SUNDAY, JAN. 18 2015 >>>

1. The Washington Center has launched its Silent Movie Series for the year. Renowned organist Dennis James nestles the Center's beautiful Wurlitzer Pipe Organ as they screen some of the earliest films created, including Way Down East - a 1920 romantic drama directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish - at 2 p.m. Way Down East is best known for the exciting climax featuring Gish trapped in the ice during a snowstorm. Shot on location during an actual blizzard, this harrowing sequence features Gish's character, having fainted on an ice floe, floating toward a waterfall with her right hand and her hair in the freezing river. The film will be accompanied by the actual original musical score written for the film's initial release.

2. A large percentage of people get married at some point during their lives. Some people, like Larry King for instance, do it several times. The fact is, weddings are a big part of our existence. All the more reason to check out the seventh annual South Sound Wedding Show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Centralia's Great Wolf Lodge. Expect to meet caterers, disc jockeys, wedding planners, florists, photographers, jewelry designers, as well as representatives from wedding and reception venues and bridal and tux shops. The latest styles in hair, makeup, bridal bouquets, jewelry, wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses and tuxedos will be featured during fashion shows at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to engaged couples during the show. Pro Tip: If your South Sound Wedding Show date ditches you for one of the Great Wolf water slides, he's probably not the one.

3. There's nothing more American than a recreational vehicle. Here's a car that's literally as big as a house, equipped to the nines with every sort of modern amenity you can think of, a brazen gas-guzzler ready to tear giant swaths of land apart, highway by scenic highway. Indeed, the modern RV is an apt metaphor for the United States. The final day of the Tacoma RV Show runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Tacoma Dome. The show will feature hundreds of new RVs.

4. At 28, Stacy Jones had released five CDs, played hundreds of shows and won multiple awards, including Washington Blues Society's "Best Female Vocalist of the Year" in 2010. Her band will play the Blues Vespers Show at 5 p.m. in the Immanuel Presbyterian Church. Finding a flow of funk, blues, rock and jazz appears to come easy to The Stacy Jones Band. Its presence, talent and raw soul weave seamlessly on stage.

5. The true origins of Middle Eastern belly dance, or raqs sharqi ("Oriental dance") in Arabic, have been clouded by time. Egyptian art seems to suggest belly dancers provided sexy entertainment for pharaohs as they have for sultans and sheikhs ever since. Some believe the sinuous belly roll movements originated in birthing rituals; belly dancing has long been associated with feminine fecundity.  Some present-day commentators, uncomfortable with the association with sex and fertility, claim belly dance was invented as a way for women to entertain and socialize with other women. In any event, the Tacoma Belly Dance Revue takes over the B Sharp Coffee House at 6:30 p.m. The free show features 12 dancers.

LINK: Sunday, Jan 18 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area