Motorcycles, music and madcap comedy top entertainment options this weekend in Olympia

Molly Gilmore
·2 min read

Motorcycles live and on film

The Armory Invitational — a show of choppers (custom motorbikes), art and more — is happening Saturday, Nov. 4. And even if you’re not that into motorcycles, read on, because the after-party offers a couple of intriguing films. The invitational will not only feature lots of cool choppers but also vendors, raffles, prizes and food and drink. It’s from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Olympia Armory, 515 Eastside St. SE. Tickets are $10. The after-party features a screening of “I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle,” a 1990 British flick about a possessed bike hell-bent on killing. Also on the big screen: the 2023 short “The Passenger,” about a haunted man on a surreal motorcycle journey. (For a good giggle, check out the trailer on YouTube, complete with a deep-voiced horror-cliché narrator.) The screenings begin at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5-$12. Also at the Capitol Theater: “Labyrinth,” the Olympia Film Society’s latest Kids Club film, opens Sunday, Nov. 5. The 1986 fantasy — starring David Bowie and lots of Muppets — screens at 1 p.m. every Sunday in November. Tickets are free for kids 12 and younger and $9 and $12 for teens and adults.

“Labyrinth,” starring the late David Bowie as a goblin king, is November’s Kids Club film at the Capitol Theater.
“Labyrinth,” starring the late David Bowie as a goblin king, is November’s Kids Club film at the Capitol Theater.

SOGO on stage

Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia is kicking off its 24th season Sunday, Nov. 5, with a concert featuring an updated version of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” and a spooky piece by Olympia composer Austin Schlichting. The Conservatory Orchestra will perform “Joyride,” Michael Markowski’s 2005 reworking of the Beethoven classic with a movie-music vibe. Fittingly enough for a student orchestra piece, Markowski wrote the first version of “Joyride” while he was still in high school. The senior orchestra will also perform Schlichting’s “Music for a Midnight Carriage Ride,” a piece that calls to mind Halloween and horror films, and Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The SOGO Brass Choir and the Academy and Debut orchestras also will perform. The concert begins at 4 p.m. at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $8-$23, with children 6 and younger admitted free.

Olympia Little Theatre’s farcical “Who’s in Bed with the Butler?” runs through Sunday, Nov. 5.
Olympia Little Theatre’s farcical “Who’s in Bed with the Butler?” runs through Sunday, Nov. 5.

What’s up with the ‘Butler’?

Olympia Little Theatre’s “Who’s in Bed With the Butler?” is in its closing weekend. Michael Parker’s farce involves a recently deceased billionaire whose will raises questions, a classic English butler who is apparently up to something, a deaf housekeeper with a clever pet rat, and, of course, a bumbling detective. The madcap comedy’s remaining performances are at 7:25 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3 and 4, and 1:55 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, at the theater, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia. Tickets are $10-$16.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore doesn’t go for scary stuff, but she enjoys horror if it’s really campy. She talks about what’s happening in Olympia and beyond with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.