By JULI GOETZ MORSER
Lois Watkins met Dr. Martin Luther King not once, but twice. Her sister went to school with the Little Rock Nine students. As a child, she could not drink water from the public fountain in her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. Watkins, 72, grew up as a black child in segregated America.
It’s been seven years since Vashon High School’s theater arts produced a classic American musical for its spring performance. This weekend will interrupt that trend when students perform Cole Porter’s classic and popular musical, “Anything Goes.” The show opens Friday and will run for three weekends.
Since the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) gained notoriety through the 2014 movie, “Wild,” people have flocked to hike the PCT. Others have hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) and some have hiked both, but few have achieved the pinnacle of hiking by also traversing the third and most difficult trail, the Continental Divide (CDT).
Three years ago, island singer-song-writer Sarah Christine had an intention to do more than dabble with her music. Last week, she released her new single, “We Are One,” realizing both her intention and a greater wish for her music to become a vehicle for good.
When world-renowned Bulgarian singer Valya Balkanska holds a vocal workshop on Vashon, the recorded sound of her voice will be orbiting the earth aboard two Voyager spacecraft. The workshop, sponsored by Balkan Echoes, will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, at the Vashon High School band room.
What makes Vashon unique? The answer to that short but loaded question is teased out in the engaging narrative of Bruce Haluman’s new book, “A Brief History of Vashon Island.”
Ancient Ayurveda cleansing practices are explained in what is billed as an accessible and comprehensive guide called “The Mindbody Cleanse: A 14-Day Detox and Rejuvenation Program From Ancient Ayurveda,” by islander Ronly Blau and Adrian Nowland. Blau will read from the recently released book at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at Vashon Bookshop.
In 2007, when former islander Benita Staadecker turned 60, the last present she expected was a play commissioned in her honor. After all, when Benita’s husband Charlie asked her what she wanted, she said, “Surprise me.” Surprise her he did with a play commissioned via Seattle’s ACT Theatre. “Becky’s New Car” will have its island premiere this weekend and next at Open Space for Arts & Community.
It’s been an all-out race to the finish line, and despite being the wettest winter on record, construction on the new Vashon Center for the Arts is wrapping up on budget and mostly on time. Last Friday, Sellen Construction, the general contractor for the project, turned over the keys to Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) Executive Director Molly Reed, one week before the promised opening of the building to the community at large at 10 a.m. Saturday.
As a storyteller and school librarian, islander Bob Jonas knows what kids like to read. As a writer of young adult fiction, he knows how to hook his audience — create a challenge for the youthful protagonist in a tough position and see how they do. In his latest novel, “Imposter,” a 16-year-old American boy at an international school in Saudi Arabia masquerades as an online cleric, and the stunt causes serious fallout. Jonas will discuss “Imposter” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at Vashon Bookshop.
Call it luck. Call it synchronicity or even fate, but the stars aligned on the day in 1953 when an elite fighter pilot flew a stolen Soviet MiG-15 jet out of North Korea and defected to the West. The story of his escape, North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung’s subsequent rise to power and the United States’ seldom-discussed role in the Korean War are the focus of best-selling author Blaine Harden’s riveting historical thriller, “The Great Leader and The Fighter Pilot: A True Story About the Birth of Tyranny in North Korea.” Harden will read and discuss his newly-released paperback at 6 p.m. Thursday at Vashon Bookshop.
Former Vashon poet laureate, painter and sculptor Ina Whitlock will read from her latest book of poems, “Moments Out of Time,” at 6 p.m. Friday at Vashon Bookshop.
