We Bike Vashon

A community bike ride, for all ages and abilities, will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18, beginning at Chautauqua Elementary School and ending at Ober Park. Organizers include several islander parents who love to bike with their children. Find out more about the ride and its route at webikevashon.org.

FurBall Auction

Vashon Island Pet Protectors will celebrate its 40th anniversary and party like it’s 1984 at its “Big Hairiest Furball Ever” fundraiser from 4:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

The annual auction provides 40% of VIPP’s operating budget for the year, which funds necessary services including caring for homeless cats and dogs while finding them new forever homes, reuniting lost pets with owners, providing free pet food through its No Hungry Pets Program, emergency financial assistance for vet bills, and low-cost spay/neuter and microchips.

The FurBall will feature live and silent auctions and a self-serve spread catered by Gravy, the restaurant. Wine, beer, and nonalcoholic cider will be provided by Palouse Winery, Camp Colvos, and Nashi Orchards.

The master of ceremonies, Geoff Fletcher, will welcome attendees and a new fundraising auctioneer, David Bestock. Some of the experiences up for bid include wine tasting experience in Italy, a week in a luxury Paris apartment, trips to Mexico, Hood River, and Lincoln City, and private dinners, art, and tickets to concerts.

Get tickets and find out more here, or visit vipp.org, and click on “events.”

Day of Exile

Several Vashon organizations will present a Day of Exile commemoration at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, at Ober Park. (See page 2 for details.)

The Day of Exile commemorates May 16, 1942, when armed soldiers forced 111 Japanese American residents of the Vashon-Maury Island onto trucks outside Ober Park. They were ultimately scattered into seven of the nine West Coast concentration camps, which shattered the Vashon Japanese American community.

Only about a third of the population of Vashon who were forcibly removed returned.

Their eviction came after President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and incarceration of persons of Japanese Americans in the West Coast Exclusion Zone.

The commemoration on May 19, presented by Mukai Farm & Garden, Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, Vashon Heritage Museum, Vashon Library, Vashon Park District, and Puget Sound Zen Center, will include an artist talk by Miya Sukune, and the announcement of a year-long campaign to install a permanent sculpture at Ober Park — the assembly site for the displacement and mass incarceration of the island’s Japanese American residents.

Democracy Fair

The Vashon-Maury chapter of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and Indivisible Vashon will host “Beyond Our Bubble,” a mobilizing-for-democracy fair, from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, at the Land Trust Building. The free drop-in event will include refreshments, kid-friendly activities and free copies of the book, “On Tyranny,” by Timothy Snyder.

There will be opportunities for islanders to sign up to make phone calls, send texts, write postcards, and more to get out the vote to elect progressives across Washington State and in must-win swing states.

There will also be a voter registration table at the event. Youth in Washington ages 16 and older can pre-register now, and be all set to vote when they reach age 18.

Steve Hall celebration and field renaming

There will be a public celebration of islander Steve Hall’s life at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 19 at the Vashon High School baseball field — which will also be officially renamed, from the James Martin Field to the Martin-Hall Field, to jointly honor both beloved local coaches. The official renaming of the field will take place at 1:30 p.m.

Everyone is invited to come in their best baseball attire, bring a lawn chair, and prepare to watch some great baseball. There will be alumni baseball games, T-ball games for kids, as well as great stories and remembrances of Hall — a remarkable islander and inspirational head coach. Hall died on March 1.

A scholarship, the “Coach Hall Swing for the Fences” award, has been established through the Vashon Community Scholarship Foundation. Donations can be made at vashonscholarships.org. A GoFundMe campaign to support Hall’s family can also be found here.

Kids’ Trout Derby

The Vashon Sportsmen’s Club will host its annual Kids’ Trout Derby at 12 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at the club, located at 19720 Singer Rd SW. Sign-up starts at 11:30 a.m.

Free and open to all island children 12 and under, the Derby offers fun for the whole family and a chance to picnic and enjoy an afternoon at the club pond. In addition to the fishing contest and the opportunity to win new fishing gear, the club serves up hot dogs, chili, pop and water, all at reasonable prices.

Island singer/songwriter John van Amerongen will emcee the event and provide live music along with his usual wit, stories, and humor.

All children must be accompanied by an adult. Participants should bring their own fishing gear and bait. No dogs, please. For more information, contact Jim Chun at vscinfo47@gmail.com.

Brown Briefly

Join The Brown Briefly crew Craig Beles, Amy Drayer, Bruce Haulman, Kevin Jones and Truman O’Brien, at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 21, on the Voice of Vashon, 101.9 FM, streaming live at voiceofvashon.org and on the VoV mobile app, when the show’s guest will be MJ Witt, the incoming manager of the Vashon Island Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The hosts will talk with MJ about the purpose of CERT, how to join up as a volunteer, and the type of training and commitment required of CERT members.

Ferry Advisory Committee meeting

The Vashon Ferry Advisory Committee will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, at the Vashon Land Trust Building. The committee will discuss recent developments from Washington State Ferries (WSF) on crewing, vessel construction, and the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal Replacement Project. The terminal redesign is moving into a critical period, and a preferred option will likely be selected by the end of 2024. Attend in person or via Zoom with questions, suggestions and comments.

Wine auction fundraiser

An online auction, featuring the remarkable wine collection of the late islander Wayne Holt — known on the island and internationally as the founder of Software Research Northwest, a software company headquartered in Vashon’s Spinnaker building — will continue through May 31, with proceeds benefiting Vashon Community Scholarships and Vashon Rotary.

All the highest “early bird” bids placed as of 5 p.m. Sunday, May 12, will be declared winning bids and those bottles will no longer be available. A few of the most highly valued wines will be discounted further and every bid submitted since the start of April 28 will automatically earn a chance to win a three-night luxury stay for New Year’s Eve 2024 at the elegant Grand Desert Resort in Las Vegas.

Go to vashonscholarships.org and click on wine auction.

Master Gardeners at your service

Bring your gardening questions, plant samples and/or plant photos to the Vashon Master Gardeners, stationed in front of Ace Hardware every Saturday, May through August, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and first Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Contact Vashon Master Gardeners, WSU Extension, at mgvashon@gmail.com for more information.

Senior Center goings-on

At Ober Park: Seattle Theater Group’s Dance for Parkinson’s will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at Ober Park’s exercise room. These free dance classes are presented by the Senior Center in partnership with Vashon Park District, Seattle Theatre Group and Dance for Parkinson’s. All are welcome.

A birthday lunch for Senior Center members celebrating birthdays in May will take place from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, May 20. Birthday members eat free. Please make a reservation. Lunch will be followed at 1 p.m. by a talk by Jennifer Loomis on “Unlocking Your Personal Legacy: Practical Tips for Organizing and Downsizing Your Photo Collection.”

A watercolor class will be held from 2-4 p.m. Thursday, May 23. No experience is needed, bring your own supplies.