THE WEEK OF NOV. 8-14, 2012 >>>

In this week's issue, Nikki McCoy chats with Tacoma's civic and arts advocate Katy Evans about her deep love for Tacoma, and the organizations she created or supports. "Katy is a superstar," says Drew Ebersole,executive director of the Greater Metro Parks Foundation. "She has a rare combination of great intuition and an ability to lead fearlessly in her community. She's bright, has clear ideas and follow through." We agree.

Weekly Volcano arts critic Alec Clayton reviews the Andy Warhol's Flowers for Tacoma show at the Tacoma Art Museum. Clayton writes, "We've all seen many of the silkscreen flowers with fluorescent paint, ink and pencil in all their hypnotic repetition and funky-acid colors - the superimposed line drawings like chalk and the layered look like 3-D images seen without the glasses. There are many of these displayed in this show, and they are breathtaking. But there are also things such as a tiny and very expressionistic painting of flowers in a pot that is totally unlike anything I've ever seen by Warhol."

Riding on the successful (sold out) wave of Night of the Living Tribute Bands, the Olympia Film Society keeps the drive alive into the year's incredible lineup of screenins, events, guests and kick-ass gala that is the 29th annual Olympia Film Festival. Nikki McCoy chats with a few key players and drools over Dan Savage's HUMP! night.

Sandwiched between Hilltop Loans and Pho Bac Cafe sits the quintessential neighborhood bar. The Peterson Brothers carry a decent selection brewskis on tap, in a bottle and the obligatory tall boys for $2.50 if you're drinking on the cheap. Jackie Fender has been hearing about Eleven-Eleven since brothers Justin and Robby Peterson opened its doors this summer. In particular she's heard rumors boasting of some damn tasty sandwiches and she simply couldn't hold out any longer.

Christian Carvajal knows it's praising with faint damnation to say Director Pug Bujeaud achieves "good community theater" status at Olympia Little Theatre, but not every show at OLT or any community theater does. Despite clumsy moments and a lighting instrument that flashed Morse code throughout Act II, he enjoyed Night Must Fall more than the Oregon Shakespeare Festival show he attended the night before.

PLUS: The return of Better Living Through Music

PLUS: New drink column Dear Drink

COVER PHOTO: Jason Ganwich