Written By: Cassandra England
On February 1st, 2025, Lacey Parks and Recreation hosted its Cultural Celebration, an event in which multiple cultures came together to celebrate the diversity of Lacey, Washington. The celebration highlighted many cultures from Ireland, Mexico, Spain, China, Thailand, Japan, and many other countries.
Booths and stores spread throughout Saint Martin’s Pavilion, selling wares such as necklaces, clothing, hats, art, bags, and woven baskets. The event was vibrant and full of color, with flags from different countries hanging from the overhead railings.
One of the booths featured was Cinco De Mayo, a local Mexican restaurant. The owners happily posed for a picture. Other vendors featured at the event served delicious foods such as churros, lemonades, various meats, and many cultural staples like teriyaki, lumpias, and elote.
While waiting for the next dance group to perform, The Belltower team encountered two other professional photographers who were perusing the event. One of the two was a seasoned photographer from The Olympian who came to the event to photograph the Alaskan Native tribe and their dance performance. The other photographer was a veteran of the Kitsap Sun newspaper. They recommended various camera shops around Washington and gave tips on how to get hired as a press photographer. The older gentleman from The Olympian said he was attending the celebration specifically to photograph the performance of one of the Native tribes from Alaska that were attending the event.
Dana, an Olympia native and former School Daze employee, was kind enough to pose for some pictures with one of the vendors who was selling scarves and other clothing and fashion pieces. There were also booths for woven blankets, teas, essential/herbal oils, ponchos, and other local businesses.
Throughout the day, people walked around indulging in different foods and watching the different cultural groups dance, sing, and share their traditions and celebrations. The event was an enriching and exhilarating experience. It was truly marvelous to see different groups of people come together to share their culture and celebrate together. It truly was a reflection of all the shared diversity and creativity that Thurston County has to offer.
The Belltower 