Fun things to do this week in Thurston County
July 26-28
‘New World’ by the water
This summer’s abundant outdoor theater offerings continue this weekend with Olympia Musical Theatre’s “Songs for a New World,” a song cycle about pivotal moments in people’s lives. “It’s about one moment,” composer/lyricist Jason Robert Brown has said. “It’s about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back.” The free production, part of OMT’s Picnic Theater season, is directed by Olympia theatrical mainstay Troy Arnold Fisher. Soak in the songs and the beauty of the waterfront at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Port Plaza, 701 Columbia St. NW, Olympia. Get more information at olympiamusicaltheatre.org.
July 26 and 27
‘Stars’ will be out
“To See the Stars,” presented by Olympia’s Creative Theatre Experience, is a historical drama about the young women and girls who banded together to fight the brutal conditions they faced in the shirtwaist factories of New York City. Cynthia Mercati’s play, directed by Paul Purvine, stars students in grades 6 through 11; CTE students also did much of the behind-the-scenes work on sets, lights and sound. Remaining performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at The Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. Tickets are $10. Find out more at ctekids.org.
July 27
Infinity and beyond
Saturday night, Lacey in Tune will offer audiences an opportunity to time travel — to a galaxy far, far away and to the late ’70s. The evening of free outdoor entertainment begins at 7 p.m. with Journey tribute band The Infinity Project and continues with a screening of the film once known simply as “Star Wars” and now titled “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.” “It hasn’t been available to show before at a free screening,” said Jeannette Sieler of Lacey Parks and Recreation. “I’m super excited.” Fun fact about this lineup: Journey recorded “Infinity” — the album that gave the world such hits as “Wheel in the Sky” and “Lights” — in 1977, the same year that audiences met C3PO and R2D2. It all happens in Huntamer Park, 629 Woodland Square Loop SE, Lacey. Get details and learn about other Lacey in Tune offerings at 360-491-0857 or ci.lacey.wa.us/living-in-lacey/the-community/arts-and-events.
July 28
See ‘Snow’ in summer
Before Walt Disney’s animated “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” cleaned with help from adorably anthropomorphized animals, “Snow White” was a silent film. The Olympia Film Society will screen the 1916 film Sunday — with live musical accompaniment by harpist/composer Leslie McMichael and violist Barbara McMichael. (The two are sisters.) The screening begins at 2:30 p.m. at the theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, with doors opening at 1:30. Tickets are $7 and $10. Find out more at 360-754-6670 or olympiafilmsociety.org.
July 28
‘Fires’ on the way
Highly experimental theater artist Donna Oblongata brings her solo show “All 100 Fires” to Olympia on Sunday. In “Fires,” Oblongata of Philadelphia plays the leader of a revolutionary army, engaging the audience in training exercises, disassembling and reassembling an AK-47 and talking about life as an insurgent. The show — which Play On Milwaukee’s Jeff Grygny called “inventive, brimming with compassion and monstrously funny” — also includes bird puppets and a demonstration of how to make gunpowder that, according to Grygny, is unforgettable. The show, for ages 16 and older, happens at 8 p.m. Sunday at The Evergreen State College Recital Hall, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia. It’s free, with donations encouraged. Get more information at donnaoblongata.com.
July 28
‘Stars and Stripes’ and surprises
The Olympia Symphony Orchestra has some experimentation of its own going on at its 12th Concert at the Capitol. In addition to selections from the past season, patriotic classics and a couple of pops pieces, the concert will include a rap song accompanied by orchestra members. The latter is part of a collaboration between the orchestra and Olympia’s The Bridge Music Project, a nonprofit that teaches young people to express themselves through music. The music begins at 6 p.m. Sunday on the Capitol Campus, 416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW, Olympia. It’s free, with donations welcome. Find out more at 360-753-0074 or olympiasymphony.org.
July 31-Aug. 4
Fair in the forecast
If Lakefair didn’t satisfy your cravings for carnival rides and crowds, you don’t have long to wait for another helping of fair fare. The Thurston County Fair — home to animal exhibits, baking competitions, battling bands and much, much more — opens Wednesday, July 31 (when admission is only $1 if you bring a non-perishable food donation for the Thurston County Food Bank). The fair fun continues through Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Thurston County Fairgrounds, 3054 Carpenter Road, Lacey. Regular admission prices are a maximum of $7, with children 5 and younger admitted free. Learn more at 360-786-5453 or co.thurston.wa.us/fair/.