AROUND TOWN

Island singer-songwriter Lance Morgan will play a free solo concert called “Songs for My Mom” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Havurat Ee Shalom.

Local musician performs solo show

Island singer-songwriter Lance Morgan will play a free solo concert called “Songs for My Mom” at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Havurat Ee Shalom.

Morgan, who used to play in bands off-island, writes and records songs and videos at Chautauqua Elementary school. He said that occasionally his mother will ask when he will be performing, which prompted Friday’s show.

“I finally decided I needed to do that for her,” he said, “and since it would be odd to rent a place and sing to just my Mom and (my wife) Dari, I’m inviting other folks.”

Morgan will sing songs he’s written that he knows will please his mother. He hopes that others “who have never heard me will enjoy taking a journey through my many phases as a songwriter, from folk to rock to pop and back around again.” Morgan added that the show is not geared for children.

 

Youth opens for local performer

Allison Shirk will perform new music, with Vashon High School senior Kate Atwell opening for the island singer-songwriter, at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Red Bike.

Shirk will also release her new, limited-edition album “Live from the Blue Heron.” The CD is a recording of her sold-out performance at the Blue Heron last June. Joining Shirk on the stage was Paul Colwell, Kevin Almeida, Christopher Overstreet, Sarah Howard, Wesley Peterson, Barry Cooper, Joseph Panzetta and Mike Nichols.

In a recent press release, Shirk wrote, “‘Live from the Blue Heron’ is an exact recording of the performance with no edits … The band is listening to each other and reacting spontaneously to what is happening …. All the musicians are supporting each other and taking risks. None of us knew that the performance would be released publicly.”

The free show is open to all ages until 11 p.m., then 21 and older after that.

 

Classic book is brought to life

Book-It Theatre will bring Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel “The Secret Garden” to life, touching on themes of friendship, family dynamics, transformation and the environment. The stage adaptation of the book begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Blue Heron. Tickets are $6 for youth and $8 for adults and are available at the Blue Heron and vashonalliedarts.org.

 

Trunk show sale of jewelry

Vashon Allied Arts will hold a one-day trunk show and sale of Cheryl DeGroot’s jewelry from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the gallery. DeGroot, a former designer and metal smith, creates handcrafted jewelry using sterling silver and mixed metals. Champagne and chocolates will be served.

 

Local sculptors discuss their art

Vashon Allied Arts’ Arts & Humanities series will continue with a discussion called Perfectly Sited at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Vashon High School theater. Former King-TV anchor Mike James will moderate a discussion between two distinguished local sculptors: Julie Speidel and Scott Fife, who work in radically different ways. Speidel’s monumental installations made of metal and stone can be seen in installations in Seattle, Tacoma, Vashon and abroad, bearing influences of antiquity, indigenous tribes of the Pacific Northwest and 20th century modernism.

Fife works largely in cardboard, creating uncanny figures and disembodied heads of celebrities, animals and media figures that have been displayed in galleries in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and Vancouver, B.C.

Tickets are available at the Blue Heron and vashonalliedarts.org.