Olympia's Fall Arts Walk takes over downtown Friday and Saturday with two days of live performances, gallery shows and arts programming across the city center.

The semi-annual event, administered by the Olympia Arts Commission, runs Friday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 6 p.m., according to Experience Olympia. Arts Walk has drawn thousands to downtown Olympia each spring and fall since 1990.

This fall's lineup includes a new anchor event at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. The Artistic Partner Season Spotlight takes the Main Stage at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, featuring live performances and giveaways from the local arts organizations that call the Washington Center home.

The Washington Center said in its October programming post that partner organizations will also staff the lobby throughout Saturday with details on upcoming seasons, programs and missions.

The center houses 15 artistic partners, including Ballet Northwest, Masterworks Choral Ensemble, Olympia Symphony Orchestra, Olympia Youth Chorus, Indigenous Performance Productions and Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia.

The venue sits at 512 Washington St. SE. It has hosted local arts groups since its founding in 1985.

Executive Director Jill Barnes described the theater as a place where audiences can leave their worries behind and experience something new, in a July ThurstonTalk interview announcing the 2026–2027 season.

Also at the Washington Center during Arts Walk, the Center Gallery will display Olympia artist Debra Van Tuinen's exhibit "Retrospective," a six-decade survey spanning etchings, drawings, encaustic and paintings from 1977 to the present. Visitors can meet Van Tuinen on Friday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 5 p.m.

Beyond the Washington Center, dozens of venues participate across downtown. The full event calendar, filterable by date and category, is available at artswalkoly.com. Categories include visual arts, literary arts, performing arts and things to do.

Admission details for the Spotlight were not listed. For Arts Walk questions, contact the Olympia Arts Commission at 360-972-4329. The Washington Center box office can be reached at 360-753-8586.