Weekend fun ranges from a fun fair to tween play to close encounters with artists
Take a free ride — or several
Free carnival rides are a highlight of the Lacey Spring Fun Fair, happening Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18. The popular pony rides are back for the first time since the pandemic, said Jeannette Sieler of Lacey Parks, Culture & Recreation. The fair also features crafts, games, entertainment and vendors. Saturday’s activities will include a STEAM Fair with booths focusing on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, and Sunday, there’s a car show. The fair will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Saint Martin’s University, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey. Admission is free.
‘Spelling Bee’
Olympia Family Theater aims for a slightly older crowd with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” opening Friday, May 16. The theater recommends the Tony winner about a group of tween bookworms for ages 13 and older. “ ‘Spelling Bee’ is, in essence, ‘A Chorus Line’ with pimples,” the New York Times’ Charles Isherwood wrote in a reverie of the 2005 Off Broadway production. Performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 16-17, plus May 23-24, 30-31 and June 6-7, and 2 p.m. May Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18, plus May 24-25 and 31 and June 1, 7-8 at the theater, 612 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia. Masks are required for the 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, show. Tickets are $25. For the 7 p.m. Saturday, May 17, show, pay what you can. There are also 10 pay-what-you-can tickets available at the theater an hour before each performance.
See art studios
The South Sound Studio Tour, happening Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18, offers art mavens the chance to visit 39 art studios in and around Olympia. You can meet artists (80 are participating), buy art and see demonstrations on the free tour. The tour runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Childhood’s End Gallery, 222 Fourth Ave. W., Olympia, has a group show in conjunction with the tour that will remain open through June 8.
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.