Party downtown, see a musical or check out Native art this weekend
Start summer with a party
Olympia knows how to throw a party, as the Downtown Olympia Alliance’s LoveOly SummerFest, happening Friday through Sunday, June 21-23, proves. First, there’s the soundtrack, which offers well-known acts in an array of genres. The Olson Bros. Band will serve up country with a Northwest flair on Friday. The lineup for Saturday includes soulful singer-songwriter Ethan Tucker and rapidly rising hip-hop artist Oblé Reed, whose debut disc “Lindenave” topped The Seattle Times’ list of Best Washington Albums of 2023. Beyond the tunes, the festival features a Maker’s Market, the Pet Parade, entertainment from the Olympia Family Theater, food trucks and a beer garden, and the whole thing wraps up with an outdoor Diva Drag Brunch with food available from downtown restaurants and food trucks and a mimosa bar in the beer garden. Check out the goings-on from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Washington Street.
An explosive Broadway musical
Broadway Olympia, the company that launched Capital Mall’s black box theater, is back with “Tick, Tick … Boom,” a rock musical about an aspiring composer hoping to make it big before his 30th birthday. “Boom,” opening Friday, June 21, is the semi-autobiographical work of the late Jonathan Larson, who went on to create “Rent” before he died in 1996. So, yes, he did make it big, but first he spent years waiting tables and facing self-doubt and external pressure. Those struggles are the subject of the musical, which gained mainstream recognition in 2021, when Lin-Manuel Miranda directed a well-received film version. The Broadway Olympia production, which has nearly sold out its first two shows, features Guy Taylor Simpson as Jon. Also in the cast: Melissa Fleming Maañao, Henry Talbot Dorset, Brooke Upton, Sophie Bustetter and Jesse Morrow. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, June 21-22, 28-29 and July 12-13, and 2 p.m. Sundays June 23 and 30 and July 14 at OlyTheater in the Capital Mall, 625 Black Lake Blvd., Olympia. Tickets are $15 and $25.
See Native art at Evergreen
The Summer Native Art Fair, happening Saturday, June 22, will feature prints, jewelry and more created by Native Americans along with vendors selling frybread, Indian tacos and more. The free fair will happen from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Longhouse Education and Cultural Center (also known as the House of Welcome) at The Evergreen State College, 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia. For more information, call 360-867-6718 or email longhouse@evergreen.edu.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore talks with DJ Kevin the Brit about what’s happening around town on KGY-FM’s “Oly in a Can,” airing at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Fridays.