Services Van

Washington’s DSHS Mobile Office will bring its services to the United Methodist Church’s parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at 17928 Vashon Highway SW. Apply inside the van for food, cash, and medical services. Islanders can also drop off paperwork, complete a case, make changes to an existing case, or request an EBT card. For more information, visit washingtonconnection.org.

Library programs

Vashon Library, located in Ober Park, is offering two new free programs. The first, English Language Learners (ELL) classes, will begin at 4:45-5:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, and continue at that time on Thursdays through April 10, except for March 20. Flyers about the classes, in Spanish and English, are available at the library and also online at kcls.org/adultlearner.

Saturday “Crafternoons” will begin from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and continue at the same time on Feb. 8 and 22, with a three-session class in crochet amigurumi. All supplies are provided thanks to the Vashon Friends of the Library. Space is limited, so registration is requested. Folks can register by coming into the library, calling, or visiting kcls.org/SaturdayCraft.

Death Café

A new regular event, a death café, will be held on the first and third Fridays of each month from 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the Tree of Life Wellness Center at 17331 Vashon Hwy SW. The third Friday of January is Jan. 17. At a death café, people, often strangers, gather to eat cake, drink tea and discuss death. The objective is to increase awareness of death to help people make the most of their finite lives. Questions? Call Joe Allison at 206-919-1275. Donations are welcome.

Bird walk

Join Sherry Bottoms for a bird walk at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18. Meet at the Ober Park parking lot, then carpool to Tramp Harbor and Matsuda Farm. Sherry is an excellent guide. She worked for many years as a professional field biologist, studying Northern Spotted Owls and other animals for the National Park Service and contributes to the Vashon Nature Center’s ongoing Pigeon Guillemot study.

Advocacy Training

Not on Our Island, the DOVE Project and Vashon Youth & Family Services will host a free community advocacy training from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, with the location to be provided following registration at vashondoveproject.org/events. The training will cover strategies and ways for islanders to keep each other safe from harmful behaviors and provide information about supporting healthy relationships, self-care, bystander interventions, empathetic and reflective listening, and other advocacy strategies.

Vashon Island Grower’s Association

Vashon Island Grower’s Association’s (VIGA) annual meeting will take place from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Grange, at 10365 SW Cowan Rd. Attend to celebrate farming on Vashon, learn about VIGA’s activities, share ideas for years to come, and slurp soup with friends. Soup and bread will be provided, but feel free to bring other food to share. RSVP at tinyurl.com/5n6aun3v.

MLK Day

Celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 1-3 Monday, Jan. 20, in a free, family-friendly event at Vashon Center for the Arts.

Women Hold the Key

Women Hold the Key, a nonprofit organization for island women and others comfortable in women’s spaces, will host a Women’s Summit on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Synergy Center for Women, at 9822 SW Gorsuch Rd.

The event, open to all ages, will include discussions about how to empower women on Vashon in the months and years to come. The event will also celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther, Jr., with a break in activities between 1-3 p.m. so that participants can attend Vashon Center for the Arts’ annual MLK Day celebration.

The day will begin with coffee, Turkish coffee, tea and breakfast bites served from 8:30-10:30 a.m. From 10:30-11:30 a.m., there will be a live-streamed presentation, focused on international strategy and policy, by islander Kirsten Gagnaire, who is currently in residence at the London School of Economics.

From 4-7 p.m., there will be a potluck meal, where participants will continue to discuss ways to be of service and support in the community. Please bring a dish to share.

For more information and to register, visit womenholdthekey.com.

Brown Briefly

The next edition of Voice of Vashon’s Brown Briefly show will mark five years and three days following Brian Brown’s death. Join regular hosts Truman O’Brien, Bruce Haulman, Kevin Jones, Craig Beles and Amy Drayer, joined by Susan McCabe, Lynn Carrigan, Gayle Kellner and Michael Shook, and a very special guest, Sheila Brown, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21 on Voice of Vashon, 101.9FM, to honor the life and memory of the local talk radio legend.

Free tax preparation

Volunteers from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) will offer free tax preparation on Thursdays at the Vashon Lutheran Church again this year, beginning on Feb. 6.

The free tax preparation services are available to anyone, regardless of age. However, AARP-prepared returns are limited to non-complex returns. Acceptable returns can include wages (W-2), Social Security and pensions (1099R), unemployment (1099G), dividends/interest (1099INT/DIV), capital gains (1099B), and self-employment (1099NEC) income — no inventory or depreciation. Sorry, no rental income.

To make an appointment, email VashonAARP@gmail.com, noting your phone number and the best time to call.

Senior Center

The Vashon Senior Center, at 10004 SW Bank Rd., serves a hot lunch at 12 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and offers multiple activities throughout each week. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 20, the Center will be closed and no lunch program will take place.

Upcoming events include a Seattle Theatre Group (STG) Dance for Parkinson’s Disease (PD) class, scheduled for 1:15-2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, in the Ober Park administration building’s exercise room. STG Dance for PD classes are a method developed by the Mark Morris Dance Group and Brooklyn Parkinson Group. Call 206-463-5173 for more information.

A talk by Dr. Marli Parobek, at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, will detail strategies for coping with loneliness and learning positive coping skills to prevent the blues. Join in for an educational event and lively discussion.

A full calendar of events is posted at vashoncenter.org.