by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Nationally known pianist Scott Cossu, who recently received a lifetime-achievement award from One World Music Radio, was one of the original Windham Hill artists. He keeps a sense of humor about his place in the new-age canon, describing his music as “new-and-improved age” and “heavy mental.” His latest recording, …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Three Rivers, California at the entrance to the Sequoia National Park is a long way from New Orleans, but it’s home to The High Sierra Jazz Band. Listeners to the band can focus on the stage, close their eyes and be transported into Preservation Hall on Bourbon Street to …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Few genres inspire more passion and reverence for tradition than jazz. A quintessentially American art form, jazz and its permutations have been around in one form or another since the late 19th century, with roots in New Orleans. In the ’40s, jazz found a vibrant resurgence in the form …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Three floors of the Department of Ecology building in Lacey are now aglow with chrysalis forms assembled from hundreds of plastic bottles. This art installation, Metamorphosis, was created by Barbara De Pirro, who says the forms represent “a transformation from the humble and forgotten into the exceptional.” Artist Jeffree …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Each year, Lacey residents ready themselves for a weekend jam-packed with every form of entertainment imaginable. Food, crafts, live music, giveaways, local vendors, car shows, you name it: The Lacey Spring Fun Fair brings it all to Saint Martin’s University every year. The intent is to strengthen community pride …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Pamela Rotner Sakamoto’s Midnight in Broad Daylight is the sweeping and true tale of a Japanese-American family divided, fighting on opposite sides in World War II and suffering tragedy when the United States bombed Hiroshima in 1941. “This is an American story of immigrants and somewhat like a Civil …
by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS Jippi! Norway Day returns to Thurston County, going strong in its 11th year. Guests are encouraged to attend the annual festival to experience Nordic culture, kindly hosted by the Sons of Norway and Daughters of Norway. “We just love putting on Norway Day, and we hope the public loves …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS The Capital Food & Wine Festival is an annual 501(c)(3) fundraiser for Saint Martin’s University. Al Eckroth, director of the first and second installments, describes it as “a huge annual block party, where neighbors and friends unite in a spirit of community.” He says the festival “began in 1989 …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Humans, of all animals, are encoded with the unique ability to be as connected or as separated as they choose. In these days, it’s not so easy to differentiate between the two; the internet, among other modes of communication, has enabled us to be more involved with each other, …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Lacey Loves to Read aims to get kids fired up about literature. This Thursday, the program will introduce them to theater, too, with a free performance by Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre. The acclaimed theater will bring its adaptation of Seattle author Matt de la Peña’s Newbery-winning Last Stop on …