Weekend events include Lacey Spring Fun Fair, Asian Pacific American Heritage celebration

Molly Gilmore
·3 min read

Spring into fair season

Though recent weather might suggest otherwise, it is still spring, and Lacey is celebrating the season with its 35th Spring Fun Fair. The circus is the theme for this year’s fair, happening Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and 21, at Saint Martin’s University, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey. There will be aerial shows both days along with bounce houses, a giant slide, swings and a circus train. There’s a new thrill ride this year, too: the wrecking ball pendulum. “There are rides for all ages,” said Jeannette Sieler of Lacey’s Parks, Culture & Recreation Department, “and I love that we have so many options that kids and parents can ride together.” Among other highlights are the S.T.E.A.M. Museum, filled with hands-on activities themed around science, technology, engineering, arts and math, and a lineup of food vendors serving fare ranging from Greek and Chinese food to cotton candy and cookie dough. Also new this year is a sensory recovery room, a quiet and relaxing space where people can take a break from the excitement and stimulation of a big festival. The fair is free, as is a shuttle that will take attendees from South Sound Center near Applebee’s, 521 Sleater Kinney Road SE, to the campus. The fair will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The giant slide is a perennial highlight of the Lacey Spring Fun Fair, happening May 21 and 22.
The giant slide is a perennial highlight of the Lacey Spring Fun Fair, happening May 21 and 22.

Olympia launches cultural celebration

Olympia will host its first Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 20. Performances, family fun and food from multiple cultures will be part of the event, which celebrates Asian-American, native Hawaiian and Pacific Island traditions and culture. The free event is at the Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW.

Gayla and ‘Greatest Show Tunes’

Among this weekend’s entertainment highlights is a pair of festive fundraisers:

• Pizza Klatch, which hosts lunchtime support groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth and allies, keeps the puns rolling with its ninth annual Gayla, happening Saturday, May 20. The theme is Mas-Queer-Ade, and among the featured entertainers is Seattle’s Lightning Bolton, which honors — you guessed it — Michael Bolton. Pizza Klatch fundraising and finance director El Sánchez plays sax for the group, which bills itself as the premiere and perhaps only drag-king Bolton tribute band. Costumes are encouraged for the event, which will also feature performances by PK participants, a silent auction and more. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia. Tickets are free for youths 18 and under and $25-$100 for adults.

Seattle’s Lightning Bolton, performing at the Pizza Klatch Gayla, just might be the world’s only drag-king Michael Bolton cover band.
Seattle’s Lightning Bolton, performing at the Pizza Klatch Gayla, just might be the world’s only drag-king Michael Bolton cover band.

• “The Greatest Show Tunes,” featuring Disney classics, songs from “The Greatest Showman” and more, brings together the 18-piece Olympia Jazz Senators with a variety of vocalists — including some talented dentists — to support the Olympia Union Gospel Mission’s no-fee dental clinic. The show, which also features performers from Debbi’s Dance, kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington Street SE, Olympia. Tickets are $16-$42.

The Olympia Jazz Senators, an 18-piece big band, will play “The Greatest Show Tunes” May 20 at a fundraiser for the Olympia Union Gospel Mission.
The Olympia Jazz Senators, an 18-piece big band, will play “The Greatest Show Tunes” May 20 at a fundraiser for the Olympia Union Gospel Mission.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore loves a good pun and doesn’t mind a bad one, either. 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.