September 2, 2026 — Head for Porches, Boardwalk or ‘Kiss’ in Lakewood
Porches become stages
The second annual Olympia Porch Fest — inspired by, but not coinciding with, the official Play Music on the Porch Day (https://playmusicontheporchday.com/) — is happening from noon to 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7, in Northeast Olympia. The event (https://www.facebook.com/p/Olympia-Porch-Fest-61577200596257/) includes performances by so many. artists. Here’s a sampling: the Sticks & Bones Marching Band, Kendl Winter, Generifus, Bundt Cake, Nomy Lamm & Erin Daly, No Photo, the Olympia Jamgrass Collective, Whiskey Fiasco and many more. (Guess, if it sounds like fun, which acts I’ve heard or heard of and which ones I included just because their names are cool.) The fest also includes a comedy corner and experimental music presented by ISM (https://ismoly.art/). It’s all free, with donations to the performers suggested and gratefully accepted. The venues are all close-ish to Roosevelt Elementary, 1417 San Francisco Ave. NE, Olympia, where you can pick up a free map during the event.
Photos courtesy of Harbor Days
Crowds by the water
How, you might wonder, can I predict that Olympia Harbor Days will result in crowds? Experience. People love their free festivals, especially if there are lots of vendors selling both food and a wide array of stuff. The festival (https://www.harbordays.com/), happening Friday, Sept. 4-Sunday, Sept. 6, is anchored by the vintage tugboats whose owners bring them to Olympia each Labor Day weekend to race, mix and mingle, and invite the public on board. (Tall ships, steamships, canoes and other watercraft come, too.) If you’re looking for a place to park or simply driving through downtown during the festival, you might not even see the boats at first, because the boardwalk will be packed with people watching dancing pirates, listening to bagpipers and bands of all kinds (https://www.harbordays.com/2026-schedule), joining the Zumba dance session (10:30 a.m.-noon Saturday) and shopping at the many booths. It’s all happening from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday along the waterfront.
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’
Lakewood Playhouse makes a point of producing diverse stories. (Its 2025 production of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide …” was a knockout and quite different from anything on offer in Olympia.) The theater (https://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org) is opening its season Friday, Sept. 4, with the Tony-winning musical “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” about two inmates — one a gay window dresser, the other a Marxist revolutionary — in an Argentinian prison. This daring choice was directed by departing producing artistic director Joseph C. Walsh. Performances of “Kiss” are happening at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 4, 5, 11-13, 18 and 19, with matinees at 2 p.m. Sept. 6, 13 and 20, at Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd. SW, Lakewood. Tickets are $25-$35; for the 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13 performance, pay what you choose.
Lakewood is not that far away — just 22.5 miles from Olympia — and Molly Gilmore would like to see Thurston County annex it.
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