Two outdoor concerts will give a send-off to summer

Concerts on Thursday and Monday will close out a summer’s worth of outdoor music in Ober Park.

Concerts on Thursday and Monday will close out a summer’s worth of outdoor music in Ober Park.

Shark Biscuit, a six-member local surf band led by Dick Moritz, will have a free show at 7 p.m. Thursday. The all-Vashon ensemble plays monster hits by The Ventures, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and other danceable instrumental music from the 1950s and 60s. The band’s name refers to a surf board that’s been bitten by a shark.

The show is the season finale of a series of summer concerts produced by Vashon Park District and Vashon Allied Arts.

Another concert series, curated by Islander Martin Koenig on behalf of Vashon Park District and Vashon Folkdancers to showcase folk music from around the world, will kick off its final concert at 6:30 p.m. Monday. 

For this concert, Koenig is bringing the Dromeno Greek Ensemble to Vashon. This acclaimed and well-traveled family band features instrumentation, including accordion, clarinet, bouzouki, zourna, sax, trumpet and Greek percussive instruments. The group plays ballads from the mountains of Epiros in Greece, lively tunes from the Bulgarian border area and Roma dances from the Gypsy quarters in Macedonia.  

Prior to the concert, there will be folk-dancing instruction — no partners are necessary and everyone is invited to join in the dancing.  

As always, bring your own blankets, seats and picnics to the concerts.