THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly cloudy, hi 74, lo 54

Saturday: Sunny and clear, hi 81, lo 56

Sunday: Sunny and clear, hi 83, lo 56

>>> FRIDAY, JULY 23: 19TH CENTURY FAMILY FUN NIGHT

It was a time when men would talk about hunting for some tail and they would actually be referring to furry rodents. It was a time when the world would stop for a spot of tea in the middle of the afternoon and pinkies stood erect with each sip for a porcelain teacup. Welcome to the 19th century.  The Fort Nisqually Living History Museum hosts a 19th Century Family Fun Night as a way to show folks how life was like back in the day when (inappropriate laughing) England was a world power.

• Fort Nisqually Living History Museum, 6-9 p.m., 3-$6, Point Defiance Park, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma, 253.591.5339

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 24: PARTY WITH MARK LINDQUIST

Pierce County Prosecutor and author Mark Lindquist has a lot of famous friends. Dude dated Molly Ringwald, for god sake. I mean c'mon. Not only does he know a lot of famous people, he's not above using their names to raise a little dough - as evident by the fact he'll be auctioning off autographed books and bottles of wine Saturday at King's Books to help support his campaign. Perfect if you like stuff signed by famous people, or just want to hear Lindquist talk about the time he accidentally cockblocked Anthony Michael Hall. – Michael Swan

• King's Books, 6:30 p.m. $50 per person, 18 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, marklindquist.org

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 24-SUNDAY, JULY 25: STAR LITE SWAP MEET

Want to show the out-of-town guests a microcosm of Tacoma? Drag yourself out of bed on Saturday and Sunday morning and head toward the Star Lite Swap Meet. Not only will you find all kinds of junk to buy for next to nothing - some of which might just be antique treasures - but you will also find all kinds of crazy people trying to sell their clothes, jewelry, books and children. You can get some real bargains here on clothes, cameras, car batteries, typewriters, shoes, sunglasses, socks, knives, hats, fruits and vegetables, tools, CDs, cell phones, furniture, lunch boxes, herbs, really bad art, lamps, vitamins, toothpaste and underwear. It's a great way to kill a morning. The best time to be there is right when it opens. - MS

• Star Lite Theater, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 84th and South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.588.8090

>>> SATURDAY, JULY 24-SUNDAY, JULY 25: ETHNIC FEST

It's time again for Ethnic Fest, an annual event that's brought Pierce County's diversity together in celebration since 1986. Some of the best festival feeding you'll find - sorry Taste of Tacoma - Ethnic Fest also packs visual arts, performing arts, dance, crafts and fun into two days of multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-adjective-for-awesome action. Sealing the deal: Ethnic Fest is free. – MS

• Wright Park, noon to 7 p.m., free admission, 3501 South I Street, Tacoma

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

MATT DRISCOLL Editor and String Cheese Addict
Oh, yah, sure - ask me what I'm doing this weekend, Michael Swan over at the Weekend Hustle Desk. That's so like you. Dick. You know damn well what I'll be doing this weekend. I'll be locked in my office feverishly putting the finishing touches on Best of Tacoma 2010 (now in spectacular 3-D!) - relegated to sad, infrequent communications with my friends and loved ones kind of like Sam Rockwell in Moon. In honesty, the only reason I'm not actually bitching about this fact is because I know damn well I'll have, like, six margaritas at Wednesday's Best of Tacoma Premiere Party at Masa, say something really embarrassing, and/or take my pants off and pee on the side of something inappropriate while surrounded by a group of people that aren't expecting it. I guess it all comes out in the wash. ...

PAUL SCHRAG Senior Contributor
Friday, I'm heading to Olympia to hang out in the studio with Smoke and Eprhyme, working feverishly on another K Records release. Then it's Warren G on Saturday at Hell's Kitchen. On Sunday, it's brunch with Eprhyme at Quickie Too, and a trip to Seattle to watch him perform with the Erev Ravs and DJ Sweet Elite. Will round out the weekend with a Kabbalistic lesson teaching about the ancient Jewish holiday of Tu B'Av. Either that, or get wasted all weekend. I don't know yet.

NIKKI TALOTTA Feature Writer
This weekend is my bridal shower! I'm going to sit around with my favorite ladies and get boozy and pervy, all the while receiving gifts and snacking on seafood. Mmmm, no complaints this weekend.

STEPH DEROSA Columnist
I'm still licking my wounds from the prison-like Girl Scout camp I "worked" at this past week. Those little cookie peddlers run on high-powered lithium batteries, I think. In order for my bruises to heal and my scabs to repair themselves, I have taken retreat by the Westport beaches for the rest of the week and into the weekend. My doctor says that the only way to remedy my physical and mental injuries would be to partake in drinking copious amounts of red wine paired with sharp cheeses and adult conversation. My new mantra: Girl Scout cookies taste so fine, but nothing tastes better than a deep, red wine.

THE REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Feature Writer
I might have to go see Warren G at Hell's Kitchen. Coolio, Tone Loc, Vanilla Ice, whatever (OK, I'm a little upset about missing Vanilla Ice), but I can't pass up Warren G. He's so smooooth.

JOE IZENMAN Music/Theater Critic
This weekend I abandon you all and flee to Portland, to drink at the Oregon Brewer's Festival and turn 27. Were I in Tacoma, though, I would most assuredly attend the Parkway Tavern's 75th birthday and the Erich Sachs for Pierce County Council kickoff barbecue.

KRIS BLONDIN Food/Wine Writer
Chilly D and I are taking the train to Portland for the Oregon Beer Festival. It has been years since I've been. Time to get my beer on!

JENNIFER JOHNSON: Lifestyle/Leisure Writer
Driving back from Utah in a very slow meandering course through Idaho and Oregon to arrive in T-town Monday.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
They say if you buy a tuxedo, life presents you with opportunities to use it, an idea that turns out to be true. Ergo I'm emceeing a Kokua Mad Hatter's Tea Party (isn't that ironic? Don'tcha think?) to aid Washingtonians with disabilities. It's all practice for my talk show.

ALEC CLAYTON: Visual Arts Critic
This weekend I'll be writing the next great American novel.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound