Check out a Lacey fair, listen to music and read zines at the downtown library

Molly Gilmore
·2 min read

Spring into fair season

The Lacey Spring Fun Fair, happening Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, is a free annual fair held at Saint Martin’s University. It offers music and dance performances, crafts and activities for kids, bounce houses galore, a challenge course and beloved rides such as the giant slide and the ballistic swings. On Saturday, there’ll be a STEM Fair with activities and demonstrations, and on Sunday, there’s a car show. It’s all happening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the university, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE, Lacey.

Celebrate ‘Mother’

Emerald City Music is closing out its 2023-24 season with a tribute to “Mother.” The Saturday, May 18, concert will include not only classical and contemporary music but also a world-premiere documentary film by Carlin Ma. The film explores what motherhood means to people in the Pacific Northwest. Also on the program are “Songs My Mother Taught Me,” by Antonin Dvorak; Amy Beach’s Three Songs, Op. 2: “Twilight,” “When Far From Her” and “Empress of the Night;” Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22, by Clara Schumann; “Within Her Arms” for string orchestra, by Anna Clyne; and “Wiegenlied (Lullaby),” Op. 49, No. 4, by Johannes Brahms. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, with doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $10-$40.

A world-premiere documentary about the meaning of motherhood, made by Carlin Ma, is part of Emerald City Music’s “Mother,” happening May 18 at the Capitol Theater.
A world-premiere documentary about the meaning of motherhood, made by Carlin Ma, is part of Emerald City Music’s “Mother,” happening May 18 at the Capitol Theater.

Get literary

It’s a big week for those who love words. On Saturday, May 18, the people behind the Olympia Zine Fest are hosting a Teeny-Tiny Zine Fair. The full annual festival will return next year, but meanwhile, fans of zines can check out zines, make buttons, listen to a DJ spin tunes and more from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Olympia Timberland Library, 313 Eighth Ave. SE, Olympia. The scaled-down fest is free. Then on Tuesday, May 21, StoryOly — Olympia’s story slam — explores the provocative theme “Forced.” Storytellers will sign up to tell true tales (no more than eight minutes long), and volunteer judges will choose a winner, who’ll be invited to participate in September’s Grand Slam. The event begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Brotherhood Lounge. 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia, and it’s popular, so organizers suggest coming early to get a good seat. Admission is by donation, with $5-$15 suggested and no one turned away for lack of funds.

Freelance writer Molly Gilmore talks with DJ Kevin the Brit about what’s happening around town on KGY-FM’s “Oly in a Can,” airing at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Fridays.