WEDNESDAY, FEB. 15, 2012 >>>

1. If you've got a wicked sensation right now in your music nerve, there's good reason for that: The Sammy Steele Band, SweetKiss Momma, Black Top Demon and Psycho 78 will take the stage at Jazzbones around 8 p.m. to crank it for Bill Rachal, who's battling cancer. Besides awesome music, your (suggested) $10 donation will score you an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner plus the opportunity to win raffle prizes. Do it.

2. Park enthusiasts will gather at 1 and 5:30 p.m. inside the Tacoma Nature Center and go off on how much they love Point Defiance Park. At some point someone will funnel the happiness into a discussion about the anxiously awaited pedestrian connection between the Ruston Way promenade and Point Defiance Park. Then, like clockwork, someone will mention Never Never Land and the whole crowd will faint. A must see.

3. Community arts activist Bill Cleveland argues that in times of violence, upheaval, and cultural dislocation, art is a key tool for confronting darkness and eventually rebuilding communities. Do you dig? Drop by the University of Washington Tacoma's Joy Building at 5 p.m. and hear Cleveland explain himself.

4. An reception for Tacoma artist Mark Hoppmann's show Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crows: The Art of Mark Hoppmann will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Collins Library on the University of Puget Sound campus. At 7 p.m. Hoppmann will most likely discuss how The Book of Kells inspired him to create his awesome illustrations.

5. Beginning at 7 p.m., DJ Sc fires up his laptop and mixer stocked with old school soul ballads and new school pop during ladies night at the Tempest Lounge.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Live music and DJs tonight

LINK: South Sound happy hours