By Christian Carvajal Olympia Film Society’s 16th-annual Duck the Malls fundraiser benefits independent artists and crafters in the South Sound while supporting visual-arts programming at Capitol Theater. It boasts items from over 50 vendors, including makers of board games, ceramics, dolls and other toys, ironwork, lighting and musical instruments. Homemade desserts are on sale at …
By Adam McKinney For over two decades, Jenn Champion has been making open-hearted music in the Pacific Northwest. Champion made her name in indie rock favorites Carisa’s Wierd, then found success with her solo project, S, which favored a more stripped down bedroom pop. It’s refreshing to see Champion’s recent pivot to electro-pop, presented in …
By Karen Lunde and Billy Thomas Imagine a 20-pound rodent that looks like a weird cross between a beaver and a rat. It has enormous orange teeth and a skinny tail. It lives in swampy, tidal areas and dines mostly on aquatic plants. It procreates prolifically. You’ve got yourself a nutria, and it’s the subject …
By Adam McKinney One of Olympia’s most consistent deliverers of fascinating movies and enriching, live events is Olympia Film Society, housed in the historic Capitol Theater. While not all of OFS’ fall events have been announced, more than a few attention-worthy screenings are already on the docket. “We’re having the 30th anniversary of All Freakin’ …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Musical theater has returned to Olympia with the staging of Legally Blonde by the capital city’s new theater company Broadway Olympia Productions, performing this weekend only in the historic Capitol Theatre. I attended the first full rehearsal three days before opening night. I won’t criticize technical aspects …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL “I did not know that there were other performers like me,” says burlesque artist Perlita Picante, “of my Latin background. … It turns out there a lot of people in that category.” Other Latina, South Sound performers include TUSH! Burlesque founder Frida Fondle, Rock Candy Burlesque’s Vanessa the Witch and Valerie Veils …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS The name Shawn Colvin is familiar to anyone who owned a radio in the summer of 1997, when her song “Sunny Came Home” was a top-10 smash that earned Grammy wins for best record and song. She’d already won “Best Contemporary Folk Album” six years prior for her debut …
by Tom Simpson for OLY ARTS In early June, the Capitol Theater in Olympia will see notable Pacific Northwest bands join forces in a benefit concern entitled “Rock against Trump.” According to organizers, the concert is intended to promote community unity. Funds raised will benefit the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes advocacy and …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS The island archipelago of Haida Gwaii lies 585 miles from Olympia, WA. These islands serve as the heartland of the Haida Nation, and the setting of Georg Koszulinski’s new social justice documentary, White Ravens. The film focuses on the history of the Indigenous Haida Nation and their current resistance …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS The work of two visual artists will collide in a single show at Arts Walk this weekend. Local multimedia virtuosos Katherine Smith and Jess Tanguay create works of art that function as polar opposites in subject matter, but harmonious in style. This dual show will be presented by the Olympia …