Arts and Culture Events This Memorial Day Weekend
By Billy Thomas As the weather continues to warm up, and the sun — that’s that bright thing in the sky, for those of us who have forgotten, due to its infrequent...
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Dry Powder, a High Comedy/Drama in the World of High Finance
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Dry Powder is billed as a comedy, and yes there is a lot of humor in this tale of high-finance shenanigans. But there’s a...
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Space Invaders at Lakewood Playhouse
By Christian Carvajal “Across an immense ethereal gulf,” a voice intoned, “intellects vast, cool and unsympathetic regarded this earth with envious eyes and slowly...
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Dry Powder: Explosive
By Christian Carvajal In a surprise August move, Harlequin Productions cancelled its original play choice for October, the Chicago crime drama A Steady Rain. In an...
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Arts Walk Highlights
By Alec Clayton Barlow Palminteri, featured artist for Arts Walk at Art House Design, is well-known for his realistic, sharply focused paintings of interiors, often...
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The Olympia Peace Choir’s Fall Fundraiser
By Karen Lunde Ever bought a musician at auction? On October 20, The Olympia Peace Choir will auction off some of its finest musical talent at its gala benefit, Tune in...
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Corduroy at Olympia Family Theater
By Lucy Volker Family-friendly comedy Corduroy opens this month at Olympia Family Theater. The original book, written and illustrated by Don Freeman in 1968, was...
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Theater Review: Red at Olympia Little Theatre
ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS John Logan’s dramatic two-man show Red at Olympia Little Theatre is engaging, intelligent and highly intense. It is a tour de...
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East African Cuisine in Downtown Olympia
Note to readers — the restaurant named Shirro’s appears to have closed as of September 16, 2018. Our best wishes to the restauranteurs and our apologies to...
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StoryOly Grand Slam
By Christian Carvajal As StoryOly completes its third season of raconteurial entertainment, host (and professional storyteller) Elizabeth Lord is busily making plans for...
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Theater Review: Ruthless! The Stage Mother of all Musicals
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The subtitle “the stage mother of all musicals” only begins to hint at what this campy musical is all about. It is a...
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Music in the Park – En Canto
By ADAM McKINNEY En Canto, a seven-piece, Brazilian-dance band, is infused with an undercurrent of unbridled joy. This is a band that creates music solely for the...
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Legally Blonde at Broadway Olympia Productions
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Musical theater has returned to Olympia with the staging of Legally Blonde by the capital city’s new theater company...
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Lounge on Fire at Rhythm & Rye
by Adam McKinney If you saw a band list a collection of absurdly disparate influences, including System of a Down, Tower of Power, Modest Mouse, James Brown, and many...
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Music in the Park – Blind Facsimile
By ADAM McKINNEY If there’s any wonder why cover bands have played a consistent part in nightlife scenes over the years, one needn’t look any further than...
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Lacey in Tune – The Not-Its
By TOM SIMPSON If you are under age 15, and you like to rock, Lacey in Tune and Timberland Regional Library’s Summer Reading program has you covered. The Not-Its, a...
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“Ruthless!” Premiers at Harlequin Productions
by Tom Simpson On August 16, Harlequin Productions opens the musical Ruthless! – The Stage Mother of all Musicals. Ruthless! is a unique all female musical. The story...
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Lacey in Tune – Nashville Singer Kaitie Wade
By TOM SIMPSON Country singer and songwriter Kaitie Wade spent the last five years in Nashville, performing and recording to international acclaim. Her single “Don’t...
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Music in the Park – Joe Blue and the Roof Shakers
By ADAM McKINNEY Comprising a murderers’ row of blues veterans, the five-piece ensemble Joe Blue and the Roof Shakers brings a wild energy to performances. It’s...
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Lacey in Tune – Sway
By TOM SIMPSON Lacey in Tune goes into August with SWAY, a Northwest cover band that features contemporary hits by artists like, Bruno Mars, Usher, Rihanna, David...
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Music in the Park – Sonic Funk Orchestra
By ADAM McKINNEY Anyone who ever trashed disco has been proven wrong by decades of cultural reappraisal. What is true – and what many always knew to be true – is...
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Lacey in Tune – Creature Teachers
By TOM SIMPSON Instead of music or acting, this evening focuses on creatures of all sizes and types – including the most creepy-crawly of all, snakes and spiders....
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The Washington Center Gala 2018
By JONAH BARRETT for OLY ARTS Get dressed up and get fancy for the third-annual Center Stage Awards and Gala at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts this...
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Music in the Park – Micaiah Sawyer
By ADAM McKINNEY Blessed with a clear, strong and achingly vulnerable singing voice, Mikaiah Sawyer is one of the brightest spots in the Olympia music scene. Drawing...
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Lacey in Tune – Rock Hits with Jimmy Vegas
By TOM SIMPSON For the past 15 years, the Jimmy Vegas Band cover group has entertained audiences at special events and festivals. The band’s repertoire is enormous,...
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Theater Review: Animal Fire Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Animal Fire Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale is the way Shakespeare in the Park should be done. The outdoor setting is a...
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Lacey in Tune – Justin James
By TOM SIMPSON Las Vegas performer Justin James comes to Lacey in Tune for a Saturday evening family-friendly performance. James combines a sharp comedic wit with the...
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Visual Arts Review: Marilyn Bedford at Allsorts Gallery
Visual Arts Review by SUSAN CHRISTIAN (special to Oly Arts) Marilyn Bedford is showing her paintings at the small home gallery — Allsorts in Olympia — for...
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Music in the Park – Hook Me Up
By ADAM McKINNEY Washington is no slouch when it comes to quality and quantity of jazz bands, but some lack a sense of self-awareness and infectious fun. It’s a fate...
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Capital Lakefair Schedule 2018
Capital Lakefair celebrates 61 years of service to our community in 2018. It was created as an event to celebrate waterfront activities and bring people to the downtown...
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Capital Lakefair Guide 2018
Capital Lakefair celebrates 61 years of service to our community in 2018. It was created as an event to celebrate waterfront activities and bring people to the downtown...
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Rising Country Star Sings at Lakefair
By TOM SIMPSON Many music fans hear echoes of alt-rock and grunge when they listen to the musical landscape of the Pacific Northwest. However, this region has quietly...
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Lacey in Tune – Vikki Green, Magic and Music
By TOM SIMPSON Since the age of five, Vikki Gasko Green has been entertaining live audiences with singing, dancing, and acting. An award winning ventriloquist and...
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Lacey in Tune – Hot, Smooth Jazz
By TOM SIMPSON Jazz artist Darren Motamedy has played with Ray Charles, Kenny G, Steve Oliver, Paul Taylor, Grover Washington Jr. and many other notable musicians. This...
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Jacci Lynn Butler’s Holy Trinity at Browsers Book Shop
ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Jacci Lynn Butler’s Holy Trinity and Other Tales in Abstract at Browsers Book Shop is this artist’s first solo exhibition in...
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Capital Lakefair Princesses 2018
By ALEC CLAYTON Every year, Capital Lakefair gives the South Sound its own royal court, chosen in the spring from among junior girls at local high schools. Here’s a...
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Shakespeare in the Park
by JONAH BARRETT All the park’s a stage, but remember to bring bug spray. Animal Fire Theatre returns for its eighth summer production, The Winter’s Tale. Hipster...
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Authors of Swimming Holes Guide – in Olympia
by LUCIA VOLKER Swimming Holes of Washington authors Anna Katz and Shane Robinson will be in Olympia next week to talk about their new book. The two of them spent time...
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New Film Project: Loss of Mt. Rainier
By MELISSA AVRIL HARRIS Loss of Mt. Rainer is the latest production from the Olympia Film Collective, a non-profit organization of talented local filmmakers...
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Theater Review: Midsummer’s Magical Mystery
Theater Review by NED HAYES Harlequin’s summer revue — The Magical Mystery Midsummer Musical — has more depth to it than may first appear. The overarching...
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Entertainment at Lacey Fireworks Spectacular
BBQ, Bands, and Family Fun at Rainier Vista Park by TOM SIMPSON On Tuesday, July 3, the City of Lacey hosts a pre-Fourth-of-July family event at Rainier Vista Park. The...
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Magical Mystery Midsummer Musical: The Music of Bruce Whitney
By ALEC CLAYTON This summer Harlequin Productions celebrates 30 years of music by Bruce Whitney, who started as a rock musician and has arranged, conducted and performed...
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Legally Blonde and Sleeping Beauty … Junior
By NED HAYES This summer, Pacific Northwest Theater will host summer-theater camps and workshops at a new venue. The camps and the two summer productions, Sleeping...
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Lacey in Tune – Full Metal Racket
By TOM SIMPSON Late in June, Lacey in Tune hosts the 133rd Army Band’s rock group, Full Metal Racket, which performs Top 40 hits, classic rock, country, grunge, pop,...
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Artesian Family Festival in Tumwater
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL for OLY ARTS Every Fourth of July the city of Tumwater pulls out all the stops. Start with the obvious: The Thunder Valley Fireworks Show is,...
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Lacey in Tune – Harmonica Pocket
By TOM SIMPSON Musical Family Adventure The Harmonica Pocket is a family-friendly band from Port Townsend, Washington, that comes to Lacey in Tune as part of the...
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An Interview With Shawn Colvin
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS The name Shawn Colvin is familiar to anyone who owned a radio in the summer of 1997, when her song “Sunny Came Home” was a top-10...
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Lynda Barry: Evergreen Cuts Are ‘Cultural Genocide’
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS OLY ARTS reported in June that The Evergreen State College was cutting heavily into staff and facilities that made theater possible at...
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A Pride Reading List — From Orca Books
The following recommended reading list was provided by Orca Books in Olympia for Pride Week coverage in OLY ARTS. Orca Books is the largest independent bookstore in...
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Top Actors to Perform The Eagle Tree on Stage at Lakewood Playhouse
By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS In June, Lakewood Playhouse will host a staged reading of a play based on the best-selling novel The Eagle Tree by Olympia novelist Ned...
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Elizabeth Lord Presents HOMESICK
By BILLY THOMAS for OLY ARTS As summer begins, master storyteller Elizabeth Lord invites you to join her on a journey into Camp Galilee, a (fictious) Christian summer...
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Lauren O’Neill Cohosts Capital City Pride
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Singer, actor and all-around funny lady Lauren O’Neill is half of the team hosting Capital City Pride this year. This is her second Pride...
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Elizabeth Lord to Cohost Capital City Pride
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Olympia’s master of storytelling, the one and only Elizabeth Lord, will cohost this year’s Capital City Pride with Lauren O’Neill....
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Headliners for Pride: The Caravan of GLAM
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Headlining on this year’s Capital City Pride entertainment stage will be drag-dance sensation The Caravan of GLAM. This Portland,...
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Teresa Guajardo Chosen for Pride Day Award
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Olympia counselor and LGBTQ activist Teresa Guajardo has been selected as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Pride Day Award, given...
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A Pride Parade Glossary
By JONAH BARRETT for OLY ARTS Pride is here again, a celebration that includes all the different LGBT groups that march in the parade. But what is a drag queen, what is...
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Leslie Cushman: 2018 Pride Activist of the year
By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Leslie Cushman is the 2018 Pride Activist of the year. Leslie, an attorney and community organizer, is being recognized for her work to...
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Capital City Pride 2018 – Performance and Event Schedule
COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS OVERVIEW Capital City Pride hosts the largest small-town pride festival in the Pacific Northwest. Pride brings together the gay, lesbian,...
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Jakes on 4th Is Pride Party Central
By ALEC CLAYTON Jakes on 4th is, as it has been, “Pride Party Central” in Olympia. “Jakes has been in business since August 2004, and we’ve been a Pride...
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The Pride Movement in the United States
By OLY ARTS STAFF History shows that in every society and culture, human beings have refused to fit into a narrow sex-and-gender box, yet for decades the United States...
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Emma González Honored by Capital City Pride
By Yvonne Joyce for OLY ARTS “My name is Emma González. I’m 18 years old, Cuban and bisexual.” In the February 2018 issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, a young...
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Capital City Pride Hosts Annual Olympia Parade and Festival 2018 Theme: “Live. Love. Be.”
By OLY ARTS STAFF Capital City Pride hosts the largest small-town pride festival in the Pacific Northwest. Pride brings together the gay, lesbian, bisexual,...
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Hunchback at 5th Avenue Features Olympia Performers
by Kelli Samson and Yvonne Joyce for OLY ARTS The 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle is staging a new rendition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the month of June, loosely...
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The Brotherhood Takes Flight’s Season Finale
By BRYAN WILLIS for OLY ARTS Olympia audiences have one more chance to catch free, aerial performances as The Brotherhood Takes Flight celebrates the end of its ninth...
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Olympia Celebrates 18th-Annual Comics Festival
by Billy Thomas for OLY ARTS On Saturday, June 2, 2018, comic book creators, readers, and collectors will once again gather in downtown Olympia to celebrate the Olympia...
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Rock Against Trump, a Youth-Led Benefit Concert
by Tom Simpson for OLY ARTS In early June, the Capitol Theater in Olympia will see notable Pacific Northwest bands join forces in a benefit concern entitled “Rock...
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Jeff Barehand at the Seattle International Film Festival
by Bryan Willis for OLY ARTS How does a stay-at-home dad get bitten by the video bug and wind up with an invitation to the famous Sundance Native Lab? “It was my...
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White Ravens and the Art of Listening
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS The island archipelago of Haida Gwaii lies 585 miles from Olympia, WA. These islands serve as the heartland of the Haida Nation, and the...
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Theater Review: Three Days of Rain at Harlequin
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Harlequin Productions’ latest offering is Three Days of Rain, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama by Richard Greenberg,...
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Washington State Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna at the Lacey Library
by Bryan Willis for OLY ARTS Washington State’s new Poet Laureate, Claudia Castro Luna, will be featured at the Lacey Library Monday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. at a free...
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Down the Rabbit Hole with Studio West
by MELISSA AVRIL HARRIS for OLY ARTS In search of an escape this spring season? Take a trip down the rabbit hole with Studio West Dance Academy’s production of Alice...
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Swan Lake Showcased by Ballet Northwest
by MOLLY GILMORE for OLY ARTS Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake didn’t earn much acclaim when it debuted in 1877 in Moscow, but once it took wing, the ballet continued to...
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Procession of the Species 2018 — Photo Essay
OLY ARTS is excited to partner again with Shanna Paxton Photography for the complete photo essay of Procession of the Species 2018! ((Also see our LUMINARY PROCESSION...
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Luminary Procession 2018 – Photo Essay
OLY ARTS is excited to partner again with Shanna Paxton for complete photographic coverage of Procession of the Species 2018! ((See also our PROCESSION OF THE SPECIES...
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Arts Walk: Katherine Smith and Jess Tanguay — The Duality of Fantasy and Reality
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS The work of two visual artists will collide in a single show at Arts Walk this weekend. Local multimedia virtuosos Katherine Smith and...
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Past and Present Come to Life in Three Days of Rain at Harlequin
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Harlequin Productions’ “Three Days of Rain,” opening May 3, is a subtle mystery — not a whodunit, but rather a “what happened...
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Arts Walk: China Star
Arts Walk Pick 2018 by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The Evergreen Arts Walk Tour describes China Star as “a conceptually-minded process artist working across disciplines...
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Procession: Luminary Lights Glow in the Night
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The subtler sibling to the many-splendored Procession of the Species, the Luminary Procession shines brightly, filling the streets of...
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Arts Walk: Chris Maynard
Arts Walk Pick 2018 by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Chris Maynard’s unique and unforgettable feather art has often been seen at Childhood’s End Gallery in Olympia, and...
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Arts Walk: Debra Van Tuinen
Arts Walk Pick 2018 by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Debra Van Tuinen’s latest paintings in oil over acrylic are the culmination and apotheosis of a long and ongoing...
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Procession: Honk If You Love Dance
by Bryan Willis for OLY ARTS Artesian Rumble Arkestra is teaming up with Radical Acts of Dance Company (RADCo) to create a movable meadow for the Procession. Mary...
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Arts Walk: Daniel G. Bernstein
Arts Walk Pick 2018 by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Daniel G. Bernstein’s photography covers the land, animals, people, and important events in and around Olympia and the...
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Procession: Hansen Elementary Students Get Industrious
by Karen Lunde for OLY ARTS Although few people welcome ants parading across their kitchen counter, the students in Julia Abrams’ first and second grade class at...
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Arts Walk: Diana Fairbanks
Arts Walk Pick 2018 by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Art lovers should have little trouble finding Diana Fairbanks’ paintings, as she is showing in multiple venues in this...
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Procession: Berebitsky’s Marvelous Menagerie
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Jerry Berebitsky is the technical director for performing and media arts at The Evergreen State College. He’s also filled...
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Arts Walk: Mia Schulte
Arts Walk Pick 2018 by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Mia Schulte creates brightly colored abstract paintings inspired by landscapes — many of which call to mind the...
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Procession of the Species 2018
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS The annual return of two Olympia institutions is approaching — the Luminary Procession and the Procession of the Species. Started in...
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Frankie Cosmos in Olympia
by Kate Hayes for OLY ARTS Frankie Cosmos is on her way to Olympia! Next Wednesday night (April 18), Frankie will headline a collaborative show at the Olympia Film...
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Las Cafeteras: Eclectic Big Band Tastes Like L.A.
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS One would be hard-pressed to find a band more intimately ingrained in the Los Angeles scene than Las Cafeteras. Their sound is an eclectic...
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Olympia Symphony Orchestra Concert: Coming Full Circle
by Karen Lunde for OLY ARTS In June of 1947, the Olympia Symphony Orchestra (OSO) performed its first ever work — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Overture to Don...
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To add an event or edit the OLY ARTS listing, contact our team at calendar @ olyarts.com
