Local ballet, a celebration of mushrooms and a dog film festival are weekend highlights
Studio West stages ‘Giselle’
Studio West Dance Theatre’s spring ballet, “Giselle,” is on stage Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. The company presented the Olympia premiere of the classic ballet of love and betrayal in 2017, so this production marks its second staging locally. The ballet tells the story of young villager Giselle, who falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman disguised as a commoner. Olympia High School students Abigail Erickson, a senior, and Kate Abbott, a junior, will share the title role. Aidan Hodo, a senior at Capital High School, will dance the role of Albrecht. Studio West alum Cole McMason, now a soloist with Ballet Tucson, will dance the role of Hilarion, Albrecht’s rival. Performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the center, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $24-$42. Before the Saturday evening performance, the company is hosting Giselle’s Spirit Soirée, a party, fundraiser and silent auction from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on the center’s mezzanine level. Tickets are $56 and include appetizers and a cocktail, mocktail or glass of wine or beer. The soirée, which doesn’t include admission to the ballet, is open to adults only.
Fungi fête
The South Sound Mushroom Club is heralding the start of morel season with the Olympia Spring Mushroom Festival. Mushroom tastings and mushroom crafts are among the highlights of the festival, happening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Capital Vision Church, 1775 Yew Ave. NE, Olympia. You can bring any mushrooms you’ve found to a mushroom ID station, shop for mushrooms and themed merchandise, and listen to talks by Aaron Hilliard from the Mushroom Wonderland YouTube channel.
Dogs have their day
The 2025 New York Dog Film Festival is screening Sunday, May 4, in Olympia. The festival includes 100 minutes of short films that celebrate canines and the people who love them. Among the characters audience members will get to know are a dog poet, a pair of dogs who pull their paralyzed owner on a wheelchair-bike hybrid, and a group of senior citizens who meet regularly to cuddle senior dogs. The festival is not recommended for younger children because several films salute service dogs who help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The screenings begin at 7 p.m. Sunday at Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, with doors opening at 6. Tickets are $13.25-$16.25, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Concern for Animals Olympia and Adopt-A-Pet Shelton.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore loves morels and appreciates that they’re in season for her birthday. 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.