Maurice Sendak dies

Andre 3000 to play Hendrix

Beiber graduates from high school (really?)

Sources at the City of Lakewood tell us that the old Sears Building at Steilacoom Blvd and S Tacoma Way will be a new location for H Mart, the modern Asian supermarket.  We don't have tons of details, but here is what we wrote about the H Mart in Federal Way.

The city will host its first Farmer's Market.  The market will run in front of City Hall in July and August, Tuesdays, from 11-3 p.m.

We were just thinking about lunch...

FRISKO FREEZE
A Tacoma icon with juicy burgers, fries, great onion rings, and shakes without a high priced bill and silly "welcome to such and such" sayings. 1201 Division, Tacoma, 253.272.6843.

ALFRED'S CAFÉ & BUBBLE ROOM
Alfred's Café & Bubble Room's menu is extensive.  In fact, sometimes it's near impossible to decide what to chow on with more than 10 appetizers, five salads, 12 types of hand-thrown pizza, six entrees and 10 sandwiches. 402 Puyallup Ave. E., Tacoma by the Tacoma Dome, 253.627.5491.

INFINITE SOUPS
Infinite Soups serves 20 to 30 different kinds of soups daily off a rotating list of around 60 soups, by the quart, bowl or cup, all under $7. Owner Wendy Clapp offers soup and bread for take-out only, although Malarkey's will let you bring her soup inside their pool joint next door. 445 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.274.0232.

THE SPAR
A great local bar with a good reputation for exemplary beer, friendly patrons, and great food including fish 'n' chips. Early Sunday night blues is a Tacoma tradition.  2121 North 30th, Old Town Tacoma, 253.627.8215.

We are going to have words with Steve Pool if he's wrong, but he says this weekend looks sunny and warm.  If that's true, here's where to find us.

SOUTH SOUND BEACHES

Unlike most parts of the world, Pacific Northwest beaches aren't just for sunbathing and splashing in the water. Even in the summer, most of the water is too cold to venture more than ankle deep into. But beaches near Tacoma offer a unique brand of Northwest fun year round-ruggedly beautiful places to hike, sit by the water, kayak or even sunbathe on warm summer days.

Owen Beach

Owen Beach is tucked away in Point Defiance. In the summer, Owen Beach has kayak rentals, a snack shop, and sand to lounge on. A promenade leads from the beach to the Point Defiance marina and offers a level place to stroll if you're not much for beach walking. In cooler weather, the beach is often quiet and hiking along the sand (away from the promenade) will put you back in touch with everything that's right about the Northwest.

Titlow Beach

Titlow Beach has a small boardwalk and a park attached to it, but unlike Owen Beach there is no sand. Surf-tumbled rocks make up the shore, so it's not great for laying out. What's special about Titlow is the nature. When the tide is high, there's not much to do except walk on the board walk. When the tide goes out, however, strolling the beach yields interesting sealife in tide pools and views of the Narrows Bridge.

Lake Beaches

Both American Lake and Spanaway Lake have small beach areas. While these are largely covered with small children on warm days, they are also rare sandy spots with warmish water. Don't expect large expanses of beach at either place.

Other Beaches

Olympia has many miles of rugged coastline beaches mostly ideal for hiking or picnicking. Priest Point Park has a mile of rocky, unspoiled shore, while Tolmie State Park also touches the water for 1,800 feet.

Steilacoom is a small community close to Lakewood with two beaches that make excellent places to relax and watch the sunset. Sunnyside Beach Park is the more popular beach in town, but Saltar's Point is a lesser-known spot that is just as beautiful.

Treasure!  There's tresaure in there them streets.

The Sixth Annual Gig Harbor Street Scramble, a kind of treasure hunt,is May 26 with a 10 a.m. start. Typically done in teams, this is the largest street scramble in North America. It's also the only free street scramble in the Puget Sound.

The Gig Harbor Street Scramble involves either a 90-minute or 3-hour treasure hunt. You can choose whether to do the event on foot, by bike, unicycle, or other non-motorized method of propulsion. Cars or anything with a motor are not allowed. You can also sign up as part of a team or by yourself.

Between 30 and 50 stops are noted on a map, all are a secret until the morning of the event. The farthest is usually several miles from the starting point. The 90-minute and 3-hour time lengths feature the same number of stops.

"Street Scramble is so much fun and one of the reasons is you can do as many stops as you like, so it fits individual needs," says Laureen Lund, City of Gig Harbor Marketing Director. "For both the 90-minute and 3-hour you choose to hit as many as you like as long as you are back in the time allotted. The catch is that the stops that are the furthest away have a higher point value. So if you are very competitive and want to get lots of points you head straight for the furthest away point."

The event is free and starts off summer with good old fashioned family fun. Even though it's free, if you want to join in, you will need to register. Registering before the day of the event will get you a free t-shirt (first 200 pre-registrations), but registration will also be open the day of the event, too.

The starting point is at Skansie Brothers Park at 3207 Harborview Drive, right in downtown Gig Harbor.

It's time to eat on the cheap ... but you'll be hungry an hour later.

HAPPY AT THE BAY TERIYAKI
While teriyaki is the mainstay, this restaurant devotes a fair portion of its menu to Chinese selections - more so than other teriyaki restaurants.  The Mongolian beef was surprisingly fresh, sweet and scrumptious.  Portion size was huge and the service friendly. 4040 S. Orchard, Fircrest, 253.564.4707.

EMPEROR'S PALACE
Emperor's Palace is everything you'd want a stereotypical Chinese restaurant to be. The Kung Pao chicken is tasty. 7321 Martin Way S.E., Lacey, 360.923.2323. 

JADE PALACE
Skip the family meals and head straight for the authentic Mandarin/Szechwan dishes such as roast duck Cantonese and orange peel beef, order a powerful potion from the bar, and then work off the fine Chinese food in front of the karaoke machine.  3810 Bridgeport Way W., University Place, 253.564.7170.

SHANGHAI HOUSE
A downtown Tacoma Chinese restaurant that's under new management, the Shanghai House is known for specializing in large portions. Rich spices fill the air. The house specialty - steamed dumplings - are super soft, steamy goodness arriving in a metal bowl on shredded white cabbage. These hot little balls are filled with seasoned ground pork and minced veggies and then dunked in soy/vinegar sauce. We also recommend the The Sizzling Triple Delight - a sizzling dish of chicken, beef and prawns joined by mushrooms, red bell pepper, snow peas, and broccoli. 1126 Commerce St., Tacoma, 253.627.1859.

TACOMA SZECHAUN
Folks, this is as real as it gets around here. Chinese (Sichuan) with a huge menu, well over a hundred options, and the portions are big and the flavors fresh. Their idea of a starter soup is more trough-like than cup. Crispy pork & tofu with hot tomato sauce, hot pepper fried shredded potato, eggplant in hot garlic sauce - they excel in hot and spicy. 9601 South Tacoma Way, No. 102, Lakewood, 253.581.0102.

On the second Sunday of every month, year-round, The Seymour Conservatory in Tacoma's Wright Park presents music intended to enhance your experience of the Conservatory and of Wright Park. The performers reflect a wide spectrum of musical tastes and the music is intended to appeal to audiences of all ages and sensibilities.Today: The Tom Brooks Trio.

W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory
316 South G Street
Tacoma, WA 98405-4733
(253) 591-5330

Event Hours

1-2:30 pm

Event Price

Free, $5 suggested donation

Visit: www.Seymourconservatory.org for a list of performances.

This book club is perfect for people just starting to read graphic novels or confirmed geeks. May's book is Ghost World by Daniel Clowes. Books available for purchase at King's Bookstore. www.kingsbookstore.com. If you're on Facebook, like our Page: www.facebook.com/pages/Graphic-Novel-Capes-Cowls-Book-Club/167851566584786

Where

1022 South lounge
1022 South J Street
Tacoma, WA 98405-4154
(253) 627-8588

Event Hours

7 pm

Event Price

Free

A 55 minute work for four vocal soloists, mixed choir and orchestra. Excerpts from four poems by seminal American poet Walt Whitman from his series Drum Taps, written during the Civil War, provide a changing view of war from a 19th century American perspective: from excited anticipation of a quick and heroic experience, to a somber reflection on the human cost of war. Interspersed amongst these are five poems by writers from other lands and other times- perhaps not coincidentally places where the US has been involved in wars: Vietnam, China, the Middle East and Europe. The vocal soloists for the piece are well-known Puget Sound area singers: Janeanne Houston, soprano, Melissa Plagemann, mezzo soprano, Stephen Rumph, tenor and Barry Johnson, baritone. The Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West and University Chorale will join the University Symphony Orchestra onstage, directed by Jeffrey Bell-Hanson. Gregory Youtz, Composer. PLU Choirs, Orchestra and Faculty Vocal Soloists. Mozart: Piano Concerto in C Minor, No. 24, Oksana Ezhokina, soloist. For a brief video on the premiere with comments by the composer and orchestra director, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9byvIsxJgqQ

When

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

Where

Lagerquist Concert Hall
Pacific Lutheran University
12180 Park Street S.
Tacoma, WA 98447
(253) 535-7787

Contact

(253) 535-7601, www.plu.edu/soac/focus-series

Event Hours

8 pm

Event Price

$3-$8, 18 years and younger Free