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April 14, 2015 at 6:19am

5 Things To Do Today: Haunted Summer, Captain's Party, Science Cafe, Teddy Haggarty's Starbucks Evening ...

Haunted Summer performs at Le Voyeur tonight. Photo courtesy of Facebook

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14 2015 >>>

1. Los Angeles duo Haunted Summer bring a dimensionality and range to dream pop that's as refreshing as it is intriguing. Without sacrificing the gauzy serenity that typifies the genre, they bring inflections of '50s pop (as on the swaying "Ain't One" and their swooning cover of Animal Collective's "Bees") and lo-fi eeriness (as on "Something in the Water," which recalls the Flaming Lips' cover of "Plastic Jesus" in its spare murkiness). While they are sometimes joined by other members on drums, which adds a welcome bit of pep to the proceedings, Haunted Summer still find strength in low numbers. With just dreamy guitar and keyboards, they are more than capable of taking your brain by the stem and leading it on a hazy walk through a secluded wood. Catch the band with Beatrix Sky, Captain Algebra and Coma Figura at 7 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. At the inaugural Tacoma Eco-Hour, adults will meet local business leaders who are creating impact through their innovative and sustainable products and practices at 5 p.m. in the Madera Furniture Company. Expect to build relationships with like-minded peers, share ideas and learn about the activities Northwest nonprofit Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability is carrying out to promote sustainable and profitable business in the region. The first hosts will be professional woodworker Carlos Taylor-Swanson of Madera Furniture Company and Paul Birkey of Belina Interiors. They sustain the hell out of their businesses.

3. The city of Tacoma, Downtown On the Go, Pierce Transit and Pierce County want to thank the region's Bike Team Captains and motivate a few others to saddle up with a Captain's Party from 5-7 p.m. at the Harmon Tap Room. Enjoy food and drink specials while picking up special Captain's Packet with Bike Month incentives to help you and your team get in gear. Learn about what other captains do at their worksites to make riding easier for everyone. Whether you're a seasoned veteran, a new captain or thinking about creating your first team, drop by and hug it out.

4. Longtime nationally and locally renowned artist, actor, filmmaker, designer and South Sound resident Teddy Haggarty has been painting up a beautiful storm, with a positively prolific collection of new works to debut tonight at the Starbucks in the Lakewood Towne Center, which coincides with the launch of the Starbucks Evenings program at the store. After 4 p.m., the menu will include the after-work favorites such as beer and a variety of wines and selections such as truffle macaroni and cheese, chicken skewers and double chocolate brownie bites. Haggarty's artist reception will run 5-10 p.m.

5. Ever wonder how scientists study ALS and Alzheimer's? Join the University of Washington's Laura Taylor in a Science Cafe discussion of human dementia and learn how worms are used in the lab to study the early progression of ALS and Alzheimer's disease at 6:30 p.m. in The Swiss Restaurant and Pub.

April 2, 2015 at 6:27am

5 Things To Do Today: Peach Kelli Pop, Olympia Farmers Market, Lee Heath photography, The Brown Edition ...

Peach Kelli Pop performs at Deadbeat Olympia record store tonight. Photo credit: Kelsey Reckling

THURSDAY, APRIL 2 2015 >>>

1. The music of Peach Kelli Pop harkens back to the sugary sound of Beach Blanket Bingo - albeit with a fuzzy veneer of bubblegum garage pop - but sneakily provides more substance than Frankie and Annette could've mustered. From bedroom recordings to playful glamor shots on album covers and associations with record labels like Burger, Lolipop and Bachelor, the years since Peach Kelli Pop have been feverishly eventful ones. Numerous tours across North America and even over to Japan have helped to refine and strengthen what Peach Kelli Pop already had pretty well nailed back when it was just a one-woman project. Even though the members tend to shift - with different ladies coming in to fill out the band at various times - the vision of Peach Kelli Pop remains a constant. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Peach Kelli Pop in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Globelamp and No Big Seal at 8 p.m. in Deadbeat Olympia record store.

2. One of the most popular attractions in the city of Olympia, the historic and active Olympia Farmers Market opens its main season at 10 a.m. The market has been serving locals and visitors for 40 years and can see upward of 400,000 visitors during the market season. A vast variety of vendors, live entertainment and a covered but open and airy market make it a not-to-miss destination. This year the market has partnered with South Sound Community Farm Land Trust, furthering agricultural land awareness, stewardship and preservation in the region. Bonus: bluegrass band The Pine Hearts will perform 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

3. The Swiss Restaurant and Pub held a photo contest asking the public to submit photos depicting The Swiss as either a family-friendly environment or as a cultural or historical site in Tacoma. Lee Heath won, which means she earned wall space at The Swiss for the month of April. "I have chosen to go strictly with photography," says Heath. "I am not sure if this has been done in Tacoma before, but I am doing a Pay What You Want display. This is an attempt to make an interactive art display, not only by trying to get people to engage in discussions about what they see while they dine, but when someone ‘pays what they can,' and a photo is removed from the wall, a new one will go up in its place." The show features photos from places, people, murals and street art around Tacoma.

4. Tacoma Green Drinks has invited Earthship Seattle to raise awareness about Earthship technology, and all the green building techniques that come with it. What better way to talk about green building techniques than over a drink with friends? Of course, there isn't a better way. Drink and learn at 6 p.m. in The Forum Tacoma.

5. Award-winning Olympia-based funk rock band The Brown Edition wants you to join their band. Hold on - don't get your hopes up. The band, led by the charismatic Miguel Pineda, will host a jam session inviting all to join them on stage at 8:30 p.m. in the Rhythm and Rye venue in downtown Olympia. For the uninitiated, the popular and bubbling band has had it with all the revision, and will return to its funk bass - the bass that scored them the best funk band in Thurston County, according to the Weekly Volcano readers voting in our Best of Olympia issues year after year. In addition to original works, expect funked-out jazz standards covers of more funk essentials at this free show.

March 7, 2015 at 9:32am

5 Things To Do Today: Sustainability Expo, Chili Cook-Off, Apothecary Botanicals, Fats Waller Musical ...

South Sound Sustainability Expo will connect residents and business owners with services, products, companies and agencies that address sustainability needs in the community.

SATURDAY, MARCH 6 2015 >>>

1. Recycling is a way of life in western Washington, but do you wonder if you're truly making a difference? The trick to sustainability is knowing what works and what doesn't. That's where the South Sound Sustainability Expo comes in. A team of Pierce County higher-educational institutions first organized this event in 2006. Four years later, the city of Tacoma formed an Office of Environmental Policy and Sustainability, which partnered with area colleges. The expo is now held in the Tacoma Convention Center, where it's grown to include over 90 companies and nonprofits from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among vendors present at this year's event are American Red Cross, Citizens for a Healthy Bay, Metro Parks Tacoma, Nisqually Land Trust and Tacoma Farmers Market, which hosts a Kids' Corner with a functioning mini-market. Much of the expo's financial support comes from Goodwill, Pierce County, Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union and Tacoma Public Utilities.

2. This seems like a fun idea. Narrows Brewing Co. in partnership with Families Unlimited Network will host a Smoke on the Water Chili Cook-Off from noon to 5 p.m. Expect eight different varieties of local amateur and professional chefs' homemade chili, and each member of the crowd will have their opportunity to vote for their favorite. Proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to the support of Families Unlimited Network and their food bank.

3. Maria Jost approaches art from the viewpoint and experience of a scientist: "Don't worry I'm a scientist. I am a product of scientific training, I make the measurements, crunch the numbers and compile the data," she has stated in past art shows. But she's also an artist - an illustrator to be more precise. Jost's drawings in ink and collage are highly decorative and amazingly precise. She has produced a limited run of prints of her botanical illustrations called "Apothecary Botanicals," and will host a reception from 2-4 p.m. at Hilltop Kitchen.

4. The Harlem Renaissance produced some of the swingin'est, jazziest, cool cattin'est music of the 20th century. The black musicians that came out of New York in the period between 1919 and the early 1930s made a massive impact not only on jazz, but on American music in general. You'll hear the sound of the Harlem Renaissance in Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical, a musical revue and tribute to musicians of the era featuring beloved songs by Fats Waller by five great Northwest performers at 7:30 p.m. in the Pantages Theater. Encapsulating the mood of the era and the humor of his music, the show sparkles with Waller's stance that life is a journey ... for pleasure and play. This musical homage includes jazz classics like "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter," "Honeysuckle Rose," "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" and others.

5. Travis Barker, the "Boar" to Kristen Wenlock's "Elk" in the twangy Tacoma duo Elk and Boar will perform with his band at 9:30 p.m. in Doyle's Public House.

February 5, 2015 at 7:38am

5 Things To Do Today: Beer parties, Tacoma Green Drinks, Brian James ...

Help Puyallup River Brewing Alehouse celebrate its second anniversary tonight.

THURSDAY, FEB. 5 2015 >>>

1. If you need another excuse to drink a good beer (and who doesn't?), Puyallup River Brewing Alehouse is celebrating its 2nd anniversary beginning at 6 p.m. Puyallup River Brewing owner-brewer Eric Akeson opened the downtown Puyallup taproom less than a year after launching his South Hill garage brewery. The long, dark 2,000-square-foot alehouse showcases Akeson's talent - including Valley Farmhouse IPA, Fryingpan Cascadian Red Ale, Paradise Blonde Saison, as well as 2014 Washington Brewers Festival Silver medalist Cream Ale, Silver medalist Black Pumpkin Saison and Bronze medalist Oak Aged Point Success Porter - plus guest taps and some of the best brewer's nights and beer events in the South Sound. Puyallup loves beer and parties, at least according to those who attend Akeson's hosted events. We expect tonight's party will follow suit, with a special anniversary beer and giveaways.

2. Speaking of beer, Engine House No. 9 will host a Trinity Brewing Night with five on tap and three different brews in bottles at 6 p.m. Trinity head brewer and owner Jason Yester will be in the firehouse.

3. Tacoma Green Drinks provides a social and networking opportunity for Tacoma-Pierce County residents interested in sustainability, conservation, environmental issues and booze! Join them at 5:30 p.m. in front of The Swiss Restaurant and Pub for City of Tacoma Environmental Services' Merita Pollard's tour of the Low Impact Development aspects of the Prairie Line Trail. The Vision2Action Symposium is coming to town March 5, and this pre-event will be geared toward answering questions on the Symposium, how you can get involved and what the heck is Low Impact Development. After the tour, it's all about drinking.

4.  A night on the town turns unexpectedly poignant when four best friends convene to reminisce about the past and provide insight into relationships. Just kidding. They sing Gloria Gaynor tunes, toss back shots, and yell things like "That one made my hoohah tickle!" That doesn't stop Louise Roche's otherwise flighty karaoke-standard revue from attempting to delve into substantial topics, and things get a little awkward once the Shake Weight jokes take a hard right to marital regret and miscarriage. Catch Centerstage's version of Girls Night: The Musical at 8 p.m. in the Knutzen Theater.

5. Brian James is an accomplished singer/songwriter and instrumentalist who was hired in 2008 as the head staff writer at Sure-Fire Music Publishing in Nashville where he wrote hit songs for four years, before starting his own publishing/management company, Brick Hit House Music. He wrote the theme song for the Discovery Channel's American Farmer, as well as songs for Taylor Hicks, Donny Anderson and Tonya Kennedy. Catch him at 8 p.m. in The Swiss.

November 3, 2014 at 7:23am

5 Things To Do Today: Poetry Above the Roar, Fumiko Kimura/Rob Fornell Exhibit, Environmental Seminar, Spin Quartet ...

Mezzo-soprano Erin Calata will sing 10 works of poetry written by Tacoma's first poet laureate, William Kupinse, tonight.

MONDAY, NOV. 3 2014 >>>

1. Following the popularity of last winter's Poetry Above the Roar event, three Pacific Northwest artists - a poet, composer, and a singer - will again take the chill out of the season with a return performance at the University of Puget Sound at 7 p.m. in Commencement Hall. Mezzo-soprano Erin Calata will sing 10 works of poetry written by Tacoma's first poet laureate William Kupinse, who is a member of University of Puget Sound's English faculty. The 10 poems, from his 2009 collection Fallow, have been set to original music by composer Greg Youtz, professor of music at Pacific Lutheran University. Youtz's music will be performed electronically by a computer capable of sounding like a small jazz combo or a chamber orchestra. 

2. The "Fumiko Kimura/Rob Fornell Exhibit" opens today at The Gallery at Tacoma Community College. For Puget Sound Sumi Artists co-founder Kimura, exhibition represents nearly 60 years of her sumi paintings, mixed media sumi collages and Asian brush calligraphies. Ceramics artist Fornell created objects that are contemporary in their expression and concern, and which function to bind us in the expression of our humanity at this moment. Check out the exhibit from noon to 5 p.m.

3. The UWT Environmental Seminar features Kevin O'Brien, the chair of the Environmental Studies Program and an associate professor in the Dept. of Religion at Pacific Lutheran University discussing "Ecological Scale and Christian Ethics: Bringing Religion and Science Together to Think About Climate Change" at 12:25 p.m. in SCI 309 on the UWT campus.

4. Collins Memorial LibraryhostsBill and Vicky Stewartfor their fifth visit to Puget Sound. The Stewarts represent book artists across the United States. This one and a half hour informal"Show & Tell"will showcase some of their most recent acquisitions. Begins at 1 p.m. in the Library on the University of Puget Sound campus.

5. The Spin Quartet brings together four modern internationally touring jazz artists multiple-CMA-grant recipient and NIU professor Geof Bradfield on saxophone, Grammy-winning bassist Clark Sommers (Kurt Elling, Brian Blade, Darrell Grant), Kobie Watkins(touring drummer for Sonny Rollins) and is spearheaded by trumpeter, and newly appointed DePaul University faculty member Chad McCullough (Bram Weijters, The Kora Band). Recorded shortly after McCullough had relocated to Chicago, IL; their album, In Circles, captures the group's dynamic interplay and cohesion, showcasing the group's original repertoire. Catch the band at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye in downtown Olympia.

LINK: Monday, Nov. 3 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

October 27, 2014 at 7:01am

5 Things To Do Today: Creative Colloquy, Ripple and Unfold, Thelonius Monk tribute, Some Kind of Nightmare ...

Creative Colloquy shares Tacoma’s rich literary talents and foster relationships built upon mutual admiration of the written word.

MONDAY, OCT. 27 2014 >>>

1. There are those among us who can make their trip to a hair stylist the most riveting story you've heard all week. People whose stories never trail off into "it was really cool. ..." Envy them. They are not like you. Not only do they have great success at parties, they have a future with Creative Colloquy. See what all the storytelling fuss is about Monday when authors Teresa Carol, Patti Crouch, Titus Buley, Ross Dohrmann and Nicole McCarthy share their latest work, followed by an open mic at 7 p.m. in B sharp Coffee House. If you can stand a 5-minute hairdo story, just imagine how riveted you'll be by something with an actual plot.

2. On view at Kittredge Gallery for the month of October and first half of November is a dynamic exhibition of related, but distinct, recent work by Puget Sound faculty members Janet Marcavage, associate professor of printmaking, and Elise Richman, associate professor of painting. Ripple and Unfold explores their shared interests in pattern and visible process, juxtaposing Richman's paintings, drawn from natural forms, with Marcavage's prints, which investigate the manmade, both deliberate and accidental. Check it out from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. With more than 25 years of experience in her field of study - soils, hydrology, and the wetland sciences - Lisa Palazzi is a regional expert in hydrology science and has worked with numerous Washington State Native American Tribes, regional Universities and county extension groups, local and county governments and the Coastal Wetlands Training Program among others. Palazzi will discuss the environmental policy of Washington state of the past 25 years at noon in the State Capital Museum in Olympia.

4. Olympia Jazz Tentette will perform a Thelonius Monk tribute at 8 p.m. in Rhythm and Rye in downtown Olympia.

5. Formed in the summer of 2006 in San Diego and hailing from the wrong side of the tracks, Some Kind of Nightmare is the pure embodiment of punk rock. Expect the band to voice the thoughts and opinions of the rock bottom class and making a hell of a lot of noise doing it at 9 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

LINK: Monday, Oct. 27 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

October 2, 2014 at 6:59am

5 Things To Do Today: Tacoma Arts Month Opening Party, Green Drinks, "From Here to Eternity," Zeahorse ...

Tacoma artist and puppeteer Jeremy Gregory will present his work at the Tacoma Arts Month Opening Party tonight. Photo credit: Kris Crews

THURSDAY, OCT. 2 2014 >>>

1. Have you heard? Tacoma's gargantuan feast of literary, visual and performing arts has moved from November to October. That's right; October is Tacoma Arts Month (formerly Art at Work Month), but the festivities actually start Oct. 2 with an opening party and the AMOCAT Arts Awards presentation at the Tacoma Post Office Building. The annual kick-off party goes gargantuan too with the most "arts" in its 13th year history. The free event offers appetizers, dessert and a no-host bar while Speed Queen and Okinawa Taiko Drums perform, exhibits of work by Jessica Spring and The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's Foundation of Art Award honorees hangs, exhibits of work by Beautiful Angle, Jeremy Gregory, Isaac Olsen, Alice Di Certo, Kristin Giordano, The C.L.A.W., and Poly Rev "pop up," Tintype photo booth by Kyle Dillehay opens and closes, Working Class Theater performs, Abby Kok, Alana Tamminga and Katlyn Hubner create art live, Tacoma Poet Laureate Lucas Smiraldo recites, Kat Ogden, Nick Butler, Kris Crews and The Grand Cinema screen films and trash fashion hits the runway. Mayor Stickland's presentation of the 2014 AMOCAT Arts Awards and recognition of the 2014 funding recipients begins at 7:45 p.m. Now that's art at work. Read Kristin Kendle's full feature on Tacoma Arts Month in the Music & Culture section.

2. The South Puget Sound Chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild will be hosting October's Green Drinks outing at 6 p.m. in The Forum in Tacoma. Steve Abercrombie, the South Sound Chapter president, will be providing updates on the new Vision to Action Symposiums and anything and everything that empowers people through education to transform the built environment for long-term sustainability. This could be a three drink night.

3. Tonight's Olympia People's Mic will feature Garfield Hilson, a Washington State University grad who reclaims his "stolen language" and does it well. He is the 2014 Seattle Poetry Individual Word Poetry Champion. Hilson joins the open mic at 7 p.m. in Café Love in downtown Olympia.

4. One of our most notable musical offerings this time around is a movie ... sort of. Y'know how a company called Fathom Events beams one-night-only screenings to movie theaters? In addition to RiffTrax commentaries and Metropolitan Opera productions, that service also transmits the occasional show from London's West End. This week, the play is a musical adaptation of From Here to Eternity - not the movie starring Burt Lancaster macking total PDA on Deborah Kerr, mind you, but the 1951 novel by James Jones. Jones's original draft had its soldiers swearing and talking about gay prostitution. Such content was struck prior to publication, of course, and it wasn't restored till a 2011 rerelease. When composer Stuart Brayson read that new edition, he recommended it to lyricist Tim Rice, and the result was an October 2013 musical extravaganza. So what? Well, Rice had a hand in some of our all-time favorite shows, including Evita, Chess, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast. And you can see his new show from a better-than-front-row vantage point at 7 p.m. in the Century Olympia, all for cheap and with nary a passport. Brilliant!

5. Zeahorse is a band that does not stumble blood-crusted out of the outback. They're from Sydney which, one imagines, could not be without at least a couple air-conditioned fast food restaurants. The prospect of losing one's mind in the wasteland of the desert would likely be far from the minds of the members of Zeahorse. Still, the legacy of groundbreaking Australian acts is a heavy load to carry. Zeahorse, being a band that trades in heavy psych-rock, must be particularly aware of how they enter into the conversation of heavy bands that come from down under. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Zeahorse in the Music & Culture section, then catch the band with Ex-Gods and Magnetic Rose at 8 p.m. in Northern.

LINK: Thursday, Oct. 2 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

September 6, 2014 at 10:17am

5 Things To Do Today: "Gayla," Proctor Farmers Market, Crafts from the Past, Electrisad ...

Vicci Martinez performs tonight at the Pizza Klatch "Gayla" in the Washington Center.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 5 2014 >>>

1. Vicci Martinez, Tacoma native and finalist on NBC's The Voice will perform at the Pizza Klatch Gayla: A Slice of the Good Life tonight. Also on tap will be the outrageously funny singing group The Righteous Mothers. There will be a silent auction with items ranging from a wine tasting for 15 people; a night at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; a Seattle Storm fan pack and more. Featured speakers include Congressman Denny Heck, Sen. Karen Fraser, Rep. Laurie Jinkins and Marissa Rathbone of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Other events at the Gayla include a youth art show, specialty wine and beers, advice booth run by teenagers, and a Panowicz Balloon Pop with a chance to win jewelry worth up to $1,500, all beginning at 7 p.m. in the Washington Center.

2. "Plastics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" will be the theme of the 4th annual Green Day at the Proctor Farmer's Market from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Expect a cluster of booths at the market, each focusing on different aspects of plastics in our lives, including volunteer programs you can join, children's activities, and drawings every half hour for prizes related to both the market, and going plastic-free.  And, of course, a marimba band. 

3. Meet national best-selling mystery writer Laurie King at a talk and book signing at 10 a.m. in the Lakewood Playhouse. Nine of King's books will be available for purchase and signing, including The Game and Locked Rooms - popular titles in the series about Mary Russell who partners with the retired Sherlock Holmes to solve cases. A former Pierce County resident, King graduated from Franklin Pierce High School in 1970. As a child, she lived in Dash Point in a house overlooking Puget Sound. She now lives on California's central coast.

4. The Fort Nisqually Living History Museum's Crafts of the Past program features milliner Dana Repp as this weekend's artist-in-residence from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program - which will be ending this month - allows visitors to see the "creativity of daily life" in crafts of the 1800s (other crafts for September include tin whistles and cyanotypes, a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print). Repp makes period replicas of bonnets based upon examples in museum collections, period illustrations and photographs. Examples of various 19th century bonnets will be on display, and Repp will demonstrate bonnet construction methods.

5. The Phoenix, Arizona, band Electrisad makes music that's perfect for swooning young lovers. Simple synths and gentle melodies weave in and around the cooing vocals. When things rise above a tender whisper, the energy is offset by a lingering sense of melancholy. Cheap synthesizers lend everything the feeling of a heartbroken teenage girl shutting herself away in her bedroom and setting her journal entries to music and endlessly writing the name of her love in her notebook. Catch the band with Seth Boyer at 8 p.m. in Metronome Coffee.

LINK: Saturday, Sept. 6 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

September 4, 2014 at 7:45am

5 Things To Do Today: Storm Large, 13 Miles of Bikeway, skate film, DJ Fir$t Lady ...

She’s tattooed; she doesn’t take any shit; and she’s, you know, Storm Large!

THURSDAY, SEPT. 4 2014 >>>

1. Storm Large is all about the performance. After 15 years of performing in clubs and theaters, Storm Large has developed a keen sense for the dynamics of the live setting. Her brand of music - nominally jazz, theatrical rock, cabaret and sultry folk-pop - is uniquely suited to captivating a live audience. Her voice is able to nimbly navigate the belting solos and the plaintive refrains. As a collaborator with Pink Martini, she further honed her already impressive stage presence. She engages with the crowds in a way that harkens back to entertainers of old, filling in breaks with bawdy banter and stories. In the weeks leading up to her new solo album, Le Bonheur, she's stopping in from Portland to do a show at 7:30 p.m. in Theatre on the Square. Don't miss it.

2. Get us a 40-ounce of Powerade, homie! The city of Tacoma will commemorate the completion of Tacoma's 13 Miles of Bikeway and Pedestrian Improvements Project with a gathering at Wright Park. Mayor Marilyn Strickland and former U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks will start the celebration with a ribbon cutting at 5 p.m. at the Division and Yakima entrance near the statues. Then, what better way to celebrate the project than by seeing the improvements in person: Take a 1.5 mile walk with Mayor Strickland and Downtown on the Go; take a southern 3.5-mile bike ride along the project with City Councilmembers Lauren Walker and Marty Campbell to the Lincoln District; or go for a northeast 3-mile bike ride along the project with City Councilmembers David Boe and Robert Thoms through the Proctor District. Afterward, Green Drinks Tacoma will toast the new trails and the 3-mile accomplishments over beers and drinkies at the Harmon Hub beginning at 6 p.m.

3. Since 1972, the Brandywine Workshop has inspired artists of diverse backgrounds to produce innovative collaborations in printmaking. The University of Puget Sound Art Department, with the organization help of Tacoma artist Janet Marcavage, hosts six artists associated with the Workshop - Curlee Raven Holton, Letitia Huckaby, Samella Lewis, Allan Edmunds, Richard Whitman and Tomie Arai - for an exhibit at Collins Memorial Library through Nov. 13. From 5-7 p.m., the Library hosts an opening reception for the artists.

4. Northwest Snowboards presents latest skate film by Thomas Campbell, Cuatro Sueños Pequeños, andthe gorgeously hypnotic gods of surf, sun and neon-punk-jazz of our modern universe The Mattson 2 at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theater.

5. The Brotherhood Lounge hosts an end of the summer dance party with DJ Fir$t Lady spinning your favorite old school hip-hop, plus other eclectic and funky dance tunes, beginning ta 9 p.m. Twenty-five percent of the sales will go straight to the Thurston County Food Bank.

LINK: Thursday, Sept. 4 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

September 2, 2014 at 3:24pm

Nerd Alert! - New Wonka chapter, Tick returns, Prof. John Stark meets Masonapron ...

Fox squashed "The Tick," to no one's surprise.

A New Chapter for Charlie

In children's literature news, nerds the world over should be happy to discover that a previously unreleased chapter from an early draft of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been published on the website of The Guardian. In the early stages of this story, Dahl delighted in the maiming of still more disobedient children, in what must have surely been an almost unending cavalcade of adolescent suffering.

How Dahl loathed children. His obsession with making them pay is wonderfully present in the unearthed excerpt, which finds the remaining eight kids finding a room marked "Vanilla Fudge" - the worst incarnation of fudge, to be sure - that contains a five-story mountain of the sweet stuff. After frolicking on and around the mountain, it comes time, once again, for some kids to be assholes, resulting in them being whisked off to the chopping and smashing room, which is pretty harsh, even for Roald Dahl.

One of these days, I'd like to see some sort of film wherein Tim Burton's many deplorable cinematic remakes are made to tour a candy factory of horrors and pay for their various sins. The chopping and smashing room would be too good for Burton's take on Wonka.

The Tick Returns

Fans of the bizarre TV show The Tick will have much to rejoice about, with the announcement that Amazon has ordered a reboot of the live-action FOX curiosity. Though the show only ran for 10 episodes, it gained a cult following due to its ramshackle charm, sly wit and frankly insane take on the gimmick-heavy trend in '90s superhero comics - seeing a real person on a silly tick costume only added to the strangeness of the show.

No word, yet, on when the pilot will premier on Amazon, but here's hoping it can live up to the earlier version's shaggy energy.

A Musical Melange and Evening Conversation: Friday, September 5

"John Stark Presents: a Musical Melange and Evening Conversation" is a rather conceptual event that combines the studious obsessions of ecology and composition. With music tying the evening together, Professor John Stark of Washington State University will be present to lead a discussion on toxic elements in nature, and man's role in preserving purity or exacerbating the problem. All in all, it'll be a heady show, with Stark taking the audience through the effects of toxins on the Puget Sound, focusing on its sea creature inhabitants.

In addition, music nerds will be treated to Nicolas Hartzell on piano, a debut performance from the Br'ers, and Caroline Sweetheart presenting works from master composers Bach and John Cage. After a Q&A session, Tacoma rock band Masonapron will close out the evening. There's a sliding scale of suggested donations for entry to this odd event, which should provide an abundance of high-minded food for thought and beautifully unique musical performances. Northern Pacific Coffee Company, 7 p.m., 401 Garfield St., Tacoma, $5-$15, 253.537.8338

Filed under: Nerd Alert!, Tacoma, Music, Green Crush,

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January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2016
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2015
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2014
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2013
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2007
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2006
March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December