What's Happening? 15 Local April Events

This is us with our dog Dandie getting out and about around Tacoma via the Skyline Bridge.

Things are happening. Happening in Tacoma, happening nearby in Puyallup and Gig Harbor. Things like live music, like night markets, Black & BIPOC markets, community late nights for teens, a Daffodil Festival as old as your grandma (if you’re lucky), a queer storytelling event, film screenings, poetry readings, a 5k from a brewery and back, printmaking and paper arts, a chance to shred paper (not the arts kind), a chance to pick-up litter with a bunch of nice people. You can even celebrate the birthday of a certain old building if you want.

Grab the kids, your dog, your friend, yourself and step out the door into the community a time or two this April. The days are lengthening and brightening and blooming and warming and you might meet someone new, bump into a friend, or even get to know yourself better. Maybe we’ll see you out there.


1. The Daffodil Festival - 90 Years Around the sound

Grand Floral Parade
Saturday, April 1st
Tacoma 10:15am
Puyallup 12:45 pm
Sumner 2:30 pm
Orting 5:00 pm

Daffodil 8 K
Sunday, April 2nd
9:30 am - 12 pm in Puyallup

Daffodil Marine Parade
Sunday, April 16th
Tacoma Yacht Club (near ferry terminal to Thea Foss Waterway)

62nd Annual Junior Daffodil Parade
Saturday, April 22nd
10 am in Proctor

2. The Black Night Market

Saturday, April 1st
1 - 7 pm
The Tacoma Armory

A chance to support small BIPOC-owned businesses and creatives, to gather with friends, hear music, and just be out on the town.

  • 80 Black & BIPOC-owned businessea

  • live performances

  • food trucks

  • fashion

  • art displays

  • cash bar

Keep an eye out for more events with The Black Night Market this spring and summer.

3. Spring Volksmarch - 5K Walking Course with E9 Brewing co.

Sunday, April 2nd
11 am - 2 pm
E9 Brewing Co.

Start and end your 5k walk/march at the E9 downtown taproom, loop Wright Park, and return for $5 off your tab. (Make sure to check-in at the halfway mark too—no faking!)

Brew Dog will be on-site cooking up bratwurst and veggie dogs for that appetite you built over the 5k.

No entry fee, $12 commemorative stein (first fill free!).

4. The Resting Place - short film screening

Saturday, April 8th
2 pm
The Moore Library

Take a little time on a Saturday afternoon to learn more about the Vietnamese community in Tacoma. Hosted by the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation-CRPF. Free to join with no registration required thanks to funding by Tacoma Creates.

5. Pass the Torch

Wednesday, April 12th
6 - 7 pm
The Moore Library

The Tacoma Arts Commission and Tacoma Public Library invite you to Pass the Torch, a free community event to celebrate both the current and incoming Tacoma Poet Laureates. Hear poetry from 2021-2023 laureate Lydia K. Valentine and from the 2023-2025 laureate Christian Paige. Poetry spoken aloud is powerful, but especially so if people are there to hear it!

6. McMenamins Elks Temple 107th Birthday!

Friday, April 14th - Sunday, April 16th
McMenamins Elks Temple

The Elks Temple building is 107 years old! McMenamins is ready throw its building a party and you’re invited. Two days of live music, garden tours, specials, and the release of a new stout too.

7. Oscar’s Enemies Litter Pick-up

Saturday, April 15th
9 - 11 am
Tacoma Location TBD

“Pick up litter and make the city glitter.” And do it with a whole big group of other people from around Tacoma who like to take care of the city and be outdoors and get the chance to win raffle prizes and fun stuff like that. If you want to come help out be sure to RSVP here and Oscar’s Enemies will email you with all the good details you need (they’re helpful like that).

Steamroller prints in the window at King’s Books

8. Tacoma Wayzgoose

Saturday, April 15th
11 am - 4 pm
Moore Library

One of our favorite Tacoma events! Tacoma Wayzgoose has been on hold since the last event in April 2019, so lovers of printmaking and paper arts are so excited it’s back. Traditionally held at King’s Books, the event is moving to the Moore Branch of the Tacoma Public Library for the first time—we hear it’s to give the event a bit more space. Here’s what to expect:

  • letterpress, printmaking, and book arts extravaganza

  • local printers with wares for sale

  • the opportunity to make paper, bind books, and print a keepsake of the event

  • steamroller prints! 2 x 3-foot linoleum block prints made using an actual steamroller in the parking lot—yes, please

Image from Windermere Abode

9. Shredding event at Abode

Saturday, April 15th
11 am - 1 pm
Windermere Abode Old Town

We don't want to talk to you about taxes because we don’t want to talk about taxes. But we will invite you to stop by our office to get rid of old documents. Shredding documents you don't need anymore makes space in the drawer for more weird stuff and protects you against fraud.

The Old Town Abode Office is hosting a shredding event where you can bring your unwanted personal and tax documents to be securely shredded. Unsure of what you should be keeping vs. shredding? Take a look at the Abode blog for what you should definitely shred, what you might want to get rid of, and what you should definitely keep.

Image from the Rainbow Center

10. Queer Identity Storytelling Workshop

Saturday, April 15th
1 - 3 pm
Rainbow Center

Learn how to write your story with the option to share it in a safe queer space. Participating in this workshop gives you the opportunity to be part of the oral history project with Tacoma Public Library's Community Archives. Make sure to RSVP to save your spot!

Image from Metro Parks Tacoma

11. Spring Fling at Eastside Community Center

Saturday, April 29th
1 - 3 pm
Eastside Community Center

Free family event to celebrate spring!

  • play in the pool

  • DJ

  • over-sized games

  • bouncy house

  • ice cream

  • taco truck

  • & more!

12. Tacoma Night Market

Saturday, April 29th
5 - 10 pm
Sunday, April 30th
11 am - 4 pm
Freighthouse Square

It’s local shopping, mingling, eating, connecting, discovering. Show up for local vendors selling food, art, handmade items of all kinds, vintage, and more. The market continues Sunday with drag brunch to mix a bit more life and liveliness into the market atmosphere.

The location is set for Freighthouse Square’s Foss Hall and Rainier Room, but just check back with the Tacoma Night Market page for updates and details.

Weekly Events to Try in April

Image from 7 Seas Brewing

13. Tuesdays & Saturdays: Live Music at 7 Seas Gig Harbor Taproom

Tuesdays, April 4, 11, 18 & 25
Saturdays, April 1, 18, 15, 22 & 29
6-8 pm
Gig Harbor Taproom (temporary location at 3207 57th St Ct.)

Every Tuesday! Every Saturday! You can go ahead a make live music part of your regular life. Follow the 7 Seas page to see who’s playing, or just show up and stay open. If beer’s not your thing, order a cider from event partner Locust Cider instead. Live music nights are family friendly and leashed pets are welcome too. Feel free to bring your own food, or order in from local restaurants.

Image from The Mill by J & A

14. Thursdays: Singer-Songwriter Spotlight with Cascade Music Alliance

Thursdays, April 6, 13, 20 & 27
6 - 9 PM
The Mill by J & A

Hosted weekly on Thursdays at The Mill by J & A, it’s a time to listen, share, support, sing, play, and get inspired. Get to know the Cascade Music Alliance a grass roots group of musicians who like to be face to face with other musicians; maybe that’s you! Order pizza, sit with a glass of wine, and bring your dog if you want. For ages 21+.

People’s Center

15. Fridays: Teen Late Night

Fridays: April 7, 14, 21 & 28
8 - 11 pm
People’s Community Center
Eastside Community Center

Teen drop-in time every Friday in a supervised setting with:

Eastside Community Center - Images from Metro Parks Tacoma

  • open gym

  • sports

  • cooking

  • games & much more!

Notice that grades 6-8 meet at People’s Center in Hilltop on 1st & 3rd Fridays, and at Eastside Community Center on 2nd & 4th Fridays, and vice versa for grades 9-12, so there’s somewhere to go for each grade on each Friday. School ID is required and entry is free.

KEEP IN TOUCH ABOUT TACOMA LIFE, COMMUNITY, EVENTS, HOMES, AND A BIT ABOUT US.

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Hi, I'm Michael Duggan, a licensed broker with Windermere Abode. I would love to help you through the home buying or selling process. Please contact me to set up a meeting and get things started.