Olympia Visit for Royal Wedding Bishop Curry

Above: Episcopal Presiding Bishop Most Reverend Michael Curry, who preached at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is coming to Olympia in June. Photo of Curry is a screenshot from BBC America.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Episcopal Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who captured the world’s attention by preaching a show-stopping sermon at the May 19 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will visit St. John’s Episcopal Church in Olympia on Saturday, June 16, at 10:30 a.m. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

St. John’s is located in the South Capitol neighborhood at 114 20th Ave. SE, Olympia.

Nearly two billion people worldwide reportedly watched Curry speak at the wedding of the couple now known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

During his 14 minute sermon, Curry spoke to the power of love and invoked the messages of Martin Luther King Jr. Clips of his sermon are available online.

The Episcopal Church has a hierarchy of bishops led by Presiding Bishop Curry. Curry will visit St. John’s with the Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia, the Right Reverend Greg Rickel. 

Curry will be speaking at other public events across the diocese.

On Thursday, June 14, Curry will be preaching at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle.

Parishioners of St. Christopher’s Community Church of Olympia, St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church of Lacey and St. John’s Episcopal Church of Olympia will be chartering a bus to go up to Seattle to hear Curry.

Curry, the first African American to preside over the Episcopal Church, has long been known for his passionate, powerful, and progressive preachings. He was one of the first to allow same-sex marriages to be performed in churches in North Carolina.

According to CNN, Curry plans to participate in a candlelight vigil and protest in front of the White House on Thursday. 

He will be joined by leaders from Christian churches who say they are concerned about a “dangerous crisis of moral and political leadership at the highest levels of our government and in our churches.”

Above: St. John’s Episcopal Church in Olympia.

Editor's Note/Correction, May 24: The time Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will speak at St. John's will be 10:30 a.m., not 11:00 a.m.

Barner Fire Relief Efforts Begin After Home Loss

Above: George Barner, Jr. is helped to the scene by Olympia Deputy Fire Chief Greg Wright while his home was on fire on January 29. Fire relief accounts to help Barner have been set up at TwinStar Credit Union and GoFundMe. There are other ways to donate clothes and small items to help Barner get reestablished.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“They called it Stormy Monday, but Tuesday’s just as bad…Wednesday’s even worse, and Thursday’s awful sad…” goes the old blues song, “Stormy Monday.”

“….The eagle flies on Friday, and Saturday, I go out to play…Sunday, I’m going to church, where I’ll kneel down and pray, ‘Lord, Have Mercy On Me….’”

Former port commissioner, local rock n’ roller, and beloved community member George Barner Jr., 75, lost everything he had in a house fire January 29, and has often sung those lyrics on stage.

Barner is doing well, but he’s tired, grieving the loss of irreplaceable family and personal photographs and papers, antiques, rock n’ roll records and memorabilia, his collection of leather jackets, and an astounding collection of items of significance to Olympia and Northwest history.

He is also dealing with the harsh realities of complying with a city ordinance to clear his property of the home’s remaining debris, completing insurance paperwork, and replacing personal records and information.

People have been stopping by his westside property on 5th Avenue SW to look at the remains and friends have been calling to extend their condolences.

Barner appreciates the calls and knows his voice mail box is full. He says he needs some time and privacy to readjust and greatly appreciates the community efforts now underway to help him restart his life.

Barner had been staying at a local hotel at the time of the fire due to an attempted burglary at his home a couple of weeks prior, and had few clothes and items with him. The hotel provides a small continental breakfast, and since the fire, he has been going out to eat for lunch and dinner.

The green coat he’s been wearing this week was donated by a friend.

Barner’s home and property was insured. So far, there have been no hiccups in getting the appropriate paperwork completed, but processing the forms will take several months. In the meantime, Barner is still on the hook for paying his monthly mortgage and outstanding household bills.

The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Ways to Help George Barner Jr.:

A fire relief account to help Barner has been set up at TwinStar Credit Union. The account number is 474453. Deposits can be made at any branch.  

A GoFundMe account has also been set up at https://www.gofundme.com/6at3a8-george-barner-fire-relief-fund.

Clean, new, or gently used donations for setting Barner up in an apartment are also being gathered.

Please do not contact Barner regarding these donations. For pick up/drop off arrangements, and for larger items such as a couple of bookcases, lamps, a microwave, and other items, please contact Janine Gates, Ja9gates@aol.com or (360) 791-7736. 

Above: A donation box for small household items for Barner is set up with a sign near the checkout stand at Olympia Supply. Thank you Jeff and Tom Bean!

For a short time only, community members may donate small household and personal items for Barner at Olympia Supply at 625 Columbia Street in downtown Olympia. Store hours are Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Specific items that would be appreciated are kitchen items such as a coffee pot with an automatic turn off control, a whistling tea pot, aluminum foil and food storage containers, a cheese grater, an electric can opener, pots and pans, baking pans, a wok with a stove top ring, a cookie sheet, a blender, a colander and paper towels.

Other appreciated items include bedding sheets for a queen sized mattress, blankets, bed pillows, a large heating pad with an automatic turn off control, warm and waterproof coats, sweaters, warm shirts, socks, scarves, gloves, and hats.

Bathroom supplies may include a couple throw rugs, toilet paper, washcloths, and towels.

Other items include a flashlight, nightlights, a clock/radio, and cleaning supplies such as dish soap and laundry soap.

Any items received that cannot be used or don’t fit will be donated to a local homeless advocacy organization or shelters such as the Interfaith Works daytime warming shelter or Emergency Overnight Shelter.

Barner, who has diabetes and had all his toes on his right foot amputated in 2012, had several pairs of shoes and boots that contained specially made inserts that were designed for each pair. These will need to be replaced with the funds raised. He currently has one pair of shoes and no warm or waterproof clothing.

Barner has also set up a post office box address. It is P.O. Box 7157, Olympia, Washington 98507. Well-wishers may send him correspondence and gift cards and certificates to stores such as Fred Meyer, Target, Goodwill, or Value Village and local restaurants.

Besides his long careers in public service, which included work with the State of Washington and the Thurston County Commission, Barner has long contributed his musical talents for fun and worthy fundraisers to the community.

To watch George Barner Jr. belt out two of his favorite rock classics, “Lucille,” and “Louie, Louie,” go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHPZplaMGrg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fqOX-x81-Q . Both tunes were recorded in October 2015 with the Lee Franklin Express Blues Band at Frankie’s Sports Bar in Olympia.

Editor’s Update, February 19: Thank you Olympia community members! It is difficult to express just how caring our community is, and how quickly we came together to support George. He now has pretty much everything he needs: warm clothes and coats, blankets and bed sheets, kitchen items, and household furniture. The quality of the donated items is simply heartwarming. All donations are much appreciated. Incredibly, there were few to no duplications and all are being used.

Due also to incoming financial donations to the TwinStar and GoFundMe accounts, George’s situation is stable and he has paid off some household bills. 

I’d especially like to thank Olympia Supply for providing a conveniently located space for folks to drop off their donations. It was a huge help. Not only that, Olympia Supply staff took a warm, personal interest in George’s situation and also provided donations. 

Again, thank you!

For more information about George Barner Jr. and his house fire on January 29, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search button.

Above: Olympia firefighters responded to the scene of George Barner's home within minutes, but were unable to save it due to interior obstructions and ammunition stored inside that was heard to be going off for quite some time. The home was a total loss.

Barner’s Home a Total Loss Due to Fire

Above: The home of beloved community member George Barner, Jr. was engulfed in flames Sunday morning. Barner, who has lived at the home for several decades, was not home at the time. Barner arrived at the scene during the fire and was greeted and assisted by many friends.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The westside home of former port commissioner and beloved community member George Barner, Jr. is a total loss due to fire. 

The burning home, located in the 800 block of 5th Avenue SW, was first called into the Olympia Fire Department by a neighbor Sunday morning at 11:11 a.m. Barner was not home at the time.

Barner has been staying in a local hotel awaiting some repairs on the home, which was the scene of an attempted robbery two weeks ago. It took time to determine where Barner was located.

After that was determined, while the house was still on fire, Barner was brought to the scene and was greeted and assisted by many friends, who had also arrived and gathered on the street.  Barner said he had been home on Saturday and nothing was out of the ordinary.

According to a report by Olympia Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Greg Wright, fire units reported seeing a smoke column at 11:14 a.m. before their arrival on the scene at 11:16 a.m. 

Several community members initially speculated that the nearby Capitol House Apartments, the former St. Peter’s Hospital on Sherman Street, was on fire.

Firefighters were unable to enter through the front door due to obstructions inside but did make access from a side door.  Smoke was down to the floor of the second story as firefighters tried to enter. Unable to make any progress due to the amount of items inside and the heavy fire, crews switched to a defensive mode from outside the house at 11:30 a.m.  

 

Ammunition for guns in the home that Barner kept for target practice was stored in the house and were heard going off for a significant amount of time, also keeping firefighters back. The fire continued to burn despite water being applied from a crane on the fire engine.

Above: Firefighters were unable to enter the home while the home burned. A considerable amount of ammunition stored in the home, heard going off for quite some time, also kept firefighters and the public back from the scene.

 

The brick walls of the 1920’s vintage home held the fire in and firefighters kept the fire from spreading to nearby trees and other buildings.  An attached lower level garage was relatively undamaged by fire.

The Olympia Fire Department responded with four engines, one ladder truck, two medic units, and a command unit.  There were no reported injuries.

Fire crews worked the fire until about 3:00 pm. One fire engine and crew will remain on the scene to watch for hotspots and secure some vehicles that were in the garage and driveway. 

An investigation into the cause of the fire will begin on Monday.  

Above: George Barner, Jr. speaks with Olympia fire fighters Sunday afternoon. Barner's house, with the roof collapsed, is a total loss. Little Hollywood told Barner that he is loved and the community will help him with whatever he needs. 

State Closes Three Downtown Olympia Restrooms

Above: The Washington State Department of Enterprise Services has temporarily closed, day and night, three downtown Olympia area restrooms. Wheelchair accessible portables have been set up near each restroom. This portable restroom near Heritage Park is located near Olympia Supply on Water Street and Columbia Street.

By Janine Gates

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Calling it a night of mourning, Just Housing activists and community members gathered at the now closed Heritage Park restrooms on Water Street Tuesday evening.

According to a press release issued on Tuesday afternoon by the state Department of Enterprise Services, restrooms at three Capitol Campus locations at Heritage and Marathon parks and the Interpretive Center, are now closed day and night.

The temporary closure follows three days of incidents at the Heritage Park restroom on Water Street in downtown Olympia.

“Enterprise Services is closing the restrooms because the actions taking place over the last three days create significant risk to the community and those responsible for the care and custody of the Capitol Campus, and do not support a productive path to come together and resolve the issue.

“Enterprise Services staff had hoped to focus on constructive dialogue at the park Monday evening and through the week, and to achieve a two-week pause in the protests to have community meetings and seek solutions.

“The bathrooms will be closed temporarily until Enterprise Services can productively pursue a collaborative solution with community groups, the City of Olympia and others,” says the release.

Portable bathrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as hand washing stations have been placed at Heritage Park near Seventh and Columbia streets and at Marathon Park adjacent to the regular bathroom.

Above: Renata Rollins lights a candle at a gathering Tuesday night in front of the now closed Heritage Park restrooms in downtown Olympia.

A quiet group of about 35 community members, including children, met Tuesday night outside the closed restrooms to discuss the week’s actions, lessons learned, and the decision by the state to close the restrooms.

The group was somber as they listened to Renata Rollins and Tye Gundel each explain why they co-founded the Just Housing group last spring. As community outreach workers, they became discouraged while turning people away from needed services because they were not available.

The lack of options weighed heavily on them and they decided to explore other options, speak the truth, build relationships, and take direct action.

Gundel said Just Housing activists underestimated how state and city law enforcement would respond to what was intended to be a one night, symbolic action that would demonstrate what a 24 hour access bathroom would look like.

She participated in civil disobedience and was one of the four arrested Monday night. She said she didn’t originally expect to do that, but gained strength to do so by thinking of the personal conversations she has had in the last three years helping people work through the social service network. She felt that what she was doing was right.

“…Those people have changed my life, and the way I see the world….it was their words and their courage that I was thinking about that gave me a lot of strength, and gave me a lot of peace and a lot of certainty about what we’re doing here. I never doubted that ….”

She said she was saddened by the state’s decision to shut down the state controlled restrooms in the city as a result of their actions.

“This has never been just about bathrooms for the last three days. It’s about basic dignity, this is about humanity, love, for people that have been shown day in and day out and told day in and day out that they don’t deserve that.…and to show them that there are those in the community who are willing to stand by those who have been pushed to the outside of our society….”

Gundel said that the closure of the restrooms punishes the people they most wanted to help.

“…A lot of us are really torn about what we could have done differently to make sure that didn’t happen…. Maybe some things could have been done differently....It’s a really big burden to bear, but that’s on them...they made that choice….We’re here to contrast that….punishment with community and love and coming together….we’re going to come together stronger and I’ve never had more faith in a community to be creative and come up with responses to help people when they need to the most. I’m excited to see what we’ll do….”

To hear all the speakers Tuesday evening, including Rabbah Rona Matlow,  go to http://justhousingoly.tumblr.com/post/154751419786/122016-just-housing-night-of-mourning-for-closed

Matlow said she visited with Tony Aitken, Enterprise Services program manager for state capitol visitor services, to see what she could do to help on Monday morning.

A retired Lieutenant Commander with 22 years in the Navy, Matlow wore a coat with military medals on her lapel. Matlow, now a transgender woman and Jewish pastoral counselor, offers veteran and LGBTQ+ support.

She said she wears her medals to show that even mainstream people are concerned about significant social issues. She is hoping to organize an interjurisdictional, interfaith homelessness task force with state, city and local community leaders.

Just Housing activist Jeff Thomas listed recent successes with homelessness issues and said he spoke with City of Olympia city manager Steve Hall a few weeks ago, who had proposed to the state that the city rent out the Heritage Park restrooms.

According to Thomas, the state said the city would have to pay for an all-night State Patrol agent, making the idea a “no-go.”  Still, Thomas said he is cautiously optimistic.

“We are going to get bathrooms soon, one way or another.”

Above: The portable at Marathon Park on Deschutes Parkway is near the closed restrooms.

Ho-Ho-Hobo: The People’s Holiday Stand

Above: Tim and Charity were making wreathes at the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand located near Old School Pizzeria in downtown Olympia on Thursday. Charity says this was her second wreath. “The first one took me an hour and a half but it was fun! This will be a tradition, even if we have a home,” she laughed.

By Janine Gates

http://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Ho-Ho-Hobo…no, that’s not a tastless joke…it’s the name of a fun, innovative wreath stand created by and for the street community, who make the beautiful holiday wreaths at the stand with love and humor in downtown Olympia.

Located in the parking lot of Old School Pizzeria at 108 Franklin Street between 4th Avenue and State Street, the wreath stand's hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., everyday except Wednesdays, until Christmas. 

Wreath stand volunteer Walker Stephens and a crew of others serve hot drinks and help members of the street community make the wreaths out of natural and found materials.

Donations for the wreaths are accepted on a sliding scale, but Stephens recommends $30. For that amount, $5.00 immediately goes to the person who made the wreath, $5.00 goes toward the person who collects brush for the wreaths, $5.00 goes toward gas and supplies, $10 goes toward laundry, and $5.00 goes toward a grand prize and holiday party. All additional profits go back into the community.

The project is into its second season. Last year, the stand sold 400 wreaths, which put $2,000 directly into street people’s pockets. 

A woman named Charity was busy making a wreath, her second one. 

“My first one sold already!” she said, with a beautiful smile. Charity said she is from Spokane and has been homeless for four years. She’s been in Olympia since October.

“...Homelessness just kind of happened, and it stays that way without you realizing how long it’s been….”

Above: Sean McCartney made a wreath at the Ho-Ho-Hobos stand. He is homeless and is willing to do odd jobs such as putting up Christmas lights.

Sean McCartney also made a wreath and said he stayed at Salvation Army on Wednesday night. He was third to the last one in before the shelter said they had no more room. He said he felt lucky, and tried to give his bed away to an older gentleman who couldn’t get in, but the man wouldn’t take it.

McCartney says he has been clean and sober for over just over two years. He doesn’t have a telephone with minutes on it, but asked Little Hollywood to let readers know that he is looking for work and willing to do odd jobs such as putting up Christmas lights. He is raising funds so he can get to California to see his sister’s wedding in a couple weeks. He said interested folks can stop by the wreath stand on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. to meet him and chat.

Asked how he got involved organizing this activity, Stephens said that wreaths are the tree spirits’ way to welcome vulnerable spirits into the warmth of the home.

“I’m housed now, but I haven’t always been. This is to empower unhoused community members to advocate for themselves. Providing this service offers a little extra bump,” said Stephens.

Stephens said that due to city ordinances that criminalize survival, camps face constant evictions and sweeps, leading to ruined equipment. He was incredulous when he heard that the City of Olympia recently asked for bids from firms for up to $250,000 to clean up the mess caused by these evictions and relocations.

“It’s a mess street folks are proud to clean up themselves given the opportunity. Last year, our real focus was collecting soiled wet blankets and jackets. Through wreath revenues, we provided transportation and money for the laundry mat,” said Stephens. He is doing that again this year.

New this year is a competition for best wreath maker. Anyone may vote once per day from now until Christmas, and the overall winner will receive $200. Downtown workers and residents are encouraged to stop by regularly, and check out the constantly revolving selection of wreaths. Some wreaths are particularly stunning.

The wreath stand is also excited to repeat last year’s successful Christmas party with pizza provided by Old School Pizzeria. The idea is the spirit of giving: it is a party thrown by the street community, for the larger community. 

Connie Phegley, owner of Old School Pizzeria, is also vice-chair of the downtown Olympia Parking & Business Improvement Area (PBIA) board. The PBIA is a self-taxing district of over 400 downtown businesses. She is supportive of the Ho-Ho-Hobo stand, and offered up two business parking spaces for the effort. 

Phegley was also present at Thursday evening's neighborhood meeting to discuss the temporary use permit for Interfaith Works to open a daytime warming shelter. The PBIA board thanked the City of Olympia for its financial support of Interfaith Works at a recent council meeting.

“Street dependency presents many difficult realities that our business community struggles to address. We are very encouraged by Interfaith Works creating, and the greater community supporting, a safe and clean space for people to go during the day in the cold winter months for shelter, warmth and access to bathrooms and social services,” the board wrote in a November 22 letter to Olympia city councilmembers.

The group is accepting donations of warm survival supplies, interesting brush, such as pine, twigs, and holly, terracotta pots, candles, wreath frames and craft materials, and old campaign signs, which are perfect for cutting up to be used as name tags for the wreaths.

“It is a joyous opportunity for our community to get together and know itself better,” said Stephens.

To be on Ho-Ho-Hobo all volunteer staff, go down to the booth and sign up!

Above: Walker Stephens, in green coat, and volunteers keep the Ho-Ho-Hobo wreath stand productive. It is located in the parking lot next to Old School Pizzeria on Franklin Street, and just behind Dumpster Values in downtown Olympia. Walker is grateful to Old School Pizzeria and Bar Francis, a coffee shop inside Dumpster Values, which is providing the stand with hot coffee at cost.

Locavore Mercantile Cooperative Opens on Steamboat Island

Above: Beth Mathews of Olympia will open a new, local cooperative for artists called Locavore Mercantile on Steamboat Island. Her grand opening is on Saturday.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A new local business will open on Steamboat Island just in time for holiday gift giving, and if all goes well, will continue to stay open in 2017.

Beth Mathews has opened a “pop-up” cooperative, Locavore Mercantile, featuring over 20 artists, located at the Steamboat Island exit just off Highway 101, at Steamboat Square, 6541 Sexton Drive NW, Olympia.

The cooperative features a local Steamboat Island business, Saucy Goodness Company, which makes all-natural hot and spicy chutney and related condiments, metal art by Dan and Landi Dial of Shelton, and many more multi-media artists who use clay, photography, paper, glass, textiles, and more to express their creativity.

Located between Subway and Flowers by Kristil, the shop will officially open on Saturday, October 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Regular hours will be 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.

For $150, juried artists joined the cooperative for three months. The money pays for rent, utilities, and basic needs.

“I'm still getting a few more vendors in here, so things will fill up a little more this week,” said Mathews, who lives on Steamboat Island, during a tour of the shop on Monday.

Above: Bee Happy Organics of Tumwater has a wide selection of delicious smelling soaps, such as Rosemary Mint, Lemon Lavender, and Yippie Hippie. 

During the tour, jewelry artist Chris Kaitlyn of Olympia popped in to arrange and take pictures of her display.

A former art teacher in Alaska, and science teacher and school counselor in Washington, Kaitlyn described her jewelry as rustic bohemian. She’s looking forward to the grand opening.

“Beth’s done a fabulous job of setting this up! It’s come a long way since last week!” Kaitlyn said enthusiastically, admiring the shop and its new turquoise wall color.

Mathews, an archaeologist in cultural resource management, recently decided to take the plunge - she quit her job, and decided to focus solely on her art and form the cooperative. 

Her homemade jewelry and all-natural body care products and business, Nature Nouveau, is inspired by her scientific training. She has had a booth at the West Olympia Farmers' Market, Love Our Local Fest, and other venues throughout the region.

“About seven years ago, I started using art as a way to balance really intensely dry, scientific work. It became hard to shut down the desire to create things, and eventually, art became my part time job. People say, 'Don't quit your day job,' in the art world a lot, but it turned out that art was more stable than doing contract work in the cultural resource management industry,” laughed Mathews.

“It's always been funny to me that we cry “buy local, local, local,” but art shows, festivals, events, and markets are so temporary and time consuming to set up. I really was thinking, ‘This has to be easier! Can't we all just set up inside somewhere?’ The traditional shop idea seemed like such a novel idea after I'd been moving things around from market to market. And we have so many ultra-local, amazing creators near the shop. It's been really cool to see people coming together,” said Mathews.

As for after the holidays, Mathews says she would like to see the cooperative become permanent. Mathews is optimistic and passionate about the shop’s success. 

“We have a lot of artists who are interested in showing their work here, too many to fit, and a ton of local support, but our success depends on how responsive customers are to this location and what we have to offer as a group of artisans and artists. The reception so far has been really positive, so it seems it will be a joyous shopping season for local buyers and makers,” says Mathews.

Not only is the Steamboat Island area seeing significant new construction with three new 3,500 square foot buildings for retail, services, and office space, over 5,000 people live in the Steamboat Island community and an estimated 30,000 cars drive past Steamboat Square every week.

“We’re a tight community, and I expect there will be a lot of curiosity and word of mouth about the new shop. This project is about a community joining together to make something happen,” said Mathews.

Above: Local artist Ainsley Walden of Go Fish Raku creates sockeye salmon and driftwood art, holiday ornaments, wall art, and magnets.

For more information about Locavore Mercantile, go to http://www.locavoremercantile.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/LocavoreMercantile/

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis in Olympia

Above: Macklemore crowd surfs during “Can't Hold Us” in the Capitol Theater on Sunday night. 

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis received an enthusiastic Olympia welcome Sunday evening as they came to town for an intimate, energetic concert at the Capitol Theater. 

One of eight stops on their Northwest “Camping Tour,” the Olympia concert sold out in less than an hour. 

Above: Before the concert, Mayor Cheryl Selby presented Macklemore and Ryan Lewis with the cultural keys to the city for their artistic contributions and positive messages while challenging homophobia, promotion of anti-racism discourse, and long term investment in the Black Lives Matter movement.

“…Olympia had a huge impact on me becoming the artist and the human I am today….I met a lot of rappers and a lot of amazing artists and people who wanted to change the world and there were a lot of conversations. If it were not for Olympia, I would not be here,” Macklemore told the cheering crowd.

Warming up the crowd inside before the concert was Xperience, (without the “e” because rappers have to mess with their names and better known as XP), who proudly told the crowd that he was born at St. Peter’s Hospital, and has been collaborating with Macklemore for 13 years.

Macklemore and Lewis kept the crowd singing, dancing, sweating, laughing, and crying with non-stop hits from Cadillac to White Privilege II, ending with Downtown.

“…It’s up to us to rewire…we need to let love take over…I don’t care about the color of your skin, your sexual orientation…I don’t care what your passport says, I want you to be inspired by diversity, not afraid of it. And at the end of the day, hatred can never overpower love,” said Macklemore as he lead into Same Love.

Macklemore joked and told stories of his time in Olympia, during which he created The Language of My World album and graduated from The Evergreen State College.

“Olympia became my family….you guys are my family, and so is Brad Pitt,” as he segued into Brad Pitt’s Cousin.

Describing his drive into Olympia, taking Exit 104, he headed toward Capital Mall, Red Robin, Toys R Us, seeing the skate park on the left, and Burger King on the right.

“….I kept driving, telling myself to stay focused, when all of a sudden, I hear angels calling. What the fuck is that? And I look over to the right….” 

The crowd screamed, realizing he’s heading toward Goodwill and, of course, Thrift Shop.

Above: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rocked until 11:15 p.m. 

Next, they are on to sold out shows in Hoquiam, Bremerton, and Bellingham, and will end up in Seattle for Bumbershoot on September 3.