Rock Around the Dock

Celebrate Drama Dock, Vashon’s longest-running theatre company, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Vashon Center for the Arts for a night of vintage rock and roll and music theater at its 2024 gala fundraiser titled “Rock Around the Dock.”

Hosted by Billy Joe Huels, who played Buddy Holly in 2022’s “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” Rock Around the Dock features live performances from The Dusty 45s and Drama Dock musical theater regulars. Learn more about November’s first-ever island-wide general open auditions, and about Drama Dock’s community partnerships launching next year. The evening will also unveil the Drama Dock’s 49th Season for 2025.

Learn more and buy tickets at dramadock.org/rock-around-the-dock.

Chamber Orchestra

Vashon Maury Chamber Orchestra presents its fall concert, “Baroque Spooktacular,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

Soloist and guest artist Mike Woolf will play the Sammartini Recorder concerto in F Major, and VMCO musicians will perform Woolf’s new composition “Bright and Stormy Night.”

Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Screening and conversation with award-winning British filmmaker

Vashon Theatre will host acclaimed British documentary director and producer Phil Grabsky this month, who will host a discussion with the audience following the screening of two films from his production company, Seventh Art Productions.

The event kicks off at 5 p.m. on Oct. 29 with “My National Gallery, London,” part of Seventh Art’s renowned Exhibition on Screen series. The collection brings cinematic portraits of some of history’s most creative individuals directly to audiences through cinema and television. Featuring high-definition footage, the series details artistic masterpieces with expert commentary from curators, historians, and artists.

The documentary takes viewers on a journey through the iconic National Gallery in the eyes of a security guard, a museum director, an everyday visitor, a celebrity, a member of the royal family, and others.

At 7:00 p.m., the screening will begin for “My Childhood, My Country — 20 Years in Afghanistan,” a film co-directed by Grabsky and Shoaib Sharifi. Winner of the 2022 BAFTA for Best Documentary, this film follows the life of Mir, a boy growing up in war-torn Afghanistan. Over the span of 20 years, the film paints an intimate portrait of a family and a nation caught in the crossfire of conflict, politics, and survival, offering a child’s perspective on the devastating impact of war.

Following each screening, Grabsky will engage in a Q&A session with the audience, offering insights into the making of the films and the evolving landscape of documentary filmmaking. He will also share his personal connection to Vashon Island and the Seattle area, which helped shape his distinguished, four-decade-long career in documentary storytelling.

Authoritarianism Rising

In part four of a five-part speaker series, Dr. Larry Hubbell will explore the structural and psychological factors that attract people to leaders like Donald Trump, and discuss Project 2025 and its implications. The talk, “The Great and Powerful Oz,” will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

Each talk in Hubbell’s series explores different aspects of authoritarianism. Find out more and get tickets at openspacevashon.com.

Multi-guitarist Luca Stricagnoli

With music videos exceeding 100 million views, Luca Stricagnoli is an acoustic guitarist with a truly unique style — experimenting with the musical form by, for instance, using up to five guitars in the same piece. His latest invention, a custom triple-neck guitar, has been used in performances featured in magazines, and Luca has played in more than 20 countries and in front of audiences of up to 12,000 people. He’ll play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1 at Vashon Center for the Arts.

Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Nobuntu

Nobuntu, the female a cappella quartet from Zimbabwe, has drawn international acclaim for its inventive performances that range from traditional Zimbabwean songs to Afro Jazz to Gospel. The ensemble’s vocal concerts are augmented by minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as the Mbira (thumb piano) and organic, authentic dance movements. Nobuntu performs at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4 at VCA.

Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Call for artists

Vashon Center for the Arts has two calls for artists for future shows: the 18th Annual Miniature Show, and “Birds Take Flight,” which it will present with Vashon Nature Center.

The deadline for submissions to the miniature show is Nov. 6. Artists of all disciplines may submit work. Size matters: all 2-D art cannot be more than 36 square inches, including the frame, and 3D art should measure no more than 6 inches in any direction. The exhibition will run Dec. 6-22, at VCA. For more details and to apply, visit bit.ly/MiniatureShow2024.

The deadline to submit work to “Birds Take Flight” — an exploration of avian-inspired creativity — is Dec. 2. The exhibition will celebrate the diversity of interpretations that artists can bring to life through all mediums, reflecting the beauty, symbolism, and dynamic energy of birds in flight. The exhibition dates will be Jan. 3-Feb. 2. For more details and to apply, visit bit.ly/CallBirdsTakeFlight.

Kristen Grainger and True North

American Roots singer-songwriter Kristen Grainger and her band, True North, perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Open Space.

True North brings together guitarist, mandolinist and banjo player Dan Wetzel; mandolinist and fiddler Martin Stevens; and upright bassist Josh Adkins, three standout Pacific Northwest bluegrass multi-instrumentalists.

“We are excited to return to Vashon; it’s our first concert there since before the 2020 pandemic shutdown,” Grainger said in a press release. “We met a lot of music lovers at our last show, so we are hoping to connect with old friends and make some new ones.”

Kristen Grainger & True North weave together modern and traditional styles of bluegrass, folk, and Americana music. Grainger has won honors at MerleFest, Wildfower, Kerrville New Folk and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and she won the USA Songwriting Contest in 2020. She was named, alongside Dolly Parton and Brandi Carlile, as one of the “Women Who Wrote Our 2020 Soundtrack” by The Bluegrass Situation.

For tickets and more information, visit openspacevashon.com.

From left to right: Martin Stevens, Josh Adkins, Dan Wetzel, and Kristen Grainger make up True North, a band which performs at Open Space on November 9. (Courtesy photo)