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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Rain, hi 58, lo 54

Saturday: Rain, hi 57, lo 43

Sunday: More rain, hi 58, lo 44

>>> FRIDAY, OCT. 21: OCCUPY TACOMA MARCH

In solidarity with the ongoing Occupy Wall Street movement and protests, and Occupy movements all across the country, T-Town is getting in on the action and letting its voice be heard. Occupy Tacoma has been growing stronger by the day, and last weekend's march was just the start. This Friday, Occupy Tacoma supporters will march from People's Park to McCarver Park -- bringing Occupy Tacoma to Hilltop. Next weekend look for Occupy Tacoma to march in the Lincoln District. Find all the info you need right here.

• People's Park, assemble at 4 p.m., bring signs,  900 South Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, occupytacoma.org
  

>>> FRIDAY, OCT. 21: LISA LAMPANELLI

Lisa Lampanelli, who will appear at the Temple Theater in Tacoma Friday, is that female comedian known for her love of vodka. Wait. What? That's Chelsea Handler, you say? Oh. Our bad. OK, then, Lisa Lampanelli is that comedian not quite as popular as Handler known for an insult-heavy style and moderate success on the roast circuit. With a few cable comedy specials under her belt, a role in Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, and even a memoir - 2009's Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat, and Freaks - to her name, Lampanelli is riding high and headed to town looking for laughs. With Joan Rivers and Margaret Cho scheduled at the Broadway Center in the next few weeks, the time has never been better for comedy in Tacoma.

• Temple Theatre, 7 p.m., $39.50, 47 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.2042

>>> THROUGH OCT. 22: THE ZOO STORY

Right now thousands of protestors "occupy" Zuccotti Park, across the street from Four World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, to protesting the economic polarization of America. Some see this event as a disorganized mob squatting in the name of class envy. Others view it as the vanguard of American progressivism, a necessarily chaotic response to an economic hydra. Either way, it's pretty obvious to most of us that the middle class lost adequate governmental representation, and some of us have had enough. While I can't claim any great insight into this debate, what I can say is it's just one visible expression of an old conversation. As proof, Toy Boat Theatre offers The Zoo Story, Edward Albee's 1958 two-hander in one act. Director Brie Yost wisely sets the play in the mid-‘60s and allows us to observe the parallels for ourselves. To read Christian Carvajal's full review click here.

• Toy Boat Theatre, The Zoo Story, through Oct. 22, $20, 7 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. performance, 9 p.m. live music Thurs.-Sat., 1314 Martin Luther King Way, Tacoma, 253.879.3330

>>> SATURDAY, OCT. 22: PERRY ACKER CD RELEASE

As we've mentioned before, Perry Acker is named like a single dude, but it's actually a band ... a band that's on the rise. Not only did Perry Acker win a Ford earlier this year(as part of the national battle of the bands - the Ford-sponsored "Gimme The Gig" national battle of the bands contest, but the band has been gaining steam locally through a string of memorable live performances and a lot of hard work. Saturday, Perry Acker will throw a CD release show at the Rialto Theatre for te band's latest record, Path To Freedom. This should be a good one. 

• Rialto Theatre, 7 p.m., $12-$40, 1900 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.2013

>>> SATURDAY, OCT. 22: AIDS HOUSING ASSOCATION OF TACOMA HALLOWEEN BALL & AUCTION 

As far as worthy causes go, it doesn't get much worthy than this. Saturday, the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma will present its fourth annual Halloween Ball & Auction, running from 6-11 p.m. at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center and this year packing a theme of, "The Silver Screen." Naturally, money raised will go toward the AIDS Housing Association of Tacoma. You can register online here. If you're still on the fence, here's a look at the AIDS Housing Association's purpose statement: "To provide services which ensure that persons ill with AIDS, and in need of supportive living, are provided enriched housing – including the opportunity to stabilize their condition, to achieve the medical adherence necessary to prolong life, or to receive support for end-of-life issues in an atmosphere that emphasizes individual dignity, respect for diversity and human connectedness."

• Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center, 6-11 p.m., $50 registration required, 1500 Broadway, Tacoma

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
Got more stuff on my calendar than I can handle and don' know which I'll cut out. TAO's Hound of the Baskervilles Friday night, an old friend from Florida visiting for the weekend, and maybe hand out a bit at Occupy Olympia in Heritage Park.

BRETT CIHON Features Writer/Meat Market Correspondent
I plan to avoid the rain by staying inside and constantly checking my Twitter. Isn't that what everybody else is doing?

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
This weekend I'm slinging drinks, making black bean chili, and checking out the Old Firehouse Haunted House and "Thriller" dance performance put on by Capital Playhouse. It's on the corner of State and Capital in downtown Oly, if anyone else wants to go.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
I'm seeing TAO's first show of the new season, a comedy based on The Hound of the Baskervilles. Also, I think I'm a Unitarian now, so I'll be at church Sunday morning. I know; even God was surprised.

JOANN VARNELL: Theater Critic
This weekend will hopefully find the Varnell clan at the Pumpkin Patch where we will hopefully not lose our son in the corn maze. On Sunday, I'll be playing music with my band at church. Sometime, amidst all of that, I might make a sushi print skirt.

JENNIFER JOHNSON: Food & Lifestyles Writer
Friday temple trip, Saturday Tacoma Holiday and Food Show followed by 1022 winter menu roll-out, Sunday church

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
Well, I will be spending money I don't have at the St. Mary's School auction on Friday, then doing out-and-about single guy stuff on Saturday and serving communion on Sunday followed by "Girls with Guns" movie night on Monday with the Tacoma Cult Movie Club.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound