PEDAL TO THE MEDAL ON THE HYPE MACHINE >>>

As we've no doubt drilled into your cranium by now, the Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia 2011 Issue hits the street this Thursday. It's awesome. I've seen it (read: been completely immersed in it for the last three weeks, leaving me blurry eyed and completely incapable of unbiased opinion).

And, of course, we have our big-ass Best of Olympia 2011 Party coming up - Thursday, Feb. 17 at The Brotherhood. The Dirty Birds, Western Hymn and Morgan and the Organ Donors will provide the free music, and Oldschool Pizzeria will provide the free pizza (no joke). Music starts at 9 p.m., but consider arriving a wee-bit early - Bobble Tiki eats a lot of pizza.

In anticipation of Thursday's release of Best of Olympia 2011, we'd like to present a few honorable mention staff picks, which didn't quite make the print edition, but remain awesome nonetheless.

Best Theater Cocktails

Harlequin Productions

The themed beverages created for many Harlequin shows aren't quite as consistently excellent as the onstage fare, but they're a refreshing alternative to the same old wine and coffee. One notable libation was offered during Sixties Chicks and developed by production manager Jill Carter:

White Rabbit

• 1 part vodka (Smirnoff preferred)
• 1 part white cranberry juice
• 1 part white grape juice
• Dash of bitters

Combine and pour over ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. - Molly Gilmore

Best Marquee

Tenino 76 Gas Station

One time the downtown Subway marquee boasted, "It's eat healthy month!" A clever employee decided to switch it up to say, "It's eat pussy month!" This is the most brilliant sign I've ever seen. But, since that employee was undoubtedly fired, and Subway's sign has been boring ever since, the old Tenino 76 station takes the award in this category. Although they don't have their sign anymore, they still deserve props for years of entertaining passersby with great slogans like, "Buy two burritos, get Rolaids half off." - Nikki Talotta

[76 gas station, 397 Sussex Ave., Tenino, 360.264.4848]

Best Place To View Really Big Outdoor Sculptures

Monarch Contemporary Art Center And Sculpture Park

Monarch Sculpture Park boasts a variety of artistic sculptures from 140 local artists - there is a really large butterfly, a hedge maze, bird houses and a variety of sounds in the music garden. There is a stream and a pond on site that beg to be explored and a center that hosts special events. On my first visit there was a school group visiting, and they seemed to have a problem with the artistic nudity of some of the sculptures. So you can look forward to that as well. Monarch Park is free but accepts donations. This is a great place to take a walk and then have a picnic in the summer months ... especially if you don't have a problem with the occasional nude sculpture. - Brooke McKenzie  

[Monarch Sculpture Park, 8431 Waldrick Road SE, Tenino, 360.264.2408 monarchartcenter.org]

Best Taunt

"Get The Sevin Dust!"

This one was suggested by my friend Ben Matthews, who clearly spends many an idle hour in Sylvester Park. If, like me, you know Sevendust as the Georgia heavy metal quintet that gave us "Driven," "Enemy" and the Atlanta Falcons anthem "Falcons on Top," then the mocking chant oft heard as "Get the Sevendust" will confuse you at best. In point of fact, though, the Atlanta shredders (and the old Mac OS virus, SevenDust, aka "666") drew their handles from Sevin, the trade name of a Bayer-produced lawn insecticide, Carbaryl (IUPAC chemical name 1-naphthyl methylcarbamate). It's the third leading bug killer in the U.S. I cite these obscure lawn chemistry factoids merely to explain why said taunt is frequently hollered in response to the percussive stylings of downtown drum circle peaceniks. Fans of Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose will, no doubt, be relieved: No connection is implied between Rose and dirty hippies. - Christian Carvajal

[Sylvester Park, corner of Capitol and Legion, Olympia, 360.753.8380]

LINK: Best of Olympia Party Facebook