posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
Oly Arts Walk * Bucoda Spook-Tacular * Anna Schlecht * Tacoma Film Festival * Enterlope * Eileen Bochsler * OFT & More! You can read our 31st print edition here. It is hot off the press and distributed free in the area plus available online!
by Molly Gilmore — There’s a glow at the center of Eileen Bochsler’s encaustic painting Forest Awakening, made with layers upon layers of wax mixed with tree resin that give the painting its luminosity and texture featured on the cover of the fall Arts Walk map. Awakening will be on display at Splash Gallery — a cooperative where Bochsler’s encaustics are always hanging.
by Anna Schlecht — A new mural has expanded the landscape of downtown Olympia. Ravens Chasing the Moon. Far more than a mural, this artwork adds to the cultural lexicon of artistic storytelling in the heart of our community. Cowlitz tribal artist Sarah Folden worked with Chehalis tribal artist Jenee Redecker-Burnett to paint this iconic image in the contemporary Coast Salish tradition.
by Lynette Charters Serembe — Tucked away in the heart of The Hotel Olympia building adjacent to Sylvester Park is the raw gem of a fashion enterprise named Enterlope. Cal Ledbetter is the owner and main designer, who has big dreams with plans of bringing couture fashion to our community in a truly Olympian way. He started creating clothes for drag queens, making some very flamboyant outfits, then moving on to make prom dresses. At the time being, inspired by designers of the past, such as McQueen, Dior, Lagerfeld and Galliano, he says he mimicked their designs to learn their techniques. Then he was introduced to local designer Dakota Miller; they teamed up working with their new brand aesthetic.
By Molly Gilmore — How much does Bucoda love Halloween? The town officially changes its name to Boo-Coda for the scary season, and its elaborate Spook-Tacular lasts the entire month of October. That’s not all, though: The town (population 600 or so) celebrates All Hallow’s Eve in winter, spring and summer as well as fall. Laura Wilson, president of the Bucoda Improvement Club, says, “You get it into your soul when you’re handing out here in Bucoda. It’s Halloween year round.”
by Adam McKinney — Every time fall rolls around, cinephiles in the South Sound perk up their ears and await the arrival of the Tacoma Film Festival. This time around TFF has shortened things to just a four-day-weekend, running October 10-13; while there will be fewer movies than a week would provide, this shorter period of time will be absolutely crammed with entertainment, both at the Grand Cinema and at the Blue Mouse Theater.
by Adam McKinney — Every year the Tacoma Lighted Boat Parade brings around a seafaring procession of decked-out vessels on the Thea Foss Waterway. Unlike bombastic waterfront events such as Independence Day celebrations, the Tacoma Lighted Boat Parade errs on the side of enchantment, with the chilled quiet of the night being peppered with music drifting through the air and occasional honks from the boats passing by. It’s a hypnotic event, as boats make their way from Point Defiance docks down to the Dock Street Marina.
Lakewood Playhouse’s production of Godspell brings the original conception into contemporary times and flows with lively good humor punctuated by moments pregnant with pathos. Throughout the performance, the audience comes to delight in and become cozy with the members of the cast.
The new play Our House by Olympia’s John Longenbaugh is a charming little ramble through the lives of the house and its imagined inhabitants over the course of close to a hundred years. Our House breaks the rules in its own way and enlarges what theatre can be. By all means, find your way to Our House.
One of the region’s newest festivals, Northern Sky, has descended upon Olympia’s Oyster Bay Farm on Friday, September 6 and Saturday, September 7 when the grounds of the farm were transformed into a stunning backdrop for the inaugural Northern Sky at Oyster Bay.