TUESDAY, DEC. 17 2013 >>>

1. Tacoma native Erik Hanberg is a man who wears many hats. One day, you may see him fulfilling his duties as commissioner of Metro Parks Tacoma; on another, you may spy him petitioning to pay tribute to legendary scribe and fellow Tacoman Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series, by loaning the same moniker to a local park. More recently, you may have spied him signing copies of his newly released novel, The Lead Cloak, Book One of the Lattice Trilogy,which he'll do again at 7 p.m., Dec. 17 at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. Read Jackie Fender's Q&A with Erik Hanberg in the Music & Culture section.

2. The Grand Cinema continues its Tuesday Film Series with Kerry Candaele's majestic sonic travelogue Following the Ninth: In The Footsteps of Beethoven's Final Symphony. The film charts the inextricable relationship between music and the human experience. Candaele's results are as moving as the piece of music that inspired them. You don't have to be a musicologist to know it; whether the thunderous percussion from the fourth movement played in a car commercial or "Ode to Joy" sung during Christmas mass, it remains pervasive. The universality of this aural wonder is on full display at 2:05 and 6:35.

3. You've heard it many times: Practice makes perfect. Doyle's Public House in Tacoma's Stadium District lives by this adage. Every 17th of the month, the watering hole hosts St. Practice Day, a trail run at its annual, massive St. Patrick's Day party. It's a warm-up, if you will, from 4-7 p.m. Ever wanted your own personalized Guinness glass? Well now you can get one with the purchase of a pint of Guinness. Or get one for a Christmas gift? Either way the Guinness Club will be hoisting pints at 5:17 pm to recognize pint club achievements and welcome new members. 

4. How do you escape the pressures of the holidays, like, really quickly? Bundle up, drop your packages in the trunk, pinch your cheeks until they glow and strap on a pair of silver skates, Hans Brinker, for a glide across the frozen expanse at Tollefson Plaza. The Franciscan Polar Plaza, located on the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 17th Street. The covered outdoor rink is about half the size of a hockey rink. It will have real ice and hold about 150 skaters at a time. It's open from 4-9 p.m.

5. Usually when you go to the casino you just lose money - but tonight could be different. Danny Vernon's Illusions of Elvis will be at the Red Wind Casino. Travel out to Yelm and have a great time with the King's likeness, starting at 6:30 p.m. Expect a bunch of Elvis holiday tunes.

PLUS: Holiday Events Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Holiday Command Center

LINK: Tuesday, Dec. 17 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area