MONDAY, JAN. 30, 2012 >>>
1. Back for year two, Go Local Tacoma's Shift Happens will inhabit The Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center today for a daylong extravaganza built on seminars and the power of local businesses. Shift Happens attendees will eat and drink local products, as well as tour booths representing local businesses from 7-9 p.m. Shift Happens will also, once again, include a State of the City address delivered by Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. Perhaps most beneficial of all, the event kicks off at 1 p.m. with a litany of "Sustainability Smart Labs," aimed at small businesses. For $10 registrants can sit in on "Key Indicators of successful Entrepreneurs;" "Unlocking Your Situated Advantage: the hidden wealth potential of body, place, and commons;" "Customer Acquisition Tool Box;" and "Becoming a BEST Business." From 6-6:45 p.m. Go Local Tacoma will hand out "Indie Awards" before Mayor Strickland tells us how it is.
2. If discussing civic spaces during the dinner hour is your bag, then you're in luck. Landscape architects Atelier Dreiseitl wants to show you a preliminary plan for transforming the portion of the Prairie Rail Line that runs through the civic heart of the University of Washington Tacoma campus into an active, open space for the community. Get in on the discussion at 5 p.m. inside the William Phillips Hall.
3. Earth Control, Xerxes, Code Orange Kids, White Heat and Tribes perform at the all-ages Red Room in downtown Tacoma beginning at 7 p.m.
4. Mark Riley Band anchors "blues night" at The Swiss beginning at 8 p.m.
5. Magoo's Annex's Micro Mondays with DJ Melodica has become a habit for many, specifically those who enjoy punk, post punk, New Wave, early electronica and garage tunes while waiting for that one damn pool table. Tonight at 8:30 p.m. the "Micro" is shelved for something Melodica calls "Showcase Monday." DJ Darren Selector will be in the house, as well as the band Battersea and a TV theme trivia contest with prizes.
LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound
LINK: Live music and DJs tonight
LINK: Local happy hours