THURSDAY, SEPT. 16, 2010 >>>

1. The offspring of Northwest Garden Guru Ed Hume, James Hume, typically specializes in acrylic on canvas, but for his latest exhibit, Not Painting Flowers, opening today at the Sandpiper Gallery; he's abandoning typical crutches and going all out. Inspired by a trip to Paris, and the "fleeting masterpieces" Hume saw from street artists in the Metro, Hume says, "With my new work I'm breaking all my old habits and experimenting with stencils, spray paint, Photoshop and even my iPhone." Hang out with Hume and his art in a party atmosphere from 6-9 p.m. at the Sandpiper.

2. Once again, it's Tacoma Third Thursday Artwalk from 5-8 p.m. in downtown Tacoma, and the galleries, museums, storefronts and restaurants will give a huge wet kiss to the arts-loving community with free admission and treats. Vashon Island landscape painter Victoria Adams will lead a tour of her exhibition, Where Sky Meets Earth: The Luminous Landscapes of Victoria Adams from 4-7 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum (free admission). Fulcrum Gallery opens Object Permanence: Installation and Temporary works by Joe Penrod from 6-9 p.m. And the ART BUS has a full tour planned leaving the Speakeasy Arts Cooperative at 5 p.m.

3. Carla Barragan - an Ecuadorian-American choreographer who's known for inventive, thoughtful site-specific work - will join her troupe, BQDanza, for a site-specific dance piece at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at Tollefson Plaza. Title Thick, the piece "mourns the loss of and also celebrates the beauty and grace of birds, sea creatures, micro-organisms and other non-human victims" of the Gulf oil spill. Lucas "Vanilla Soul" Smiraldo will enhance the piece with spoken word.

4. Pecha Kucha Night V. 07 is all about "portraits" and how Stephanie Stebich, Steve Davis, Doug Mackey, Amy McBride, Marilyn Strickland and Connie Walle - some of Tacoma's finest folks - interpret the theme through 20 slides shown in 6 minutes and 40 seconds inside the Tacoma Art Museum beginning at 5:30 p.m. Each frame should be fabulous.

5. Tacoma School of the Arts celebrates its 10th anniversary with four alumni bands rocking the Pierce Transit Park (Ninth and Broadway) Urban Grace Church from 6-9 p.m. Hail, Tall Girl, Freeze and Fur Coat and The Makeup Monsters will provide the soundtrack for the group hug featuring current and past SOTA families, students, staff and fans.

UPDATE: The SOTA 10th Anniversary Party has been moved inside the Urban Grace Church due to rain. Expect the four SOTA bands, same celebration, same $5 ticket ($10 for non sota students).

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound