TACOMA ART MUSEUM CELEBRATES NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE AND ARTS >>>

We know about Mighty Tacoma, the photo exhibition of Tacoma landmarks and portraits at Tacoma Art Museum. But Tacoma was mighty before most of us were here, and TAM acknowledges this proud history with a celebration of Tacoma's Native American heritage.

Sunday, Jan. 30 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. the museum will be alive with Native celebration and art as the public is invited to experience the heritage and the arts of thePuyallup Tribe and other Coast Salish groups. The Coastal Native Celebration is an annual event featuring cultural performances and hands-on art activities for all ages. And here's the really good part: the museum is offering free admission all day.

"We are pleased to continue this annual event honoring our community's Native American heritage and artistic traditions," says Stephanie A. Stebich, director of Tacoma Art Museum. "We invite everyone to come and create memories with us as we connect our past to our present through art."

Cultural performances will include drumming, dance and singing from local tribes as well as Native storytellers who will share their talents and their tales throughout the day. (There better be stories about Coyote the trickster.)

Hands-on activities will include traditional basket weaving and other crafts.

Local artist Linda Levier will demonstrate jewelry making and help visitors create their own traditional Native American necklaces. There will even be a chance to look at and buy a variety of items from local artists including wood carvings, jewelry, silver works, regalia and basketry.

Food inspired by Coastal cuisine from Jonz Catering will be served the The Workz Café.

While at the celebration, take some time to enjoy the artwork of two exhibitions that will soon close: The Movement of Impressionism: Europe, America, and the Northwest and Edo to Tacoma: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection. Where else can you find Native American art, European and American Impressionism, Japanese prints and local history all in one stop?

Also, stop in and have your photo taken in the exhibition Mighty Tacoma: Photographic Portrait 2010. For more on the interactive Mighty Tacoma photo portraits go to the "Picture Yourself Here" page on the TAM website and become a part of the exhibition.

Also coming soon: A Night in Japan with guests from the Consulate-General of Japan, Jan. 20 from 5-8 p.m. Japanese treats will be served and there will be a screening of the anime film Miyori's Forest (Miyori no mori). It's free.

THURSDAY, JAN. 6, 2011 >>>

1. Load up your sack lunch with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crusts cut off and head to the Tacoma Art Museum for Tacoma historian and former City Councilman Thomas R. Stenger chat, "Hotel Living: From the Tacoma to the Hobo" at 11:30 p.m. It's party of the awesome Mighty Tacoma: Photographic Portrait 2010 exhibit.

2. The "Green" community hugs it out over drinks from 5:30-8 p.m. inside Primo Grill in Tacoma as part of the monthly Green Drinks gathering. It's an informal affair that's meant to be fun. If someone tries to make you sign something or ask you for money, they'll be banished to the Yellow Drinks group.

3. Enjoy riding Pierce Transit to Point Defiance Park? How about riding it to the grocery store? Due to an ugly drop in sales tax revenue and an effed-up economy, like many transit agencies across the country, Pierce Transit is facing drastic revenue shortfalls.  Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland will have none of it. The good mayor and community leaders will kick off a "Save our Buses" campaign at 6 p.m. inside the Hub Event Space in Tacoma's Stadium District. The goal? Convincing folks to vote for a 0.3 percent sales tax in February.

4. The Come Out And Play Open Mic at Tempest Lounge is hosted by the uber talented Kim Archer and Nick Sandy. Get your song on from 7-10 p.m.

5. Big Whisky Saloon in downtown Tacoma hosts country dance lessons at 7:30 p.m. followed by DJ Tyler spinning rock and country videos from 10 p.m. to close. The Weekly Volcano's Nosh League will taste whiskey before next week's dance lessons. RSVP to our Jan. 13 tasting here.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

LINK: Happy hours!

BANDITO BETTY LOU WHO LEAP OF THE DAY >>>

"Hey Allen C. Mason! You might have been a big deal in this town back in the 1890s, but I'm the mutha elfing Foursquare Holiday Mayor of the Allen C. Mason Plaza now!" screamed Bandito Betty Lou Who – our very happy friend who leaps for us on Spew. "By the way, the real "Star of Destiny" of Tacoma is ... THIS!"

Read more...

SATURDAY, DEC. 11, 2010 >>>

1. Does prolonged exposure to tinsel in public spaces make you want to go postal?  Stop, take a deep breath, and put down the candy cane you've just sharpened into a vampire-slaying stake. You are not alone.  When the holiday bears down on us like a giant sack of toys, we turn to The Nutcracker. Tacoma City Ballet, in concert with The Northwest Sinfonietta, presents the story of Clara and The Nutcracker at 1 and 5 p.m. inside the Pantages Theater.

2. Make no mistake, we love Christmas music. Heck, our Partridge Family Christmas album practically has holes in it from excessive repeated playing. Trust us when we tell you that you don't know the true meaning of Christmas until you've heard Shirley Jones and David Cassidy's duet on "Winter Wonderland." That's why we'll hang out at the Museum of Glass, check out the Glimmering Gone exhibit, and enjoy the sounds of the season performed by the piano students of Paul Twedt at 1 and 3 p.m.

3. Zak Morgan will bring his kids-centric shtick to the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts' Theatre on the Square at 3 p.m. today and tomorrow. Morgan's work is Grammy-nominated and described as sophisticated, heavy on the witty wordplay and full of lessons. That's exactly what kids today need ... so they don't end up like us.

4. Take a step back in time to see how soldiers and ladies celebrated the holidays when Washington state was young and the land was wild. Lakewood's Historic Fort Steilacoom will host its annual Christmas at the Fort from 4-7:30 p.m. as a way to show families how people danced, talked and celebrated the holidays more than 100 years ago.

5. The Firwood Rock Lounge in downtown Tacoma will host a Toy and Clothing Drive Show with Restruct, Under Sin, From The Sea, Red Abbey, Corson Swift beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: Wine tastings today

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

HOLIDAY TOUR OF HISTORIC HOMES >>>

If you're one of those people who lock themselves in the bathroom when you go to parties at other people's houses so you can go through their medicine cabinets in peace, the 2010 Holiday Tour of Historic Homes is the ideal way to indulge your voyeuristic habit. You get the fix of going through another person's house, with none of the actual risk or guilt involved. Snoopy people of the world, come. Nine historic properties in the south capitol, southeast and northeast areas of Olympia - they're practically begging you to look at their stuff - go through them, all of them, memorize their floor plans to your little heart's content. The time has come to live the dream ... and help out Olympia's historic Bigelow House where the money raised will help with its repairs.

2010 Holiday Tour of Historic Homes

Sunday, Dec. 5, noon-4 p.m., $15, includes frees dessert and coffee
Bigelow House Museum, 918 Glass Ave., Olympia
360.753.1215

LINK: More things to do in the South Sound

BE ENLIGHTENED >>>

Imagine Jacob Lawrence hanging out at the half-moon bar inside the Tempest Lounge, talking about the state of African-American arts with Langston Hughes. The two trace the evolution of art and poetry with awe in their voices as they kickback inside the Hilltop Tacoma lounge. Sound impossible? Well, the players might be different, and the location is a block away, but the concept is happening.

Fab-5 artists Chris Jordan, Kenji Stoll along with Christie Tirado have hung their multidisciplinary exhibit COLORED at the Tacoma Art Place. Accompany each piece are the poetic works of Darryl Crews, Danielle Jordan and Dwayne Cawthon. Tonight, the three artists and three poets examine race, ethnicity and heritage as it pertains to written, visual and performing arts during the artist reception for the show.

COLORED

Through Tuesday, Nov. 30
Artist Reception, Thursday, Nov. 18, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Poetry readings, Tuesday, Nov. 30, 6-9 p.m.
Tacoma art Place
1116 S. 11^th, Tacoma
253.238.1006

THURSDAY, NOV. 18>>>

1. Just when you thought the farmers market season had faded to an end, the Tacoma Farmers Market and Multicare Health System come to the rescue with an official Pre-Thanksgiving Farmers Market this Thursday from noon to 5 p.m. at South Fourth and I Street in Tacoma. According to hype, 15 vendors will be dealing in most of the tasty, fresh, local stuff you've come to expect from the Tacoma Farmers Market, while live performers dabble in folk and bluegrass action.

2. It's the one-year anniversary of Tacoma Metal Arts Center - and they're having a party! Everyone is invited to catch jewelry demonstrations, munch on food, sip beverages, and revel at all the goodness Tacoma Metal Arts Center has to offer. Expect hands-on activities from 4-7 p.m., and an artist reception from 5-8 p.m.

3. Like a good throttling to kick off your weekend? Start tonight at Hell's Kitchen - where Tacoma punks the Americommies will no doubt engage in all sorts of blasphemy ... to the delight of all in attendance.

4. The Tacoma Weavers Guild is celebrating 75 years of existence this year - something you're aware of if you've recently visited the downtown Tacoma Public Library's Handforth Gallery - where "The Art of Weaving" is currently on display, or the library's Northwest Room, where there's a historical display to commemorate the Guild's impressive achievement. Tonight, as part of Art Walk, there's an opening reception for both displays. Expect weavers aplenty.

5. That reminds us! Let us not forget it's Third Thursday Art Walk today in Tacoma. There are numerous sights to see and experiences to be had throughout the City of Destiny this evening. In case you're new at this, here's a decent place to start.

SATURDAY, NOV. 13, 2010 >>>

1. When we walked into a department store last week and saw faux pine swags dotted with ornaments suspending from the ceiling we almost heaved. Even for a retailer trying to prime the holiday pump it seemed a tad early. There's no escaping the onslaught of seasonal festivities and buying opportunities. Should you want to dive right into the fray (and, in so doing, be able to avoid the mall entirely for the next two months) head over to the Holiday Craft Fair, a weekend-long crafts extravaganza, at Spanaway Lake High School. Today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. you will be able to wallow in stinky potpourri, scoop up armfuls of sparkly things you don't really need, and buy several jars of exotic holiday jams that no one will eat. But, hey, it's the thought that counts.

2. Walking back into history is an ongoing act of the local historical groups as they try to bring history alive by re-enacting life as it was when the area was raw and untamed.  From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. walk back into history with the Steilacoom Historical Museum Association inside the Pioneer Orr Home in downtown Steilacoom. Walk into the world of 1857, with the Indian Wars over and the rising tide of settlers flooding into the area. Joe Lawson and his team from Hamilton Auction will appraise general items from 12:30-2:30 p.m. And the Bair Bistro at the corner of Wilkes and Lafayette will be accepting reservations for afternoon tea

3. OK, you are now officially entering the month of November. No more waffling around. It's time to resign yourself - The holidays are on their way. All those people you talk to once every three months are now expecting to see you for an extended period of time. Maybe even multiple days. And they'll want to talk to you, make conversation.  They'll want to know how your life is going.  Uh-oh.  Better prepare yourself now. You need conversation topics. Sixteen local authors will be hanging out at Freighthouse Square from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Go, listen to them read, buy their books, have them sign them. Soak up their insights. Then go home and refuse to speak to any blood relations until it's time to open the presents. 

4. The Northwest Sinfonietta will go Gypsy jazz on your ass tonight and tomorrow. They'll performs a new Django Reinhardt-inspired composition by director Christophe Chagnard for three jazz guitars and orchestra at 7:30 p;m. tonight at the Rialto Theater and 2 p.m. at the Pioneer Park Pavilion in Puyallup. They'll also go old school with Shostakovich's Piano Concerto no. 1 with Mark Salman and Mahler's 5th Symphony Adagietto.

5. Jazz vocalist Dennis Hastings will join master pianist Joe Baque and basses Steve Luceno at Cicada Restaurant for a memorable evening of Jazz and popular tunes beginning at 8 p.m.

LINK: Empty Bowls is in our Prefunk

LINK: Rocket Races, Tellabration and Furniture Series dance in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Concerts go on sale today

LINK: A bunch of wine tastings

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

TACOMA WEAVERS' GUILD HAS BEEN SWAPING YARN FOR A LONG TIME >>>

We here in Spew have a humble mission. We only want to be your conscience; we only want to influence everything you do. To entertain yourself, that is. Now, we have been talking among ourselves, and we have reached a decision about what to do Friday. In the past, we listed events centered on weaving. We watched you that whole week, and you didn't go. Shame on you. The bad karma builds.

Here's your second chance yarn for brains.

The Tacoma Weavers' Guild celebrates its 75 anniversary with a huge textile show opening Friday, Nov. 12 inside Handforth Gallery and historical displays in the Northwest Room - both at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. We can tell their Art of Weaving show a big deal because the Guild has mailed us a big media kit with historical documents, their vast accomplishments and weaving art on a CD. From the material, we learned Swedish immigrant/weaver Margaret Bergman inspired 22 women to meet Dec. 7, 1935 inside the Fischer Store in downtown Tacoma. Apparently, the Guild is also the longest running organization of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. Take that Yelm Yarn & Barn Guild!

An opening reception for the Art of Weaving will be held for the shows 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, during Third Thursday ArtWalk.

The Guild will also host an all ages public workshop 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.

What originated around campfires hundreds and thousands of years ago - way before Bergman busted out the loom in the South Sound - lives on as an important art form. And the Tacoma Weavers' Guild's show isn't just for weavers. It's really for anyone that loves fiber. And we're not talking about Wheaties, folks.

The Art of Weaving

Friday, Nov. 12-Friday, Dec. 31
Handfort Gallery, 1102 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma
253.591.5661

SUNDAY, NOV. 7, 2010 >>>

1. The Tacoma Cult Movie Club presents a night of giallo films, the Italian horror/mystery genre, beginning at 7 p.m. inside the Acme Grub Cage in Tacoma. Be prepared for black-gloved killers, homicidal maniacs fueled by adolescent sexual traumas and key information just out of reach of a character's conscious memory - as well as trailers, shorts serials and raffles.

2. Art at Work Tacoma: The Proctor Art Walk brings together a whole bunch of artists and a whole bunch of Proctor businesses, all within a three-block area from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Work by the award-winning artists of the Juried Proctor Art Show will be front and center today.

3. Step back in time for a special tea in honor of the suffrage centennial with the American Association of University Women of Washington from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. inside the historic Lord Mansion, the home of the State Capital Museum, just 7 blocks south of the Capitol campus in Olympia. The tea is free and open to the public and includes traditional tea refreshments.

4. Art at Work Tacoma: The artists behind the Spaceworks Tacoma installation, Wait, where am i?, which is part of the Woolworth Windows show at South 11^th and Broadway, will be hanging out from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to answer questions about how collections play a part in our culture as well as our daily lives.

5. Pierce County citizens will hug it out in the Stadium High School bowl at 1:30 p.m. for "Pierce County Sings," a mass singing of John Legends "If You're Out There" film for a music video – sponsored by the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation's Be the Spark prgoram.

LINK: Dia de Los Muertos today at the Tacoma Art Museum in our Weekend Hustle

LINK: Warren Miller's Wintervention flick in The Prefunk

LINK: Art at Work Studio Tours continues today

LINK: It's Art at Work month in Tacoma!

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in Tacoma