FRIDAY, AUG. 23 2013 >>>

1. There comes a time when you realize there are a lot of things you've never had a chance to do.  You've never painted with artichokes, run with the salmon, tasted garlic ice cream or spent a little face time with a llama.  But as sure as Mel Gibson has kicked sand in many faces, you are determined not to miss this year's Sand in the City. Washington state's largest sand sculpting event with 240 tons of sand, nationally known sand sculptors, 40 different hands-on art and science activities and a live entertainment stage are all held in downtown Olympia from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds from Sand in the City directly support the Hands On Children's Museum's free and reduced admissions program. Show up with a shovel, a bucket and an idea.

2. Stumped for holiday shopping ideas? Start early and take the fam on over to Tacoma's Stadium District (717 N. D St.) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and score some pottery by Susan Thompson (earthy, hobbit-type vessels), Barbi Lock Lee (functional brights) and Charan Sachar (Indian fabric-inspired) and others. The sale also runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

3. The merengue, as well as the bachata and salsa, are taught in mini-versions, with or without partner, at varying levels of experience, every Friday night at 8:30 p.m. in Studio 6 Ballroom in Tacoma. After the last instruction, the club lights flip on, disco ball drops and Studio 6 fills with cross body leads, hand throws and hammerlocks. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Studio 6 Ballroom's Latin dance Night in the Weekly Volcano's Clubs/Bars Section.

4. Spokane native Meghan Flaherty has been a stand-up comedian for the past eight years, dropping her clean, edgy, relatable style on crowds throughout the Northwest, including 8:30 p.m. at the Grit City Comedy Club, which is now in the basement of the 502 Downtown.

5. Tacoma's Argonaut is Brandon Boote on drums, Matt Sader on bass and vocals and Dave Takata and Chad Baker on guitar. Van Conner of Screaming Trees fame owns Strange Earth Records. Together, they have dropped a much-anticipated EP What's Your Perfect Day? into the South Sound this past winter. The heavy rock band is still asking, performing Dead, Burning Gnats and Towers at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge.

LINK: Friday, Aug. 23 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 2013 >>>

1. Film is called a medium, but mainstream filmmakers don't employ it in the manner of other artistic media like oils or clay. That's been left to art-film craftsmen like Devon Damonte, who's currently exhibiting handmade, camera-free movie film loops and related graphalia homages and maps to Olympia's historic "Marker Trees," The Hard Rubber Washi Company and others in his "What's the Rub?" show at Northern in downtown Olympia. Damonte and Ruth Hayes taught an animation class this summer at The Evergreen State College and the last day of class culminates with a handmade motion graphics show and party at 7 p.m. in Northern. Expect well-established avant-garde techniques like montage and fast-motion. Don't blink.

2. Pint Defiance hosts Bellingham brewery Boundary Bay for tastes and giggles. Founded in 1995, the brewery has become synonomous with its hometown, and continues to churn out awesome beers at a breakneck pace. From 5-7 p.m. raffle prizes, Imperial IPA, Single Hop Pale and more.

3. Continuing its tour of free area music in the park type summer events, this week the Volcano's girlfriend-activity Doppler highlights Tunes @ Tapps, a weekly musical gathering in Bonney Lake that happens every Wednesday through Aug. 28. At 6:30 p.m. Tunes @ Tapps welcomes The Coats, a vocal band born in front of the cinnamon rolls vendor at Seattle's famous Pike Place Market.

4. Vinum Lounge hosts a comedy show every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. According to our calendar, Reggie X, DD and Ms. Genesis Grizzly will add laughs to the joint at 8:30 p.m. Hosted by Ashyknlicks, and introducing DJ IC, expect a comedy show as interesting as the participants' names.

5. More than anything else, singer songwriter Jim Page is a walkin', singin' acerbic commentary on life.  His lyrical style resembles that of Arlo Guthrie or Bruce Springsteen; rock words trapped inside a folk singer's music. You can't ignore his direct style and compelling message.  Open your ears and mind at 7 p.m. when Page performs at A Rhapsody In Bloom on Tacoma's Sixth Avenue.

LINK: Wednesday, July 24 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, JULY 21 2013 >>>

1. People like eating outside, and they'll stop at almost nothing to do it. They will choke down steaming food as mysterious water droplets rain down from air conditioners above. Crowd a party of eight into one pitiful corner of shade. Inhale exhaust fumes along with aromas of fine wine. At The Social Bar and Grill next to the Museum of Glass, the only negative aspect of dining on its patio is trying to find a table. It's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping sangria (pitchers $10) on the spacious patio and watch condo residents walk their dogs while kids twirl in front of the Martin Blank's "Fluent Steps" glass and water installation and boats putter by. Come Sunday afternoon, tables mean nothing as resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This quadruple threat of delicious shareable nibbles, booze, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Sundaze."

2. Tacoma Musical Playhouse's second production of Ragtime (the first was seven years ago) is as trenchantly absorbing as Downton Abbey. Ragtime is a show about how America gets made, one sweeping change at a time, one small life at a time, one gut decision at a time. It was a work in progress a century ago and still is. You'll find yourself humming its main theme days later, hoping its idealistic characters built a nation they could love. It hits the Curtis High School stage at 2 p.m. Read Christian Carvajal's full review of Ragtime in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

3. The Blues Vespers inside the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in North Tacoma will feature lthe Little Bill Trio with Rod Cook and Tom Morgan beginning at 5 p.m.

4. Ten comedians battle for $2,500 first prize at 8 p.m. in the Tacoma Comedy Club. 

5. In case you were wondering whether Dog Jaw were as aggressive as their name might suggest, the answer is a resounding yes. The opening track on the Olympia punk outfit's album, Slow to Build, begins with what sounds like dogs howling and whimpering, before guitars slowly begin to emerge, and a full-on sonic assault is enacted. Much like the album's title hints, most of Dog jaw's songs begin as stony headbangers before morphing into thrashing screeds.Catch the band at 10 p.m. with Hot Fruit and Arrington De Dionyso's Malaikat Dan Singa in Le Voyeur.

LINK: Sunday, July 21 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, JULY 15 2013 >>>

1. Author Susan M. Schneider will talk about her new book, The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World at 7 p.m. in King's Books. Actions have consequences - and the ability to learn from them revolutionized life on earth. In The Science of Consequences, Schneider, an internationally recognized biopsychologist, brings together research from many scientific fields to tell the story of how something that seems so simple can help make sense of so much.

2. Standup comedy hasn't evolved much since the glory days of ventriloquist and puppet. Every so often, there's a Gallagher smashing watermelons or a musical funnyman like Jack Black, but for the most part, comedy is a dude on a stage with a microphone, plodding through a joke-punchline-new-joke routine. You're funny. You need to change the course of comedy forever. At 8 p.m. the Grit City Comedy Club opens its stage to the public for a comedy open mic.

3. From 6-8 p.m. Monday, July 15, the STAR Center will teach tips and techniques on grilling vegetables, seafood and meat. You even have the opportunity to put these tips to a taste test. Class is $24 for residents and $26 for non-residents. Go to metroparkstacoma.org for registration details.

4. Rockin' blues band Palmer Junction will perform at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

5. Acoustic folk musician Anna Gordon joins The Plastic Arts and Joshua Powell & The Great Train Robbery for a 10 p.m. show at Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia.

LINK: Monday, July 15 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, JULY 14 2013 >>>

1. Is there any more vexing wee-hours quandary than "What is art?" According to Teller of Penn & Teller, "Art is anything we do after the chores are done." By that reasoning, most things we do can be art, as long as we enjoy them. (Ideally, someone else enjoys them, too.) Live music can be art, but does haute cuisine qualify? Graffiti can be art, but what about sand sculpture, board games, glasswork or robot designs? You bet! At Art on the Ave in Tacoma, all such pursuits are invited. If you're accustomed to thinking of art as esoteric - or, for that matter, if you regard it as material to enliven the walls over sofas - then prepare to have your mind ba-lown. Live bands, Grub Crawl, pinup photography and classic cars, Tacomapoly, tons of art and more from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on Art on the Ave in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

2. Saxophonist Kareem Kandi's sound derives from the classic, free, often enthusiastic tradition of Joshua Redman as filtered through Dexter Gordon and Sonny Stitt, all of whose shadows can be traced-Redman in Kandi's funky organicism, Gordon in his dynamic harmonics, Stitt in the intensity that coats his every note with a Gritty City finish. Kandi has been hanging with organist Delvon Lamarr and drummer Adam Kessler, which has added groovy innovation to Kandi's sound. Catch Kandi's trio from 3-6 p.m. at Uncle Thurm's Finger Lickin' Ribs & Chicken in Tacoma's Lincoln District.

3. An evening of dinner, dessert and performances celebrating LGBTQ youth is a part of this year's Tacoma Pride Week. Friends of Oasis are hosting dinners throughout the community from 4 to 7 p.m. After dinner, join Oasis for Proud Outloud dessert and youth performances from 7 to 9 pm in the Pantages Theater. Tickets for dessert are $25 each, dinners and dessert $50 and up. All proceeds benefit Oasis Youth Center.

4. Pop punk made it to all the way to France, as it turns out. Xtramedium, hailing from the French Riviera, have mastered all of the little emo flourishes and all the punky switches from contemplative riffing to spiteful rave-ups. Thrown into the mix is a healthy dose of lively folk punk, with interludes of ukelele and harmonica lending nuance to the proceedings. catch them with Bad Hex at 7 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

5. The Tacoma Comedy Club presents Comics Under The Influence where five comics perform a set each sober, and then while the other comics are performing they pound booze and return to the stage wasted to do another set. Jubal Flagg from Movin 95.5 FM tries to keep the thing flowing, beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: Sunday, July 14 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FRIDAY, JULY 12 2013 >>>

1. Describing them musically, Fox and the Law are easy to undersell. Basically, they're just a really good rock band. Genre-wise, they lean in a garage rock direction, but there's little in the way of the typical Nuggets or punk influences that usually characterize modern garage rock acts. Check them out at 9 p.m. with Thunders of Wrath and Mammoth Salmon in The New Frontier Lounge. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full featur eon Fox and the Law in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

2. With a second story view, the Narrows Brewing Company's taproom is divided into two separate rooms connected at the same bar, lending itself to an L-shaped arrangement. Reclaimed wood from the marina is used in the structure and décor, and while there is wine, beer and food from Boathouse 19, there is no liquor. Grand opening weekend is July 12 to 14, with live music by the Lucy Horton Band and the introduction of three beers on tap: a pale ale, an IPA and a golden ale. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on the Narrows Brewing Company in Northwest military's Bars and Clubs section.

3. In the 1980s Alec Clayton's paintings were figurative and often dealt with sexual content, including poking fun at society's attitudes about sex. In 1988 he and his wife, Gabi, invited friends and students from The Evergreen State College to examine and discuss the paintings. Gabi, a film student at the time, filmed the session. The film, and two other of Gabi's films about live action and stop-action animation of paintings being created, will be screened and discussed from 7-9 p.m. at B2 Fine Art Gallery. 

4. Distinguished writers, poets, playwrights, short story writers, and people who scribble on cocktail napkins will step up to the mic from 7-9 p.m. as part of the Distinguished Writer Series and Open Mic at King's Books. Lucas Smiraldo - a local poet who has worked in solo performance and spoken word for many years in Tacoma, as well as an online film series called Slam Town, a piece called Voice of the Americas focused on post-9/11 America and other projects that take spoken word and give it a dramatic flair - will be the featured poet.

5. Beginning her career at open mics in Boston, Paula Poundstone soon moved to San Francisco, which in the late '70s and into the '80s, was the hub for freethinking and unique comedians. People like Dana Gould, Jake Johannsen and Bobcat Goldthwait, among others, would hone their craft at places such as the Holy City Zoo, which was a home for these kind of absurd and original voices. Quickly, Poundstone rose through the ranks, with her quick wit, observational style and masterful crowd work. Like other comedians who have mastered the art of crowd work (like Jimmy Pardo, to use a more recent example), Poundstone is able to make something that takes a lot of skill look completely natural. Laugh with her at 7:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater. Read Rev. Adam McCkinney's full interview with Paula Poundstone in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

LINK: Friday, July 12 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, JULY 8 2013 >>>

1. As the clock nears 5 p.m. you'll once again think only of post-work drinking. Today we suggest you add a little class to your happy hour adventure. The Broadway Center of the Performing Arts hosts a happy hour combining apps, beer and wine with hoopla over its 2013-14 season from 5-7 p.m. inside the Pantages Theater. It kicks off its general sale of its upcoming season with fanfare and the opportunity to pick you own seat.

2. The Greta Jane Quartet welcomes Lorree Gardener and Danielle Westbrook for a night of jazz at The Royal Lounge beginning at 8 p.m.

3. Standup comedy hasn't evolved much since the glory days of ventriloquist and puppet. Every so often, there's a Gallagher smashing watermelons or a musical funnyman like Jack Black, but for the most part, comedy is a dude on a stage with a microphone, plodding through a joke-punchline-new-joke routine. You're funny. You need to change the course of comedy forever. At 8 p.m. the Grit City Comedy Club opens its stage to the public for a comedy open mic.

4. Rod Cook is a well respected, in demand Seattle area guitarist known for his stylistic versatility and soulful, melodic playing. Best known for his work with folk/funk, Americana artist Laura Love in the 1990s and the early part of this decade, guitarist, vocalist Rod Cook began the guitar at the age of 9. Check him out and his band at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

5. East Coast hip-hop MC Omega Jackson - "a grimy beat and lyrical explosion with heart" - joins P. Wrecks at 9 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

LINK: Monday, July 8 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, JULY 7 2013 >>>

1. Count yourself blessed, Tacoma, because you got to see something few people in the world have seen. Throughout his career Eric Carle, famous for children's books such as Brown Bear - Brown Bear, What Do You See? And The Very Hungry Caterpillar and more than 70 other picture books - has created art for his own personal satisfaction that he never showed to anyone outside of family and friends. He called it his "Art Art," and he had to be coaxed into showing it publicly. To our great benefit, Tacoma Art Museum Director Stephanie Stebich is a personal friend of the Carle family. She is the one who talked him into showing this work, and Tacomans were to the first to see it. And it is great. Absolutely outstanding. Read Alec Clayton's full review of "Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle" in the Weekly Volcano's Arts section.

2. Jazz musicians are some of the coolest cats you'll ever meet, such as groovy jazz pianists Joe Baque. Pronounced in French as “Bach,” it is almost as if Baque were destined to play piano, and his career has been amazing as he has accompanied the likes of Lena Horne, Stan Getz and Louie Armstrong and has played at such legendary clubs as the Roxy, Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall. The one-time pianist for the NBC orchestra settled in the Northwest much to the delight of local jazz connoisseurs in 1984 and has been a staple on the scene ever since. Catch him at 11 a.m. at the Olympia Farmers Market.

3. Rich Wetzel's 15-piece jazz-rock, Latin funk big band will perform from 5-8 p.m. at Stonegate Pizza. Jerry Miller's band will take the stage after.

4. Jeanne Hopkins, the singer and songwriter better known as Jeanlizabeth, hosts an open mic at 8 p.m. every Sunday in the Steilacoom Pub and Grill. The night's entertainment can include poetry readings, original songs and rock covers from Pink Floyd to modern hits. Past crowds ran the gamut of age groups, but many, including seniors, wore hoodies.

5. Northern all-ages music venue hosts its first comedy show featuring  Jason Traeger (Portland), George Chen (Oakland), Nicole Calasich (San Francisco), Zach Mandeville (Olympia), Bridget Irish (Olympia), Sarah Adams (Olympia) and special treat Bongo Randay Speaks at 8:30 p.m.

LINK: Sunday, July 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

MONDAY, JULY 1 2013 >>>

1. Deep Space Showcase is a collaboration of five female puppeteers, burlesque dancers, sideshow freaks and clowns hailing from points across the United States. The weird circus combines the puppetry prowess of the Many Furs Puppet Troupe with the tranimalistic shenangians of the Bonobohobo's Panspermic Circus, adds a dash of live music and a handful of aliens and blasts the whole shebang across Northern in downtown Olympia. Check out the evening of evocative entertainment for earthlings and extraterrestrials alike at 7 p.m.

2. Standup comedy hasn't evolved much since the glory days of ventriloquist and puppet. Every so often, there's a Gallagher smashing watermelons or a musical funnyman like Jack Black, but for the most part, comedy is a dude on a stage with a microphone, plodding through a joke-punchline-new-joke routine. You're funny. You need to change the course of comedy forever. At 8 p.m. the Grit City Comedy Club opens its stage to the public for a comedy open mic.

3. Jazz and blues band Maia Santell & House Blend will perform at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

4. Wyoming punk rocks Ackrite and Nebraska ska punkers Bombs Blast plays a 9 p.m. show at Le Voyeur in downtown Olympia.

5. Every Monday at 9 p.m. Jazzbones presents Rockaraoke - live band karaoke. Expect $2 PBR drafts, $3 Sinfire shots, $4 Smirnoff flavor vodka bombs.

LINK: Monday, July 1 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 2013 >>>

1. On Happy Noose's forthcoming releases, the Amagosa and Haunted EPs, find the Olympia band embracing the darker, more romantic side of their sound, even as their hooks become bigger, catchier and more anthemic. Where their earlier output was spunky in that youthful punk sort of way, Amagosa signals the natural maturation of a still relatively new band circling and landing on its voice. Catch them with Romantic Feelings and Handwritings at 10 p.m. inside Le Voyeur. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Happy Noose in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

2. Australian artist Jessica Loughlin will be in the Hot Shop at the Museum of Glass today through Sunday, July 7 as part of the Visiting Artists Summer Series. Loughlin takes her artistic cues from the landscape, creating an illusory sense of depth in her quiet horizons of glass powders and cast layers. Loughlin received the Tom Malone Prize from the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 2004 and 2007 and was the 2001 winner of the Outstanding New Artist in Glass award from UrbanGlass. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Denmark, the National Gallery of Australia and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

3. The first-ever Fife Farmers Market opens today, and will run every Wednesday until Aug. 28 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Every week the market will sprout up at Fife City Hall and the adjoining Centennial Park at the corner of 54th and 23rd Streets. The Fife Farmers Market will initially host about 20 vendors selling local farm-fresh produce, prepared and processed foods, handcrafted items, and lunch-ready foods. Their stalls will line Centennial Park and a portion of Fife City Hall's parking lot.

4. Lyonpride Music is holding auditions for the music stage at Seattle Hempfest 2013. Bands will be rockin' Jazzbones beginning at 7 p.m., including Death By Stars.

5. The small town of Moore, Oklahoma was hit with a devastating storm. More than 40 comedy clubs across the country will hosts benefit shows today with 100 percent of the ticket money going directly to the victims. The Tacoma Comedy Club is in, with comedians Duane Goad, Rodney Sherwood, Tyrone Hawkins, Andrew Rivers and Adam Norwest in the house at 8 p.m.

LINK: Wednesday, June 26 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area