Bars & Clubs
Behind the unassuming façade of the T-Brothers' Liquor Lodge, located at 417 Plum St. SE in Olympia, lies a secret only a select few may experience. Through the front door, past the T-Brothers' fine selection of adult beverages, way at the back of the store, one finds it: a gorgeous
Stage
Science fiction can take us anywhere, from human blood vessels to the edges of the universe. In 1897, it turned menacing Martian tripods loose on the streets of Victorian London. These days, episodes of Doctor Who can be viewed on any smartphone, an improvement over Starfleet's communicators. Words, Words, Words is
Stage
The Story of My Life by Neil Bartram and Brian Hill opens tonight at Olympia Little Theatre. This rarely produced musical follows a lifelong friendship of Alvin Kelby (Frank Kohel) and Thomas Weaver (Micheal O'Hara). It is directed by Maria Valenzuela. The two boys grow up together. One stays in their hometown
Arts
This critic's choice of the top visual arts events for the fall season is as follows:Artscapes installations, through Nov. 17 Five new Artscapes installations are on display in the old Woolworth storefront and on the adjacent landmark Tollbooth Gallery. Artists selected for this round include Lauren Boilini, Eva Funderburgh, Nola Avienne,
Stage
Perhaps reflecting the collegiate world in which many stage artists train, theater's "season" ignores the calendar and runs from fall into summer. Thus, companies all over the South Sound are rehearsing their season openers. We take this opportunity to look into our crystal ball and identify the 10 shows most
Outdoors
For a while last Monday morning and early afternoon, three pirates controlled all boating on American Lake. They had stormed Russell Landing Marina, showed their JBLM Recreation Qualification Card, filled out some easy paperwork and grabbed a few life preservers. In their little hands they held a treasure chest-sized picnic basket full
Music
Some artists are utterly restless, not quite feeling fulfilled unless they are nearly constantly creating. For some of these artists, creating feels compulsive; their releases dressed up in fervor, monuments to an uncontrollable urge. Robert Pollard springs to mind as such a musician, littering now multiple decades with albums either
Arts
Viewing Selinda Sheridan's show at Matter is like walking into a group exhibition of Sumi painters. There are only six paintings in the show, and each of them is so different from all the others that they could easily be mistaken for the work of six different artists. And yet
Stage
The Last Five Years is a little musical with a big heart, and actors Aaron Lamb and Katherine Strohmaier, directed by Linda Whitney, make of it a mesmerizing evening's entertainment. Composer, lyricist and playwright Jason Robert Brown has created a story told in song that is heart-wrenching and real - no
Arts
Weekly Volcano scribe Christian Carvajal - voted Best Writer in the Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia poll - has published a new novel under the pseudonym Lynn Savage. It is called Mr. Klein's Wild Ride (Mud Flat Press, 2016), and it is the story of the building and cataclysmic opening
Attractions
The Washington State Fair is back, and it's bigger and better than ever with more days, more acts, more rides ... more everything. This year, opening day will be the Friday before Labor Day, Sept. 2, instead of the traditional after-Labor Day opening. The result will be more days to give
Outdoors
There are few ways you can enjoy everything that makes the Northwest so awesome all at once, but take a cruise to Blake Island and you can do it all, from quintessentially Northwest views to food to history. Blake Island is only accessible by boat. If you don't have your
Music
Karaoke can be a divisive thing: it's implicitly designed to let the singer let off a little bit of steam, to picture themselves fronting a band, to get their moment in the spotlight without anyone judging them. Karaoke is a place for amateurs to imagine being professionals, and I believe
South Sound Cinema
Going to the movies in 2016 is sort of a depressing experience. You plunk down $12-15 just to get in, then $10 or more for popcorn, soda, candy, and whatever else you like to munch on. The days of sneaking in food are long past us. Then you sit down
Features
I've grown up and spent 90 percent of my life in Tacoma, and like any good son of Grit City, the candy-cane-colored Frisko Freeze sign is seared into my brain forever. Frisko has always been a favorite of mine, and it's one of the first places I take Tacoma newbies.
Travel
Outlet malls are well worth the time to visit. As I walked around the mall in North Bend, I marveled at the variety of products offered by such stores as Banana Republic and Lane Bryant to Kitchen Collection and Pendleton. Outlet malls feature scores of stores offering well-known consumer product brands, with
Outdoors
Ready to join the growing peloton and pedal around Pierce County? For those who like to ride their bicycles, the county has just published its seventh version of the Pierce County Bike Map. The free map focuses on the on-road bikeways, such as roads with wide lanes, paved shoulders, and designated bicycle
Attractions
Many of history's most important moments required documents of some sort. When Einstein discovered the theory of relativity, he had to write it down somewhere. If someone wrote a book or a play or an opera, there was always a first draft. Generals didn't have Microsoft Word to type out
Attractions
Most shopping malls really aren't that different from each other. Sure, you can visit the Tacoma Mall and feed your Cinnabon addiction, but the mall doesn't do a whole lot to differentiate itself from any other successful, middle-class mall around the country. If you want a true, 100 percent Tacoma
Outdoors
To be honest, if you're looking for a perfect, multi-faceted park, visit Point Defiance. However, this is supposed to be about hidden gems, right? If you're constantly being named one of the best city parks and running trail destinations in the country, you forfeit being underrated. You know what is