What’s happening this week around Thurston County
Wednesday, April 10
Two featured storytellers and Story Swap: The South Sound Story Guild will host this event from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Harbor House, 217 Thurston Ave. NW, Olympia. The story guild gathers each month to share, tell, and listen to stories, both folk tales and personal stories. Its goal is to promote the oral art of storytelling. Find more information at southsoundstory.org.
Thurston Green Business Awards with keynote by Chicory restaurant owner: More than 100 businesses went above and beyond this year to earn the designation, and the Thurston County Chamber will honor them at its April Forum on Wednesday, April 10, at Saint Martin’s University Norman Worthington Center in Lacey. Attendees are encouraged to arrive at 11 a.m. for a Green Business EXPO, open to all businesses that received a Thurston Green Business Designation this year. The event also will feature an electric car show outside, courtesy of the Thurston Climate Action Team. Elise Landry, chef and co-owner of Chicory restaurant in Olympia, will deliver the keynote address. In addition to honoring all of the businesses receiving the Thurston Green Designation, the committee will also honor the following organizations for outstanding sustainability efforts: The Flower & Vine, Finnriver Farm & Cidery, Puget Sound Energy and the City of Tumwater. The cost of the lunch and awards ceremony is $35 for members at the door and $40 for non-members at the door.
Welcome to Medicare in person presentation at The Olympia Center: This event at 11 a.m. Wednesday at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW, is 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. For more information, email thurstonmasonshiba.volunteers@southsoundseniors.org or call and leave a message at Senior Services SHIBA program at 360-586-6181 est. 134.
Thurston Public Health and Social Services closed: The Thurston County Public Health and Social Services main office, located at 412 Lilly Road NE, Olympia, and its Environmental Health office at 3000 Pacific Ave. SE Olympia, will be closed to the public on Wednesday, April 10, for an all-staff meeting. Regularly scheduled operations will resume as usual the following day, Thursday, April 11.
Thursday, April 11
Online public hearing on Grass Lake Nature Park Public Art Project: The community is invited to project artist Abe Singer’s concept design presentation for the Grass Lake Nature Park Public Art Project at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11. This public hearing on Zoom, part of a regularly scheduled remote Arts Commission meeting, is the opportunity to provide comment to the Arts Commission on the public art design. The art project centers on a large (10-foot diameter by 23-foot long) mild steel water tank on the park property to be repurposed for three sculptural elements in the park: one bird blind along the boardwalk for viewing birds without being seen by them, and two entry elements at the entrances to the park along Harrison Avenue and Kaiser Road. The 196-acre park contains the headwaters of Green Cove Creek and one of the most environmentally intact wetland systems in northern Thurston County. Over 100 bird species and 200 plant species have been recorded in the park.
Information session on Medicare-related cost savings programs: This Zoom presentation at 1 p.m. Thursday will cover Medicare basics, the Medicare Savings Program, the Extra Help Program, and wellness and preventative benefits available through Medicare coverage. To get a link, email thurstonmasonshiba.volunteers@southsoundseniors.org or call and leave a message at Senior Services SHIBA program at 360-586-6181 ext. 134. A registration link will be sent to you.
Film screening to mark Rachel Corrie’s birthday: Olympia Film Society and the Rachel Corrie Foundation will present the film “Foragers” as a birthday celebration for Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip in 2003. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the screening will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $13 general admission and $10 for OFS members. All proceeds benefit Palestinian children in Gaza. There will be an introduction by Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother, and a post-film presentation and Q&A by Savinna Chowdhury, a professor at The Evergreen State College and Peter Bohmer of the Palestine Action of the South Sound. Olympita, the Palestinian owned food truck, will have a pop up serving Za’atar pie and other food. “Foragers” depicts the dramas around the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine/Israel with wry humor and a meditative pace. It was shot in the Golan Heights, Galilee and Jerusalem, it employs fiction, documentary and archival footage to portray the impact of Israeli nature protection laws on these customs. Tickets are available online now and at the box office 60 minutes before showtime.
Friday, April 12
The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Home & Garden Show: The 58th annual show will run from noon to 6:30 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Blue Pavilion at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, 1909 S. Gold St., Centralia. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and kids under 12. There will be a Kids’ Lego Brick Building Contest. For more information, go to the Chamber website.
Saturday, April 13
Radio Station 95.3 FM KGY offers tours of historic building: KGY Media Group is hosting multiple station studio tours and history talks on select Saturdays this spring. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes at a local radio station or want to look around KGY’s unique waterfront studio building, here’s an opportunity. The first of the three tours is scheduled for Saturday, April 13. Doors will open at 11 a.m. and the free History Talk program and tour will begin at 11:30 am. Light refreshments will be provided. KGY’s Morning DJ, Kevin Huffer, and General Manager Nick Kerry will host each event. Guests may continue to explore KGY’s building at their leisure until 1 p.m. The tour includes areas accessible by stairs only, please contact Nick Kerry to inquire about accessibility. For more information, go to www.KGYfm.com. Additional tour dates are May 11 and June 8. The station is at 1700 Marine Drive NE, Olympia.
Countdown to Kindergarten information session: This annual Olympia School District event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 13, at Capital High School, 2707 Conger Ave. NW, Olympia. It is designed for the students, families, parents and guardians from the Class of 2037, which are children entering kindergarten this fall. (Students must be 5 years old by Aug. 31, 2024, to enter kindergarten in the 2024-25 school year.) The event is open to in-district and out-of-district families. Doors open at 9:40 a.m. Saturday.
Fun with fractals: A fractal is a never-ending pattern that repeats itself at different scales. In nature, we see them in the branching patterns of trees and the spiral patterns in galaxies. Studying fractals helps us learn more about chaotic forces like weather, turbulence, and our brains. Games, crafts, and a computer simulation will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the WET Science Center, 500 Adams St. NE, Olympia. Admission is free and all ages are welcome.
Studio West Dance Theatre’s Peter Pan: Studio West Dance Theatre presents Peter Pan on Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14. This classic tale comes to life with original choreography and flying effects from world-renowned professional flying company ZFX. Performances will be at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and at 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $20 to $35.
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. Please put What’s Happening in the subject line.
