posts by Christina Butcher
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Holding collaborative, public performances for decades is a noteworthy feat for any organization, but for The Heartsparkle Players, it’s an accomplishment made possible only through constant rededication to cherished causes of hope and love. The playback-theater troupe will open its 20th season by recommitting to those themes. “The reason …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Hold on to your seats, Olympia, because the Lord Franzannian Royal Olympian Spectacular Vaudeville Show is back, and it’s slated to be bigger and better than ever before. Directed by local storyteller Elizabeth Lord, LFROSVS is an annual variety show featuring short, one-act performances by acrobats, actors, dancers, musicians, …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Olympia poet Laureate Amy Solomon-Minarchi is doing everything she can to change the perception of poetry as a stuffy, elitist art form. “Poetry is accessible,” says Solomon-Minarchi. “We do not need to be in a fancy school, have advanced equipment and technology or have a small window of opportunity …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS In any community you’ll find people like Mariella Luz, who not only participate in the arts but actively support them. She does so through her work as a studio potter, instructor at Arbutus Folk School and founder and director of Olympia All Ages Project. Luz sits on the boards …
by Christina Butcher and Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Olympia Arts Walk is a celebration of the visual arts, but it’s also an opportunity to demonstrate the physicality of creativity. For the fourth year in a row, the Washington Center for the Performing Arts will host a free, public dance recital with Random Acts of …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Few bands can boast having over 3,000 live performances under their belt. Gaelic Storm, on the other hand, can do exactly that, and the multinational Celtic-rock band is adding to those numbers every day as it tours the U.S. this fall. The self-described “blue-collar band” will bring its unique …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Were there really mob bosses in the sleepy city of Des Moines, Iowa? According to Matthew Randazzo V, a true-crime author and leading authority on American mob history, there absolutely used to be, and their stories are meant to be told. Randazzo’s readers will be delighted to learn the …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Many Olympians know Susan Christian as the former owner of gallery Salon Refu, rather than as a lifelong artist and painter. But truth be told, Christian has been painting for 57 years and creating art, rather than curating or managing it, is her true passion. After closing the doors …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Bus stops are not very interesting places. Because of that, most of us spend our time at bus stops with our heads buried in a book, looking down at our phones, or staring off into the distance to avoid contact with strangers. But this Fall, Olympia’s inaugural poet laureate, …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Despite building a vast body of work including experimental music, painting, directing and collaborating in Olympia for the past 25 years, Arrington de Dionyso is still somewhat of a mystery to many Olympia residents. There’s something about the experimental musician and painter’s work that draws audiences in but, chances …