Information Sessions for 2025 Inspire Olympia Funding
The City of Olympia is pleased to announce two upcoming Zoom information sessions for local organizations interested in applying for 2025 funding from Inspire Olympia, our recently launched cultural access program. Two informational sessions available - pick the one that best suits your schedule:
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The first session is scheduled for November 18 at noon. It can be accessed by clicking here.
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A second session is slated for November 20 at 5:30 p.m. and can be accessed by clicking here.
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The application period for 2025 funding will open January 13 and close March 14.
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Learn more
Poetry Writing Workshop Tomorrow!
Join Olympia Poet Laureate Kathleen Byrd for fall poetry writing workshop on the theme of Winter/Water.
LAST Call for 2025 Arts Walk Cover Artist Application!
Deadline November 18, 11:45pm
Each year two artists are selected and commissioned by the City to create a new, original work of art to be featured in the Arts Walk poster and other event publications. One artist is highlighted for each the fall and spring events. Artists are selected through a call for art that typically takes place in the fall for the following year.
Selected artists receive $750 to create a new work, and are featured through multiple ways, often including:
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exclusive in-studio interviews
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City's website & social media platforms
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promotion through additional event marketing and publications.
Just 5 images and two short questions needed to apply! Apply online by November 18, 2024 at 11:45pm.
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Upcoming Unforgettable Art Programs
Presented by Maureen Wells, supported by Inspire Olympia
Unforgettable Art offers an up-close and personal art viewing experience for people with dementia and their caregivers. The art is supplemented with music, poetry, and artists' biographies.
During the one-hour program themed art prints are displayed stimulating discussions and reminiscing.
Maureen Wells first developed the program in 1989 and has presented it to senior centers, residential facilities, museums, and libraries across the country.
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Monday, November 18 at 10:30am - Featuring artist Andrew Wyeth
South Sound Senior Center-Olympia, 222 Columbia Street - Check at the front desk for Room #
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Tuesday, November 19th at 6:00pm - Get in the mood for Thanksgiving Day by viewing holiday-themed paintings by artists Audubon, Botero, Boughton and Rockwell,
Traditions Fair Trade & Café, 300 5th Avenue SW. Call Maureen for reservations: 303-521-4337,
$10 donation appreciated, but not required
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Friday, November 22nd at 2:00pm - Come and join a unique, small-group art viewing experience and discussion of Remembering When themed artwork. Music and poetry complement the program's theme
Olympia Timberland Library, 313 8th Avenue SE
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Arts Olympia Meet & Greet
Come meet the Arts Olympia Artists on
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November 12, 2004 at 4:00 pm
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Schwartz's Bakery, 4th and Washington Streets
SPSCC Music Department Presents Three Concerts this December
The South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) Music Department will be performing three concerts featuring SPSCC students this December at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Main Stage: Fall Jazz, The Year's Twilight, and Let Your Light Shine.
First, come share in the celebration of the end of the fall season with the SPSCC Jazz Band and Jazz Combo in Fall Jazz on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Then, the SPSCC Choirs will convene on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. for The Year's Twilight, an evening of music to celebrate year's end and usher in the holiday season. This concert features works by Camille Saint-Saëns, Errollyn Wallen, Frode Fjellheim, and Fleet Foxes.
Closing out the year is the SPSCC Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with the Capital High School Symphony Orchestra with Let Your Light Shine, an uplifting evening of music that celebrates hope, democracy, and the vibrant spirit of humanity on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. This concert showcases the rich tapestry of American musical traditions with works by Leonard Bernstein, Antonin Dvořák, Louis Gottschalk, and Carter Pann, and promises to inspire and illuminate, reminding us all to let our light shine bright in the world.
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Admission for each concert is a suggested $15 donation at the door. Entrance is free to SPSCC students, staff, and faculty.
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The Music Department concerts are sponsored in part by R.L. Ray Violin Shop.
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More information is available on the college's Arts & Entertainment page.
Lego Printing on Fabric with Laurel Henn
at Community Print
In this workshop with artist Laurel Henn, you will build Lego printing plates to create unique giftable art. You will print two canvas tote bags and a zipper pouch. Additional bags will be available for purchase in a limited supply. All supplies will be provided. No experience needed, and kids aged 9 and up are welcome.
Interfaith Works hosts Resetting Our Sacred Table: Building Bridges of Understanding
Interfaith Works is a community of 30+ local spiritual communities and affiliated organizations that represent a diverse profile of traditions, perspectives and cultures all seeking social justice and peace through interfaith understanding and cooperation. We invite you to join us for Resetting Our Sacred Table, an annual, autumnal celebration of community, culture, and music. This event has transformed in recent years from a more traditional Thanksgiving celebration to one that recognizes the lesser known and often ignored historical experiences of Indigenous peoples of this country. This event continues to evolve as we uphold celebrating community through music, food, and sharing while we grow in awareness, connection, and engagement with regional tribal neighbors and seek to amplify their narratives. This year we welcome and celebrate the Squaxin Island Tribe as we explore the theme "Building Bridges of Understanding," in a time when connection and understanding across differences is needed more than ever.
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Sunday, November 24, 2024, from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
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The event will be hosted by one of Interfaith Works' member faith communities, First United Methodist Church, at 1224 Legion Way SE, Olympia, WA 98502
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This is a family-friendly event that is free to the public. To learn more about the event and see a downloadable flyer, go to https://www.interfaith-works.org/events.html.
Upcoming Events at the Olympia Timberland Library
An Evening with Olympia Music History Project & Friends
Join us for a special evening with the Olympia Music History Project, in collaboration with Olympia Timberland Library, exploring how Olympia emerged as a vibrant hub for independent music and DIY culture. Hear John Foster, Toni Holm, Danny Kelly, Dave Rauh, and Dana Squires share personal stories from the early days of The Evergreen State College and the Olympia independent music scene. The evening will begin and conclude with a curated selection of Olympia's musical recordings, DJed by James Maeda.
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Wed, November 13
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6:30 to 8:30pm
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Link
Author Talk: Mita Mahato & Anne de Marcken
Join us for an engaging after-hours author talk & reading at the library featuring local artists from The 3rd Thing, an independent press dedicated to publishing necessary alternatives. Mita Mahato, a comix artist and poet, will read from her newly published book, Arctic Play, and writer and interdisciplinary artist Anne de Marcken will read from her novel, It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over. Following the readings, Frank Hussey from Danger Room Comics will moderate a panel discussion with Mita and Anne. The evening will conclude with a short Q&A and book signing.
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Fri, November 14
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6:30 to 7:45pm
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Link
Olympia Poetry Network November Workshop and Reading
Workshop: Poetry workshop with Holly Hughes :Launching Our Writing into the World
To publish or not to publish? And how to go about it?
These may be your questions. Whether your goal is to share your writing with family and friends or a wider community, it's satisfying to release your writing into the world. Join me to explore a variety of ways to do this. Drawing on decades as
a published writer and more recently, a publisher, I'll share my experience as the publishing world evolves. We'll look at why we write, identify our respective literary goals, and explore various avenues: from publishing in traditional literary journals to digital newsletters like Substack; from chapbooks to full-length manuscripts; from podcasts to zines. Bring your publishing questions and an open mind.
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Wednesday, November 20, 2024, 1:30-3:30 pm
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Olympia Community Center, 222 Columbia Street NW, room 101, masks optional
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This event is free to members / $20 fee for non-members, but that includes a year's membership, so a net win!
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Preregister by sending an e-mail to Terri Cohlene via OPN's e-mail address at [email protected] and tell her to reserve you a spot. Register soon, because the event is coming up fast!
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We only have 20 seats available. If you register and decide not to attend, please let us know, we might need that space for someone on the waiting list!
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Should be fun! Sign up soon so you don't miss out! All are welcome.
Reading with featured poet Holly Hughes reading live at Traditions, the Gathering Space
Holly J. Hughes is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently HoldFast, coauthor of ThePen and The Bell: Mindful Writing in a Busy World, and editor of several anthologies, including Keep a Green Bough: Voices from the Heart of Cascadia, and Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer's Disease. Her fine art chapbook Passings received an American Book Award in 2017 and her poems and essays have been nominated for Pushcart prizes, set to music and performed in New York city and Sitka, Alaska. She served on the staff of Pacific Lutheran University's low-residency MFA program for 13 years, in addition to teaching writing at the college level for several decades, as well as at Fishtrap, the North Cascades Institute, LitFuse and other regional conferences. In 2022, she became co-publisher of Empty Bowl Press. She also directs Flying Squirrel Studio, which offers writing residencies for women, and consults as a writing coach. She divides her time between a log cabin in Indianola and her home in the Chimacum Valley and is grateful to the Chemakum, S'Klallam and Suquamish peoples for their ongoing stewardship of the land and waters she's grateful to call home.
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Wednesday, November, 2024 6:00-7:30 pm
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Traditions, the Gathering Space 5th & Water Street, downtown Olympia, masks optional
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Open mic signup starts 5:30pm
Reader's Theater Unlimited Performs Two Plays
Reader's Theater, sponsored by South Sound Seniors
LEON is a humorous and bittersweet story of how Christmas knick-knacks provided decades of memories for three sisters.
The Gala Holiday Bazaar is a hilarious neighborhood bazaar with a mysterious inheritance.
December 3, Tuesday, at 1:00 pm
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Olympia Senior Center, 222 Columbia St. NW, Olympia, 98501
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Free, donations accepted, No tickets required
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Learn more: www.southsoundseniors.org or 360-586-6181
December 11, Wednesday, at 2 pm
December 12, Thursday, at 1:00 pm
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Lacey Senior Center, 6757 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey, 98503
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Free, donations accepted. No tickets required
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Learn more: www.southsoundseniors.org
Join a holiday tour at the Governor's Mansion
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Reservations for holiday tours at the Washington State Governor's Mansion are now open.
Scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4 and Wednesday, Dec. 11, these popular tours fill up fast.
Newsletter Roundup
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Apply: Change Leader Institute 2025
Apply for the upcoming Change Leader Institute 2025 Winter cohort. Join this professional development program designed for artists, culture bearers, arts professionals, and community leaders connected to the arts.
The Change Leader curriculum is designed to help attendees effectively lead change in their communities and organizations. Elected officials, entrepreneurs, board members in the cultural sector, and city and county staff who support the arts are also encouraged to apply.
Each weekly session is held online Wednesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Winter 2025 cohort runs January 15 - March 5, 2025.
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The ArCH Digest is a summary of Arts, Culture and History happenings in the greater Olympia area, submitted by the community. Please turn in ArCH Digest listings to [email protected]
Deadline Monday morning, 8 a.m.
If you know of anyone who would like to receive the City of Olympia Arts & Culture news, which includes a weekly ArCH Digest, direct them here and have them mark the Arts & Culture box.
Disclaimer: Information in the Arts Digest is not vetted through the City, nor is it endorsed by the City. The reader is solely responsible for checking background on any opportunity listed above.
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Contact
Stephanie Johnson, Arts Program & Planning Supervisor
Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation
360.709.2678
[email protected]
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