Arts Briefs | Feb. 19 edition

Published 1:40 pm Saturday, February 7, 2026

NaKeesa Frazier-Jennings

Author and literary artist NaKeesa Frazier-Jennings will present “Becoming Soft, After the Strength: An Evening of Story and What Comes Next” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, in the atrium of Vashon Center for the Arts.

The free event has mature themes and is being billed as an intimate literary experience centered on storytelling, reflection and community conversation.

Frazier-Jennings will read her work, “The Never-Ending Resilience Required to Be Black in America,” followed by “Soft,” which traces her journey toward gentleness and self-care as a necessary response to her lived experiences. A Q&A will follow the readings.

Find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Kitsap County Ramblers

Come out for a night of down-home jamming, strumming and singing with The Kitsap County Ramblers, set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Station, at 17816 Vashon Hwy SW. Local band Alberta and the Dead Eyes will open the show. The evening will include drinks and food from Wine Shop Vashon. The show has a $10 cover charge; pay at the door.

Artist talk

Join acclaimed Seattle-based artist Marita Dingus for a free artist talk exploring her sculptural installations now on view at Vashon Center for the Arts. The talk will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, at VCA.

Dingus transforms found objects — often connected to race, gender, and consumer culture — into works that challenge historical narratives and reexamine systems of value. Hear directly from the artist about her creative process, materials, and the ideas that drive her work and find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Galvin Cello Quartet

The award-winning Galvin Cello Quartet will present music ranging from Mozart and Beethoven to Debussy, Gershwin and beyond, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, at Vashon Center for the Arts. With members hailing from Brazil, South Korea and the United States, this international ensemble has been hailed as one of the most exciting young groups in classical music. Get tickets (free for youth with reservations, but adults must accompany children 12 and younger) and find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Early music

Celebrated Ukrainian harpsichordist Olena Zhukova, just arrived from Kyiv, will join baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan to offer a concert, “18th-Century European Tour for Flute and Harpsichord,” at 12 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, at 15420 Vashon Hwy SW.

Zhukova will play music by Johann Sebastian Bach for solo harpsichord and be joined by Cohan to play other selections by Boismortier, Vivaldi, Oswald, Handel, Mozart and Berezovsky. There is a suggested donation of $20 to $30, and free for youth 18 and younger. Find out more at salishseafestival.org/vashon.

Masters of Irish Music

Vashon’s Masters of Irish music concert series will kick off a new season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Vashon Havurah, located at 15401 Westside Highway SW.

That evening, master fiddler and composer Randal Bays will join forces with fiddler and vocalist Susan Waters and guitarist and vocalist Clint Dye.

Bays is an American fiddler who’s been deep into Irish traditional music for many years and is well known on both sides of the Atlantic. He has a special love for the fiddle traditions of counties Clare and Galway.

He has recorded and toured in the U.S. and internationally with such musicians as Martin Hayes, James Kelly, Daithí Sproule, James Keane, and many more. In 2021, he received the Irish Artist in America Achievement Award from O’Flaherty Irish Music. Bays lives in the Seattle area and is the artistic director of Cascadia Irish Music Week.

Waters, a native of Vermont, took up the fiddle in her 20s and soon developed a strong, rhythmic style perfectly suited to the music of western Ireland. She met Bays in the late 1990s. They’ve been playing together ever since, finding time along the way to get married and raise two sons who are also both fine musicians.

Dye, who now plays with Irish button accordion master John Whelan in his new band, Taisce Baile, has a wealth of experience playing at festivals and events on the East Coast.

The concert has a requested donation of $25 at the door. Contact Jan Strolle at 206-228-0730 or janstrolle@comcast.net to make a reservation. Stick around after the show for an Irish music session — musicians and non-musicians are all welcome.

Ghost Boat auditions

Ghost Boat Theater will audition actors and actor/musicians for its inaugural production on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

The production will premiere Jennifer Dice’s comic adaptation of “The Odyssey,” with traditional and original songs curated and created by music director Kat Eggleston and directed by Steven Sterne. The play requires a few strong singers.

Auditions will be in groups of up to six actor/musicians. There is no need to prepare a monologue or song for the audition, but those who are adept at playing instruments should bring them.

The production will play four shows June 26-28, at Open Space. Find out more at ghostboattheater.org. Questions? Email steven@ghostboattheater.org.

Wizard of Oz

Follow the yellow brick road to see the kids of Vashon Center for the Arts’ youth musical theater program in “The Wizard of Oz,” running four performances Friday-Sunday, Feb. 27 to March 1, at VCA. Two separate casts will perform the show over the weekend, telling the timeless story of Dorothy and her little dog Toto as they journey to reach the Emerald City so the great and powerful Wizard of Oz can help them get home. Find out more and get tickets (free for youth) at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Vashon Music Scholarship

The annual fundraiser for Vashon Island Scholarship Foundation’s music scholarship will be held from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at Vashon High School’s theater. The scholarship, formerly called the Paul Colwell and Vashon Events Scholarship, is now under the umbrella of the Scholarship Foundaiton.

Performers at the benefit concert will include Mark Graham, Orville Johnson, Ray Hanowell, Nell Coffman, Kim Thal, Ryan Hotchkiss, Rob Hotchkiss, Dianne Krause, Steve Itterly, Carter Castle, Mikey Naucus, Jeff Kanzler, Steve Amsden, Kat Eggleston, Chuck Roehm, Josie Reiling, Daryl Redeker, Paul Gerard, JT Wingett, Wilson Abbott, Chris Anderson, and Paul and Steve Colwell. The emcee will be Craig Beles.

All funds raised will go to scholarships awarded to graduating seniors who intend to continue with music in their higher education.

There is suggested donation of $10-$20 at the door, with check, credit card or Venmo accepted. Donations to the fund are also aceepted at vashonscholarships.org. In the comment or memo box, include the words “for the Vashon Island Music Scholarship.”

Sunny War

Sunny War, a rising guitar virtuoso, will play a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

In her early 20s, War quit her job in a mall to pursue music full-time. She produced her first EP “Worthless” and sold it herself, one CD at a time, on the Venice Boardwalk in Los Angeles. The spirit of determination and hope is carried into the folk-punk sound Sunny War has since made her own. In less than a decade, War has released four EPs and five studio LP albums, each garnering increasing attention and accolades from critics.

Michael Simmons, of L.A. Weekly, has described her playing as powerful: “I haven’t heard a young guitarist this dexterous in eons.”

Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Glitterfox

Portland band Glitterfox will return to the island after their crowd-pleasing set at the 2024 Strawberry Festival, playing an early, all-ages show at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 14 at Vashon Theatre. Known for their soulful harmonies, heartfelt songwriting, and high-energy indie rock sound, Glitterfox brings a warm, feel-good night of music. Get tickets at vashontheatre.com.

Drama Dock

Drama Dock will celebrate five decades of theatrical excellence at its 50th Anniversary Gala — a night championing the past, present, and future of local performing arts. The event will be held Saturday, March 21, at Vashon Center for the Arts, bringing together generations of artists, supporters, and theatergoers for an evening of food, entertainment and star-studded theatrical derring-do.

Tickets are $65 for general admission or $125 for a Golden Ticket, which enters attendees into a raffle to win a prize package. Purchase them and find out more at dramadock.org.