THE LOWDOWN ON WHAT'S UP THIS WEEKEND >>>

WEATHER REPORT

Friday: Sunny to partly cloudy, hi 64, lo 44

Saturday: A couple of showers possible, hi 64, lo 51

Sunday: A couple of showers possible, hi 65, lo 52

>>> THURSDAY, SEPT. 15: PRINCESS BRIDE OUTDOORS

If there is one thing that binds people together in this tumultuous world, it's that everyone who has ever seen The Princess Bride has loved it. I'm sure you can dig up some nihilist psycho to disagree, or a three-toothed Andy Dick cousin who "plum don't get it." Nonetheless, you love it and are stoked Go Local, The Grand Cinema and Click! Network will screen the classic on a giant screen in the middle of Tollefson Plaza. And if you stand up suddenly in the Plaza and announce, "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die," with an exaggerated Castilian accent, they will not ask you to leave.

• Tollefson Plaza, dusk, free, 17th and Pacific Avenue, downtown Tacoma

>>> FRIDAY, SEPT. 16: (PARK)ING DAY

The Weekly Volcano will transform a street-level parking space along Pacific Avenue in Tacoma's Museum District into a mini Woodstock festival. Titled PARK(stock), our hippie happening is part of national PARK(ing) Day, the annual global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into "PARK(ing)" spaces: temporary public places. Drop by our park Friday with your tambourine, you dig?

• Downtown Tacoma, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., free, 19th Street and Pacific Avenue

>>> SATURDAY, SEPT. 17: 2ND ANNUAL TACOMA THROWDOWN

The staff at the Weekly Volcano has a very strict exercise regime.  Find an old, beaten-up chair. Slouch in it for several hours. At around 3 p.m., begin to get stressed out about the 5 p.m. press deadline. Walk - slowly - to the honor candy box, and steal something bad for us. Complain a bit, then go back to slouching. Climbers might follow a different exercise regime. A bunch of climbers will descend upon the Vertical World Climbing Gym Saturday to compete in several categories, including beginners, for cash prizes. The public is encouraged to watch them climb walls. We'll be there ... with our beaten-up chairs.

• Vertical World Climbing Gym, 9 a.m., 102 S. 24th St., Tacoma, 253.683.4791 

>>> SUNDAY, SEPT. 18: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE EVENT

Bad-mouth peace? Who could? There is no solid argument against it. In our heart of hearts, we all want to work together, coexist quietly and get on with what's really important in life. And even in a world as cynical as this one we live in, peace is something worth working for. That's the fundamental base for Sunday's International Day of Peace Event in Olympia. Singing bowls, music, kite making, meditative walk around Capitol Lake, and more for individuals and families - all in the name of peace.

• Heritage Park, 2-5 p.m., free, Fifth and Water Street, Olympia, 360.701.5980 

>>> WHERE OUR STAFF IS GOING

REV. ADAM MCKINNEY Music/Film Critic
Friday, I'll be checking out The New Frontier, featuring a rare performance from John Walker (of the defunct Hitchhikers). Saturday, I'll be at Dorky's nerdtastic anniversary show.

ALEC CLAYTON Visual Arts Critic
It's going to be an awesome weekend indeed. Dinner with good friends Saturday night. Sunday night will be the first workshop of my play, The Backside of Nowhere, directed by the awesome Elliot Wiener with actors Scott C. Brown (the great homeless guy in A Perfect Life), Jennie Jenks, Jenifer Rifenberry, Alex Smith, Syra Beth Puett and Mark Peterson.

JENNIFER JOHNSON Food and Lifestyles Writer
I'm at the North Tacoma yard sale this weekend. Come buy some most awesome stuff: 45s of local bands from the '90s, never released demos, art. Contact me here.

BRETT CIHON Meat Market Correspondent/Features Writer
I'm checking out the all-new Big Whisky Saloon in Olympia on Friday
night. It's the grand opening, so I'm sure to be in for a yee-hawing
ruckus of a good time.

NIKKI TALOTTA Features Writer
This weekend is the first rainy weekend in quite some time, therefore granting me the pass to be lazy, drunk and boring. Of course, I will still be an attentive parent, and I will still sling drinks with glory and vigor, just all the while knowing that bed covers, long books, and glasses of wine are really where it's at.

STEVE DUNKELBERGER Meat Market Photographer
Frankly, I have no idea what we will be doing other than geocaching around Fort Steilacoom or Chambers Bay. Maybe I'll head over to the Fair for a nose-to-nose discussion with a pig. Maybe I won't.

CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL: Theater Critic
This is a big weekend for Amanda and I, because we're celebrating our wedding! - three months after the fact, sure, but awesome all the same. And then we're going to the Sci Fi Musuem, Pike Place Market, and Dorky's Arcade! Plus there'll be ice cream.

JOE IZENMAN: Theater/Music Critic
Jam. So much jam. Farmers market junkies that we are, the wife and I have been stockpiling berries all season, and now the time has come to make ALL THE JAM. After going to the Proctor Farmers Market, of course. As long as it's all done in time to watch the Seahawks dominate the Steelers on NFL Sunday. So ... 2014 sometime?

JOANN VARNELL: Theater Critic
Saturday night, my husband and I will be helping a friend write a song. (Don't snicker; we're actually quite qualified.) Possibly, we'll take our little son to the Puyallup Fair to check out all the animals in the petting zoo. Other than that, not much is planned. We are that awesome.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound 

LINK: Happy hours!

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it you are moving your lips before you read the next sentence. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. While others cut back or bow out, the Volcano pushes on, continually providing the best in local arts coverage to our fantastic readers and always looking for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the arts coverage waiting for you in print and online.

THEATER: Brighton Beach Memoirs

CAPITAL PLAYHOUSE: Jackson Jones throws strikes in "Brighton Beach Memoirs." Photo credit: Capital Playhouse

There are stage veterans who scoff at Neil Simon, but I'm not among them. It'd be easier to dismiss his career if 21st century theaters boasted a humorist with even half the quality of his résumé. That said, Simon was always more gifted at writing jokes (a talent honed in 1950s TV) than crafting genuine pathos. His first major attempt at autobiography, Chapter Two, falls flat at each attempt at marital conflict. Brighton Beach Memoirs, penned six years later, is more ambitious than Chapter Two, but whiffs at as many pitches as it hits. What was probably his most heartfelt material seems, more often than not, manufactured instead of observed. — Christian Carvajal

FEATURE: Wanda Sykes to play the Pantages Theater

Wanda Sykes is one of those people that everyone knows. She's been doing standup comedy since 1987, but many just know her as some indefinable presence in comedy - having spent time as an actress on TV and in movies, as well as a writer for The Chris Rock Show. It's easy to take for granted what a brilliant comedian she is. Now, more than 20 years into her career as a standup, Sykes' comedy is becoming more personal and confessional. – Rev. Adam McKinney

VISUAL ARTS: New featured art at Matter gallery

"Knocking on Heaven's Door": Coco Edmunds' painting of a sock monkey is knocking on an actual door screen. Photo credit: Bob Snell

Olympia's Matter Gallery keeps it fresh by constantly bringing in new artists and new works by the gallery's regulars. Among some of the new work showing now I detect a theme. The theme is painting. Specifically expressionistic painting, mostly abstract or with stylized imagery and expressive handling of paint - or in many cases stuff that looks like paint. - Alec Clayton

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ: Couch Fest Films

Couch Fest Films founder Craig Downing (Icelandair shirt) and friends are coming to a couch near you. Photo credit: Couch Fest Films

I still haven't attended the Port Townsend Film Festival, but I can vouch for another fest held that same weekend worth taking in: the Seattle-based Couch Fest Films. For one day only - Sept. 24 - the concept takes films out of the traditional, formal theater setting and into a homier atmosphere - basically, folks' living rooms. Each participating home hosts its own batch of shorts, grouped into various genres (comedy, animation, etc.) that repeat every hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Couch Fest motto sums it up: "Awkwardly Awesome." – Christopher Wood

LINK: Fall Arts in the South Sound

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

No School: The Tacoma School District called off school. (News Tribune)

Do We Really Have To Look At It?: Washington state revenue forecast will post this morning. (The Olympian)

WTF?: Swiss banking giant UBS discovered that unauthorized trading has cost it an estimated $2 billion. (CNN)

WTF?2: Nicolas Cage awoken by naked man with Fudgesicle. (Reuters)

WTF?3: Lady Gaga has designed the GL10 Instant Mobile Printer. (NME)

He's Honest Dammit: The man in the Gumby suit who tried to rob the 7-11 has turned himself in. (Best Week Ever)

Pearl Jam Twenty: Cameron Crowe discuss the documentary. (Rolling Stone)

Doh!: Could Homer Simpson get his own channel? (Los Angeles Times)

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Why The Neighbor Kids Are Still Disturbing Your Morning Chill Time: Tacoma School District will fight its striking teachers in court this morning. (News Tribune)

"Tacoma 253 Hearts Vs. Portland Trailblazers": That could be a local headline if the Tacoma City Council can find a way to revamp the Tacoma Dome for a professional sports team. (News Tribune)

Boldly Going Again: J.J. Abrams has officially signed on to direct Star Trek 2; pre-production is already underway, and the plan is to begin shooting this winter. (Vulture)

Since 1976: Austin City Limits has announced its new lineup (The Decemberists and Gillian Welch!). (Paste Magazine)

Already?: The "40 Best New Bands of 2011." (Stereogum)

The New Sassy: A review of the new Rookie magazine for teen girls. (Slate)

The Killing Bono trailer is out:

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Why The Neighbor Kids Are Still Running Through Your Sprinklers: Tacoma teachers are on strike. (News Tribune)

Moratorium Schmoratorium: Wal-Mart may hit the Elks property anyway. (News Tribune)

Make It Stop: The fifth GOP debate rolls on. (CNN)

How Big Is The Internet?: Group aims to find out if it's bigger than a bread basket. (Tech Flash)

We Finally Get The Chance To Colonize!: Scientists have discovered an earth-like planet 36 light years away. (Washington Post)

Finally Proof!: Nicolas Cage is a time traveler. (Buzz Feed)

She Should Have Stopped At 64,999: Dutch woman charged with stalking after calling her ex-boyfriend 65,000 times (AP News)

They Felt The Need ... The Need For 3-D: Top Gun is being converted into 3-D. (Hollywood Reporter)

Give this woman a Grammy!

SIT BACK AND WATCH >>>

It wouldn't surprise me to find out that on any given day a film festival is brewing in some corner of the world. But in our small slice of Western Washington, they all tend to congregate in the autumn months. With the exception of the Seattle International Film Festival (a May/June affair), between September and November you can keep yourself pretty busy (and broke) buying passes to all the fests in this area. One barely has time to breathe between the Port Townsend Film Festival (Sept. 23-25), Local Sightings at Seattle's Northwest Film Forum (Sept. 30-Oct. 6), Tacoma Film Festival (Oct. 6-13), Gig Harbor Film Festival (Oct. 14-16), and finally the Olympia Film Festival (Nov. 11-20) before things cool down for a while.

I still haven't attended the Port Townsend Film Festival, but I can vouch for another fest held that same weekend worth taking in: the Seattle-based Couch Fest Films. For one day only - Sept. 24 - the concept takes films out of the traditional, formal theater setting and into a homier atmosphere - basically, folks' living rooms. Each participating home hosts its own batch of shorts, grouped into various genres (comedy, animation, etc.) that repeat every hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Couch Fest motto sums it up: "Awkwardly Awesome."

I went more than once, and found something goofy and refreshing about strangers warmly inviting me into their homes, intimate spaces where I huddle with more strangers and together watch good movies on a tiny screen.

Filmmaker and CFF founder Craig Downing told me from his current residence in Reykjavik, Iceland, that his idea evolved from a modest goal.

"Couch Fest Films was just a sneaky plan to get people from Seattle to open up and talk to each other," he says. "I figured cozy living rooms would be a great place. ... There we could surely open our doors to each other both physically and metaphorically."

Moviemakers have increasingly cozied up to the festival's down-to-earth and community-focused vibe. About 200 submissions (a record in the event's four-year history) arrived from across the globe. Downing and his volunteers also scoured other fests and personally sought out the best works to include in their own lineup.

Local movie lovers have come forward and offered their private pads as host sites. Currently five locations within Seattle are locked (exact addresses will appear on the CFF website on Sept. 22). These places should be close enough that you can bounce around on foot or bicycle, see more and pay less on gas and parking.

Not only will Seattle host, but cities in other states and beyond have shown interest as well: Portland, San Diego, New York, London, Istanbul, Cairo, Reykjavik and many more. Yup, Couch has for the first time gone global. Says Downing, "We are so excited about how much interest there has been worldwide." His ambition to plop a film-friendly couch on every continent continues: "I was hoping (this time) to host ... in the South Pole - next year, next year."

You won't find many festivals as committed to opening your mind as relaxing your rump. But Downing firmly believes his patrons' dear derrieres possess political value; by attending Couch Fest, he says, "your rump could be part of a worldwide film festival revolution. Yeow!"

Next Saturday, check your social awkwardness at the door, sit back and enjoy global cinema in a unique way.

Find ticket prices and updates on host locations here.

LINK: See a movie tonight

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

SPECIAL BONUS: The Volcano's Fall Arts Guide hit streets today!!!

THEATER: The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

(TACOMA LITTLE THEATRE: The genuinely hillarious "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" runs through Sept. 26. Photo courtesy Tacoma Little Theatre)

Putnam County's spellers are a host of middle schoolers (played by adults) with a host of eccentricities. Some of the students' eccentricities are obvious-Leaf Coneybear wanders on in a helmet and a homemade quilt-cape, for instance -and some are less so.

Two things join each of these children: a love of spelling, and a massive helping of insecurity -- insecurity over their intelligence, their sexuality, their family and even with their success. ... -- Joe Izenman

FEATURE: PA:ID and Tacoma's Prairie Line Trail

((L to R) Todd Bressi and Lucy Begg of Thoughtbarn, PA:ID instructor Elizabeth Conner, Robert Gay and Tacoma historian Michael Sullivan Photo courtesy Lisa Kinoshita)

The Tacoma arts scene is always on the move-sometimes in ways you might not expect. Currently, a program called Public Art In Depth (PA:ID) is kicking up its heels, training a fleet of new public artists. Starting this fall, the PA:ID team will showcase artwork along an under-known facet of Tacoma-the Prairie Line trail.

PA:ID - an effort created and powered by the City of Tacoma - trains selected public artists for free via workshops, trips, hands-on experiences and mentorship. Throughout 2011 and 2012, there will be several projects available exclusively to PA:ID students, including projects for Artscapes, Metro Parks and Sound Transit. PA:ID is just another step Tacoma has taken to support local artists and provide opportunities.

"What we are doing is investing in artists who have accomplished a level of success in their studio work to teach them intensively about public art-what it is, what it entails, how one has to not only be a good artist, but also think about the site, the community, get projects engineered, and get permits," says Amy McBride, Tacoma Arts Administrator. ... -- Kristin Kendle

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ: Gig Harbor 72-Hour Film Competition

You can bet plenty of local masochistic filmmakers will not resist the Gig Harbor 72-Hour Film Competition. Sure, participants have only a weekend (6 p.m. on Sept. 15 through the same time on Sept. 18) to complete a short film. And sure, every work must include the same line of dialogue, prop, action and situation. And sure, the Gig Harbor Film Society, which organizes the contest, has even capped every team's crew to five members. That's five people, four elements, three days, two nights, one movie. But you can't make diamonds without a little pressure, and all these rules may squeeze out a masterpiece. ... -- Christopher Wood

PLUS: More local theater coverage than you can shake a stick at

PLUS: Comprehensive Arts & Entertainment Calendar

PLUS: Sneezing baby panda bears

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Tacomatorium!: Ha ha ha ha that's a funny name. (News Tribune)

Milton Endorses Heinza: No, not the city. (News Tribune)

"Take These Sons Of Bitches Out": Oh, my. Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. threatens the GOP. (Real Clear Politics)

Time To Book Those Flights, Kids: Spaceport America in Las Cruces is 90 percent completed. (Daily Mail)

Pop-Up Springsteen: Bruce Springsteen surprised some Bostonians by busking in a park. (The FW)

Top 10 Rock Movies: Really? No. 1 is pretty good. (33 Days)

"New Girl": Zooey Deschanel's new show is available early on demand and on iTunes. (aol tv)

THE GRAND NABS A U.S. PREMIERE >>>

As fall approaches, our thoughts turn to whale watching. And puking. This is the time of year the northern resident orcas feed in Johnson Strait off Vancouver Island.

And we puke every time we cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca by boat. Every. Time.

Therefore, we're going to grab our orca face time inside an air-conditioned Grand Cinema to watch a film about a baby orca, Luna, that becomes separated from his family and befriends the humans of Nootka Sound along the rugged Vancouver Island coast.

Ah, sweet.

Of course, everyone falls in love with Luna, but the film asks the tough question: Does human contact harm the whale?

Hmmm.

The Whale opens Friday, Sept. 9 at The Grand Cinema, which happens to be the film's U.S. premiere.

"I have seen it and it is well done," says Philip Cowan, executive director at The Grand. "It fits pretty much any age."

You may read up on the film here.

As an extra bonus, the film's co-director Suzanna Chisholm will attend the 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. screenings Saturday, Sept. 10 then stick around for questions.

Cowan guesses the film will run two weeks at The Grand.

THE GIG HARBOR 72-HOUR FILM COMPETITION, PART TWO >>>

Whether it comes from inside their own heads or other people, filmmakers hear "No!" a lot. It simply comes with the territory; theirs is an art, and business, of constant constraints and near-limitless limitations, never enough money/time/CGI apes ... you fill in the blank. These conditions prompt the more daring to engage in a sort of self-abuse and impose even greater restrictions on their work. So we see screenwriters set entire movies in cramped elevators, and more specifically a director like Hitchcock attempting to film his feature, Rope, in a single take.

You can bet plenty of local masochistic filmmakers will not resist the Gig Harbor 72-Hour Film Competition. Sure, participants have only a weekend (6 p.m. on Sept. 15 through the same time on Sept. 18) to complete a short film. And sure, every work must include the same line of dialogue, prop, action and situation. And sure, the Gig Harbor Film Society, which organizes the contest, has even capped every team's crew to five members. That's five people, four elements, three days, two nights, one movie. But you can't make diamonds without a little pressure, and all these rules may squeeze out a masterpiece.

Emilie Firn, one of the contest directors as well as program director for the upcoming Gig Harbor Film Festival, continues to ponder which elements she will ultimately pick. "I'm trying to choose elements that don't suggest an obvious storyline," she says, which means the competitors have some work ahead of them.

But no one seems to mind. In only its second year, the contest has already lured several of the same filmmakers back for another go at the top prize: the two best shorts as voted on by judges will secure a place in GHFF's Oct. 14-16 lineup.

I can't blame these folks - my friends and I have returned multiple times to The Grand Cinema's version of this competition. It's stressful, sleep-depriving and sometimes a real pain in the ass. But what a rush.

LINK: The details