Connect to Community: This Week in Tacoma

We went out for a winter wonderland walk around Tacoma last weekend - an unexpected way to connect.

We went out for a winter wonderland walk around Tacoma last weekend - an unexpected way to connect.

February is coming to a close, and we’ve enjoyed feeling closer to what’s going on out there by posting weekly about events, gatherings, and opportunities all over the city this month. Even during a pandemic, the people of Tacoma continue to offer so many ways to stay connected and this week is no exception. This week, you’ll find ways to share warmth, lend a hand, get outside, spread the love, learn history, and stun competitors with your trivia brilliance.

Feel free to share this with friends, give the event creators some support, maybe even call someone up and say “Hey, it’s been too long. Meet me online at the history tour.” Irresistible line, right? Can’t say no. Take a look at the list below and take care.

Connect to Tacoma with Events & Gatherings

1. Fun Family Trivia Night

Saturday, February 20th
7 - 8:30 pm
Online with the Tacoma Public Library

Join an all-ages trivia night with friends and family (and be sure to visit the library’s event to register). This month you’ll be challenged to a round featuring Civil Rights milestones and notable people and events in American History.

Image from Pretty Gritty Tours

Image from Pretty Gritty Tours

2. Black Institutions: A Virtual History Tour for Tacoma

Saturday, February 20th
8 pm
Online with Pretty Gritty Tours

Join Pretty Gritty Tours for this free online tour through local Tacoma history. Make sure to follow Pretty Gritty Tours and keep an eye on all the local lore they share, show, and tell. They’ve been keeping it all going online, but you’ll want to get in on some in-person tours when the time is right!

3. From Migration to Mark Making: George Bush, Jacob Lawrence, & the Impact of Black Pioneers in WA

Thursday, February 25th
6 - 7:30 pm
Online with Washington State History Museum

Join this History Museum live event to learn about two important figures in the history of Washington State. If you already recognize the names of these two men, you’re still sure to learn something new, or hear a new perspective!

Connect to Tacoma by Volunteering, Donating & Accessing Services

Image from Windermere Abode

Image from Windermere Abode

4. Sandwiches & Blankets for Neighbors in Need

Fridays at 4:30 pm
Windermere Abode
2200 N 30th St, Tacoma

Meet for a physically distanced drop-off in Old Town in the parking lot behind Windermere Abode. Bring your wrapped sandwiches, packaged snacks, fresh fruit, and blankets and a member of the Abode community will deliver directly to the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Thanks for all your help!

Image from Metro Parks Tacoma

Image from Metro Parks Tacoma

5. Wapato Lake Park Restoration Work Party & Charlotte’s Blueberry Park Volunteer Work Party

Saturday, February 25th
9 am - 12 pm
On site at the parks

Every 4th Saturday of the month gives you the opportunity to help maintain these beloved Tacoma parks. A crew leader will guide you in removing invasive species, maintaining plants, and keeping the ecosystems at these beautiful parks healthy for all of us to enjoy. Click on the park volunteer parties above to register to participate!

Keep in touch about Tacoma life, community, events, homes, and a bit about us.

We had an impromptu Saturday afternoon date up at 7 Seas with lunch from Canteen Colvos (smash burger, sweet potato fries, and a lobster roll 🦞), coffee from Naomi Joe (sweet folks), and a wee bit of pinball. Gretchen couldn’t sleep that night
This year we’re back with a list of 10 ways to give love in December ❤️ Our guide includes 5 recommendations for local gift giving with holiday markets and some of our favorite small shops, and 5 suggestions for giving to unknown neighbors outs
On this closing day the biggest excitement came from a 7 year old who’s about to have his own room and who loves (fervently) the bathroom downstairs with orange walls. We’re excited for the whole family. Friendly neighbors came over to sa
I’m grateful Michael is willing to join me again, again, again and again on Orcas Island. We went last week so I could turn 41 in a place where my heart feels quiet, where deer tracks and bird tracks cross on the beach, where paths bordered by
When even the east glows at sunset What stills me in one window frame Where fabric flower feather and wax make the table a place How light of sky and light of candle and light of bulb need their own names Why home is also the distance seen beyond its
Featured
10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2024
10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2024

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.

What's New, Tacoma? 17 New Businesses + 3 Coming Soon
What's New, Tacoma? 17 New Businesses + 3 Coming Soon

There’s change in the air across Tacoma, the return of things once lost, the reopening of places once closed, the transformation of one restaurant into another, the creation of brand new places to gather, shop, eat, and drink. We’ve been experiencing this change across the city and wanted to pull some of it together in one place. What follows is a list of 17 new, renewed, and returned businesses along with 3 coming soon. See if you can enjoy and support something new this month; if you do, we’d love to hear about it!

Tacoma Community: 15 Things to Do in October
Tacoma Community: 15 Things to Do in October

We’ve rounded-up and narrowed-down 15 ways to get out into community this October. Don your most intellectual scarf and hat combination for a literary night, dance and eat with the Greeks, step into a candlelit tour our 1855, get psyched up about cycling (and bicycle fashion), try forest bathing, don your most eccentric scarf and hat combination for the film festival, write letters for fun, tour art studios, hear from Latinas who experience being The Firsts in so many ways, take a local art walk, and celebrate Día de los Muertos. We’ve got some ways to volunteer in here too—lend a hand with Habitat for Humanity, pick up litter, or pull weeds and plant seeds at a favorite park to keep Tacoma green.

Get Out of Town: Puget Sound Day Trips
Get Out of Town: Puget Sound Day Trips

Once in a while, we all need to get out of town. This month we’re sharing about Port Townsend and Vashon Island, two places we go again and again when a change of scene is calling. They’re places where the beach is always near, where parking is easy, where woods and trails beckon us away from the sidewalks. Places where small, local bakeries, coffee roasters, independent bookstores, and one of a kind shops outnumber chains by far. We’ll share some of the ways we pass the time and how we fill our stomachs (never a problem). Don’t worry too much about planning; these destinations are so close to Tacoma, you can show up again and try what you missed. Wake up one morning and just decide to go!

Tacoma Outdoor Dining Guide
Tacoma Outdoor Dining Guide

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!

Out on the Town 2024: Tacoma Tuesdays
Out on the Town 2024: Tacoma Tuesdays

Tacoma, Tuesdays, Trivia, Tacos, Talent. It’s the truth, there’s stuff to do. We have 19 of those things listed right here (twenty would have sounded so good) and not all of them start with “t.” There’s ballet and book club, wine and film, story time and bingo. So dust off your dancing shoes, clean your spectacles, strap the baby in a stroller, study up on random facts, warm up your vocal chords, and work up an appetite; it’s Tuesday in Tacoma!

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things—Vol. 4
Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things—Vol. 4

This is not an ultimate, all time, best of the best, win or go home, top 5 list. No, we aren’t really bringing that kind of energy to life. This is the 4th edition of 5 things we like in Tacoma from a list of way more things we like in Tacoma. Sound good? An annual rogue art treasure hunt, a tiny slip of sandy beach, an old place to watch new and cult classic films, a weekly opportunity for repairing your stuff, and a spot where the noodles and broth fill you up in a good way. Some of it’s free. All of it’s good. We’re not making any other claims (who needs all that best-stress anyway?).

The Sunset Side: Tacoma's Other Waterfront
The Sunset Side: Tacoma's Other Waterfront

This month we're here to give a shout out to the other waterfront, the home of Titlow Beach, Seashore Drive, the iconic Narrows Bridges, and the Tacoma sunset. We’ll share where we eat and what we order, the trails we like to take, and what makes this side of the city feel like home. All you need is one evening for a waterfront getaway.

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.