ORBIT Youth Space
empowers young voices and builds community through creativity.
ORBIT Youth Space provides free access and a safe space for arts, music, and self-expression for youth on Vashon Island. ORBIT works in collaboration with other island youth organizations to provide a facility for youth events, fundraisers, camps, and meetings.
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Current Weekly Programming
- Mondays – Arts & Crafts drop-in for middle and high school aged youth. 3-6pm. Free.
- Wednesdays – LGBTQIA+ youth group. For middle and high school aged youth. 3-6pm. Free.
- Fridays – ORBIT Music Club. Intermediate music jam for ages 12+. Learn new songs, write music, rock out! 4-6pm. Free.
Check our Instagram for updates or cancellations
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Upcoming Events and Workshops
2023 FREE ART SUMMER CAMPS FOR LGBTQ+ & ALLIED YOUTH!!!
Vashon DOVE Project has teamed up with Vashon Youth and Family Services and ORBIT Youth Space to offer 2 FREE Summer Art Camps for LGBTQ+ and Allied Youth. High School camp is THIS Monday, July 24 – Friday, July 28 from 10am-3pm at ORBIT, and Middle School Camp is Tuesday, August 1 – Friday, August 4 at ORBIT. We have a schedule packed full of DIY crafts, collage, paintings, art supplies, lunch and snacks. Email collin@vashondoveproject.org to sign-up ASAP!
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ART MONDAYS 3-6pm @ ORBIT
Come hang out and learn new forms of art every Monday from 3-6pm starting on January 30th, 2023. Each month will have a theme like beads, fiber, paper, and clay, and every week we will offer a new craft to learn like knotted bracelets, origami, collage, zines, mask-making, and more.
Open to middle and high school age youth of all backgrounds and identities. Art supplies and snacks are provided. Free!
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LGBTQIA+ Wednesday NIGHTS @ ORBIT!
Drop-in hours every Thursday from 4:30-6:30pm for LGBTQIA+ youth are open for middle & high school ages! Make art, eat snacks, build community. Follow on instagram @orbit_openspace for updates.
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MUSIC CLUB
The ORBIT Music Club is an intermediate/advnced jam for youth 12+ to rock out and build community! Come jame with other & learn and create new songs. led by musicians Kevin Nortness and Kenny Alton.
FRIDAYS 4-6PM
FREE
Music Club is made possible with support from the Vashon Musical Instrument Library. Email orbit@openspacevashon.com for info
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ORBIT Partners
ORBIT hosts events by island organizations like Journeymen, Sisterhood, Dove, Vashon Youth and Family Services, school clubs, and more. ORBIT partnered with Seattle’s LGBTQ center, Lambert House to host youth drop in nights and group discussions in 2020.
GET INVOLVED!
ORBIT’s mission is to empower young voices, and fulfilling that mission means providing opportunities for groups to create advocacy, education, fundraisers, workshops, and arts and music events for other organizations. Are you a part of a group that wants to host an all ages event? Get in touch!
Please read our Safer Space Agreement and Venue Policy
Contact Michelle Lassaline, ORBIT Program Manager at michelle@openspacevashon.com or send a DM to our Instagram @orbit_openspace.
DONATE
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Past Events
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Wednesday, May 10th 3:00pm – 6:00pm
Gender Free Haircuts for LBTQIA+ youth with Tara Morgan of C’Mon Barber! This event was part of the Dress Code Project.
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Come celebrate ORBIT’s youth artists!
Friday, April 28th 6:00pm – 9:00pm. Free! All Ages.
The Youth Mural project will have an opening reception and the ORBIT Music Club is playing a live show! The mural opening reception begins at 6:00pm. The Music Club will play at 7:00pm, followed by a DJ and dance/social until 9:00pm. All ages welcome!
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Ghost Club
Join Orbit and Vashon DOVE Project for Ghost Club Movie Club. It’s a 3-week Healthy Relationships film & discussion series geared toward LGBTQ+ and Allied middle and high schoolers. Each week, we’ll watch an episode of the 3-part show “Ghost Club,” where we’ll follow Aidan, Omar, Isa and Tori as they search for ghosts and work through dynamics as friends, siblings and romantic partners. After each episode, we’ll talk about the show as a group! Free snacks, games, and time to connect socially included!
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Youth Mural Project
ORBIT + Attention Artists at Work
Youth artists are creating a public mural as part of the sixth !Attention! Artists at Work project. Participating youth artists work with professional artist mentors to complete large collaborative panels that together will form a new mural on the ORBIT Youth Space entrance. Applications were due on February 24th, 2023. The mural will be completed and installed in Spring 2023.
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Fix-It Youth Academy – Lamps 101
Saturday, March 18
9AM-2PM
Instructor Dennis Chien is a member of the Fix-It Café crew. He is an engineer, inventor, and loves to teach fixing! Middle and High school aged youth will learn electricity, safety, anatomy of a lamp, and repair.
This event is in partnership with the Vashon Fix-It Cafe and Vashon Tool Library. It is made possible by a grant from the King County Eco-Consumer Program and generous support from Vashon Ace Hardware.
Learn More
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LGBTQ+ Winter Social – Wednesday, December 7 4-7pm @ Orbit!
Celebration with art, games, karaoke, photo booth, dancing, hot chocolate, and more.
Led and organized by McMurray’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA), this event is also sponsored by the Vashon DOVE Project, Orbit Youth Space, and Vashon Youth and Family Services.
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Poetry Night at ORBIT! Thursday, December 1st, 4:30-6:30pm
Express yourself, share poems, learn new techniques, eat snacks, build community. We will be joined by poet Asha Berkes! All ages are welcome. Free food, writing, supplies, and conversations. Lyricists welcome!
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Rocky Horror Picture Show
November 10th, 4-7pm
Highschool Ages
Dressing Up Encouraged
Free Snacks!
Trivia after the show with a prize!
Open Space for Arts & Community, 18870 103rd Ave SW, Vashon, WA 98070
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Mini Renaissance Faire
ORBIT presents…Mini Renaissance Faire for ages 11-18, hosted by ORBIT’s LQBTQIA+ group.
Costumes suggested, Free admission & snacks
- Fairy House Tour
- Tarot Readings
- Tea time (&coffee)
- Face painting
- Photo Booth
- Write your own message in a bottle
- Best costume prize
Thursday, September 15th, 4-7pm
Open Space for Arts & Community
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LGBTQIA+ Movie Night!
Thursday, June 30th 4:30-6:30pm
LGBTQIA+ high school aged youth are invited to come to ORBIT for a costume party and movie night. Come watch the 2020 musical “The Prom,” and celebrate the last day of Pride month! Snacks provided! Free Event!
*Dress up in your favorite prom wear…best costume wins a gift certificate to Island Queen!*
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Orbit Town Hall – May 17th, 2022 at 4pm
Come tell us what you want to see happen at ORBIT! Program Coordinator Michelle Lassaline will be joined by the Vera Project executive team, plus Mike Dumovich of Bric Brac, and Josh Ayala to host this open forum for anyone interested in all ages arts and music. FREE PIZZA!
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Create Your Story – Spring 2022
Vashon Island high schoolers work with island performers to learn about the art of storytelling, then present a final production written and performed by the students.
The fourth project of !Attention! Artists at Work, “Create Your Story” combines that program with ORBIT, our youth center, and the UMO School. Guided by an UMO Team of artists, Create Your Story is an opportunity for teens to share their stories through crafted physical theater. Create Your Story’s 16-week session began late 2021 into early 2022. The class is offered free-of-charge through funding from UMO, the Open Space ORBIT All Ages Center, and the !Attention! Artists at Work program.