Here’s our weekly round-up of upcoming events from April 23 – 29 on Mercer Island:
Story Times at the Library
Mercer Island Library, 4400 88th Ave SE
Join the Mercer Island Children’s Librarian for stories, songs, rhymes, and fun in these programs designed especially for you and your young child.
Tuesday, April 23
Young Toddlers (12 – 24 months) – 10:30 – 11 am
Toddlers (ages 2 – 3) – 11:30 am – Noon
Wednesday, April 24
Play & Learn (ages 5 and younger) – 10:30 am – Noon
Thursday, April 25
Infants (0 – 12 months) – 10:30 – 11 am Preschoolers (3 – 6 years) – 1 – 1:30 pm
Mercer Island Art Guide
Monday – Sunday, April 23 – 28
Stop by and check out the art currently on display at the art galleries around Mercer Island!
Clarke & Clarke Art + Artifacts
7605 SE 27th St, Suite 105
“Poetic Embellishment” – paper vessels by Nobel Golden & paintings by Agnes Lee
Suzanne Zahr / SZ Gallery
2441 76th Ave SE, Suite 160
“AfroFuturism” – photography
MIVAL Gallery
Avellino Building 2836 78th Ave SE
“Treasures in Miniature” – a small format art show
Mercer Island Community & Event Center Gallery
8236 SE 24th Street
“Outside the Lines” – Paintings by Seattle Co~Arts
Aubrey Davis Master Plan Open House #2
Tuesday, April 23, 6 – 8 pm
Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street
The Park on the Lid, the Mountains to Sound Trail, the Boat Launch and the Greta Hackett Outdoor Sculpture Gallery are all part of Aubrey Davis Park. The City of Mercer Island and WSDOT are working together on a long term master plan for the future of Aubrey Davis Park. Come to the open house to view design alternatives that reflect community & city input. Then let us know your thoughts and help define the future of Aubrey Davis Park! If you can’t join us in person, share your input through the online survey at: LetsTalk.mercergov.org/AubreyDavis.
Jordan Morris Night at MIHS Soccer Game
Tuesday, April 23, 7:15 pm
Islander Stadium, 9100 SE 42nd Street
Jordan Morris of Seattle Sounders FC will be inducted into the Mercer Island High School Athletic Hall of Fame for Boys Soccer prior to the MI vs Lake Washington match. Jordan is the most decorated boys soccer player to graduate from MIHS. He graduated in 2013. He ended his career at MIHS with 32 goals and 26 assists and was named the Gatorade Washington State Player of the Year and NSCAA high school All-American in 2012. Post high school, Jordan led his Stanford Cardinal to the Pac-12 championship twice and won the NCAA championship his junior year. Jordan has now moved on to play soccer professionally for Seattle Sounders FC and the United States Men’s National teams, where he has played over 70 games for Seattle and 27 caps for the USMNT.
Storybook Corner
Wednesday, April 24, 10:30 – 11 am
Island Books, 3014 78th Ave SE
Bring your little ones in to enjoy popular picture books read by our staff or a special guest.
Wine Wednesday
Wednesday, April 24, 5 – 9 pm
Caruccio’s, 2441 76th Ave SE, Suite 100
Stop by for the community-inspired Wine Wednesday. When you purchase your wine by the glass or bottle from our rotating selection of wines, you may enjoy an aperitivo-style buffet on our 21 foot curved countertop.
Surviving the Senior Year
Wednesday, April 24, 6 – 8 pm
MIHS Library Presentation Room, 9100 SE 42nd Street
Calling all Junior parents! Want to hear what you have in store for next year? If so, please join our PTSA for a panel discussion, “Surviving the Senior Year”. This is a very popular Q & A style meeting that covers everything you want to know about senior year and beyond. Bring your questions!
Live Music
Wednesday, April 24, 6 – 8 pm
Barrels, 7605 SE 27th Street, Suite 107
Patrick Daugherty returns to Barrels playing great hits from the 1960s through the 2000s. His play list is long and comprehensive, and they are “songs you know by heart” to steal a Jimmy Buffett line.
Tabletop Thursdays Drop by for an afternoon of board games, video games, playing pool or ping-pong, and hanging out. There’s a huge selection of games, and the staff is always up to taking on a new competitor. Games include: Codenames, Mission Red Planet, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, Connect 4, Monopoly, and more. Free for ages 7 – 14. For more information, call MICEC at 206-275-7909 or email at [email protected]
Thursday, April 25, 4 – 7 pm
Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street
Stop by and meet the artist, Marilyn Charlat Dixhas, currently showing at Barrels. Her work comes down on May 1. She has some extremely thought-provoking work. Get a chance to ask her what it’s all about! Mercer Island High School Drama Department invites you to see their spring play, “Much Ado About Nothing,” by William Shakespeare. Love is in the air! Beatrice and Benedick, two of Shakespeare’s wittiest characters, have sworn off love. Hero and Claudio have jumped into love and all their friends and enemies get involved in the action. Showing April 25 – 27 at 7 pm, May 2 – 4 at 7pm. Presale tickets are $10, and $15 at the door. Seniors 65+ are $5. Pay-what-you-can performances on April 27th at 2pm and May 4th at 2pm! Tickets can be purchased from members of the cast or online. Are Salmon Doomed? Hatching a Plan to Save a Northwest Icon An environmental necessity, a vital economic resource, and a cultural symbol, salmon play a fundamental role in the Pacific Northwest—but they are in trouble. With warming oceans, environmental degradation, and lowering genetic variability, wild salmon populations are dwindling. Climatologist Nick Bond explores the past, present, and possible future conditions for salmon in our state, and sees room for optimism. He shares lessons on how local communities have accomplished important work to support salmon runs, but also takes a hard look at the realities climate change poses for this regional treasure. Explore the history, science, and story of this cherished Northwest icon. In partnership with Humanities Washington and Mercer Island Historical Society. Open Book Club: The Line Becomes a River In April, our Open Book Club will read and discuss The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu. For Francisco Cantú, the border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Driven to understand the hard realities of the landscape he loves, Cantú joins the Border Patrol. He and his partners learn to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. Plagued by a growing awareness of his complicity in a dehumanizing enterprise, he abandons the Patrol for civilian life. But when an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cantú discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the full extent of the violence it wreaks, on both sides of the line. Purchase the book in store and get 10% off. Lifeguard Training Become a Red Cross-certified lifeguard in a weekend! Sign up for one of our upcoming lifeguard training courses and you’ll be ready for summer lifeguard jobs. You’ll be certified in lifeguarding, CPR for the professional rescuer, first aid, and use of an AED. And if you pass the class and get hired at the J, they will reimburse your training fee! For ages 15+. Contact Aquatics Manager Jenny Petty with questions. Wine Tasting & Live Music On Friday, it’s a double header. Sobon Estate Winery from Amador County, California will be here. They make great Rhone blend style wines and fabulous Zinfandels at terrific price points! They are here from 4 – 6 pm. As the tasting ends, Chris Stevens and Jack Cook play Jazz and Blues Guitar from 6 – 8 pm. MIPA Circus Mercer Island Preschool Association (MIPA) will be hosting its 53rd annual Circus event at the Islander Middle School (new location)! This event draws young families for a day of fun! All activities are appropriate for ages 2 – 8. Children will enjoy pony rides, live music, circus performers, face painting, bouncy houses, balloon artist, dunk tank, the Reptile Man, and many more carnival games and activities. A variety of food trucks will be there as well, such as Veraci Pizza, Dante’s Inferno Dogs, Ezell’s Fried Chicken, and more! Restoration Event Meet at: Kiosk on SE 68th Street and Island Crest Way Join EarthCorps and the City of Mercer Island as we work in Pioneer Park! The park is 113 acres of forested habitat, the largest forested park on Mercer Island. It is home to over 70 types of birds and 12 different mammals. It also offers the most extensive trail system on the island. Spring Native Plant Sale and Environmental Fair Washington Native Plant Society invites you to this years Spring Native Plant Sale and Environmental Fair. This spring’s theme is “Welcome birds and pollinators to your yard with native plants.” You will find the largest local selection of beautiful native trees, shrubs, perennials, and ground covers for sale that are ideal for Western Washington gardens and vitally important for our birds and pollinators. Native plant experts will dispense gardening advice and answer your questions about native plants. Environmental fair participants will include: Bats Northwest, King County Noxious Weeds, Puget Sound Beekeepers, Full Circle Farm, and the Garden Hotline. Flora and Fauna Books will be selling native plant and nature books. Members only shopping starts at 9 am! This year we will have off-site parking at West Mercer Elementary and will run a shuttle to Mercerdale Park. Proceeds from this event benefit WNPS-CPS and its education and public land stewardship/restoration programs. Carve soft and colorful soapstone into a wolf, bear, or orca! Artist Kentaro Kojima will guide you through this 90-minute, multi-generational workshop and share diverse information about sculpture, geology, animals & nature, and much more. Have fun creating and shaping something as stubborn as a stone! All materials supplied by instructor. Must register 5 days prior to workshop. The Spring Charity Craft Fair gives you the chance to shop at a marketplace featuring gifts handmade with love by talented local indie crafters. Vendors will include handmade jewelry by several local studios, housewares (such as Glassbaby), and specialty vendors including La Liath Bakery and a mimosa bar. Catch up with friends, enjoy some community spirit, find Mother’s Day gifts, or simply pamper yourself. 10 to 20% of vendor proceeds donated to Room Circus, a non profit committed to alleviating the stress and isolation of sick children through the healing art of laughter and play at Seattle Children’s Hospital. They will also be collecting food donations for the MIYFS Food Pantry. Life in a Lego City Ages 5 and older. Presented by Interactive Math Academy. Work with other team members to create a story and build models of buildings, characters and vehicles to illustrate the story. Space limited to first 20 students. Spend the morning in the SJCC Kesher Community Garden! ECS families will gather on the front playground from 10 – 11 am to help plant the children’s garden. Plus we’ll have activities for all ages, open to the entire community, including a scavenger hunt, make-and-take seed pots, tasting table with garden treats, flower arranging, local author Bridget Collins will read from her new children’s book “Flora Forager ABC” (copies will be available for purchase from Island Books), ask an expert with Seattle Tilth Alliance, and meet our Kesher Garden beekeeper. Renata Lubinsky: “Around Seattle in 80 Dates” In local author Renata Lubinsky’s memoir, “Around Seattle in 80 Dates: An Online Dating Journey,” a woman in her forties finds herself suddenly single after 32 years with the same man. Her story includes heading off to a resort on the Indian Ocean, becoming a stand-up comedian, and conquering the online dating world by scheduling three or four dates a day for several years. After dating 80 men, she had learned many things in her quest to remain a vital and exciting woman. Filled with insights and lessons, Lubinsky’s memoir is both entertaining and heartbreaking. Join us for an afternoon of anecdotes from the author’s journey and search for love in Seattle. Book sales and signing. MIVAL Jr. Lighthouse Gallery The Covenant Shores Arts Commission is excited to exhibit junior artwork in their Lighthouse Gallery from April 27 – June 29. All students in grades 6-12 are welcome to submit artwork. Artists are welcome to submit more than one piece, but additional pieces are not given priority (there is limited space in the gallery). There will be an open reception in the gallery on Sunday, April 28th from 2 – 4 pm. All artists and families are invited. Artists often learn to stay within the lines, following specific techniques that lend order and impact to their work. Beautiful and imaginative creations often develop within the lines. But what happens when creators expand beyond those boundaries? Seattle Co~Arts explores this idea in “Outside the Lines,” the group’s 69th annual juried show. Discover how more than 30 artists approached their arts practice from new perspectives to create 60 original paintings.
Meet the Artist: Marilyn Charlat Dixhas
Thursday, April 25, 6 – 8 pm
Barrels, 7605 SE 27th Street, Suite 107
MIHS Drama presents “Much Ado About Nothing”
Thursday, April 25, 7 – 9:30 pm
Mercer Island High School, 7605 SE 27th Street, Suite 107
Thursday, April 25, 7 – 8:30 pm
Mercer Island Library, 4400 88th Ave SE
Thursday, April 25, 7:30 – 9 pm
Island Books, 3014 78th Ave SE
Friday, April 26 – Sunday, April 28, various times
Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way
Friday, April 26, 4 – 8 pm
Barrels, 7605 SE 27th Street, Suite 107
Saturday, April 27, 10 am – 2 pm
Islander Middle School, 7447 84th Ave SE
Saturday, April 27, 10 am – Noon
Pioneer Park, Island Crest Way & 68th Street
Saturday, April 27, 10 am – 4 pm
Mercerdale Park, 4141 81st Ave SE
Soapstone Carving Workshops
Saturday, April 27, 10:30 am – Noon
Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street
Spring Charity Craft Fair for Room Circus
Saturday, April 27, 11 am – 4:30 pm
VFW Hall, 1836 72nd Ave SE
Saturday, April 27, 2 – 3 pm
Mercer Island Library, 4400 88th Ave SE
Gardening Day
Sunday, April 28, 10 am – Noon
Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way
Sunday, April 28, 2 pm
Stroum Jewish Community Center, 3801 E Mercer Way
Sunday, April 28, 2 – 4 pm
Covenant Shores, 9150 Fortuna Drive
Artists Reception
Sunday, April 28, 2 – 4 pm
Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street
Talk Time
Monday, April 29, 1 – 2:30 pm
Mercer Island Library, 4400 88th Ave SE
Improve your speaking and listening skills in this conversation group for English language learners. Walk-ins welcome.
Mixed Media Art Studio with Genny Rees
Monday, April 29, 1 – 4 pm
Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th Street
Bring your own supplies, and join other artists in a bright, lakeview room to work on your art! MIVAL’s own Genny Rees facilitates this non-instructional, weekly studio at the Community Center. Meet other creators, and connect over your love for art. Please use non-toxic materials. $10 Drop in fee.
Register at www.MIRecConnect.com or 206.275.7609.
