Amble through an alley of art, dive into trans films or catch the Lakefair finale this weekend

Lakefair ends with bang

Capital Lakefair is in full swing, as anyone who drives through downtown Olympia has undoubtedly noticed, but the biggest festivities are yet to come: the Grand Parade and the Grand Finale Fireworks. The parade, the old-fashioned kind that has floats, bands, dancers, clowns, and sash- and tiara-wearing princesses, begins at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 20, proceeding north on Capitol Way from 20th Avenue to Fifth Avenue downtown. Then Sunday, fireworks will fill the sky over Capitol Lake at 10 p.m. Among the good viewing locations: Heritage Park, Deschutes Parkway and the Capitol Campus.

‘Corpses, Fools and Monsters’

The Olympia Film Society is hosting its first trans film festival — named “Corpses, Fools and Monsters” after the new book, “Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema,” by Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay. The festival, co-sponsored by the Olympia Timberland Library, includes a half-dozen films written about at length in the book with recorded introductions by the authors. The best-known film in the festival is David Cronenberg’s 1996 “Crash,” a thriller about people with a fetish for car crashes. Other selections range from “The Queen,” a documentary about the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest, to “Ginger Snaps,” a 2000 werewolf film about puberty. Festival passes are $50-$65; two-day passes are $30-$39; and single tickets are $10-$13.

Art ‘N’ the Alley

Taylor Clinton started Art ‘N’ the Alley in 2020 to offer a safe outdoor space where artists could show and sell work and art lovers could view it. Four years later, the show, held in the alley behind 509 Decatur St. SW, Olympia, is going strong. This year, the event features 10 visual artists working in painting, drawing, mosaics, graphic design, jewelry design, textiles and wood. Plus there will be live music and a performance by children’s theater troupe Juice Box Theatre. The art is on view from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20, and Juice Box will do its thing at 1 p.m.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore does her best not to get too close to Lakefair — but she does love watching the fireworks, which can be done far from the madding crowds. She 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.