What’s happening this week around Thurston County
Sunday, July 9
Music in the Park at Sylvester Park: Music in the Park is a free outdoor concert series in Olympia that showcases local and regional musicians. Groove Lab will perform this week’s hourlong concert at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 9, at Sylvester Park at Legion and Capitol in downtown Olympia. Bring a blanket or chair to the park; consider bringing a picnic or picking up food downtown.
Sea Stroll Historic Shoreline Tours: Learn how the cultural and ecological history of Olympia’s historic shoreline intertwine during the Puget Sound Estuarium’s Sea Stroll walking tour starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 9. Participants will walk the path the estuarium’s Education Team uses during its Estuary Life & Landforms field trips. Starting from the Estuarium, the tour will loop around the downtown core to track the historic changes to Olympia’s shoreline. Sea Stroll is approximately 2 hours and 1.5 miles long so wear comfy walking shoes. The Sea Stroll tour also includes a tour of the Estuarium facility. Register in advance on Eventbrite; cost is $15 for adults, but kids 12 and younger participate for free.
Monday, July 10
Public comment on Woodard Bay Conservation Area expansion: The Washington state Department of Natural Resources will host a community meeting about a proposal to expand the Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area boundary. The purpose of the meeting is to share information about the proposal and gather input from the community. The meeting will take place from 6-8 p.m. Monday, July 10, at the South Bay Fire District Station #83, 5046 Boston Harbor Road NE, or join the call online by registering in advance. Expanding the boundary will allow DNR to seek funding to purchase private lands, from willing sellers only, at market value. Landowners will be under no obligation to sell their lands to DNR. The boundary is a designated area within which DNR staff can discuss with landowners a potential future sale of property to the state for conservation, the same way the current Woodard Bay NRCA has been assembled over the past 30 years. The proposed boundary expansion would extend protection to include important wetlands, mature conifer forests, grasslands with native prairie species, and intact shoreline and salt marsh ecosystems that lie outside of the current NRCA boundary. Later this year, DNR will host a public hearing to receive formal comments on the proposal. Comments from both the community meeting and hearing will be incorporated into a recommendation to the Commissioner of Public Lands.
2023 Southwest Washington Juried Exhibition: The juried art exhibition returns to the Leonor R. Fuller Gallery at the South Puget Sound Community College Minnaert Center for the Arts from July 10 to Aug. 17, and will be juried by Nathan Barnes. The opening reception will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 13. Artists working in all media and residing in Thurston, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania or Wahkiakum counties are invited to submit an entry for consideration. The gallery on SPSCC’s Olympia campus, 2011 Mottman Road SW, is open noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday in the summer.
Public hearing on City of Yelm and Thurston County Joint Plan: The Thurston County and City of Yelm planning commissions will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, July 10, to receive public testimony on the City of Yelm and Thurston County Joint Plan. The proposed joint plan is based off the most recent Yelm Comprehensive Plan and revises the plan to read as a document serving the Urban Growth Area only and updates maps, data, and policies to match current conditions. The hearing will be in Suite 110 at the Atrium Building, 3000 Pacific Ave. SE, Olympia. Those wishing to testify should appear in person or virtually, or submit emailed comments to Amelia Schwartz, Associate Planner, at Amelia.Schwartz@co.thurston.wa.us. Comments also can be mailed to Thurston County Community Planning & Economic Development, Attention: Amelia Schwartz, Associate Planner, 3000 Pacific Ave SE, Olympia, WA 98501. Comments must be submitted no later than noon Monday, July 10.
Wednesday, July 12
Capital Lakefair kicks off: Capital Lakefair is Thurston County’s annual five-day summer festival, providing family-friendly activities and events, opportunities for many non-profit community organizations to raise funds, and scholarship opportunities to area students. The fair, centered at Heritage Park on Capitol Lake, runs from Wednesday, July 12, to Sunday, July 16, and includes a carnival, non-profit food vendors, arts and crafts, a car show, a Saturday evening parade and Sunday fireworks display. Admission is free.
Welcome to Medicare in-person presentation: This presentation at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 12, at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NE, offers an introduction to options for new Medicare beneficiaries. It covers Parts A and B, Medicare Advantage Plans, Part D Prescription Plans, Medicare Supplements and Programs available to limited income beneficiaries. Email questions to Jrich@southsoundseniors.org or call and leave a message at Senior Services SHIBA program, 360-586-6181 ext. 134.
Thursday, July 13
Presentation on Medicare-Related Cost Savings Programs: This Zoom presentation will take place 11 a.m. and will cover Medicare Basics, the Medicare Savings Program, the Extra Help Program and wellness and preventative benefits available through Medicare coverage. To get a Zoom link, email jrich@southsoundseniors.org or call and leave a message at Senior Services SHIBA program, 360-586-6181 ext. 134. A registration link will be sent to you.
Friday, July 14
Oly Town USL Men’s Soccer Match: The men’s team will take on Portland at 7 p.m. at South Sound Stadium, 4201 Sixth Ave. NE, Lacey, adjacent to North Thurston High School. Tickets are $12 and are available at www.olytownfc.com. Kids 12 and younger get in free.
Lacey in Tune Summer Concert Series features Heart by Heart: Lacey will kick off its free summer Friday night series that combines live music followed by a movie screening at Huntamer Park, 618 Woodland Square Loop SE, Lacey. This week’s concert, starting at 7 p.m., is provided by Heart by Heart, led by founding Heart bassist Steve Fossen and original Heart drummer Michael DeRosier, both of whom have been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Their performance will be followed by a screening of “The Princess Bride” at dusk. You can grab dinner or a treat from food vendors who are on site beginning at 6 p.m. But bring your own seating.
44th annual Kick in the Grass: Washington’s longest-running youth soccer tournament, hosted by the Tumwater Soccer Club, will run Friday through Sunday, and include teams from all over southwest Washington and northern Oregon. Games will take place at Tumwater schools as well as Pioneer Park and Capital Soccer Fields.
Saturday, July 15
Lakefair Grand Parade: The Lakefair Grand Parade is one of the largest in the region, and features entries of all kinds. The event kicks off with pre-parade festivities at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, July 15, to get the crowd warmed up, and leads into the main event at 5 p.m. The parade route begins along Capitol Way at 20th Avenue and continues down to Fifth Avenue, ending near the bridge.
JBLM 2023 Airshow & Warrior Expo: This year’s air show at Joint Base Lewis McChord, running Saturday and Sunday, July 15-16, will feature the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. It is the first air show at the base in seven year.s It is free and open to the public; gates open at 9 a.m. and flying begins at 11:30 a.m. The general public is encouraged to use the off-base shuttle buses to get to the airshow. Buses are free and start running at 9 a.m. from the old State Farm building, 1000 Wilmington Drive, DuPont; Sound Transit Lakewood Station, 11424 Pacific Highway SW, Lakewood; and the State Route 512 Park-and-Ride, 10617 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood. If you drive to the base, please carpool and take I-5 exit 125 and enter JBLM at the McChord Field gate. From there you will be directed where to park.
Sunday, July 16
Capital Lakefair fireworks: Enjoy this community favorite on the last day of Lakefair. The Grand Finale Fireworks display takes place over Capitol Lake in Olympia, and can be viewed from Heritage Park, Deschutes Parkway, the Capitol Campus or anywhere with a view of the lake. Fireworks begin at 10 p.m. Sunday, July 16.
Will the 2020s Roar like the 1920s? William Woodward, an award-winning professor of American and Pacific Northwest history at Seattle Pacific University, will address this topic during a Humanities Washington program at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 16, at Harstine Island Community Club Hall, 3371 E. Harstine Island Road N., Harstine Island. A pandemic, protests, and economic jolts ushered in the so-called “Roaring Twenties.” Americans adjusted in ways both innovative and counterproductive. What lessons from the 1920s can we apply to our own looming 20s? Historian William Woodward charts the eerily familiar developments of a century ago: shattered idealism, social clashes, domestic terrorism, culture wars, disorienting technologies, and fearsome disease.
Music in the Park concert series continues: This week’s free, hourlong concert at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 16, at Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia will be by Show Brazil Bring a blanket or chair and your own refreshments. The park is at Legion and Capitol ways.
Would you like to have your event included in our weekly What’s Happening listing? Email the details to news@theolympian.com at least 10 days before the event.
