Has there ever been a more artful small town than Vashon?
In 2025, The Beachcomber’s pages detailed new exhibitions, concerts by both national acts and local musicians, new books by island authors and new works of theater stacked with local stars. We covered the island’s annual art studio tours, an all-month August medley of Concerts in the Park, its annual Kay White Choral Festival and PianoFete, circus arts galore, a spectacular Stupid Bike Night and our very own Vashon Island Film Festival.
A community like ours deserves support and recognition.
That’s why, last January, we were glad to write “Vashon gets $2.3 million for arts and culture” — a Page 1 story that detailed a significant cash infusion to 16 local groups from King County’s Doors Open sales tax levy for science, heritage and arts organizations.
The beneficiaries included the Backbone Campaign, Drama Dock, EnJoy Productions, Friends of Mukai, Open Space for Arts & Community, The Natural History Museum, Vashon Artist Residency, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Events, Vashon Film Institute, Vashon Island Chorale, Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association, Vashon Nature Center, Vashon Opera, Vashon Repertory Theatre and Voice of Vashon.
Our headlines weren’t all good news, though. In May, “Beloved island arts program is among NEA cuts” detailed the loss of significant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts for Vashon Center for the Arts’ longtime Artists in Schools program. But the story also related the response of VCA’s director, Allison Halstead Reid, who quickly raised funds from the community to keep the program afloat.
On Vashon, the arts persevere. What follows is a highly subjective list of just a few highlights of a year filled with joyous creative expression, but also heartbreaking loss.
Theater
In March, youth theater-makers soared in a triumphant run of Vashon High School’s production of the musical “Ride the Cyclone” — a production that repeatedly earned ecstatic standing ovations during its sold-out run.
In August, Drama Dock’s new artistic director, Kelly Godell, directed Vashon’s “Sister Act” — a feel-good musical performed by local and off-island talent that left audiences singing, toe-tapping and clapping along with the show.
Not to be outdone, Vashon Repertory Theatre, in October, mounted a stunning production of “The Rocky Horror Show,” directed by Brooke Osment, that dared to interpret the raucous and racy show in an empathetic new way.
A much simpler and yet extremely satisfying show? A one-afternoon-only reading of “Trouble at Harmony Hill,” a new play by Jean Davis Okimoto. The production, set in a fictional assisted living facility on Vashon, brought a star-studded cast of veteran Vashon performers — most now in their 70s and 80s — back to the stage for a free staged reading at Bethel Church. The pews were packed with their admirers.
Opera
Vashon Opera outdid itself with productions of “Falstaff” and “Cendrillon” — filling Vashon Center for the Arts’ stage once again with the incredible voices of rising regional and national opera stars.
Local legends
Exhibits at VCA celebrated the work of two remarkable islanders: illustrator Bruce Morser and ethnographer and folklorist Martin Koenig.
Morser’s show, in April, was a major retrospective showcasing the depth and breadth of his 45-year career as an artist and illustrator — and a glimpse into the delightfully weird wiring of his particular creative genius.
In October, Koenig’s “Balkan Echoes” filled VCA with his photographs from 1962-1987, providing an extraordinary visual archive of Balkan village life during a time of profound transformation. The show also included cultural artifacts and interactive field recordings made by Koenig during that time. Best of all, perhaps, was an ancillary concert of traditional Balkan music and dance curated by Koenig, featuring performers from nearby communities who have kept the ancient folk traditions of the Balkans alive.
In April, islander Bill Wood, perhaps best known as Voice of Vashon’s “Jazz Guy,” at age 93, heard his “Emily Suite” compositions performed in the Vashon Island Chorale’s poetry-themed concert. The 11 songs, inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson, had first begun to swirl in Wood’s head in the early 1970s and, over the years, have been performed in notable concerts and productions both in Los Angeles and Vashon. But in new adaptations of the songs by Chorale Artistic Director Gary Cannon, the 74-member Chorale breathed new life into the songs — a development that Wood said made him “almost inconceivably happy.”
In remembrance
In 2025, the hearts of those in Vashon’s arts, music and theater communities broke too many times. Here, we remember some of those we lost, whose lives were intertwined with the arts in different ways.
Pamela Eve Peterson (born 1945), a longtime Seattle Metro bus driver whose life was also filled with artistic endeavors and appreciation, died on Jan. 4.
Lewis Jennings (born 1973), who among countless other creative endeavors was known as a talented and ever-ready musician in many local bands, died on Jan. 10.
Mark Bennion (born 1948), a prolific and accomplished artist whose paintings, sculptures and installations blended cultural influences and personal philosophy, died on March 16. His art lives on in homes, prominent public spaces including the grounds of Vashon Center for the Arts, and most vividly in the hearts of those who knew him.
Rick Paquette (born 1943) was a man of many interests and accomplishments in the fields of biological and computer sciences, spirituality, house building and bowl turning, singing, crocheting, highland bagpiping and exploring the outdoors, and all ranges of intellectual pursuits. He died on March 19.
Piroska “Piro” Kramar (born 1937), whose life included work as a renowned physician, educator, mountain climber, nature photographer and locally as the co-founder of Vashon Island Pet Protectors (VIPP), died on May 18. Islanders were fortunate, months before her death, to see a retrospective of her stunning mountain photographs in an exhibit at Windermere Vashon.
Julie Dale Speidel (born 1941), a renowned Northwest artist, died on May 28. Her vast artistic output — in jewelry, printmaking and more than 1,000 sculptures — has been exhibited widely worldwide in major museum, private, corporate and public collections. On Vashon, her large and striking outdoor sculptures grace the grounds of Courthouse Square and Vashon Center for the Arts.
Mary “Earthsong” Redick (born 1947), beloved for raising her voice in song with other islanders and taking the stage in many local Drama Dock productions, died on June 19.
Harris Levinson (born 1963), a beloved island educator, theater-maker and youth mentor, died on June 23. The intersecting communities whose lives he touched both mourned his loss and celebrated his lasting legacy at a memorial at Open Space for Arts & Community in September and again in December at a reunion concert for “Sharing the Stage” — a mentorship program for youth musicians he co-founded in 2011.
Weslie Ann Rodgers (born 1953), a supremely joyful presence on Vashon, died on June 23, leaving behind indelible memories of her one-woman crusade of kindness in the center of Vashon, where she stood smiling and holding handmade signs telling her fellow islanders “you matter” and reminding them: “Please do not eat animals.”
Charles Gaxiola (born 1980), a multi-talented artist and musician who lived a life filled with creative expression, died on July 2.
Carol Anne Digardi (born 1940), a gifted artist and arts educator, died on July 3.
Kirsten Bachant (born 1971), who was joyously involved throughout her life in countless island arts endeavors including theater-making and photography, died on July 17.
Stuart Gordon Tribble (born 1967) — an enormously talented and prolific hairstylist, makeup artist and costumer whose career spanned work in major theater, film and television productions — died on July 26. Gordon was also a passionate advocate for LGBTQ and other progressive causes. Locally, he supported and contributed to many local organizations, including the DOVE Project, Vashon Youth & Family Services, Vashon Food Bank, Vashon Heritage Museum and Vashon Center for the Arts.
Jeff Woollen (born 1948), a talented musician, songwriter and actor in local theater productions, died on Aug. 31.
Amy Baldinger (born 1960) a musician and master piano tuner who was a mainstay of support for Vashon Opera, Vashon Island Chorale and Vashon Center for the Arts, died on Oct. Sept. 3.
Denise Katz (born 1954), co-owner and designated broker of Winderemere Vashon was a powerful and beloved member of Vashon’s business community, also deeply supported the arts on Vashon, giving her time and talents to Vashon Center for the Arts most especially, died on Nov. 6.
Their creative spirit lives on in the lives they touched on Vashon and beyond.
VCA began its 60th anniversary season in 2026, announcing shows by (top, left to right) show by Shawn Colvin, Kiki Valera, Dina Martina, (middle) Steffon Moody, Nobuntu, TAKE3, (bottom) Whitney Mongé, Evren Ozel and Paula Poundstone. (Courtesy Photos)
Martin Koenig (center) joined audience members in traditional dances after a night of music and dance that accompanied his “Balkan Echoes” exhibition at VCA. (Steve Rocketar Photo/www.rocketkar.com)
