Mother’s Day weekend you can admire fair boats, catch Curie’s story, or tilt at windmills

Molly Gilmore
·3 min read

On the waterfront

What’s the first thing that pops to mind when you think of Mother’s Day? You might correctly answer “brunch” or “flowers,” but as longtime South Sounders know, the local answer is “boats,” as in the Wooden Boat Fair. And that’s true even though the fair — happening from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 13, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 14 — was among the missing the past three years. Riptide, the elegantly outfitted yacht featured on the 1980s TV show of the same name, is in the spotlight at this year’s fair; owners Peter E. Riess and Dennis G. Ballard are sharing the Olympia Wooden Boat Association’s 2023 Maritime Person of the Year award. Besides the wooden boats, the event includes entertainment, a boat-building activity and other kids’ stuff, and a long lineup of vendor booths where you could find mom a last-minute gift. The fair happens at Percival Landing Park, 217 Thurston Ave. NW, Olympia. Admission is free.

Riptide, the yacht featured on the 1980s TV show of the same name, is in the spotlight at this year’s Wooden Boat Fair. Owners Peter E. Riess and Dennis G. Ballard are sharing the Olympia Wooden Boat Association’s 2023 Maritime Person of the Year award.
Riptide, the yacht featured on the 1980s TV show of the same name, is in the spotlight at this year’s Wooden Boat Fair. Owners Peter E. Riess and Dennis G. Ballard are sharing the Olympia Wooden Boat Association’s 2023 Maritime Person of the Year award.

You don’t know the ‘Half’ of it

Scientific pioneer Marie Curie is famous for being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, but in her lifetime, her achievement was all but eclipsed by the scandalous news that she’d had an affair with a married man. Find out more about Curie’s life — and her friendship with English electromechanical engineer Hertha Ayrton — in Theater Artists Olympia’s “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” opening Friday, May 12. Director Pug Bujeaud said she was drawn to the play by Lauren Gunderson because it is beautifully written and has a cast of two, with both roles for mature women. “There is not an abundance of theater that puts female characters over 40 center stage,” Bujeaud told The Olympian. “There are quite a few solid actresses in the Oly area who fit that bill. And I got really lucky with Heather R. Christopher and Paige Doyle; they are amazing actors.” Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, May 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27, and 2 p.m. Sundays May 14, 21 and 28 at OlyTheater in the Capital Mall, 625 Black Lake Blvd., Olympia. Tickets are $20.

Theater Artists Olympia’s “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” opening Friday, May 12, tells the story of the friendship between Curie (Paige Doyle, left) and fellow scientist Hertha Ayrton (Heather Christopher).
Theater Artists Olympia’s “The Half-Life of Marie Curie,” opening Friday, May 12, tells the story of the friendship between Curie (Paige Doyle, left) and fellow scientist Hertha Ayrton (Heather Christopher).

Knight at the ballet

The classical ballet “Don Quixote,” Ballet Northwest’s spring production, blends romance with humor then serves it up with Spanish flair. The story centers not on Quixote, the knight errant who inspired the word “quixotic,” but on a pair of young lovers, Basilio and Kitri. Dancing the lead roles are guest artist James Kirby Rogers, a principal dancer with Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Nina Ivanenko of Lacey, who portrayed the Sugar Plum Fairy in the company’s 2022 “Nutcracker.” Ivanenko is one of 75 Ballet Northwest company dancers in the ballet, which includes choreography by renowned Flamenco teacher Marisela Fleites-Lear. And no worries for fans of the Don: He does appear, in a character role played by Jim Eychaner. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 12; 5 p.m. Saturday, May 13; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 14, at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington Street SE, Olympia. Tickets are $15-$35.

Ballet Northwest’s “Don Quixote,” last performed in 2019, is a romantic comedy originally choreographed by Maurice Petipa, famous for “The Nutcracker.”
Ballet Northwest’s “Don Quixote,” last performed in 2019, is a romantic comedy originally choreographed by Maurice Petipa, famous for “The Nutcracker.”

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore talks about what’s happening in Olympia and beyond with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.