SATURDAY, NOV. 13, 2010 >>>

1. When we walked into a department store last week and saw faux pine swags dotted with ornaments suspending from the ceiling we almost heaved. Even for a retailer trying to prime the holiday pump it seemed a tad early. There's no escaping the onslaught of seasonal festivities and buying opportunities. Should you want to dive right into the fray (and, in so doing, be able to avoid the mall entirely for the next two months) head over to the Holiday Craft Fair, a weekend-long crafts extravaganza, at Spanaway Lake High School. Today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. you will be able to wallow in stinky potpourri, scoop up armfuls of sparkly things you don't really need, and buy several jars of exotic holiday jams that no one will eat. But, hey, it's the thought that counts.

2. Walking back into history is an ongoing act of the local historical groups as they try to bring history alive by re-enacting life as it was when the area was raw and untamed.  From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. walk back into history with the Steilacoom Historical Museum Association inside the Pioneer Orr Home in downtown Steilacoom. Walk into the world of 1857, with the Indian Wars over and the rising tide of settlers flooding into the area. Joe Lawson and his team from Hamilton Auction will appraise general items from 12:30-2:30 p.m. And the Bair Bistro at the corner of Wilkes and Lafayette will be accepting reservations for afternoon tea

3. OK, you are now officially entering the month of November. No more waffling around. It's time to resign yourself - The holidays are on their way. All those people you talk to once every three months are now expecting to see you for an extended period of time. Maybe even multiple days. And they'll want to talk to you, make conversation.  They'll want to know how your life is going.  Uh-oh.  Better prepare yourself now. You need conversation topics. Sixteen local authors will be hanging out at Freighthouse Square from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Go, listen to them read, buy their books, have them sign them. Soak up their insights. Then go home and refuse to speak to any blood relations until it's time to open the presents. 

4. The Northwest Sinfonietta will go Gypsy jazz on your ass tonight and tomorrow. They'll performs a new Django Reinhardt-inspired composition by director Christophe Chagnard for three jazz guitars and orchestra at 7:30 p;m. tonight at the Rialto Theater and 2 p.m. at the Pioneer Park Pavilion in Puyallup. They'll also go old school with Shostakovich's Piano Concerto no. 1 with Mark Salman and Mahler's 5th Symphony Adagietto.

5. Jazz vocalist Dennis Hastings will join master pianist Joe Baque and basses Steve Luceno at Cicada Restaurant for a memorable evening of Jazz and popular tunes beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: Empty Bowls is in our Prefunk

LINK: Rocket Races, Tellabration and Furniture Series dance in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Concerts go on sale today

LINK: A bunch of wine tastings

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound