SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2011 >>>

1. Don't you just hate Vancouver, B.C. with its international vibe, beautiful surrounding landscape, dim sum, and awesome herbal jazz cigarettes? Wouldn't you like to see representatives from the Canadian city elbowed in the gut? The Dockyard Derby Dames' all-star team, Wave of Mutilation, are rolling out the track for their first home bout against Vancouver's Terminal City Rollergirls at 6 p.m. on the Pierce College campus in Lakewood.

2. Step back into a time before Lindsay Lohan, before Twitter - before Maverick hit on the frigid, man-faced Kelly McGillis and eventually has PG-rated sex with her while the lead singer of '80s pop band Berlin encouraged an unseen lover to take her breath away (which one hoped he would do before we had to listen to one more emotionless note emerge from her wretched glottis) - by visiting the Fort Nisqually Living History Museum today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reenactors and docents will provide glimpses into a time when the Pacific Northwest was British-held territory as part of the "Sewing to Sowing Living History Day." Fort Nisqually, which was located in present-day DuPont, was the headquarters of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. Now located in Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, the fort acts as a living museum of the way things were.

3. With no words and no motorized vehicles (except wheelchairs), the annual Procession of the Species is a celebration of Earth Day, green power, the web of life ... you name it. It's also the year's best people-watching opportunity, particularly those people who just wake up the morning of the event and throw something together so they can walk in the procession. For the hip and sardonic, it doesn't get much better than the 4:30 p.m. parade from Cherry and Legion to Heritage Park in downtown Olympia.

4. From 5-8 p.m., The Space owner Athena Hitson presents Sugar & Spikes, a group exhibition featuring Robert Evans, Jeremy Gregory and Geoffrey Weeg. According to the press release, "Athena's goal in presenting Sugar & Spikes is to share challenging, amusing and emotive artwork inspired by love and fear, the two emotions that rule the world. The works by Robert Evans, Jeremy Gregory and Geoffrey Weeg - three of the region's most exciting artists - move beyond simple aesthetics and strive to authentically illustrate the two emotions that rule the world." At 8:30 p.m., Maus Haus, Check Please and others will rock The space.

5. Tacoma PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) hosts Rainbows Over Tacoma 2011 tonight at the Washington State History Museum. With entertainment from Kim Archer, Sylvia O'Stayformore, the Seattle Women Chorus' Sensible Shoes and Oasis Youth, expect an evening full of music and smiles - all for a good cause. Entertainment runs from 7 - 9 p.m., but stop by the museum early, starting at 6 p.m., to tour the exhibits before the show.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Wine tastings!