Friends and family support group meeting
The NAMI friends and family support group will meet in person at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 2 in the library at Vashon Presbyterian Church, located 17708 Vashon Highway SW. You may also attend via Zoom by visiting zoom.us/j/442169680.
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.
The Center reopens fully on Friday, Jan. 3, after its holiday closure dates. On that date, at 1 p.m., Aaron Henderson will lead a discussion and 15-minute guided “mindfulness meditation” at the Center. See a full calendar of events at vashoncenter.org.
Grief Ritual
A monthly community grief ritual is held on the first Sunday of every month, from 1-2 p.m. at the Tree of Life Wellness Center at 17331 Vashon Highway SW, with donations accepted. January’s first Sunday of the month is Jan. 5. Questions? Call Susan Pitiger at 206-818-4232 or Brad Davis at 206-799-7235.
Business of Caregiving
The Vashon Care Network will present a free session at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 6, on the business aspects of hiring a caregiver. Deborah Diamond, an IRS expert and business consultant, will provide practical information for care seekers, caregivers, employers and employees. This is a hybrid session — islanders can attend in person at the Vashon Senior Center or participate via Zoom.
The Zoom meeting ID is 8980515 9633, and the passcode is 906455. For additional information visit vashoncarenetwork.org/event-page.
Vashon Island Chorale
Vashon Island Chorale will hold registration for its first session of 2025 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at Windermere Real Estate, 17429 Vashon Hwy SW.
New singers are welcome without audition. The costs for dues and music are $125. Full or partial scholarships can be arranged by contacting Karen Baer, at vashonbaer@gmail.com.
Registration will also be open at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at Vashon Presbyterian Church, before the first rehearsal which begins there at 7 p.m.
Concerts will take place on the evening of Wednesday, April 23, and on Sunday, April 27, when the Chorale will sing both the opening and closing concerts of the second annual Katherine L. White Invitational Choral Festival at VCA. Repertoire includes a suite of songs based on Emily Dickinson’s works by island composer Bill Wood, and Samuel Barber’s large-scale work “The Lovers,” based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda. A new work by Chorale singer Bev Reil will also be sung.
Questions? Contact info@vashonislandchorale.org.
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., 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.
Death Café
A new regular event, a death café, will be held every first and third Wednesday of the month from 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the Tree of Life Wellness Center at 17331 Vashon Hwy SW. The first death café will be on Jan. 15. 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.
