Poetry readings
Local poet Sandra Noel will share work from her newly released, third full-length poetry collection “What the Pain Left,” with readings from fellow Vashon poet Katy E. Ellis, at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 23, at Vashon Bookshop.
Books by both poets will be available for purchase and signing.
Noel, an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer, served as Vashon’s 2022-23 poet laureate. Her poems have appeared in several journals, five chapbooks, and two full-length poetry books, “Love, Island” and “Hawk Land.”
Ellis is the author of the novel-length prose poem, “Home Water, Home Land,” and three chapbooks: “Night Watch,” winner of the Floating Bridge chapbook competition, “Urban Animal Expeditions” and “Gravity,” a single poem also nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Find out more about her work at katyeellis.com.
Vashon Opera
Vashon Opera will bring the timeless tale of “Romeo and Juliet,” as told in Charles Gounod’s 1867 opera, to life at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 24, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 26, at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Title roles will be sung by Daniel O’Hearn, whose recent engagements include roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Pittsburgh Opera, and Vashon Opera, and Ksenia Popov, who has previously appeared in principal roles in Vashon Opera’s productions of “Rigoletto” and “Die Fledermaus” as well as in operas produced by Tacoma Opera, Pacific Northwest Opera, and Opera Coeur d’Alene, among others.
Gounod’s opera, with a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michael Carré, will be sung in French with English supertitles. Find out more about the production and purchase tickets at vashonopera.org.
Mike Dumovich at Snapdragon
Beloved local musician Mike Dumovich will share his latest album, “Real Shoring,” at a record release show at 8 p.m. Friday, May 24, at Snapdragon Bakery & Café.
Dumovich will be joined by his collaborators on the album — Hunter Lea, a songwriter, musician and Grammy-nominated record producer and co-producer of Light in the Attic Records, and Anne Marie Ruljancich, a violist who played in The Walkabouts and Jessie Sykes and the Shins.
Legendary Pacific Northwest musician and record producer Steve Fisk will open the show, which will also feature a set from the band Von Wildenhaus.
Doors to the show open at 7 p.m. There is a $15 cover charge.
tu-NER at Open Space
Formerly of King Crimson and Stick Men, tu-NER is a trio of musicians — Trey Gunn, Markus Reuter, and Pat Mastelotto —who will bring their trademark fusion of rock, jazz, progressive music, and other genres to a show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25, at Open Space for Arts & Community.
The concert will include the trio’s original music and also honor the music they have created over the past two decades in King Crimson and other notable music endeavors.
Get advance tickets at openspacevashon.org for $25. Tickets are free for all youth 18 and younger. Tickets at the door for others, on the night of the show, will be “pay what you can” unless the show is sold out.
Early Music Festival
Salish Sea Early Music Festival will present “Concerti by Aubert, Bach and Vivaldi” at 12 p.m. Monday, May 27, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, at 15420 Vashon Hwy SW.
The concert will boast the talents of harpsichordist Jonathan Oddie, violinists Carrie Krause, Elisabeth Phelps, and Courtney Kuroda, violist Victoria Gunn, cellist Martin Bonham, and Jeffrey Cohan on baroque flute.
There is a suggested donation of $20-$30 (pay as you wish). Admission is free for those 18 and younger. For more information, and to donate to support continuing Salish Sea Early Music Festival concerts on Vashon, visit online.
Auditions
Vashon Repertory Theatre will hold auditions for the company’s summer outdoor production, “Oscar’s Journey,” written by Bryan Willis with music by Kat Eggleston, and directed by Andy James, from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, June 1, in the Vashon High School auditorium. The play is inspired by Thomas Dambo’s troll sculpture on Maury Island.
“Oscar’s Journey” will be performed Aug. 23-25, in the Heron Meadow of Vashon Center for the Arts. Rehearsals start the week of July 8. The cast includes adults, young people, and children. Cast wannabees should prepare a short monologue, no longer than two minutes, to perform at the auditions. Sign up for a time to audition at tinyurl.com/m59dvt76.
