Do Cool Stuff / Porchfest / Tacomarama

Do cool things in Tacoma and you might find yourself featured here. Take Irina Rasputnis, for example. I met Irina when she needed a drummer in her outlandish marching band. More on the band later. First, I must bring rapidly approaching Porchfest to your attention! She created the event last Summer. Porchfest Porchfest, according to the website, “is a free,... Read More »

First Night Tacoma – (video)

FIRST NIGHT in Downtown Tacoma – New Year’s Eve My wife and I usually ponder the same two options for New Year’s Eve; go to a party or lay low and hit the sack before the ball drops. In recent years the latter option is a heavy favorite. However, last year we decided to give First Night a go, along... Read More »

Your First Visit to LeMay America’s Car Museum

LeMay America’s Car Museum Aside from the Tacoma Dome, no Tacoma landmark owns a more prominent position than LeMay. Behold the largest automotive museum in North America. Situated on a nine-acre campus near the Dome at the junction of I-5 and I-705, the 165,000-square-foot museum first opened its doors in 2012. If you’ve yet to drop by, consider this a guide... Read More »

Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) with video

Tacoma School of the Arts – SOTA     Have you heard of SOTA? If you’re a parent of one or more artistically inclined children, it’s not too early to start thinking about the Tacoma School of the Arts. Since it first opened its doors in the fall of 2001, SOTA has served as Tacoma’s only arts high school. (Its... Read More »

Movies Shot in Tacoma

Although that city to the north tends to hog the spotlight, there are several movies shot in Tacoma. Granted, in some of them, Tacoma earned only a cameo. Perhaps the most famous of those movies is Cameron Crowe’s 1989 romantic comedy, Say Anything. Ostensibly set in Seattle, the movie was largely filmed in Los Angeles. But if you keep your... Read More »

The Best Donuts in Tacoma

Where to find the best donuts in Tacoma Mmm. Donuts. Homer Simpson isn’t alone in his obsession with donuts. Americans love their donuts. And judging by the number of donut shops with a Tacoma address, it seems the City of Destiny shares that mania. Indeed, for a mid-sized city, Tacoma is home to a surprisingly diverse array of donut shops,... Read More »

Broadway Center to Raise a Mind-Bending Sum of Money… Here’s why!

Broadway Center Centenial Campaign Kicks Off   My wife is a volunteer board member of the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, an organization that manages the Pantages, Rialto and Theater on the Square for the citizens of Tacoma. That bears repeating. These fantastic historic buildings belong to Tacoma.   On November 21st we attended the kick-off for a capital... Read More »

Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room

Hidden on the second floor of Tacoma Public Library’s main branch downtown is a local treasure worthy of your exploration: the Northwest Room. Topped by the warm glow of Tacoma’s “original dome” and buttressed by marble columns, the Northwest Room provides Tacoma citizens with everything they need to rediscover their past. The Northwest Room occupies the second floor of the... Read More »

Polar Plaza Brings Ice Skating to Downtown Tacoma

On a chilly, drizzly December night, bright lights glow from downtown Tacoma’s Tollefson Plaza. There, beneath an enormous white tent, young and old gather to take part in a budding local holiday tradition: ice skating.

Date Night in Tacoma

It’s date night in Tacoma, and you’re in search of the perfect romantic outing. What to do?