• EVENTS •

Support group: The National Alliance of Mental Illness friends and family support group will resume meeting monthly starting at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, in the library at the Presbyterian Church at 17708 Vashon Highway SW. For more information, call Pastor Leigh Weber at 425-221-1142. This group provides support for those who are living with a loved one experiencing mental illness.

Harris Levinson: A celebration of the life and legacy of islander Harris Levinson will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, at Open Space for Arts & Community, at 18870 103rd Ave SW. The event will be held outdoors; bring a low chair or blanket. A shuttle service will run from the north end and south end ferry docks, as parking is limited. Find out more and RSVP for the event at openspacevashon.com.

Japan Festival: Mukai Farm & Gardens will present its 6th annual Japan Festival from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. This free event celebrates Japanese culture and heritage with a lineup of performances, activities and food for all ages. For more information visit mukaifarmandgarden.org.

Landmark Celebration: Attend a celebration of King County’s designation of Vashon’s former Grange Hall building as a historic landmark. The celebration will take place at 10365 SW Cowan Road, the future site of the Heights Grocery Store (see Beachcomber article here).

Food Bank feast: Dre Neeley and Pepa Brower, co-owners of Gravy, will serve up a community cookout to benefit the Vashon Food Bank, from 1-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, at The Country Store & Farm, 20211 Vashon Hwy SW. There is a $25 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds. The event will include music and games and all ages. To become a sponsor of the event, email director@vashonfoodbank.org. Can’t go but want to donate? Visit vashonfoodbank.org.

Reuseable event: If you have materials you no longer want that are too good to throw away, bring them to Zero Waste Vashon’s “ReUseable Collection Event” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 7 at the K2 north parking lot, 19215 Vashon Hwy SW. Items accepted will include good condition windows, light fixtures, cabinets, furniture and clean lumber. Half of the event’s proceeds go to Zero Waste Vashon. For more information, visit zerowastevashon.org/zwv-re-use-collection-event.

Garden Club: The Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 8 at the Bethel Church gym. Following a business meeting, guest speaker Chris Hedgpeth will present a talk on growing organic hardneck garlic in the Pacific Northwest. Hedgpeth, of Forest Garden Farm, will share his farm’s garlic growing practices and will also have organic seed garlic available to purchase.

Food bank tour: Tour the current and future sites of the Vashon-Maury Community Food Bank with the food bank’s executive director and board members. The next tour takes place from 2-3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. RSVP by contacting minta@vashonfoodbank.org, and meet at the current food bank location at 10030 SW 210th St.

Passport2Pain: On Saturday, Sept. 13, Vashon will host the 15th Passport2Pain bicycle ride. More than 300 cyclists are expected to ride the events routes, including the 80-mile Idiot, the 50-mile Weasel, the 30-mile Weenie or the 12-mile Tourist route. This year’s theme is Monty Python, so islanders can expect dark knights, cows, coconuts, spam and rabbits appearing at some of the 17 checkpoints. The event will finish at Jensen Point, where riders will enjoy tacos provided by La Isla. This event benefits the junior rowing program at the Vashon Island Rowing Club, the Vashon Food Bank, Vashon Youth and Family Services and One Village/Journeymen. Find out more at passport2pain.org.

VIGA Pizza Party: Vashon Island Growers Association will raise funds for its Farm Bucks program from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at La Biondo Farm & Kitchen at 20602 111th Ave SW. Tickets are $60. The night includes wood-fired pizza, salad, dessert and beverages, live music by Tim Couldn’t Make It and a raffle with an array of valuable prizes. Find out more at vigavashon.org.

Farmers Market: The Vashon Island Growers Association’s Farmers Market runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday at the Village Green through September 27.

Free community dinners: Held Mondays through Fridays from 5-5:30 p.m. at the Vashon Presbyterian Church (17708 Vashon Highway SW) by the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness.

• SENIOR CENTER •

Enjoy a hot lunch at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the following activities throughout the week at the Vashon Senior Center, 10004 SW Bank Road, unless noted otherwise:

Center Talk: The Senior Center’s very own Photo Club will share a slideshow of their self-published book at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, with books available for purchase. Partial proceeds of sales benefit the Senior Center. Return from 5-7 p.m. on Friday for a reception for the Center’s Photo Club exhibit.

Book Launch: Join Vashon Poet Laureate Margaret Roncone and other island poets at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, for a reading from the newly published book, “Grief Age Love: Poems for the Autumn Years.” (Read an article about the book, and a public launch of it on 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10 at VCA, here.)

Death Café: Meets 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. It is a discussion group about death and making the most of life, rather than a grief support or counselling session. For questions, call Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232 or Brad Davis at 206-799-7235.

Grief ritual: Islanders are invited to share and witness each other’s grief on the first Sunday of each month from 1-2 p.m. Questions? Call Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232, or Brad Davis at 206-799-7235. The next meeting is September 7.

Grief support: Kenny Alton, counselor at Vashon Youth and Family Services, will facilitate the “Grief is Grief” support group, a six week group from 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays starting September 18 to support those processing grief. The group is limited to 12 people. There is no cost for the meetings; please register by calling Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232.

Seminar: The Vashon Care Network will host the third annual Christine Jovanovich Memorial Seminar at 2 p.m. Sunday, September 21, at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, honoring Jovanovich’s legacy of passion and dedication as an island caretaker and organizer of her peers. The event is free; all are invited. Katie Zeitler, the program manager for Dementia Friends at the University of Washington Memory and Brain Wellness Center, will speak on the topic of “Taking the Stigma Out of Memory Loss.” For more information, visit vashoncarenetwork.org.

• PUBLIC MEETINGS •

Vashon-Maury Community Council: The council holds regular meetings on the third Thursday of the month. This month, that is Sept. 18. Visit v-mcc.org for more information.

Water District 19: 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 16, in the district’s board room at 17630 100th Ave SW.

Vashon Health Care District: The board meets the fourth Thursday of the month, at Vashon Presbyterian Church, 17708 Vashon Hwy SW, and on Zoom. Visit vashonhealthcare.org.

Vashon Island School District: The board typically meets the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, at Chautauqua Elementary School, Room 302, 9309 SW Cemetery Road. All meetings are recording and posted online at youtube.com/@visdpublicmeetings6034/videos. Visit vashonsd.org.

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue: The board typically meets on the fourth Wednesday evening of each month. Visit vifr.org.

King County Cemetery District #1: Meetings are typically held at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month, at the cemetery office at 19631 Singer Rd SW. Visit vashoncemetery.org.

• NOTICE •

Happenings features community, cultural and nonprofit events; notices are free and printed as space permits. Due to the volume of entries received, we edit submissions and cannot always confirm if a submission will run. Send submissions to editor@vashonbeachcomber.com; include the who, what, where and when. The deadline is noon Thursday for subsequent Thursday publication.

Correction: This online version of “Happenings” corrects an error in the Sept. 4 print edition: Water District 19’s next board meeting will take place on Sept. 16, not Sept. 9. The Beachcomber was notified of the change in dates after going to press.