by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS
Olympia’s Fall Arts Walk is chock-full of entertainment, with acts filling every available space. Adding to that vibrant environment are street performers who fill the open air with music, thereby crafting an ambience of creative life. Olympia Waldorf School, founded in 1985, is a nonprofit, independent school on acres of field, garden and woodland on Normandy Street in east Olympia. This year for Arts Walk, the school assigned some of its elementary and middle-school students to perform outdoors in downtown’s historic SS TJ Potter Alleyway. In 2015, that alley was renovated with festive LED lighting and a full-length mural, then named in honor of a steamboat of the Mosquito Fleet.
“The arts and music play a big role in our curriculum,” says head of school Dominic Kehoe. “From teaching children rhythm through singing and imitation in our kindergartens to learning about mathematics in music in the third grade, it allows the child to experience academics meaningfully. … Olympia Waldorf School has a long-time connection with Arts Walk. Waldorf students participate in Arts Walk and the Procession of the Species in some capacity every year. We love to provide beautiful performances in our community, to share our talent. It helps our students hone their abilities by performing in front of a live audience. Arts Walk aligns itself with the Waldorf pedagogy, which impresses on the child that creativity needs to be set free and become part of an individual’s expression. … Students from across the grades have busked or performed outside storefronts during Arts Walk. Waldorf students have also busked at places like Northwest Folklife and Yelm Farmers Market, and outside downtown businesses.”
What: Olympia Waldorf School concert
Where: SS TJ Potter Alleyway,
Capitol Way between Fourth and Fifth, Olympia
When: 6-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6
How much: free
Learn more: 360-493-0906 | Olympia Waldorf School