Out and About: Head to the Fun Fair, see funny shows, or shop downtown to earn swag

Fun Fair time

The Lacey Spring Fun Fair is back with all of the fun you remember — including a circus train, a giant slide, a bounce house, live performances and crafts — plus what the fair is billing as “real” dinosaurs presented by Dino Crew NW. Those quotation marks mean that they are fake dinosaurs, of course, but isn’t that a good thing? You needn’t fear being eaten for lunch as you’re munching on your favorite fair food, listening to live music or checking out the car show. The free fair is happening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 21, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 22, at Saint Martin’s University, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE.

A love letter to musical theater

South Puget Sound Community College celebrates the good old musical with the intriguingly named “[title of show],” about a group of theater buffs trying to put together a show at top speed for a festival. The cast includes Christian Bolduc, Jesse Morrow, Charlie Kuvangasan, Giselle Jensen and choral music professor John Guarente, plus Kyndal Meister on keyboard. The show has performances at 7:30 May 21, 22, 27 and 28 and at 2 p.m. May 23 and 29 at SPSCC’s Minnaert Center for the Arts, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. A $15 donation is suggested for admission. Proof of vaccination and masks are required.

Among the other performances happening this weekend:

• “Perk Up, Pianist,” a musical comedy, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $35. Audience members are encouraged to wear masks at center events.

• The Olympia Peace Choir’s “Stand by Me,” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, May 22, at the Olympia Farmers Market, 700 Capitol Way S., Olympia. The concert is free, with donations welcome.

Show your love for Oly

LoveOly Shop and Dine Week, an Olympia Downtown Alliance program meant to encourage locals to spend more time and money downtown, is back. The latest iteration of the celebration gives participants a chance to shop and dine their way to a free cell phone wallet, blanket or apron. Every time you spend at least $10 at one of the 76 participating businesses, you get a stamp on your passport. Once you have five stamps, you can turn in the passport at Drees, the Popinjay or Encore Chocolates and Teas for swag and a chance to win prizes. The promotion, launched during the pandemic, goes from Monday, May 23, to Monday, May 30. Get your passport online or pick it up at any of the participating stores.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore is imagining sporting a LoveOly apron during her next Zoom cooking class. 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 May 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM.