Festival

Critic’s Corner: Best Visual and Performing Arts of 2024

Many of the South Sound’s best theater and visual arts critics write for OLY ARTS. We asked six of them to highlight some of their favorite visual and performance art shows from 2024, and we congratulate and celebrate the Olympia and Tacoma-area artists selected. Due to the limitation we put on the critics of no more than two or three shows, we are aware of and acknowledge that many great shows and artists were not picked. We are lucky to live in such a vibrant creative community.

The Lacey Cultural Celebration is Coming

There is a world of fun planned for this year’s Lacey Cultural Celebration, happening Saturday, Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at St. Martin’s University. There will be dance and music, activities for children and adults and food vendors from around the world. Jeanette Sieler at Lacey Parks, Culture & Recreation advises to “come early and plan to stay the whole day … don’t try to do it all in an hour.”

Tacoma Light Trail Lends Brightness to Winter Doldrums

Tacoma Light Trail, December 31 through January 12, brings much-needed illumination to the dark winter streets of Tacoma. The Light Trail will line the streets of Tacoma with light art installations, and the entire free event will be blessed by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. Food trucks will be on hand to make this a perfect family-friendly way to ring in the new year.

Welcome to Bucoda’s Spook-Tacular

By Molly Gilmore — How much does Bucoda love Halloween? The town officially changes its name to Boo-Coda for the scary season, and its elaborate Spook-Tacular lasts the entire month of October. That’s not all, though: The town (population 600 or so) celebrates All Hallow’s Eve in winter, spring and summer as well as fall. Laura Wilson, president of the Bucoda Improvement Club, says, “You get it into your soul when you’re handing out here in Bucoda. It’s Halloween year round.”

Tacoma Film Festival

by Adam McKinney — Every time fall rolls around, cinephiles in the South Sound perk up their ears and await the arrival of the Tacoma Film Festival. This time around TFF has shortened things to just a four-day-weekend, running October 10-13; while there will be fewer movies than a week would provide, this shorter period of time will be absolutely crammed with entertainment, both at the Grand Cinema and at the Blue Mouse Theater.

Northern Sky Festival at Oyster Bay Farm

One of the region’s newest festivals, Northern Sky, has descended upon Olympia’s Oyster Bay Farm on Friday, September 6 and Saturday, September 7 when the grounds of the farm were transformed into a stunning backdrop for the inaugural Northern Sky at Oyster Bay.

MOSAIC: Tacoma’s Arts and Culture Festival Celebrates a Multifaceted South Sound Community

MOSAIC: Tacoma’s Arts and Culture Festival at Tacoma’s Wright Park on July 27 and 28 is a weekend of multicultural music, dance, art, crafts, and cuisine, with an evening movie in the park and a Kids Zone and sprayground. The festival will see a visit from the Mobile Teaching Kitchen, which will provide a preview of culinary courses available through Metro Parks Tacoma.

LoveOly SummerFest 2024

By John Longenbaugh This is on page 8-9 of OLY ARTS Summer 2024 print edition. Ah, summer. The time of year when what you want isn’t just one good thing, but a bunch of them sort of bumping into each other in an exciting fashion. Take the words “Love,” “Oly,” “Summer” and “Festival”— four fine …

Read more

Love is the Magic of Capital Lakefair 2024

By Adam McKinney This is on page 20-25 of OLY ARTS Summer 2024 print edition. If Olympia has a reputation, it mainly consists of its vibe: a desire to highlight and explore left field and underground arts, and an individualist spirit that hovers somewhere in the range of hippie ideals and anarchist energy. Like Austin …

Read more

© Copyright Oly Arts, all rights reserved 2015-2025
Skip to content