Molly Walsh is a writer and photographer, freelancing for Thurston Talk and the Shelton-Mason County Journal in addition to OLY ARTS. Her reporting assignments take her throughout the South Sound and she loves finding new people to meet and new stories to tell. You can always find Molly with a camera in hand and in …
Olympia’s Isthmus Park is a gateway to downtown Olympia with views of both the State Capitol and Olympic Mountain Range on the horizon. The land and water around Isthmus Park carry many stories across the generations, and sit at the junction of historical, ecological and cultural significance. At the beginning of June, a new Welcome Figure carving by Squaxin Island Tribe artist and carver, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, became a permanent installation at Isthmus Park. Named Həʔapus sqʷəbay, Mother of Restoration, Wilbur-Sigo’s carved figure connects themes of cultural heritage, local history and conservation into a towering 13-foot cedar wood carving.
The summer print edition of Oly Arts magazine is published! Copies of the printed version are available free of charge throughout the area – find out where you can pick up a copy and see a list of articles in this issue.
The 2026 Center Salon will take place Mothers Day weekend, Saturday, May 9, in the Washington Center Black Box Theater with cabaret-style seating to provide an immersive ambiance. In commemoration of Mother’s Day weekend, many pieces included in this year’s Center Salon will tie back to the themes of mothers and motherhood. This includes a slideshow that will be projected ahead of the salon, featuring family photos of performers and audience members.
The print edition of Oly Arts magazine is published! This is our 10th anniversary edition and it includes The Oly Arts Origin Story and much more! Find out where you can pick up a free copy and/or read and download the PDF version.
Through the upcoming choral performances of, “This Place, Our Home,” on March 14 and 15, Choral Arts Northwest will use music to examine the concept of home in its many iterations. “This Place, Our Home,” will feature a lineup of historical and modern compositions that center around the themes of housing, belonging and connection, as well as the world premiere of a commissioned piece from Alex Nguyễn, musician and Choral Arts Northwest tenor.
Capital City Chorus of Olympia Chorale has been invited to New York City this May to perform ‘It Is Happiness’ at Carnegie Hall. In support of CCC Chorale members who will be traveling to New York, CCC is hosting the ‘It Is Happiness’ concert fundraiser which will take place Saturday, January 17 at United Churches of Olympia. The concert fundraiser will include a performance of ‘It Is Happiness,’ and will commemorate the seventh anniversary of Oliver’s death. To further celebrate Mary Oliver’s life and body of work, the event will include a live reading of Oliver’s poetry, in collaboration with Browsers Bookshop.
Since the Olympia Armory’s construction in the late 1930s, the building has cemented an illustrious legacy, from serving as a facility for the Washington National Guard to hosting regular sporting events and community dances. The Armory, nestled off of the tree-lined Legion Way just outside Olympia’s downtown corridor, will house eight nonprofit anchor partners who are set to hold long-term leases and programming inside the Armory Creative Campus. They will carry out their regular programming in addition to special events and workshops, with community access in mind.
On the second Wednesday of the month, the South Sound Story Guild gathers at Olympia’s Harbor House, where attendees preserve and celebrate the art of oral storytelling. Whether a funny yarn passed down through the generations, a spooky legend or the tale of a great mythological hero, the South Sound Story Guild holds space for members of the guild and the greater community to be entertained, learn something new, and share their own stories.
The Fall/Winter print edition of OLY ARTS N0. 34 is published! Here is a list of the articles and where in the Olympia area you can pick up your FREE copy. Enjoy!