Save the Date: Fall Arts Walk October 2-3
Mark your calendars for Friday, October 2, from 5-10PM, and Saturday, October 3, from 12-6PM, as Arts Walk lights up Downtown Olympia, bids summer farewell, and welcomes the arrival of fall with a vibrant two-day celebration of community, culture, and the arts!
Check out the link below and meet Devin River, fall Arts Walk cover artist!
Please Join Us! Olympia Mural Map Launch!
Launch of the Olympia Mural Map, an online guide to the 120+ murals in downtown Olympia: Speakers • Online access tips • Mural tours
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View the map with this link: https://bit.ly/olymuralmap
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Thursday, September 17, 2026, 5 - 7 pm
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Lurana Apartment's parking lot behind AHA,215 Columbia St NW downtown Olympia - State & Columbia
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Questions? [email protected]
To register or for more information, please click the link after each class, call 360-753-8380 or stop by to see us at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia Street NW, Olympia.
Performing Arts & Dance
Ukulele Campfire Songs, Sep 12-Oct 10
K-pop Dance, Sep 12
Creative Contemporary Dance, Sep 14-Nov 2
Discover Voice Overs!, Sep 14
RakasaFit Core Fitness Belly Dance, Sep 14-Oct 26
Intermediate/Advanced Belly Dance, Sep 14-Oct 26
Short-Form Improv, Sep 15-Oct 20
Americana Ukulele, Sep 16-Oct 14
Beginning Guitar, Sep 24-Oct 22
Sensory Friendly Creative Dance Class, Sep 28-Nov 16
Sensory Friendly Toddler Dance, Sep 29-Nov 17
Sensory Friendly Creative Dance Class, Sep 29-Nov 17
Intro to Theatre, Sep 29-Dec 15
Intro to Improv, Oct 19-Nov 23
British Rock Invasion Ukulele, Oct 21-Dec 2
Beginning Line Dance Class, Oct 23-Nov 13
K-pop Dance, Oct 24
Visual Arts, & Crafts
Beginning Drawing, Sep 8-Oct 13
Simple Book Making, Sep 8-29
Pen, Brush & Ink Drawing, Sep 9-29
Life Drawing, Sep 9-23
Color Your Canvas Painting - Meet me in Capri, Sep 10
Intermediate Watercolor, Sep 10-Oct 15
The Art of Seeing: Beginning Drawing, Sep 10-Oct 1
Beginning Watercolor, Sep 11-Oct 16
Shibori, Sep 12
Painting People and Faces, Sep 12-Oct 17
Creative Watercolor Sketchbook, Sep 14
Art For Kids Multimedia Art, Sep 19-Nov 14
Watercolor Experiments, Sep 19
Dotting (Dot Painting), Sep 26
Glorious Autumn Glass Leaf Workshop, Sep 26
ART BOOKS: My Illustrated Life, Sep 28-Oct 19
Zen Doodles, Oct 3
Nature Photography Workshop, Oct 3
Enticing Your Personal Writing Muse, Oct 6-20
Painting with Water Soluble Colored Pencils, Oct 7-28
Life Drawing, Oct 7-21
Intro to Watercolor, Oct 8-29
Traveling Altar, Oct 10
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Coming Up at OlyAHA
The Evergreen Effect Exhibit Launch at Oly AHA
Developed in collaboration with two Evergreen State College student interns and in partnership with the Evergreen Archives, The Evergreen Effect explores the relationship between Olympia and our unique college. Drawing on documents, photographs, and artifacts never before on exhibit, it traces the arts, cultures, and history we experience only because Evergreen is here.
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Join us opening day, Thursday, Sept. 10 from 12-4pm! The exhibit will be on display through February 2027.
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Viewing is free and open to the public.
Last Chance for Maritime History Walking Tours at Oly AHA!
Don't miss your final chance to experience Shaped by Water: A Maritime History Walking Tour, Friday, Sept. 11 at 10am and Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10am.
Begin your journey at the Olympia AHA Museum "It's the Water" exhibit, then explore Olympia's rich maritime history and working waterfront. Sites include the Canoe Journey Mural, Percival Landing, Oyster Shelters, the 4th Avenue Bridge, Harbor House, the Parthia tugboat, Olympia Cannon Company, Olympia Sand and Gravel, and the Port of Olympia.
Oyster Shell Ornament Decorating Workshop at Oly AHA
Join local artist Katie Nagi (Kraftie & Co.) for a family-friendly crafting event. Participants will select designs and decoupage oyster shells with pre-punched holes, plus paint the edges to personalize their ornaments-and take them home as keepsakes!
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Saturday, Sept. 13, 1-3pm at the Olympia AHA Museum (203 Columbia St. NW)
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Tickets are $18 and include your keepsake ornament. Purchase tickets here.
HOLD THE DATE: Upcoming Holiday Native Art Market
Shop the art of more than 50 Native Artists celebrating Indigenous creativity, culture and community. Discover original handmade beadwork, textiles, carvings, prints and more. This is a free event open to the community. Enjoy a lunch of Indian tacos, soups and desserts. Cash only for food. ATM on campus.
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Friday/Saturday, December 11-12, 2026, 11am-5pm
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s'gʷi gʷi ʔ altxʷ: House of Welcome at The Evergreen State College
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Parking: Lot B Friday, $6.00, free parking on Saturday
Two Plays, One Stage: Harlequin Presents OUR TOWN and SANCTUARY CITY in Repertory
Harlequin Productions presents Our Town by Thornton Wilder October 2 - November 1 and Sanctuary City by Martyna Majok October 9 - 25 at the State Theater in downtown Olympia. Producing Artistic Director Aaron Lamb will direct both productions.
Winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Our Town has stood as a timeless pillar of the American stage, while Pulitzer Prize winner Martyna Majok's Sanctuary City asks the question: in a nation built on the promise of opportunity, how do we determine who benefits? See both productions for a deeper understanding of what it is to be an American, then and now.
Set in the fictional town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, Our Town follows two ordinary families through the everyday rhythms of birth, young love, marriage and death, using minimal scenery and a narrating Stage Manager to reveal profound truths hidden inside the smallest moments. Sanctuary City takes place in post-9/11 Newark, New Jersey, where two undocumented childhood friends, known only as G and B, rely on each other for safety and belonging until one earns a path to citizenship and the other is left exposed to the uncertainty of life without papers. Though separated by nearly a century, both plays wrestle with the same essential question at the heart of Harlequin's 2026 "Home/Land" season: how do we transform this land into a home big enough for everyone? Wilder's Grover's Corners and Majok's Newark each ask audiences to listen to voices that challenge their assumptions, and to consider that the capacity to hold complexity - joy alongside grief, belonging alongside exclusion - is itself a strength. Together, the two productions widen the lens on the American experience, asking not only who we choose to include, but who we choose to erase, and what it means to call this land home.
This fall, Our Town and Sanctuary City will perform in repertory, meaning the two productions will alternate performances on the same stage throughout their overlapping runs. It's a format that allows audiences to experience both plays in dialogue with one another over the course of a single weekend. Producing Artistic Director Aaron Lamb explains the choice: "Both Our Town and Sanctuary City are memory plays, staged without scenery or props, pairing visual simplicity with fragile moments of extraordinary beauty. Both are meditations on the present moment - we live only in the now, we can only see and be informed by the past, and our actions can only impact the future. Each play offers a rich and layered perspective on what it means to be an American. By bringing these two viewpoints to the stage together, we hope to open a conversation with the community that is even more illuminating."
During the run of Sanctuary City, Harlequin is partnering with Legal Immigration Services of Olympia (LISO) to raise awareness of their work in the community. LISO is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, high-quality legal services to immigrants in detention, serving individuals held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. Information about LISO's mission and services will be included in Harlequin's programs throughout the run, and a LISO representative will attend the Community Talkback performance on October 11.
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Our Town: October 2 - November 1, 2026 | Sanctuary City: October 9 - 25, 2026
State Theater, 202 4th Ave East, Olympia, WA 98501
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Tickets available online at harlequinproductions.org, by phone at 360-786-0151, or in person 12-5:30 pm, Tuesday-Saturday at the State Theater Box Office. Pricing applies per performance for each production.
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Learn more
Monday at the Eagles -- Jazz Overhaul
Seattle's legendary grunge soundtrack gets a bold jazz transformation. Jazz Overhaul reimagines iconic songs from Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and other influential artists through the lens of modern jazz. Familiar rock anthems are transformed into groove-driven arrangements packed with improvisation, energy, and musical exploration.
Named NW Alternative Jazz Group of the Year in 2024, Jazz Overhaul continues to push the boundaries between rock and jazz. Their debut album Filthy is available now on vinyl, CD, and digital download.
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Monday, September 7th, 7 - 9:30pm
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The Eagles Social Club, 4th and Plum
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$15 - $35 suggested
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All ages welcome until 9pm
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The Eagles Social Club welcomes Eagles members and their guests. Be our guest for the evening.
Can you Hear the Trees Talking? Listening to the Wisdom of Forests
Walk surrounded by legacy and old growth trees in Squaxin Park only 2 minutes north of downtown Olympia, WA. After a welcome to the land and guided meditation, we'll stroll in silence, and tune into the sights and sounds of towering 100 to 500 year-old trees. Explore 2 miles of trails at a comfortable pace under the canopy of a living forest that is a thriving ecosystem, a network of soil fungi, called the "Wood Wide Web." Marvel at the discovery that trees are social, they communicate and nurture each other. Listen to a tree sing using my device that converts the tree's electric signals into notes.
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Parks and Rec walk in Squaxin Park $25
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Sept 19 10-11:30 am
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Registration
Nature Journaling: Slowing Down to Tree Time
Slow down and connect with nature through mindful observation and creative expression. After a guided meditation and a quiet one-mile walk, gather under a large shelter to practice nature journaling. Capture what you notice through sketches, sound maps, notes, colors, textures, and moments of wonder. Whether you attend once or join monthly, this class offers a welcoming space to deepen your connection with the natural world. Some paper and pencils will be provided; participants are welcome to bring their own journals and art supplies.
Newsletter Roundup
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Volunteer at the Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts
TCMoFA is currently looking for volunteers to help support our organization in upcoming programming. The museum is a volunteer operated project run on the passion, commitment, and enthusiasm of local artists and arts organizers. We are seeking volunteers for front desk shifts and flyering in Olympia. To apply visit our website tcmofa.org
Olympia Historical Society
If you have an interest in local history, please consider becoming a volunteer with the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. We have a variety of roles to fill, including tour guides for the museum's Sunday afternoon open hours (1:00pm-4:00pm), groundskeeping at monthly Saturday morning work parties, and committee work for our Education, Bigelow House Operations, and Events (annual historic homes tour and spring fundraiser) committees.
South Sound Studio Tour Volunteer Opportunities
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The South Sound Studio Tour is looking for Board Members. Send a resume and short statement of interest to [email protected] to apply.
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The South Sound Studio Tour is looking for volunteers. Fill in the Volunteer Interest Form to help with the 2027 Studio Tour, artist opportunities, and related events.
Downtown Oly Winterfest & Parade is BACK!
Here's how you can help make it happen!
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LoveOly WinterFest - November 29, 10am - 4 pm
We are currently booking 20-30 minute volunteer performances on our Main Stage at 5th and Washington St. This includes dancers, singers, holiday themed performances, etc. Contact Morgan Willie [email protected], for details.
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Jinglebell Parade - November 29, 2-3 PM
We're also bringing back the Jinglebell Parade as part of WinterFest and are looking for local organizations to participate. We're especially hoping to showcase the incredible arts and culture community here in Olympia. There's no cost to enter. Here is the registration link with more details.
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Tree Lighting Ceremony at Sylvester Park - Nov 29, 4:30 pm
We will cap off the day and kick off the season with the tree lighting at Sylvester Park with support from DES!
Museum & Visitor Center Front Desk Docent
The Olympia Arts & Heritage Alliance is seeking volunteers to support the OlyAHA! Museum & Visitor Center. Volunteering at the Olympia AHA Museum is a chance to learn and share Olympia's stories, to build connections in the community, to gain museum and customer service experience, and to be a part of something local, vital and lasting. Our volunteers are the face of the Olympia AHA Museum. They greet guests, share stories, and connect visitors to the best of Olympia.
As a volunteer you will:
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Welcome and assist visitors
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Interpret exhibitions
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Sell merchandise
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Help visitors to discover Olympia's arts, heritage, and cultures
We're looking for committed volunteers who are enthusiastic about Olympia's arts, cultures and history.
Our volunteer team is:
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Friendly, welcoming, and professional
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Comfortable learning point-of-sale and scheduling tools
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Reliable, cooperative, and ready to assist visitors
Volunteer Experience:
Volunteers work in pairs at our front desk for three- or four-hour shifts. Volunteers can expect seasonal appreciation events and ongoing learning opportunities!
Learn more and complete a Volunteer Interest Form at www.olyaha.org/volunteer.
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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 Manager
Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation
360.709.2678
[email protected]
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