Things you don’t want to miss at this weekend’s Arts Walk in downtown Olympia

Molly Gilmore
·4 min read

There’s so much going on at Arts Walk, happening this weekend, Oct. 6 and 7, throughout downtown Olympia, it’s impossible to highlight everything visitors should check out. But this week’s entertainment highlights column is devoted to a selection of sights, sounds and experiences at the twice-yearly event.

Heavy metal knitting

This seemingly unlikely and very loud mashup, hosted by Our Local Yarn Shop, has become an Arts Walk staple. Knitters (and crocheters) will practice their craft outside the shop at 1912 State Ave. NE, while rocking out to tunes by Primordial Atrocity and Hangmans Park. The perplexing pastime — which won the shop one of the city’s Arts Walk Innovation Awards — will happen from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. There’ll be a taco truck on hand, so bring your appetite — and your earplugs. Inside the shop, fantastical yarn bowls will be on view.

Acclaimed illustrator

Art by children’s book author and illustrator Corinna Luyken will be hanging at Browsers Bookshop. Luyken, well known for the New York Times best seller “My Heart” and the IndieBound Bestseller “The Tree in Me” — a pick for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — will be showing illustrations from her 2023 books “ABC and You and Me” and “In the Dark,” a collaboration with author Kate Hoefler. Luyken will have sketches and outtakes for sale, too. The art will be up all month long on the staircase of the shop at 107 Capitol Way N., and Luyken will be on the second floor from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday for a reception and signing.

Children’s book illustrator Corinna Luyken is showing sketches and outtakes from her recent work at Browsers Bookshop.
Children’s book illustrator Corinna Luyken is showing sketches and outtakes from her recent work at Browsers Bookshop.

Moving artists

Photographer Duncan Green, the first photographer featured on the Arts Walk map (in spring 2015), and ceramicist Trudes Tango will show their work at Fusion, 302 Columbia St. NW. The pair both teach Open Floor, a conscious dance practice, at Fusion, and their work reflects their joint passion for movement and giving physical form to the invisible. (The artists also happen to be a couple.) The studio will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday for Arts Walk. The photos in Green’s “Embodied Energies” series will be up through October in the dance space, and Tango’s layered and texture porcelain wall hangings, exploring the human hunger for connection through language and stories, will be displayed in the lobby through November.

Birds of a feather

The black birds associated with Halloween and darkening skies are at the center of the Arts Walk exhibition at Childhood’s End. The show, “Autumn’s Chorus: Crows, Ravens and the Spirit of Autumn,” is on view for Arts Walk from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the gallery, 222 Fourth Ave. W, Olympia. Among the featured artists are sculptor Loralin Toney, whose work was on the cover of the Arts Walk map in spring 2017; wire sculptor Elizabeth Berrien; printmakers Kathy Anderson and Mimi Williams; painter Liza Brenner; mixed-media artist Judith Smith; and raku potters Boni and Dave Deal of Camas. The show will be on view through Nov. 12.

“Raven, Vine Maple, Moon” is among the crow and raven themed images on view for Arts Walk at Childhood’s End Gallery.
“Raven, Vine Maple, Moon” is among the crow and raven themed images on view for Arts Walk at Childhood’s End Gallery.

Jazzy jams

Some of Olympia’s favorite jazz artists will be playing for Arts Walk. The Steven Bentley Jazz Quartet, which mixes fresh funk-fusion vibes with classical inspiration, will perform at 5 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday at Art House Designs, at 420 Franklin St. SE. For an old-timey vibe, singer Jessica Blinn and guitarist Vince Brown will team up from 6 to 8 pm. Friday at Swing Wine Bar & Café at 825 Columbia St. SW.

‘Our Fragile Planet’

Join the Olympia Artspace Alliance for the Opening Event of “Our Fragile Planet,” which won an Arts Walk Innovation Award, at noon Saturday at Capitol Way and Fourth Avenue. The exhibition, subtitled “Climate Change Through the Artist’s Lens,” showcases the collective talent and vision of local artists as they respond to the climate crisis. Featured artists include Cecily Schmidt, Carrie Ziegler, Quasar and Avanti High School students; Jericho Moss; Juniper Jack; and Rick Perry, who most know as P. Calavara. The art is displayed in the windows of the Goldberg Building through November 2023.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore likes Arts Walk so much that she could almost use an exclamation point here. (Almost, but not quite.) 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.