FRIDAY, AUG. 23 2013 >>>

1. There comes a time when you realize there are a lot of things you've never had a chance to do.  You've never painted with artichokes, run with the salmon, tasted garlic ice cream or spent a little face time with a llama.  But as sure as Mel Gibson has kicked sand in many faces, you are determined not to miss this year's Sand in the City. Washington state's largest sand sculpting event with 240 tons of sand, nationally known sand sculptors, 40 different hands-on art and science activities and a live entertainment stage are all held in downtown Olympia from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All proceeds from Sand in the City directly support the Hands On Children's Museum's free and reduced admissions program. Show up with a shovel, a bucket and an idea.

2. Stumped for holiday shopping ideas? Start early and take the fam on over to Tacoma's Stadium District (717 N. D St.) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and score some pottery by Susan Thompson (earthy, hobbit-type vessels), Barbi Lock Lee (functional brights) and Charan Sachar (Indian fabric-inspired) and others. The sale also runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

3. The merengue, as well as the bachata and salsa, are taught in mini-versions, with or without partner, at varying levels of experience, every Friday night at 8:30 p.m. in Studio 6 Ballroom in Tacoma. After the last instruction, the club lights flip on, disco ball drops and Studio 6 fills with cross body leads, hand throws and hammerlocks. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Studio 6 Ballroom's Latin dance Night in the Weekly Volcano's Clubs/Bars Section.

4. Spokane native Meghan Flaherty has been a stand-up comedian for the past eight years, dropping her clean, edgy, relatable style on crowds throughout the Northwest, including 8:30 p.m. at the Grit City Comedy Club, which is now in the basement of the 502 Downtown.

5. Tacoma's Argonaut is Brandon Boote on drums, Matt Sader on bass and vocals and Dave Takata and Chad Baker on guitar. Van Conner of Screaming Trees fame owns Strange Earth Records. Together, they have dropped a much-anticipated EP What's Your Perfect Day? into the South Sound this past winter. The heavy rock band is still asking, performing Dead, Burning Gnats and Towers at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge.

LINK: Friday, Aug. 23 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

THURSDAY, AUG. 22 2013 >>>

1. On Happy Noose's self-titled debut, the charged punk instrumentation in concert with frontman Ryan Scott's deep, morose vocals went a long way toward connecting musical dots in the listeners' minds: clearly, Happy Noose is a band that takes its cues from early '80s UK New Wave, early Goth like Bauhaus, and other contemporary poets of melancholy punk. Tonight at Le Voyeur, Happy Noose hosts a party for its new release, Amagosa, which finds the Olympia band embracing the darker, more romantic side of their sound, even as their hooks become bigger, catchier and more anthemic. Where their earlier output was spunky in that youthful punk sort of way, Amagosa signals the natural maturation of a still relatively new band circling and landing on its voice. Red Hands Black Feet and Iconoplasty join Happy Noose for the 9:30 p.m. show.

2. On March 5, 2007, in the middle of the Iraq War, a car bomb devastated the literary and intellectual heart of Baghdad, ripping through booksellers, cafes, and tea shops, killing 30 people and wounding more than 100. San Francisco poet and artist Beau Beausoleil and British scholar Sarah Bodman responded to the devastation by asking artists and poets from around the world to create artists' books as a show of solidarity with those slain and injured. The response - the national traveling exhibit Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here - can be seen atCollins Memorial Library at University of Puget Sound from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3. The barista's life is a frenetic one: pre-dawn openings, strung-out customers, the howl of steaming milk. Sometimes they just want to throwdown. The Northwest Latte Art Competition will go down at 7 p.m. at the new Olympia Coffee Roasting Company on Capitol Boulevard. Soemone's going to get steamed.

4. There's a big hip-hop show at 9 p.m. in El Potero on Tacoma's Eastside. The FRESHCOAST Summer Bash will feature 9 p.m. DJ Eddie Monster. 9:30 p.m. JG & Elz, 9:50 p.m. SIC ILL, 10:10 p.m. Thunderbird Coogi, 10:30 p.m. Nate Jerz, 10:50 p.m. Victor Herman, 11:10 p.m. NW Doughboi, 11:30 p.m. Jai Dash, 11:50 p.m. Coo Beanz, 12:10 p.m. New Vision and at 12:30 p.m. Golden Brown Entertainment will close out the night.

5. The term "Latin dance" covers many styles, including salsa, bachata, cha-cha, mambo, merengue, samba, Afro-Latin rhumba and a little reggaeton, all of which will meld tonight during "Carnivale" at Encore Nightclub. The swanky downtown Tacoma spot hosts Latin fusion music every Thursday at 10 p.m.

LINK: Thursday, Aug. 22 arts and entertainment event sin the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Imagine sitting close enough to a stage to feel the breeze off a dancer's pirouette, or to hear the shuffle of feet and the sound of bodies as they rise and fall.

Now imagine watching these dancers on a 4-by-4 foot stage. This is the appeal of Ten Tiny Dances, a stripped down format where 10 dance artists demonstrate astonishing inventiveness and variety on a stage about the size of a coffee table.

"It's exciting to me ... how can I still move big in that small space?" ponders Ten Tiny Dances founder Mike Barber, in a TVCTC interview in Beaverton, Ore. "It offers a diverse audience a very unique, broad range of performance."

Based out of Portland, the contemporary dance series has been adopted by many Northwest production companies, including Tacoma's MLKBallet.

"Even for me - who sees dance more than the average person - Ten Tiny Dances is one of my favorite formats," said Faith Stevens, executive director of MLKBallet. "Having the audience so close and having the limited space shows the many faces of dance and really allows the audience members to get so many different tastes of movement."

Dinner and drinks will be served, but heckling and betting will not be allowed. All proceeds benefit MLK Ballet's tuition-free dance training.

TEN TINY DANCES, 6-8 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 25, Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, $15 online or at the door, tentinydances.org

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 21, 2013 >>>

1. Ten years ago DJ Broam, aka Oliver Dorris, cut his teeth spinnin' vinyl at the Monsoon Room. Shoved in the corner by the door, underneath the glass bamboo light fixture he created, Broam filled the Polynesian room with tunes as Kansas and Laura poured cocktails. Tonight, at the same location, Broam will spin at the 1022 South J's summer patio party, which kicks off at 4 p.m.

2. South Australian artist Brenden Scott French is the visiting artist in the Museum of Glass Hot Shop through Sunday. The Australian glass artist's kilnformed sculptures and wall pieces are carefully layered and assembled to develop pattern and form with this physical process reflecting our proclivity to turn stories of personal and social history into grand, national narratives. French's residency is in concert with the exhibition "Links: Australian Glass and the Pacific Northwest" currently on view.

3. Headed by Barry and Renee Watson, founders and previous owners of Tacoma staple the Rosewood Cafe, Pint Defiance is a must visit for any lover of the hops. Pint Defiance seamlessly marries the concept of craft beer retail space with a pub. The walls are lined with coolers neatly displaying a unique collection of canned and bottled brews by region. From 5-7 p.m. Pint Defiance hosts Seattle's Naked City Brewing for beer tasting, swag and chats with NCB's owners Don and Don.

4. Trained in opera, and having broken onto the national music scene singing jazz as featured vocalist for Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti, Jeanne Jolly left North Carolina on a national tour, performing her Appalachian-influenced country music, including at 7 p.m. in Olympia's Slyvester Park.

5. Emily Beanblossom was once known as the spirited lead singer of the psych-punk Olympia band Christmas. Today, she's performing under the moniker Ruby Fray out of Austin, Texas, creating atmospheric melodies across many genres. Catch Ruby Fray at 9 p.m. as she joins Sick Sad World, Clayface and IBN UBO at Le Voyeur.

LINK: Wednesday, Aug. 21 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

TUESDAY, AUG. 20, 2013 >>>

1. Imagine soulful music of yesterday being forcibly pumped out of Janis Joplin's larynx and then lathered with the silkiest velvet, and you've a pretty good idea of the kind of groove Kim Archer can make. Archer has a strong, emotional voice, a robust musical sense and a willingness to work outside the tightly proscribed boundaries of the genre. At 6:30 p.m. you may kick back with Archer's heavy soul and groove when she and her funky band performs outside at Skansie Brothers Park in Gig Harbor. They'll be dancing on the lawn tonight.

2. Leave it to The Grand Cinema to fill this void with something fresh and inspiring for local movie lovers. Since 2010, the theater has built a tradition out of its annual "25 New Faces" festival. More than 30 original works made their way into a fest that found its genesis in the way, way back of 1998, the year Filmmaker Magazine published its very first "25 New Faces of Independent Film" list. The film contunes to roll today with a bunch of collected shorts from the talent screening at 1, 6:15 and 8:30 p.m. Read Christopher Wood's full feature on the fest here.

3. Tonight at The Brotherhood Lounge, voted "Best Bar" years after year in the Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia issue, will give 50 percent of its happy hour sales from 4-7 p.m. to the Thurston County Food Bank. The Brotherhood is the best.

4. Randy Linder's tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival hits Red Wind Casino at 8 p.m.

5. Idaho hardcore band Bone Dance brings its extreme metal and a new self-titlked LP to The New Frontier Lounge for a 9 p.m. show of sludge and doom.

LINK: Tuesday, Aug. 20 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

As you know the Tacoma City Ballet is in the midst of a yearlong scavenger hunt for Golden Krakatuk Nuts. The nuts tie into the company's highly anticipated Dec. 7, 2013 performance, Prequel to The Nutcracker.

Here's a refresher: TCB hides hand-painted Golden Krakatuk Nuts inside jewel boxes around Tacoma; inside the boxes is a scroll with prize details, such as gift certificates, merchandise or tickets to Tacoma City Ballet's World Premier of said Nutcracker in December. Each month through the year, Golden Krakatuk Nuts will be hidden at businesses throughout Tacoma. To find the nuts, decipher the poetic clues, which will be posted at Tacoma City Ballet's website, Facebook page, as well as this blog. You find the Golden Krakatuk Nuts and great riches will be heaped upon you! For complete on the contest and Nutcracker performance, click here.

The August Golden Krakatuk Nut clue dropped this morning. This clue will guide you to a restaurant, shop or other business at which the nuts may be in plain sight or may be behind the counter.

Read more...

SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2013 >>>

1. The second annual Moveable Feast - Tacoma's largest food truck festival parks at Cheney Stadium from noon to 5 p.m. With 38 food trucks, seven breweries, live music and kids activities, it is an event not to miss. New this year is a market-style "Made in Tacoma" section, with local companies that include Dry Soda, Lynnae's Pickles, Little Eorthe Farm, Great NW Popcorn Company, One Spot Jam and more. There will also be a kid zone and more access to Cheney Stadium's party decks for more seating and a chance to get into the ballpark.

2. 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. 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 about a dozen local restaurant chefs who will prepare mushroom-based delectables during the Lacey festival.

3. You don't need to attend the annual Ethnic Fest to see Tacoma is a melting pot, but it certainly doesn't hurt to help you appreciate it. That's the power of more than a dozen food booths representing a multitude of delicious tastes from cultures around the world, not to mention more arts, crafts and music than you can shake a culturally diverse stick at. In its 27th year, Tacoma's Ethnic Fest is easily one of the shining moments of each summer for this city. See why from noon to 7 p.m. at Wright Park.

4. Fronted by Donnie Van Zant, brother of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant, .38 Special was one of a handful of groups mixing blues and rock with country twang. Not immediately embraced by mainstream rockers, the Jacksonville quintet would have to wait until the release of its fifth album, 1981's Wild Eyed Southern Boys, to crack the Top 40 album charts. After that, it was smooth sailing for a couple of years as their follow-ups would outdo each other. But with the arrival of the MTV age, the band saw a dip in popularity despite strong albums. Now in their 39th year, .38 Special's straight-ahead Southern boogie style is still alive with founding member guitarist Don Barnes at the helm. Catch the band at 5 p.m. at the Little Creek Casino.

5. The Paula Fuga + Mike Love project brings together two of the rising stars from the Hawaiian Islands. Fuga has established herself as an ambassador of the Hawaiian culture - having toured the world over and collaborated with artists such as India Irie, Jack Johnson and Ziggy Marley. Love, long a local legend on the Oahu music scene, recently released his debut album that was driven into the top-5 on the iTunes reggae charts. Expect traditional Hawaiian music with solid percussion when they perform at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones.

LINK: Sunday, July 28 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SATURDAY, JULY 27 2013 >>>

1. 7 Seas Brewing isn't just the maker of delicious craft beer. It isn't just at the forefront of the "beer in a can is cool again" movement. It's a local business doing things the right way and an entity that knows how to party - as will be proven when 7 Seas throws a four-year anniversary bash in front of its tap room from noon to 8 p.m. Expect beer, food vendors, a few antics (giant Jenga games have dotted previous anniversary parties) and live music by Perry Acker, Ben Union, Kim Archer, SweetKiss Momma, and Red Stone Sinners.

2. How many folks out there knew Tacoma hosts one of the biggest and best rugby 7's tournament in the entire region? OK, how many people even know what rugby 7's is? A primer may be in order. Rugby 7's is an exciting variation on the traditional game, played on smaller fields with fewer players (seven as opposed to 15. Get it?). For the last 37 years, Tacoma has hosted a summer 7's tournament featuring some of the best male and female rugby teams in the area. Throw on some blood-resistant apparel and catch the action at the Portland Avenue Play Fields in East Tacoma from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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. 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 about a dozen local restaurant chefs who will prepare mushroom-based delectables during the Lacey festival.

4. You don't need to attend the annual Ethnic Fest to see Tacoma is a melting pot, but it certainly doesn't hurt to help you appreciate it. That's the power of more than a dozen food booths representing a multitude of delicious tastes from cultures around the world, not to mention more arts, crafts, Saturday night movie and music than you can shake a culturally diverse stick at. In its 27th year, Tacoma's Ethnic Fest is easily one of the shining moments of each summer for this city. See why from noon to 7 p.m. at Wright Park.

5. We have officially been Jilly Rizzo - Rolled. I cannot, for the life of me, get the song "Shuttlecock of Love" out of my head. After watching a YouTube video of The Jilly Rizzo playing live in studio on the BJ Shea Show, I've been batting the catchy chorus around in my brain. Based out of Renton, the band features former 107.7 DJ Dick Rosetti, who knows a thing or two about catchy choruses. Hence his interest in The Jilly Rizzo playing with Trees and Timber and The Variety Hour, two Tacoma indie pop rock bands that compliment the scene with their diversity and delight at 9 p.m. in The Acme Grub Cage. 

LINK: Saturday, July 27 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

FRIDAY, JULY 26 2013 >>>

1. The opening, titular track of Old Age's latest release, Rain Won't Ever Come, begins with a ragged lead vocal surrounded on all sides by boozy oohs and la las. The track is slightly reminiscent of the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down," all shaggy and full of feeling. Old Age have a way about them - a way of conveying that they have all of this feeling but not the right instruments for letting that feeling out. If they were a bunch of virtuosos, you know they'd prefer it, but they have what they have and in the meantime there's a whole lot of heartache to get out there. Just like "Rain Won't Ever Come" might suggest, Old Age are somewhat enamored of classic rock. There's a lot of attention paid to simple melodies and heartfelt deliveries. At times, Old Age begins to resemble that odd mixture of classic rock idolatry and '90s sensibilities that defined groups like Oasis.Catch them with Bandolier and the Nadines at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on Old Age in Northwest Military's Music & Culture section.

2. Racing legend Mario Andretti will be in Puyallup from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to help celebrate the grand opening of a Firestone Complete Auto Care store. As a longtime test driver for Firestone, he helped develop the racing tire that led to many of his most notable achievements: victories in the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500, three Champ Car National Championships and the F1 World Championship. Andretti's partnership with the Firestone brand spans four decades. Andretti's partnership with you lasts two hours.

3. Who doesn't love goodies bags? Nine Lives Vintage Wears has moved to Tacoma's Antique Row and it's throwing a grand opening party from 5:30-8 p.m., which will include goodie bags for 25 lucky people.

4. Catch the awesome R&B powerhouse that is Kim Archer at 8 p.m. in Jazzbones.

5. Charge up your phones and start finger flexin' for textin', Olympia ... because tonight, Reefer Madness - with its depictions of wholesome teenagers driven to murder, suicide and really energetic piano playing - hits the big screen and the Capitol Theater will enable you - yes, you - to text your smartass commentary throughout the film, then have your texts instantly pop up onscreen! There has never been a night like this before, nor will there ever be one like it again. It will be glorious. The night to end all nights begins at 9 p.m.

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

THURSDAY, JULY 25 2013 >>>

1. The Grand Cinema teaches science in a different way: First it secures a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation to pair films with lessons in science. Next, it invites notable figures from the world of science, technology and medicine to give introduction lessons using those long pointer sticks to tap the screen while nodding their heads. Each film is used as a jumping off point for the speaker to reveal current scientific research or technological advances, providing the perfect combination of entertainment and enlightenment - even for the most science-phobic culture vulture. Then, of course, everyone watches the film, paying close attention to key factor brought to light by the big brains before the screening. Science on Screen kicks ends its run at 6:45 p.m. with a screening of Obselidia, a bittersweet love story about a librarian who complies an encyclopedia of "obselete things," and tries to live his life surrounded by objects that technology has rendered extinct. Dr. Elizabeth Fortenbery, a sociology professor at Tacoma Community College, will discuss what can be lost when a language disappears.

2. Freddy Pink will play blues and clssic rock at 6:30 p.m. in Puyallup's Pioneer Park.

3. Pacific Lutheran University continues its 15 annual Jazz Under the Stars concert series tonight from 7-9 p.m. The series, a different band every Thursday through Aug. 15, features singer Stephanie Porter tonight.

4. The Kareem Kandi Band will fill the lobby of the Hotel Murano with jazz from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

5. Cairo, Show + Tell and DJ Melodica entertain at 9 p.m. in The New Frontier Lounge.

LINK: Thursday, July 25 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area