Features
It's always a race to snag the best seats for Valentine's Day dining. And many local restaurants still have seats available, but you'd better hurry, be happy eating at 4 p.m. or 9 p.m., or plan to celebrate this weekend instead. To help you, sweethearts - here are some romantic
Features
Greek deli-style Gyro Spot boasts fresh, blue paint and stainless steel kitchen equipment. The business may look new, but the sticker on the front door tells curious passersby this place is the new home of longtime restaurant owner, Kenny Trobman. Trobman's signature image - a big-eyed chef with tons of frizzy
Bars & Clubs
When it comes to football season, even casual sports fans appreciate good food, fans and atmosphere - and finding the right spot to watch the game can be half the fun. For casual and hardcore enthusiasts alike, here are a few favorite bars and restaurants in the South Sound to keep
Military Life
On a recent Friday morning in the Proctor district, a girlfriend and I headed into Compass Rose on 26th Ave. Next to an art gallery and Italian restaurant, the window displays caught my eye - a giant ice cream sandwich floatie, and a selection of cool back-to-school gear. As I imagined
Bars & Clubs
The most cleverly-named beer festival in the South Sound is right around the corner. Brew Five Three is Tacoma's beer and blues festival, and in its 3rd year, is well on its way to becoming tradition. On Saturday, Aug. 8, from 1-8 p.m., Broadway, between 9th and 11th, will turn into
Arts
Compass Rose celebrates two years at its Proctor location in Tacoma. Following the model of its sister store in Olympia, which has been delighting shoppers for more than 17 years, the Proctor location features all the quirk, class and sass of its origins - with a T-town flair. "Compass Rose hearts
Music
The term "Parrot Head" was coined in 1985 at a Jimmy Buffett concert in Cincinnati, Ohio. At the show, Jimmy commented about everyone wearing Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats and how they kept coming back to see his shows, just like Grateful Dead followers, Deadheads. Thus, the term "Parrot Head"
Outdoors
With many eyes on Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Tacoma's Fourth of July festivals, you may think that is the beginning and end of it. Here are the Top 10 in the area we'd suggest:TACOMA AREA1. Freedom Fest:Let's start with Freedom Fest at JBLM, the annual celebration that invites the public
News Front
It's not often that reporters get to make dirty jokes (unless you're Jon Stewart), but in this case, the event being covered is one giant innuendo - which perhaps makes this a little more fun for both reader and reporter. And it should be infinitely more fun for those who actually
Music
With pro lighting, sound and fog machine, professional musicians and amateur singers forged together on stage to create renditions of everything from Tool to country and R&B, and even Disney's Frozen anthem, "Let it Go." This was the scene on a recent Wednesday at The Town, Tacoma's newest venue. The 7,000-square-foot space,
Outdoors
Farm-to-bottle tastes at a family run distillery, Icelandic lamb and u-pick blueberries available for purchase, hiking through mysterious Mima Mounds or a beautiful sculpture park. These are just a few of the stops along a 60-mile stretch of road, one that lives up to its name - Thurston Bountiful Byway. Dotted
Guides
We've experienced an unseasonably warm, dry winter in the Pacific Northwest, but don't bust out the sun block just yet. There will be plenty of rain in the coming months, (April showers bring May flowers) so we've compiled a list of weather-friendly activities, all on a wallet-friendly budget. When the forecast
We Recommend
Astral, visceral, ethereal - all of these "al" words describe Los Angeles indie rock band Nacosta. Synthy, dancey and poppy describe them, too. Releasing their first album this past spring, Under the Half Moon is full of harmonic tendencies, resulting in dreamy songs, backed by solid instrumental work. The song
Music
Everyone knows that musicians have to be a certain level of crazy to be in the field. They have to sacrifice normal hours, humility and pieces of their very soul to survive on stage. Then, you have musicians who play in more than one band. You know those are the certifiable
We Recommend
If I were only allowed to write about one genre of music, as much as I enjoy all the folk rock, indie pop, punk, jazz fusion and hip-hop, I'd have to narrow my choice to one category: heavy rock. And so, when such a band comes into view, filtering out
Viva South Sound
Originally, this article was supposed to be an overview of the funky antique stores around Olympia and beyond. And while I love Finder's Keeper's, Sanford and Son and Yard Birds, my timing this week for visiting those shops was off, and I was unable to do proper research. So, feeling sorry
We Recommend
They say good things come in threes. Bandolier, People Under The Sun and The Echo Echo Echoes, are all celebrating a record release, a trifecta of "Hell yeah!" for Tacoma. But if you've seen your share of these bands, and think you'll just pick up their album online or at
Arts
Love Our Local Fest (LOL) could very well be in the running for the Weekly Volcano's next Best of Olympia issue: Best Use of Giant Coloring Paper To Make a Community Mural, Best 30-Foot Geodesic Workshop Dome, and Best Reason To Shut Down Traffic on The Eastside are certain category
We Recommend
Neutral Boy has been on the scene for years, punk rock staples. If you opened a fridge labeled Northwest Punk, Neutral Boy would be in the crisper, right next to the tall boys. Except for a few bands (you know who you are, assholes) and a couple limp burritos, the
We Recommend
"Awesome coffee on a farm in the middle of pretty much nowhere, group photo on the haystacks every year ... swimming in the river, eating food that was grown on the land, standing in the back field late at night, watching the bands play (really loud), or watching from the