Online Interactive Guides
Click here to view our interactive 2018 Best of Olympia Guide.
Stage
However 2017 may have treated you, Sam Miller had a banner year. "I bought a house," he agreed. "I have a great job as a social worker, working in Tacoma. I got that job in 2017." Then there's his thriving side career as Olympia's pre-eminent standup comedian. "I'm really happy with where
Online Newspapers
One of my favorite things to do in Olympia is the Selfie Tour, and my favorite stop is the Kissing Statue in Percival Landing Park. This is such a great photo stop. You can take your photo with the statue, or stand to the side and take a photo with
Stage
Sure, it's called The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, but it's more accurate to say it's the center of Olympian culture. The Center occupies the former real estate of the vaudeville-age Liberty Theater, which opened in 1924 and was renovated two-dozen years later as the Olympic Theater cinema. Then, when
Online Newspapers
Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa was voted Best Spa in Olympia by readers of The Weekly Volcano. Located in Lacey, the spa offers facials, massages and hair removal services. "I think we stand out because we have an amazing team of very dedicated front desk associates, massage therapists and
Features
During the past two decades, microbreweries have become a ubiquitous feature of the South Sound scene. With more than 50 small-craft breweries in the region, it takes something special for a microbrewery to rise to the top of the heap and be crowned among the "Best of...." Fish Brewing Company has
Online Newspapers
How is it that the City of Lacey winds up in a story about the Best of Olympia? To answer this question requires some explanation. In a very unofficial poll covering various topics conducted by this weekly publication, Lacey was voted as the Best Military Supporter. Who would have thought this possible? Perhaps
News
The Tacoma Vet Center has served veterans and families in the region for more than 25 years, and it now has the ability to amplify that service. Known as a Mobile Vet Center (MVC), it is a 38-foot vehicle loaded with trained staff, technology and information that allows the center to
Music
Country music isn't what it used to be. The days of nothing but twanging guitars, cowboy hats and dusty boots are far behind us, and they've left plenty of room for genre-blurring, feel-good music. Local country music star Ethan Tucker is all about exploring those musical opportunities, and he's doing
Features
There’s no need to wait for spring or summer for farmer’s market supplies; a few local winter markets are open throughout the cooler months and offer a plethora of fresh produce and other market items. Local markets that offer outdoor winter fare include the Proctor Market in
Featured Events
While military members and their spouses choose a military life, their children do not. But, those same kids have to make sacrifices for their country just like mom and dad. They have to leave friends, change schools, go through life with a parent deployed ... sometimes to scary places. The
Archives
30 DAYS OF NIGHT: Barlow, Alaska, said to be the northernmost town in America, undergoes 30 days without sun every winter, which makes it an ideal holiday haven for vampires. The townsfolk, led by Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, do battle against ravenous vampire hordes led by Danny Huston, in
Music
The history of sample-driven music is an odd one, littered with plucky DJs and producers whose first and greatest strength was the ability to dig through crates of records in search of seconds-long snatches of fascination. Samples were the great equalizer, allowing amateur songsmiths the ability to create their own
Arts
CJ Swanson's paintings brighten the walls at Batdorf and Bronson Coffee Shop in Olympia. I've been keeping up with Swanson's art since she and her husband, the painter David Noah Giles, opened the now defunct Art on Center Gallery in Tacoma so many years ago. Back then, her paintings reminded me
Reviews
ANNOUNCER: Dutch and Jackie have been waiting for the hype to die down a bit before visiting new Vietnamese eatery, La Ca Bar. Now that it's been a few months, some of the hubbub has died down and it was time to visit this 6th Ave gem. JACKIE: It's in
Features
Listen, I like a good drinking holiday. When the boozes are flowing folks are, traditionally, jovial. There's nothing quite like a little social lubricant to see people connect. And while most any liquor will do, tequila wields a special kind of power of folks. Just when us Pacific Northwesterners begin
Stage
3 Impossible Questions at Olympia Family Theater is a world premiere locally written play based on beloved Islamic folk tales and stories that have been passed down generation to generation about the wise Mullah (teacher or master) Nasreddin. Olympia writer, actor and director Christian Carvajal says he was inspired to write
South Sound Cinema
As the 2018 Winter Olympics play out in Pyeongchang, expect NBC to introduce us to dozens of athletes via well-crafted background packages that often play like mini-movies. Of course, the most memorable stories will emerge organically from the games. And those are the stories that often inspire full-length movies. In order
South Sound Cinema
Beginning in fall, the quality of movies in theaters increases exponentially, and as pageants like the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards approach in the spring, ambitious and beautiful movies are suddenly on the tips of everyone's tongues. Here in Tacoma, the Destiny City Film Festival began its life as an
Travel
Crater Lake National Park has a haunting beauty in the winter months when storms from the Pacific Ocean dump an average of 43 feet of snow. Plan a full day from your lodgings in Medford to tour the park. It is about an hour-and-a-half drive on Route 62 to the