Arts Briefs | Sept. 11 edition
Published 12:45 pm Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Sally Fox show
Sally Jean Fox, Vashon artist and author of “Meeting the Muse After Midlife,” is exhibiting new abstract acrylic paintings throughout September at Anu Rana’s Healthy Kitchen, at 17610 99th Ave SW. These works, said Fox, speak to “resilience and inspiration in these unsettled times,” and are offered as “a vibrant invitation to hope and creativity.” Find out more about Fox and her work at engagingpresence.com.
Jazz at the winery
Attend the final installment of Palouse Winery’s summer jazz series from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, when internationally-revered guitar legend Tim Lerch will join his long-time bass-buddy, islander Bruce Phares, Lerch is one of the most sought-after guitarists in the Pacific Northwest and his online following of over 90,000 devotees can attest to his mastery of finger-style blues and jazz. Lerch holds the soloist’s chair with the ever-popular Gypsy Jazz group “Pearl Django.” Reserve a seat by calling Sarah at 206-567-4994, to let her know you’re a friend of the band. Palouse Winery is located at 12431 Vashon Hwy SW.
Auditions
Vashon Repertory Theater will hold auditions for its April 2026 production of “Moby Dick,” adapted and directed by David Quicksall, to be performed at Vashon Center for the Arts. Seattle auditions will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, at Re-Act Theatre; Vashon auditions will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Vashon High School band room. Find out more at vashonrepertorytheatre.org/auditions-and-opportunities.
Kiki Valera
Grammy-nominated bandleader Kiki Valera will bring Son Cubano music to the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at Vashon Center for the Arts. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer, Valera plays with a lineup of talented musicians who are sure to keep audiences on their feet. Get tickets and find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Bella Rayne
Bella Rayne, an 18-year-old, self-taught guitar phenom from Mendocino, California, will bring her band to Vashon for a concert at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at Open Space for Arts & Community, 18870 103rd Ave SW. Her music blends her love of the Grateful Dead, southern rock, bluegrass and 1990s grunge into a fresh approach. Find out more and get tickets at openspacevashon.com.
Art Talk
Art historian Rebecca Albiani will present a talk on the life and work of famed Japanese printmaker Utagawa (Ando) Hiroshige at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Rebel With a Clause
Grammarians, rejoice: A special one-night screening of the documentary film, “Rebel With a Clause,” featuring a Q&A with filmmakers Brandt Johnson and Ellen Jovin, will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, at Vashon Theatre.
The film follows Jovin, a grammar guru, as she takes her pop-up grammar advice stand on a rollicking road trip across all 50 states, showing that arguments about Oxford commas can actually bring Americans closer together in a divided time. Watch the trailer at tinyurl.com/ycx6rc79 and get tickets at vashontheatre.com.
Irish Music
Lane to the Glen, an acclaimed Sligo traditional trio made up of Oisín Mac Diarmada (fiddle), Daithí Gormley (accordion) and Samantha Harvey (piano, dance) will perform at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 at the Vashon Havurah, 15401 Westside Hwy SW. To reserve a seat, call or text Jan Strolle at 206-228-0730 or email janstrolle@comcast.net. Tickets are $25, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Vashon Opera
Vashon Opera will launch its 2025-26 “fairy tale season” with Jules Massenet’s “Cendrillon” (Cinderella) with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Read The Beachcomber’s article about the show here.
The opera, with a French libretto by Henri Cain, is based on Charles Perrault’s version of the fairytale. Vashon Opera’s production will boast the local debuts of rising national and regional opera stars Sarah Colt (Cinderella) and Sarah Eduljee (Fairy Godmother), and the return of Vashon Opera favorite Grace Skinner as Prince Charming. Find out more and get tickets at vashonopera.org.
Wasabi Samba
Next up in Open Space for Art & Community’s “Folklife Fridays” series is a night of music with Wasabi Samba.
Read The Beachcomber’s article about the show here.
The band, formed in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, plays a sonic stew of Latin music, jazz, bossa nova, rhythm and blues and more. Find out more and get tickets to the show — set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at Open Space’s stage at 18870 103rd Ave SW — at openspacevashon.com.
Songwriter Sessions
Enjoy the wry humor, virtuoso playing and soulful country blues of Mark Graham and Orville Johnson in a pop-up “songwriter session” from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, in the atrium of Vashon Center for the Arts.
The pair, who call themselves the Kings of Mongrel Folk, bring masterful playing on guitar, dobro, harmonica and clarinet to original cult classics like “I Can See Your Aura and It’s Ugly” and “Zen Gospel Singing,” covered by the Austin Lounge Lizards, Bryan Bowers, and the Limelighters. Together they’ve played Newport Folk, SXSW, London’s Festival Hall, Bumbershoot, and Northwest Folklife.
Alex Borstein
Three-time Emmy winner Alex Borstein will perform her latest solo show, “Alex Borstein is Thirsty,” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at Vashon Center for the Arts, with all proceeds benefiting the DOVE Project.
Borstein is known for her work on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,”“Family Guy,” “Getting On,” “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” and her latest Critics Choice-nominated special, “Corsets & Clown Suits,” on Amazon Prime.
Borstein’s one-woman show finds her sandwiched between two soul-sucking kids and two eccentric, aging parents in this hilarious account about growing up, growing old and staying thirsty. You can catch her 2023 Critics Choice nominated special, “Corsets & Clown Suits” on Amazon Prime.
Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
Broadway Nation book event
Join acclaimed director, producer, and historian David Armstrong for a lively launch of his debut book, “Broadway Nation — How Immigrant, Jewish, Queer, and Black Artists Invented the Broadway Musical,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Armstrong will be interviewed by composer and dramaturg Albert Evans, and there will also be a special performance by award-winning Seattle musical theater artist Sarah Rudinoff. Attendees will get the inside story behind the creation of the book, enjoy an audience Q&A and test their Broadway knowledge in a musical theater trivia contest, with the chance to win a copy of the book.
Broadway Nation offers a sweeping history of America’s signature art form, spotlighting the powerful, yet often overlooked, contributions of immigrant, Jewish, queer, and Black artists who shaped its evolution. Inspired by Armstrong’s popular large lecture course at the University of Washington School of Drama and his hit Broadway Nation podcast, the book celebrates the artistry and craftsmanship of legendary figures from George M. Cohan to Stephen Sondheim to Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Released by Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury on July 24, the book is on sale at the publisher’s website, Amazon and booksellers nationwide.
Lowland Games
The Vashon Lowland Games, a family-friendly Scottish festival celebrating Celtic culture, Highland athletics, music, dancing, food and community connection, will take place from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, on a rolling, nine-acre private property located at 18876 Vashon Hwy SW.
The event is a fundraiser to help bring a full-scale Highland Games to Vashon in 2026, with organizers also planning to donate some proceeds to Vashon-Maury Land Trust and Claddagh Fund, the charitable foundation of the band Dropkick Murphys.
The day will notably include a chance to learn the caber toss with islander Jeff Thornton, a world champion Highland Games athlete and current world record holder in the weight-for-distance throw. Thornton is also one of the event’s organizers, along with Christine Patterson, Amanda Kelly and Dan Housholder.
Find out more at vashonhighlandgames.com and purchase tickets at tinyurl.com/y6bm2pe2.
Claudia Schmidt
Vashon singer and songwriter Kat Eggleston will present an artist she calls one of her favorite musicians in the world, Claudia Schmit, in concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, at the Vashon Havurah, at 15401 Westside Hwy SW.
Schmidt has recorded 22 albums in her storied career as a traveling troubadour, songwriter, recording artist and muse to other musicians. Her Vashon show has a $25 donation at the door. RSVP to kat@kateggleston.com.
