OLY ARTS Editorial Change
OLY ARTS announces the departure of long-term managing editor Christian “Carv” Carvajal, who served as the publication’s founding editor. Carvajal...
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Parisian Piaf: Sa Vie en Rose
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS A touch of French cabaret comes to Olympia in the form of Piaf! The Show at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Produced by...
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Welcome to Fall Arts Walk 2017
OLY ARTS is very happy to be the print-media sponsor for Olympia’s Fall Arts Walk 2017. In 2017, Fall Arts Walk and Procession takes place on these days: Arts...
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Surprises in Store From Masterworks Choral Ensemble
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS This season, Masterworks Choral Ensemble will travel to the frontier, celebrate the sometimes-overlooked talents of female composers and...
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Molsky’s Mountain Drifters at Nova Middle School
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS What happens when you mix a well-established fiddler with the best next-generation, traditional-music players you can find? You get...
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A Commitment to Collaboration
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Holding collaborative, public performances for decades is a noteworthy feat for any organization, but for The Heartsparkle Players,...
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Even More Spectacle at Jazz Walk
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS When Arts Walk ends, Jazz Walk begins. The second-annual Olympia Jazz Walk, a fundraiser for the nonprofit JazzClubsNW, is timed to keep...
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Community Peace Walk at Heritage Park
by Karen Lunde for OLY ARTS From the earliest tribal welcome songs to anti-war and protest anthems, music has given a powerful voice to messages of peace. The Olympia...
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The Washington Center Season Launch
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS The Washington Center for the Performing Arts has been closed for the summer while the City of Olympia made updates to the HVAC system. Rest...
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Fiddle Fest Keeps It Traditional
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Within the citywide celebration that is Arts Walk, there’s nestled a mini-festival with a focus on the fiddle. Fiddle Fest, scheduled for...
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Olympia Symphony Orchestra’s Opening Statements
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS In October, Olympia Symphony Orchestra embarks on an ambitious celebration of its 65th year. The program Opening Statements launches the...
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Zines for All
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS For those wanting to find an escape from mainstream media, zines provide a type of oasis. Olympia Zine Fest celebrates its third year this...
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Susan Christian at Stable Studios
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Stable Studios is tucked away in an easy-to-overlook building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Olympia. The...
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Amy Solomon-Minarchi at Fall Arts Walk 2017
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Olympia poet Laureate Amy Solomon-Minarchi is doing everything she can to change the perception of poetry as a stuffy, elitist art...
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Sand Carving at Thomas Architecture Studios
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS For the two days of Arts Walk and approximately a week thereafter, Thomas Architecture Studios will present sand carvings by Amos Callender...
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Mariella Luz at Fall Arts Walk 2017
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS In any community you’ll find people like Mariella Luz, who not only participate in the arts but actively support them. She does so...
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Promised Land From Tall Firs Cinema
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS St. Martin’s University will screen the award-winning, social-justice documentary Promised Land, which follows the Chinook and Duwamish...
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OLY ARTS Cover Artist Lonnie Spikes
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Lonnie L. Spikes Jr. is the artist whose piece “Fly Away” graces the cover of the Fall Arts Walk edition of OLY ARTS. “Fly Away” was...
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Random Acts of Dance Collective at Arts Walk
by Christina Butcher and Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Olympia Arts Walk is a celebration of the visual arts, but it’s also an opportunity to demonstrate the physicality of...
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Mixed Media From Evan Clayton Horback
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Evan Clayton Horback is the cover artist for this year’s Fall Arts Walk program, with a piece called “Street Love.” Horback grew up...
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Lacey Children’s Day at Huntamer Park
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS With the help of Lacey Timberland Library, Lacey Loves to Read and the North Thurston School District, Lacey’s Parks and Recreation...
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Olympia Waldorf School Concert
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Olympia’s Fall Arts Walk is chock-full of entertainment, with acts filling every available space. Adding to that vibrant environment...
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Open Doors for Arts Walk at The Washington Center
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will throw its doors open during Fall Arts Walk. On Friday, see an hour-long performance by...
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Sock Monkeys for Social Justice at Arts Walk
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS A barrel of sock monkeys will take the POWER center by storm this Arts Walk. Each sock monkey, created by members of Parents Organizing for...
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A Gaelic Storm Is Coming
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Few bands can boast having over 3,000 live performances under their belt. Gaelic Storm, on the other hand, can do exactly that, and the...
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A Night With Janis Joplin — CANCELED
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Adapted from a press release dated September 27: The Washington Center for the Performing Arts regretfully announces that the Northwest tour...
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Cover Artist Lonnie Spikes
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Lonnie L. Spikes Jr. is the artist whose piece “Fly Away” graces the cover of this edition of OLY ARTS. “Fly Away” was created by...
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Brian Wayne Jansen: Brave Chameleon
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Whether as the lothario Vince in Brian Willis’s Seven Ways to Get There, the title character in Agamemnon, the purely evil Emperor...
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Writer Keith Eisner Wins an O. Henry Award
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia actor, teacher and writer Keith Eisner has won an O. Henry Award. His short story “Blue Dot” was one of 20 chosen for...
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Journey With Olympia Family Theater This Season
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Let Olympia Family Theater take you on a fantastic voyage during its 2017-2018 season. “All good stories take us on a journey in some...
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Alone Together With Dave Mason
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Some musicians have managed to Zelig themselves throughout the history of rock, placing themselves alongside legends at such perfectly...
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Olympia Author Brings Mobster Back to Life
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Were there really mob bosses in the sleepy city of Des Moines, Iowa? According to Matthew Randazzo V, a true-crime author and leading...
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Join the Hot Fan Club
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS There’ll be a special on the menu next Friday at Traditions Café: Seattle’s Hot Club Sandwich, a multilayered creation of gypsy...
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David Wright, 1946-2017
Thespian David Wright was born near Christmas in 1946. He died this week in Olympia at age 71. Wright was considered a master of the stage and worked regularly as an...
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REVIEW: Silent Sky at Olympia Little Theatre
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Before there were machines called computers, there were women called computers, meaning, according to Peter Shaw (Drew Doyle)...
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Susan Christian, Post Salon Refu
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Many Olympians know Susan Christian as the former owner of gallery Salon Refu, rather than as a lifelong artist and painter. But truth...
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A Production on Two Wheels: Bicycle Noir
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Bicycle Noir is theater on the move. Bicycling is an integral part of the comedy by Olympia’s Bryan Willis — and it won’t be just...
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REVIEW: August: Osage County at Harlequin Productions
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play August: Osage County by Tracy Letts is a play unlike any other. The story unfolds, or...
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Classical Energy at Emerald City Music
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Continuing its quest to bring classical music to the people, Emerald City Music has returned for a second season. Formed in 2015 by Andrew...
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Studio West Dance Academy’s Decade of Dance
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Nine years ago, Studio West Dance Academy had two studios, four instructors and one office administrator. Flash forward to this, the...
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Bus Stop Poetry
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Bus stops are not very interesting places. Because of that, most of us spend our time at bus stops with our heads buried in a book,...
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Experience Downtown Flavors at Sip, Savor & Stroll
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS On September 9, the Olympia Downtown Association will host the first-ever Sip, Savor & Stroll, a culinary tour of downtown Olympia....
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Marcus Volk: A Man and His Guitar
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Performing as one person with one acoustic guitar, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle. That archetype provides just about the...
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Unraveling the Mystery Behind Arrington de Dionyso
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Despite building a vast body of work including experimental music, painting, directing and collaborating in Olympia for the past 25...
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A Season of Diversity at Ballet Northwest
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS There isn’t a ballet dancer or aficionado in the South Sound who’s unfamiliar with Ballet Northwest, one of Olympia’s premier,...
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Olympia Little Theatre Presents Powerful 78th Season
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS The 2017-2018 season at Olympia Little Theatre, by far the longest-standing troupe in Thurston County, kicks off August 31 with the...
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Olympia Little Theatre Looks to the Stars
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS At a time when women and science are dismissed out of hand by a large segment of the population, Olympia Little Theatre presents Silent Sky,...
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Maritime Fun at Olympia Harbor Days
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS While Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer across the U.S., our community takes full advantage of the long weekend by...
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Olympia Celebrates the (Almost) Total Eclipse
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS If you want to see Monday’s total eclipse of the sun, you’ll have to head south and brave what the Oregon Department of Transportation...
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Rhythm & Rye: Funk, Folk and Fun
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS As the dog days of summer descend on the Pacific Northwest, eyes look to a time when layers and long sleeves will return and it’s...
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Chehalis Garlic Festival Features Music, Munchies and Mirth
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS If there’s one thing summertime loves, it’s a festival. It seems there’s one for everyone’s interests. There are beer...
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Broadway Actress Ellen McLain Stars in August: Osage County
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS There’s an internationally known star in the cast of Harlequin Productions’ August: Osage County, but don’t feel out of the loop if...
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The Ever-Dapper Vince Brown
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS “I don’t really remember a time when I didn’t play guitar.” — Vince Brown Olympians may well recognize Vince Brown as...
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Olympia Film Society Showcases Miyazaki and More
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS During the last days of summer, Olympia Film Society makes a special effort to appeal to younger viewers — especially budding cinema...
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Color and Structure: Susie Englestad and C. J. Swanson
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Featured artists for August and September at Art House Designs are painters Susie Englestad and C. J. Swanson. Both artists present work...
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Books by the Bay: A Party at Port Plaza
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS “Books by the Bay,” an annual music-and-literary party, will fill the Port Plaza on July 28. The event, which expands every year, is a...
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Smooth Sounds and Southern Hospitality
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS On August 10, the doors to the New Orleans-inspired Tipsy Piano Bar will open. The downtown venue will feature Southern and Southwest...
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A Paper Narrative: Art at Browsers Bookshop
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Browsers Bookshop is going into the art-exhibition business. On August 12 it opens a show of works on paper by five local artists: Arrington...
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The Incredible Undersea Trial of Joseph P. Lawnboy
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS In The Incredible Undersea Trial of Joseph P. Lawnboy, opening Saturday at Olympia Family Theater, boy meets fish — and loon, and...
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StoryOly Seeks Icebreaking Storytellers
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS StoryOly bills itself as Olympia’s premier storytelling event. On the third Tuesday evening of each month since November 2015,...
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Burt Meyer, 1941-2017
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS It’s a dream, for many, to have their presence keenly felt in their community. Whether this be through the simple act of offering a...
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Hit the Midway at the Thurston County Fair
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS Every year in the first week of August, the Thurston County Fair arrives in Lacey for a period of five days. Guests from all over Thurston...
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Dennis Rolly: Larger Than Life
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS When not appearing on area stages, Dennis Rolly can be found serving customers at Pellegrino’s Italian Kitchen in Tumwater or riding...
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Alec Clayton: Artist, Author, Critic
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS When artists stop creating art in one medium, they most likely start in another. Whether the transition is from painting to sculpting,...
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The International Bob Dylan Tribute Festival
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The International Bob Dylan Tribute Festival, stopping Saturday in Olympia’s West Central Park, was founded not by a lifelong fan of the...
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The Lion King Jr., a “Little People Production”
by McKenzie Murray for OLY ARTS Pacific Northwest Theater Company’s summer youth program, “Little People Productions,” will showcase two musical performances for...
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Bringing the Mountains’ Stories to Life
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Mother, nursing student, mountain climber, author, search-and-rescue leader … the list of job titles for Bree Loewen gets longer...
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REVIEW: Cyrra Robinson’s Of the Abyss
VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS New to Olympia’s art scene is metal sculptor Cyrra Robinson, a recent graduate of The Evergreen State College,...
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Random Waters: Dance in the Fountain
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS On a clear, summer day, the view from the Heritage Park Fountain in Olympia is nothing short of stunning. The Capitol rises behind a...
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Olympians at Oregon Shakespeare Festival
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Shakespeare famously wrote, “To be, or not to be? That is the question.” In theater as in life, this line from Hamlet always...
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Olympia Improv Collective
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The Olympia Improv Collective is producing its first show Sunday, and the group of 10 experienced improvisers already has big plans. Mark...
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Capital Lakefair Mainstage Entertainment
Lakefair is “Putting on the Ritz” to celebrate 60 years in the community! Hours of operation are Noon-11pm Wednesday, July 12 through Sunday, July 16....
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It’s Just a Jump to the Left
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS “I see you shiver, with antici …” On July 15, things are bound to get a little spooky (and raunchy) down at the Capitol Theater....
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Summer Movie Nights 2017
Summers are the joyful peak of the year in the Pacific Northwest. To soak up summer evenings, many people enjoy movies under the stars. In Lacey, Tumwater and...
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Percival Plinth Project
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia is buying a new piece of art, and anyone who can get to Percival Landing this month is invited to help choose it. Over a dozen new...
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Darol Anger and Rushad Eggleston at NOVA School
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Darol Anger and Rushad Eggleston have played together in The Fiddlers Four, The Republic of Strings and other groups worldwide. Olympians...
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Capital Lakefair Guide 2017
Capital Lakefair celebrates 60 years of service to our community in 2017. It was created as an event to celebrate waterfront activities and bring people to the downtown...
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The History of Capital Lakefair
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS This year Capital Lakefair celebrates 60 years of service to our community and the communities around Olympia. The history of Lakefair...
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The Adarna at Capital Lakefair
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS This July will see the return of Seattle rock band The Adarna to Lakefair, playing during the final hours of the last day of the festival....
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Harumph at Music in the Park
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS After releasing its debut album Threes this past February, Oklahoma-based, Americana-and-jazz band Harumph brings its vintage-sounding tunes...
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David Correa at Music in the Park
by Rosemary Ponnekanti for OLY ARTS David Correa has been blending Spanish guitar with Afro-Cuban and Latin rhythms since 1999, tucking in a bit of Middle Eastern...
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Nate Botsford at Music in the Park
by Rosemary Ponnekanti for OLY ARTS Portland singer-songwriter Nate Botsford has been making music since he was a kid crafting his own guitar from a popcorn box. He made...
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Kissy Flick at Music in the Park
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Kissy Flick makes its Music in the Park debut with a sound the duo describes as eclectic as Olympia. It’s a blend of Americana, jazz, pop,...
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The Commanders at Port Plaza
by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS On August 19, Music in the Park comes to a lively conclusion with The Commanders, the 18-member jazz ensemble of the Air Force Band of the...
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Misty Mamas at Music in the Park
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS There’s aren’t many bluegrass bands that can rival Misty Mamas in dishing up traditional, folksy music with mesmerizing harmonies...
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Wally & the Beaves at Port Plaza
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Pull your poodle skirts and saddle shoes out of the closet and get ready for an old-fashioned sock hop to celebrate the golden age of rock....
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Too Many Cooks at Music in the Park
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS There’ll be Too Many Cooks at Music in the Park, and that has nothing to do with food. “Too Many Cooks” (in quotation marks) was a...
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Empowered Young Women: Lakefair’s Royal Court 2017
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS With a mission to build and celebrate community in Thurston County, Capital Lakefair awards scholarships to outstanding young women...
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Weekend Preview: June 30, 2017
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, there’s more outdoor theater, dance and music events than you can count. Just grab a...
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Abbey Road Live at Music in the Park
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia Music in the Park concerts most often feature local and regional acts, but this year’s series opens with a performance by Beatles...
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To add an event or edit the OLY ARTS listing, contact our team at calendar @ olyarts.com
