Happenings | Dec. 14 edition
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, December 13, 2023
Thursday night vigil
Vashon Island Unitarian Universalists invite community members to a vigil for the people of Gaza and Israel, to be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at Lewis Hall, on SW Burton Drive, just up the hill from the Burton Coffee Stand. The vigil will offer a quiet safe space for people to come together in their thoughts and hopes during this time of crisis.
Brown Briefly
Front and Centered is an organization that advocates for a just transition to a future where communities and the earth are healed and thriving, people have dignified work, and the government values, respects, and represents the people. Join Truman O’Brien, Bruce Haulman, Craig Beles and Kevin Jones at 11 a.m. Tuesday, December 19 on Voice of Vashon, 101.9FM, to hear islander Mariel Thuraisingham, Front and Centered’s clean energy policy lead, share her organization’s 2024 priorities.
Community Council
The Vashon-Maury Community Council will host local election winners and a representative of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority at its next meeting, from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, at the Land Trust Building and on Zoom.
Votes will be taken on the Council’s environmental recommendations for the 2024 state legislative session; its 2024 budget, and proposed new board member Rick Shrum. Get more details here.
Toy Drive
Vashon’s Holiday Toy Drive, sponsored by John L. Scott, seeks donations or direct gifts of new, packaged toys in toy boxes located at Ace Hardware, Vashon Thriftway, Vashon Pharmacy, and The Country Store & Farm.
The last day to donate is Dec. 14. Cash donations can be made via check (make payable to VYFS and mail to John L. Scott at PO Box 2009, Vashon 98070) or through Venmo (Heidi-Grimsley-1). Collected toys will be distributed at a toy store located at Camp Burton on Dec. 16.
Dockton Park playground re-opens
Attend the grand re-opening of the new playground at Dockton Park and Marina, at 9500 SW Dock Street, and help plant some of the new native plants in the playground’s landscape, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16.
Come rain or shine, suit up in your warm gear to have fun, improve the local environment, play some lawn games with the King County Parks’ Mobile Engagement Team, and enjoy hot beverages and refreshments.
Arrive at 10 a.m. sharp to sign in and attend the planting and safety tutorial at 10:15 a.m., and feel free to bring a favorite shovel or garden trowel. Planting will begin at 10:30 a.m.
Grievers Book Box
Find out more about the new Grievers Book Box, located outside Vashon Senior Center, at 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, at a talk by Pamela Belyea, the volunteer project manager of the book box, at the Senior Center.
Belyea will discuss the gestation of this community project, its mission, and long-term goal, and invites grievers and non-grievers alike to come and learn more about the book box — a non-commercial, non-denominational and non-judgmental project that dispenses love and compassion to the silent sufferers among us.
Water District 19
Water District 19’s next regular board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, in the District’s board room. Normally, the district’s meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month but the December meeting has been re-scheduled due to conflicts with the Board of Commissioners.
Health Insurance
Everyone who lives in Washington state now has the opportunity to buy health and dental insurance through Washington Healthplanfinder, regardless of immigration status. People with no documentation will be able to sign up for health insurance coverage that begins on Jan. 1, 2024. Miguel Urquiza, from King County, will be on Vashon to help islanders sign up from 1-3 p.m. on both Saturday, Dec. 16, and Wednesday, Dec. 20, at the Vashon Library.
Solstice Ceremony
Join Michael Meade at Dig Deep Gardens at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 22, for a community candlelit Solstice celebration that will include a remembrance of those who have passed, a ritual of forgiveness, and a collective song marking the end of the darkest time of the year and the coming renewal of light.
Meade, a well-known author, storyteller, and mythologist will also host an online solstice celebration from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21. Register to attend at mosaicvoices.org/events and receive a recording of the event.
Those attending the online event may send remembrances of those who have died, as well as prayers and remembrances for all those lost in collective tragedies, conflicts, and upheavals plaguing the world at this time. Attendees are also invited to send brief statements of forgiveness and prayers for the future. Send to info@mosaicvoice.org.
Dig Deep Gardens is located at 19028 Vashon Hwy. Donations for both events will be gratefully accepted at mosaicvoices.org/donate.
Jingle Bell run
The Vashon Running Club’s annual Jingle Bell fun run/walk will return to uptown Vashon at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 23.
Those participating will gather in the parking lot next to Recess Lab and head out on a short 2.5-mile fun run /walk on the streets through town, and down and up one of Vashon’s more awesome hills. The run/walk is entirely free and also open to furry friends and strollers, so invite visiting off-islanders. Adding even more jingle to our run this year, the class of 2024 Safe Grad Night committee will host a bake sale with hot beverages and home-baked goods for runners to enjoy before and after the event. The Fun Run benefits the island’s Cross Country Teams.
Intergenerational Book Group
Vashon’s Senior Center will partner with the Vashon King County Library to present a new intergenerational evening book group for ages 18 and older, to meet monthly on the fourth Wednesday of each month, starting from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27, at the library. Sam Harris, Teen and Adult Services Librarian, will host the group. Make suggestions for the book here.
