posts that will be on the front page
By Molly Walsh On September 21, all five past and present Washington State Poets Laureate will gather for a day of poetry-centered conversation and celebration at Laureate Fest. Organized by the Olympia Poetry Network, Laureate Fest is the first event of its kind in the state and the first time all five Washington State Poets …
ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS It is rare when a work of art balances commentary and beauty. It is rarer still when an exhibition with works by nine different artists in a variety of media and styles manages to attain that level of balance between the conceptual and the aesthetic. Such is …
By Christina Butcher “Our biggest competition is the living room couch, but we’ve got a lot of hyper-local filmmakers presenting work at the festival.” Jonah Barrett, OFS marketing director There’s no better way to welcome the fall season than by grabbing popcorn, cozying up to loved ones and finding a quirky independent movie to watch …
By Ned Hayes and Billy Thomas On August 24, OLY ARTS helped organize a day-long reading of Volume I of the Mueller Report at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. A number of local, theatrical artists and elected officials participated in the successful event. Some in the artistic and reader communities have asked why our organization involved …
By Melinda Minton New Traditions Fair Trade — the classic, loving, healthy venue for good eats and music — is set to host a benefit run in downtown Olympia. Locals are encouraged to run, walk or stroll. “In fact, bring your beautiful babies in a stroller, an international baby wrap or anything that makes that young …
By Alec Clayton Local comedian Sam Miller has teamed up with storyteller and StoryOly co-founder Elizabeth Lord to bring to Olympia “Choice Comedy,” an evening of all-female standup comedy to benefit reproductive rights in Alabama. The show will be hosted by Lord and will feature Amanda Biddle from Olympia plus Jill Silva from Tacoma, and Portland’s Tory …
By JONAH BARRETT The Olympia Film Society is now accepting submissions for its 36th-annual Olympia Film Festival. Filmmakers are welcomed to submit their films online until the deadline of December 23, 2019. Named one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2018, the Olympia Film Society has hosted the …
By Alec Clayton The Chinese dragon mural in downtown Olympia will be dedicated Saturday, August 24 to honor Chinese-American history. The public is invited to attend the dedication at noon on the corner of Fifth Avenue SW and Columbia Street SE. Dragon Mural Committee spokesperson Anna Schlecht said, “In 2015, I was inspired by a …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL On April 18, 2019, after almost four weeks in the hands of Attorney General William Barr, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings on the subject of foreign involvement in the election of President Donald J. Trump were released to Congress and the public — albeit heavily redacted — by the Department of Justice. …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The Tempest — third and final of this area’s outdoor-summer-Shakespeare plays — opened Thursday, August 15 at the viewing tower at Olympia’s Port Plaza. It opened with the crash of thunder and lightning in a chaotic scene of a storm at sea performed in front of the …