Do you love Strawberry Festival? Then why not pitch in to help pull it off? It’s not too late to volunteer and make yourself useful at this beloved, century-old tradition on Vashon, taking place Friday-Sunday, July 14-16. (See pages 10, 11, 12, and 13 to read all about it.) To sign up for a volunteer shift and learn more, visit thisisvashon.com.
Vashon 101
At 7 p.m. Thursday, July 13, the Vashon Island Heritage Museum will offer the seventh installment in its eight-part Vashon 101 series. Alice Larson, Ph.D., will speak on the demographics of Vashon in her talk, “A Picture of Us.” She’ll explore who lives on the island today, and detail what population numbers, ages, race/ethnicity, family characteristics, economics, living situations, employment, school enrollment, and business patterns mean for the island and its future. Register here.
Ice Cream Social at the Museum
From 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14, the Vashon Heritage Museum will bring back its Strawberry Festival Ice Cream ocial. An island band, “The Burton Beats,” will perform tunes from oldies to modern folk rock.
The event will include ice cream, games, photo opportunities, and a family-friendly atmosphere of celebration of the community. It will happen rain or shine — the museum will have tents to protect from heat or drizzle. The event is free and open to all, with donations welcome.
Lunch and learn about levy
The Vashon Senior Center invites islanders to join members on Friday, July 14 for a virtual “Lunch and Learn” with King County Executive Dow Constantine, at the Senior Center, at 10004 Bank Rd.
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Lunch will be served at 12 p.m., followed at 1 p.m. by a live Zoom session with Constantine, who will discuss the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy renewal measure on the Aug. 1 ballot. Come to the lunch or presentation only — all are wecome.
Quilt Guild AED/CPR
The Vashon Island Quilt Guild extends an open invitation to its meeting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 19, at the Vashon Lutheran Church, 18623 Vashon Hwy SW.
Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Chief Matt Vinci and a trained firefighter will teach a one-hour “hands-only CPR/AED” class. Additionally, they will describe symptoms related to heart attacks in women. The class is free to all.
Prior to the class, the Quilt Guild will conduct its regular monthly business and the popular “Show & Tell” portion of the meeting.
Weigh in on ferry fares
The Washington State Transportation Commission is looking for public input on its proposed ferry fare changes over the next two years. You can submit your comments via their online feedback form or email through Sunday, July 30, or during the commission’s final hearing on its fare proposal at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, when it is expected to make a decision on new ferry fares.
Community Council
The next meeting of the Vashon-Mary Community Council will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 20, in person at the Vashon Land Trust Building, and on Zoom. The Seattle Indian Health Board will share info on its new treatment center, with time for questions from the community. Please submit questions to info@v-mcc.org, or bring them to the meeting. See the events page at v-mcc.org for the agenda and Zoom link. All are welcome.
VIGA/Tilth Picnic
The Vashon Island Growers Association and Tilth Alliance will host a special Farm & Garden Picnic from 12-3 p.m. Sunday, July 23, at Vashon Cohousing. The picnic is a fundraiser to provide scholarships for Vashon farmers to attend this year’s Tilth Conference in Port Townsend.
The event will start at 12 p.m. with a tour of Vashon Cohousing’s composting operation followed by a potluck lunch at 1 p.m. Bring a dish, beverages, or flowers to share with friends and neighbors. The suggested donation is $25 per person. Register at tilthalliance.org/event/vashon-farm-garden-picnic.
The tour will include an introduction to the 18-home community’s neighborhood-scale food waste composting system.
In the spring of 2020, Vashon Cohousing members constructed a series of aerated static pile compost bins. Over the past three years, the community has recycled an estimated 12 tons of food waste into nutrient-rich compost for their gardens and landscape areas.
Following the potluck lunch, the guest speaker will be Nate Stacey, Tilth Alliance Farm’s program director, who will talk about state-wide agriculture programs. Stacey earned a Ph.D. in Soil Science at Washington State University (WSU) and is an adjunct faculty member at WSU’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources. Stacey’s on-farm research projects have included cover cropping and utilizing biochar-enhanced compost for carbon sequestration.
The summer picnic will be a fun and informative way to visit with neighbors and learn about Tilth’s agricultural programs. Contributions will help fund scholaships to enable more Vashon farmers to attend the annual Tilth Conference, set for October 26-28 in Port Townsend.
For additional information about the event contact Mark Musick at 206-941-3393.