PRESS PHOTOS & GRAPHICS

Church of Great Rain marks the season with a festive show
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
December 6, 2011
Vashon’s own variety show, The Church of Great Rain, will celebrate the spirit of the season with a special holiday show at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Open Space for Arts & Community.

The holiday show will feature the Church House Band, twisted news and irreverent views expressed in holiday sketches featuring the Holy Roller Radio Players and a lively impromptu sermon by the troupe’s preacher, played by local performing icon David Godsey. More than 60 Island actors, musicians, writers and technical crew contribute to Great Rain shows. Joining the cast for this performance will be Island actor and singer Louis Mangione.

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The End is Near
THE VASHON LOOP
May 28, 2011
It’s the end of a fabulous season for Church of Great Rain. What to do? Celebrate, of course with the Season Finale on Sunday May 29th at the Open Space for Arts and Community. This show will knock your socks off and leave you laughing throughout the summer until we meet again in the fall.
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And Now For Something Completely Different
WEEKLY VOLCANO
April, 2011
I was a virgin. It was my first time ... ever. I had no idea what I'd been missing. And it all happened in the Church - Church of Great Rain to be specific. I've been converted. I want more!
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Vashon’s ‘Church’ seeks a bigger congregation
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
February 9, 2011
The writers, actors, musicians and producers who have brought the Church of Great Rain to the stage two dozen times had what you might call a come-to-Jesus talk last month.
Their success to date has been phenomenal.
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Did you go to “Church” on Sunday?
VASHON VERITÉ
September 27, 2010
Wow. Awesome. The energy of the crowd and performers at the Sunday -O- showing of Church of Great Rain was hummin’. How will the group top that performance? The bar is set high. Way high. We have our own Prairie Home Companion-meets SNL-meets Almost Live and it rocks.
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A Funny ‘Church’ Looks for New Comedic Converts
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
September 7, 2010
The cast of Vashon’s very own variety show — The Church of Great Rain — will revisit some of the show’s zaniest sketches during a special “best of” revival performance at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, at Red Bicycle Bistro.
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The GreatAwakening
VASHON LOOP
September 1, 2010
Church of Great Rain Rocks the Red Bike with a Revival.
Inspired by Prairie Home Companion and Monty Python, the show sheds light on the absurdity of everyday life on Vashon and beyond with sketches written and performed by some of the rock’s wittiest talent. The Church of Great Rain is opening its doors to a “best of” revival performance at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, at Red Bicycle Bistro.
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Great Rain Has a New Show
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
May 18, 2010
The curtain will go up on the Church of Great Rain’s final show of the spring season at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 23, at Open Space for Arts & Community.
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Church of Great Rain Season Finale
VASHON LOOP
May 14, 2010
The final Church of Great Rain show of the Spring season will be Sunday, May 23 with a special evening show time of 7PM at Open Space for Arts and Community.

If you haven't been to Church of Great Rain yet, here's your last chance until September to experience Vashon’s own music / comedy / variety show.

Special musical guest is the amazing virtuoso Bosnian guitarist Amir Beso, who the Seattle Times called "Bosnia's answer to Jimi Hendrix!".  Listen to Amir Beso’s music at www.amirbeso.com

As always, the Holy Roller Radio Players will engage in a multitude of comic antics, including the latest episode of “Ruraltopia - Last Stand of the NIMBY's”; a slightly twisted re-enactment of the recent Dockton Road community meeting; "Shakespeare on the Sound"; and the world's shortest musical complete with an instant on-stage theatrical review.

Reverend Hunter Davis will be along to send the congregation off into summer with some extra spring in their step and audience members will be asked for their theories as to the source of the now infamous "Vashon Hum".  Featuring the always-inspiring music of the Church House Band.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the live show starts at 7 p.m.  Tickets are $5 and available at Books By The Way, Vashon Bookshop and at the door. Kids are admitted free.  This show is rated PG-13 so parental guidance is suggested.

Church of Great Rain Blows its Horn
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
April 6, 2010
As the deadline approaches to file tax returns, the Church of Great Rain will offer Islanders “Comic Relief for Taxing Times” this weekend.
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Great Rain Spreads its Wings in Open Space
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
February 9 2010
After playing to capacity crowds at the Red Bicycle Bistro for the past year, Vashon’s popular comedy/music/variety show is taking its act to a new venue.
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Great Rain offers new thrills and chills
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
February 9 2010
Organizers of the popular Island variety show, The Church of Great Rain, will host what they’re calling a “Halloween Spooktacular”.
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A Live Radio Show Blossoms on Vashon
VASHON BEACHCOMBER
May 26 2009
For every great theatrical idea, there’s a story — a tale of an “aha” moment when the stars align, the planet shifts and something wonderful suddenly springs to mind.
The Church of Great Rain — a new live radio show that has become a once-a-month Sunday night sensation at Red Bicycle Bistro & Sushi — had such a moment.
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First Church of Great Rain at Red Bike
October 2008
The very first public broadcast of The Church of Great Rain will happen at 7 PM PST Sunday night, October 26th 2008 at The Red Bicycle on Vashon Island, WA. Listen to the broadcast online at Voice of Vashon, the island's very own media hub on the Web at http://www.voiceofvashon.org/. 

So what the heck is The Church of Great Rain? Well, it's not exactly a bunch of Lutherans from Minnesota. But it is a group of Vashon Island performers who aspire to be the pacific northwest's answer to A Prairie Home Companion.

When Garrison Keillor opened A Prairie Home Companion at Janet Wallace Auditorium in Saint Paul on July 6, 1974 there were about 12 people in the audience. But those in attendance thought there were worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon. The Church of Great Rain hopes you feel the same about how you'll spend your Sunday evening on Vashon. And besides, when was the last time you were able to order a drink at church? And by harnessing the surgical smart-bombing precision and global reach of the Internet, The Church of Great Rain will launch a preemptive strike on dozens of listeners from around the world.

Not since Sarah Palin's Vice Presidential debate have expectations been so low for a broadcasted performance. The Church of Great Rain will be performing evening services at The Red Bicycle on the last Sunday of each month.

The program will deliver a not-very-well-considered sermon, short stories, rumors and truth about islanders and island living, supported by original songs and a weird cast of island characters to raise everyone's spirits for the week ahead. Count on it being loose, fun and very Vashon!