Happenings | Oct. 2 edition

Published 12:08 pm Thursday, October 2, 2025

Happenings features community, cultural and nonprofit events; notices are free and printed as space permits. Due to the volume of entries received, we edit submissions and cannot always confirm if a submission will run. Send submissions to editor@vashonbeachcomber.com; include the who, what, where and when. The deadline is noon Thursday for subsequent Thursday publication.

• EVENTS •

Support group: NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) friends and family support group will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in the library of Vashon Presbyterian Church, 17708 Vashon Highway SW. For more information, contact 425-221-1142.

Land Trust Talk: The Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust will host a free talk in its speaker series, “From Source to Sound: The Future of Vashon’s Creeks,” featuring Jacques White, CEO of Long Live the Kings, from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at the Land Trust Building at 10014 Bank Rd. Long Live the Kings is a non-profit dedicated to the restoration of wild salmon and steelhead runs in the Pacific Northwest. Come learn about restoration strategies and how Vashon’s creeks could be key to thriving fisheries throughout the greater Salish Sea.

Vashon High School Homecoming: Vashon High School’s homecoming football game will take place on the evening of Friday, Oct. 3, with the homecoming dance will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Vaccination Clinics: High-volume, volunteer-assisted vaccination clinics began at Vashon Pharmacy on Sept. 30. Pharmacy staff and Vashon Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers will administer COVID, flu, and RSV vaccinations with the assistance of VashonBePrepared and Vashon Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers. Make appointments online now at vashonpharmacy.com. VashonBePrepared can assist those who don’t have insurance coverage and can’t afford the shots. Islanders can help by donating at VashonBePrepared.org/helpout and selecting “Vaccines for Uninsured.” Vashon Pharmacy will match the first $2,500 donated. All school-age children on Vashon can receive vaccinations at the Neighborcare clinic at Vashon High School (make appointments at 206-448-7550 and register at tinyurl.com/NCVashon-Eng (English) ortinyurl.com/NCVashon-Spa (Spanish). Vaccinations are also available at Sea Mar Community Health Center (call ahead at 206-463-3671) and Vashon Natural Medicine (for existing pediatric patients only, make an appointments at 206-463-4778.

Fire Station Open House: On Saturday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Vashon Island Fire & Rescue will host its annual open house at the Bank Road station. (See page 2 for more details.) Meet Vashon’s new fire chief, Bill Laughlin, bring the kids for the bouncy house and face-painting, enjoy hot dogs and snacks, check out the new Mobile Integrated Health exam room, watch a Tesla extrication demo, see the Airlift Northwest helicopter land and more, and play preparedness games with representatives of VashonBePrepared. Islanders are also encouraged to bring in the following types of spent batteries for recycling: rechargeable batteries (up to 11 lbs & under 300 watt-hours): lithium ion (Li-ion), small sealed lead acid, nickel cadmium (NiCad), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), and nickel zinc; single-use batteries including lithium primary, carbon zinc, alkaline, button and coin cells (taped) and cellphones of all types and ages.

CiderFest: The Vashon Chamber of Commerce will present its annual CiderFest on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Vashon Village. The schedule includes kids activities, fresh cider pressing and sales from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Food vendors, including Aeggie’s Breakfast Sandwiches & Sausages, Cider Donuts by Pacific Donut Co., Dragon’s Head, Iyad’s Syrian Grill and Wine Shop Vashon, will be on site between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The live music lineup includes David Boone at 11 a.m., the band Hopper at 12:30 p.m. Colette Jones at 2 p.m. and Gregg Curry at 3:30 p.m. A cider tasting with award-winning regional makers will take place from 12-5 p.m.

Find out more at thisisvashon.com/ciderfest.

Library: A Friends of the Library book sale will offer a selection of gently used books for all ages from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.

Women Hold the Key: Women and girls age 16 and older can increase their knowledge about America’s ongoing quest for gender equality in a three-part “Herstory” series offered from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays (Oct 4, 18 and Nov. 1) at Women Hold the Key, 99822 SW Gorsuch Rd. Lynn Carrigan, lecturer emeritus at the University of Washington and WHTK director Tina Shattuck will lead the series. The first session, on Oct. 4, will cover early cultural and biological contexts, the dismantling of Western female agency and the early wave of female advocates for women’s rights. Session 2 will explore the second wave feminist movements from 1940-1980 and the third feminist wave from 1980-2015. Session 3 will examine the issues related to the present time. Find out more and register for one or all of these free sessions at womenholdthekey.com.

Rotary Fundraiser: Rotary District 5030 (rotarydistrict5030.org), and member Club Vashon Rotary, invite islanders to join them in a fundraiser to be held from Oct. 1 to Nov. 3. The fundraising competition will fight hunger by raising funds for Vashon Food Bank, Harvest Against Hunger and No Kid Hungry. To be part of the Vashon Team, contact amyhugs@icloud.com.

Indivisible Vashon: On Wednesday, Oct. 8, Indivisible Vashon will host an open meeting at 7 p.m. at the Vashon United Methodist Church. Topics will include mobilizing support for the upcoming No Kings 2 national protest and strategies for November elections.

Food bank tours: Tour the current and future sites of the Vashon-Maury Community Food Bank with the food bank’s executive director and board members. The next tours takes place from 2-3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10; and 3-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21. Each tour can accommodate 10 people. RSVPs are required — contact minta@vashonfoodbank.org and meet at the current food bank location at 10030 SW 210th St.

Fix-It Cafe: Vashon Fix-It Cafe will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Eagles clubhouse, 18134 Vashon Hwy SW. Bring in broken treasures and a team of experts will fix them and save them from the landfill — all for free. The group can fix furniture, jewelry, mend clothes, household appliances, electronics and lamps. You must register at vashonfixit.com.

Wellness and Screening Event: On Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vashon Health Care District in partnership with Vashon’s Medical Reserve Corps will offer a free screening and wellness event at JG Commons, at 17300 96th Place SW. All are welcome. A variety of health services and screenings will be available, blood pressure checks, glucose testing, vaccinations, hearing screenings, balance training and foot care. The event aims to promote wellness, prevention and access to important health resources, particularly for older adults. For more information, contact Sarah Howard at info@vashonhealthcare.org.

Garden Club: The Vashon-Maury Island Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 13, at the Bethel Church gym. Guest speaker and master gardener Bruce Bennett will speak on the topic of growing perennial vegetables in the Pacific Northwest. Meetings are open to the public.

Public Sector Heroes Lectures: Dr. Larry Hubbell, in conjunction with Vashon Indivisible, will present three upcoming lectures about public sector heroes at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 and 28, and Nov. 11, in the Vashon High School Theatre. Read more about the series, “Finding Courage in Dark Times: Public Sector Heroes Rediscovered,” at tinyurl.com/4bsnadee. There is no admission charge, but donations to Vashon Indivisible are encouraged.

Farmers Market: The Vashon Island Growers Association’s Farmers Market runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday at the Village Green through Sept. 27. Also, VIGA’s 2nd annual Harvest Party Fundraiser will take place from 2:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at Farmstad, 12108 Southwest 148th Street. The event will include hay rides, excavator swing, apple flinging, pig feeding, a photo booth, music by Colette Jones, an aerial performance, a locally sourced dinner and more. Tickets are $15/entry, $15/dinner and $50 for family entry (up to four people). Find out more at viga.org/events.

Blood Drive: Bloodworks Northwest will hold a community blood drive from 10:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, at Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s Penny Farcy Memorial Training Center, at 10019 SW Bank Rd. Appointments are required, with photo IDs also required. Those who donate between Sept. 14-20 and Oct. 19-31 will be entered in a contest where the lucky winner will receive a free trip to Toyko including two concert tickets to see Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny or Blackpink. Find out more and register for the Oct. 22 blood drive at bloodworksnw.org/donate.

Free community dinners: Held Mondays through Fridays from 5-5:30 p.m. at the Vashon Presbyterian Church (17708 Vashon Highway SW) by the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness.

• SENIOR CENTER •

Enjoy a hot lunch at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the following activities throughout the week at the Vashon Senior Center, 10004 SW Bank Road, unless noted otherwise:

How to Library: Vashon Library and the Vashon Senior Center will present the first installment of this monthly program from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, at the Vashon Library. To find out more, visit tinyurl.com/ykee5w9p.

Puppets: Jawbone Theatre will present a “Golden Age Puppet Hour” at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at the Senior Center. Don’t miss this special performance, which organizers say will be mind-blowing.

Movement: From 1-2 p.m. on Mondays in October, starting Oct. 6, Lynelle Sjoberb will present “Healing Mindful Movement from the Inside Out” in the Ober Park exercise room. Call 206-463-5173 to reserve a spot.

Pumpkin project: Join librarian Sam Harris at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, at the Senior Center for a “Wacky Wednesday” project with pumpkins. Free, with all supplies provided.

Death Café: Meets 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at the Senior Center. It is a discussion group about death and making the most of life, rather than a grief support or counselling session. For questions, call Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232 or Brad Davis at 206-799-7235.

Grief ritual: Islanders are invited to share and witness each other’s grief on the first Sunday of each month from 1-2 p.m. at the Senior Center. Questions? Call Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232, or Brad Davis at 206-799-7235.

Grief support: Kenny Alton, counselor at Vashon Youth and Family Services, will facilitate the “Grief is Grief” support group, a six week group from 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursdays, September 18-Oct. 23, at the Senior Center. The group is limited to 12 people. There is no cost for the meetings; please register by calling Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232.

• PUBLIC MEETINGS •

Vashon-Maury Community Council: The council holds regular meetings on the third Thursday of the month. Visit v-mcc.org for more information.

Water District 19: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, in the district’s board room at 17630 100th Ave SW.

Vashon Health Care District: Holds regular meetings the fourth Thursday of the month (Sept. 25 this month) at Vashon Presbyterian Church, 17708 Vashon Hwy SW, and on Zoom. Visit vashonhealthcare.org.

Vashon Island School District: The board typically meets the second and fourth Thursdays of the month, at Chautauqua Elementary School, Room 302, 9309 SW Cemetery Road. The board won’t hold a public meeting on Oct. 9, as board members attend a lecture at Seattle University instead that evening. All meetings are recorded and posted online at youtube.com/@visdpublicmeetings6034/videos. Visit vashonsd.org.

Vashon Island Fire & Rescue: VIFR’s board typically meets on the fourth Wednesday evening of each month Visit vifr.org.

King County Cemetery District #1: Meetings are typically held at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month, at the cemetery office at 19631 Singer Rd SW. Visit vashoncemetery.org.

Correction: Due to incorrect information received from an organizer, The Beachcomber got a date wrong for one of three upcoming women’s history talks at Women Hold the Key. The November talk in the series will take place on Nov. 1, not Nov. 4, as previously published.