MARKET
Proctor Farmers Market
Valhalla will unfold on earth once again when the Proctor Farmers’ Market opens for the season this morning. While your best bets for fresh produce this time of year include tomatoes, green beans, salad greens and possibly strawberries, this farmers’ market doesn’t stop there: You’ll also find flower bouquets, oysters, artisan crafts, and concessions. â€" Jake de Paul
[Proctor District, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, North 27th and Proctor, Tacoma, www.proctorfarmersmarket.com]

THE ARTS
Arts Walk XXXVI
To visit a community art fair is to be exposed to the sheer vastness of the human creative spectrum. Art, theater, music, word and film grace both ends of the spectrum this weekend at the Olympia Arts Walk XXXVI. Grab a pal and spend a couple of hours in downtown Olympia today taking in the mind-bending variety of stuff some people conjure up to express themselves and sell. The collective experience â€" bands in alleys, theater on the streets, lumberjacks and punks hugging, the proliferation of hand-painted clothing â€" can be both invigorating and thought provoking.

There may be lines drawn between fine art and crafts, and music and noise, and hobby and self-indulgence, but the 300 visual and performing artists overwhelmingly demonstrate an enthusiasm and engagement with their work â€" and it’s so much freakin’ fun. â€" Suzy Stump
[Downtown Olympia, noon-7 p.m., Procession of the Species Saturday at 4:30 p.m., 360.570.5858]

DANCE
Rudraksjya
Let’s travel to India’s east coast through dance. In Orissa, temple carvings show deities entwined in elaborate voluptuous poses. Odissi, the dance form that once enlivened those temples, embeds that sensuality in the body of the individual performer. When the Indian dance troupe Rudraksjya takes the Experimental Theater Saturday, the women onstage will settle into the traditional stance, their knees turned out and deeply bent, their bodies draping into S-shaped curves. As they stamp and turn, they wheel their torsos above those mobile hips, and right into my groin. â€" Brad Allen
[The Evergreen State College, Saturday, April 26, 8 p.m., $10-$20, 2700 Evergreen Parkway N.W., Olympia, 360.867.6833]

BLUES
Loose Gravel and the Quarry
Take a cup of blues, a pinch of soul and a dab of folk and you get Steven ‘Loose Gravel’ Luhtala. Give Luhtala his band, The Quarry, and you have one of the finest sounds to come out of Tacoma in a long time. â€" Tony Engelhart
[Roberts 99th St. Bar and Grill, 8 pm, 9825 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.536.1464]

LINK: Andrew Foard benefit and others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat in a bar.

RON SWARNER: GOOD TACOMA TONIGHT >>>

Enjoy a repeat of our interview with God Tacoma promoter Ainslee Marshall:

WEEKLY VOLCANO: What is the concept behind tonight’s Good Tacoma event?

AINSLEE K. MARSHALL: The concept is to get people to donate locally, but also see that there is a entire world outside of Tacoma that desperately needs our help right now.

Economically, we are very fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest and I truly believe that by encouraging the residents of this community to give what they have, the level of kindness and depth of caring will only rise exponentially.

VOLCANO: So your benefit will include local charities, too?

MARSHALL: The cover will be $10 at the door, or $8 with a can of food. I will also be encouraging everyone to bring one brown bag containing items such as clothing, shoes, etc. I will then deliver all these goods to the Emergency Food Network in the Tacoma area the day after the event. Their mission is to "provide a reliable food supply so that no person in Pierce County goes hungry."

All the proceeds will be donated to a company based out of California called TOMS shoes. They are an organization dedicated to donating shoes to children in Third World countries who would otherwise never be able to afford them. I highly suggest checking out their site. You will be able to see a YouTube video of a shoe drop that they did in Africa last year that is absolutely amazing.

VOLCANO: Besides goodwill, what will be the event’s draw?

MARSHALL: The party will feature musical guests Tree Roots in the Basement, Freeze & Furcoats, The Toughtimes and the Mercy Pirates. I will also have a shoe raffle featuring shoes decorated by local artists, and sponsored by Republic Parking N.W. Inc. So far, I have 8 artists who have signed on including Daniel Blue and Zach Marvick. The raffle tickets will be $5, with all proceeds also going to help TOMS shoes.

VOLCANO: Do you have help?

MARSHALL: The outpouring of offers that I have received to help this event has been astounding. The shoe raffle has received sponsorship, the posters and ads have been comped, and the space by the Frieghthouse Square that I am renting has been given to me at a ridiculously low price. This means that the funds from this event will be going directly to the cause. It is a beautiful thing to watch what lengths people will go to in the name of being "Good."

VOLCANO: Where is the space?

MARSHALL: The show will take place Saturday, April 26, at 6 p.m., in “The Ballroom” located on the corner of East C Street and 25th Street. The venue is one block before Freighthouse Square, which is an awesome location since the LINK runs directly down 25th Street and the bus terminal is only a block ahead.

VOLCANO: Thanks Ainslee. Good Tacoma sounds like a worthy cause and a fun time.

BOBBLE TIKI: BREAKFAST WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD
Confluence \KON-floo-uhn(t)s\, noun:
1. A flowing or coming together; junction.
2. The place where two rivers, streams, etc. meet.
3. A flocking or assemblage of a multitude in one place; a large collection or assemblage

USAGE EXAMPLE: A confluence of Tacoma’s scene filled Hell’s Kitchen last night to support Andrew Foard. This afternoon, during an all ages show for the same cause, an equally impressive confluence is expected. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Five years

OLYMPIA: Procession of the hippies

SEATTLE:  Crime spree ended 

UNITED STATES: Electable?

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM LISTINGS: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening

FORUM
Hip-hop Community Dialogue
Amidst growing wealth, prosperity and community evolution, hip-hop is straining to make a comeback. A recent, post-Dead-Prez riot in Olympia and a cancelled E-40 concert at the Pantages Theater have pushed Tacoma’s on-again, off-again hip-hop scene into the spotlight.

It’s ironic, says one local observer, that no one takes notice of hip-hop until it lives up to everyone’s prejudices.

And while some are concerned that recent violence and scrutiny have set the hip-hop community back â€" perhaps even killed the scene â€" members of the local hip-hop community have come out swinging. Local hip-hop cliques are crossing boundaries, talking about what to do with what some claim to be a withering scene, and finding solidarity in the face of increasing criticism and public concern.

That’s what hip-hop does best â€" it stands together, and it stands against the odds.

How does the rest of the community feel about hip-hop?

The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts will hosts a forum to discuss hip-hop with local musicians, promoters and community leaders mediated by University of Puget Sound Professor Dexter Gordon.
[Theatre on the Square, 3 p.m., free, 915 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894

BLUES
Walter Trout & the Radicals
Born in New Jersey in 1951, Trout cut his teeth in the same local music scene as Steel Mill, which featured a fresh face by the name of Bruce Springsteen. After moving to Los Angeles, Trout eventually hooked up with Canned Heat and then John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers â€" where he and Coco Montoya formed one of the most fearsome guitar tandems of all time. It was during this period that Trout made a name for himself.

In June of this year Walter Trout will release The Outsider, on Provogue Records â€" 13 original Trout tracks and a special musical guest appearance by harmonica wild man Jason Ricci. Trout is currently on tour, and no doubt dishing out some of the new material to fans anywhere and everywhere. â€" Matt Driscol
[Jazzbones, Saturday, 7 p.m., all ages, $12-$15, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

LINK: Soupy Cambell Blues Fundraiser and more in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let's eat Mexican today.

STEPH DEROSA: I’M GOING SOFT ON YOU TODAY >>>

Last week KAke and I tried our hand in lunch at Sea Grill with the kids.  The staff there was extremely accommodating and showed patience in dealing with our frisky 5-year-old girls. It was after two glasses of wine that KAke and I discovered we don’t have any patience for our 5-year-old girls.

For Dinner with DeRosa this week I’d love to serve Sea Grill’s slightly spicy and fully flavored crab and asparagus soup.  This soup hit every point of my tongue perfectly and stroked all my favorite taste buds simultaneously.  Cooked to perfection, the soup’s asparagus coupled flawlessly with the large chunks of tasty crabmeat. I think it goes without saying that this Sea Grill soup is now one of my favorites in Tacoma.

My dinner guests this week are all amazing people I met within the last 24 hours.

Last night I spent some fun family time with my daughter, a couple of newfound friends, and the YMCA.  Every so often the YMCA holds a parent/child overnight campout in their very popular Camp Seymour in Key Peninsula. 

It’s common for most parents to have feelings of angst when the thought of spending a weekend with the kids at an overnight camp crosses their minds.  Trust me, the thought crossed my mind as well, but only for about half a second.

I grew up loving camp.  Loved, loved, loved it.  So much so that I inevitably became a camp counselor, and eventually a camp director.  I worked with the YMCA for years before my daughter was born (actually, up until weeks before she was born), and I miss the summer camp environment constantly.  So, this overnight camp with my babe was the perfect setting for me to introduce her to a way of life that I hold very dear to my heart.

What made the weekend extremely effortless were the labors of my first group of dinner guests: the staff.  It was late last night after the s’mores were toasted and the sun had gone down that this group of camp counselors strutted their silly stuff in order to make camp visitors giggle with glee.  The crowd was laughing out loud at every move, every skit, and every song.   Pure entertainment: No television, no computer, and no Xbox â€" just your imagination.

Two of my favorite YMCA staff this weekend was Jeff and Sarah Jane.  My daughter fell in love with these two.  Holding a conversation with a 5 year old been proven to be a challenge, but Jeff and Sarah Jane did it gracefully.

Steven and his father Ken are invited as well this week.  Steven is by far one of the coolest 7-year-old boys I’ve ever met.  His comedic timing is always spot-on, and his courage is that of a lion.  Steven holds his award in this picture for being the youngest 2008 member of the “Dippy Club.”  In order to be part of this elite club of risk takers, you must jump into the freezing cove at 7 a.m.  Yikes!  Kudos to you, Steven!

Jessica, the camp director for the weekend, gets a huge, warm invite for dinner this week.  I cannot thank her enough for heading up that group of crazy yahoos she calls “staff.”  Her interaction with the smaller kids also showed her amazing character. I was in awe.

Mackenzie gets an invite to dinner AND an award: Best Freehand Face Painter in the Entire Galaxy (BFFPEG).  It’s a prestigious award, and one that should be taken seriously.  One so prestigious that I found out where she lives (Steilacoom), and grabbed her number to hire her for parties (e-mail me if you want more info).

Our YMCA cabin mates from University Place are invited this week as well. The two younger girls, Makaila and Anna, took my daughter under their beautiful angel wings and treated her like a true friend this weekend. Thank you cabin mates â€" you made dining, Sorry, Shrinky Dinks, canoeing, and mattress surfing more fun than ever!

Lastly, Roy and Richard (oh dear Lord, let that be their correct names) are also invited to DWD this week, and they better bring their instruments.

Somehow the YMCA decided to let in a rowdy group of triathlon trainees for the weekend, and we all had a blast together at the campfire.  As kids got up and did skits (including my daughter with a knock-knock joke), these two men were coerced into getting up and sharing a little ditty with us all.  It was a grand time.  One I will not soon forget.

Thank you YMCA, Camp Seymour, and all it’s staff!  I’m giving you a fair warning: load up on the marshmallows, ‘cause we’ll be back!

LINK: What is Dinner with DeRosa?

BRAD ALLEN: DANCE IN YOUR HOUSE >>>

Olympia eletro-rific band Romanteek will visit Free Radio Olympia 98.5 FM from 4-7 p.m. today to debut their new, self-titled album.

LINK: Previously in the Weekly Volcano.

FILM
Young@Heart
In School of Rock, Jack Black taught a classroom of 10-year-olds that rock ’n’ roll music is always about one thing: sticking it to the man. Young@Heart, a documentary about a chorus of performers in their 80s and 90s, shows that no one has more reason to stick it to the man than people who are most defiantly not going gently into that good night. PG for some mild language and thematic elements. Three-and-a-half stars. â€" Jeff Johnson

By the way, The Grand Cinema offers free movies on Monday to all its members.  Show them your membership card.

[The Grand Cinema, 2:30, 4:50 and 7:10 p.m., $4.50-$8, free for members, 606 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.4474]

PARTY
The Swiss Pub
Monday is the new Friday. At least, that’s what some hipster recently told Bobble Tiki. Apparently, more and more young reality-show-watchin’, toe-ring-wearin’, Mike’s-Hard-Lemonade-drinkin’ culture suckers are staying out late on the first school night of the week. Here’s one for you, kiddies!  The Swiss Pub celebrates its15th birthday tonight (congrats Jack, Bob and Gayl!) with great folk rock jam band Handful of Luvin’.

Bobble Tiki loves the Swiss.  It’s got cool brick walls, pool tables, a shuffleboard, live music, bartenders named Nobby, Slick and money, hard to find drafts and cocktails.  That’s all Bobble Tiki really asks for.

Normally, Bobble Tiki’s objective at the Swiss would be to lurk in the corner, perhaps play pool, stare out at the dance floor and hope a delicious collegiate boob will pop out of some young lady’s shirt in the middle of a dance rock pelvic gyration and expose itself to Bobble Tiki’s keen eye. 

Not tonight!

Delicious co-eds will be checking out Bobble Tiki on the dance floor.  While Handful of Luvin’ grooves through “Framed,” “Pedestal” and “Hopin’ for New” Bobble Tiki’s dance moves will be so hot he’ll have to sentence frosty cans of PBR to the purgatory of being taped to his armpits.

Won’t you join him? â€" Bobble Tiki 
[Swiss Pub, specials all day, bands starts at 8 p.m., Swiss Pub, 1904 S. Jefferson Ave., downtown Tacoma, 253.572.2821]

LINK: Rockaraoke and more in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat American today.

MICHAEL SWAN: SEE YOUR FUTURE. BE YOUR FUTURE.

TAKE BACK FROST PARK: Tacoma community takes back Frost Park from thugs and drugs.
Friday, May 2, noon, free, Ninth and Commerce, downtown Tacoma.

BRAD ALLEN: MORE PUYALLUP FAIR CONCERTS >>>

Kid Rock and Fergie will perform at this year’s Puyallup Fair Sept. 10 and Sept. 16, respectively. Tickets for Kid Rock are $30 and $60. Fergie tickets are a bit more â€" $29 and $79. Both go on sale this Saturday at 10 a.m.

BOBBLE TIKI: BRUNCH WITH BOBBLE TIKI >>>

THE DAILY WORD

Maelstrom \MAYL-struhm\, noun:
1. A large, powerful, or destructive whirlpool.
2. Something resembling a maelstrom; a violent, disordered, or turbulent state of affairs.

USAGE EXAMPLE: For Bobble Tiki, the NFL draft this weekend was a maelstrom of Chevy commercials, Frito Lay products and naps on the couch. For Mrs. Tiki the NFL draft was a maelstrom of all Bobble Tiki’s lazy qualities that drive her crazy. 

MORNING NEWS

TACOMA: Important rock

OLYMPIA: New tax for more officers?

SEATTLE: Body of Vedder

UNITED STATES:  McCain economics 

THINGS TO DO TODAY
FILM LISTINGS: Look here
MUSIC LISTINGS: Here’s what’s happening