THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2011 >>>

1. Underneath this respectable, suburban veneer lies a seething hotbed of decadence; behind a curtain of boring hides an orgiastic cacophony of richness. It's called jazz. Radio station KPLU 88.5FM is the number one local pusher of this drug. It will prove it, once again, with its 15th annual KPLU Christmas Jam, a free holiday concert featuring jazz vocalist Gail Pettis and the University Jazz Ensemble and hosted by KPLU's Nick Morrison on the live broadcast. Best of all, it's during your noon lunch in Pacific Lutheran University Lagerquist Concert Hall.

2. "Das Wunder Forst" is a monolith of eye candy. This contemporary glass installation hosted by Tacoma's Fulcrum Gallery embodies all of the iconic configurations of glass that are associated with the contemporary Seattle Glass movement. This especially blingy installation also pays tribute to the tradition of over the top holiday window displays. See the splendor from noon to 6 p.m.

3. The quarterly Ancient Victorys Open Mike, brings back some of the 3,000 acoustic music performers from open mikes run by Chris Lunn in this state and California from the 1965 through 1990, will be held from 7-11 p.m. at the Antique Sandwich Company.

4. Beginning at 8 p.m., the Backstage Bar & Grill will host an All Star Acoustic Jam and Comedy Show Benefit featuring members of Pretty Enemy, Black Diamond, Dreams Jaded, Corson Swift, and others. Proceeds will help a contributing member of the music community who is recovering from brain surgery.

5. Featuring members of Future Fossils, Radio-Flyer and Omni, the Mothership has some seriously gloomy cred. True to form, on the band's terminally grunge-leaning new LP, Ten Miles Wide, there is rarely a moment not dominated by huskily shouted vocals or an onslaught of guitars and drums having a shoving match with your eardrums. The band rocks Hell's Kitchen tonight at 9 p.m. with Keeping the Gates, Vera Solaris and Halcion Halo.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: This week's freebies

LINK: 2011 South Sound holiday happenings

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Budget Shortfall: Tacoma faces some tough decisions about funding the arts. (Weekly Volcano)

For Safety's Sake: Tacoma City Councilman Jake Fey says he will propose a motion next week calling to postpone by 30 days implementation of City Manager Rey Arellano's proposed layoffs in the city's public safety departments. (News Tribune)

Budget Cuts Q&A: What the Tacoma police and fire officials have to say. (News Tribune)

This Is It: European leaders are meeting in Belgium to shore up the euro, the currency of 17 nations. (CNN)

Mustache Gallery: Try it on. (Spaceworks Tacoma)

Bella Swan: A romanticized archetype of a helpless heroine with absolutely no agency whatsoever. (Refinery 29)

Alec Baldwin's Booted Brethren: 10 celebrities who have been kicked off planes. (Time)

Ho Ho Oh No: The 12 all-time ugliest Christmas sweaters. (Collectors Weekly)

Got To See This: Sketch eye glasses. (Design Boom)

The Weekly Volcano never sleeps. It's true ... or very close to true. We average only a few hours of shut-eye a night, be it because we're compulsive insomniacs who surf the Internet all night long looking for funny YouTube videos featuring kittens (Paul Schrag), or simply because there's just so much to do.

Included in all this doing? As always, another shining installment of the Weekly Volcano music section.

We wouldn't lie. You better believe we managed to pump out another stellar Weekly Volcano music section - your every Thursday chance at the best in local music coverage.

Here's a look at the sonic goodness coming at you in print and online in this week's Volcano ...

FEATURE: WHITE ORANGE

Adorning White Orange's eponymous LP is a delirious explosion of images: majestic sea horses, a serene holy man emitting brain waves, little tucked away peace signs, great swaths of vivid yellow, red and blue - this album wants to melt your brain. In the tradition of bands like Deep Purple, Mastadon, Kyuss, King Crimson and others, this is heavy psychedelic music designed to worm its way into your brain - largely without mellow mind blends, but with plodding riffage that will have you peaking when utilized in tandem with a light show. This is psych rock for people who get laid. ... -- Rev. Adam McKinney

PUNK & METAL: INFERNAL LEGION

This Saturday Infernal Region will release its newest full-length record on Moribund Records. The Spear of Longinus features nine songs and 45 minutes of the most Satanic tunes ever - plus the debut of new bassist and local celeb Josh Dombeck. Recorded right here in Tacoma by Jesse O'Donnell at the Autopsy Room, the first thing that jumped out and throttled me about this CD was the production and sinister tones blaring out of my speakers. A heavier release than expected, I was pleasantly surprised by the songwriting throughout. ... -- Jason McKibbin

HIP-HOP: J. BRE

In a city the size of Tacoma, being able to hear local hip-hop on the radio six out of seven days a week is not too shabby. Hip-hop radio is often undersupported. It's also often ignored by local artists who could use it to get their name and music out. Fans and artists alike need to embrace the local hip-hop on the radio that we do have, otherwise we could lose it.

This brings us to J. Bre - who got his Tacoma start as a DJ on KUPS. He's now moved on to become a well-respected hip-hop artist himself. J. Bre's new project is an EP titled The Revelation. ... -- Josh Rizeberg

HIP-HOP: XP

If you follow the South Sound hip-hop scene by now you've probably heard the name Xperience a time or two.  For the past 10 years XP has been solidifying his name as one of the best artists in our area, and he continues to make big moves for himself. Through mid-December XP joins Macklemore on a 27 city nationwide tour, and if he plays his cards right, he could really do some damage in the hip-hop game. 

Along with the tour, XP also just released his new mixtape, The Durden Papers Vol. 1, which has production courtesy of some of the Northwest's most talented producers.

A follow up to his first two albums, Soultree (2006) and William VIII (2010), XP wasted no time getting his third project released to the public.  It was actually a breath of fresh air for people, like me, who got a little antsy between his first two releases, waiting for something new out of the Gary, Ind. transplant.  Although it only took a little over a year to complete, this mixtape is still probably the best project I've heard out of XP.  The sound quality, beats and vocals are all so on point it makes you think XP - and Smoke of Oldominion (the project's sound engineer) - must have spent a good portion of the last 12 months in the studio. ... -- Nic Leonard

WE RECOMMEND: BABY GRAMPS

Baby Gramps looks just like he sounds. His appearance is a more or less spot-on indication of the noises that soon follow when he picks up an old gee-tar and starts a-singing. A long, scraggly white beard, some spectacles, a low-brimmed hat, and when he opens his mouth, the strangest sounds fall out. Throat-singing, it's called, this kind of guttural croak - and it's Baby Gramps' most effective tool in transforming these old folk songs, labor songs and sea shanties into something that feels real. ... -- Volcano

PLUS: Better Living Through Music - Girl Trouble Countdown to Christmas, Eliot Lipp, Charlie Drown, The Mothership

PLUS: Concert Alert

PLUS: Live Local Music Listings

PLUS: Weird Crap Like This

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

IN DEPTH: THE FUTURE OF ARTS FUNDING IN TACOMA

Amongst several hundred police officers and firefighters, Amy Tiemeyer took the podium in front of Tacoma City Council to plead her case. Tiemeyer was one of just a few that didn't arrive solely in support of the Tacoma Police or Fire Department officers and the communities they serve. Tiemeyer is Youth Fitness Specialist Trainer for the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, and she was there to ask Tacoma City Council for the same thing everyone else was there to ask for - to be pardoned as the council decides which programs, jobs and services to cut during a round of hard budget cuts.

For those who haven't heard, the City of Tacoma is facing up to a $31 million budget shortfall in 2012. To balance the municipal budget, Tacoma officials asked various department heads to craft a plan that involves juggling and rerouting various elements of departmental budgets; eliminating services; adjusting wages of city employees; eliminating programs; and laying off more than 160 city employees. And while police and fire appear likely to bear the brunt of layoffs, everyone is getting hit this time. Every city department was asked to make cuts.

Listening to several hours of public commentary gave the impression that public safety and the arts are somehow pitted against each other - fighting over the same scraps, as it were. Others implied that arts and public safety share common purposes. As Mayor Marilyn Strickland pointed out during the Dec. 6 marathon council session, arts and other community attractions help create the tax base that pays for public services, for example. Various officers and fire fighters, meanwhile, suggested that people aren't as likely to enjoy arts in a community where they don't feel safe.

"To survive, arts programs need the people who live here to feel safe," says firefighter Patrick Edmond, who operates from the downtown Tacoma station. "A thriving, vibrant city is dependent on safety, and people feeling invited."

D.A.S.H. Center, meanwhile, has its own impact on community crime rates, says Tiemeyer. This impact should be considered as well, as Tacoma officials weigh the proposal to cut a $34,000 line item dedicated to helping the D.A.S.H. Center stay open.

"Arts programs like D.A.S.H. and Youth Build and Fab5 have a direct impact on inner city crime and gang violence," says Tiemeyer. ... - Paul Schrag

VISUAL EDGE: NORTHWEST PASTEL SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL OPEN

Pastels have a bad rep, often deserved, but not always. The name is associated with soft and pretty colors, and pastel as a media has long been thought of as a media of sweet grandmothers who take it up as a hobby - despite the example of Edgar Degas, who revolutionized pastel art with layered and heavily textured works as far back as 1880. That influence is still very evident in the current pastel exhibit at American Art Company. There are some marvelous landscapes and urban scenes with rich colors that are worth long and serious contemplation.

I like many of the Degas-influenced pastels, but what this show proves is that there have been no advancements in the art of pastel since about 1886. ... -- Alec Clayton

THEATER: SCROOGE: THE MUSICAL AT CAPITOL PLAYHOUSE

Scrooge: the Musical, like all incarnations of A Christmas Carol, is a transformation story. Rarely has that been so clearly represented as in this year's impeccable production at Capital Playhouse.

Start with Ebenezer himself, played by veteran Tacoma actor Michael Self. It struck me in Act I that Scrooge is usually played with a twinkle in his eye, as if to signal that he's really a mensch in disguise. But that isn't the Scrooge of Dickens' novel. "No wind that blew was bitterer than he," Dickens sighs, "no pelting rain less open to entreaty." In other words, that "clutching, covetous old sinner" is an odious monster, cruel to everyone including children and his merriest relatives. Self and director Troy Arnold Fisher have the courage to let Scrooge be Scrooge, making his redemption from impending hellfire all the more dramatic. ... -- Christian Carvajal

THEATER: TACOMA LITTLE THEATRE'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL

I haven't read any Dickens myself, and growing up the Muppet film became the definitive version of A Christmas Carol for me. A large part of its success owes to its injection of humor into what is an ultimately uplifting, but largely dark and gloomy tale. Miserly Ebenezer Scrooge's lesson in the Christmas spirit takes him through a world of ghosts, poverty, sadness and death, and benefits from a laugh or two along the way.

Michael Paller's stage adaptation of the classic story accomplishes a fair share of the same, via a different mechanic: the actors are cast not as literary characters but as the family and friends of Charles Dickens, entertaining themselves by "improvising" a performance within the framework Dickens lays out for them. With each performing a variety of roles from the novel, this story-within-a-story provides an aura of lightness that permeates the shadows of Scrooge's Christmas journey, without overpowering the emotions of the characters on the way. ... -- Joe Izenman

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ:FILMMAKER PETE ANDERSON

This year I've decided to watch safely from the sidelines as the gift-giving game heats up. Everyone seems to want a piece of the action - while Aunt Darlene knits the pinky on your new pair of gloves, filmmakers like Pete Anderson check twice their own handmade works of art before shipping out copies to festivals everywhere.

And in return, Anderson has just one item on his wish list: an acceptance letter.

With Anderson's feature ensemble Break completed this past fall, he has his fingers crossed on getting the thumbs up from two major fests in 2012, Cinequest in Silicon Valley and the Seattle International Film Festival. The former possesses some nostalgic value, as Anderson grew up in San Jose. And Break bursts with enough local spots to hopefully please the folks at SIFF.

"It's kind of (the film's) hometown," Anderson says. "We made a lot of the movie right around where the film would be screening ...(near) Seattle Center." ... -- Christopher Wood

PLUS: Comprehensive Arts & Entertainment Calendar

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

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Clear and cold, hi 45, lo 30

Saturday: Mostly sunny, hi 43, lo 34

Sunday: Partly cloudy, hi 43, lo 32

>>> THURSDAY-SUNDAY: A Christmas Story

True, there are a boatload of holiday theater productions to choose from right now - including Capitol Playhouse's Scrooge: The Musical and Tacoma Little Theatre's A Christmas Carol, both of which received rave reviews in this week's Volcano. Still, only one South Sound holiday production stars the Volcano's own Christian Carvajal, theater critic extraordinaire! And that production is Olympia Family Theatre's A Chrismtas Story, currently running through Dec. 18 at the Minnaert Center-Black Box. Rather than watching the re-run on TBS for the 800th time, see Ralphie's quest for the elusive Red Ryder BB gun with the whole family in Olympia.

• The Minnaert Center-Black Box, through Dec. 18, 7 p.m. Thursday - Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday - Sunday, recommended for ages 8+, $9-$16, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia, 360.753.8585

>>> SATURDAY, DEC. 10: SANTARCHY TACOMA

Anarchy is once again coming to Tacoma, and it's wearing a Santa suit. Well, hopefully hundreds of Santa suits. The pan-continental holiday riot known as Santarchy could easily be denounced as just another excuse to get s***faced - like wedding receptions or a visit to Sea World. But it's more. The revelry involves dozens, hundreds, sometimes thousands of Santa-suited sots marauding about town - and in Tacoma it's been a tradition since 2007.  This year Tacoma's version of Santarchy goes down Saturday, Dec. 10. And there's a Santarchy party bus involved! The Santarchy party bus takes off from the Harmon at 5 p.m. (must have a purchased bracelet to ride), and will drop the drunken Santas off at 9 p.m. at O'Malley's. Before, during, and afterward craziness will ensue. Follow Tacoma Santarchy on Facebook for all the details.

>>> SATURDAY, DEC.10: BEAUTIFUL ANGLE HOLIDAY PARTY & POSTER SALE

Now in its ninth year, there's there's no doubt that the annual Beautiful Angle Holiday Party and Poster Sale is an event Tacoma has come to know and love. Going down this Saturday at King's Books and kicking off at 7 p.m., the event will be a, well, beautiful exposition of everything Tacoma's underground-legend guerilla arts project is all about. If you're not on the Beautiful Angle train yet, see what you've been missing. Bryan John Appleby, along with special guest, The Living, will be providing the music. And you'll have the opportunity to buy a poster or two while meeting Lance Kagey and Tom Llewellyn. It's a win-win.

• King's Books, 7 p.m., free admission, 218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.8801

>>> SATURDAY, DEC.10: DICKENS FEST

Oh Dickens! It's time for another Stadium District Dickens Festival! Every year, for one Saturday in December, Tacoma's postcard-esque Stadium District (Hey, they make postcards of a lot of stuff...) gets all Dickensy in the spirit of the holidays, busting period costumes, carriage rides, beard contests and even Bill Baarsma telling stories of the Chinese expulsion (What, really?). It's all true. Even the Baarsma part (he'll be at King's Books at 4 p.m.). Get in on the tradition this year. Find all the info you'll need right here.

• Stadium District, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., all ages, most events are free, $40 dinner and theater package available, dickensfestival.net

>>> SATURDAY-SUNDAY: THE NUTCRACKER

Stop pretending you're some sort of tough guy and go see the goddamn Nutcracker already. You know you want to. You're fascinated by people in tights. Plus, the local productions are simply amazing. In Tacoma, Tacoma City Ballet does its thing at the Pantages. In Oly, catch Ballet Northwest's take at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

• Pantages Theater, Tacoma City Ballet presents The Nutcracker, Saturday-Sunday through Dec. 18, 3 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m., $19-$60, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5890
• Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Ballet Northwest presents The Nutcracker, Friday- Sunday through Dec. 18, Friday- Saturday 7:30 p.m., Saturday - Sunday 2 p.m., $14-$30, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia, 360.753.8586

>>> WHAT SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE UP TO

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
All things Christmas. Finding and cutting the perfect tree with my boys, shopping at Duck the Malls arts and crafts sale, baking and decorating yummy cookies and with my hubby - a little kissing under the mistletoe. Sweet stuff.

JOANN VARNELL: Theater Critic
Saturday the whole family is going to the annual Beautiful Angle Holiday Party where we will grab some amazing limited posters (I may throw an elbow or two if necessary so watch out) and listen to Bryan John Appleby!!! The little son and I will be going to his first toddler birthday party for his best friend on Sunday.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
Going to the Dickens Festival and Happy Feet II with the kiddos as well as working in the church yard and then some jammy time around the house... Oh the glamorous life of a writer.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
PFLAG holiday party and white elephant gift exchange Sunday.

.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Theater Critic
I'll be fighting a furnace all weekend as The Old Man in Olympia Family Theater's production of A Christmas Story. Hosticklepfeiffer!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

DO YOU KNOW YOUR TACOMA HISTORY ... AND LOVE FOOD? >>

Foodcaching is a new smart phone app alerting customers of awesome food deals at 16 restaurants in the greater Tacoma area. You may download the app for free on your iPhone and Android here.

The Weekly Volcano has teamed up with Foodcaching for the True Tacoman game. Every Tuesday and Friday right here on Spew, we post a Tacoma history trivia provided by the Washington State History Museum. If you know the answer, run to one of the 16 participating restaurants, come clean with answer and you'll receive points on your Foodcaching app, which you downloaded free here. We'll be running the True Tacoman trivia game through the end of the year.

The person will the most points on Dec. 31 will be crowned the True Tacoman and be flooded with various food prizes.

Tuesday's True Tacoman trivia answer

Tuesday we asked if you knew what other major event happened in our area during Babe Ruth's visit in October 1924. You spent the last three days telling the restaurants listed below the airship Shenandoah made a visit to Camp Lewis during the same time The Bambino was in Tacoma and, thereby, you scored points on the Foodcaching app. It was an easy task – a lot easier, we imagine, than trying to match Ruth drink for drink.

Today is Friday, which means we post another trivia question as part of the True Tacoman contest.

Today's True Tacoman trivia question

The Tacoma Golf Club was formed in 1894. Its major claim to fame was:

• A) It had the first golf course west of the Mississippi River;
• B) The club members didn't play golf. It was a front for a speakeasy;
• C) The game of putt-putt golf was invented by its club members.

Answer the question correctly at one of the 16 participating restaurants below and score points - besides scoring awesome food deals from the restaurants. The correct answer will be revealed Tuesday, Dec. 13 on Spew. Also keep an eye on this blog for bonus game points and a special invite to the True Tacoman Game Party in early 2012.

Oh, you can download the free app here.

Participating restaurants

• 1022 South, 1022 South J St., Tacoma, 253.627.8588, Facebook
• Capers Cafe & Take Home, 2602 N. Proctor St., Tacoma, 253.761.4444, Facebook
• Dirty Oscar's Annex, 2309 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.0588, Facebook
• Dorky's Arcade, 754 Pacfic Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.4156, Facebook
• Harmon Brewery & Eatery, 1938 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.383.2739, Facebook
• Harmon Tap Room, 204 Saint Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.212.2725, Facebook
• The Hub, 203 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.683.4606, Facebook
• Jake's Bar & Bistro, 215 Wilkes St., Steilacoom, 253.581.3300, Website
• Massimo Italian Bar & Grill, 4020 Bridgeport Way W., University Place, 253.503.1902, Facebook
• Marrow Kitchen & Bar, 2717 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.267.5299, Facebook
• Over The Moon Cafe, 709 Court C/Opera Alley, Tacoma, 253.284.3722, Facebook
• Pacific Grill, 1502 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.3535, Facebook
• The Social Bar & Grill, 1715 Dock St., Tacoma, 253.301.3835, Facebook
• STINK Cheese & Meat, 628 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.426.1347, Facebook
• Top of Tacoma Bar & Cafe, 3529 McKinley Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.1502, Facebook
• TWOKOI Japanese Restaurant, 1552 Commerce St., Tacoma, 253.274.8999, Facebook

FRIDAY, DEC. 9, 2011 >>>

1. A bald guy with black rimmed glasses and an acoustic guitar may not seem like what you'd associate the words "badass" or "riotous smart performer," but trust us, they fit. Ed Hamell - once in a band but now free of the constraints of a shared tour van - enjoys going it alone. His entirely unique twist on the solo acoustic performer image is one that will leave its impression on you for days. Sharp black comedy rips out of his throat with precision timing and skilled delivery, set off by cord after cord of angry, powerful guitar. Catch Ed, aka Hamell On Trial at 8 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge. There's a $10 cover for this show.

2. The Weekly Volcano was there the day Füdie opened its doors in Tacoma's Triangle District. And we'll be there tonight from 5-8 p.m. when the Tacoma gourmet food, wine and kitchen store hosts a holiday open house featuring wine, beer and cheese.

3. B2 Fine Art Gallery/Studios opens part two of its Cold Fusion installation with a opening party from 6-9 p.m. Four North American artist explore contemporary artwork. You'll explore the wine.

4. Gig Harbor High School graduate turned national Americana music superstar Jaime Wyatt will perform in her hometown at 8 p.m. for a show with Chicago-born rocker Ted Wulfers inside Morso. She's perfomed with Lucinda Williams, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp. Pete Droge thinks she's awesome. And she did a little Q&A with the Weekly Volcano here.

5. While we will post our famous Night Moves live music listings later today, we should mention that the mighty Big Wheel Stunt Show will be rocking Jazzbones at 8 p.m. Pianist Gavin Guss opens.

PLUS: A boatload of holiday theater productions in The Weekend Hustle

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: 2011 South Sound Holiday Happenings

LINK: Happy hours!

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Tacoma City Manager: The Final Four (News Tribune)

In Other City Manager News: Ray Corpuz's name pops up again in Tacoma. (The Californian)

Today In Hardware News: Bonneville Power Administration is pissed. (News Tribune)

New Deal: European leaders hash out crisis deal. (CNN)

Carrie Brownstein:  Why she loves Portland. (The Atlantic)

Break Out The Eggnog, Mistletoe -  And Slayer:

We spotted Santa in downtown Tacoma yesterday afternoon. He was on a mission, speed walking toward the Tacoma Municipal Building. He was kind enough to pause for a photo.

SOUTH SOUND NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITES >>>

Cicada In Olympia: Chris Cratsenberg and Jen Thornson are the new owners of Cicada Restaurant and Lounge. While they say there will be very little changes in the menu, the new owners will change the interior and have added two 50-inch TVs in the lounge for sports games. The new hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

Closed: Penelope's Espresso next to the Varsity Grill on Broadway has closed. The Surreal Ultra Lounge is under new management, again, and is temporarily closed.

Have You Heard?: New restaurant coming to Tacoma's Hilltop. And Choripan by Asado is opening up at the Museum of Glass.

And: There's a new donut joint in Tacoma.

New: Mama's Bakery in Lakewood has added "rainbow rolls" to its repertoire. Basically, they're fruit compotes rolled into cinnamon rolls. They are called rainbow rolls because they're so Roy G. Biv in the display case.

Saturday: The Wine Bank & Beer Vault in University Place will be pouring tastes of Spanish wines from 2-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.

Sunday: Olympic Wine Merchants in Olympia will be pouring tastes of holiday sparkling wines from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11.

Monday: Pacific Grill hosts a six-course Bergevin Lane Wine Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12. The cost is $65. Reserve your spot at 253.627.3535.

Tuesday: Actress and author Linda Evans will sign her book, Recipes for Life: My Memories, as well as share her recipes in a cooking class environment at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13 inside The Bayview School of Cooking in Olympia. The cost is $75 per person. Reserve your spot at 360.754.1448.

LINK: Free Tacoma restaurant app

LINK: This week's food coverage in the Weekly Volcano

LINK: Happy hours