by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Here’s a match made in heaven: Bill Collins and Allsorts Gallery. Olympia native Bill Collins has been painting pictures for 38 years. Allsorts is the living and dining rooms of artist Lynette Charters’ Olympia home, which every few months is turned into an art gallery. Charters says of Collins, …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS As the 124th anniversary of its first production approaches, The Nutcracker might be more popular than ever. There’s an entire website (NutcrackerBallet.com), in fact, devoted to listing productions of the holiday ballet about a little girl who gets a nutcracker for Christmas and finds herself transported to magical lands …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Library concerts, once startling, have become commonplace. But PoetryMusic—which fuses literary classics with wide-ranging music—is truly at home among the stacks. The Port-Angeles-based chamber-jazz duo, performing Where Words and Music Meet at the Olympia Timberland Library this Thursday, has played libraries from California to Massachusetts. “They’re the main venues …
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. We hope you’re ready for the holidays, because they’re in full swing in Olympia this week with plenty of theater and audience-participation shows. Be sure to make your way downtown this weekend for the always-spectacular festival Downtown for the Holidays–and look for free copies …
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS On December 3, the Masterworks Choral Ensemble’s annual Christmas concert kicks off the Yuletide season. Gary Witley, director of the community chorus since he helped found it in 1981, says listeners can expect a family friendly evening with traditional favorites, sing-alongs and tunes to make them laugh. “Every Christmas …
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS The Inslee family has several traditions that revolve around family, and this year the first couple of Washington state was happy to share its traditions with OLY ARTS. According to first lady Trudi Inslee, Gov. Jay Inslee willingly transforms into an artist and storywriter over the holidays, as he’s …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS Once a year, the streets of Olympia close for a few hours as thousands of motorcycles roar down Pacific Avenue onto State, Capitol, Fifth and Deschutes Parkway. This is the 39th-annual Olympia Toy Run. Toys and proceeds are donated to the Salvation Army. They get there by being strapped …
READ COMPLETE JILL CARTER INTERVIEW HERE >> PRINT ARTICLE BELOW >> by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS When the curtain first rose on Jill Carter’s original set design for Land of the Sweets 20 years ago, there was a gasp from the audience, followed by a round of applause. The audience cheered for the scenic design …
READ PRINT ARTICLE HERE >> COMPLETE INTERVIEW BELOW >> by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Here’s a holiday story: Once upon a time, a talented, young woman began a ballet class but fell in love with the scenery instead of the dancing. That was merely the beginning of her story. Jill Carter was fortunate to …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Olympia’s ever-surprising art gallery Salon Refu is instituting story time for the holiday season. Local poets, writers, storytellers and, as gallery owner Susan Christian puts it, “people of good will and excellent language skills” will read their work every Thursday through Sunday in December. During the month of December …