THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Partly sunny, possible showers hi 61, lo 49

Saturday: Partly sunny, hi 66, lo 48

Sunday: Partly sunny, hi 70, lo 53

>>> FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JUNE 24-26: Taste of Tacoma

For more than 26 years, the infamous Taste of Tacoma - a three-day, food-focused festival in Point Defiance Park -- has offered live music, entertainment, craft booths, exhibits and more. The long stretch of food booths - Gluttony Row - is the source of both excitement and financial woe. And sometimes heartburn. And, almost always, at least one elepehant ear.

• Point Defiance Park, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Friday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday, admission is free, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma, tasteoftacoma.com

>>> SATURDAY, JUNE 25: Tacoma Urban Chicken Coop Tour

Honestly, you know your city is coming up in the world when you have an urban chicken coop tour. Yes, an urban chicken coop tour - here in Tacoma. It's happening Saturday, and no, we're not pulling your leg. People actually raise chickens at their house, mainly for the eggs - though sometimes there's a hair of companionship too. We first wrote about urban chicken farming last year, and it's only blown up since then. Saturday's coop tour, which is organized by GardenSphere in the North End, will include eight coops according to the website. Maps can be picked up at GardenSphere through Saturday, and the tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Tacoma Urban Chicken Coop Tour, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., maps available at GardenSphere - 3310 N. Proctor St., 253.7617936

>>> SATURDAY, JUNE 25: DYDD Championship Bout

You've waited all season. Screamed in excitement. Winced in empathy. Cheered with vigor. And it all comes down to this. The Dockyard Derby Dames hold their championship bout Saturday afternoon at the Foss Waterway Seaport building. The festivities will match the Femme Fianna and Marauding Molly's in what's described as  the "ultimate grudge match,´ before the Trampires and Hellbound Homewreckers do battle for the league crown. Hype says it's going to be "epic," and we can't see how that could not be accurate.

• Foss Waterway Seaport, 6 p.m., $12, 705 Dock Street, Tacoma

>>> SATURDAY - SUNDAY, JUNE 25-26: Urban Art Festival

The Urban Art Festival is a grassroots festival at its best - a little bit of every kind of art (including some varieties not always recognized as art) all dumped into one public park, then shaken, not stirred, with lots of music and other cool stuff. Now in its seventh year, the Urban Art Festival has expanded to two full days, and will take place June 25 and 26 along Thea Foss Waterway.

• Thea Foss Waterway, from the Museum of Glass at 1801 Dock St.,to beyond the 21st Street Bridge, Tacoma, tacomaurbanart.com

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
This weekend marks my official shift change at the bar, meaning this Saturday will be my last Saturday night! The bar is hosting an after bout party for roller derby ladies  - so it should be a blast. A good friend is visiting this weekend as well, so I look forward to catching up with her. And Netflix just sent me the next season of Weeds, so I'll get my boob tube fix as well. Good times all around.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
We're celebrating my father-in-law's 60th birthday with mounds of delicious dead cow, and I'll be up to my forebrain in Mamet memorization. I also need to finish unpacking so I can move my "office" off our kitchen table.

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY: Music & Film Writer
On the forefront of my mind will be dodging my friend who recently came down with a typically disgusting case of scabies (ach!). As part of my plan to come nowhere near contact with her, I will be escaping to the New Frontier on Friday for the Dignitaries, and I will be on hand at Dorky's on Saturday for their first ever show--featuring Red Hex, Si Si Si, and the dorkiest band in town, the Cutwinkles.

JOANN VARNELL Theater Critic
Friday night will be the last night in TX so I'll be soaking up the heat and packing for my Saturday flight. Saturday morning, my parents will drive my friend Casie, my little son and I to my brother's house for a family meal before we Tacomans head to the airport. Sunday will be a day of rest with my grad school husband.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
Having dinner with two of the hottest musical theater stars in the South Sound, Matt Posner and Alison Monda.

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JENNIFER JOHNSON Food and Lifestyles Writer 
Exploring the booming metropolis of Lacey Friday evening followed by dancing. Saturday I'm attending a church brunch followed by Urban Arts Fest and a stop in at Pacific Grill. After church services Sunday, I'll drop in at Metronome to see SONS play at 8 p.m.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
I'm in North Dakota. For reals.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

DO SOME GOOD >>>

On Friday, May 27, Enumclaw teacher Amy Erwin's life was taken by her husband. He then turned the gun on himself and took his own life, leaving behind two children, ages 13 and 7. In the stunned aftermath of this tragedy, Amy Erwin's longtime friend, Tacoma's Sean Lund, has organized a benefit show at The New Frontier Lounge scheduled for Friday.

"This show is a fundraiser for those kids," says Lund. "I had reconnected with (Amy Erwin) after our last high school reunion, four years ago. She was a near and dear friend to me in high school, when my dad died. She was one of the few people I relied on, who helped me get through that time. My heart just goes out to those kids. I felt at a loss about what to do, and I was frustrated and angry about her being murdered. ... I thought that I could turn around and do some good."

To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full article click here.

[The New Frontier Lounge, Lund Bros., The Hard Way, The Tripwires, Friday, June 17, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th St, Tacoma, 253.572.4020]

YOU SHOP AND LIVES CHANGE >>>

Every once in a while you can hear faint coughing as you open up your closet doors.  It's a sound of desperation, faded memories and hopeful glee that one day she will be rescued. She will once again live to be paraded and enjoyed.

In the very back of your closet, behind your politically incorrect leather skirt and 2001 striped Gap turtleneck sweater, lives a fancy dress barely clinging to life underneath a tattered plastic Nordstrom hanging bag.

Rescue the dress. Let it be free. Stop holding onto the memories of that one time you wore that dress when you were dating that egotistical loser who only invited you to that one event so you could make his ex-girlfriend jealous. He doesn't like you.  He's never coming back. The dress, however, deserves better.

And don't go thinking you'll wear it again to your next big event, because even if you were still that size, you'd want an excuse to go shopping for a new dress anyway.

Give life to a dress that you no longer need. Stop being selfish and let the dress go.  Give it to someone who needs it, like someone at the YWCA who will sell the dress and use the money to eliminate racism and empower women at their annual Glam that Gives benefit Sunday, June 26 at the Hotel Murano.

Go right now. The deadline to donate is Monday, June 20. Take the dress out of your closet and do the right thing. The YWCA awaits your delivery.

Drop off your gorgeous garments, purses and shoes during to the YWCA located at 405 Broadway in Tacoma. Business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Details ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Weekly Volcano photographer Steve Dunkelberger snapped a few of the dresses set to auction off at the YWCA's upcoming Glam that Gives benefit. The annual event raises moneys to assist more than 12,000 women and children in crisis due to domestic violence.

Thanks to donations from around the 253, the YWCA has some 300 dresses, 200 pairs of shoes and 100 purses just in time for Zoobilee dress shopping.

Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland, Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, Emergency Food Network Director Helen McGovern, Rushforth Wheels partner Melanie Manista-Rushforth and others will wear donated dresses, many with shop tags attached.

"They will be priced to sell," says Kelly McDonald, director of Marketing and Donor Relations at YWCA Pierce County. "Nothing will be out of reach."

Some dresses will go for as little as $25 while others might go for closer to $200. A silent auction will add to the tally as a way to reach the $10,000 goal for this first-time effort.

A fashion show of selected items will also be held.

Tickets are on sale here.

Glam That Gives

Sunday, June 26, 11 a.m., $35
Hotel Murano, 1320 Broadway, Tacoma

TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2011 >>>

1. There's a delicate balance that is struck with Brute Heart: feathery violin and vocals are buoyed by a strumming bass line and skipping drums. The combination at times reaches a hypnotic hum, and at other times approaches a rousing folk backbeat. Check out the Minneapolis band with Trauma Dom at 10 p.m. in the back room at Le Voyeur.

2. Ah, cheese. There's milky, pure, hand-stretched mozzarella. Soft, slightly chunky ricotta, kissed with sweetness and a tinge of clover. Smooth, slightly sharp goat's-milk ricotta. And, of course, an orb of sinfully rich burrata, the firm, mozzarella-like edge encasing a luscious, creamy center. Cheese, cheese, cheese. Metropolitan Market - celebrating 40 years of awesomeness - hosts a free cheese class from 6-7 p.m. at the Proctor store.

3. With the advent of the interwebs (big ups to Al Gore), just about anyone who eats - and yaps about it - can now be classified as a "foodie." Everywhere around us folks who think that they are far superior to mere mortals who think a big night is a bucket of KFC. If you want to be a free-roaming foodie fun guy, check out urban foraging class at 7 p.m. inside King's Books.

4. Bobby Bare Jr. performs at 7 p.m. inside the Olympic Club Hotel and Theater in Centralia.

5. Pacific Gallery Artists are all about making art accessible to others, especially work by local and emerging artists, and the PGA Art Raffle, which runs from 7-9 p.m. the Boy Scouts of America Headquarters, does just that. Thirty original pieces of art will be raffled for a dollar. All proceeds goes to our PGA Education Fund

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Nightlife It List

COO COO CA CHOO >>>

Peninsula School District radio station KGHP needs to raise funds to stay on air. As we see it, they can do one of two things. First option, capture the upscale, educated market that loves pledge drives by converting the station to an all pledge drive format. Instead of broadcasting its current eclectic scale of entertainment - which includes jazz, blues, reggae, roots and Americana, classic rock, vintage music and local sports - the station would switch to a 24-hour programming dedicated to sniffy radio personalities wheedling listeners to send money for a designer tote bag, or to enter a raffle to win a weekend of wine-tasting in Walla Walla. KGHP's new format will include programs such as "Guess Who's Asking for Money?" "Pledgie Home Companion" and "This American Checkbook."

The second option would be a radio stunt. According to the following press release, it looks as if KGHP is going with the stunt.

KGHP's Station Manager the Walrus, will begin his attempt to walk from Owens Beach in Pt Defiance Park to the Summit of Mt Rainier on Monday June 13^th at High Noon. The Goal is to raise one dollar for every foot he climbs in Elevation. So Mt Rainer is 14,411 feet in height, we hope to raise $14,411 to continue to allow Community Radio KGHP to continue to broadcast great Radio Entertainment for the Local South Sound Community. The Public is welcome to come out and join the walrus on his walk, or to support us on line at KGHP.ORG

There are many opportunity's for the Public to support our fundraising goals by purchasing a KGHP-TEE Shirt, Or Dedicating a Song to the Walrus, Signing up to become an Underwriter, or just a simple Donation.

Anyone interested in more info can contact the Walrus at 253.225.1195.

NOT YOUR NEIGHBOR'S JUNK >>>

You never know what you're going to find at a garage sale, from antique lamps to half-used bottles of hand lotion to pottery ashtrays lovingly crafted by children.

But at the Artists' Garage Sale, happening Saturday in Olympia, you do know that whatever you find will be art-related.

"There are not just a bunch of pots and pans and old candles and stuff like that," says Cassie Welliver, past president of Patrons of South Sound Cultural Arts, which is holding the sale. "It's actual art and supplies."

The Artists' Garage Sale was originally launched by the City of Olympia and co-produced with POSSCA. This year marks the first time POSSCA will run the sale itself, and the organization is asking shoppers for a $1 minimum donation toward its scholarship fund for high school seniors interested in arts education. Between donations and booth fees, the goal is to raise a few thousand dollars, Welliver says.

To read Molly Gilmore's full article click here.

POSSCA Artists' Garage Sale

Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
$1 minimum donation to Patrons of South Sound Cultural Arts suggested
National Guard Armory, 515 Eastside St. SE, Olympia
possca.org

LIVE HERE, GIVE HERE >>>

Help feed the hungry. It may be warmer outside, but people are still starving right in our neighborhoods.

Saturday, May 14, the U.S Postal Service will be accepting food donations all day as part of the country's single largest annual food drive. Pierce County postal carriers will partner with the Emergency Food Network and area food banks to collect more that 300,000 pounds of food during the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

"Our goal this year is 400,000 pounds food, but we need everyone to help spread the word in order to meet that goal," states Emergency Food Network's Executive Director Helen McGovern via a press release. "This is the biggest food drive of the year and it is so successful because it is so easy. All you have to do is fill a bag with food and leave it by your mailbox on Saturday morning. Your postal carrier will pick up and deliver it to us, and we'll distribute it throughout the county."

The moste needed items are peanut butter, canned meats, fruits, vegetables and grains (in the form of cereals and pastas).

Project:U, a United Way support group from our area comprised of active 20- and 30-somethings, will host a food donations drop-off from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at the First Christian Church, 602 N. Orchard in Tacoma.

SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2011 >>>

1. It seems breasts are a cause most people feel comfortable getting behind ... or, rather, fighting breast cancer is. There's probably not a more rallied-against cancer out there. Colon cancer wishes it had the PR program breast cancer has. From 6:30-9:30 p.m., Breastfest III will go down at The Swiss in Tacoma, raising money for the cause. Music from The Missionary Position, Sea Jayne Trip, Radio Edit and the Stoned Evergreen Travelers only sweetens the deal.

2. Treat your mother, mom, mommy, momma, or whatever else you like to call that special woman (or women - don't forget grandmothers, wives, and all the other ladies) to a great Mother's Day at the Tacoma Art Museum. The downtown Tacoma house of art hosts "Learning to Look Family Workshop at 2 p.m. The whole damn family can enjoy a guided exploration of the galleries and learn some simple tips and techniques for making art approachable and enjoyable. Participants will receive information and ideas about activities around art exploration that can be done in the museum or at home that are fun for everyone. Call 253.272.4258 to see if there's still room.

3. Always, Patsy Cline is a musical for people that love music but are not particularly fond of musicals. It's more like a concert with a play interspersed between the songs. The story is about the beginning of the six-year friendship between country star Patsy Cline and Louise Seger. Tacoma Little Theatre presents a staging of the show at 2 p.m. Our theater critic Joann Varnell love it.

4. Mojo Overload brings their, er, mojo at 7 p.m. to The Spar in Old Town Tacoma.

5. The arty Tacoma Gets Smashed party revisits The New Frontier Lounge, this time with a Mother's Day theme, musical smash-ups by The Andy Childs Experience, the band Squirrels Without Trees, prizes and their infamous piñatas. The music begins at 7 p.m.; piñatas go down at 9 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Does someone need a happy hour?

MOTHER'S DAY WORTHY CAUSES >>>

In its third year, this Sunday's Breastfest III at the Swiss will specifically aid Diana McCasey's cancer fighting efforts; a cancer survivor, McCasey is participating in the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro - an effort that will raise at least $10,000, with 75-80 percent of it going to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

No stranger to Music Giving Back events, Jeff Angell's the Missionary Position - currently putting the finishing touches on a follow up to Diamonds in a Dead Sky -- will be on a Breastfest III bill that also includes Radio Edit, the Stoned Evergreen Travelers and an awesome reunion performance by old school Tacoma favorites Sea Jayne Trip. Thankfully, so you don't have to put up with much more of Bobble Tiki's drivel, Angell was kind enough to sit down with the Weekly Volcano this week for three questions ...

To read Three Questions with Bobble Tiki featuring Jeff Angell of the Missionary Position, click here.

DANGERS OF THE TWEE DEATHTRAP >>>

"The road was uneven," says Kyle Hill. "It was eight in the morning and I was on my way to work. It was raining, and I was going southbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Seattle. There was a seam in the road that I tried to cross on my scooter. But (the scooter) never crossed it."

On the scale of two-wheeled assaults, Hill came out about as unscathed as one could hope for. He broke his arm, trashed his scooter and skidded through one of the two layers of jeans he was wearing, But he retained his ever-valuable skull and its irreplaceable contents. A close call, to be sure.

Saturday will see a benefit show at The New Frontier, held in Hill's honor, and thrown by Lino Fernandez to help Hill out with medical bills and the repair of his scooter. Besides being involved in bands like the Dignitaries and Murder Party, Fernandez is also Hill's bandmate in the retro-pop outfit  Bandolier.

To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full article on Saturday's Kyle Hill benefit show at The New Frontier click here.

[The New Frontier Lounge, Bandolier, Goldie Wilson, Follow the Kites, Cardboard Clouds, Andy Glover, DJ Melodica, Saturday, April 30, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4062]

LINK: The New Frontier Lounge