WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 2014 >>>

1. There are times when our music picks write themselves, which is helpful as some of us drink. This is one of those welcome moments, because Jazzbones is having one stunner of a week. It began with crooners Color Me Badd Saturday - hell, yes, they still wanna sex you up! - followed Sunday by Georgia rapper Warren Anderson Mathis, better known as Bubba Sparxxx. Save room on your musical plate, though, for Igor & The Red Elvises, a mind-blowing rockabilly combo whose members hail from former Soviet states (or, in one case, the Minnesota gulag) but met in California, with Psycho 78 at 8 p.m.

2. The Swiss hosts Military Appreciation Day, a.k.a. Warrior Wednesday, a fundraiser for Pat Tillman Foundation (Official) with portions of every Jack Daniels sale going to charity. The downtown Tacoma restaurant will have $5 drink and food specials for those with military ID.

3. The Puget Sound Partnership's Science Panel will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Commencement Bay conference room at the Center for Urban Waters. The panel includes some of the top scientists in the Northwest and advises the Partnership's efforts to develop a science-based comprehensive plan to restore Puget Sound. These meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to address questions or provide comment about the regional effort to restore and protect Puget Sound. We imagine the whole ordeal is like the montage scene in a Hollywood movie, in which a schlubby male is transformed into a veritable Renaissance man as the clock ticks from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You arrive dehydrated from the night before and leave looking for a "green" Chardonnay and someone to discuss Xenobiotics in the Urban Water Cycle.

4. Thurston County Fair starts at 10 a.m. and provides five days of activities including musical entertainment, home arts demonstrations, 4-H and FFA events, rides for kids of all ages, and the always-fabulous fair food. A little history: The first Thurston County Fair was in 1871 and was located where the present day 4th Ave Tavern is. The event was a way to support agriculture and immigration in Thurston County. The fair has grown over the past 130 years and has jumped from location to location, including the now Tumwater Safeway and Lacey Post Office, before settling in to the present day fairgrounds in 1958. Bonus: The fabulous Artesian Rumble Arkestra headlines the grand opening ceremony at 5 p.m. tonight.

5. A couple of beer tastings are going down tonight. The Puyallup River Alehouse hosts Schooner Exact with beer, giveaways and prizes from 6-9 p.m. Jhon Gilroy with specialty beer importers Merchant du Vin will hang at 99 Bottles from 5-7 p.m. Pick his brain, drink his beers and enjoy a $2 happy hour.

LINK: Wednesday, July 30 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SATURDAY, JULY 26 2014 >>>

1. It was a cool July night in the City of Grit. My fedora pulled down low over my eyes, I peered out through a haze of cigarette smoke as I slunk down South Tacoma Way. Maybe that's why at first I didn't see the hep cat in the zoot suit. He was layin' back deep in the shadows and burnin' a cancer stick of his own. "What's the haps, brotha man?" I asked, meanin' to breeze past. "You lookin' sharp."

"You see that?" he asked, pointing a long dark finger at an open space near Stonegate Pizza. "I'm tellin' you, they's some crazy bidiness 'bout to go down on this block, and that's the stone truth. This scene gon' be 18-karat come this weekend."

"This block here?" I repeated. "Lay it on me, Jack."

"This here where they puttin' together the Jazz and Blues Festival this year, son. That ain't no applesauce."

Read Christian Carvajal's interview with the mysterious hep cat about the Tacoma Jazz and Blues Festival in the Music and Culture section, then enjoy the festival from 1 p.m. to midnight at 56th and South Tacoma Way.

2. We here at the Weekly Volcano think it takes a real man to wear a skirt and wear it proudly.  That's why we're piling into the Weekly Volcanomobile and heading to the 68th Annual Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games at the Enumclaw Expo Center to watch some manly men flash their legs and flip some freakin' big logs in the Heavy Field Events and Caber Toss. If all that testosterone gets to be too much, we'll head for the Parading of the Clans or dancing, piping and drumming competitions. Honestly, there are a lot of events going down at the thing between 7:45 a.m. and 9 p.m., including dancing demonstrations, pipes and drums galore, food and rockin' Ockham's Razor.

3. If you've ever been to a mushroom festival - particularly the Pacific Northwest Mushroom Festival, which this year runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Thurston County Regional Athletic Complex - you already know that mycologists ('shroom experts) are in a league of their own. Mushroom festivals are the strangest, funniest and, not so incidentally, most educational experience you're ever likely participate in. And, no, hippie: Pacific Northwest Mushroom Festival does feature "magic" mushrooms (psilocybes and otherwise). What it does include are featured speakers, chefs, cooking demonstrations, farm tour, children activities, entertainment, vendors, mushroom tasting, Grow in the the Dark 5K and a Saturday evening mushroom and wine event during the Lacey festival.

4. Two big beer events go down today. The official merging of Harmon's two St. Helens neighborhood sister restaurants Harmon Tap Room and The Hub into one giant beer complex. In celebration, a "Progressive Party" will be thrown from 1-6 p.m., where those who pay $15 may meet head brewer Jeff Carlson and his crew, drink specialty beers, taste the new menu, sample desserts from Harmon's new in-house baker and, of course, hug a Harmon employee. Space is limited; grab your tickets at The Hub and Harmon Tap Room. Harmon will also unveil its Hop Coffee enterprise at the party. If that wasn't enough, the party will also take time out for the Harmon and Tacoma homebrewing supplier MASH to hand out awards for their homebrewing competition, Aroma of Tacoma. The Parkway Tavern hosts a "79th Birthday Partay" including a "Badass Tacomacentric Beer Line Up," a beer garden in its backyard, Chad's BBQ out front, punkgrass band Rusty Cleavers jammin' around 3 p.m., Mr. Gibson's FroYo Wagon pulls up around 4, plus the release of the new ParkWay hoodies.

5. 1. Campfire Cassettes was started by Jonathan Buchanan as a way of getting pesky songs out of his head. Sometimes he performs with a full band, but the tour he's on finds him performing solo, with an assist from his tourmate, Todd N Todd (AKA Todd Daniels). The first song on the Los Angeles-based Campfire Cassettes' upcoming LP,GOSLEBROCK, features this line: "My sister Mary got everything. She got a brand new horse when she was 17. My sister Mary got everything. When I was 17, I got an STD." It's this sort of downer self-deprecation and outer bitterness that defines Campfire Cassettes It'd be depressing if it weren't so hilarious. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Campfire Cassettes in the Music and Culture section, then catch Buchanan and Daniels at 7 p.m. in Metronome Coffee.

LINK: Saturday, July 26 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, JULY 20 2014 >>>

1. If you think you've been hot the past two weeks, think about how hot those guys in the food trucks must be. The high temp should only reach 70 today so no one should complain about the heat at the Food Truck Festival from noon to 5 p.m. at Wright Park. Metro Parks called out to food trucks, and they've answered en masse. Today will mark the one-day, free event featuring trucks and mobile businesses and live entertainment. Schedule businesses driving trucks to the park include Masa, Asado, It's Greek To Me, Lizzie Lou's Comfort Food, Celebrity Cake Studio, Lumpia World, Josefina's Taco Truck Pampeana empanadas, Budha Bear Bagels and others.

2. If you've got a girlfriend, you probably know what season it is: the free outdoor festival season. You've probably hit just about every free music-in-the-park event, free drum circle and free farmers market since April. Well, this weekend prepare for a trip over the bridge, for the annual Gig Harbor Summer Arts Festival, where 122 artists (plus the obligatory vendors), live music and family activities will take over Judson Street in downtown Gig Harbor from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Go ahead, get your face painted.

3. The sun is hiding today after what felt like a 10-year summer. Head inside today to catch some local theater today. 

4. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watching condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, 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 triple threat of delicious happy hour specials, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."

5. What might have come across as a bit of cheeky, gimmickry with the Cave Singers, has coalesced into an easy and natural product. Combining members of punk bands such as Pretty Girls Make Graves and Murder City Devils into a folk-rock band (right at the apex of Seattle's neo-folk inundation, mind you) surely must have struck some as a stunt, but the band's seventh year on the scene shows them settling into a welcome groove. Their tour finds them breezing through The New Frontier with No Grave for a rare Sunday 8 p.m. show, so it'd behoove you to catch them.

LINK: Sunday, July 20 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FRIDAY, JULY 18 2014 >>>

1. Made up of looped samples of '60s soul and bubblegum songs, the music of the Los Angeles-based TV Girl then incorporates hip-hop beats and blissed-out indie pop vocals, creating what amounts to a kind of factory-tested ideal for summer soundtracks. Everything is nostalgic and new with TV Girl, with the result coming out as a neo-futurist ode to the cyclical nature of popular music. Oh, and it sounds really great. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's interview with TV Girl in the Music and Culture section., then catch the band with Brothertiger and Globelamp at 8 p.m. in Olympia's all-ages venue Northern.

2. As part of its 20th anniversary, Dick's Brewing Co. has brewed Dick's Midnight Ride, a robust, Northwest-style CDA bursting with Cascade and Centennial hops, and balanced with a rich dark malt profile. Think rich, dark and malty like a porter with a hop profile. Drink it today when it's released to the public. Dick's taproom is open from 3-7:30 p.m. at 3516 Galvin Road in downtown Centralia. 

3. Gleeful children dashing after saltwater taffy shot from a "candy cannon" is just one of the experiences in store during Fort Nisqually Living History Museum's Family Fun Night from 6-9 p.m. Families are invited to bring their own picnic dinner to the Fort, located in Point Defiance Park, and join in games, dancing, and relay races with the Fort's re-enactors. 

4. Wow, Laura (comma included) delivers breezy indie pop while also taking time to inject it with jarring shifts in time signatures and halting uses of stop/start dynamics. Catch the band with iji at 8 p.m. in the Half Pint Pizza Pub.

5. "Whip It," "What I Like About You," "Safety Dance" and you're-goddamn-right "Don't Stop Believin'" are a few of the songs on the Spazmatics' set list, so grab your skinny tie, brush up your Robot, and pull up your Members Only jacket sleeves. One of the hottest '80s cover bands in the country will play with Mr. Pink at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones. They are so choice.

LINK: Friday, July 18 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 2014 >>>

1. Farmers markets come in all sizes, shapes and vibes, but the atmosphere of the Sunset Market is definitively about fun. Right off the bat, it turns the tables on the usual early-morning affairs we're used to by hosting its vendors in the evenings, from 3 to 7:30 p.m. - a Puyallup version of Tacoma's 6th Ave Farmers Market if you will. The Sunset Market focuses on local farmers, growers, processors, artisans, downtown merchants and food vendors accompanied by live entertainment, demonstrations and more. The farmers' party continues every Wednesday through Sept. 17.

2. Starting at 10 a.m. and running the next five weeks, the Museum of Glass will feature women artists working in the Hot Shop. Today, Jessica Jane Julius will experiment and explore new directions in her art. She currently teaches at Tyler School of Art, and her work was recently featured in Craft Spoken Here at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

3. While it's easy to quantify Oly as just a hippie, college town - that's only partially true. A large portion of the population is proudly blue-collar. The most amazing part of all of this is the two demographics - shoeless hippies and hardworking grunts - come together every year for Lakefair, meshing farmer tans with hacky sacks, and creating a fairly unique event disguised as just another summer festival. Think carnies, cotton candy, live music, volleyball, fireworks and all the usual trappings - Olympia style. It runs from noon to 10 p.m. around Capital Lake and Heritage Park, Fifth and Water Street, in downtown Olympia.

4. There will be an Army invasion tonight in Steilacoom when the U.S. Army Band enters Pioneer Park at 6:30 p.m. The show is free. 

5. Ian McFeron, whose lyrical prose has been compared to Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams and David Gray, will perform roots-oriented American music at 7 p.m. in Olympia's Sylvester Park.

LINK: Wednesday, July 16 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

It was a day for having fun, meeting new friends and finding help.

That's the focus of the 446th Airlift Wing's annual Family Day symposium and picnic. With an emphasis on fun, it was a mix of kid's games, a tasty barbeque lunch and a morning of hearing about support programs for families.

"It's one of our ways to say thank you," Lt. Col. Anna Sullivan said. "These families put up with so much."

About 3,200 people, from parents to grandparents to kids, took part in the day for reservists at Heritage Hill on McChord Field, July 12.

There were three pieces to the event. In the morning, there was a spouse flight around Mount Rainier in a C-17. Then there was the education piece in the morning that worked as a conduit, connecting families with helpful programs from health care to counseling to employment.

The free picnic, which was catered by Dickey's Barbecue, and games, which included a bouncy castle, paper airplane throw, ball toss through a hoop, jewelry making, putt-putt golf, ping pong and volleyball, put the fun into the event.

"This is also a good way for all the families to get together," Sullivan said.

There was information on programs that covered airmen and family readiness, military family counseling, fitness and employer support for those in the Reserves. There were symposiums on 13 different programs, which included Air Force Aid Society, Hero 2 Hire and the Wingman Tool Kit.

Another program was Yellow Ribbon, a congressional mandate that has a mission to tell reservists about employment and connect them with potential employers. It's for pre- and post-deployment. To attract families to Yellow Ribbon, an expense-paid trip to Disney World for the reservist's family is offered.

"It's bait," Sullivan said.

The objective is to find employment for the reservists.

"If they work here, they stay here, and we don't have to get other people, that helps keep everyone happy," Sullivan said. "We want them to be happy and employed. Lots of the programs are good to our people."

Representatives from these different programs gave presentations to show the resources available to them.

The day was also about reservists getting a chance to bring their family to the picnic and introduce them to co-workers.

"Typically, we're coming out one weekend a month or coming out on our annual tour," Sgt. Minnette Mason said. "What we do each year is set up an event that is family friendly."

It was mission accomplished. The food and games, which was coupled with a beautiful sunny 90-degree summer day, was certainly crowd-pleasing.

"Today is about the families of our reservists," Mason said. "It gives the airmen a chance to come together and get to know the families. They're the ones who allow us to do our job."

Michelle and Daniel Faust stood in a long line with their children waiting to get a hearty barbeque lunch.

"It's fun, but the lines are a little long," said Daniel, a reservist in the 446th Airlift Wing.

The lines were about 300 people deep. Michelle was among the 40 spouses who took the airplane ride in a C-17 around Rainier in the morning.

"It was a wonderful day," Michelle said. "It's a fun, fun day. It gives you a chance to connect with the other families."

Moving a little slow today? My guess it's because of all the dancing you did yesterday.

Day one of 253 Weekend, at least that's what I'm calling it, is in the books. Too many events and activities to enjoy in the 253; I witnessed a few. Somebody stole toilet paper from one of the Out in the Park port-o-potties! I don't even want to think about the karmic payback the thief incurred for that one.

The music? Awesome. From a marching band playing the "Star-Spangled Banner" followed by Steve Stefanowicz cranking Jimi Hendrix's version opening the Tacoma Old Town Rhythm and Blues Festival to Stephanie Anne Johnson getting her freak flag on at Out in the Park to the raucous one-two punch of C-Leb & the Kettle Black and Perry Acker moving the entire population of Gig Harbor at the 7 Seas Brewing anniversary party, it was an epic day.

Below are a few snapshot from the Old Town Rhythm and Blues Festival, Out in the Park, Harmon Brewing's putt-putt golf tournament and 7 Seas Brewing's fifth anniversary bash. I left the camera at home during The Mix's street party because of ... you know ... dancing.

Tell us what you saw, tell us what you heard yesterday. Tell us what you'll be ripping down doors to catch today.

SEE ALSO

Weekly Volcano photographer J.M. Simpson dropped by yesterday's Lakewood SummerFest

SUNDAY, JULY 13 2014 >>>

1. 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. Tacoma's Art on the Ave community celebration includes Live bands, Grub Crawl, carnival rides, art projects, giant puzzles, local beer and wine lounge, tons of art and more from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tacoma's sixth Avenue. Read Christian Carvajal's full feature on Art on the Ave in our Music and Culture section.

2. At the Best of the Northwest Free Community Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors to the Tacoma Art Museum will get to see up close and personal just what it takes to make a bronze sculpture and take part in a hands-on sculpture project making your own three-dimensional art. At noon the bronze World War II Marine memorial sculpture "Soul of the Forward and Faithful" by Mardie Rees will debut in an unveiling. It will be on view at TAM until July 27 when it will travel to its new permanent home at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. The festival will feature artists, fabricators and curators talking about the process of creating bronze sculpture. "Rarely do you witness sculptures taking shape," said museum director Stephanie A. Stebich. "We're giving visitors a close-up look into the sculpture process that most people don't get to see." Admission to the museum will be free all day. 

3. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watching condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, 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 triple threat of delicious happy hour specials, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."

4. The Riffbrokers' Nick Millward has a voice that resembles a more nimble version of Elvis Costello's nasal croon, draws you in, sonically, before you have a chance to really appreciate the beauty of his lyrics. With the rest of the band consisting of Nick's wife Heather Millward (bass), as well as Chris Cline (guitar) and Ryan Maxwell (drums), the Riffbrokers like to refer to themselves as "powerpop twang," which works just as well as anything else. They sound like what would happen if Tom Petty earned his stripes in the indie punk underground. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on the Riffbrokers in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with the Dignitaries and the Oly Electric at 5 p.m. in The Swiss Restaurant and Pub.

5. For some of us, karaoke is all about either watching or being drink-sodden disasters - specifically the kind poorly belting out ballads to a hooting crowd of strangers. For the non-voyeurs and the non-exhibitionists, the song's the thing, and Harlequin Productions "Forbidden 12 Night" karaoke party should be a song-centric affair. Harlequin's A Rock ‘n' Roll Twelfth Night cast and crew will be singing each other's songs from the show karaoke style, with the live band, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The $40 ticket is good for a catered buffet dinner and a cocktail as the cast, crew, and band from the musical present an evening of unscripted musical mayhem.

LINK: Sunday, July 13 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Perfect.

Nothing brings people out like a well-organized event, and Lakewood's third annual SummerFest did just that.

"This is just a great, great event," Mel Smith, a Lakewood resident, said as he cleaned his 1955 Martin alto saxophone.

"The citizens of this city cannot ask for a better event."

Thousands of area residents converged on Fort Steilacoom Park to enjoy a public market, a beer garden, tasty foods, live music performances, a colorful classic car show and an outdoor screening of Jurassic Park at dusk.

>>> Mel Smith cleans his 1955 Martin alto saxophone after performing at SummerFest. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

The weather certainly cooperated with blue skies, fair winds and a warm temperature.

Earlier in the morning, the SummerFest's Triathlon - featuring a half-mile swim at American Lake Park, a 14-mile bike ride through Lakewood, Steilacoom, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and a 3.1 mile run in Fort Steilacoom Park - ended as the festivities began.

>>> The cty of Lakewood's third annual SummerFest featured food, entertainment, a first class triathlon and some of the coolest cars in the area. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

Marty Owens and Bill Sullivan captured the spirit of the event perfectly.

"This event is very good; it's awesome," said Owens, a Tacoma resident and classic car judge.

"Lakewood should be proud of itself."

>>> One of the biggest attractions at SummerFest was the West Pierce Fire Department with its trucks, equipment and information booths. Photo credit: J.M. Simpson

SATURDAY, JULY 12 2013 >>>

1. The Tacoma Old Town Rhythm and Blues Festival will add more rhythm to the annual beloved blues festival. From 9:30 a.m. to midnight you'll find the festival back for the pancake breakfast at the Slavonian Hall, free all-day outdoor music stage (with beer garden) in Old Town Park and night headlining shows. Here's the Tacoma Old Town Rhythm and Blues Festival schedule.

2. Love Rhubarb? Sumner hosts Rhubarb Days from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. loaded with a pancake breakfast, kids' games in Heritage Park, tractor display, petting zoo, pie-eating contest, entertainment and more rhubarb than you have seen in your life. There will also be a community bake-off at 11 a.m. Here's the Sumner Rhubarb Day's schedule.

3. Free stuff is good. Better yet, let's talk about free stuff for the entire family - Lakewood Summerfest 2014 at Fort Steilacoom Park. Tons of food, craft and nonprofit vendors will be on hand. (Read: more glass jewelry, organic food petitioners, and meat on a stick than your mom could ever dream of.) If you don't feel like indulging in drippy foods and knitted caps, then there's also going to be pain on triathletes faces to watch, Army Strong vehicles, a kids zone, and an outdoor cinema featuring Jurassic Park. Sound good? We're not done. There's also our favorite part of any event - the live entertainment! Expect country, blues, New Wave, Southern rock and more. And remember: Minus the angioplasty you're going to need after all the funnel cakes, most of it is free. Here's the Lakewood SummerFest schedule.

4. Tacoma's annual, awesome LGBTQ Pride celebration, Out in the Park, will be fabulous from noon to 5 p.m. on Broadway between Ninth and 11th streets. Afterward, until 4 a.m., The Mix throws one helluva block party. Here's the full Tacoma Pride week schedule.

5. After throwing the largest and longest World Cup party in the, er, world, Doyle's Public House will party even more hosting a world Cup Finale Party with The Staxx Brothers and Mighty High at 8 p.m.

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