While you’re (mostly) in: Watch whales, sip some soup, and glimpse high society

‘Secrets’ of the sea

In celebration of Earth Day, National Geographic Live is offering “Behind the Curtain: Secrets of the Whales with Brian Skerry.” Underwater photographer Skerry, who spoke in 2015 at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, has been investigating the hidden culture of whales for “Secrets of the Whales,” a new series on Disney Plus. The free presentation happens at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 22 online. “We have a passionate group of National Geographic followers,” center executive director Jill Barnes said in a press release. “I’m so glad we can share this with our patrons at this time.”

In the soup

The salad bar at the Olympia Food Co-op’s east-side store has been coming back gradually, and the latest addition is the return of the hot soup that drew a devoted lunch crowd. While much of the salad bar’s offerings are still pre-packaged, soups in an ever-changing array of flavors — recent offerings included ginger chicken and vegan chili — can once again be scooped from the bar from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily. You can’t have your soup in the store, at 3111 Pacific Ave. SE, Olympia, but if you can’t wait to dig in, there are a few tables outside.

High life

When they aren’t covering arts and events, the folks at Seattle weekly The Stranger produce their own, including an ever-growing array of short film festivals, perhaps the oddest of which is the Spliff Film Festival, which the publication describes as “a film festival made by the stoned for the stoned.” Spliff is screening April 16-24 online. (The original date for the festival was, yes, 4/20.) The third annual festival lineup includes “Up So High,” which chronicles one man’s search for nacho cheese, and “Just Say Know Nancy,” the goal of which is to let Nancy Reagan know that the war on drugs is over (and drugs won). Tickets are $20.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore avoided the temptation to call the co-op’s soup “souper,” but she sure does like it, especially the African chicken peanut. 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 16, 2021 at 5:45 AM.