Attractions
Point Defiance Park is often said to be the Nation's second-largest urban park. While that's just a myth, it is - at about 760 acres - among the Nation's biggest. Those acres hold a lot of recreation options - enough to attract 3.1 million visitors each year. But even regular visitors
Attractions
You know those road movies where the characters stop to see some colorful attraction - something like the world's largest ball of string or maybe Graceland? While such scenes typically seem to be set in the South (Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, for instance) or perhaps
Music
Lacey Days, kicking off this weekend, isn't just one event, it's a new title for a whole buffet of fun that gets summer started in Lacey - and the Lacey South Sound Chamber and the city of Lacey are hoping you're ready to dig in to two weeks of events
Bars & Clubs
It can be fun, but drinking beer isn't usually considered a way to help others. It can be, though, if the brew you choose is Homefront IPA. All proceeds from the India pale ale, brewed by Fremont Brewing Co. and nine other breweries around the country, go to nonprofit organizations that
Arts
This weekend, Olympia gets artsy and wild at the 50th Arts Walk and 21st annual Procession of the Species. The streets of Olympia will be filled with music, street performers and people interested in seeing art and being seen - and, on Saturday afternoon, with a lion, a giraffe, polar bears
Features
Saturday's A Dinner at the Well offers dinner for two for $50. The twist: If you buy a ticket, you get one meal and the other will go to someone living on the streets in Olympia. And all of the diners in both groups, along with volunteers, will share the meal, eating
Guides
"I have a weird job," says Brian Wilson. His title is "code enforcement officer," but Wilson's job - and passion - is to support and nurture downtown Olympia. A better title, he says, is "downtown liaison." He's part project manager, part recruiter, part cheerleader and part salesman - and what he's selling
We Recommend
At this year's Elvis Birthday Bash in Olympia, the King will be sharing the spotlight with the Godfather of Soul. The reason for the pairing is Robert Washington, the first African American to win the world champion Elvis impersonator, long a part of the 15th annual bash, also does a
Music
At this year's Elvis Birthday Bash in Olympia, the King will be sharing the spotlight with the Godfather of Soul. The reason for the pairing is that Robert Washington, the first African American world champion Elvis impersonator, long a part of the 15th annual bash, also does a James Brown act. "I
Reviews
"If it tastes good, it must be bad for you." Although Americans are eating better than we once did, the old idea that healthfulness and taste are inversely proportional is still around. Maybe Tacoma's Happy Belly can help to finally put it to rest. On a couple of recent visits, the casual eatery
Viva South Sound
New Year's Eve in Olympia is typically spent at a bar or restaurant - if not at a party at someone's house. But this year, there's a new place to be for the big moment: onstage at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts. At the center's first New Year's Eve
We Recommend
For Andrew Rivers, poking fun at himself just comes naturally. "I have a lot of female friends," the Seattle comedian jokes in an appearance on Fox TV's Laughs. "Because they put me there." Rivers is headlining Stand Up For A Cure, a benefit for research into childhood cancer, at the Capitol
We Recommend
As the son of longtime Seattle DJ Bob Rivers, Andrew Rivers got accustomed early to the not-always-flattering spotlight. "I was the butt of so many jokes on the radio show," he says. Maybe that's why - despite his jokes about how he's not tough enough to walk those female friends to
Arts
For Andrew Rivers, poking fun at himself just comes naturally. "I have a lot of female friends," the Seattle comedian jokes in an appearance on Fox TV's Laughs. "Because they put me there." Rivers is headlining Stand Up for a Cure, a benefit for research into childhood cancer, at the Capitol Theater
Features
This isn't just a story about Olympia restaurants: It's also a self-guided walking tour of Capitol Way, Olympia's answer to Main Street. The stretch from where the road begins at the Olympia Farmers Market south to the State Capital Museum on 21st Avenue is a great walk to take to get
Arts
Olympia artist Pat Tassoni works on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. "My home office is a spaceship," says the artist, whose full-size command center - built completely from repurposed materials - will be on display Friday night at Matter Gallery's first Halloween celebration. And that's not even the strangest
Features
Olympia doesn't roll up the sidewalks at 9 o'clock, but it sometimes seems as though the city does turn off the oven and start stacking the chairs on top of the tables. Finding a good meal late at night in Thurston County can be challenging - especially on a weekday. It
Style
In 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average household spent 33 percent of its income or $16,887 per year on housing. Jenn Kliese of Olympia, who lives in a tiny house, spends less than one-quarter of that. But although greater financial freedom was her main motivation, Kliese is finding
We Recommend
Largely because of its abundance of offerings, the Olympia Arts Walk is a bit of a cross between a scavenger hunt and a grab bag. Local businesses - 93 of them this fall - become galleries for the weekend, week or month, showing paintings, sculptures, photographs and more. Some
Arts
Largely because of its abundance of offerings, the Olympia Arts Walk is a bit of a cross between a scavenger hunt and a grab bag. Local businesses - 96 of them this fall - become galleries for the weekend, week or month, showing paintings, sculptures, photographs and more. Some serve as
