SATURDAY, FEB. 22 2014 >>>

1. We couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night than on a hot date with ourselves listening to loud rock and roll and watching tough-as-nails roller derby chicks knocking each other on their asses. Yes, our Saturday night will be spent with Dockyard Derby Dames characters such as Anita Hit Sum Won, Booty Trapp, Sass E Smaxx, LocoComotion, Hit O' Honey and Brat Capone crammed at the front of the flat track jumping around, screaming my lungs out, picking fights and hocking loogies. Being up close and personal blows away watching the action on television. Hell, with a beer garden, girls in fishnets, funny announcer guys, mascots in full-body spandex  - this is entertainment at it's fullest. The whistle blows at 6 p.m. in the Pierce College Health Education Building. After the bout everyone will head to the Fan Club Sports Bar in Lakewood.

2. With artists from the worlds of dance, fine arts and music, Tacoma City Ballet's Mid-Winter Soirée creates an extraordinary sampling of the arts. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Jan Collum Ballroom Theater in the Merlino Arts Center, guests can sip champagne, and savor the artistic festivities and live music.

3. Ben Union, The Breaklites and James Redfern play Jazzbones at 8 p.m.

4. The cabaret-meets-classical-meets-crazy ensemble Vagabond Opera headlines the Winter Carnival at The Olympia Ballroom at 9 p.m. that also features punk accordionist Jason Webley and aerialist Sara Sparrow.

5. Blackstone Rangers veer into dreampop territory, allowing their synths to wash along, unabated by unobtrusive drum machine patter. While occasional outbursts do arise, Blackstone Rangers seem largely content to embrace ambience and to let mood carry their songs. Catch them with People Under the Sun and Midday Veil at Bob's Java Jive at 9 p.m.

LINK: Saturday, Feb. 22 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area