THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2010 >>>

1. "Basically, I'm ripping off SXSW," Q-Dot, lead man behind the first annual Grit City Fest, tells us.  And it's not a bad thing.  Q-Dot envisions a day when Grit City Fest encompasses more than just great shows, but full days of workshops, seminars and music industry goodness. The Grit City Fest kicks off tonight with shows at The Den and Hell's Kitchen, as well as a first-rate workshop at 6 p.m. inside The Den @ urbanXchange featuring Ben London of the Recording Academy, Shelli Martineau of Conversify and Q-Dot himself, the festival's music director and also a force behind Tre'dmarks.

2. The Giant Bicycle truck will roll into Tacoma Bike's parking lot with a truck load of information about women-specific bike frames, maintenance and riding during the first Tacoma Bike Women's Day from 2-8 p.m.

3. The Love Tacoma lovers will gather at 5:30 p.m. inside The Workz Café at the Tacoma Art Museum to discuss how much they love Tacoma while chowing down on sandwiches and burgers, hello, cupcake treats and sipping the Love Tacoma Signature drink. Love it.

4. Jeremy Mangan's paintings are inventive, thought provoking, humorous, technically marvelous and beautifully composed. What more can you ask of a painting? A painting can't feed the hungry of stop war or heal a broken heart, but it can remind us that the world we live in is not all humdrum and ugly. That's what Mangan's paintings do. With his exhibit of new paintings, Build To Suit, currently on display at Fulcrum Gallery, Mangan will deliver an artist talk from 6-9 p.m. at said MLK gallery.

5. St. Patrick's Day celebrations aren't easy. You must practice to prepare yourself for the zaniness that goes down every March 17. Doyle's Public House knows this. That's why the host monthly St. Practice Day parties, of which happens tonight at 9 p.m. featuring the rockin' Celtic band Shillelagh Jack.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound