Guides
Laura MacCary and husband Joe Benner have a special wish for Christmas - they want to be able to make robots and talk about technology with their fellow dorks in Tacoma. Dork is a term of respect and endearment in Laura and Joe's world, by the way. Especially if said
Guides
It's hard to decide what to do this time of year. For many people, the holiday season is simple and routine. But for a growing number of people, plain old Christmas doesn't cut it anymore. People are slicing and dicing tradition in larger and larger numbers. Some are tired of
Arts
It's time to go polar. Thank the Tacoma Art Museum, Franciscan Health Systems and a bunch of other nice folks who have transformed Tacoma's Tollefson Plaza into a full on Polar Plaza, complete with arts, activities and a covered, open-air ice rink open to anyone brave enough to strap on
Guides
Shift happens. Especially during the holidays. That's the message from local community-building non-profit Go Local Tacoma, as it joins more than 150 communities across North America in the Shift Your Shopping holiday campaign, an unprecedented national effort that encourages residents to take job creation and economic concerns into their own
Arts
If you haven't started constructing your Halloween persona, it's not too late. Whether you go for the full-blown latex and polyester pre-fab, or make your own from whatever you can find in your basement, Halloween is your big chance to indulge your desire to be someone else. From Joe Paterno
Arts
Julia Jones may have found Tacoma's Halloween Pulse. She's the mind behind Le Noir Bizarre, a three-floor, dark holiday extravaganza happening Sunday, Oct. 30 at Sanford and Son Antiques. Jones has a couple dozen craftspeople, performers and assorted weirdoes lined up for this romanced/goth/steampunk celebration, and promises there will be
Guides
Vicci Martinez is no ordinary hero. She doesn't wear spandex. She doesn't have a cool nickname. She doesn't bend steel or shoot lasers out of her eyes (that I know of). She's not a hero because she got to be on network television. She's not a hero because she came
Arts
A handful of local artists are suddenly out of luck as property owners in downtown Tacoma have announced they will stop participating in a program that provided artists with free studio and gallery space. You've likely already seen some of the fruits of the program known as Spaceworks Tacoma -
Arts
Desmond Tutu is coming to Tacoma. Let that sink in, then consider that the Nobel Peace Prize winner and historic peace activist chose to come to Tacoma as the first of his final two official international appearances before he retires later this year. Winner of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for
Music
Spending a day with Josh Rizeberg is like a box of chocolates ... no. ... Spending a day with Josh Rizeberg is like watching two wolverines fight in a sleeping bag ... no. ... Spending a day with Josh Rizeberg is like peeing in the hot tub while the ghost
Arts
Race + Education = Art. That is how local artists see the controversial issues of race and education - matters they consider too important to leave solely to those in the halls of power. During October, a selection of artists will present their own creative interpretations of how race impacts
Arts
Gary and Deborah Boone could have dropped their new art gallery in the middle of Pioneer Square. But they chose Ledger Square instead. Ledger Square is in Tacoma, by the way. It will soon be home to B2 Fine Art Gallery and Studios. "B2" usually is pronounced "Bee Too".
Guides
Sweet Pea really is a superhero. In fact, he’s been voted Tacoma’s Best Superhero. Like most superheroes, sweet pea has a mild-mannered everyday persona. Real superheroes never appear to be superheroes until there’s a crisis. Then they unleash with full force. If they walked around looking all powerful, bad guys
Guides
If Marilyn Strickland could pick a superpower, she would choose mind reading. “I’m very good at understanding what motivates people,” she says. “And you need that to get things moving in politics.” It’s those kinds of honest insights that made Marilyn Strickland the nearly unanimous pick for Best Politician in the Weekly
Guides
If you guessed that Primo Grill was going to win Best Overall Restaurant in the Weekly Volcano’s 2010 Best of Tacoma Readers’ Poll, you guessed right. And you knew what was up. The perfect balance is hard to strike in the restaurant business. And it’s different depending on where you
Guides
Earlier this year a small group of a dozen or so artists celebrated the re-opening of the legendary Broadway graffiti garages. As part of an invitation-only, relatively quiet gathering, graffiti artists from Seattle and Tacoma filled three parking garages with a dozen or so burners (murals). Since then, the walls
Guides
It’s hard to find a good aromatherapy and herbal/tobacco accessories supply store these days. I mean one that really distinguishes itself. You can walk into any strip mall smoke shop and find an array of strangely-shaped glass smoking accessories. It’s overwhelming, really, the array of options for people who indulge
Guides
Dennis Flannigan is what some of my friends on the East Coast would call a mensch. He would probably disagree with me. That, in part, is why he’s a mensch. Mensch is Yiddish, and it means a kind of stand-up guy. It also means about 50 other things. All of them are
Arts
I don't believe it. Someone in Tacoma is selling art. A lot of it. And spray paint. A lot of it. Don't sleep on Gallery 38 Art Supply on 38th Avenue. I hope someone has a fit. Because Gallery 38 is a graffiti joint. And they're selling art. I don't believe it.
Arts
It's that time again. Time to celebrate all the beauty and creativity and funk and goodness that exists between the cracks of urbanity. There are a whole lot of festivals in Tacoma. But only one Urban Art Festival. On the surface, this may look like any other Urban Art Fest