FRIDAY, JULY 5 2013 >>>

1. It's officially summer, and longer days and warmer nights mean finding any excuse to be outside. What could be a better nighttime entertainment choice than hanging out in a park? Hanging out in a park with free movies! CinemaGig Outdoors movie series is on with 9:15 p.m. screenings in Skansie Brothers Park. Tonight, it's 100 percent Iowa corn and Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. Costner, slack but unoffending, is Ray Kinsella, a novice farmer guided by voices to build a ballfield for disgraced diamond great Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta); restore the faith of a reclusive novelist (James Earl Jones); and shepherd the apotheosis of a saintly ballplayer-turned-doctor (Burt Lancaster). You will, come.

2. Harmon Tap Room in Tacoma's Stadium District has invited Joe Rosati to perform in its outdoor beer garden at 6 p.m. Grab a beer, kick back in the sun and listen to songs off his new CD, The Candelabra Light.

3. Sometimes you desperately need something to bring a laugh or distract you enough to allow you to let go of whatever has been troubling you, even if only for a couple hours. Lakewood Playhouse's production of The Importance of Being Earnest does all of that. Oscar Wilde's 118-year-old script is as smart and fresh now as when it debuted in London. While director Marilyn Bennett had a fantastic play to work with, her direction of the cast and crew of the quick paced, witty script was flawless. It hits the stage at 8 p.m.

4. Most renowned for its rock sensibilities and downtown Olympia hardcore patronage - as well as favored (pricewise and taste-wise) drinks among Olympians - McCoy's Tavern continues its mild shift of venue personage as it hosts another hip-hop function.  At 8 p.m. the likes of an O'Lacey (Olympia and Lacey) who's who list of factors (cats who make a difference in the scene) such as Heretic, Q-Storm, Double B, Cauze N Efeckt, David Gies, DJ Pasquan and Model Citizens take over the downtown Olympia joint. Be on the lookout for the gritty-grimey-gangsta-styled Prano Tha Don from Seattle and out-of-staters Landon Wordswell and Tim Hoke. This is a diverse lineup of hip-hop that with a couple beers and more - just might be what you need this weekend to keep the party going.

5. The merengue, as well as the bachata and salsa, are taught in mini-versions, with or without partner, at varying levels of experience, every Friday night at Studio 6 Ballroom in Tacoma. After the last instruction at around 9:30 p.m., the club lights flip on, disco ball drops and Studio 6 fills with cross body leads, hand throws and hammerlocks. "It's always fun and memorable," says Natasha Thayer, master coach at Studio 6 Ballroom. "One of the reasons we chose Friday nights was so that you could club hop on Sixth Avenue and go out for food after." Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Studio 6 Ballroom's Latin dance Night in Northwest Military Clubs/Bars Section.

LINK: Friday, July 5 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area