April 13, 2026
Personal Reflections
Last week was filled with so many sweet moments celebrating everything my little column has been able to share with the community. I am so honored that I get to wear my JOLT hat in this community — figuratively and literally, that is when my dogs aren’t modeling it.
I don’t wear my JOLT literal baseball cap often, but Saturday presented me with the perfect opportunity. All the activities on my itinerary were “hat friendly” and it ended up being such a neat conversation starter. Most people I chatted with were familiar with my work, and connecting with readers and hearing their kind feedback made my heart squeeze with gratitude.
Towards the end of that day, a friend of mine told me something that continues to make me smile. She said, “I love seeing all the different places you get to go in the community. Then with your hat on, you could take pictures and instead of ‘Where’s Waldo’ have it be ‘Where’s Rachel!’” I love it!
It feels really strange to talk about myself and this aspect of my work for this long, but it felt important to take a moment to pause and reflect.
I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for continuing to invest in our arts and our community. We each wear our own hats here in Thurston County, and every hat I have seen is vibrant and full of dreams and talents.
May we never let our hats sit too long on the hat rack and collect dust. We live in a town so full opportunity, that is one of the many reasons I refer to our little corner of the world as a beacon of light. Similar to a lamplighter or lighthouse keeper, it is our job to maintain and spread that light so that no creativity is left behind in the dark.
I cannot wait to see what amazing things this light reveals in the days ahead.
Keep dreaming, keep creating, and keep sharing with others. You make this world a better place.
This Week in the Arts
Coming up this week, I will be publishing three pieces in my JOLT Column including:
A review of Terry Shaw and his band’s Tribute to Billy Joel.
A review of Olympia Arts and Heritage Alliance (AHA)’s Museum exhibit about Olympia’s Chinese Community History with Walking Tour.
A piece that encourages you to mark your calendars with notes for upcoming festivities.
I’m really looking forward to sharing all of these things with you!
To hear about these sooner, I invite you to subscribe to the JOLT News and/or follow me on Instagram and Facebook, then invite a friend to do the same! :)
If you read a story that inspires you, I invite you to share it with others and help spread the word about the incredible things happening in the Thurston County Arts Community.
Then, make a donation to The JOLT News so that we can continue to celebrate everything happening in our arts community.