ENJOYING ART AT WORK MONTH IN THE DARK >>>

As of this posting, only 20 days remain of Art At Work, which has Tacoma cramming its every cranny with arts-related activities throughout November - which includes film. You will find something watchable among the eclectic batch of films planned for the coming weeks.

Maybe future literary historians will dub the last decade "Harry Potter Era." Sorcerer's Stone came out in 2001, and next summer's Deathly Hollows: Part Two closes out the monolithic franchise. Until then, HP fans can unite (hopefully in costume) at the Moore Library this Saturday Nov. 13, 1-4 p.m., for a free Half-Blood screening [place clever inside joke here].

Hitchcock always finds his way back to our town; eventually we all reacquaint ourselves with his films. Vertigo may have puzzled critics and fans upon its 1958 release, but today this deeply moving film about desire and identity ranks among the director's masterworks, and for me one of the greatest films. It plays at 3 p.m. Nov. 14 in Broadway Center's Theatre on the Square.

Last month the History Museum began a new series, Community Cinema Tacoma, making it one of only 75 venues in the country screening diverse documentaries before they air on PBS's acclaimed Independent Lens. Deep Down's tale of a Kentucky community in schism over a coal mine has "universal applications," says public programs curator Susan Rohrer. She looks forward to a good turnout at 6 p.m. Nov. 18 for Deep Down.

On Nov. 20, The Grand Cinema continues its long-running Click! Family Flick program. This month's free installment is 2004's star-studded feature Shark Tale. Take the kids and show them Scorsese voicing a fish with massive digital eyebrows. It begins at 10:30 a.m.

Thirty-five years ago a film called The Sound of Music forever changed our views on singing nuns. About his ebullient costar Christopher Plummer commented: "Working with [Julie Andrews] is like being hit over the head by a Valentine's Day card." Yes, Nov. 27's Sing-Along at the Pantages will be unbearably saccharine, but how else can do you expect us to fend off National Socialism without deploying dance and three-part harmony? It begins at 3 p.m. followed by the downtown tree lighting at 6.

LINK: More Tacoma Art at Work events