PAUL SCHRAG: RANDY OXFORD AND THE 9-11 BENEFIT >>>

Horn man Randy Oxford will be back at Jazzbones tonight. Surely, you've noticed Oxford's break from Jazzbones Wednesday blues jam appearances. They became almost taken for granted until ceasing to be.

This time Oxford is back at Jazzbones with a cause - firefighters.

Fitting, no?

Oxford is an award-winning blues artist with a long, celebrated history in Tacoma. Oxford lived in Chicago, at the age of 11, when jazz was in everyone's ears. A trip to see The Music Man, its prolific use of trombones, and a dire need in the school band encouraged Oxford to pick up his first piece of brass. After struggling with music for years, he found a mentor that helped launch a career that took Oxford around the world, eventually returning to the South Sound. He and his trombone have been here ever since.

We're lucky to have them.

[Jazzbones, Randy Oxford and Pals Present Remember the Fallen, Friday, Sept. 11, 8 p.m., $12, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

MICHAEL SWAN: IT'S OPENING DAY

Check it: Free admission from 10 a.m. to noon. Snug.

Stuff to do

All Day: 4-H Cats, Cat/Dog Barn

All Day: World Vision: Experience life in an African village through the eyes of a child, Blue Gate Plaza

10 a.m.: Western Rodeo Parade & Cattle Drive, Meridian Street

10:30 a.m.: College Fair, Education Stage

11 a.m.: Al's Brain Exhibit. Sillyville

12 p.m.: Recycle with Kids, Hobby Hall

12 p.m.: Snowshoeing on Straw, Contest Arena

1 and 3 p.m.: Billy & The Hillbillies, Showplace Stage

1:30 and 3:30 p.m.: Mutton Bustin', Green Gate Area

2 p.m.: Western Music & Country Poetry, Oldfield Western Heritage Center

2:30 p.m.: Tacoma Banjo Club, Education Stage

6:30 p.m.: Puyallup Pro Rodeo with Jason Aldean, Grandstand

7 p.m.: Whittling, Hobby Hall

Hours
10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday.

Admission
$11 adults, $8 seniors (62 and older) and students (age 6-18); free age 5 and younger. Advance discount tickets at Safeway, Fred Meyer and Columbia Bank.

Parking
$10 Monday-Friday, $12 Saturday-Sunday

Transportation
Pierce Transit “Fair Express” for $3 round trip. Details are here.

More Information
Do their Web site.

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

It's A Painful Task To Remember: 9/11

Oh Geez: Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Dale Washam accused of unfair labor practices, discrimination and retaliation.

Beer Sales Will Drop No Doubt: Recreational anglers can't venture into the lower Puyallup River for two days a week this month.

Oh Really?: The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department says there's toxic algae in Spanaway Lake.

Get In Here!: President Obama summons 16 Democratic Senators to White House.

Getting Messier: U.S. and Britain diverge on election fraud in Afghanistan.

Nice: “Every time Michael Vick is tackled during the game, Main Line Animal Rescue will donate 5 bags of dog food to your local animal shelter.”

MICHAEL SWAN: TODAY’S HAPPY HOUR DISCUSSION TOPIC >>>

Discuss the above video during happy hour at:

Salty’s Redondo Beach Seafood Grill
28201 Redondo Beach Drive. S., Des Moines, 253.946.0636
Happy Hour: 2-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 4-6 p.m. Sunday
Drink Specials: $7 specialty drinks, $4.25 wine, $2.49-$4 beer, $4.25 wells
Food Specials: Prime Rib $14.99 on Fridays

LINK: Other South Sound happy hours

MICHAEL SWAN: SATURDAY, SEPT. 12, 2009 >>>

1. Carolyn Benesh, co-editor of Ornament Magazine for the past 35 years, shares her observations on personal adornment with a focus on Northwest contemporary jewelry at 1 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum. She will be followed by three 30-minute presentations by artists Ada Rosman, Micki Lippe, and Marty and Brit Simone of Vinosus, each discussing their studio and production line jewelry. The program will conclude with a panel discussion moderated by Amy McBride, arts administrator for the City of Tacoma.

2. Historic Tacoma invites the public to take a rare peek inside seven of Tacoma's historic homes as part of 2009 Old House Tour â€" Back to Basics: The American Four-Square from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. Photographer Jason Ganwich's nude shots of Goldfinch band members Aaron Stevens and Grace Sullivan will be on display at the Fulcrum Gallery from 7-11 p.m.

4. A staged reading of Tony nominated Joe Turner’s Come and Gone will hit Theatre on the Square's stage at 7:30 p.m.
 
5. The New Frontier Lounge hosts Maggie’s Birthday Party featuring C.F.A., Lozen and 12 Gauge Saint at 9 p.m.

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: Local movie starting times

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MICHAEL SWAN: PUYALLUP FAIR SATURDAY, SEPT. 12, 2009 >>>

Check it: Get unlimited rides for just $25! Snug.

All day: SillyVille Food Court, SillyVille

10 a.m.: 4-H Cat Show, 4-H Cat/Dog Barn (F)

10 a.m.: 4-H Fashion Revue, Pavilion

10:30 a.m.: College Fair at the Puyallup Fair, Education Stage

11 a.m.: Bonsai Demonstration, Floral Building

11 a.m.: Giant Pumpkin Carving, Pavilion Overhang

12 p.m.: Trout Fishing Pond, Contest Arena

1 p.m.: Western Music & Country Poetry, Oldfield Western Heritage Center

2 p.m.: Country Cloggers, Education Stage

3 p.m.: Billy & The Hillbillies, Showplace Stage

4 p.m.: Travis Fox, hypnotist, Coca-Cola Stage

9 p.m.: After Rodeo Party, Grandstand

More things to do today here

Hours
10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday.

Admission
$11 adults, $8 seniors (62 and older) and students (age 6-18); free age 5 and younger. Advance discount tickets at Safeway, Fred Meyer and Columbia Bank.

Parking
$10 Monday-Friday, $12 Saturday-Sunday

Transportation
Pierce Transit “Fair Express” for $3 round trip. Details are here.

More Information
Do their Web site.

JAKE DE PAUL: FOOD MATTERS >>>

Kiss Summer Goodbye: The Red Hot holds its last beer garden today featuring an outdoor screening of Breaking Away and New Belgium Brewing in the house.

New Menu: Panera Bread released its fall menu featuring a barbecue chicken chopped salad, Napa almond chicken salad sandwich, breakfast power sandwich, fudge brownies and macadamia blondies.

Fall Line Up: Primo Grill in Tacoma has released it’s fall cooking class schedule: The Cuisine of Tuscany, Sept. 12; Grilling with NW Harvest Bounty, Sept. 26; The Cuisine of Spain, Oct. 24; The Cuisine of Northern Italy, Nov. 7; A NW Holiday Feast, Nov. 21. Classes are held Saturday afternoons between 2 and 4 p.m. The $65 fee includes recipes and instruction, lunch with a glass of wine, tax and gratuity.

Eat The Puyallup: There’s food, beer and wine at the Puyallup Fair.

Really?: 25 million Britons have been injured by tea biscuits, paper reports.

Today’s South Sound Specials

• SessionFest, all day, The Red Hot, 2914 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.779.0229.
• Wine tasting, noon to 5 p.m., Tacoma Wine Merchants, 21 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253.779.8258.
• Thurston Wolfe Winery tastings, 2-5 p.m., Water to Wine, 9014 Peacock Hill Ave., Gig Harbor, 253.853.9463.
• Wine tasting, 2-5 p.m., Harbor Greens Wine Bar, 5275 Olympic Dr. N.W., Gig Harbor, 253.858.8033.
• Wine tasting, 1-4 p.m., $5-$7, Swing Wine Bar, 825 Columbia St. S.E., Olympia, 360.357.9464.
• Wine tasting, 2-5 p.m., Wine Bank, 7017 27th St. W., University Place, 253.564.1101.

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

NEWS TEAM: GOOD MORNING SOUTH SOUND >>>

Well, By Definition: Venture is "an undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome, esp. a risky or dangerous one."

Health Insurance: Pierce County may shift costs to workers.

Initiative 1033: Backers lose fight over ballot.

Report: A-Rod to avoid penalty on PEDs.

Bastards: The Guatemalan army stole at least 333 children and sold them for adoption in other countries.

Oh, That's Horrible: Vampire Diaries actresses flashed drivers.

Buddhist Bhutan: Warns felling trees a threat to happiness.

St. Elsewhere: New mom leaves N.D. hospital with the wrong baby.

Thank God It's Saturday

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY: ROMAN HOLIDAY AT THE HUB TONIGHT >>>

While searching MySpace for local music, as I do from time to time, I stumbled across Roman Holiday and was promptly knocked for a loop. Theirs is a slick indie rock sound so pristine, so flawless, that it quite frankly made me upset.

Making matters worse is the band's baffling history: They've been together just barely a year, and before that the members didn't really know each other. Roman Holiday's first few months together were spent writing and recording their startlingly professional EP, and only after that did they start performing. The group was assembled with the help of a producer.

It's all so fishy. Read their story before their show tonight at The Hub.

[The Hub, Saturday, Sept. 12, 9 p.m., no cover, all ages, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.683.4606]

MICHAEL SWAN: PUYALLUP FAIR SUNDAY, SEPT. 13, 2009 >>>

Check it: Two for the price of One on the Extreme Scream. Snug.

Stuff to do
10 a.m.: All Around Dogs, Town & Country II (L)

11 a.m.: Cinderella Pagent, Education Stage

1 p.m.: NW Accordion Association, Education Stage

1 p.m.: Puyallup Pro Rodeo Finals, Grandstand

2 p.m.: Espresso Drama, Education Stage

3:30 p.m.: Rubber Stamping, Hobby Hall

7 p.m.: Billy & The Hillbillies, Showplace Stage

More things to do today here

Hours
10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday.

Admission
$11 adults, $8 seniors (62 and older) and students (age 6-18); free age 5 and younger. Advance discount tickets at Safeway, Fred Meyer and Columbia Bank.

Parking
$10 Monday-Friday, $12 Saturday-Sunday

Transportation
Pierce Transit “Fair Express” for $3 round trip. Details are here.

More Information
Do their Web site.