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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly sunny and cold, hi 32, lo 19

Saturday: Mostly sunny and cold, hi 39, lo 33

Sunday: Rather cloudy, rain possible, hi 46, lo 37

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 26: PIE FEST!

Karma is complicated.  Especially when you mix it with money. Tipping? Good karma.   Buying yourself stuff?  Maybe not-so-good karma.  Buying other people stuff?  Probably-pretty-good karma.  Using your wealth to destroy your enemies?  Bad karma.  Deciding instead to give a portion of said wealth to a worthy cause?  Excellent karma.  Funds raised from Saturday's Pie Fest live auction and raffle will support the Thurston County Food Bank and Senior Nutrition Program. Not only will you be justifying all the mean stuff you have yet to do, you'll get to eat pie (remember it's for a good cause). – Jake de Paul

• The Olympia Center, 1-3:30 p.m. $3, or three cans of food, 222 Columbia St. NW, Olympia, olybakers@gmail.com

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 26: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELMO!

You've heard of the grandparent phenomenon - Kids are always 10 times cuter when you can send them home to mom after you've packed them full of sugar. Well, apparently now Borders Books wants to get in on this. In celebration of Elmo's birthday, the Tacoma bookstore will throw a party, complete with snacks and drinks. It's enough to make the most frazzled, suffering-from-snow-day-exhaustion parent smile.  So exhale, tired parents, right now the employees of Borders think your kids are way cuter than you do. And they'll continue to think so right on through to the point they return them to you. — Michael Swan

• Borders Books, 2 p.m., free, 2508 S. 38th St., Tacoma, 253.473.9111

>>> SATURDAY, FEB. 26: AMERICAN CHRONICLES

A down home American icon will visit Tacoma Art Museum in February. None other than Norman Rockwell, the guy who - I swear it must be so - invented Thanksgiving, watermelon, baseball and prayer. The exhibition American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell makes its only Northwest stop at TAM Feb. 26 to May 30 with 44 paintings and 323 original Saturday Evening Post covers.  There will be archival materials showing how Rockwell worked, from preliminary sketches, photographs, color studies and detailed drawings to the finished painting. There's more nostalgia, sentimentality and Americana here than at a lifetime of family reunions and Fourth of July picnics. "Rockwell's works are part of our popular consciousness," said Margaret Bullock, curator of Collections and Special Exhibitions at Tacoma Art Museum. — Alec Clayton

• Tacoma art Museum, Feb. 26-May 30, Wednesday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Third Thursdays 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.4258.

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
My weekend is heaven. Aloha Corona. Aloha cabana. All the flora and fauna and the road to Hana. Rental cars and late night bars. Maui Wowie. Naps and kisses. Whales and fishes. Aaah. Sweet honeymoon.

MATT DRISCOLL Editor
This weekend will likely be spent wiping strange colored poop from the teeny tiny bum of one August Henry Driscoll. There's also a Costco trip on tap, because we're running low on dog food and five foot sheetcakes.

BRETT CHIHON Meat Market Correspondent/Features Writer
Friday night I'm going to break down the meat market scene at Tumwater's South Pacific. If it's anything like the last couple times I've been there, I'm in for some middle-aged rocking. The rest of my weekend is wide open. That means drinking beer, sleeping in late and feeling like a sufficient pile come Sunday evening.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
Other than an Oscar party at a fellow actor's house in Tacoma, I'm pleased to say my new fiancee and I have absolutely no plans to do anything whatsoever. I might read a book. I might not. Winter weather, do your worst.

ALEC CLAYTON: Visual Arts Critic
Friday night I'm going to see My Name is Asher Lev at the Lakewood Playhouse. Saturday I'll be wishing I was at the Eric Clapton concert in Seattle.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
This weekend will be spent recovering from my recent trip to Portland and gearing up for birthday festivities where I will have days off and a night out! So if I'm feeling industrious, I may do some sewing or baking. You know, woman things. (Plus, cuddling my cutie 6-month-old as he tries to get those two bottom teeth to push through.)

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Nightlife Correspondent
I will be teaching folk about photography on Saturday at Tacoma Art Place and then going to my daughter's Tacoma Youth Chorus concert.

JOE IZENMAN Theater and Music Writer
Because I am super-hip and cool and stuff, I am rocking out (folking out?) to Loch Lomond, Elk & Boar, Big Sur and Hail at the Peabody Waldorf on Friday. Because I am a big ol' nerd, I am spending most of Sunday playing Dungeons & Dragons. And because I love a good dose of Hollywood extravagance and silliness, I am watching the heck out of the Oscars with my fellow Grand Cinema supporters Sunday evening. Beat THAT with a stick.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Features Writer
This weekend, I'll be heading up to the KeyArena with my mother to see Eric Clapton, featuring Los Lobos. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Food and Lifestyles Writer
I'll be snorkeling, sunning and swimming this weekend. Aloha!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound