SUNDAY, NOV. 17 2013 >>>

1. The Tacoma Symphony has decided to skip Craigslist and choose its next music director by throwing them to the dogs first chairs. The fourth and final candidate  - best-selling author, conductor, polylinguist, Rhodes scholar and public speaker Scott Speck - will lead the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra with Oksana Ezhokina on piano through Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 1, Philip Glass' "Funeral for Aknaten" and Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 5 at 2:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater. Talk about a group interview. ...

2. Beer and food have always co-mingled, especially in European cultures such as Belgium, Germany and England. At points, beer was food. According to lore, European monks brewed ales and bock beers to provide sustenance during their Lenten fasts. Beer and grilled sausage: the two are a natural fit. The Red Hot has added three sausage hot dogs to its menu: The Cowboy ($4.75), Berliner ($4.25) and The Dakota ($4.50). TRH bartender Mitchell gave nod to The Cowboy, a locally made beef/cheddar sausage link on a steamed poppyseed bun, topped with barbecue sauce, chopped onions, slice of bacon, nacho cheese sauce and jalapeños. Giddy up! The Cowboy pairs well with Belgian style ales, which are $1 off on Sundays.

3. As you might guess, converting a stadium from baseball to football is more than just pulling down some outfield walls and laying down new line markers. The outfield fence pads and fence posts are removed and stored ... somewhere. The pitching mound must be removed from what will be midfield on the sideline. Two bullpen mounds - one in each end zone - also are removed. Sod is laid down. Screw it. Let's just watch a football game on a baseball stadium's big screen. The Seattle Seahawks play the Viking at 1:25 p.m. Cheney Stadium will open its doors to fans 21 and older to watch the game on the 50 foot video board from the Sterling Bank Summit Club. Get in on the party at 253.752.7707.

4. What could be better than one thought-provoking piece of theater? Seven, of course. Saint Martin's University Theater Department presents An Evening of One-Act Plays, a taste of crazy-quilt comedy theater of actors taking to the stage to perform student-directed, one-act plays exploring topics as diverse as discordant marriages, life and death, and an initial meeting between Adam and Eve in a bar. Catch them at 2 p.m. in the Kreielsheimer Arts Building. Click here for the list of schedule plays.

5. Brian Lee & The Orbiters will fill The Spar in Old Town Tacoma with blues at 8 p.m.

LINK: Sunday, Nov. 17 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area