Thursday, October 1, 2026
The annual Olympia Zine Fest 2025 returns on May 30-21 to showcase zines, or handmade self-published works with niche content.
According to the event's website, zines are small-scale creations containing unique content and perspectives that are usually not found in the mainstream media.
“Having a zine festival is a great way to celebrate zines, connect with others who are interested or involved in the zine community, buy, sell, and trade zines, or just learn more about this awesome form of expression!” the event site states.
Most zines are handwritten, drawn, typed on a typewriter or a computer, copied and pasted using found images, photocopied in color or black and white, bound with staples or thread using any variety of techniques.
A special after-hours Zine-a-thon at the Olympia Timberland Library will be held from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, May 30. It will kick off the annual gathering.
Attendees may use library printers, copiers and supplies to finish or start their zine. There will also be free zines, button making, and open mic zine show and tell.
On Saturday, May 31, from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., the main event of the festival takes place, featuring more than 80 zine vendors, workshops, performances, custom screen printing, quiet zine reading areas, raffles and other festivities.
Onlookers can also look forward to the culminating dance party at Decay from 8-10 p.m.
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TomBoucher
Always super fun! Olympia has an intensely rich and well preserved (thanks, Timberland Library for your awesome open collection) 'zine culture. 'Zines are a modern-day version of long-ago London's broadsides, single cheap sheets with songs, advertisements, political speech, etc. Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" was a 47-page pamphlet ('zine) that changed American history. Come on down! I'm a former 'zine tabler but not this year.
Friday, May 23, 2025 Report this