Soundscape & Book Launch for Countershade Press: Uplifting Queer Voices in Olympia

The woods come alive in the theatrical soundscape performance, part of the August 28 book launch at Browsers Bookshop of “Menagerie: A Cluster of Loss,” published by Countershade Press, a new micro press for queer speculative fiction run by husbands Jonah and Austin Barnett. Following the performance, Jonah Barnett will host a Q & A with Cecelia Meade, the author of the story “The Woods,” one of five by local writers in “Menagerie.”

Authors Among the Highlights of Washington Center Season

The Washington Center for the Performing Arts’ 2026-27 season, announced Tuesday, June 17, features the center’s traditional mix of Broadway shows, comedy, music, dance and family — plus two leading lights of literature.
“We’re very excited to have Amy Tan and Tim Egan coming in this season.” said Jill Barnes, the center’s executive director. Also among the season’s big names are satirical singing sensation Randy Rainbow (Oct. 15), comedy icon Tig Notaro (Nov. 13) and gospel giants The Blind Boys of Alabama (April 1).

Olympia Peace Choir Enters a New Era Under Matthew Melendez — AND — ‘I Was a Stranger’

Matthew Melendez has been named the incoming Artistic Director of Olympia’s Peace Choir, assuming the role in September when the new season begins. He follows Kerri Lynn Nichols, who founded the choir in 2010 and has shepherded it for 16 years into a distinctive South Sound community chorus. Earlier this spring, Melendez stepped into his audition for the role of the Peace Choir’s new artistic director with a mix of excitement and nerves, despite his decades of experience as a conductor, educator, and nonprofit arts leader. AND ‘I Was a Stranger’ at FUMCO June 7.