Mark Your Calendar!
LoveOly WinterFest
is a Holiday Street Festival Downtown the
Sunday After Thanksgiving
LoveOly WinterFest is kicking off the Downtown for the Holidays festivities! Join us the Sunday after Thanksgiving, November 27, from noon to 6 pm, Downtown Olympia!
LoveOly WinterFest includes
  • Santa!
  • Entertainment at 5th & Washington, including
  • 12:00 pm—Black Hills High School Spirit Squad (Marching Band, Cheer Squad, Pom Pack Dance Team and Rufio, the school mascot!)
  • 12:35 pm—Apple Tree Productions
  • 1:05 pm—River Ridge High School Orchestra
  • 2:00 pm—Timberline High School Choir
  • 3:00 pm—Tumwater High School Choir
  • 5:00 pm - Programming & Tree Lighting!
  • 5:15 pm—Olympia Symphony Brass Quintet
There is no charge to attend thanks to our generous sponsors!
LoveOly Winterfest kicks-off a month of holiday fun—Downtown for the Holidays!
  • Back by popular demand: LoveOly Holiday Edition, Shop & Dine Promotion, November 25 - December 24! Download the passport here beginning on November 25 or get one at any participating shop or restaurant. Start shopping and dining! Every time you make a $10 or more purchase, you'll receive a sticker on your passport. Get five stickers and turn in your passport for a branded LoveOly gift. This season, gifts will include LoveOly socks, candles, and many other choices!
  • Enjoy holiday lighting and decorations throughout Downtown, including over a mile of garland decorating storefronts!
  • We're bringing back Dave Sederberg's Holiday Trees and the CoHoHo Salmon!
  • Enjoy snow falling outside The Washington Center for the Performing Arts
  • We’re setting out Nutcracker-Themed Selfie Scenes for Holiday Cards with your Family & Friends, including Land of Sweets, a Gingerbread House, and Winter Wonderland.
  • Enjoy 12 days of Complimentary Parking Downtown from December 14 – 26 courtesy of the City of Olympia.
Do you LOVE Downtown Olympia? Here are two opportunities to roll up your sleeves and spread some joy!
Volunteer for Downtown CleanUp on November 19
The Olympia Downtown Alliance is hosting a Downtown Cleanup on Saturday, November 19 from 9 am - 11 am. Each participating individual must complete and submit this form. REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16. Participants will receive an email with further instructions on Friday, November 18.
Volunteer for LoveOly WinterFest on November 27!
We're looking for volunteers to help make WinterFest an incredible experience!

Sunday, November 27th, 2022
12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Downtown Olympia, 5th Ave & Washington St.

Here's a few of the positions that need your help:
  • Support Hands on Children's Museum - Assist with creative kid activities, greeter
  • Hot Chocolate Station - Support (help refurbish supplies, manage line.)
  • Info Tent - Assist creating a smooth flow of traffic through the station, Greeter, First aid
  • Remote Location: LoveOly Photo Op [State Ave & Columbia St.] - Assist with photos, greeter
  • Remote Location: Horse Draw Carriage [State Ave & Columbia St.] - Manage lines, greeter
  • Remote Location: Santa [222 Market] - Manage lines, greeter
  • Remote Location: Storytelling [Olympia Ballroom] - Manage lines, participants, support orator.
Salmon Viewing at Bayshore Preserve
Capitol Land Trust and Puget Sound Estuarium are teaming up to support your salmon viewing journey! Fall chum return to Bayshore Preserve every year in an exciting display of resilience. Join us at Bayshore Preserve November 11, 12, and 13 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm to learn more about salmon and the restoration work at the preserve and view the salmon using underwater camera technology. These events are family friendly. Spanish interpretation will be provided Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6. Two tours of Bayshore Preserve will be hosted on Sunday, November 6 at 12:30 pm and Saturday, November 12 at 10:30 am.

Bayshore Preserve is open every day from dawn to dusk and located at 3800 WA-3 N, Shelton, WA 98584.
A Christmas Carol
Hailed as the greatest ghost story ever told, Harlequin Productions will restage Artistic Director Aaron Lamb’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s timeless story of transformation, absolution, and grace, updated with new chills and thrills for 2022. Join Harlequin for a Holiday classic that’s sure to please, with a healthy dose of cheer and the kind of ghostly special effects that only Harlequin can deliver. Grab the family and start your Holiday season with some theatre magic!
South Sound Music Summit
The community is invited to attend the South Sound Music Summit—an event for bands/performers and music industry professionals to exchange ideas, make new relationships, learn and hang out together.

Panels, break-out sessions and topics the Summit will cover include but are not limited to:

  • How to book the show - ways to approach talent buyers at all levels
  • Marketing, fan and community building 101
  • What are music festivals looking for in bands?
  • The Team: de-mystifying the processes and metrics used by talent buyers, managers and agents when signing and booking bands.
  • Types of shows and performances - DIY to mainstages and everything in between.
  • Band resources for all levels - the products, apps, groups and affiliations you should know about and implement as you move through the industry
  • The PNW’s biggest musical challenge - over saturation. The power of “no, thank you.”
Who: South Sound Block Party
What: South Sound Music Summit
When: November 19, 2022, 10 am—3 pm
Where: Olympia Lamplighters, 211 4th Ave E, Olympia, WA 98501
Cost: There is no charge to attend, but event organizers ask for advance registration by clicking on the button below.
The Orca Odyssey Exhibit!
Explore the Puget Sound through the lens of an Orca during our rotating exhibit, The Orca Odyssey, on display October through January. Visit the Estuarium on the weekends to learn about the life and history of orcas in the Puget Sound. Admission to the Estuarium will be free on one day each month to celebrate the exhibit and make sure everyone has a chance to see it!

The exhibit consists of beautiful photos of orcas, information about their history in this area, and the survival challenges they continue to face. You will learn about what they eat, how they live, and get to understand the relationship the Southern Resident Orcas have with the greater Puget Sound. We will have samples of real marine mammal pelts, teeth, and Harbor Porpoise Skeleton on display as you explore the exhibit to further contextualize the life of an orca in these waters. We will have some fish prints day where you can make salmon art and learn about salmon, a significant food source for orcas in the area. There will even be themed games and prizes!

Event Dates
● November 20th: Free Admission Day at the Estuarium
● December 4th: Fish Printing Day. Come make salmon-themed art with us
● December 17th: Free Admission Day at the Estuarium
● January TBA: Speaker presentation
● January TBA: Free Admission Day
Shop & Dine Guide
Try a new takeout spot or purchase a perfect gift for someone or yourself from one of our many downtown retailers. We appreciate your ongoing support for our downtown Olympia business community.
BECOME A MEMBER OF THE OLYMPIA DOWNTOWN ALLIANCE
Join us and enjoy the following:
 
  • Your membership supports the implementation of the Downtown Alliance's strategic plan, which aims to create a platform for downtown revitalization and small business prosperity.
  • It directly supports programs and projects aimed at achieving the strategic plan.
  • Your memberships allow for access to staff resources and information.
  • Members receive email alerts regarding issues impacting Downtown and calls to action.
  • Discounts to entry fees for Downtown Alliance meetings (where applicable).
  • Discounts to participant fees for Downtown Alliance special events (where applicable).
  • Representation before the City Council and city staff on issues about the well-being of Downtown Olympia, such as parking, zoning, land use and building codes.
THANK YOU TO OUR MAIN STREET SUPPORTERS!
THANK YOU TO OUR CORNERSTONE PARTNERS!
THANK YOU TO OUR DOWNTOWN CHAMPIONS!
THANK YOU TO OUR DOWNTOWN PARTNERS!
  • Church Rietzke
  • Sound Credit Union
  • Stewart Place
  • Amy Evans
  • Bobbi Kerr
  • Cutts Family
  • Daylight Properties
  • Encore Chocolates & Teas
  • First+Main Films
  • Forma Construction
  • Freeland Family
  • Leslie Panowicz
  • Margaret Hellberg
  • Olympia Computer
  • Union Gospel Mission
About this Newsletter
The News of the Week in Downtown Olympia is a newsletter created by the Olympia Downtown Alliance and is a summary of happenings Downtown.

If you have news related to downtown you'd like included, please email [email protected]. Preference is given to Olympia Downtown Alliance members. If we do not share it here, chances are we'll share it on our Facebook or Instagram pages. We do reserve the right to use our discretion on what we share.

The deadline is Friday at 5 pm for inclusion in the next week's newsletter.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive the News of the Week in Downtown Olympia, please have them sign-up at the bottom of our home page here: https://downtownolympia.org/.