SATURDAY, JAN. 7, 2012 >>>

1. The Auburn Performing Arts Center will be one giant party of bagpipes, whistle, fiddle and song when Celtic bands Mollys Revenge and The Town Pants go off at 7 p.m.

2. Today marks the first Saturday of the month, which means it's time again for the monthly Gig Harbor Art Walk from 1-5 p.m. For the uninitiated, the Gig Harbor Art Walk offers art lovers (or non art lovers, for that matter) a chance to take a free, self-guided tour of the many galleries along the Gig Harbor waterfront.

3. Seattle authors Dave O'Leary, Pam Summa and Destini Baxter will read their works from 2-5 p.m. at Mad Hat Tea Company in downtown Tacoma. "Dave O'Leary's debut novel, Horse Bite, offers a heartfelt and thoughtful meditation on love, sex (lots of it), and the ways in which we view the world - and ourselves - differently as we grow older," says Will Allison, author of the New York Times bestseller, Long Drive home.

4. Listen to traditional music from Mexico and learn about the cultural traditions from which it is derived. The group Trío Lucero del Norte, inspired by music from one of the largest and most diverse cultural areas of Mexico, will fill the Tacoma Art Museum with traditional Mexican music at 2 p.m.

5. DJs Broam, Bobby Galaxy and E.S. present "Future Bass" at 9:30 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs in the South Sound

LINK: This week's freebies