THE FESTIVAL
Model Train Festival
There are some hobbies better kept to yourself. You know, the ones you do alone in your basement late at night. And then there are some truly cool hobbies, like model railroads. These should be celebrated and dragged out in the open for all to admire. Which is why the 12th Annual Model Train Festival, downtown Tacoma’s biggest model railroad exposition (taking into account, of course, the relatively small size of the subjects at hand because they are, of course, models), is being held through Jan. 1, instead of like, a half-hour. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy every floor of the Washington State History Museum filled with operating modular layouts.  But remember to look both ways before crossing, and keep your pennies to yourself.  â€" Ron Swarner

[Washington State History Museum, through Jan. 1, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, $6-$8, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272. 9747]

MORE EVENTS: Get off the couch.

FILM
"The Great Debaters"
An affirming and inspiring film, retelling the story of a remarkable team and their coach. Little Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, in the heart of the Jim Crow 1930s South, fielded a debate team coached by Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington) that won the national championship. But there's much more to the story than just their victory; the film, directed by Washington, portrays the racist society against which they endured and prevailed. One of the year's best. Rated PG-13. Four stars. â€" Roger Ebert

[Century Olympia: 1:05, 4, 6:55, 9:50, Lakewood Cinema 15: 12:30, 4:05, 7, 10:10; Longston Place 14: 11:05 a.m., 2:25, 7:05, 10:10; Regal Martin Village 16: 11:10 a.m., 2:05, 5, 7:55, 10:50]

MORE FILM: Showing on local screens today.

THE PARTY
Pimp And Ho
Visiting family in Lakewood this holiday season? They probably don’t have this kind of thing back home in Boise, so you might as well soak in the weirdness. Oh! Gallagher’s hosts a Pimp And Ho costume party Friday night. Costumes are mandatory, and we suspect a T-shirt with the word “costume” scrawled across it in Sharpie marker isn’t going to cut it. So break out those garters and butt floss or toss on that chartreuse zoot suit. â€" Brad Allen

[Oh! Gallagher’s, Friday, Dec. 28, 8 p.m., 7304 Lakewood Dr. S.W., Lakewood, 253.476.8787]

JAM
Garaj Mahal
Bobble Tiki just loves it when a band keeps going, going, and going. That’s exactly what Garaj Mahal can do â€" with expertise. The band will play Jazzbones tonight.  Rarely has Bobble Tiki seen such a seamless meld of funky jazz, progressive world music, and mystical Middle-Eastern ambiances. â€" Bobble Tiki

[Jazzbones, Friday, Dec. 28, 9 p.m., $10-$12, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.

You pigged out, didn’t you? First the turkey, then the stuffing, and of course the cranberry sauce . . . and who could resist the sweet potatoes with the little marshmallows? Now look at you, sitting on the couch with your pants unbuttoned, swatting helplessly at the bottle of Tums on the table.

"What do you get when you guzzle down sweets, eating as much as an elephant eats? What are you at, getting terribly fat? What do you think will come â€" of â€" that? I don’t like the look of it. Oompa loompa doompety da."  We’ve got a good suggestion for you.

Burp your way over to The Monsoon Room tonight at 8 p.m. for spoken word by Justin Hosea, Lonesome Shack Blues with Ben Todd and DJ Broam spinning behind two turntables. â€" Suzy Stump.

This is what we like to drink there.

There’s no excuse to waste away on the sidelines any longer. Get in the game, get on the dance floor.

How?

Check out Olympia’s Occasions Ballroom at the Eagles Hall Tuesdays and at Tacoma’s Abbey Ballroom Wednesdays. Both have swing dance lessons at 7:30 p.m. with a dance party at 8 p.m.

Ladies, here’s yet another excuse to put on a swirling skirt, strappy heels and crimson lipstick: Friday nights at Tacoma City Ballet for ballroom dancing starting Friday, Oct 5. Beginners can bump into each other from 7-8 p.m. The more experienced get the run of the 6,000-square-foot floor from 8-9 p.m. inside the historic Merlino Arts Center.

Back at Abbey Ballroom, the shake and shimmy just got a little hotter on Saturdays with South Sound Salseros salsa dancing lessons 9-9:30 p.m. Show off your moves 9:30 p.m. to midnight. Hey fellas, did you ever think abut how many single chicks take dance classes to fill up their nights? Even if you don’t meet a hottie at a class, you’ll have impressive boogie skills. â€" Jennifer Johnson

[Abbey Ballroom, lessons $10 (inlcudes dance), free mini-lesson 8:30-9 p.m., $4-$5 dance, 1901 S. Fawcett, Tacoma, 253.572.5424]
[Eagles Hall, 805 Fourth Ave., Olympia, www.olyswing.com]

If you were a geek in high school â€" whether in the '70s or '80s â€" and still dream of lost days of glory, Sanford and Son and The Middle Floor Merchants could put you into a school daze of your very own with The Prom â€" One Night in Bangkok, Saturday, Aug. 11. Now that your braces are off (and, presumably, you're of legal drinking age), it's time to drag out the old turquoise taffeta and order a carnation corsage. This may well be your last shot at being crowned queen (or king) of the festivities, and for just twenty bucks, too.

The night promises to revive your prom memories â€" the awkward sidelong glances, silly backdrops put together by professional photographers, corsages that outsize their wearers, stupid mustache and baby blue tux (I got the last memory from this rag’s editor. I have the photographic proof).

Sanford and Son and The Middle Floor Merchants are hosting a 21-and-older prom with proceeds donated to Ashley House for Children, which is a local organization assisting children and families coping with catastrophic injury or congenital birth defects.

Dress up all pretty and partake in a splendid night of music by Girl Trouble and The Fucking Eagles, dance to DJ Tony Rice, eat tasties and libations catered by Stadium Bistro, have classic prom photos taken, buy corsages, enter a raffle, and expect much more.

Tickets are $20 in advance at Sanford and Son or $25 at the door. â€" Suzy Stump

[Sanford and Son, Saturday, Aug. 11, 7 p.m. to midnight, $20-$25, 743 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.272.0334]

Most of us think of vodka as being a Russian concoction, but Poland and Sweden also claim credit for the popular drink. The word vodka is a diminutive of the Russian word voda, (in Polish, woda) meaning water. Most evidence indicates that the Eastern Slavic countries (Ukraine, Belarus and Russia) established vodka distilling during the 15th Century. There is no doubt that, in the beginning, vodka was an integral part of life in Poland, Sweden and the Eastern Slavic countries.

Enter the French.

Their new X-Rated Vodka is distilled seven times in small batches from delicate French wheat and roseberry grain, found on Reunion Island off the coast of Madagascar. The 100-percent organic vodka is then micro-oxygenated and charcoal filtered. The final 80-proof product has a silky smooth texture.

For those who prefer their vodka in mixed drinks, their X-Rated Fusion Liqueur is a 34-proof blend hailing from the Cognac region of France.  It’s vodka infused with blood oranges from Provence along with mango and passion fruit. Hey ladies, it’s pink.

Both, according to the new South Sound Garage brain trust, are exclusively available at the new downtown Tacoma nightclub on Market Street. 

The South Sound Garage (Steakhouse in the future) is open Thursday and Friday at 4:30 p.m., Saturday at 9 p.m., with DJs spinning Top 40 and no cover at the door. â€" Suzy Stump

Famous DJ and Lakewood boy Donald Glaude celebrates his birthday every year in the Puget Sound region.  He leaves his Los Angeles digs and spins a free show either in T-town or up in the Emerald City a few days before Christmas. 

Crap.  He chose Seattle this year.

Glaude will celebrate his birthday tomorrow night at the meat market of the moment, Last Supper Club, with a free show around 11 p.m.  As great a DJ as Glaude is, his birthday bashes are six notches higher.  Bring your BMW if you want to score! â€" Suzy Stump

DJmag has just release its Top 100 DJs Poll 2006 awarding Paul van Dyk the world's No.1 DJ again.

Coming in at No. 46 â€" Tacoma's own Donald Glaude.

You can catch Mr. 46 Halloween night at Hell's Kitchen â€" Not.  Glaude was scheduled to to spin at Ocean Grooves Entertainment's Halloween Party but ran into a scheduling conflict and had to bag out.  DJ dAb, Suga Jones and Jason Diamond will spin.

Altogether 217,102 dance music fans voted for their favorite DJs via DJmag from 233 different countries. â€" Brad Allen