americana Rock
Walter and Donnie, a high-octane trio playing guitar, bass and drums, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at Snapdragon Bakery & Cafe. Find out more about their music at walteranddonny.com. No cover charge is listed in advance publicity — check at the door.
Harpsichord and flute
An award-winning Spanish harpsichordist, Irene Roldán, will join baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan in a Salish Sea Early Music Festival concert at 12 p.m. Monday, June 8, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, at 15420 Vashon Hwy SW.
Their program will include Bach’s sonatas in E Major and G Minor, the performers’ transcription for flute of Bach’s violin sonata in C Minor, a Sonata in D Major by Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, and harpsichord solos including Jacquet de La Guerre’s Prélude in D Minor, La Zaïde by Pancrace Royer, and the Suite in F Major by Louis Couperin.
Admission is by a suggested donation of $20-$30, with no one turned away for lack of funds, and free for those 18 and younger. For more information, visit salishseafestival.org/vashon.
Brett Dennen: Art is Life
Experience a soulful evening of music with singer-songwriter Brett Dennen at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 10, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Dennen is known for his heartfelt lyrics and folk, Americana and roots-inspired style. For more information and tickets (free for youth 18 and younger) visit vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Keith Murphy and Yann Falquet
Acclaimed folk musicians Keith Murphy and Yann Falquet will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Church of the Holy Spirit, at 15420 Vashon Hwy SW.
Their instruments include guitar, mandola and mandolin. A native of Newfoundland, Murphy performs a traditional repertoire drawn from Eastern Canada and Quebec as well as his current home, Vermont. His performance style, in English and French, infuses old ballads and songs with a powerful immediacy.
Falquet, a Québécois guitarist, is also well-known in the world of traditional music. In 2000, he co-founded Genticorum, a traditional music trio with Pascal Gemme and Nicholas Williams, that has now traveled the world. Tickets to the show have a suggested donation of $25. Contact Jan Strolle for reservations at janstrolle@comcast.net or 206-228-0730. Advance reservations are appreciated but walk-ins are also welcome.
Mary Gauthier
Grammy-nominated songwriter Mary Gauthier, celebrating the 20th anniversary of her landmark album “Mercy Now,” will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at Vashon Center for the Arts. The show will feature songs spanning Gauthier’s extraordinary career. With musical collaborations spanning from Leonard Cohen to Tim McGraw, Gauthier’s artistry and storytelling bridges folk, Americana and country traditions. Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
The Montvales and Creekbed Carter Hogan
Cincinnati-based folk/alt-country duo The Montvales and Minneapolis-based songwriter Creekbed Carter Hogan will take the stage in concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at Open Space for Arts & Community.
The Montvales’ new album, “Path of Totality,” has been praised by indie music outlets including No Depression, which called the songs “fierce and thoughtful.” Americana Highways compared the duo’s storytelling to that of Jason Isbell. Bandcamp Daily described the album as “a set of 12 catchy-country-folk-pop tunes that feel like a long drive full of comforting conversation by a good friend.” Hogan, who has shared stages with Emmylou Harris, Willi Carlisle and other well-known musicians, will perform songs from “Peasants Revolt,” a new album that will be released in July. Get more information and tickets at openspacevashon.com.
Opera patron preview party
Vashon Opera will present a painting, “Composer’s Aria,” for auction at a patron preview party at 5 p.m. Sunday, June 14 at Vashon Center for the Arts. The project is a joint effort between Vashon artist Britt Freda and musical director James Brown. Since 2011, Freda has focused on painting endangered species, and her painting, “Composer’s Aria,” will depict a humpback whale. In collaboration with musical director James Brown — the general director and principal conductor for Vashon Opera — the project will also feature music from Richard Strauss’ “Composer’s Aria.”
The preview party will include food, drink and performances from Vashon Opera’s upcoming operas, “Un Ballo in Maschera,” “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and “The Crucible,” sung by Vashon favorites. For more information and tickets, visit vashonopera.org.
VCA birthday bash
Celebrate 60 years of Vashon Center for the Arts with a joyful, all-ages birthday bash from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 20, at VCA.
The festive free event will take place both indoors and out, filled with music, movement, memories and plenty of surprises. Enjoy performances by Vashon’s own Portage Fill Harmonic and Riverbend, jump into some line dancing and explore hands-on arts and crafts for all ages.
Come hungry — food vendors will include Iyad Syrian Food and Dre Neely’s Gravy. The event will include door prizes, a treasure hunt, and the official announcement of VCA’s 61st season, with most shows being offered free to those 18 and younger. The Birthday Bash will also feature the official unveiling of an installation honoring Singer the Whale — a restoration project completed in partnership with Vashon Nature Center and local artist Ela Lamblin that will hoist Singer’s bones aloft in a stunning new display in VCA’s atrium.
Have a favorite VCA memory? Send scanned images and a short description to info@vashoncenterforthearts.org for inclusion in a community slideshow inside the Blue Heron Education Center during the event.
PianoFête
PianoFête 2026, featuring internationally acclaimed artists Vyacheslav Gryaznov, Daria Kiseleva, Rexa Han and Konstantin Soukhovetski, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, July 8 to 11, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
PianoFête, now in its fifth year as a signature event for VCA, is a beloved and rare festival devoted to two-piano repertoire.
Transforming Vashon Island into a high-summer celebration of the piano, PianoFête boasts two Steinway concert grands played by four virtuoso artists in thrilling combinations over the course of four nights. The week culminates in an expanded final-night concert with both live and virtual orchestras bringing the festival to a close.
PianoFête 2026, as curated by award-winning pianist, transcriber and composer Vyacheslav Gryaznov, will showcase a repertoire that travels from Old World legend to American celebration — all revealing the power and versatility of the piano as a musical instrument. For more information and tickets to single concerts ($42 for adults and free for youth), visit vashoncenterforthearts.org. All-access passes (free for youth and $125 for adults) can also be purchased at the VCA box office (open 12 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday) or by calling 206-259-3007.
