Oshogatsu in Olympia

I popped in on the second annual Oshogatsu --  Japanese New Year's festival at the downtown Olympia Center on Saturday January 26. Display tables, including one from the the Japanese consulate, and another from the the Olympia Bonsai Club lined the entrance. Michael from the Japanese consulate updated me on some of Tokyo's newest neighborhoods allowing me to revisited some memories of living in Japan over thirty-five many years ago.

A bright red arched bridge marked the entrance into the main hall where Japanese dancers, musicians and martial arts masters performed. Food vendors sold snacks. A stocky man  used a machete to hack coconuts shaping them into self-contained natural juice containers.

A mini-museum exhibited a variety of artifacts including geta - wooden platform shoes and childrens' zori. A gallery room displayed artwork and Japanese-style crafts by local artisans.

A highlight of this year's event was the planting of seven sakura, cherry blossom,  trees that were sent to Olympia from Washington D.C. One hundred years ago Japan gave  thousands of sakura to the U.S as a sign of friendship.

Waiting their turn

2013 Polar Bear Plunge

The sign said forty-two degrees at the 2013 Polar Bear Plunge at Long Lake in Lacey. Over 600 swimmers wearing anything from bikinis, to tutus leapt into the icy lake to welcome the new year.   

I got there early and watched as the park steadily filled with swimmers and fans wearing flip flops, Hawaiian shorts, towels, parkas, wigs, jackets, and fur-lined boots. Fires on the beaches warmed the hands of anyone who wanted. The sun was bright and the PA system announced the water was warmer than the air. 

A young guy in skivvies and a diving mask slathered his friend with red body paint complimenting the golden superman “S” on his friend’s chest. 

The swimmers lined the dock standing five deep in places, bracing themselves against the cool air. The first rule to polar bear jumping is “Don’t shiver”. 

The last jumpers gathering courage.

Towel drying on shore

After watching the excitement and thrill of the polar bears I could completely understand the idea and with a little, ok, a LOT of arm twisting and hand holding I might just consider it for 2014. My only requirement would be a hot tub next to the dock. I think I'm safe.

Hands On Museum

Hands On Children’s Museum in downtown Olympia held their grand opening this weekend this weekend. The 28,000 square foot building will be the largest children’s museum in the country when the outdoor space opens early next summer. For now, visitors will be greeted by galleries, an art studio, over 150 exhibits including the centerpiece and indoor climbing apparatus, Tides to Trees which allows children to climb an interpretive eagle’s nest and then slide down to an interpretive Puget Sound.

Hands On is the brainchild of a group of south sound parents who organized a roving museum without walls back in 1987. The group would develop theme based exhibitions and set them up wherever they could get space. The group acquired a brick and mortar space on Franklin street in 1994 but with 15,000 visitors /year the museum outgrew that site. In 1998 they landed a former restaurant space located kiddy-corner from Captial Campus  on the corner of 11^th and Capital. With a growing audience, they knocked down walls and enlarged allowing them to host an average of 100,000 visitors /year.

Public Facilities District, PFD, funds allowed the city of Olympia to allocate $7 million in seed money to the museum. Olympia leaders contributed $1million more and then purchased some land  to construct the building. The leaders struck a deal to lease the museum building to the non-profit for $1/year. The museum organization agreed to raise the remaining $18.5 million for the building’s interior.

The result is a huge benefit to the community as the indoor/outdoor learning facility expands experiential learning with endlessly creative environments. The museum is expected to draw over 200,000 visitors annually. 

Thursday night revivals

Lately when I drive home from yoga on Thursday evenings I've noticed a crowd gathered in the vacant lot near the downtown transit terminal. With the sun still strong and plenty of time I stopped to see what was happening. 

A multi-colored truck complete with a deck and amplifiers reported loudly that "Jesus Saves." As I sat and sketched the crowd a man on a horse approached alongside the group. I heard the speaker announce instructions about bringing children to a western summer camp the following Saturday. 

The sun slid beneath the horizon and the crowd disbursed leaving me to wonder whether I'd witnessed a vision or reality. 

Keep on truckin'

If you've noticed more food carts in Olympia recently, there's a reason. The Olympia City Council has, as of last summer and due to the urging of a small but persistent vendors, relaxed it's requirements for permits. Before last summer the city required vendors to renew their $180 permits four times a year totaling $470/annually. Now the fee is $180, once a year. This reduced overhead and hassle, along with the allowance of a vendor parking area along State Street between Cherry and Franklin, encourages vendors to set up business and consistently serve their wares.

California tacos is probably the longest standing food truck in the area. They have three trucks stationed in Lacey, downtown and the westside. I've been going to them for years and will vouch for their cleanliness and good quality.

Westside California Tacos

 Eastside California Tacos

Downtown California Tacos

Nineveh Assyrian Food - on Plum - check out their fried cauliflower

Another shot of Nineveh and Downtown California Tacos

Filling Station Food Court

2012 Farmers Market +

The Olympia Farmer's Market is one of my favorite sketching spots in Olympia. It has all the fixings of a good sketch color, an endless variety of shape and value, constancy and change happening simultaneously. 

Sullivan's Homestead at the east most side of the market is a hub-ub of activity even on rainy days. Bins of colorful fruits overflow the bins and vendors pass out tastes of the ripening fruit.

The market contracts with musicians that play the market venue every day the market is open. They start at 11 and end at 2, attracting music lovers and enlivening the shopping experience. The contracted musicians play the market stage and covered picnic area. At the same time independent musicians set up on either end of the market or across the street near Dancing Goats. These buskers range from school aged musicians strengthening their courage, to experienced buskers. 

 The chile cart is one of my favorite market scenes. the colors and shapes are scrumptious! Every year I make several sketches of the cart or chile peppers or both. I often buy a bunch and set them out on a table like a bouquet.

The palm readers waiting for their next customers.

From the parking lot

Register to vote while you buy out vegies

Fall apple harvest

The market sits just east of Fiddle Head Marina. On a recent sunny evening, the sunlit water drew me to the shoreline to sketch a few skiffs.

Seattle Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity in Seattle has a building site on Seattle Center grounds. Urban Sketchers visited in June and sketched the volunteers making bricks for the World House. Frank Gerry's Experience Music Project, with its colorful, contoured metallic surface provides a sharp contrast to the simple Habitat structures.

This larger structure is dubbed "Home of the Immediate Future". It's long and narrow, but designed to expand internally. Inhabitants can move the walls to create smaller or larger rooms as their family expands or shrinks. This structure will be moved to a building site on Rainier Avenue in South Seattle.

The small "World House" (about 12'x15') is typical of houses Habitat builds in third world countries. Currently there are many of these structures in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries. This structure would house about 6 people. Even though the climate allows for much more outdoor living, it is very small by American standards. The workers were making bricks for the structure's facade.