Hello MES Community,

Thank you for registering for the MES 40th Anniversary Celebration Event! We are so excited to have you with us this Saturday, April 26, to celebrate the MES program and our amazing legacy of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members who have contributed to the program for the past four decades! Please keep reading for some final event logistics this weekend and a reminder that the first event in this sequence is the MESA Rachel Carson Forum!

Full List of Events

Daytime Event at Evergreen in Purce Hall

2700 Evergreen Parkway NW, Olympia, WA 98505

10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Arrival Time

  • You may start arriving as early as 9:15 am to the venue if you are an attendee. If you are event support, workshop hosts, panelists or are featured in the program, you may arrive earlier starting at 8:00 am to go over any event details or logistics. 
  • Coffee and tea will be ready at 9:30 am
  • Event program to begin promptly at 10:00 am in Purce Hall 1

Parking and Venue Logistics

  • Parking is free on campus, you do not need a pass and you may park in either B or C lot when you arrive
  • Please review the Campus Map and Driving Directions page for how to get to Evergreen, where to locate B or C lots and how to find Purce Hall

Golf Cart Taxi

  • Zoe, our MES Program Assistant, will be offering a golf cart taxi ride starting at 9:15 am, from B lot to Purce Hall for folks who would like this support. If you don’t see Zoe when you arrive at the front of B lot, please wait for her to return. 

Virtual Attendance

Director’s Keynote Webinar at 10:00 am: https://tinyurl.com/MES-40  

For folks attending virtually, you will be able to view the Director’s keynote address and ask questions over chat through the link above starting at 10:00 am. Our Media Team and MES Assistant Director will be supporting virtual attendees through zoom.

Panel on MES Career Paths with Host, Alex James at 12:00 pm: https://evergreen.zoom.us/j/88189621864

For folks attending virtually, you will be able to view the panel and discussion on How have MES alumni career paths been influenced because of the MES experience or in spite of the MES experience? You will be able to ask questions to the panelists with assisted moderation from our media team and MES staff.

Evening Reception at the Lord Mansion and Coach House

211 21st Ave SW, Olympia, WA 98501
6:00-9:00 pm

Arrival Time

You may start arriving at 6:00 pm to the venue, there is no dress-code, wear what you like and even come in costume if you participated in the Procession of the Species Parade!

Parking Options

We will have parking available at the McCleary Mansion accross the street from the Lord Mansion as well as street parking all around the Lord Mansion available. You should not need to pay to park downtown in Olympia during the weekend. Parking may be limited because of Procession of the Species and Arts Walk so securing parking downtown is recommended.

Checking into the Venue

  • You will need to have a valid photo ID with your date of birth with you to check into the venue at the front entrance to the Lord Mansion. Every attendee’s ID will be checked at the door and those 21+ will be provided a name tag, and two drink tickets, for the bartender service.
    • Please note: You cannot wear your daytime name tag from the morning events at the Reception, as the bartender will need to see the “Reception name tags” on each attendee to note whose ID has been checked before serving drinks.
  • All eligible attendees get 2 drink tickets and cannot share or trade them amongst attendees. You cannot purchase more drinks during the event, and the bartender cannot accept cash for additional beverages. 
  • You must be registered for the event in order to enter the venue, if you bring extra guests other than those you have registered with you, we will ask that they register at the door.

Question about minors at the Reception

We want to address a great question some of our registrants raised about whether folks under 21 may attend the Reception since we will have a bar service with two drink tickets provided to all those 21 and over. We confirmed that yes, you can bring folks under 21 with you to the event, we only ask that:

  • If your guest(s) is 18 or older, that you register them before you arrive to the venue using the link below
  • If your guest(s) are 17 or under, you do not need to register them to attend the event
  • Folks under 21 will not be given a nametag since this is the mechanism by which the bartender will know whose ID has been checked and is 21+.

Food and Beverage Service

We will have heavy appetizers and beverage service available starting at 6:00 pm. Catering is provided by MES alumna, Sarah Boyle’s catering business, EZ Foods Catering and they have prepared a great menu for us!