What’s Happening for Dec. 5 | The Olympian

Wednesday

Capital City Newcomers Club: The club’s general meeting and luncheon will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Pellegrinos Event Center, 5757 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater. Linda Terry will talk about improving focus and memory, and adapting to a healthful lifestyle. Cost of luncheon is $17. For information or reservations, call Anita Rose at 360-709-0707.

Women’s Services talk: Dr. Amy O’ Boyle will talk about urinary incontinence in women and its treatments from 6-8 p.m. at Saint Martin’s University Worthington Center in Lacey. Sign up for the free event at provregister.org. For more information, call 360-827-8656.

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Olympia Mountaineers host author Craig Romano: Romano will present his new book, “Urban Trails: Seattle,” at the free monthly gathering of the Mountaineers at the Friends Meeting House, 3201 Boston Harbor Road NE, Olympia. Door opens at 5:30 p.m.; potluck dinner starts at 6 p.m.; and the speaker takes the stage at 7 p.m. Bring a dish to share, plate and flatware, or come for just the presentation. Romano has written more than 20 books covering trails, hiking, and backpacking in the Northwest.

Thursday

Information session on Plum Street Village: In January, a new tiny house village for 40 homeless people will open in Olympia. The public is invited to learn more about the Plum Street Village project at an information meeting at 6 p.m. in Room A of The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW. After a presentation by the Low Income Housing Institute, the public will have the opportunity to ask questions. The city of Olympia is leasing property and providing money to LIHI for the operation of the village at 830 Union Ave. SE, behind the Yashiro Japanese Garden. The village’s houses will be insulated, have electricity and heat, windows and a lockable door. The facility will also include a security house, a communal kitchen, meeting space, bathrooms, showers, laundry, a case management office and 24-hour staffing.

Solutions Table meeting on the marbled murrelet: The Solutions Table, created by Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz earlier this year, is tasked with finding solutions to assist both the conservation of marbled murrelet habitat on state lands and the nearby rural communities that have been affected by the protection of threatened and endangered species. The group will meet from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Department of Enterprise Services Building, Training Facility Room #4, 1500 Jefferson St. SE, Olympia. Information: dnr.wa.gov/solutionstable.

Benefit concert for New Traditions Cafe: The Sassafras Sisters, a youthful oldtime stringband, and String and Shadow Puppet Theater will perform a benefit concert at 6 p.m. for New Traditions Cafe, 300 Fifth Ave. SW, Olympia. Proceeds from ticket sales will purchase a new soundboard for the cafe’s concert space. Tickets are on a sliding scale from $10-$50. Reserve tickets at 360-705-2819 or purchase at New Traditions. The puppet show is entertainment designed for adults and children older than 7.

30 Days & 30 Nights — Adventures along the Empire Builder: Faith Hagenhofer and Doug “Off” White have made the round trip by rail on Amtrak’s Empire Builder more than 20 times. Hagenhofer and White will present research gathered from 24-hour visits to all 30 of the towns along the route from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Lacey Timberland Library, 500 College St. SE. Free. Information: 360-491-3860 or trl.org.

Panorama Republicans: TVW Program Director Mike Bay will be guest speaker for the Panorama Republicans at 2 p.m. in the Quinault Auditorium on the Panorama Lacey Campus. TVW is Washington state’s own C-SPAN, producing gavel-to-gavel coverage of government functions plus Austin Jenkin’s Inside Olympia. Free.

Arborists talk on South Sound historical trees: Ray Gleason from Cascade Tree Experts in Thurston County will highlight the Bush butternut tree and other trees of historic note, and Michael Dolan of Burnt Ridge Nursery in Lewis County will focus on native oaks, historic walnut and chestnut trees, and monkey puzzle trees in a presentation starting at noon at the Schmidt House, 330 Schmidt Place SW, Tumwater. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and close at capacity. Admission is free, but donations to the Olympia Tumwater Foundation are welcome. Information: olytumfoundation.org

Quiet Wonders Holiday Concert with Women of Note and Olympia String Consort: The concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center, 3737 N. Shelton Springs Road, Shelton. Admission is by donation. The groups — Women of Note and Olympia String Consort — also will perform at 3 p.m. Dec. 16 at St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, 24 W. Cedar, Shelton.

Live at the Library with Langdon Cook: The author of “Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table” will be at Olympia Timberland Library, 313 Eighth Ave. SE, from 7:30-8:45 p.m. Cook illuminates the important role that salmon plays in society and offers an engrossing account of how salmon — one of the last wild foods on our table — nourished humanity through the ages. Free. This program will occur after regular library hours so no other services will be available. Information: trl.org.

Friday

South Puget Sound Jazz Band’s Tribute to the Savoy Ballroom: The Jazz Band, directed by James Schneider, will feature classic swing tunes from the 1930s and ’40s, featuring the Shimmy Shack Swingers, at the 8 p.m. concert at The Evergreen State College’s Purce Hall, in Lecture Hall 1. Admission is free and tickets are not required, but parking on campus is $3.

Saxophone Quartette concert: Olympia First Christian Church presents The Chuck Stentz Saxophone Quartette in concert at noon. The quartette was founded in 2014 and named for the local icon of swing. John Beach leads the group that includes jazz saxophonists Brad Schrandt, Rudy Draco and Jim Pribbenow. The church library opens at 11:30 a.m. for complimentary coffee and cookies. The concert begins at noon and lasts about an hour. Admission is free. (Contributions are accepted for the musicians.) First Christian Church is at 701 Franklin St. SE. Information: 360-943-8025.

State Capitol Tree Lighting Ceremony: The state holiday tree – this year a 25-foot Noble fir donated by Weyerhaeuser – arrives at the Legislative Building’s Rotunda this week, and it will make its formal public debut with the traditional lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday. The tree features "Military Bears" décor, including stuffed ornaments of bears in uniforms represent all branches of the U.S. military and 7,000 new LED lights, provided by the Association of Washington Business. The program is free and open to the public.

Saturday

Duck the Malls Holiday Craftmakers Event: The annual craft fair hosted by the Olympia Film Society runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia. Admission is free for shoppers. This event is a fundraiser created to support local and independent artisans and artists in the South Sound and visual art programming at the Olympia Film Society. Proceeds from the bake sale and vendor table fees benefit OFS.

Tumwater Christmas Tree Lighting Festival: Tumwater Parks & Recreation’s seasonal festival runs 2-5 p.m. at the Tumwater Fire Station and City Hall. Enjoy community and school choir performances, decorate cookies, meet Miss Thurston County 2019 Brielle Bryan, enter raffles to win prizes, and watch the ceremonial tree lighting. After the tree has been lit, don’t miss the visit from Santa Claus, who will arrive on an antique fire truck. Admission is free. Information: 360-754-4160 or ci.tumwater.wa.us/treelighting.

National NOW vice president speaks in Olympia: Thurston County National Organization for Women is hosting this event at 1 p.m. at Safeplace, 521 Legion Way, Olympia. The guest speaker will be Gilda Yazzie, national vice president of NOW and a member of the Navajo nation. She’ll talk about missing and murdered native women and the continuing fight for the Equal Rights Amendment. Information: https://bit.ly/2OXwsRh and now.org/issues or contact Linda Malanchuk-Finnan at lryh@hotmail.com, 360-357-7272, or facebook@NOWthurstoncounty.

Centralia Lighted Tractor Parade: The ninth annual parade begins at 6 p.m. and will feature antique trucks, military vehicles, construction equipment, and vintage and modern tractors, all decorated with at least 1,000 holiday lights each. The parade’s staging area is in front of Centralia College on Locust, and it travels down Tower and Main streets. Parade entries will be accepted through 6 p.m. on Friday before the parade Saturday.For entry information, go to downtowncentralia.org. More information: 360-827-1609 or centraliadowntownassociation@gmail.com

Sunday

Author talk by Jan Brett: Best-selling children’s book author Jan Brett will visit Barnes & Noble on Olympia’s west side as part of her “Rock and Roll” bus tour. At 5 p.m., she will introduce her new book, “The Snowy Nap.” Barnes & Noble is at 1530 Black Lake Blvd. SW.

Bringing in the Yule Log: This holiday celebration starts at 1 p.m. at Schafer State Park, 1365 West Schafer Park Road, Elma. A potluck lunch, campfire and Christmas music are on tap. Sponsored by the Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia state parks and parks staff. A Discovery Pass is required to park. Information: FOSLS.org or 360-789-9953.

Olympia Chamber Orchestra at the mall: The orchestra will perform at 2:30 p.m. at Capital Mall, playing Christmas favorites and “The Egmont Overture” by Beethoven. Free.

The Esoterics perform at St. John’s: Eric Banks and The Esoterics will perform as part of the St. John’s Concert Series at 3 p.m. Sunday at the church at 19th Avenue Southeast and Capitol Way. The Esoterics are a Seattle-based vocal ensemble dedicated to performing contemporary a cappella choral settings of poetry, philosophy, and spiritual writings. The program will feature new choral works that explore prayer in terms of the solace, focus, and strength inspired by the natural world. The centerpiece of the concert is the eleven-movement cycle “Prayers” by John Gould Fletcher, composed by Joseph Gregorio. A reception will follow the concert. A free-will offering will be taken, with suggested contributions of $20, or $10 for students and seniors.

Monday

Human Rights Day Celebration & Fundraiser: Join the Rachel Corrie Foundation for its annual event at 6:30 p.m. at Dillinger's Cocktails and Kitchen inside The Security Building in downtown Olympia. The guest speaker is Steffani Powell, an immigration lawyer. The menu will consist of Latin- and Middle Eastern-inspired dishes paired with complimentary cocktails/mocktails. Tickets are $40 at rachelcorriefoundation.org

Tuesday

Stonecroft's Christian Women's Connection: The monthly luncheon starts at noon in the Panorama Gallery at 1751 Circle Dr. SE, Lacey, next to the Seventeen 51 Restaurant. The program is “Celebrating the Holidays,” and it will feature the North Thurston High School Jazz Choir. The inspirational speaker is Judy Hoff from Marysville, who will speak on "Healing the Hole in Your Heart." The cost is $16, which includes lunch, dessert, coffee/tea, and music. For reservations, call Sylvia at 360-943-0627 by Dec. 7 if possible.

KNKX Holiday Jam: 88.5 KNKX continues its tradition of bringing yuletide cheer to the Northwest with a concert of seasonal music for the season that incorporates local jazz students and regional jazz musicians. The live broadcast will be presented for the first time in Olympia at the Capitol Theater from 7-8 p.m., hosted by Abe Beeson. The event is free and open to the public, and will be broadcast live on-air and streamed live at knkx.org. The concert features the Tumwater Jazz Band and the Jacqueline Tabor Jazz Band. Doors open at 6 p.m. The concert is festival seating and no reservations/tickets are required. Please bring non-perishable food donations for Northwest Harvest.

Friendly Water for the World Holiday Potluck: Joy Slicker rode her motorcycle across Kenya to ensure clean water for the Naning'oi School, a refuge for 300 Maasai girls escaping child marriage and female genital mutilation, and she will tell her story and show video at the gathering from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Olympia Friends Meetinghouse, 3201 Boston Harbor Road NE. To participate in the potluck, bring a favorite dish. Holiday gifts will be available for purchase, as well as holiday cards, all to benefit communities working to ensure their own safe drinking water. Information: 360-918-3642 or david@friendlywater.net

Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Town Hall: A town hall to educate the community about local youth substance abuse and prevention will be held at 4 p.m. in the Centralia Middle School Commons, 901 Johnson Road, Centralia. The Lewis County Public Health & Social Services prevention team will share information about the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative, which is designed to reduce underage use of alcohol and drugs, improve academic performance, and reduce juvenile crime. Information: contact Emily Killeen at 360-740-1424 or emily.killeen@lewiscountywa.gov.