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. Upcoming events include:
A history talk by local historian Bruce Haulman, detailing the return of the Fujioka family truck to Vashon, will take place at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10. After the talk, from 2-3 p.m. Threshold Choir members will bring comfort through song to listeners at the Senior Center.
At 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13, local librarian Sam Harris will lead “Silver Legos,” a program presented in partnership with Vashon’s King County Library. Harris will provide Lego. Attendees should bring their imaginations and a sense of fun and exploration. This is a monthly gathering.
A full calendar of events is posted at vashoncenter.org.
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.
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.
Health Insurance
Miguel Urquiza, representative of King County Public Health, will help islanders sign up for health insurance, food stamps and ORCA Lift discounted transportation from 12:30-3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Vashon Library. Islanders can also change their insurance or ask Urquiza for help in fixing problems with their current insurance.
If Wednesday is not convenient, contact Urquiza at 206-477-6965, 206-491-3761, or miguel.urquiza@kingcounty.gov.
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.
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.
Guests will include storyteller Eva Abram, who brings accounts of American history to life; dancer Franchesska Berry, who specializes in dances and traditional cultures of West Africa and the African Diaspora; and musicians from the Vashon High School Wind Ensemble. The ensemble will play a program that includes some of the best-known songs from the Civil Rights movement. Small bites will be catered by chef Chantel Jackson’s “Thyme Well Spent.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring an unopened, non-perishable and still-edible food item to donate to the Vashon Food Bank. Learn more about making food or cash donations at vashonfoodbank.org.
Find out more about the MLK Day event at vashoncenterforthearts.org.
