Movie magic at the drive-in

“Palm Springs,” the only first-run film to appear in the line-up of Vashon’s new New Light Drive-In, will have a run from Thursday, Aug. 20 to Sunday, Aug. 23 in the theatre-under-the-stars, situated on the great lawn of Open Space for Arts & Community. The film, which set a record at the 2020 Sundance Film Forum for its sale price, tells the comedic story of a wedding party gone awry, twisting the “Groundhog Day” template with raunchy and comedic results. It stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two strangers who have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, and then find themselves unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other. The movie has an R rating. Showtimes are at 8:30 p.m. with gates opening at 7:30 p.m. Tickets to the movie, $20 per carload, must be purchased in advance at vashontheatre.com. Concessions must also be purchased in advance on the website. Safety protocols apply at the drive-in, read about them on the website.

Coming soon to the drive-in: “Finding Dory,” “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” “Jaws,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Grease” and “Almost Famous.”

Father-son duo share virtuoso talent

Vashon Center for the Arts will welcome back the Salman family in an all Beethoven concert, at 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23, live-streamed from VCA’s Katherine L. White Hall to vashoncentercenterforthearts.org and VCA’s Facebook page.

During the concert, pianist Mark Salman will perform two Beethoven piano sonatas: The Waldstein and the Appassionata. Cellist Jonathan Salman will join his father to perform Beethoven’s 3rd Cello Sonata, Op 69.

This year marks Beethoven’s 250th birthday, so throughout the year, VCA is presenting various works of Beethoven in our classical music series. In June, VCA live-streamed the first of two Beethoven lectures by Michael Tracy, covering the composer’s early years from 1770-1803. As part of this lecture, Mark and Jonathan Salman will perform live.

The three works to be presented on Sunday were written during Beethoven’s middle period when he was already in his mid-thirties and he grappled with a new devastating reality — near-total deafness. Yet as heard by these three monumental works, Beethoven overcame the greatest obstacle any musician could face.

In a press release, VCA said that 250 years after Beethoven’s birth, “2020 has made our own world full of new obstacles and harsh realities. VCA hopes audiences can take inspiration in Beethoven’s perseverance and love of his art that allowed him to … create some of the greatest musical works ever written.”

There is a $10 suggested donation for the concert.

Sundae + Mr. Goessl pop up in concert

Vashon Live will present the husband/wife duo, Sundae + Mr. Goessl, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, in a pop-up performance on facebook.com/vashonlive. Recently married, the couple has put out six albums and has performed in 1000-plus shows. The couple’s act that encompasses jazz, pop, country, charm, fashion, comedy, vaudeville and sometimes….magic. Tips can be made to Venmo: @Pay-Sundae or PayPal.me/paysundae. Find out more at vashonevents.org.

Local author pens a mystery set on Vashon

Charlotte Stuart, an island mystery writer, just published her third book, “Bogged Down (A Vashon Island Mystery). The book is the first in a series of murder mysteries set on the island.

Its protagonist is Lavendar Lewis, who grew up in a commune in Alaska, joined the army at 17, does parkour in the woods for exercise and HR investigations to earn a living. Living in a waterfront cabin on Vashon, she’s determined to have a quiet life, until she leads a tour group into an ancient bog on the island and discovers the body of a local animal and eco-activist.

Islander Charlotte Stuart is the author of “Bogged Down (A Vashon Island Mystery)” (Courtesy Photo).

Like her protagonist, Stuart lives in a cabin on Vashon. After a career in academia and the business world, she wrote two other mysteries which were published in 2019. Her first mystery, “Survival Can Be Deadly (A Discount Detective Mystery) was a Foreward INDIES mystery finalist. The second book in the series will be out on Sept. 29. Also in 2019, Stuart’s book, “Why me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish” made the shortlist for the Chanticleer Murder and Mayhem contest before publication.

“I think of mysteries as the written equivalent of macaroni and cheese, the ultimate comfort food,” Stuart said. “And I like all kinds of mysteries, but when I sit down to write, I want to live in an upbeat world, not a violent one. Although I try to keep readers guessing about the whodunit aspect of my stories, my books are character-driven with a smattering of humor … I enjoy writing them and want people to smile while reading them. We need something to smile about these days.”

“Bogged Down” can be purchased at Vashon Bookshop. Find out more at charlottestuart.com.