Music on the Bay returns
The second annual Music on the Bay show, a free event presented by Waterbrook Wines and The Hardware Store Restaurant, will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20. Roots reggae giant Clinton Fearon and his band will play on a floating barge in Quartermaster Harbor, and the concert is free to all within earshot to enjoy. Bring a picnic to the beach or phone a friend to find the perfect place to perch and hear the show.
Islewilde celebrates the circus life
Islewilde, a quirky Island performance arts festival now in its 19th year, comes to a climax this weekend. There will be a dusk lantern walk on Friday, Aug. 19, and a public pageant at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Islewilde’s site in a forested meadow at 21140 Old Mill Rd. The events are the culmination of two weeks of workshops in mask making, costume creation, circus skills and puppetry led by Adam Ende, this year’s artistic director. This year, Islewilde’s theme is a riff on the festival’s oft-repeated “water bucket circus.” Working with Ende, workshop participants have created a pageant about the indomitable spirit behind a down-on-its-luck circus troupe. Visit www.islewilde.org.
May the force be with you
Calling all Princess Leias and Luke Skywalkers: Vashon Theatre will show “Star Wars” at Vashon Film Society’s free annual outdoor movie under the stars in the parking lot at dusk on Saturday, Aug. 20. Come early for good seating, and bring your blankets and low-back lawn chairs, picnic baskets and light sabers! The snack bar will be open for popcorn, beverage and candy sales.
Run, don’t walk to Ober Park
Shark Biscuit will have a free show in Ober Park at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25. The all-Vashon ensemble plays monster hits by The Ventures, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and other great instrumental bands of the 1950s and 60s. This is the season finale of Vashon Park District’s summer concerts in the park series.
Get ready for ‘Carmen’
Prepare for Vashon Opera’s upcoming production of Bizet’s “Carmen” with a free lecture by opera expert Norm Hollingshead at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, at Vashon Library. “Carmen” will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Vashon High School theater. Tickets, $32, are on sale at www.vashonopera.org and local book stores.
Sink into Persian music and poetry
“The Mystical Lyric of Rumi,” an afternoon of readings and performances of classical Persian poetry and music, will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, at the Kudos House on Vashon. The event will feature visiting artists, including Ostad Hossein Omoumi, a master of the ney (reed flute) and radif (vocal repertoire) of this highly evocative music. Fatemeh Keshavarz, an award-winning scholar in the area of Rumi’s poetry and translation, will perform readings and translations. Island musicians Jessika Kenney and Eyvind Kang will also perform music. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Contact Kenney at 463-3505 or headlessjessika@hotmail.com for tickets and directions.
