SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2011>>>
1. The Metro Parks annual Outdoor Challenge is right down your alley. Starting at 11 a.m. today at Owen Beach at Point Defiance Park, teams of two adults and family teams of four will battle for supremacy in a bevy of outdoorsy and just plain absurd challenges. Cross-country skiing, golf ball chipping and adult dress up will all be in play. Be warned, and be ready.
2. Today, Tacoma and Fircrest upstart team Toxic 253 will engage in their second bout ever, taking on the Ft. Lewis Bettie Brigade Team Bravo at Wheelz Skate Arena. Did we mention there'll be a beer garden? Sold.
3. Today at Freighthouse Square and the Harmon, and in the evening at Stonegate Pizza, the 8th annual Tacoma Jazz and Blues Festival will offer exhibitions of all the South Sound has to offer in jazz and blues. Familiar names like Little Bill and the Bluenotes and Jerry Miller will make their expected appearances. Closing out the festival will be Rich Wetzel's Groovin' Higher Jazz Orchestra. Or, if this isn't down your musical alley, find the Volcano's extensive South Sound live local music listings here.
4. Born in Everett, currently a resident of Portland, and birthed on blues-worn stages up and down the West Coast, Curtis Salgado is the type of musician you don't get a chance to see every weekend. Luckily for all of us, today Salgado will do his thing at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia.
5. Today, Rock the Dock Pub & Grill's two-year anniversary party will offer live tunes by Tim Hall and Zero Down. Find details here.