The Midsummer Soiree came to the Warehouse, transforming a downtown Tacoma dirty alley into a clean narrow street with festive canopies, and transforming a boxy warehouse live/work space into an opulent party pad with bar and many lovelies wandering about.

The party planners themselves were transformed, resplendent in their finery with their art on display.

Desiree Flerchinger had a new nude on display (chained to a keyboard) that I especially loved, while Lia Craven’s impressive use of duct tape and subject matter intrigued me.

Also whimsical and fun, Suzanne Skaar’s works (was that a bunny on a Vespa?) and Linda De Santis Lapping’s fun little ceramic faces and fabulous skeletons. Impressive, as well, Elizabeth Cardany’s sensual work with the brush, and Mandi Webster-Martin’s eye with the lens.

Unlike December’s Eyefull event, the Midsummer Soiree had a good-sized crowd that appreciated, rather than consumed, the art, which included the performance variety.  I especially loved seeing Kate Monthy and Mary Mabry performing a piece they’d preciously performed at "Ten Tiny Dances" â€" yep, on a tiny stage.  Unlike Ten Tiny Dances, which performed on a low stage, this dance was set high for the crowd to enjoy, as were the aerialists.

And yet another really cool element of the Soiree, the moments of free-form, improvisational fun that brought the crowd to the forefront, and where members of  the crowd was almost as much fun as the art.

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

For the last four months, the Weekly Volcano staff has fought, argued, cajoled one another and basically worked themselves into a frenzy on their way to choosing â€" and then writing about â€" the most interesting, useful, quirky, and unique things that make the city of Tacoma the ideal place to live.

That's right friends, the Best of Tacoma issue has hit the streets, stuffed inside the Weekly Volcano and Ranger newspaper, as well as thrown about smartly on its own.

We concentrated solely on Tacoma city limits.  We apologize to Olympia, Lacey, Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, and other South Sound cities.  We didn’t have enough space to do them justice.

Although we had to moan and complain and struggle and fight and pull our hair out to make this issue happen, secretly we all know that the Best of Tacoma issue is the most fun we can legally have while still getting paid. â€" Ron Swarner

Rain could have dampened the spirits of the gussied up Zoobilee-goers last night, but come on, kids â€" this is Tacoma!  We know rain, and we know how to cope with it.

Consequently, the accessory de riguer for the event was the umbrella, with a close second place going to galoshes.

And the fine folks of the Zoo Society who threw the event upped the temperature of the entertainment this year, so within the confines of the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, it was still sizzling hot summertime.

The Burlesque performances by Orchestra L’Pow were divine, with a “zoo” full of bodacious bodies, while the fire dancing antics of Pyrosutra Incendiary Dance were … well, hell, I was gonna use the word incendiary, but they already did.

Other live performances, ranging from the Chopsticks piano dudes and a variety of acts like Cambalache Salsa, who greeted guests on a festive note outside the zoo, as well as the Beatniks, $5 Fine, and the Darren Motamedy Band, who entertained and got booties shaking inside the zoo.

I noted the availability of more water than I had noticed last year (nice!), as well as an unobtrusive upping of the recycling effort.  I heard someone comment, “more dining coverage would have been nice,” but my thinking was the AA Party Rental guys outdid themselves putting up all the shelters that were there â€" even in peak wedding season! â€" not to mention how not-fun it must have been to put all that stuff up in the torrents of rain earlier in the week.

Food, drink, and socialization were all well and good, but the truly fun part of Zoobilee was, as always the people watching as the night â€" and general inebriation level â€" progressed; it was also very fun in a surreal way to walk the darkened trails in the zoo, under a canopy of opened umbrellas, eating yummy, yummy food and sipping yummy, yummy drinks as the rain came down.   

My own favorite part, seeing Zoobilee neophyte Chef Pete Weikel with his ear to ear grin, and his comment, “I had no idea this was gonna be so COOL!”

Yep, it was. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Monkeys like art.  Monkeys like drinkies.  Therefore, by the Transitive Property of Equality, Monkeys like, um, something.

Never mind, the next 100th Monkey party will be held Wednesday, July 25 at the Old Town Music Society building a couple doors down from the Spar in Old Town Tacoma.

Jaime Wright is the 100th Monkey, therefore, will provide the entertainment.

The $4 lottery tiles are designed by Melissa Schulz whose work can be seen here.

Monkey commander Sue Pivetta invites all artists to being one piece of art to display at the party.

Now I must get back to my mathematical properties text book. â€" Suzy Stump

[Old Town Music Society, Wednesday, July 25, 8-10 p.m., no cover, $4 tiles, 2101 N. 30th St., Tacoma]

I had a 7 a.m. sunny run with the hounds around Point Defiance, a four and a half hour cloudy housecleaning spree prior to getting my bod down to Art on the Ave, the Sixth Avenue community and art festival.

Consequently, I was tired and half expecting it to rain by the time I made it to Culture Babe’s house, and surprised that by the time we hit the first strains of music emanating from Jazzbones, the sun was emerging again.

The festival was everything and more than I was expecting, with friends like Mindy Barker (helped by Gretchen) and Leigh (helped by Tracy Marie), Willow Eskridge (helped by her super cool images) all my Dockyard Derby Dames friends, and  more, more, more hanging out looking like they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  Fun, too to see Midsummer Soiree friends Mandy, Dez, and Suzanne sitting in the Jazzbones garden with buckets o’ booze (hurricanes?).

Culture Babe and I headed to co-scribe Jossy, who scored a grand table in front of Six Olives where CB and I shared a mojito “event” (32 ounces of mojito love, though I suspect it was considerably less, what with the large volume of ice in the glass).

Our dipping fries with wasabi ailoli were crunchy divinity, and were gone all too quickly â€" by the time we were out of food and libations, a Luau group had assembled and CB and I wandered around, taking in the sights.

At CHAOS, I saw what appeared to be a well-orchestrated flurry of activity, with agile men climbing streamers of Volcanoes created by creatively dressed individuals of to the top of an impressively large scaffolding, under the watchful eye of Lynn Di Nino.  It was mesmerizing to listen to the orators, and watch the hubbub, and then to see the crowd gather just past the construction, watching brave Derby Dames scramble around a quarter-sized “rink” to give the masses a taste of what Derby can look like.

Art cars were rad, DASH performers talented, booths interesting, and all told, more fun than I thought a festival could be.

For me, things like Art on the Ave show what the next level of community can look like: all kinds of people gathering together to enjoy the city at its casual fun best.

And as Culture Babe and I sat in the shelter of Pairings, meeting up with Jennevieve, Trevor, and Julia, we mused over the very full couple of hours.

All good things must end, and I came home to my clean house and family with a happy sigh and a single, simple thought.

Mmm, Tacoma. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

The Weekly Volcano knows you have been carrying around this week’s issue due to the fact that your short’s armpit looks like a tar pit.

Stupid ink.

Anyway, check out Matt Driscoll’s column on the Rock N Roll Craft Show fund raiser rock showcase Saturday night at Hell’s Kitchen.  Rock N Roll Craft Show creator Yorkatron calls the article “dope.”

Sweet.

Anyway, Yorkatron says he and his crew are shooting their skit “International Blob Championship" Friday, July 20, at the Tacoma Soccer Center and they need extras for the stands.  Not sure what time the shoot begins.  You figure it out.

You look like an extra to us. â€" Suzy Stump

There are few things that point to how Tacoma’s growing as plainly as the Freedom Fair.

Sure, it’s always been a huge deal.

In 1978, when I was 4 we’d make the pilgrimage from Lakewood to Ruston Way. It seemed like we had to walk forever, but in hindsight, I think we parked on Ruston Way.  Fast forward to the '80s, hanging out with high school friends, we’d drive to Thea Foss Waterway and hike through desolate spaces to the festivities.

Now we live about a mile away from the waterfront, and still try to score parking closer, but discovered this year, that wasn’t gonna’ be easy.

The thing was crazy busy, and kept getting busier, though the crazy part seemed to be kept in tow by the many police around.

But with a bored (and overwhelmed?) kid in tow, we found it easier to avoid the crowds and lines and come home, hang out with good friends and do quiet family things like water balloon fighting, eating, hosting our own version of a beer garden, and a taking a trip to Jefferson Park’s sprayground.  While on our way there, we found a mini Freedom Fair above it all, in the Baptist Seminary neighborhood, where I think we’ll hang out next year.

The part of the fireworks we could see from our house (we do have a commanding view of it from the roof, but couldn’t find our ladder) showed that that, too, has grown, compared to the parts we’ve been able to see the years before.

And while the whole day was super cool, it made me nostalgic to think back to the years when things were just a bit more mellow, the crowds were just a bit smaller, and the moving up Ruston Way went just a bit more quickly.

Because even when I was 8, though I didn’t want to walk (and there wasn’t much to see, except the fireworks,) I could get from point A to point B with a bit less irritation.

But seeing a huge crowd celebrate the day was fun to see, and  hearing about the people who made trips over from all kinds of surrounding spots made me proud of my city. â€" Jessica Corey-Butler

Tacoma Musical Playhouse, the nonprofit theater than owns and operates the historical Narrows Theater along Sixth Avenue, has announced plans to expand the theater.

The new theater will have significantly larger lobby, a new box office, new restrooms, a spruced up concessions area and larger cast dressing rooms.

All the work is expected to be finished by the time the theater starts its next season in the fall. The architectural firm is BCRA and the general contractor is Summit Central Construction Inc.

“TMP is offering this upgrade as a gift to our community in return for years of loyal patronage,” TMP Board President Ed McGuire says.

Patrons will be astonished as they enter the facility for the first time and notice the delightful new design enhancements reminiscent of styles of the Art Deco era, he said. Women, who for decades have waited in line for the tiny two-stalled restroom, will have the benefit of a new restroom with 11 stalls.

“This is a monumental occasion in the continuous evolution of TMP and our facility," says Jon Douglas Rake, managing artistic director.

The theater will add about 3,600 square feet of space during this first phase of work, followed by plans of two more rounds of renovations that will address some of the more technical challenges of the historic theater, particularly electrical and technology updating.

State of Washington Building for the Arts kicked in $75,000, City of Tacoma matched that amount and Pierce County footed $30,000.  Pledges donors and several fund raising events will allow the theater to complete Phase 1 without starting a full-fledged capital  campaign. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

Ominous clouds and frequent torrential downpours did nothing to daunt the plucky festival planners and participants putting on the Urban Art Festival yesterday.  While a couple of booths closed up shop after the first main deluge soaked goods and spirits, festival-goers were treated to plenty of amusements and entertainments regardless of weather.

One of the highlights for me was the sight of the busty beauties wandering about the festival, putting their assets out front and center for the world to appreciate.  I particularly liked “knockers” and “hooters,” though all of them made me smile and giggle.

I loved what scribe Angela Jossy did with the Volcano space, and I loved seeing co-scribe Paul Schrag (and was that a Natasha sighting?).

Another highlight, both for the wee one and me, was the needle-punched felted creatures created in the i heart rummage booth by Laurie Sharp of woolpets â€" as well as the potions and lotions by Knelow cosmetics next to her. I loved the Hogbot art and seeing my Midsummer Soiree-creating friends as well as the new stuff I’d not yet seen.  The illustration-like art of Justin Hillgrove caught my morbid fancy, and the graffiti art in-process impressed me with its immediate, impromptu strength next to the club-like atmosphere of the Bank of America parking lot, where DJs spun and random acts of dance love occurred.

Not so random acts of dance love happened during Daniel Blue’s show, as well, a fun little romp about hot chicks and pirates.  And who know that Blue could sing? Or that Oliver Doriss could act?  It was exactly the kind of “only in Tacoma” event where music, fashion, dance, and art collided into a beautiful jumble observed by a huge, umbrella-ed crowd as the rain poured down.
That crowd, commanded by Blue to dance, did just that, a community moving as one with a standard poodle in their midst.

And the sun came out.

Of course it was at this point that kid hit critical-surly-mass, after jumping in the bounce house (a big hit!) making a mask with Leah Craven (cool stuff, there!) she decided, at that moment, she was DONE, and we had no choice but to make our way past the beer garden (hi friends, wish I was there!) and the stage where music played and Lulu Spice shook her tasseled hips next to Laura Eklund; their work might not yet be done, but they were enjoying the fruits of their labors.

The rain began again as we drove home, and I waited for the magic moment the sun would emerge again, knowing it would be Tacoma’s Urban Art Festival magic that would make that happen.