SATURDAY, DEC. 6 2014

1. An almost too obvious entry point for the kind of satirical Americana of Shotgun Kitchen would be their spiritual forefather, John Prine. Expect stories about white-trash-living and country-road-dying performed with appealingly outlaw country-ish instrumentation and vocals while ice skating to the band's live performance at the Polar Plaza ice rink in downtown Tacoma from 7-9 p.m. The music is free; it's $4-$8 to ice skate.

2. Five acclaimed Puget Sound regional writers of mysteries, thrillers and chillers will sneak in the downtown Tacoma Main Library's back door at 1 p.m. to discuss about their books, the art of crime writing and their favorite authors. The authors include William Dietrich, Elizabeth George, Bharti Kirchner, Mike Lawson and Bernadette Pajer. The five authors are all members of the Seattle 7 Writers - a nonprofit collective of Pacific Northwest authors whose mission is to foster and support a passion for the written word. 

3. There's no doubt that the annual Beautiful Angle Holiday Party and Poster Sale is an event Tacoma has come to know and love. Going down at 7 p.m. in the Diane Hansen Studio (747 Fawcett Street, Suite B), the event will be a, well, beautiful exposition of everything Tacoma's underground-legend guerilla arts project is all about. If you're not on the Beautiful Angle train yet, see what you've been missing. Sporty Lee will be providing the music. Expect Grit City Beer. And you'll have the opportunity to buy a poster or two while meeting BA artists Lance Kagey and Tom Llewellyn. All the proceeds of this year’s poster sale go to "Tacoma Warhol" to help get the Andy Warhol flower on the Tacoma Dome. It's a win-win.

4. We've given Rich Wetzel a lot of love over the years, not only because he's a groovy guy, but because he's always playing a gig worth mentioning. Tonight is no exception as Wetzel and his Groovin' Higher Jazz Orchestra bring their annual jazzy holiday to Tacoma Community College at 7:30 p.m. Trumpeter Wetzel sets up chairs for what seems like 59 musicians for a night of swinging renditions of Christmas classics, featuring singers Steve Stefanowicz and Sunny Jo Loudin.

5. True, blue Tacomans likely already have the date circled on their calendar, or programmed into their smart phone, or scrawled on the back of their hand in sharpie. The Valley Pub celebrates its "hard opening" Saturday with CFA, Sun Giants, Stereo Creep and Infinite Flux. Cody Foster, bassist and singer with the high octane CFA, put the show together, welcoming new and improved Valley Pub to the Tacoma Dome neighborhood, and offering a chance for CFA guitarist Dave Takata to show off his new fashion. Foster says this will be the last CFA show of the year as the band needs to hammer down on the new album, although a new song will blast into tonight's show, as well as a cover of Fear's sentimental Christmas song. The free celebratory show is certain to scare the Dickens of out those waiting to board an Amtrak train down the street.

LINK: Saturday, Dec. 6 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area