Linda Danforth seeks arts enthusiasts to join her on her quest to build the Tacoma Art Place, or TAP, an organization to provide space and access to equipment and training that will allow more people to affordably explore their creativity and artistic ability.

TAP is about to sign a lease for space, and the concept is that people would buy an annual membership or buy a day pass to visit the space and use the equipment or take classes and attend special events.

The next meeting is Sept. 25, 7 p.m., at the Tall Ships Tacoma office at 535 Dock St., Suite 211.
You may contact her at 253.756.5544 or by e-mail.

To discover how awesome Danforth is, check out the Fall Arts story on her in today’s Weekly Volcano. â€" Suzy Stump

Barefoot Studios has landed at 1604 Center St. across the street from Tool Town and Party World in the former Art on Center space.  Paul, Josephine and friends are applying the final layer of paint, installing the floating floor and will begin dancing next month.

Please bing back the "10 x 10" series. â€" Suzy Stump

Those folks at Northwest Playwrights Alliance are at it again with another round of original works by South Sound playwrights as they workshop their craft through stage readings and audience-feedback performances.

Monday inside the Broadway Center they present a series of 10-minute plays: 

• "Oh, Cabbie!" written and directed by Marcy Rodenborn;
• "Interstate 84," by Judith Marie Wallace and directed by James Venturini;
• "Snippy" by Dan Erickson and directed by Tim Hoban;
• "After," by Elena Hartwell and directed by Aaron Jacobs;
• "Sybil Finds Her Man" by Bryan Willis and directed by Brian Tyrrell, which was commissioned by the Hunter Family to celebrate the occasion of Sam and Sybil's 50th anniversary (Oakbrook represent!);
• "Shoes" by Arlitia Jones and directed by Deane Shellman
• "The Man Who Fell off His Bicycle" by Glenn Hergenhahn and directed by Jana Tyrrell;
• "Kuwait" by Vince Delaney and directed by Rod Campbell;
• "The Rip Off" written by the winner of the NPA's Young Playwrights Award, Kiera Hoban and directed by Jesse Michener.

Go check it out.  Monday is the new Friday or something. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

[Broadway Center Rehearsal Studio, Monday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., free, 915 Broadway, downtown Tacoma, 360.754.2818]

My Puyallup Fair scone addiction can be traced back at least two generations on my mother’s side. I remember being a young pre-teen when my fearless grandmother took me to the Fair because she loved the “roller coaster.” Little old ladies get strange looks boarding thrill rides but she didn’t care. She relished it and I loved her for it. My mother would tag along to watch. She preferred the much tamer ferris wheel. We scoffed at the thought.

After our adrenaline was spent we all looked forward equally to the buttery, warm, jelly-filled scones which tasted perfect when our grins were big enough to reach from one red and wind-whipped ear to the other. The toasty gooey wonder warmed our hands and our tummies.

Scones are the perfect snack to munch while trying to recall which downtown Puyallup neighbor’s yard the car is parked in. I know you can buy the scone mix and make them at home or find some version at your corner coffee shop but they don’t taste as nearly as good as when you earn them by facing your fears on a carnival-lit summer night. â€" Angie Jossy

Puyallup Fair

When: Friday, Sept. 7-Sunday, Sept. 23
Where: 110 Ninth Ave. S.W., Puyallup
Admission: Adults $10; students (6-18), $8; seniors (62+), $8, 5 and younger, free.
Parking: $8 Monday-Friday, $10 Saturday-Sunday
Public Transportation: Pierce Transit, 253.581.8000
Information: 253.841.5045 or www.thefair.com

Are you creative?

Do you like to get your New Year's Eve drink on really late?

First Night Tacoma-Pierce County is looking for performers to wow crowds at First Night Dec. 31, 2007, in Downtown Tacoma's Theater District. First Night, the arts-centric, all-ages friendly, alcohol-free New Year's Eve extravaganza is back stronger than ever. 

Sign your performing self up by Oct. 31 here. â€" Suzy Stump

Some days, all you can say is, “well, Hell.”

Take last night.

The Significant One was recovering from some food poisoning issue from last night’s Anthony’s meal, (it was a grim, loud, toilet-lovin’ night for him) so I had the kid, and was left pretty much to my own devices at the Spelling Bee at King’s Books.  ADULT spelling bee, mind you, where freakish 5 year olds running around were about as welcome as a pronouncement of herpes on a first date.

Even still, co Volcano-worker Susan Bell (last year’s partner Amanda was beginning her new classes at St Martin’s College, hence couldn’t be my team mate) and I were amped for success.

We were spellin’ fiends.

We were gunnin’ to win.

In round two, as my child became more ebullient, we received the word “discipline.”  I knew, well, how to spell it.

And then, round three, we got “abscess.”

Our conference went back and forth about c, s, or sc, for long moments that left the audience twitchy in discomfort.

I figured, meh, go down in flames, or succeed: head to Hawaii in a day and avoid public mockery.

“Abcess”

“DING!”

The bell, rung by Miss Abegale McDermott, chirpily told us how wrong we were.

We were OUT.

We chatted, we ran after the kid, we left.

I have no idea how the bee ended.

I hope my dear readers will enlighten me? â€" Jesikuh Quarry-Buhlter

Adult Spelling Bee winners
Dave Riddle and Bill Root (Team 4) won.  Sean and Sondra Victor (Team 1) grabbed second place.

Winning word: succedaneun, meaning: substitute. 

Usage example: "Abscess" proved to be my succedaneun partner's and my undoing.

I heard about a thing that was going on, a thing that had something to do with yellow, a party, a preview, and possibly a nod to a Swedish movie from 1967.

Naturally, I was in, and had the privilege of viewing an example of the things that the rest of Tacoma will view on Sunday at a super special undisclosed â€" as of yet â€" location, which will be disclosed come Sunday morning, don’t fret.

What I found was a bunch of stuff that made me giggle, think, and feel glad that I was a part of that community that celebrates the quirky, the fun, and the celebratory with a nod to the cerebral.

And of course, there was the yellow, and the community.  The community will be present, and vibrant, when you go to see them on Sunday. I can’t wait to see what Sunday’s “I Am Curious … Yellow” yard sale holds!

In the meantime, here are some sneak peeks of last night’s “Yellow” preparation party. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

So there you were at the Dave Matthews Band show at the Gorge on Sunday night â€" the last of three packed shows at the Eastern Washington outdoor amphitheater.  A huge monitor shows Dave’s latest project, a song called “Eh Hee,” and you thought, that’s pretty groovy.  Whoa, check out those dancers!

You thought one looked familiar?  Yep, you got it right, it was Kate Monthy of Tacoma’s MLKBallet, working with choreographer Zoe Scofield and other dancers she regularly performs with on the Tacoma School of the Arts stage during “MOVE!” performances.

If you didn’t go to the Gorge, then you can download the video free, for a limited time, on iTunes, and check out some absolutely stunning dance. Maybe even become inspired to sign up for adult ballet at MLKBallet for the fall session starting Sept. 18 â€"  if only to be in the same room with a person who’s met Dave up close and personal.

Contact MLKBallet at 253.906.2190 for more information on classes and schedules or go to www.mlkballet.org to find out more about the organization that seeks to bring a world-class dance program to Tacoma. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Olympia Dumpster Divers post a few dumpsters they dig.  So trashy! - Suzy Stump

The Tacoma Art Museum’s Twinkle! Pop-Crush-Fizz fund-raising party Friday night started like most arts events, with a fair amount of milling about and politely shared pleasantries.

The milling was actually hugely enjoyable, with painters Steve Jensen and Merrilee Moore working on live, very scantily clad bodies and with the "Sparkle Then Fade" exhibit open for viewing, not to mention the fab drinkie-poos (I was digging the star fruit cosmos, for sure!) and a chocolate fountain that smelled an awful lot like Heaven. 

But as the evening’s temperature cooled down, the action heated up, starting off with a taste of roller derby provided by the Dockyard Derby Dames' fabulous femmes of Femme Fianna.  The ladies seemed to help the crowd break the ice and release their inner party animals.  That feeling was then enhanced by the lounge music stylings of Lushy, who got the bodies up and moving, encouraged by the groovy go-go action, though DJ Vodka Twist was keeping the energy thumping and kept it there even after Lushy finished.

I was loving seeing recognized friends like Jenny Fab and The Frenchman as well as arts fixture KAke and some of the hippest Junior League Ladies I’ve ever met.

Even the significant one, not known as being Mr. Socialite, enjoyed himself, which is saying volumes for how the TAM can throw a party.

I can’t wait til the next one! â€" Jessica Corey-Butler