Gallery cruise moves to Thursday, and at one stop, Saturday

Heads up to islanders accustomed to setting out on a gallery cruise on the first Friday of every month: some local art spots will hold opening receptions for new exhibitions one day earlier this week, from 5-8 p.m. on Thursday, July 3.

The shift was made because this year, July 4 — a day for picnics, celebrating American independence, and watching a professional fireworks display over Quartermaster Harbor — falls on a Friday.

Here are a few of the events happening on the Thursday gallery cruise — and also news from the Outstanding in its Field Gallery, which is bucking the First Friday trend altogether, and will now hold openings on the first Saturday of the month.

Ask a Grandma

Got a life question? You might get some answers from the accumulated wisdom of some of the island’s elder women staffing a booth during the Thursday gallery cruise, from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 3, in the garden space just south of the Vashon Pharmacy.

Members of Women Hold The Key’s Matriarch group will answer your “What to do’s, why’s, and how-to’s,” and help you think through your problems from small to silly to big.

Outstanding in its Field

A new show, “Garden Delights: Flora & Fauna,” will open from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, July 5, at the Outstanding in its Field Gallery, located at 10524 SW 188th St., just west of Sawbones.

The exhibit will include Gail Hapeman’s stained glass stepping stones and fused glass lanterns; oil and acrylic paintings from Barbara Benedetti Newton; blown glass flowers from Brian Brenno; Lynn McClain’s monoprints and art cards; bug sculptures and encaustics from Charlotte Masi; Lisa Witherspoon’s jewelry; soft pastels by Janeen Bramwell; acrylics by Anne Moses and Sarah Edwards; baskets from Barbara Gustafson; watercolors from Jeanne Marie Thomas and Nancy Putney; floral art cards from Janis McElroy; and bas relief bronze sculpture and etched glass from White Hart Art.

A portion of the proceeds from art sales will benefit the Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club.

At the reception, meet the artists, nibble on fresh-baked treats, and hear a performance by Gus Reeves in the gallery’s party pasture. Attendees are welcome to bring blankets or camp chairs.

The gallery respectfully requests that visitor wear masks while inside the small gallery space.

Outstanding in its Field Gallery is open from April to October each year with monthly themed exhibits. Additional shows planned for this year include “Winging it,” “Behoove Yourself,” and “Into the Woods.”

Regular hours are 12-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and on weekdays by appointment. Call 206-419-0199 or write to info@outstandinggallery.com.

VALISE

With a nod to the three-ring circus of yesteryear, VALISE presents “The Most Boring Show on Earth” show, featuring the work of local artists Sharon Shaver, Bill Jarcho and Gregory Burnham, opening from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, July 3.

Advance publicity for the show said gallery-goers can “expect a summer splash of very dull yet colorful, quirky and humorous painting and sculptures that will transport you to unexpected places in a visually monotonous carnival ride.”

Jarcho was quoted as saying “I’m the most boring clown of all,” with Burnham disagreeing: “No way!—we’re all equally tedious!”

Shaver’s work, according to the press release, includes “lively, large and whimsical acrylic paintings of grizzlies, salmon and humans living it up in the far North that will lull you to sleep.”

Jarcho’s “eye-popping, zany and satirical cartoonish characters, masks, and abstracts that will make you wish you were back in 10^th grade algebra class waiting for the bell to ring,” the press release warned.

Burnham’s “Art Gecko abstract acrylic and oil paintings and manipulated record album covers,” organizers said, “will hypnotize you into a delirious foggy stupor reminiscent of your first high at a Pink Floyd concert.”

Find out if the hype is real at VALISE, located at 17633 Vashon Hwy SW, is regularly open from 1-6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Vashon Center for the Arts

The Vashon Summer Arts Fest — now celebrating its eighth year — returns to VCA from July 3 through Aug. 31. Spanning nine weeks, the festival exclusively showcases the work of local artists, offering an always colorful glimpse into the island’s thriving creative community.

As in years past, this year’s fest will consist of three rounds of exhibitions, each running for three weeks.

Round #1, opening from 5-8 p.m. Thursday, July 3, will include works by Hope Black, Jill Rickabaugh, Jim Meiklejohn, John Schuh, Jonathan Kuzma, Melissa Treharne, Pamela Wickard and Shelley Hanna.

From July 3-27, the gallery gift shop will boast the jewelry of Lisa Witherspoon, who uses glass beads, silver, copper and other distinctive metals and colorful ornamentation to craft her work.

Regular gallery hours are 12-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Find out more at gallery.vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Vashon Heritage Museum

Vashon’s annual hydroplane race — an event that has marked Independence Day on the island for almost seven decades — will commence at 5 a.m. July 4, at Jensen Point Park.

But first, the race will be celebrated from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 3, at Vashon Heritage Museum, with the official dedication of an outdoor exhibition about the race.

Guests of honor will include Roger Stanley, who created the race in the mid-1950s, and whose hydro is now on display in the exhibit; Earl Van Buskirk, owner of Island Lumber, who donated all the materials to build the structure holding the exhibit; and Kevin Sudduth, who donated his time and expertise to construct that structure.

This year’s July 4 race will boast at least six hydros, said Brian Brenno, a lifelong islander and hydroplane aficionado. Brenno’s 2022 book, “4th of July Hydros: Circling Vashon Since 1955,” details the history of the noisy and thrill-packed island event — loved by many, hated by some, and tolerated as an island tradition by others.

Islanders in the final group, according to Brenno, are known for saying, with a shrug, “It only happens once a year.”

Vashon Heritage Museum, located at 10105 SW Bank Rd, has regular summer hours of 1-4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Find out more at vashonheritagemuseum.org.