Events

”As irreverent as it is poignant" (Australian Arts Review). Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis as genre-blurring jester and cellist Karen Hall peels back the layers of formality leaving you with only the humanity and insanity of the artist behind the instrument. And yourself. Featuring Suite Number One in G Major by JS Bach and personal comedic pieces crafted in Idiot classes, Karen fuses in a healthy dose of pathos tackling identity, expectations, and success through the eyes of a fool.

”We invite you to spend an evening with, “No Time To Waste”, a documentary film about the late Betty Reid Soskin, the National Park Service Ranger who retired from the Park Service at 100 years old. Soskin died at home at the end of 2025. Her work, however, including her role in the creation of the Rosie the Riveter World War II Homefront National Historical Park in Richmond, California continues to inspire. Her unique perspective and experience of the World War Two shipyards, has been informative and enlightening to those who seek creative responses to the continuing struggles for racial and social equality.

World-acclaimed award-winning Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo, this year’s recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Artist Award presented by the City of Kingston Arts Commission and the Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs, will make her first-ever visit to Orcas Island in September/October, including performing in concert at Orcas Center on Saturday October 2026, with Rafe Pearlman as opening artist. Yungchen will sing some songs a cappella, others accompanied by guitarist John Alevizakis, producer of her most recent, and seventh, album, ‘One Drop of Kindness’ - and some with audience participation! Rafe will be accompanied by musician Bluetech and guitarist Chris Haugen.

Originating from Lincoln, Nebraska, Daniel is a distinguished pianist and composer, acclaimed for his ability to evoke powerful emotions through his music. He holds a graduate degree in Piano Performance from the UMKC Conservatory and an undergraduate degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from Hastings College.

Born in British Columbia and now based in Victoria, Calum Graham has been making waves in the global music scene for almost two decades. He is distinguished by his passionate and emotionally expressive original compositions and is recognized as one of the world’s Top 30 Guitarists Under 30 by Acoustic Guitar magazine.

TAIKOPROJECT celebrates 25 years of taiko creativity and innovation with a new concert production entitled “25.” Featuring new compositions and choreography and stunning costumes by acclaimed designer Sueko Oshimoto, “25” will take audiences on a thundering roller coaster of the senses. TAIKOPROJECT has astonished audiences worldwide since 2000 with their unique blend of traditional taiko & innovative aesthetics.

"Grabbing the Hammer Lane: A Trucker Narrative" is a searing, 60-minute, one-act play about prodigal rebellion and fleeting moments for redemption written by and starring David M. Proctor. Matt, a long-haul trucker, hits the road to find himself and the freedom he desires — only to become imprisoned over time in a steel cell on 18 wheels. Clarence remains at home, diminishing with the passage of time and from the anguish he bears from losing the love he pushed away. With humor, grit, and in-your-face honesty, Hammer Lane chronicles the lives of these two men living different sides of one story — a story about rejection, regret, separation, and the devastating consequences of rage-fueled choices. It offers an intimate glimpse of a final reckoning after a six-million-mile journey back home.

Hailed as "terrific," by the New York Times, "impossible to resist" by the Montreal Gazette, and "imaginative, intelligent, and strangely mesmerizing" by the San Diego Union Tribune; Phina Pipia takes audiences on an adventure overflowing with the delightfully unexpected. A tuba lights the way, beds make music, paintings come to life, and a radio delivers a message from the past in a whimsical production that combines elements of illusion, music, and theater. When a young grad student discovers that Leonardo da Vinci and his collaborator, magician and mathematician Luca Pacioli, invented a time machine, she is zapped back to the Renaissance. It’s up to her to decode their notes and solve a 15th-century mystery so that she can return to the present.

Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List” for the Wall Street Journal. In 2016, Pasquale Grasso received the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of when Pat Metheny was asked to name impressive younger musicians in an interview for Vintage Guitar Magazine.

Come enjoy a night of live music at the Orcas Center on November 22nd. Sturtz and Zan Fiskum have toured together in the past, and both groups are led by vocal powerhouses. Sturtz is a folk duo based out of Longmont, CO, but they travel to the PNW at least once a year to share their music. Zan is based out of Maple Valley, WA, and loves making it out to the islands whenever possible. Join us for this night of impressive harmony!

Orcas Dance Collective is again presenting the Salish Sea Nutcracker! Featuring many wildlife themes that make our island home so magical, this full-length dream ballet will showcase an intergenerational cast of local dancers. Salish Sea Nutcracker is a nautical twist on the traditional ballet, featuring roles such as the Sea Star Fairy, Great Blue Heron, Octopus Fairy, Orca Whales, and more!