posts by Christian Carvajal
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Each year, Olympia belly-dance troupe Mas Uda donates proceeds from a weekend of workshops and a public performance to a worthy cause. After years benefitting cancer research, Mas Uda made Girl Scouts of Western Washington its focus of generosity beginning in 2015. “That money that we raise,” says Cindy Connolly, troupe member …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL In 1993, bankruptcy threatened Northamptonshire, England’s nearly century-old shoe factory, WJ Brookes. Steve Pateman ran the firm for his still-living father, Richard, but only 21 employees remained. Pateman received a call from the owner of Laces in Folkestone, a shoe store catering to cross-dressers and drag queens. Pateman was asked whether WJ …
By Editor On January 31, 2019, Tacoma Little Theatre‘s Off the Shelf program presented a workshop performance of Measure for Measure, a drama by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by OLY ARTS editor emeritus Christian Carvajal and read by a “who’s who” list of South Sound thespians. The Bard’s poetic language has been preserved in …
By William Shakespeare,Adapted by Christian Carvajal First presented at Tacoma Little Theatre, 31 January 2019 We are in Vienna, an amoral city of ostentatious wealth. CHARACTERS (in order of appearance) DUKE VINCENTIO: a Viennese big shotESCALUS: an aged lordANGELO: Duke Vincentio’s deputyLUCIO: a “fantastic,” or flamboyant bachelorFIRST GENTLEMAN / JUSTICESECOND GENTLEMAN / BARNARDINE: a convictMISTRESS …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL The Yiddish-American word klatch, which can rhyme with either batch or botch, means an informal gathering, usually one that facilitates conversation. Pizza Klatch is an Olympia-based organization that empowers LGBTQ+ youth in Thurston County by providing safe, supportive spaces — and yes, free pizza — in 15 area schools. It’s the result …
By Christian Carvajal Professional storyteller Elizabeth Lord has been the host of StoryOly since she and Amy Shepard launched that raconteurial showdown in Nov. 2015. It fills Rhythm & Rye the third Tuesday of almost every month. The annual exception arrives each September, when the previous 11 winners come together for a weekend finals round. …
By Christian Carvajal For many, the 1983 family movie A Christmas Story is an annual tradition. A middling success at the box office, it achieved immortality on marathon cable-TV airings and home video. Yet it may come as a surprise to fans of Ralphie and his avaricious adventures that they debuted, not in cinemas or …
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 Christian Carvajal As December begins, the 41st-annual Olympia Toy Run means thousands of motorcycles roar up Pacific Avenue onto State, Capitol, Fifth and Deschutes Parkway. Toys and proceeds go to the Salvation Army Toy ’n’ Joy Shop program. All street-legal motorcycles are invited to participate, and many riders return from towns all over western …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL The Olympia Downtown Association presents a cornucopia of holiday entertainment complete with parade the Sunday after every Thanksgiving. Over a thousand people are expected to attend this year’s gathering. Shops compete in “Twinkle Fest” by decorating their storefronts; shoppers win prizes by voting. The Hotel Olympian (116 Legion Way SE) hosts a …