Flashing lights, spinning gears, glue and cardboard, lanterns and lights and bricks and bluetooth speakers — if these things excite you, then you’re in good company.

This week’s edition of The Beachcomber features the strange and wonderful work of Stupid Bike Night participants (page 1 story), the technical and artistic prowess of Japanese arts and traditions (page 2 story) and the revitalization of Chautauqua Elementary School’s Lego robotics program (page 14 story).

They are all, in one way or another, stories about the spirit of creativity and artistic flourish that defines Vashon.

Yes, a bike made out of a porcelain throne is silly. But it inspires more than just laughs from the children of all ages among us. It imparts the values of recycling, working with one’s hands and finding beauty and inspiration in the unlikeliest of places.

Similarly, a robot made out of Lego bricks is no mere toy. It is a spinning, whirring demonstration of the laws of physics and engineering. The principles of momentum and gravity are difficult to explain to a child in formulas and theorems. They are fun and intuitive when the learner is actively putting together the machines on which those forces act.

The art of pounding and molding rice into mochi was also on display this weekend at the Mukai Japan Festival — as were feats of swordsmanship and dance.

Sure, one can eat mochi made by a machine, read about ancient feats of sword fighting or watch a community dance from afar. But something special happens when you participate in these activities. You feel the ache in your muscles from pounding the rice and the joy of connecting with people in dance.

In doing so, you are brought into the culture — and your life is made richer.

So here’s to the doers — the artisans who carry on physical traditions, the teachers who play with Legos, the totally well-adjusted tinkerers who strap flamethrowers and toilets onto bicycles.

In a million different ways, they bring tactility, wonder and color back into a world which is so often defined by experiences shared on screens and memories written in ink.