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Oh, October - 16 Tacoma Events!

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It’s Tacoma Arts Month and the Tacoma Studio Tours weekend is one of the best parts!

It’s Tacoma Arts Month and the Tacoma Studio Tours weekend is one of the best parts!

Fall isn’t just for events, we get it. We spent the first fall afternoon this season on the beach! Get out there one way or another before the rainy season sets in!

Fall isn’t just for events, we get it. We spent the first fall afternoon this season on the beach! Get out there one way or another before the rainy season sets in!

This is our 5th month of publishing a collection of diverse Tacoma community events and opportunities; I think I could get used to this! The only trouble is deciding what to attend because there’s so much going on we’d need to choose between the rest of our lives and showing up if we went to it all. Deep breaths, no need for speed.

Actually, the point is to take time. Take a little time, a few hours, an afternoon, an evening, and maybe even just pick one. One is more than nothing and can go a long way toward supporting and building community. So take a look. There’s bound to be something calling your name in our list of over 16 events below: a farm tour, fun run, literary themed crawl, ghost tour, film festival, studio tours, harvest fests, Greek fest, or yoga flow. And that’s not even the whole story.

1. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel the Exhibition at the Tacoma Armory

Image from Broadway Center for the Performing Arts

Image from Broadway Center for the Performing Arts

Now - October 14th, Wednesday - Sunday, times vary
Presented by the Broadway Center

Years ago I travelled to Rome, and more specifically Vatican City, to see the Sistine Chapel. I won’t forget it! The ceiling paintings created by Michelangelo are recreated in full size (but up closer than we can get in the chapel) so that people around the world, unable to visit the original, may still view this magnificent work. It’s here in Tacoma, come see!

  • $24 general admission, $15 for Military, Groups of 10+, and Broadway Center Members, $12 for Students - find your tickets here, and call 253.591.5894 for these listed discounts

  • Tacoma Armory 1001 S Yakima Ave, Tacoma

  • Buy tickets to reserve specified 1.5 hour viewing slots

  • Not so sure about this crazy idea? Learn more about the exhibit at chapelsistine.com

2. 4th Annual Creative Colloquy Crawl

Tuesday, October 2nd, 6 - 9 pm
Hosted by Creative Colloquy

A crawl, a procession, a search, a story within the stories you’ll hear. For 3 hours writers will speak, read, and storytell aloud all over the Stadium District. Get literary, get curious, open your ears!

3. Grit City Ghost Tour in Tacoma’s Downtown

Fridays & Saturdays, 9 or 11 pm depending on the date
Hosted by Pretty Gritty Tours

After darkness falls, tour downtown Tacoma while your guide tells sinister (gory, haunting) stories of the city’s past.

  • $15.99 - stories may be disturbing or scary for kiddos

  • Downtown Tacoma

  • 1.5 hour tour covers 4-5 blocks

  • Available dates, times, and tickets here

4. Libraries Transform Tacoma

Image from the Tacoma Public Library

Image from the Tacoma Public Library

Hosted by Tacoma Public Library

Come share your hopes for your community, your worries, or your dreams, listen to others, join the conversation - the library wants to know how we can strengthen the community together

Wednesday, October 3rd, 6 - 7:30 pm

  • Swasey Branch, 7001 6th Ave, Tacoma

Thursday, October 8th, 12 - 1:30 pm

Saturday, October 27th, 10:30 am - 1 pm

  • Free and open to everyone

  • Appetizers served

5. 13th Annual Tacoma Film Festival

Image from the Tacoma Film Festival

Image from the Tacoma Film Festival

Thursday, October 4th - Thursday, October 11th
Hosted by The Grand Cinema

A week of more than 100 new, independent films. See one, see some everyday, come back again and again all week!

  • General Admission $10.50, Matinee $8, Seniors (62 and over)/students/military/ children (ages 0-12) $8.00

  • At The Grand Cinema, 606 S Fawcett Ave, Tacoma

  • VIP Pass $150 - entry to all the films for the whole festival, plus parties & events, and complimentary refreshments in the VIP/Filmmaker Lounge

6. 57th Tacoma Greek Festival

Image from the Tacoma Greek Festival

Image from the Tacoma Greek Festival

Friday & Saturday, October 5th-6th, 11 am - 9 pm
Sunday, October 7th, 11 am - 6 pm
Hosted by St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

This festival is going strong! Year after year it brings Greek food, dance, culture, gifts, books, and food (worth mentioning twice!).

  • Free and open to all

  • At St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1523 S Yakima Ave

  • Coffee, taverna, and food carts offer food and drink for purchase

  • See dancers, take a tour of the Greek Orthodox Church, browse the festival, meet friends!

7. Candlelight Tour at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum

Friday & Saturday, October 5-6th, 6 - 9 pm
Hosted by Fort Nisqually Living History Museum/MetroParks Tacoma

Candlelight, firelight, story and dance, even a wedding celebration, and it’s 1857, so step inside, step back, let over 100 historical interpreters weave the magic around you.

  • General admission $15, Youth $10, 3 and under free

  • at Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually Living History Museum, 5400 N Pearl St, Tacoma in Point Defiance Park

  • Must purchase your tickets ahead!

8. Key Peninsula Farm Tour

Saturday, October 6th, 10 am - 4 pm

So, this isn’t a Tacoma event, but the Key Peninsula is our neighboring community, and it’s where I grew up, so it makes the cut. 100 years of farming on the KP celebrated in a day of so many festivities we can’t list them all. There’s food, music, oyster shucking, fiber arts galore, animals to pet, herding dog demonstrations, jack-o-lantern carving, and farm touring of course. The festival stretches from the North to South Key Peninsula. If you’ve never been there, what better way to be introduced?

9. Harvest Fest at L’Arche Farm

Saturday, October 6th, 10 am - 4 pm
Hosted by L’Arche Tahoma Hope Farm & Gardens

Do you know L’Arche Tahoma Hope yet? Go get to know the farm and community who live there; you won’t be sorry. Harvest Fest is the perfect chance to visit the farm, meet some people, buy perennials at 50% off, and do some fall themed crafts as well.

  • Free and perfect for all ages

  • At L’Arche Farm & Gardens, 11814 Vickery Ave E, Tacoma

  • Buy plants and produce, do paper crafts and squash painting!

  • Bring 4 cans of food for the Food Connection and you get to take home a free 1 gallon perennial!

10. Harvest Fest & Haunted Hall at the Center at Norpoint

Image from the Center at Norpoint

Image from the Center at Norpoint

Image from the Center at Norpoint

Image from the Center at Norpoint

Friday Only, October 12th, 5:30 - 7 pm, Harvest Fest
Friday - Saturday, October 12th & 13th, 6 - 8 pm, Haunted Hall
Hosted by the Center at Norpoint/MetroParks of Tacoma

  • Harvest Fest - Free, Haunted Hall - $5 at the door or $4 if you buy tickets ahead

  • at the Center at Norpoint, 4818 Nassau Ave NE, Tacoma

  • Family fun starts with costume contest, bounce house, trunk or treat, face painting, crafts, and snacks, then get spooky at the Haunted Hall

  • Looking for a Harvest Fest in a community center nearer to you? Check out the events at the People’s Center and STAR Center on Friday, October 26th!

11. Green Tacoma Day at Parks Around the City!

Saturday, October 13th, 10 am - 1 pm
With the Green Tacoma Partnership

Parks and green spaces keep us healthy, and we can thank them by pitching in to keep them healthy in return. For 3 hours you can step in to pull invasive weeds, pick up litter, plant trees, and take care of existing trees and shrubs.

  • Free volunteer opportunity

  • Locations in parks and green spaces all over Tacoma - view the list of locations and links to register here

12. Tacoma Arts Month - Tacoma Studio Tour

We came home with these letterpress postcards and coasters from interactive studio visits last year!

We came home with these letterpress postcards and coasters from interactive studio visits last year!

Saturday & Sunday, October 13th & 14th, 11 am - 5 pm

80 artists, 47 studios, 2 days. Create your own self-guided tour, meet our local artists, experience demonstrations, buy local art directly from the makers, and create art with your own 2 hands.

  • Free

  • View the studio tour map plot your custom course through the city

  • Get your Tacoma Studio Passport (also available at the studios) and make sure to stamp it at each stop for the chance to win a prize!

  • Make sure to explore the Tacoma Arts Month site for other opportunities throughout October

13. Sustainability Summit for South Sound Women in Business

Saturday, October 20th, 9 am - 4 pm
Presented by Allison Bishins Consulting

Come on in local businesswomen! Get together, and further develop your sustainability goals. Talk about things like equity, a green supply chain, communicating your values, advocating for change through social media, and small group networking. Don’t miss this!

  • Tickets on a sliding scale - choose the highest your business can afford:
    $25 new/microbusiness/recent graduate
    $50 small business
    $75 full price ticket
    $125 full price + partial sponsorship of another attendee

  • At Court House Square, 1102 A St, Tacoma

  • Includes vegan, gluten free breakfast, lunch, coffee and more!

  • For ages 16+

14. Sunday Slow Flow

Image from Yoga Wild

Image from Yoga Wild

Sunday, October 21st, 5 - 6:15 pm (live music continues from 6:15 - 7 pm!)
Presented by Yoga Wild

Yoga, live music from Big Sky Mind, community, slow down time. This is a monthly event, so you can start adding it to your calendar and return again and again.

  • $10, $5, or Good Vibes - please register online ahead

  • At West of the Waterway, 1901 Dock St

  • Beginners are welcome, active lifestyle recommended

  • 75 minutes of yoga finishes up around 6:15 pm, but the evening lives on with snacks, drinks, and more live music!

15. Primo Grill’s Annual Art Auction & Dinner

Image from Primo Grill

Image from Primo Grill

Wednesday, October 24th, 6:30 pm
Presented by Primo Grill

If you’ve stepped inside Primo Grill, you must have noticed the brilliant mural above the bar! Did you know it was donated by the Tacoma Community College Fine Arts Department? Primo Grill is holding a live auction to continue their support of local arts through the Primo Arts Scholarship. Over the years they’ve donated $150,000 for TCC art students. Along with the live auction, enjoy dinner and wine!

  • $80 - includes 4 courses, 3 wines, tax, and service charge

  • Live art auction

  • Call 253-383-7000 to reserve your place

16. Black Cat Fun Run at Point Defiance Park

Image from MetroParks Tacoma

Image from MetroParks Tacoma

Saturday, October 27th, 7 - 9 pm (registration begins at 4:30 pm)
Hosted by MetroParks Tacoma

Choose your distance! Plan for darkness, that means you can bring a flashlight, headlight, glow stick, and do light up your stroller or dog if you bring them. Wear a costume! Walkers welcome!

  • Prices depend on distance and sign-up date and vary from $10 to $30 (sign up by October 21st for the lowest cost)

  • At Point Defiance Park 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma

  • Choose the 5 mile, 2.5 mile, or Kids’ Race (a shorter race around the zoo, supervised so you can take off on your own route)

  • Begins and ends in the zoo parking lot with lots of lights and a DJ!

Don’t Forget - Wednesday, October 31st is Halloween!

If you’re around, turn on a friendly porch lamp, light a jack-o-lantern, and listen for knocks at your door. Help the kids have a good time trick-or-treating! Last year we had all kinds of visitors disguised at ghosts, butterflies, Little Red Riding Hood, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and who- knows-what stop by in our neighborhood. Make their day!

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This year we’re back with a list of 10 ways to give love in December. You’ll find our guide for local gift giving with holiday markets and some of our favorite small shops included, and 5 suggestions for giving to unknown neighbors outside your circle of friends. All 10 ways of giving put love into the Tacoma community! Read on for the magic of a musical play given by kids, a list of local cafes for coffee lovers, a gift card drive to support clients at the YWCA, a nostalgic holiday movie marathon, a way to support health and care for folks who can’t afford insurance, a chance to transform $1 into 2 meals, and the best local spots to shop for little ones.

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Want to go out and really be out—out in the open air, beneath a colorful umbrella, on a shaded patio, beside a bustling sidewalk, seated on a deck overlooking the water, pulled up to a bar counter by the street? We’ve gathered over 60 of Tacoma’s outdoor dining spots by neighborhood to get you started. Take a look at our list of restaurants, cafes, and bars with outdoor seating, then get yourself away from the screen, out the door, and into the life of Tacoma’s summer. See you out there!

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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.