posts that will be on the front page
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #18 — October 28, 2026
Celebrate scary and sweet season with Halloween happenings
— Love Oly Downtown for Halloween
— Boo Bash
— Samba Olywa’s Bone Gang
— “A Spirited Manor”
— “Alien”
“Temporal: A group show by Coast Salish Museum of Fine Art: Stories of Indigenous Present, Re-imagining Indigenous Futures” is curated by Mikaela Shafer in partnership with Indigenous Creatives Collective. It is a show that is full of real people and stories of current indigenous people, using their own voices in their own space, envisioning a future where indigenous people exist in the here and now on their own terms. CSMoFA has taken over Thurston County Museum of Fine Art to represent tribal nations in the Northwest.
Writer Star Wuerdemann always sought a place that connects writers to each other; sometimes, she found it. But in Olympia, she came up short. Wuerdemann recalled recently the advice given by Andrea Griffith, the owner of Browsers Bookshop, when she talked of her struggle to find a writing community. “Andrea said, ‘Sometimes you have to start it yourself.” Now Wuerdemann is doing just that. She’s launching OlyPages, a writing arts studio.
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #17 — October 21, 2026
Theatrical treats range from mysterious and spooky to serious
— Fun with Holmes and Watson
— In the spirit of the scary season
— Timeless and timely theater at Harlequin
You might label the Capitol Theater an indie and art-house film venue, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But insiders know the Capitol Theater is so much more. From late fall 2026 through the end of the year, the Capitol Theater will host a public film club, serve as a live-music venue, and showcase regional filmmakers. Then, in December, it becomes a concert hall and cinema at once.
The creation of a beautiful croissant is no simple matter. The proper ingredients must be assembled: the perfect flour for the ambient climate, the correct yeast correctly handled, a quantity of rich European butter. The water must be pure and balanced… In the end, a single croissant is a product of a three-day creative process. And yet we have, here in Olympia, artists who attain such a level, and do so repeatedly, consistently, for the public good.
Harlequin Production’s State Theater is also an art gallery that features exhibitions of work by local artists concurrent with each of their stage shows. And there is an opening celebration for each exhibition where art lovers mingle, partake of snacks and drinks, visit with one another and with the exhibiting artists, and may purchase original works of art.
A dozen new creatures will soon join the sea lions, tigers and bears at the Point Defiance Zoo and the wolves at Northwest Trek. The eagerly anticipated arrivals — on view to the public beginning Oct. 15 — shouldn’t be too hard to spot: Each is between 7 and 9 feet tall. They are whimsical wooden trolls created by Danish activist and artist Thomas Dambo, who has attracted international attention for the folklore-inspired creatures he makes from reclaimed and recycled materials, including branches, twigs and pallets. They’re part of the traveling exhibition “Trolls: A Field Study.”
Molly Gilmore “Arts Aficionado” #16 — October 14, 2026
A Premiere, a Debut and Two Comics with Cred
— Magical ‘Sisters’ at OFT
— Emerald City features OSO’s Reeves
— Funny guys
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.