Casket races, a silly play and beautiful music. This weekend offers events to suit your mood
A race to the grave?
The Boo-Coda Spooktacular, the south Thurston County small town’s extended celebration of Halloween, is going full speed ahead — and that will also be true of top competitors in the event’s Casket Races, happening Saturday, Oct. 21. The races — which start at 11 a.m. and could go most of the day, depending on how many teams register — involve teams of up to four “pallbearers” propelling a casket complete with “corpse” through the streets of Boo-Coda, known the rest of the year as Bucoda. Don’t worry about the corpses: They are living volunteers. The town gives prizes for casket design, team costumes and speed, with the slowest team getting the award for “Dead Last.” The mostly-free festival continues through Halloween in downtown Boo-Coda.
‘Who’s in bed with the butler?’
That attention-grabbing question is the title of Olympia Little Theatre’s latest farcical production, opening Friday, Oct. 20. The plot concerns a recently deceased billionaire who has left the bulk of his estate to his daughter, with a yacht, an art collection and a priceless antique car set aside for a trio of sultry women. The daughter would like to recover those assets, but it seems they have disappeared — perhaps the butler did it? — so she hires a bumbling detective to figure out what’s going on. Performances are at 7:25 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21, as well as Oct. 27-28 and Nov. 2-4 and 1:55 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, plus Oct. 29 and Nov. 5 at the theater, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia. Tickets are $10-$16.
Lady Gaga’s producer plays with Emerald City Music
Local chamber music series Emerald City Music is launching its season Saturday, Oct. 21, with “Evolution of Improvisation,” an eclectic program featuring Gaga producer/bassist Anthony Tidd. Tidd and Emerald City artistic director Kristin Lee co-curated the program, which includes improvisational music from Mozart and Bach to jazz and contemporary. Performing, along with Tidd and Lee, will be guitarist Miles Okazaki, sax players Steve Coleman and drummer Dafnis Prieto. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. Tickets are $30-$40, $10 for students.
Esoterics return to Olympia
The St. John’s Concert Series is relaunching Sunday, Oct. 22, with a 3 p.m. performance by The Esoterics, a Seattle a cappella vocal ensemble that has made many local fans. The Esoterics will mark the weekend of the late Ned Rorem’s 100th birthday by performing all of the American composer’s secular pieces for a cappella mixed chorus. The music series — which will include additional performances in November, March and May — is organized and hosted by St. John’s Episcopal Church at 114 20th Ave. SE, Olympia. All performances in the concert series are supported by freewill donations, but a donation of $20 per person, $10 for seniors and students, is suggested.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore thinks she might like to be a corpse, but only in the Boo-Coda Casket Races. 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 October 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.