THE NEW KING OF KING'S >>>

Last night sitting in my folding chair with my fellow Vehement Vassals - resident cat rubbing the hell out of my shoe - Sweet Pea Flaherty, the soon-to-be owner of King's Books, revealed his hopes and dreams for the Stadium District bookstore. I've known about the ownership change for many months, constantly prodding Flaherty for the right to reveal the news. Out of respect for owners Pat McDermott and John Schoppert, and the fact that it wasn't a done deal, he told me to hold off. He shared an idea or two, but I didn't learn the full scope of his dream until last night.

A few of his ideas dropped jaws during the meeting. I also witnessed many smiles, enthusiasm and respect for the 36-year-old Madison, Wis. transplant. Flaherty has taken the two owners' beloved bookstore - an independent bookstore that hosts weekly literary, political and arts events and lectures - and pushed it to the forefront of Tacoma's cultural scene through relentless marketing and creative events such as the Wayzgoose letterpress extravaganza, Intermittent Health and Fitness Club (jump roping!) and groups such as the Banned Book and Graphic Novel clubs. 

His new ideas include painting the cement floor, installing wheels on the bookshelves to provide more space for events, adding more children's picture books and graphic novels, and a partnership program with Brownie Morrison to sell novelty items. He announced a second pending partnership that could add a bizarro (but cool) element to the store, which I'm not sure he wants to announce yet.

Some might call Flaherty crazy. Owning an independent bookstore is a tough business. More than 15 years deep into giant booksellers' voracious gangbang of all things mom-and-pop, independent bookstores are now staring down the barrel of Sadness 2.0. Last August when I announced the Vehement Vassals program on this blog, the bookstore was on the verge of closing.

"The Vehement Vassals saved this bookstore," Flaherty announced last night thanking the membership. "Seriously, this program saved the store.

"I've always wanted to own a bookstore," he shared. "It's certainly a labor of love."

Flaherty has added two higher levels to his Vehement Vassals membership program. Currently fans of the store may purchase a $20 annual membership and receive a 10 percent discount on all purchases. Flaherty has added a $100 and $500 annual membership level with higher discounts and bonus gifts. The new levels aren't on the store's website yet; you must drop by the store to sign up.

Flaherty also wants to increase his involvement with reading programs at local schools.

To hear Flaherty reveal his plans, it's obvious that the ownership change process reinforced for him that bookselling is about more than profit.

“I really enjoy filling my life up with interesting people who stop by and love to read and love to talk about what they’re reading,” he adds.

LINK: The News Tribune posted an interesting interview with Flaherty yesterday, announcing the ownership change. Read it here.

THE CLOCK STOPS FOR NOTHING >>>

Can you create a comic in 24 hours? That's the question the comic-book world asks every October when it challenges cartoonists to come up with 24 pages in 24 hours, complete with story, art and lettering. The local cartoonist league C.L.A.W. are down with the idea.

You?

Click here for details.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 21, 2010 >>>

1. Celebrate local food and the change of seasons with your friends and neighbors at the 6^th Avenue Farmers Market's 2010 Harvest Festival at 5:30 p.m. On the menu will be "Soulstainable Soups," seasonal salads and chilled microbrews courtesy of Engine House No. 9. Events include a pie eating contests, arts and crafts, face-painting and a bounce house. And Billy Farmer will rock the market at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Pine. Admission is $10.

2. The Banned Book Club discusses Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge. Relive those angst-filled, self-conscious years of high school over cocktails.

3. Polka Dot Dot Dot, Hurray For The Riff Raff, Sam Doores and The Tumbleweeds. Play an all-ages 8 p.m. show at Northern in Olympia.

4. The Grand Cinema screens Bruce Springsteen's London Calling: Live in Hyde Park - which was filmed during a massive set in London's Hyde Park during the Hard Rock Calling fest in 2009 - at 8:45 p.m.

5. DJs Sticky J and dAb spin house, techno, trance and remixes beginning at 9 p.m. as part of the infamous I Heart House night at Surreal Ultra Lounge.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

MONDAY, SEPT. 20, 2010 >>>

1. The Classic Greek Theater of Oregon stages Oedipus, the King with elements of classic Japanese kabuki at 7:30 p.m. inside Schneebeck Concert Hall on the University of Puget Sound campus - for free.

2. Puyallup Fair gate admission is free to active, reserve, and retired military and their dependents, and disabled veterans from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

3. Historian and author Drew Crooks will tell three strange tales of old Olympia at noon inside the State Capital Museum. Copies of Olympia, Washington: A People's History, edited by Crooks, will be available for signing.

4. The Tacoma Cult Movie Club will screen films around the theme "In space no one can hear you sue" at 7 p.m. inside the Acme Grub Cage. Watch films, trailers, shorts, serials, and participate in a raffle with a bunch of like-minded wackos.

5. The Mix hosts Monday Night Barstool Bingo at 9 p.m. featuring prizes and host Charles aka Jerrica.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

TUESDAY, SEPT. 14, 2010 >>>

1. Pitchfork's Altered Zones claims musician J. Irvin Dally is "an artist of abnormal brilliance, as garrulous and uncouth as the title of his EP, Despistado, would have you believe." He and Michael J. Saalman perform at 10 p.m. inside Le Voyeur in Olympia. Go see for yourself.

2. In 2009 the Serum Run '25 Expedition set out to retrace the original 1925 route across Alaska to deliver lifesaving antitoxin by dog teams to Diphtheria stricken Nome. To prepare for the arduous journey, Washington state musher Von Martin meticulously assembled 1,200 lbs of supplies, trained his team of 12 huskies for hundreds of miles, and made the long midwinter drive to Alaska. What he did not anticipate was the worst Alaskan winter in decades. Martin will discuss his book, A Long Way To Nome: The Serum Run '25 Expedition, through a slide presentation at 7 p.m. inside the Olympic Room at Tacoma Public Library's Main Branch.

3. King's Books has gathered a panel of book club experts who will talk about both their new favorites and overlooked page-turners at 7 p.m. Panelists are Lisa Oldoski, Lisa Bitney and Elise DeGuiseppi from Pierce County Library and Kelda Vath and Rhonda Kristoff from Tacoma Public Library.

4. South 11th, Breaker Breaker One Niner, Know Your Saints and The Triple Sixes rock Hell's Kitchen beginning at 7 p.m.

5. The Surreal Ultra Lounge has moved its I Heart House DJ night to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. DJs Michael Sherman and Big Chuck will spin house while you load up on $6 Berry Bombs.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

MONDAY, SEPT. 13, 2010 >>>

1. Beyond The Bridge Café hosts Noah Gunderson & The Courage, Robert DeLong and Luke Stevens – presented by the Warehouse folks – at 7:30 p.m.

2. Gate admission to the Puyallup Fair is free today for active, reserve, and retired military and their dependents, and disabled veterans. The gates open at 10 a.m.

3. The North End Neighborhood Council invites the public to attend its annual candidate forum at 6 p.m. inside the Student Union Building Rotunda on the University of Puget Sound campus. Invited candidates include: State Representative candidates Jon Cronk, Jeannie Darneille, Jake Fey, Janice Gbalah, Jon Higley, Laurie Jinkins, Ken Nichols and Jessica Smeall; County Prosecutor candidates Bertha Fitzer and Mark Lindquist; Court of Appeals candidates Marywave VanDeren and Lisa Worswick; District Court candidates Lance Hester, Kevin McCann, Claire Sussman and Karl Williams.

4. The Graphic Novel Book Club meets at 7 p.m. inside the 1022 South lounge to discuss The Girl from H.O.P.P.E.R.S. by Jaime Hernandez over cocktails.

5. The 7 On 7 band performs at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

SATURDAY, SEPT. 11, 2010 >>>

1. At 8:45 a.m. the Tacoma Fire Department will honor the heroes and victims of 9/11 at a public remembrance ceremony at the Firefighter's Memorial, 3301 Ruston Way. The program will include speeches by Mayor Marilyn Strickland, Tacoma Fire Chief Ronald W. Stephens and Tom Minor, retired major with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.

2. King's Books hosts a celebration for the book, Tacoma's Stadium District by Joy Keniston-Longrie, Kelsey Longrie, and Amberose Longrie, at 11 a.m. The book chronicles the development of the neighborhood from old-growth forests to the Stadium District everyone knows today - soap suds in fountains!

3. The Olympia Action Network and the Volunteer Center of Lewis, Thurston and Mason counties will host an epic potluck supper from 4 to 8 p.m. called A Table For Olympia, The grand buffet will be served on Fifth Avenue, which will be closed from Franklin to Washington. Read the full story here.

4. Chances are the three-and-a-half-week summer we just wrapped up left you pining for more. But most of us can't afford a vacation. It's quite a conundrum. Luckily, slack-key guitar master Keoki Kahumoku will be inside the Washington Center at 7 p.m. to bring the laid-back sounds of the islands to the mainland. A multiple Grammy winner, Kahumoku will be joined by fellow slack-keyer Patrick Landeza, ukulele badass Herb Ohta Jr. and Lakewood's Monday ‘Ukulele ‘Ohana.

5. SweetKiss Momma, Death First and James Coates & The Lost Souls perform at 8 p.m. inside Jazzbones.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: The Weekend Hustle

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1, 2010 >>>

1. What does Zines on Toast actually mean? No clue. That's one of the ways they get you. By "they" we mean, Northern; and by "get you," we mean lure you to their space at 7 p.m. for one of the best events of the week - the Zines on Toast Tour. Portland's Alex Wrekk (of Brainscan and Stolen Sharpie Revolution) has rounded up "zinesters" (you can't be cool without the lingo) from the UK and put them all on the road. Pure brilliance.

2. Ron Desmett has been working with glass for over three decades. His use of hollowed out walnut trees as glass molds allows him to "infuse nature that has lost its life with life anew." Desmett is in the Musuem of Glass' Hot Shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the Visiting Artists series.

3. The Grand Cinema, Old Milwaukee Cafe, and Pierce County AIDS Foundation invite you to a free screening of the HBO Film Life Support, based on the true story of AIDS activist Andrea Williams at 6:30 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. A dessert reception provided by Old Milwaukee Cafe will follow the screening.

4. With popular culture more youth-obsessed than ever, promising talents like The Makeup Monsters' Shayne Weeks and Isaac Solverson seem poised for great things - provided they aren't squashed by the weight of peoples' Great Expectations. Check them out at 8 p.m. with Takhoma, Motorbikes and Trevor Dickson inside the Den Fulcrum Gallery. 

5. Sweatshop Union, Pigeon Hole, General Wojack, Josh Rizeberg, Whhikid Matticuless tell it like it is at 9 p.m. inside Hell's Kitchen.

LINK: More arts and entertainment ideas in the South Sound

TUESDAY, AUG. 17, 2010 >>>

1. L.A.'s Slang Chickens and Chung Antique perform a 7 p.m. all-ages show at Northern in Olympia.

2. The Museum of Glass hosts husband and wife Jasen Johnsen and Karen Willenbrink-Johnson who will push the limits in the Hot Shop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Johnsens are known for a high level of realism, combining technical mastery with a profound love for their medium, nature and each other. Aaaah.

3. You love Tacoma. You know you do. You spelled it out here. Did you know there are others? Love Tacoma is an informal monthly gathering of individuals who love Tacoma and enjoy exploring the city's urban spots, which includes Katie Downs on Ruston Way from 5:30-8 p.m. Come for a hug, several Love Tacoma Signature Cocktails and prizes.

4. The Banned Book Club discusses Olive Ocean by Kevin Henkes over cocktails at 7 p.m. inside Tempest Lounge. We expect them to be so pissed its banned, that the Tempest will run out of vodka.

5. Doyle's Public House celebrates St. Practice Day hosting The Boys Of Greenwood Glen at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

MONDAY, AUG. 9, 2010 >>>

1. The Graphic Novel Book Club geek out on August's book, Tekkon Kinkreet: Black & White, by Taiyo Matsumoto over cocktails at 7 p.m. inside the 1022 South lounge.

2. Ma Yuanyuan of China displays modern Chinese artwork from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Green Spot Tea House and Gallery in University Place.

3. The City of Tacoma invites the public to check out the preliminary design concepts for Phase 1 of the Prairie Line Trail - which will connect the Thea Foss Waterfront through the UW Tacoma Campus - from noon to 1:30 p.m. inside the Carwein Auditorium on the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

4. Little Wings and Sandy play an all-ages show at 7 p.m. inside Northern in Olympia.

5. The Dickery Doo Band will fill The Swiss with blues beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound