Islanders rally for ‘No Kings Day’

An inflatable unicorn, buzzing bees and even Santa Claus filled Vashon’s main highway Saturday, as islanders joined “No Kings Day,” a nationwide protest of the Trump administration.

The Saturday protest was an all-day affair for islanders who boarded ferries both on Vashon’s north and south ends bound for No King events in Seattle and Tacoma. Many said they wanted to be visible — to show that even from a small island, their voices mattered in a national moment of unrest and reflection.

At the north end, the line for King County Water Taxi’s 10:35 a.m. Saturday sailing — a new service that only began on Oct. 11 — stretched all the way from the terminal’s sidewalk down the dock. Nearly everyone carried signs and wore activist attire including politically-themed buttons and t-shirts.

According to a count by a ferry attendant, 273 people boarded the water taxi — only five short of its 278-passenger capacity. The field trip to Seattle, organized by Indivisible Vashon, SURJ (Showing up for Racial Justice) and other groups, disembarked at Pier 50 in downtown Seattle. From there, led by a bucket-brigade of drummers and horn-blowers, the islanders marched to Seattle Center to hear speakers including U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal.

“Over 270 islanders joined 80,000-plus others in Seattle Center to joyfully and peacefully celebrate democracy while simultaneously protesting the actions of the Trump administration and elected Republicans as they try to tear the country apart,” said James H. Rickard III, a member of Indivisible Vashon, in an email. “It was an electrifying day that conveyed the strength and resilience of Americans demonstrating what democracy looks like.”

On Vashon, another crowd numbering between 600-800 islanders turned out to fill the streets of Vashon’s town center around 1 p.m., tightly crowding the sidewalks of all intersections at the town’s four-way stop and stretching north to Vashon Pharmacy and south to Island Queen on both sides of Vashon Highway.

A steady steam of cars passing the protesters blared their support with loud honks and thumbs-up out open windows.

Among those attending the rally was island apiarist Wendy Gage, fully clad and veiled in her beekeeper’s suit and headgear. She explained her attire as a metaphor for helping to tend democracy in the same way beekeepers nurture, protect and help hives thrive.

“I want to tend for and take care of democracy, keeping the rule of law and free speech that are required for this experiment to continue,” she said.

Nearby, Lizz Randall and Lynann Politte, dressed in plushy Tigger and Winnie the Pooh suits, pulled their faces into frowns as a photographer snapped their photos.

Why the sad faces? “We’re grieving for what’s happening on our planet,” Politte, as Pooh, said.

Islander Jessica Wesch, a family medicine physician who has practiced both on Vashon and in Tacoma, waved a large Pride Resistance flag near the Vashon Thriftway parking lot entrance. “I’m worried about what is going to happen to our healthcare in our small clinics and hospitals in rural communities,” she said. “I’m worried for the health of our country.”

Among the more eye-catching participants was Jeris Huntington, who came dressed as a blow-up unicorn. She was one of several islanders wearing inflatable animal costumes — a nod to a recent Portland protest in which a federal agent pepper-sprayed a demonstrator dressed as an inflatable frog.

“The current administration is dismantling democracy as we know it,” Huntington said. She added that part of her motivation came from her family’s history — her ancestor, Samuel Huntington, signed the Declaration of Independence — as well as her own experience on the front lines of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland.

Her husband, Toby Nichols, a veteran of 22 years as an Air Force officer and pilot, said the administration has degraded the values he once served to protect.

“Having served my country for such a long time in an honorable profession, it’s been degraded so much by this administration,” Nichols said, adding that he takes pride in serving under the Department of Defense — “not the Department of War.”

Nearby, islander Matt Beursken held a sign that read, “Freedom from King Donald,” wearing rainbow Pride socks and carrying a matching umbrella.

“We need to protest and say no,” he said. “I hope people all across the country are out here today — this isn’t the way America should be.”

Among the costumed crowd was also Santa Claus — or rather, islander Bill Gassiot — holding a sign that read, “You have been a very bad boy, Donnie.”

Gassiot said he believes the administration has ignored and subverted the Constitution on multiple levels, including its treatment of immigrants seeking legal status. He pointed to those following the proper process, only to be detained while completing paperwork at immigration offices.

Deb Stuart, in an inflatable lobster suit, and MJ McCulloch, dressed as an inflatable bee said their playful protest was an act of joy and defiance.

“We’re just having a joyful day — that’s what we need to do,” Stuart said.

Amid what they described as a climate of “violence and hate,” they said, bringing levity and color to the streets was itself an act of peaceful resistance.

With many in the crowd fitting solidly in Vashon’s median age demographic of 51 as well as its strong political lean toward progressive politics, one islander, Annie Robinson, held a sign that told a story of decades-long lifelong commitment to free speech and peaceful protest:

“I’ve been marching since 1960,” it read.

Protesters fill Vashon’s town center Saturday, holding signs and wearing colorful costumes. (Aspen Anderson Photo)

Beekeeper Wendy Gage. (Courtesy Photo)

A protester dressed as Captain America waits at the Vashon Water Taxi dock Saturday as islanders line up to travel to Seattle for the demonstration. (Elizabeth Shepherd Photo)

(Elizabeth Shepherd Photo) Islanders Lynann Politte, dressed as Winnie the Pooh, and Lizz Randall, as Tigger, pose for a photo during Saturday’s protest in Vashon’s town center. (Elizabeth Shepherd Photo)

Islander Annie Robinson holds a sign reading, “I’ve been marching since 1960,” during Saturday’s protest in Vashon’s town center. (Elizabeth Shepherd Photo)

(Aspen Anderson Photo) Deb Stuart, in an inflatable lobster suit, and MJ McCulloch, dressed as a bee, take part in Saturday’s protest in Vashon’s town center. (Aspen Anderson Photo)