While you’re (mostly) in: Hunt for eggs, get the inside story and consider cocktails
On the bunny trail
2020 was a slow year for the Easter Bunny, but though the pandemic isn’t over, there is at least one old-fashioned, in-person egg hunt happening this Easter weekend. The Lacey Bible Church is hosting its first Easter egg hunt. “We figure that people need a little cheering up and an opportunity to get out with so many other things canceled,” said Forrest “Bud” Clark, an elder with the church. The church is requesting but not requiring that masks be worn for the hunt, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 3 on the grounds of the church, 6646 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey. There’ll be plastic eggs filled with candy and slips of paper that can be exchanged for art supplies and starter plants, and the church plans to serve hot chocolate and cookies. If you’re looking for the bunny in the flesh (or in costume, anyway), head for the Easter pop-up at Pink Polish Design, 5304 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater. The event, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 3, also will feature goodie bags of plastic eggs, candy and coloring pages. The pop-up will be held outdoors, and masks are a must, according to the Facebook event page.
From the ‘Serial’ box
There’s so much about election fraud in the news these days, and months — it seems like years — that the Olympian would understand if your eyes glazed over at the thought of entertaining yourself with a podcast devoted to the subject. But there’s every reason to expect that “The Improvement Association,” an investigation of election fraud in Bladen County, North Carolina, is going to make for great listening. Hosted by Zoe Chace and produced by Nancy Updike, “Improvement” is the latest from the makers of “Serial,” the in-depth true-story podcast that made a splash when it debuted in 2014 with a murder mystery. This time around, Chace is diving into the mystery of just who is trying to influence elections in the county. “I like talking about this scandal because there’s a story about it that most people don’t know, and it helps explain how we got here,” Chace says in the promo video for the new program, which premieres April 13. “Here being how we — the United States — have become nearly undone by endless accusations of fraud and stolen elections.”
Mojito mystery
The mojito is Washington’s favorite cocktail, according to an analysis of Google Trends search data by the travel website Upgraded Points. It seems more than a little strange that people in a state known for rainy and gray weather favor the summery Cuban combination of rum, lime and fresh mint, but The Olympian has a possible explanation. The Google data, collected between March 2020 and March 2021, is based, natch, on what people searched for, not on what they’re actually drinking. Perhaps the hot and sunny weather in which mojitos are a must is so infrequent that locals need a reminder of the recipe. Then again, the other states that searched “mojito” most were Arizona and Virginia, which is pretty random. In any case, the Olympian’s impression is that red wine and beer crowd out cocktails hereabouts.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore admits it: She has searched for a mojito recipe within the past year. She also really misses drinking them on summer nights at Rhythm and Rye. She discusses arts, entertainment and more with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein on “Oly in a Can” from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 5:45 AM.