Olympia Film Festival: An Overview

November 3-13, 2016 The Olympia Film Festival is one of the longest-running film festivals in the nation and Olympia Film Society’s (OFS) biggest event of the year. This 10-day festival is packed with exciting movie premieres, celebrity guests, live music and educational workshops, hosted in the Capitol Theater in the heart of Olympia’s historic theater …

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Proteus (Adam St. John) and Valentine (Jeffrey Painter)

REVIEW: The Two Gentlemen of Verona

THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Quoting director Scot Whitney’s notes in the program for Harlequin Productions’ The Two Gentlemen of Verona, “Probably no one had argued that it is (Shakespeare’s) best work. It’s not…The jokes are often cheap, strained or downright corny. And though Shakespeare always played fast and loose with time …

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"A Tender Moment" (watercolor), by Robyn Chance

Fall 2016 Arts Walk Guide

Olympia’s fall Arts Walk 2016 takes place on these days: Friday, October 7 (5-10 p.m.) Saturday, October 8 (noon – 5 p.m.) Think of Arts Walk as a weekend-long street party, with live music, theatrical performances and the conversion of downtown Olympia into one big gallery. It’s a showcase for the best of local arts and culture, …

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Julie Creighton, "A Favorite Place"

Oly Artists to Show in Bicoastal Exhibition

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Two Olympia-area artists have been chosen to show work in the bicoastal exhibitions Coast to Coast West in Seattle and Coast to Coast East in New York beginning in October and sponsored by The National Association of Women Artists and Women Painters of Washington. These artists are Susan Flora …

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The Beatles, almost

In My Life—Return of the Fab Four

In My Life—A Musical Theatre Tribute to the Beatles is the award-winning musical biography of the Beatles as seen through the eyes of manager Brian Ep­stein. It features the live music of renowned tribute band Abbey Road and is considered by many industry insiders to be the most unique Beat­les show in decades. Epstein (Murphy …

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Christine Malek

Gallery Boom Explodes

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Gallery Boom, opening Oct. 1 in downtown Olympia, has come a long way. Geographically, it’s moved only four miles from its first home in the Fred Meyer parking lot in Tumwater, where it began two years ago as part of the city’s business incubator program. The big change: The …

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Margaret Noble, "Resonating Objects"

REVIEW: Margaret Noble’s “Resonating Objects” at SPSCC

VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) gallery director Nathan Barnes noted that Margaret Noble’s exhibition “Resonating Objects” begs the question, “What is art?” Is it just painting and sculpture? What about sound, movement, light? What are the boundaries between visual art and the performing arts? There …

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222 Market; photo by Piper Hope Backholm

222 Market Opening Downtown

by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS This October, Olympia welcomes an indoor food market to the downtown corridor. A year-round destination, 222 Market features local vendors and restaurants that focus on sustainable, hand-produced goods. The project includes traditional walk-in businesses as well as a walk-through promenade, with open stalls and indoor public seating. The building’s …

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Brian Jansen

Painter Brian Jansen at Rush In Dumplings

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Brian Wayne Jansen is a self-taught artist who began his career shortly after he took an art history class in high school. He enjoyed his first show at the Capitol Theater for a Stonewall Youth event eight years ago and has been showing around Olympia and Seattle since. For …

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"A Tender Moment" (watercolor), by Robyn Chance

Painter Robyn Chance at Bamboo & You

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Robyn Chance has lived in the Northwest for most of her life. She attended the University of Washington, the University of Puget Sound and Bastyr University. She’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is the author and illustrator of two children’s picture books. …

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