WEDNESDAY, AUG. 13 2014 >>>

1. Washington state is home to such oddities as a giant coffee pot by the side of the road; a garbage-eating goat sculpture in Spokane; mysterious bumps in the landscape near Olympia called Mima Mounds; a replica of Stonehenge - Stonehenge! - in Maryhill. There's even a Menudo Festival in Granger! All of these oddities, and more, have been cataloged into Washington Curiosities by author Harriet Baskas. She'll be on hand at noon in the Washington State History Museum to tell more stories and sign copies of her book.

2. Tacoma's Mad Hat Tea Co. and local band The Cloves teamed up to create a special tea blend. Mad Hat's Tobin and Maureen made their own unique mix of black tea, cinnamon and cloves to spawn "Tea Time with The Cloves." The band will be playing an acoustic set at this favorite Tacoma hideaway on Commerce Street at 4:30. Come have a sip and celebrate this tasteful collaboration.

3. There's street art and then there's graffiti. One can be beautiful, creative and inspiring; the other can be destructive, ugly and a huge nuisance. But the dividing line is difficult to determine. For proof of that, at 4:30 p.m. head to downtown Tacoma's Post Office Building for a graffiti forum featuring representatives of Tacoma Police Department, BIA, Tacoma Arts Commission, Downtown Merchants Group, Fab 5 and the City's Graffiti Task Force. After the panel answers directed questions the floor will open for audience comment.

4. Northwest composer/pianist Scott Cossu has been erroneously slotted into the neo-classical new age section of the record store. Sure, his stuff is mellow, laid-back and relaxing, but Cossu pushes the musical boundaries further than Yanni or John Tesh ever did, would or could. In other words, he's uncategorizable as he flirts with everything from jazz, blues, world and classical. at 7:30 p.m., Cossu, accompanied by John Croarkin playing flute and harmonica, will present a variety of music styles including jazz, blues and his own compositions, which he has described as "heavy mental" and "cosmic national geographic" at the Olympia Timberland Library.

5. Maurice The Fish Records grabs Jazzbones' stage for its Wednesday Sessions series, this time featuring The Thrill, Dear Darkness, Breakaway Derringer at 8 p.m.

LINK: Wednesday, Aug. 13 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area