The Summit at Snoqualmie is one of the Seattle-Tacoma area's top ski areas - and one that's perfect for everyone. Advanced skiers and beginners alike will find terrain to suit their skill levels, as will those who want to do other snow sports such as tubing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. From about early December until late April, The Summit's four mountains, 1,981 acres of skiable terrain welcome in snow fiends - but if you're a servicemember, the best dates to hit the slopes are March 21-23. On these dates, The Summit at Snoqualmie will host Military Appreciation Weekend. 

To honor and celebrate active and retired military, the ski area will offer special deals, live music, prizes, as well as other fun and fanfare. Special deals dominate the celebration and range from 10 percent off food and non-alcoholic beverages with your military ID, to a $5 cheeseburger/fries/soda combo special, to snow sports discounts - a big deal for a sport that is often a pricey way to spend a day.

• Lift tickets are normally $66 for ages 13-61 and $46 for youth and seniors, but for Military Appreciation Weekend they will be $35 and $25, respectively.
• If you need to rent gear, an all-day ski and snowboard package is available for just $26 for adults and $20 for kids ages 7-12.
• You also can't beat deals on ski lessons. For those 9 and older, the More 2 Learn Package is discounted from $99 to $45, while the Kids Club half-day lesson is also knocked down from $99 to $45.
• And if you're not a skier, but want to play in the snow anyway, two-hour tubing sessions are just $15.

You'll also receive 20 percent off in all the gear and gift shops at The Summit.

The ski area recommends reserving sessions in advance at their website. All deals require you to show your military ID, whether you reserve in advance or not.

Directions? Click here.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15 2014 >>>

1. Experimentation for experimentation's sake can be a fun tunnel to explore, but the ability to rein oneself in is a valuable one to have. Following every whim is too easy, which is why we'll always give enormous amounts of credit to people that can write a solid three-minute pop song. Being able to split the difference is ideal, and it's something that Bone Cave Ballet do very well. They're able to take you right to the edge without shoving you off. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Bone Cave Ballet in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Bandolier, Red Sea and Buffalo Tongue at 8:30 p.m. in Bob's Java Jive.

2. Doyle's Public House has pitched the giant tent and its St. Patrick's Weekend is on. Today, it's a full schedule. They are open this morning for the pre- and post-St. Patrick's Day Dash breakfast and beers. Sounders Supporter Bus will depart at 11:30 a.m. for the 1:30 p.m. kick-off. The Pierce County Firefighters Pipes & Drums will be in the house to stir the emotions with their haunting sound. Corned Beef Cabbage and other Irish dishes are on the menu. At 9 p.m., it's "Working Man's St. Patrick's Day" party kicks in with The Rusty Cleavers and the Ethan Tucker Band.

3. Poet Lisa Panepinto will read from On This Borrowed Bike, her debut collection, full of lyrical, heartwarming poems at 3 p.m. in Orca Books.

4. 106.5 KOWA-FM low power community radio hosts an "Ides of March" benefit concert featuring Yogoman Burning Band, Fabulous Downey Brothers, Oh Rose, Old Growth Poetry Collective and special host and DJ Selector Dub Narcotic at 7 p.m. in the Eagles Ballroom in downtown Olympia.

5. When we were kids, Bach was the bane of our existence. During childhood piano lessons, time spent struggling with the German composer's Inventions 1 through 5 forced us to miss out on crucial bike-riding time and numerous episodes of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. But if any orchestra can help us overcome our aversion to the music of Johann Sebastian, it's the Northwest Sinfonietta. Conductor Christophe Chagnard, 93 musicians, PLU Choral Union and five soloists perform J.S. Bach's sacred oratorio St. John Passion - a harrowing tale of power, betrayal, murder, love, compassion and hope at 7:30 p.m. in the Rialto Theater.

LINK: Saturday, March 15 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.15.14 >>>

Joint Base Lewis-McChord bids farewell to 4-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

GOP control of Senate could spawn Tea Party resurgence, more defense cuts.

Air Force leaders detailed future force cuts and defended the service's religious accommodation practices after coming under attack from conservative lawmakers at a congressional budget hearing Friday.

The U.S. military is back in Somalia, sorta.

The Pentagon is denying reports by Russian sponsored media companies that a U.S. Army drone crashed while flying an intelligence mission over Crimea.

Poll: 69 percent see Russia as threat to U.S.

DoD extra $26 billion fund a "long shot."

Why Congress may let the Air Force retire the A-10.

When enemies think outside the box.

Inglourious Basterd of WWII deserves Medal of Honor.

The robots are coming.

Some BMX bikers have found themselves the subjects of well-deserved criticism after filming themselves "bunnyhopping" their bikes over what appears to be homeless people.

The latest Game of Thrones brew from Ommegang is bolder than that dude who (spoiler) to (spoiler) in the "Red Wedding" episode.

This picture is not a parrot but a woman in bodypaint posing so she looks exactly like a parrot.

Seeing a cat walk on a treadmill chasing food basically sums up life.

I dig that there's a video for a new Cash song in 2014.

It was a wet, green morning at Camp Murray.

And I'm not talking about Mother Nature ... unless she wore green and ran with the Washington National Guard during the second annual St. Patrick's Day 5K Fun Run/Walk.

Yes, it was wet this morning at 7:30 a.m., but spirits were high.

"In the Guard, we don't have as many opportunities to conduct physical training collectively, so it was important to us to facilitate an event that would impact the morale of our guardsmen in a positive way," said the G1's 1^st Sgt. Michael Berndt.  "Additionally, every penny raised during the event is donated to the Minuteman Emergency Assistance Fund (MEAF), which directly helps our soldiers and airmen experiencing financial hardships," he added.

The event was once again held to "pay it forward" by the G1 Directorate, who is responsible for National Guard human resources information.

"Most of the G1 staff is involved, in one way or another, because they know the event will benefit Soldiers and Airmen for months to come," said Berndt. "Both the support staff and participants will play an active role in building our professional relationships and strengthening our community."

>>> 1st Sgt. Michael Berndt kept the Minutemen Emergency Assistance Fund silent auction running smooth. It raised $1,022. Photo credit: Gary Lott

>>> Col. Jeffrey Sabatine thanks the National Guard Association of Washington in front of members of the Washington National Guard before the start of the Camp Murray St. Patrick's Day 5K Fun Run/Walk. Photo credit: Gary Lott

>>> Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, Washington National Guard adjutant general, lists the priorities of the Guard and thanks all of the attendees for supporting the Minutemen Emergency Assistance Fund. Photo credit: Gary Lott

These types of events are important because teamwork and soldier care are at the core of Guard's values. This event covers both.

"The 5K event promotes physical fitness and strengthens our team building skills," said Berndt. "By supporting the Minuteman Emergency Assistance Fund and supporting one another, collectively, we are building resilience in a number of different ways."

>>> The iconic "Fred" The Minuteman statue kept a close on on the craziness. Photo credit: Gary Lott

The Joint Services Support Directorate (JSS) even had their Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness and Resiliency (CSF) class participate in the run.

"We are always glad to see our Fit and Resilient classes coincide with the many fun runs that take place on Camp Murray," said the CSF program manager, 1^st Lt. Kyereme Blanding. "It's great to show our class participants the importance of team building, building morale and motivating one another to become more resilient, especially with the cold weather."

Several of the Washington National Guard's Major Subordinate Commands, to include the 81st Brigade Combat Team, 96th Troop Command, 66th Aviation, 205th Training Regiment, JSS and Joint Force Headquarters, spent their own money and donated a variety of themed baskets and other items to help raise money for the event. The National Guard Association of Washington donated all of the food.

"It was awesome to have more than 150 people show up and raise more than $1,000 ($1022 exactly) for the MEAF," said event POC Staff Sgt. Susie Lopez. "We were worried the rain would affect the amount of attendees, but obviously we still had lots of green on Camp Murray today."

>>> Washington National Guard G1 singed the St. Patrick's Day Fun Run banner. Photo credit: Gary Lott

>>> Joint Services Support Directorate's Fit and Resilient class was in the house. Photo credit: Gary Lott

EDITOR'S NOTE: As you read yesterday, SOTA student Alex Kling has been our intern for the last two weeks. The Volcano participates in SOTA's internship program on a yearly basis, and every time we're amazed by the talents and skills the interns come equipped with ... including Kling. She hasn't blogged as much as past SOTA interns. Kling has mostly shared her talents on the print side of the operation. Tuesday, we sent her to King's Books for The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee book release party. She filed her report below. ...

If you went to The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee book release and signing at King's Books Tuesday, you would have seen that there was nothing "Itty Bitty" about it. It seemed like an endless amount of people, all in support of The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee author Laurie Cinotto. More than 100 people were there throughout the night, filling the never-ending line of visitors just waiting to meet and greet the author. While people were anxious to buy their books, congratulate Cinotto, and get their books signed, others were socializing and talking about the new book.

During my Itty Bitty discussion with sweet pea, the owner of King's Books, he mentioned he has been following Cinotto's blog for a while - which carries the same name as the book - and he was most excited about the book being a "great way to raise awareness about cats generally." He had also said that the event was a good way to do a "lot of fundraising for the Humane Society," that it was a good way to "give back."

Since the book was more "focused on young readers, it gives them some awareness of what's going on," as sweet pea put it, he also said that it was cool how the event was "a Tacoma thing," even though Cinotto is also a "national writer."

Along with the two bookstore cats, cats Ninja Bob and Cinotto's Wylla Stout attended the event. To say the least, all cats onsite were very interested in what was going on. Atticus, King's Books' black cat, was really lovey-dovey to the people he came across. He was up on their shoulders, rubbing against their legs and just itching for the extra attention. Atticus was very engaged with the people and what was going on ... until Ninja Bob showed up. Atticus became very interested in what Ninja Bob was doing. Ninja Bob was very curious about the place he was in; he was walking around and enjoying the attention he got from the visitors. King's Books' tabby cat, Miko, seemed very shy, although he did seem interested in the event. However, he was exceptionally interested in the donated cat food. He tended to stay by that area, until the food was removed, then he returned to his original perch behind the register. Wylla Stout was in her bed, looking super cute as she was soaking up the attention. The cats were really curious about what was happening and they were a big hit at The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee party. The cats seemed to be pretty content with the situation.

In regards to the book, I believe that The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee book will help kittens and cats to be rescued, and be taken care of correctly. With helpful tips from the cats themselves, and cute comics to entertain little ones, this book is definitely for the cat-loving type. As for the cats and their owners, I think this book will be good for them, because it will help owners better understand their cats. It will help cats and their owners to have a better relationship, because Cinotto gives helpful tips on how to train your kittens.

Overall, The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee book release, and signing, was very fun and a lot of cat food was raised for the Humane Society. Cinotto seemed really enthusiastic, and excited for everyone to read her new book. She got to meet a lot of new faces, but she also got to see some of the old.

The next big thing for Kings Books will be Sunday, April 27 when the 10th annual Wayzgoose Letterpress and Book Arts Extravaganza consumes the store. At the event, there will be 40 tables with different artists, printers and illustrators. See local artists create 3-foot by 3-foot art with steamrollers. Make your own art and paper too. According to sweet pea, for the past 10 years, "about 900 people visit throughout the day" during Wayzgoose. This will be the sixth year that the Wayzgoose will include steamrolling.

The word out of Gov. Jay Inslee's office ...

Governor Inslee is deeply saddened by the death of Army Pfc. James Groth, 22, of Ethal, and directs that Washington State and United States flags at all state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff in his memory on Sunday, March 16, 2014.  Pfc. Groth died on February 21 during a training accident at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The Governor's Office has no objection to agencies lowering the flags at the close of business on Friday, March 14, 2014.  Flags should remain at half-staff until the end of the day on March 16 or first thing Monday morning, March 17, 2014.

Please notify your staff and all of your field offices and facilities around the state.

Other government entities, citizens and businesses are encouraged to join this recognition.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, March 16 at 11:00 am at the Toledo High School.

Please call (360) 239-1317 if you have any questions about this flag lowering.

For Americans, bigger is better. Whether it's buildings, boobs, buffets or beer, we want it big enough to block out the sun or at least put us down for the count. When it comes to beer, we celebrate the brewers who go big and bold with their beer-making experiments using creative and crazy combinations of spices, barrels, exotic fruits and big alcohol.

Beer brewers are constantly pushing the boundaries of their craft, often times brewing beers that defy mainstream beer styles and/or looking at other alcoholic beverages for inspiration. Strong, or big, beers are just one of the many byproducts of this artisanal approach to brewing. The processes involved to create such beers aren't simple. Brewers spend a lot of research time, money and trial and error to cultivate their super yeast strains that can survive the high-alcohol brewing environment and produce well-attenuated beers that have a minimum of six percent alcohol by volume.

Last winter, the South Sound packed Tacoma's Foss Waterway Seaport for the inaugural Big Beer Festival, an event born in Tacoma Brewing Company's founder Morgan Alexander's head, but produced by Tacoma Craft Beer Festival co-founders Roxy Wolfe and Bennett Thurmon. A sold-out crowd enjoyed 20 regional vendors and around 60 beers.

Alexander has grabbed the reins of the second annual version, and will be serving triple and quadruple IPAs, imperial porters, big stouts, a triple bock and barleywines with an alcohol by volume (ABV) rating of 9 percent or higher, Saturday, March 15 at his much smaller Tacoma Brewing Co. on Saint Helens Avenue. Returning from last year's big beer shindig will be Alexander's Cascade Quad - a cross between a Triple IPA and a barleywine. No growlers will be filled during the festival.

Here's the Big beer Festival tap list: Matt's Barleywine, Citra Kick Barleywine/Triple IPA, Simcoe Kick Triple IPA, Noble Barleywine/Triple IPA, Cascade Quad (quadruple IPA), Licorice Stout, "Wacked" Stout (orange/chocolate), Nitro Vanilla Stout and Ashen Stout (aged on ash wood).

There is no admission to the event, which runs from 2-10 p.m. The Tacoma Brewing Co. taproom is located in the Triangle District in the heart of downtown Tacoma at 625 St. Helens Ave.

BEER HERE

FRIDAY, MARCH 14

Chambers Bay (6320 Grandview Dr., University Place) hosts an Irish beer and food tasting Friday, March 14. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Chef Corcoran presents a seven-course meal paired with Guinness, Harp and Smithwick's. As you nibble on Irish pretzel sausage and classic corned beef cabbage, Guinness experts will take you through an Irish beer journey. Tickets are $55; call 253.552.4867.

SATURDAY, MARCH 15

Sound Brewery out of Poulsbo will drop in on Gig Harbor's Morso wine bar Saturday, March 15 for tastings. Brewmaster Mark Hood will be pouring from 2-4 p.m., with a $5 cover. If you can't wait, here's Morso's current line-up: The GoodLife Mountain Rescue Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Bellevue425 Pale Ale, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Elysian Dragonstooth Oatmeal Stout, pFriem Saison, Ommegang Abbey, Morso Pilsner by Alpine Brewery and Everybody's Brewing Country Boy IPA.

The Parkway Tavern asks you to drop your pants Saturday. The Tacoma tavern hosts a pants drive for those in need. Donate a pair of pants and you'll be entered in a raffle for prizes. The pants party is at 313 N. I St.

SUNDAY, MARCH 16

Pint Defiance has announced its "Sunday Sampler." From 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., you may sample 4-ounce pours of Goodlife Mountain Rescue, 10 Barrel Project Failed red, Crux Outcast IPA and Worthy Lights Out Vanilla Cream Stout for $4.25. Go small at 2049 Mildred St. W. on the edge of Fircrest.

MONDAY, MARCH 17

Everyone and their mother will be pushing the Irish beers on St. Patrick's Day. Of note, Harmon Brewery will be offering its Jameson Oak Soaked Black Tartan. This beer has become a yearly tradition for the Tacoma brewery. Head Brewer Jeff Carlson incorporates medium toast oak spirals and soaks them in Jameson. Next, he ages his Black Tartan Black IPA on the spirals producing a wonderful combination of oak, boozy Jameson goodness and, of course, the roasted hoppy flavors of his Black Tartan IPA. Harmon will also be this year's Rajah's Royal IPA and a new Imperial Stout over the weekend. Drink them up at The Harmon Brewery and Eatery, The Hub in Tacoma and Gig Harbor and, of course, the Harmon Tap Room. Harmon Central is here.

For a listing of South Sound St. Patrick's Day parties, click here.

FRIDAY, MARCH 14 2014 >>>

1. Man of La Mancha opens at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Musical Playhouse. Set in the 16th century, this play within a play is the musical version of Cervantes's Don Quixote. While Cervantes awaits his trial with the Spanish Inquisition, he fights to put on a show that involves all of the other inmates. Sue Brabham, who plays Maria, says the music is very representative of 1500's Spanish music. It has a "flamenco element," which made it "more challenging for the performers to learn," she adds. She also said for the music, the means are as important as the end. As this play progresses, Brabham says watch for the transformation of Aldonza into Delcinea as she progresses from a "whore to having self esteem and self respect," which is Brabham's favorite part.

2. Used books reign supreme over new books because there's something to be said for encountering a chocolate stain, a teardrop or a snot smear on random pages, reminding you that you're holding something someone enjoyed before you. Used books are things with histories. At the Friends of Lakewood Library's Book Sale you can unleash your fetish for used books with wild abandon from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tens of thousands of books will be on sale, not to mention CDs, cassettes and DVDs. Knowledge has become ridiculously cheap and accessible. Take advantage.

3. The genial satire of contemporary feminism Angry Housewives ran for ages in Seattle centering on Jetti, Bev, Wendi and Carol — good friends, but angry over the lack of respect from their men. So, they form a punk rock band, Angry Housewives, and take their local club scene by storm gaining new self-respect and renewed respect from their men. The play hits the Paradise Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m.

4. Award-winning vocalist/songwriter/harmonica icon Curtis Salgado, touring in support of his Alligator Records debut CD, SOUL SHOT, will perform at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones.

5. Dance beats and distortion, love and anger, tooth and nail -in all its lo-fi, 8-bit finery will go down when MirrorGloss and RowHouse meet at 8:30 p.m. in the Half Pint Pizza Pub.

PLUS: South Sound St. Patrick's Day parties tonight!

LINK: Friday, March 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.14.14 >>>

Failings last spring by nuclear missile operators at an Air Force base in North Dakota were worse than first reported.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno unveiled what he called the Global Strategic Landpower Network.

How to stop - or slow - Putin.

North Korea 2014 meets Rome AD 65.

The real military game-changer: Hypersonic weapons 101.

Pentagon boosting its push for underwater drones.

U.S. troops in Afghanistan must destroy up thousands of their own vehicles to save money.

U.S. Army officials say defense spending cuts killed the Ground Combat Vehicle, but this latest modernization setback fits right into the service's growing portfolio of failed attempts to replace its Cold War vehicles and helicopters.

The Air Force is in the early phases of a fleet-wide technological upgrade to the F-15 fighter jet to keep it in the air through 2035 and beyond.

BAE builds Google Glass for combat.

The U.S. Air Force wants to get rid of its legendary A-10 Warthog tank-killers. Should Canada buy them?

TRICARE Prime would cease to exist within a few years under the "Consolidated TRICARE" plan proposed in the fiscal 2015 defense budget.

Budget, strategy dominate Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey's Facebook Town Hall.

Researchers claim that Facebook has the power to spread moods in a viral fashion.

In-car facial recognition detects angry drivers to prevent road rage.

Bill Gates explains how to save the planet.

Americans are the weirdest people in the world. Here's why.

Cynthia Lynn, one of the last surviving stars of Hogan's Heroes, has died.

Louie returns to FX May 5.

List: 10 awesome girl bands

Are you in this video?

Hi! My name is Alexandria Kling. I am the "Tacoma School of the Arts Intern of the Year" at the Weekly Volcano!

OK, I'm the only SOTA intern at the Volcano.

I am currently a junior at SOTA. I have been writing for the Volcano for almost two weeks. I have been writing the McChord and Fort Lewis history sections for the Northwest Airlifter and The Ranger, the newspapers covering Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and sister publications of the Volcano.

Fun fact for you: I was born at Madigan Hospital in 1997, so being able to learn more about Fort Lewis, and McChord, is pretty interesting to me.

I have also written some "blurbs" - as Publisher/Editor Pappi Swarner calls them - for the Agenda section of the Volcano. As a student at SOTA, I have been studying music, specifically vocals, songwriting, and music composition, for almost 2 years now. This makes my internship with the Weekly Volcano exceptionally fun, because I enjoy arts and entertainment, especially if it's in Tacoma.

With the Volcano I have also been updating the concert alert, and the nightlife calendar section of the weekly newspaper. This week, after previewing the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee book release event at King's Books, I attended the event Tuesday night. My review will be posted soon here on the Walkie Talkie blog.

Through this internship, I have gained so many skills, and I am glad to be able to continue to grow with the Volcano for another week. Overall, I am not a complex girl. I love music, I love to write and I want to go to college for both.