Outdoors
It's one of the oldest nautical legends in the book: The giant sea creature with unending tentacles that destroys ships and devours sailors. Whatever you want to call it - the Kraken, the Hydra, Jerry - tales of sea monsters have been around for as long as people have traveled
Features
There are a lot of things that make a bar successful, and without question, a good happy hour is one of them. Nearly every, pub, bar, tavern, restaurant in town has a signature twist intended to bring us in to partake. And with so many to choose from, how do
Online Interactive Guides
Welcome to the Pacific Northwest. In order to help you get the most out of your stay or visit, we present our bi-yearly guide on what to do and see. Click the link below and start your journey today. Click here to view our interactive 2016 Summer
Music
Even in a town as small as Tacoma sometimes feels, it's still fairly easy to lose touch with those around you, to retreat underground for long periods at a time, only to emerge, squinting at the sun and seeing your friends once again. This is not even taking into consideration
Music
Where were you on April 28, 1994? That's the day All-4-One's cover of "I Swear," originally a chart-topping country track from John Michael Montgomery, was released to the public. That crooned rendition also hit #1 and stayed there for 11 weeks. If you're a member of Generation X, there's a
Arts
Elise Richman's unique installation, "Spectral," may be difficult for many to grasp, but should be worth the effort to really look and contemplate deeply. Call it a wall hanging, a painting or assemblage with plastics, this piece explores properties of light and color and was inspired, according to a statement from
Arts
On Tacoma's eastside, Swan Creek Park is a somewhat hidden and undiscovered-to-some 373-acre oasis with an active salmon stream, a vast network of pedestrian trails and a 50-acre mountain bike trail system. It's also home to a food forest, which is a one-acre plot permaculture garden utilizing the natural processes
Stage
New Muses Theatre Company is among a handful of lesser-known companies that produces excellent theater for mostly sparse audiences. By my count, there were only 10 people in the audience opening night of Luigi Pirandello's absurdist play Six Characters in Search of an Author. The actors outnumbered the audience by
South Sound Cinema
If there is a good and decent force in this universe, the hot months of 2016 should be on their way out. While my desire for fall to get here already is mostly a selfish one, there are perks for the lot of you, as well; chiefly, we are approaching
Arts
Kittredge Hall at the University of Puget Sound (UPS), home to the Art Department and Kittredge Art Gallery, celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. From 1943 to 1944, long before it was home to the Art Department, Kittredge housed the Army Specialized Training Unit. Two hundred and thirty-eight young soldiers
Music
What is it that drives an artist to start a one-person band? Frequently, the prevailing wisdom is that a one-person band is born out of a musician not wanting to compromise his vision by collaborating with others, but that might be a little simplistic. Some musicians like to impose limits
Arts
One thing paintings by Susan Aurand and Liza Brenner have in common is that both artists build paintings that extend away from the wall, using what amounts to constructed boxes or compartments to hold their paintings. Aurand builds framing devices out of wood that are like finely crafted cabinets within which
Reviews
Announcer: They call it a bar and grill, but by all indications, think of the Log Cabin in Lacey as a tavern with really good food. They won't get a Michelin Star or anything, but if you like fried sandwiches, sandwiches and alcohol, a stop here (without the kids -
Stage
Established theater companies aren't always interested in taking risks when it comes to selecting plays to produce. Thankfully, playhouses in the South Sound have been taking steps over the past few years to change this, to step out of their comfort zones and put new and exciting works on their
Features
Though Olympia is a small city, its wide range of restaurants makes it a great place to try something new. On any given day, one could eat his or her way around the globe, from Thai and French dishes to Russian dumplings and hand-rolled Italian pasta. Tucked away along 5th Ave.
Arts
"The Urban Sketchers" exhibition at Handforth Gallery in the downtown Tacoma Public Library is delightfully lightweight. The walls are filled with quick sketches in pencil, pen and ink, watercolor and other media of mostly local scenes familiar to many Tacomans - some by well-known local artists and some by artists
Music
I admit to having some knee-jerk biases when it comes to finding bands to write about in this here rag. A lot of things that immediately turn me off are ways in which bands choose to describe themselves: whether it's a lack of enthusiasm in one's own music, or a
Reviews
Announcer: After several weeks of somewhat cranky reviews, the boys were pleasantly surprised to step inside Pacific Southern near the Tacoma Mall to discover good, quality Southern food that won't help your heart but certainly pass the taste test. Jake: I really like that the house-made sweet tea and lemonade is
Stage
On the 16th of August, South Sound storytellers will entertain a sure-to-be packed house at Rhythm and Rye in Olympia for the last of this year's StoryOly story slams before the 12 top storytellers of the year meet in the Grand Slam, Sept. 17. Every month on the third Tuesday, approximately
Attractions
In a world! ... where the Mariners are eight-and-a-half games back, summer movies have only been OK, and presidential candidates bet millions on who can be least popular, we need an August pick-us-up. On Facebook, the response to that necessity is simple: baby animal videos. In real life, the kind