TUESDAY, SEPT. 30 2014 >>>

1. Patagonia, a manufacturer of high-end outdoor apparel and the official outfitter of Portland, Oregon, produced DamNation, a quick, smart documentary about the havoc one country can create in its native fish populations by building 75,000 dams over an 80- or 90-year span. Inaccurately billed as "green energy," hydropower deprives shorelines and riparian zones of the vital silt washed downriver, while preventing salmon from reaching spawning zones and flooding low-lying wilderness areas. Throw on a Patagonia Nano Air Jacket and catch DamNation at 2 and 7 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

2. One of the greatest challenges facing the bicycle and pedestrian field is the lack of documentation on usage and demand. Without accurate and consistent demand and usage figures, it is difficult to measure the positive benefits of investments in these modes, especially when compared to the other transportation modes such as the private automobile. An answer to this need for data is the National Bicycle & Pedestrian Documentation Project. This nationwide effort provides consistent model of data collection and ongoing data for use by planners, governments, and bicycle and pedestrian professionals. The Washington State Department of Transportation and the Cascade Bicycle Club will be enlisting the support of volunteers to benchmark the numbers of people bicycling and walking on trails, bike lanes, sidewalks and other facilities across the state today through Oct. 2. Be sure to wave.

3. Everyone knows at least one annoyingly perfect woman who not only bakes her own cakes and blends her own icing from scratch, but also decorates desserts like a trained professional. Well, the Martha Stewart reign of terror is officially over: Bayview School of Cooking's Hands-On Cake Decorating 101 class is at 6 p.m. Caroline Willard will teach you the key fundamentals of cake decorating - flowers, borders, figure piping and sugar molding. Because if you can pipe, mold and frost like Betty Crocker herself, no one will care that the sweet stuff came from a Duncan Hines box.

4. Join Wildside Wine for their Yalumba Winemaker Dinner with Jane Ferrari at 6 p.m. Ferrari, winemaker at Australia's oldest winery, will be presenting some of her fine product paired with small bites - think Aussie meat pie and pavlova for dessert - and wow with her abundant vino knowledge and "down to earth wit and charm." Tickets are $45 and reservations are required at 253.565.0811.

5. The Doors tribute band The American Night hits the Red Wind Casino's stage at 8 p.m. Strange days have found us.

LINK: Tuesday, Sept. 30 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area