New This Month

posts that will be on the front page

Lord of Vaudeville — Two Decades Later, the Show Goes On

If you’ve been in Olympia long, chances are that when you hear the word “vaudeville,” you think first of Elizabeth Lord — or Lord Franzannian, her alter ego and the maestro of the Royal Olympian Spectacular Vaudeville Show that bears his name. When Lord and fellow entertainer Mark Franzen launched the show in 2007, vaudeville had all but faded into history. They, like others across the country, dug it up, dusted it off and brought it back to life. The 20th annual show, fully worthy of its hyperbolic name, opens Friday, Oct. 9. Also published on page 4 of the Fall/Winter #37 Print Edition of Oly Arts.

Oly Arts Fall/Winter 2026 Print Edition — Issue No. 37

The Fall/Winter 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.

Catch them if you can: Arts Aficionado’s picks for ’26

It’s improbable — or maybe even downright impossible — that anyone could take in the abundance of plays, performances and exhibitions happening in Olympia and environs. That’s an excellent problem to have, as far as the Arts Aficionado is concerned, but if you’d like help narrowing down the options, Molly Gilmore is at your service.

Miss Pearl’s World: A Multimedia Show and Performance by Kaia Selene

Since her youth, local artist Kaia Selene has been driven to make art. Creativity has helped her to survive. In this Art Walk show at Lantern Records, there will be an array of wall art, miniature art, wearables, plus tea and treats. Selene has appeared as various personas and will be making her grand solo debut performance at this show as Miss Pink Pearls.

‘Lottery’ at FUMCO Explores Immigrants’ Fate

“The Detention Lottery,” a one night only Saturday, Oct. 3 production at First United Methodist Church of Olympia, begins with ICE agents “arresting” people right out of the audience. Written by Margaret O’Donnell of Seattle, a retired immigration attorney, this Olympia production is a fundraiser for local nonprofits that work with immigrant families.

From Hwagae Market to Pike Place Market at SPSCC

The art shared in the show “From Hwagae Market to Pike Place Market” at South Sound Community College through October 16 is from fourteen artists selected from the Korean American Artists Association of Washington, which makes for a very mixed response to the theme aesthetically, with styles ranging from surreal painterly studies, still life and folk art in style, to collage, wire work, and installations.

South Sound Studio Tour is Looking for New Board Members

Many area residents and visitors have loved participating in the South Sound Studio Tour, seeing local artists’ creations up close and personal, talking with the artists about their art, and in many instances watching the magic of turning blank sheets of paper or canvas, hunks of clay or found materials into works of art. Now the Studio Tour is looking for volunteers to serve on the board, specifically, to fill the Outreach Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator roles.

© Copyright Oly Arts, all rights reserved 2015-2026