Olympia

Wild gardens & natural spaces

Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It had a population of 55,605 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington’s 23rd-most populous city. Olympia borders Lacey to the east and Tumwater to the south.

Olympia is a regional center for fine arts. The Olympia Symphony Orchestra performs five regular-season concerts at the Washington Center and two pops concerts. The Masterworks Chorale Ensemble performs four regular-season concerts at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Visual art venues include some of the local coffeehouses, Olympia Coffee Roasting Co., Batdorf & Bronson, and Burial Grounds downtown. Art House Designs is an art gallery that also hosts a jazz performance space. Notable art venues near Olympia include Art in Ecology, housed in Washington Department of Ecology’s 322,000-square-foot, three-story building on the campus of Saint Martin’s University. Art in Ecology is a long-established art-in-the-workplace venue that has works by numerous northwest artists.

On the fourth Saturday in April, in honor of Earth Day, Olympia is host to one of the region’s largest community celebrations – the Procession of the Species. Held in conjunction with the city’s biannual Arts Walk, the Procession is organized by the community-based nonprofit organization Earthbound Productions, and is the culmination of an annual Community Art Studio that is free and open to the public. In its July 2009 Best of America feature, Reader’s Digest magazine honored the Procession of the Species with the top spot in its “can’t resist” parades and processions list.

The majority of Olympia is located in the Olympia School District. The district has a total of 18 schools: 11 elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools. Its high schools are Olympia High School (formally known as William Winlock Miller High School), Capital High School, and Avanti High School. In addition to primary and secondary schools, Olympia has a number of institutions of higher learning, including The Evergreen State College and South Puget Sound Community College.

source: wikipedia.org

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Olympia has a wide array of public parks and nature conservation areas. Percival Landing Park includes 0.9 miles (1.4 km) of boardwalk along Budd Inlet, as well as a playground, picnic areas, and a large open space. The boardwalk leads north to an open-air amphitheater, a viewing tower beside the Port of Olympia, as well as the Olympia Farmers' Market. Squaxin Park has an extensive trail system, 150-year-old forest, and undeveloped waterfront on Puget Sound. The city's 39 other developed parks include Watershed Park, Woodruff Park, Sunrise Park, Yauger Park (home to one of Olympia's public skate parks), Friendly Grove (nestled in a small Eastside Community), and Trillium Park, which was created by the efforts of adjoining neighborhood associations with the easement of private property. The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is near Olympia, as are the Capitol State Forest, Burfoot Park, and the Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area.