Renaissance is well under way in Olympia

What’s wrong with downtown? Hmmm, let me “UNcount” the ways …

We are in the midst of an Olympia renaissance in 2016. The foundation was laid long ago. It began with Anne Buck’s spice store when she ventured into hosting classes, art exhibits, and gatherings way back when.

In 1995 the spirit bubbled up when the Procession of the Species danced across Earth Day celebrations.

Recently the local library staff expanded its reach by combining a book-club with a night club at a local entertainment venue at the Obsidian. The Rhythm and Rye entertainment venue has expanded its offering from beyond music to include Storytelling and other performance arts.

Tumwater’s Uncork and Unwind hosts a unique Unbook club where folks review good reads. Dillinger’s Prohibition-1920s styled venue is now paired with the mercantile-wine tasting Blackbird Trading Company. Over at the Olympia Senior Center Sara broke down the generational walls by recruiting a new kind of lifelong learning faculty spreading across incredibly divergent subjects.

Welcome to the Olympia renaissance. All the walls are coming down as we mingle, share, talk, imbibe, speculate.

Recently, on my birthday we visited the rebirth of a new independent Browsers Bookshop. Under commandeer Andrea Griffith this traditional book store breaks new ground as a community learning and sharing center. My wife Judy was enthused at re-finding a great new book source. She whipped out her visa card immediately.

As the Lorenzo de’ Medici might have said in Italian, Va Tutto Bene (It’s All Good).

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Renaissance is well under way in Olympia."