Olympia recasts Arts Walk as Arts Month to allow connection while social distancing
Instead of canceling Arts Walk — Olympia’s twice-yearly celebration of the arts and creative pursuits of all kinds — the city is presenting its first Arts Month.
And the events — showcasing visual, literary and performing artists — are not all virtual.
Arts Month will combine Arts Walk’s window displays and art shows in businesses, which can happen safely when people have a full month to drop in, with outdoor events that allow for physical distancing, as well as online performances, talks and workshops.
The idea of the event is to preserve the spirit of Arts Walk, one of Olympia’s signature events.
“It would have been totally understandable for us not to do an event,” said Angel Nava of Olympia’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Department. “But we’re really sensitive to our community’s need for connection right now. Being so far apart has been hard for people, and Arts Walk is one of the spots where our community comes together.
“With Arts Month, there’s the hope that even in a small way it will connect us,” she told The Olympian. “Even virtually and even far apart, we can still be in community.”
Outdoor events include “Here We Are Magic,” an exhibit of sidewalk poetry written by Olympia poet laureate Sady Sparks and Seattle poet Zyna Bakari.
The poets, who met when they went to high school together in Yellow Springs, Ohio, used spray paint to share their work on the sidewalks along East Bay and West Bay drives and rain-activated paint — visible only when it’s wet — at Percival Landing, the Olympia Farmers’ Market and Priest Point Park.
“They are hard to find if it isn’t raining,” Sparks told The Olympian. “People can email me for clues.” (Contact Sparks at poetlaureate@ci.olympia.wa.us.)
The Olympia Timberland Library’s Story Trails, a collaboration with the parks department, combine art with the opportunity to explore the out-of-doors. The library is posting two deconstructed picture books at Olympia parks so families can read a book while taking a nature walk: “Tiny Perfect Thing,” by M. H. Clark and Madeline Kloepper, is at Decatur Woods Park, 1015 Decatur St. SW, Olympia, and “Just in Case You Want to Fly,” by Julie Fogliano and Christian Robinson, will be at Priest Point Park, 2600 East Bay Drive, Olympia.
“Tiny Perfect Thing” is already up in Decatur Woods Park, said Chris Sabatini of the library, and “Just in Case You Want to Fly” is expected to be in Priest Point Park on Oct. 8.
Among the live-streamed performances will be concerts by Lacey’s Winehouse (7 p.m. Oct. 18) and Olympia’s Denim Protégé (9 p.m. Oct. 24) and “Rising From the Ashes,” a show of songs and stories by Waking Bear (6 p.m. Oct. 30).
The city has even found a way to replace its popular children’s activity area: Families can pick up take-home art kits with paints, canvasses and brushes from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 10 at Lions Park, 800 Wilson St. SE, Olympia, and Yauger Park, 530 Alta St. SW, Olympia, and Oct. 24 at Priest Point Park Shelter 4. The city has enough supplies to give away 100 kits at each location.
Arts Month
- What: The City of Olympia’s fall Arts Walk is spreading out for safety, with a mix of in-person and online events.
- When: Through Oct. 31
- Where: In Olympia and online
- More information: http://olympiawa.gov/artswalk