READING
Will North reads at Bookshop
Island author and regular Beachcomber columnist Will North will read from his new novel, “Water, Stone, Heart” at 7 p.m. Friday, May 15, at Vashon Bookshop.
The book, North’s second novel, was called “an enchanting and touching love story reminiscent of those by Nicholas Sparks,” by Booklist.
North’s debut novel, “The Long Walk Home,” was also praised by critics.
“Water, Stone, Heart” tells the story of Andrew Stratton and Nicola Rhys-Jones, two Americans who meet in an idyllic English village. Stratton is an architectural theorist who is escaping his life as a university professor in Philadelphia; Rhys-Jones is an expatriate who has come to England to escape an abusive past.
When the two meet, an explosive relationship develops that helps Stratton begin to repair the damage that has been done to his soul.
Signed copies of the novel will be available for sale at the reading.
VISUAL ART
An ‘archive’ sale at the Blue Heron
Vashon Allied Arts has invited some of the Island’s best known artists to bring in work that they have stored, packed away or otherwise “archived” for a special sale that will be held Friday to Sunday, May 29 to 31 at the Blue Heron Gallery.
The art will be offered for sale at deeply discounted prices. Work will include paintings, photography, jewelry, sculpture, pottery and textiles.
This is the second such sale at the Blue Heron. The first “archive” sale was held in May 2007, and netted $17,000 for the artists.
Some of the participating artists this year will be Don Cole, Joan Wortis, Mark Bennion, Carol Schwennesen, Morgan Brig, Mary Margaret Briggs, Mary Liz Austin and Terry Donnelly.
For more information call 463-5131.
THEATER
Audition for a Brecht trilogy
Auditions for “Triple Brecht,” three anti-Nazi one-act plays by Bertolt Brecht, will be held at 8 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at the Blue Heron Arts Center.
Callbacks are tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19.
There are four roles available for women ages 20 to 50, and seven roles available for men ages 20 to 70. There is also a part for a boy ages 10 to 14. There will be some double-casting.
Brecht wrote the plays, “The Search for Justice,” “The Informer,” and “The Jewish Wife,” in the 1930s as a protest against the expansion of Nazi power.
Jacob Clark will direct the trilogy, which will be performed Oct. 17 and 18 at The Blue Heron.
Payment will be made to actors through production shares. For more information, call (206) 293-0726.
MUSIC
Four shows in a row at the Bike
Swing Dance on Thursday.
Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi has a full schedule of shows coming up, beginning with a swing dance starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 14.
Island dance instructor March Twisdale will provide swing dance lessons until 8 p.m., when well-known Puyallup swing dance deejay Terry “Wild Wild” West will play a lively mix to get the crowd on its feet.
West has been a deejay for the Seattle Swing Dance Club, Seattle’s Easter Swing Convention and the U.S. Open Swing Convention. In 2007, he was inducted into the Swing DJ Hall of Fame.
There is no cover charge for West’s show or Twisdale’s dance class.
Diano Garcia on Friday.
Seattle-based singer, songwriter and percussionist Diano Garcia will play the Bike at 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 15.
Garcia’s music embraces several genres to create an Afro-Latin rock sound blended with doses of hip-hop, funk and jazz — a sound that has evolved evolved over the past 12 years as Garcia toured with various bands and projects.
The show is for ages 21 and older only.
Baby Gramps and The Mad Tea Party on Saturday.
Baby Gramps will return to the Bike for a show at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16. Gramps is a Seattle music legend, with a repertoire that includes Fats Waller standards, Bob Dylan favorites, material from dusty old 1920s 78rpm records, and lately, his variations on sea chanteys.
Pete Welch, promoter for the event, noted that Gramps’ last show at the Bike was a standing-room only affair, and he advised concert-goers to arrive early.
Opening up for Gramps will be The Mad Tea Party, a band from North Carolina. Mad Tea Party plays rock, retro-pop and honky-tonk, with instrumentation including electrified ukulele, juke-joint guitar, fiddle and percussion.
Welch said to expect songs about love, life, sex and dancing.
The show is for ages 21 and older only.
Jump Track on Sunday.
A free, all-ages show will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 17, featuring the Vashon band Jump Track.
The band describes its music as “acoustic rock meets world beat” and features Chuck vanNorman on guitars and vocals, Geoff Johns on percussion and Jason Everett on bass.
Luna brews up film and music
Café Luna has a film screening and two free concerts coming up.
At 7 p.m. Thursday, May 14, the café’s Lunavision film series will present “Road to Roubaix,” a documentary by David Deal about one of Europe’ most challenging professional bike races.
Lunavision curator Peter Ray scheduled the film to coincide with Bike-to-Work Week, May 11 to 14.
Ray described the race chronicled in the film as the “hell of the north,” famed for its stretches of cobblestone and notoriously bad weather.
The café will also be the scene of a free concert by The Mighty Chakra Jet at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 15.
Band members include Rod Smith and Richard Lipke on six-string guitars, and Matt Eggleston on bass.
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16, Greg Dember will bring a free show to Luna’s stage.
Dember describes himself as “a former Islander who is currently in exile on the mainland,” and said his music is “indie-pop-orchestral-singer/songwriter rock.”
His songs have been played on Seattle radio stations KEXP and KMTT, East Coast College Radio, and his song “Salesman” was featured in the 2008 Hollywood Indie film “Outside Sales.”
He’ll be joined at Café Luna by drummer Moises Padilla and violinist Thorn Michaels.
Dember’s music can be sampled at www.myspace.com/gregorydember.
A fiddler plays an Island show
Jamie Laval, an internationally known fiddler, will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, May 15, at Blue Heron Art Center. Laval will be accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Zac Leger. Tickets for the show are $12 to $16 and are available at Heron’s Nest, Books by the Way and brownpapertickets.com. Call 463-5131 to reserve.
‘New Works’ show features Ken Jacobsen
At 8 p.m. Saturday, May 16, in a VAA “New Works” double bill, guitarist Ken Jacobsen and guest musicians will present a set of music that will include North African and Irish folk music.
They will also perform John Dowland’s signature work, “Lach-rymae Pavan,” one of the best known early 17th-century English songs.
The evening will also feature the violin/harpsichord duo Clave de Sol, featuring Danielle McCutcheon and Dawn Corl.
Tickets, $12/$14, are on sale at Blue Heron, Books by the Way and Heron’s Nest.
A flute master plays for VAA
Flute master Gary Stroutsos and percussionist David Revelli will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Blue Heron Art Center.
Stroutsos has a background in jazz, Afro-Cuban and Native American flute. His interest in cultural history and preservation has inspired music and stories that he shares with children to adults around the world. Expect to hear a diverse array of flute music, including American Indian, Chinese Bamboo Xiao, Dize, Contemporary Clay Aerophones, Silver Alto and C concert flutes.
Revelli plays frame drums, clay pot udu drums and tabla.
Tickets for the performance are $12/$14, with ages 12 and under admitted free. Stroutsos will also lead a flute workshop, “Winds of Honor,” open to all ages and levels from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 23, at the Blue Heron. Call 463-5131 to register or visit www.vashonalliedarts.org. Class participants will receive a free concert ticket.
Free Range Folk Choir to sing
The Free Range Folk Choir will present a concert at 7 p.m. Friday, May 22, at the Methodist Church.
Under the direction of Shane Jewell, the choir will perform songs from the Republic of Georgia, South Africa, Bulgaria, medieval France and the United States.
Admission is free; Donations in support of the event are welcome. For more information, call 463-0778 or e-mail shanefiddle@gmail.com.
Dance
‘Snow White’ comes to life
Dance! Vashon is gearing up for performances of “Snow White” at Vashon High School.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 29 and 30, and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 30 and 31.
Tickets, $12 for adults and $10 for kids 18 and under, are on sale now at Books by the Way. If available, tickets will also be sold at the door.
