Out and About: Jump into jazz, amble through art, see ‘Bee’
Get jazzed in Yelm
Gypsy jazz combo Pearl Django is among the big names slated to play the fourth Yelm Jazz in the Park, happening from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6 and from 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. Also in the lineup for the free festival: the Kareem Kandi Band, Vince Brown and Jessica Blinn, Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s military jazz band, Clave Con Jazz, Take 7, Vendredi’s Bag and the enchantingly named Cool Jazz Banana. Yelm City Park, 115 Mosman Ave. SE, is decorated with string lights for the event, which also features a beer and wine garden and food trucks.
Art ’N’ the Alley returns
Art ‘N’ the Alley, a free open-air art show launched last summer by west Olympia artist Taylor Clinton, is back with work by Clinton and six other visual artists working in a variety of media. The event also features open-air performances including Juicebox Theater’s “Out of the Box,” a kid-friendly play by Kate Ayers; belly dance by Troupe Infused and music by The Common Thread, AKA, Erin Finch and DJ Vampire Squid. Art ’N’ the Alley happens from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, at 509 Decatur St. SW, Olympia.
‘Spelling Bee’ on stage
Apple Tree Productions is back on stage before a live audience with a production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” a musical about a half-dozen quirky sixth-graders aiming for spelling superstardom. The show is happening at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6; 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8 at the South Bay Grange, 3918 Sleater-Kinney Road NE, Olympia. Tickets are $10 online or at the door. (Payment at the door must be by cash or check.) Children younger than 2 are admitted free. Masks are required for everyone older than 2.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore is a champion speller, though you wouldn’t guess it by the texts she sends using voice recognition. She talks about what’s happening in Olympia and beyond with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.
This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.