The Sage Connection

What a fun place to live, from volunteers planting trees, Procession of the Species to rummage sales

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I am a little late with this information, but Earth Day was a big success in our communities. Trees hold a special place in my heart, so Earth Day is one of my favorite holidays, and clearly, I am not alone.

Lacey and Olympia had over 200 volunteers each turn out to help in their parks. Our smaller communities, Tumwater and Tenino did themselves proud with over a hundred volunteers each.

Free trees and wildflower packets were passed out at various locations. If you think Texans are proud of their bluebells, wait until you see our native wildflowers and the butterflies flocking to our milkweed crop.

I am told butterflies and hummingbirds also like the Saskatoon Serviceberry flowers, another free packet of seeds, which even produce a sweet edible berry. Our beautiful Pacific Northwest is about to become even more breathtaking.

Next up was The Procession of the Species Parade. Downtown streets were lined with people in colorful costumes – everything from giant sunflowers to strange-looking hats, furry coats, and horns. The parade featured land and sea animal floats and their construction was awesome.

True to the tradition of the Pacific Northwest, rain stopped no one from joining in on the fun. Babies, children, and grownups dressed in rain gear but sans umbrellas, lined up to watch this event for the first time since COVID struck.  

On Sunday, my great-grandson, Willow the Warrior, attended the All Things with Wheels Event with his grandparents. It was a toss-up whether he was more excited to sit behind the wheel of the firetruck or the dump truck but it was clear he thoroughly enjoyed himself.

What a fun place to live.

Coming up on June 29th is a fundraiser that will be a sight to behold. The headline on their website reads as follows:

Help raise funds to support Senior Services for South Sound — “Going Over the Edge” by rappelling down a building!

On June 29, 2024, 60 or more participants will be rappelling down a building at The Hub, located at 676 Woodland Square Loop SE, in Lacey, to raise vital funds for Senior Services for South Sound.

I had to read that twice to make sure I was reading it correctly. Are the seniors repelling? Apparently, if you want to try your hand at this Spiderman event, you are welcome to try… but there is a slight catch…

From noon to 5 pm on that day, The Senior Services for South Sound will be holding a community-wide ground party at the base of the building at the Hub. With music, food and drink, and a celebratory atmosphere, you can enjoy a great time while watching folks’ rappel down.

To be one of the awesome rappelers, you just need to raise $1,000 or more for Senior Services for South Sound from your friends, family, and social networks. You have until June 29, 2024 to hit your fundraising goal.

If, however, your “Spidey Senses” tell you rappelling down a four story building is not your thing, the Virgil Clarkson Senior Center in Lacey has something else coming up that speaks to most if not all us…

The Olympia Host Lions Club maintains this Sensory Garden for our low-vision and blind community. Pictured is Lisa Ikeda, Lions District Governor, on Earth Day.
The Olympia Host Lions Club maintains this Sensory Garden for our low-vision and blind community. Pictured is Lisa Ikeda, Lions District Governor, on …

Best RUMMAGE SALE on Earth!  May 11, 9 am - 2 pm.

The Virgil Clarkson Senior Center has cheerfully announced “Our Annual RUMMAGE SALE is here and everyone is welcome.  Early-Bird entry at 8 am is $5, but it’s FREE to Active Members (bring your card!). “

And I quote, “This is our HUMONGOUS annual event, known for COSMIC-sized bargains throughout the GALAXY…it’s even better than Jupiter’s blue-light specials!  WHY PAY RETAIL?  Thrift is SMARTER!”

This is the one and only STELLAR Rummage Sale we are holding in 2024, so don’t miss out!

To donate goods for this event, beginning on April 29, you can take your donated treasures to Olympic Moving & Storage, 935 Poplar, between 1 and 4 pm, M - F, through May 9th.

For questions or more information on either event, please call our Lacey location at 360.407.3967 or click on their website at https://www.southsoundseniors.org/

So, there you have it. Everything you could hope for, from trees and flowers to humans dressed like animals to people repelling down buildings, to a HUMONGOUS rummage sale. What more could you ask for?

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  • FirstOtter

    I do love Olympia despite all it's problems. I've lived in many other cities: Washington DC, Austin Texas, Red Bank, NJ, Detroit, MI, and Oly beats them all.

    What I like most is how we embrace ourselves. Portland may have coined the "Keep Portland Wierd" but we're wierd ourselves.

    I was at the Procession of the Species, the one before the pandemic. A woman came up alongside us as the procession passed. She said, astonished, "That's a GROWN MAN dressed up like a tiger!"

    I said, "A blue tiger!"

    "But he's a grown up! In fact, look, it's almost all grown ups! That one is dressed up, oh my god, she's a dung beetle??""

    "Okayyyyyyyy?" I asked,

    She looked at me as if expecting me to apologize for our culture.

    "But they're dressed up like animals??"

    "If my hips weren't shot, I'd be out there dressed up like a tiger, too." I said

    "You West coast people are so strange."

    "I said, "Thank you."

    Wednesday, May 1 Report this

  • Boatyarddog

    Olympias Magic is its Cultural Diversity.

    Its good for Humanity.

    And America!

    Monday, May 6 Report this