Oly Arts is happy to announce the beginning — joyfully starting in September 2026 — of a new column of culinary and artistic delight, “The Phantom of the Diner,” by a mysterious and erudite writer who identifies only as The Phantom, and who asserts that “There simply must be some right perspective in the world, … a hierarchy of principle and right order to our existence, even in our world of postmodern relativity.” So welcome, dear reader, to the world of The Phantom.
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #10 — September 2, 2026
Music on the Porch, Crowds at the Harbor, and ‘Kiss’ in Lakewood
— Porches become stages
— Crowds by the water
— ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’
https://olyarts.org/arts-aficionado-week-of-september-2-2026/
Because voters approved a one-tenth of one percent Olympia sales-tax increase (now in its third year) to fund the Inspire Olympia grant program, the city recently announced $3.3 million in grants for 2026-27, with $2.1 million awarded to 49 arts nonprofits. Thanks to this, Olympia has gained a theater and a gallery as well as other opportunities for the community to experience and participate in arts of all kinds.
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #9 — August 26, 2026
— Sleater-Kinney Rockin’ the Block
— Art on the Farm
— ‘Improbable Peck of Plays’ returns
— ‘Broadcast News’ on Big Screen
https://olyarts.org/arts-aficionado-week-of-august-26-2026/
The woods come alive in the theatrical soundscape performance, part of the August 28 book launch at Browsers Bookshop of “Menagerie: A Cluster of Loss,” published by Countershade Press, a new micro press for queer speculative fiction run by husbands Jonah and Austin Barnett. Following the performance, Jonah Barnett will host a Q & A with Cecelia Meade, the author of the story “The Woods,” one of five by local writers in “Menagerie.”
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #8 — August 19, 2026
— See a Play or a ‘Peck’ of ’em, and Savor Oly Music
— Celebrated romcom at Harlequin
— ‘Improbable Peck of Plays’ returns
— Local legends play free show
This is a selection of shows to keep your eye out for in Tacoma, Lakewood, and Federal Way this fall: Tacoma Little Theatre, Lakewood Playhouse, Centerstage Theatre, and Dukesbay Theater.
“MOTHER” is a visual and verbal exploration at Thurston County Museum of Fine Art through September 18. The show presents personal accounts in various media by nineteen artists on birthing, motherhood, and the emotional and physical labor involved in bringing up children – a hot-button subject in these times given the abolition of Roe v. Wade, and the subsequent dangerously stringent laws governing bodies with wombs.
Oly Arts is happy to announce the beginning — joyfully starting in September 2026 — of a new column of culinary and artistic delight, “The Phantom of the Diner,” by a mysterious and erudite writer who identifies only as The Phantom, and who asserts that “There simply must be some right perspective in the world, … a hierarchy of principle and right order to our existence, even in our world of postmodern relativity.” So welcome, dear reader, to the world of The Phantom.
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #10 — September 2, 2026
Because voters approved a one-tenth of one percent Olympia sales-tax increase (now in its third year) to fund the Inspire Olympia grant program, the city recently announced $3.3 million in grants for 2026-27, with $2.1 million awarded to 49 arts nonprofits. Thanks to this, Olympia has gained a theater and a gallery as well as other opportunities for the community to experience and participate in arts of all kinds.
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #9 — August 26, 2026
The woods come alive in the theatrical soundscape performance, part of the August 28 book launch at Browsers Bookshop of “Menagerie: A Cluster of Loss,” published by Countershade Press, a new micro press for queer speculative fiction run by husbands Jonah and Austin Barnett. Following the performance, Jonah Barnett will host a Q & A with Cecelia Meade, the author of the story “The Woods,” one of five by local writers in “Menagerie.”
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #8 — August 19, 2026
This is a selection of shows to keep your eye out for in Tacoma, Lakewood, and Federal Way this fall: Tacoma Little Theatre, Lakewood Playhouse, Centerstage Theatre, and Dukesbay Theater.
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #7 — August 12, 2026
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #6 — August 5, 2026
“MOTHER” is a visual and verbal exploration at Thurston County Museum of Fine Art through September 18. The show presents personal accounts in various media by nineteen artists on birthing, motherhood, and the emotional and physical labor involved in bringing up children – a hot-button subject in these times given the abolition of Roe v. Wade, and the subsequent dangerously stringent laws governing bodies with wombs.