Watch vintage planes, hang with canines or gobble up strawberries this weekend
Flying high
Aerobatic shows, historically significant aircraft and aerial firefighting demonstrations are among the attractions at the 2025 Olympic Air Show. The show, a Father’s Day weekend tradition, is happening Saturday, June 15, and Sunday, June 16, at the Olympic Flight Museum, 7637 Old Hwy 99 SE, Tumwater. Among the combat veteran craft featured at the show are Princess of the Stars, a PBY-5A Catalina that flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II; a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, a World War II bomber; and a Grumman J2F Duck, used to fly between U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and the shore and for Coast Guard search-and-rescue missions. The event also features a beer garden, music and more. Check out the action from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door for one day and $35 for a weekend pass. Children 6 and younger and museum members are admitted free. Seating areas are paved, so organizers encourage attendees to bring chairs. Hearing protection is a good idea, too, though the museum will have a limited number of earplugs available.
Dog Days
Most festivals have special areas with activities for children. At Tumwater’s Dog Days, though, the focus is on fun and games for canines as well as those who love them. The event, launched in 2024, features a dog costume contest and a dog/owner look-alike contest. Pooch play areas and a trail with treat stops are among the attractions most likely to please the festival’s four-legged attendees, while their humans can grab some fair food, watch demonstrations — including one by the Tumwater Police Department’s K-9 Unit — and buy dog-themed goodies. The free festival happens from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Pioneer Park, 5801 Henderson Blvd. SE, Tumwater.
Berry sweet festival
Strawberry season is here, and with it comes the Strawberry Festival at South Bay Grange. The first festival, held on Father’s Day 1936, was a fundraiser to pay for a maple floor for the grange at 3918 Sleater-Kinney Road NE, Olympia. The festival, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 14, features entertainment, activities for kids and families, and local vendors selling crafts, home décor and more. All of that is just incidental, though: The point of the festival is strawberry shortcake. The event also includes a Strawberry Short K Run/Walk/Bike Ride. The festival is free, but the shortcake, alas, is not.
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 2 p.m. Fridays.