THURSDAY, DEC. 14 2013 >>>
1. Here's your pick-up line: "Was your daddy a thief? Because he stole the stars and put them in your eyes." Where to use it? Check out the Weekly Volcano's Valentine's Day Command Center.
2. After six long years of closure due to safety issues, the Murray Morgan Bridge saw the dawn of a new era Friday, Feb. 1. The bridge reopen to car traffic - as well as bicycle and foot traffic via new pathways - just in time for its 100th birthday celebration Friday. This past week downtown businesses offered discounts and Harmon Brewery distributed Eleventh Street IPA in celebration of the old steel bridge over the Thea Foss Waterway reconnecting the Port of Tacoma with downtown Tacoma. The official rededication ceremony begins with the Light the Bridge fun run/walk at 6 p.m. Originally, fireworks were planned to light up the skies, but the fireworks company pulled out. That won't stop Tacoma. Instead, Light the Bridge organizers ask all participants to wear headlamps and/or carry flashlights or glow sticks. Advance registration was required. Go watch the craziness.
3. Oh, boy. Will relationships be destroyed tonight? It's Thursday. It's Valentine's Day. The Tacoma Runners run EVERY Thursday. No. Matter. What. The group begins its 3-mile run at 6 p.m. in front of their beloved Harmon Tap Room. Will an angry spouse toss belongings at a runner from a car window? Keep an eye on Twitter.
4. Speaking of the Harmon Tap Room, we imagine a few Tacoma Runners will stick around until 8 p.m. when Harmon Brewing hosts its Eleventh Street IPA release party. Bonus: The talented Kurt Lindsay will perform.
5. Look, it wouldn't be fair for us to draw conclusions and/or reaffirm stereotypes about people who are big into bluegrass music just because the Oly Mountain Boys will perform at 8 p.m. inside the historic Spar Cafe in Olympia. No, that would not be fair and we will not partake in such blind musical bigotry. We'll tactfully avoid referencing the film Deliverance when discussing the musical genre, and we'll steer clear of family tree jokes that involve fans of bluegrass marrying cousins. Why? Because we're bigger than that. Plus, when the band proclaims its mission is to "reinvigorate the bluegrass genre by bringing the original bluegrass sound of the 1950s to a new generation of fans," we kind of believe them, especially after taking a listen to the passion guitarist Chris Rutledge, mandolin player Derek McSwain, banjo player Tye Menser, bassist Phil Post and fiddle player Josh Grice get down with. Yep, we're taking the high road on this one.
LINK: Thursday, Feb. 14 arts and entertainment event sin the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
