STEVE DUNKELBERGER: SEE FREE THEATER >>>

Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Tacoma Little Theater and Lakewood Playhouse have joined forces for a night of free theater snippets as part of National Live Theater Week.

These theatres will present excerpts from their mainstage productions, South Pacific, Bunnicula, Much Ado about Nothing, The Leading Ladies, Lucky Stiff and Macbeth.

[Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Thursday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m., 7116, Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.565.6867, TMP.org]

For the south King crowd, Stage Door Productions in Enumclaw is staging Of Mice and Men, with Christian Doyle, Brian Lewis, Emily Olson, Sam Kyles and Scott Brown.

It’s a Battle of the Bands at South Hill Mall! Well, kinda. It’s a Battle of the Bands, minus the bands. South Hill Mall is hosting a sing off for local choirs and ensembles with three or more people in their group this coming Saturday, Oct. 18 at 12 noon inside the Macy’s Court. They’re encouraging all nonprofits such as churches and schools to gather their teams and head into the depths of Puyallup to win cash prizes from $250-$1000. That’s a lot of money! Do you know how many Orange Juliuses and Abercrombie shirts one could buy with one thousand dollars?

Even if you’re not in a school or church ensemble, I suggest you gather the only two friends you have and dust off those vocal chords â€" the people of South Hill Mall need you. Even if you were not into singing I’d say the trip down Hwy. 512 would be well worth the gas just to witness the talent.

Registration starts at 11 a.m. this Saturday, so assemble your rusty version of “Bitches Ain’t S***” now before it’s too late.

LENNY GRANGER: OLY BASED CSA DOING GREAT THINGS >>>

A new collaboration among Bank of America, Washington State Mentors, and Left Foot Organics Farm in Olympia has resulted in an infusion of $5,000 into the nonprofit farm that trains and employs rural teens and people with disabilities.

Lt. Governor Brad Owens commemorated the program’s start-up Monday with kudos for its creativity.

"Left Foot Organics promotes self-sufficiency, inclusion, and independence for low-income rural youth and people with disabilities by working together to produce good food for the community on this 5-acre farm,” he told a crowd gathered Monday afternoon in the country.

“It is exactly this kind of innovation (that) helps us reach more young people, who with a little assistance can experience the satisfaction and pride that comes along with making a positive contribution to their community.”

Owens said that we know from research that having a caring adult in their lives is the most important difference between kids who succeed and those who don’t.

This week is an important one for Left Foot Organics.  Not only does it mark receipt of the grant, the week also culminates in a “Fun Farm Formal” fundraiser at the five-acre farm in Thurston County on Saturday, Oct. 18. For a glimpse of what’s up for auction, take a look at the farm’s Web site.

The grant will be administered by Washington Mentors, which offers promotion and training as well as advocacy and funding, to organizations throughout the state that provide mentoring to its citizens.

The farm, run by Ann Vandeman, has mentored some 50 people since she founded the program in 2001.  It currently employs eight people with cognitive disabilities.  For most of the people who have been employed over the years, this is their first job.  “Some really want to stay,” says Vandeman.  “Others use it as we all do, as a stepping stone.”

Many of the employees, ages 21-50, come to Left Foot Organics through high school transition programs whereby students who have completed their academic studies move on to primarily vocational education.  This is the result of public schools’ mandate to provide educational services to students with special needs until they are 21.

The farm’s success is based on two essentials:  founder Vandeman herself â€" her passion â€" as well as an assortment of volunteers, who serve as mentors and model peers to the employees.

“She’s the greatest person in the world, I’m telling you,” says Robert Elliott, the second employee hired.  “This is her life.”

Elliott, who suffered a traumatic brain injury at age 22 in a head-on collision in 1989 and lay in a coma for 12 days, took several years to learn to speak again, and still suffers seizures.

“I’m not the kind to sit around all day,” he says.  “I saw the ad and applied.” 

He now works with the farm’s chickens and sells produce at the Proctor Farmer’s Market, where he loves to “draw people in” and visit with the vendors.

Volunteers are essential to the farm’s mission.  “They help employees work through challenges” on their way to independent living, according to Vandeman.  “The employees learn basic job skills in an integrated and diverse work environment.”

The on-site volunteers usually come from Thurston County, while Pierce County residents tend to help out most at the Saturday market on North Proctor.  The farm also sells produce â€" vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers, along with herb plants and vegetable starts â€" on Wednesdays at the Tumwater Farmer’s Market.

Vandeman says her greatest challenge is accepting outcomes.  “Agriculture is a lot like raising kids.  You feel like you’re doing everything you can, and you can still turn around and things don’t go right for people.

"People are a lot like plants.  There is always an element of uncertainty.  You have to accept when a crop doesn’t come out right.  You have to accept a diversity of outcomes.” 

The farm, however, provides her with many pleasures.  “I love watching people grow, how they gain confidence,” she says.  Nothing can beat “that first smile from someone who has not looked you in the eye before â€" or has just mastered a new skill, and is excited to come to work every day.”

The grant will help support that essential goal of the farm, nurturing the human spirit through gainful work.  Application for the grant grew out of “the [recent] revelation to us that we do mentor,” Vandeman says.

Left Foot Organics is a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture, whereby residents invest in their local farm and then receive a box (or “share”) of produce from that week’s harvest.  Investors pay up front, at the beginning of the season.

“What this does,” says Vandeman, “is substitute for an operating loan from the bank.  And it’s a way of sharing the risk. . .some years a crop may do well, while in other years, it may not.”

SUZY STUMP:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLUE MOUSE >>>

It seems just like yesterday â€" early September â€" when I was celebrating the 5,000 years that have passed since the Hindu Lord Sri Krishna appeared on Earth to protect his followers and spread his teachings. Maybe it’s not your typical celebration, but those folks at the Acme Tavern that night saw one happy girl.

I just learned I will be throwing down more happiness Nov. 13 when the Blue Mouse Theatre turns 85.  The owners are planning a blowout with Old House Café food, music by Pearl Django, raffle prizes and raising it a notch with a screening of two Buster Keaton flicks from the ‘20s â€" One Week and Sherlock Jr.

Tickets for the bash are $50 and will go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Blue Mouse and other venues not yet determined.

For more information, check out their Web site.

PAUL SCHRAG: KOREAN WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION KNOWS >>>

Pierce County Executive candidates danced around some great questions tonight at a candidates forum hosted by the Korean Women’s Association. Moderated by Tacoma’s own Derek Young, the event filled seats with a diverse cross-section of Pierce County’s Asian-Pacific Islander communities, with Korean, Vietnamese and Cambodian translators on hand.

Profound kudos to the Korean Women’s Association and event organizers for a thoughtfully arranged presentation that really took everyone attending into account. In a diverse community like Pierce County, it often feels like public forums ignore a large percentage of the local population. For anyone who wants to learn how to be truly inclusive, call whoever organized this forum. They got it down.

For the full story, see this Thursday’s edition of the Weekly Volcano.

BRAD ALLEN: ROCK THE VOTE >>>

Let’s say you’ve been feeling sluggish in the political sphere; maybe you’re frustrated with the current political course but not sure there’s anything you can do about it. You spend a lot of Wednesday nights standing up for live music but very few Wednesday afternoons standing up at political rallies or fighting for social justice. What if crowding into the Longshoreman’s Hall could count toward social activism and political change?

The University of Washington Tacoma’s Student Activities Board will host Rock the Vote this afternoon from 5-8 p.m. at the Longshoreman’s Hall. Local bands such as Tsavo, political figures and the Pierce County auditor’s office will be on site to encourage people to register to vote.

And what do rock concerts and politics have in common? Most political advisors agree door knocking is the most effective way to get people out to vote. The Rock the Vote nationwide campaign â€" established in 1992 â€" zeroes in on that face-to-face contact but gears it toward 18- to 29-year-olds with the notion that people are passionate about music, and music’s a great way to reach out to people.

The Rock the Vote event is open to all groups. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, rally.

[Longshoremen’s Hall, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 5-8 p.m., no cover, 1710 Market St., Tacoma]

LINK: South Sound live music and DJs tonight