July High 5 - How did we do?
1. Community Event - Tacoma Pride √
2. Sweet Treat - Froyo at the Melon Seed
3. Exploration & Adventure - Beach √
4. Local Love - Outdoor Market
5. Volunteering & Sharing - Tacoma Rescue Mission/YWCA √
Tacoma High 5 is our way to nudge you toward what we love about Tacoma, toward 5 things that bring balance to our life in the city. It’s a short list with a commitment to the local—it embraces the season, invites delight, encourages a spirit of exploration and some generosity as well.
Community Event
Sweet Treat
Exploration & Adventure
Local Love
Volunteering & Sharing
This list is about choosing to participate in the place we call home, and it’s about small things that make one day distinct from another so that it becomes part of the story of summer, the kind of time about which you say, “Hey, remember when…” And it’s nothing huge like, “Remember when we quit our jobs and moved in together with our 5 dogs?” or “Remember when we took that 3 week road trip?” Nope. It’s those small remember-whens, the remember-whens you have about a day when you just stepped outside your routine and lived in the present (that place we tend so rarely to inhabit).
Maybe we’ll see you out there!
Image from Hilltop Action Coalition
1. Community Event - Hilltop Summer Splash
Saturday, August 21st
10 am - 6 pm
Community block party - food, music, activities in the streets, local shops and vendors. Come show the historic Hilltop neighborhood and small businesses some love!
Plus - 2nd Cycle 10 Year Celebration
Offered in tandem with Hilltop Summer Splash, the 2nd Cycle 10 year anniversary party includes a community bike ride, fundraising, music, food, mocktails, and a dedication ceremony of the new youth classroom. All family friendly.
Image from Johnson Candy Co.
2. Sweet Treat - Ice Cream Bar at Johnson Candy Company
Don’t let summer pass you by without experiencing the delight of a hand-dipped ice cream bar at Johnson Candy Co. in Hilltop. Johnsons is a local, family-owned business going strong since 1925. (Hint: get an ice cream bar while you’re out at the Summer Splash and that’s 2/5 on your August High 5 list.)
Things to know, choices to make:
Milk or dark chocolate
Nuts or no nuts
Vegan coconut bar or dairy bar
$5
Beside the Thea Foss Waterway, this garden both surprised and delighted as we walked where we haven’t walked before. It’s that simple. Go explore.
3. Exploration & Adventure - go Someplace You’ve never been!
Whether you’ve lived in Tacoma for 2 months or 20 years, we’re pretty sure there’s someplace in the city you’ve never been, something you’ve never tried. Okay, so maybe you agree, but you don’t know where to start. We’ll get you going with a few suggestions:
Have you seen the Gallery Nathaniel Empathy mural at the top of our post in person yet? Go find it (treasure hunt!) and see what else you can discover in that part of the city.
Search the Metro Parks Tacoma site and choose a park or garden you’ve never visited.
Been hearing about some new businesses around Tacoma? Choose a new one (or old one!) you’ve always meant to check out but haven’t gotten to yet. We keep a list of these going and try to get away from our usuals once in a while (but the truth is, usuals are wonderful, nothing wrong with usuals!).
Your new place could be an entire neighborhood or street you’ve never spent time in. Get there and explore. It helps to get off the bus and out of the car, take a slow pace and really take it in. Wander.
Maybe you’ve never been to Yoga in the Park with Yoga Wild. Choose Monday/Wednesday at Dune Peninsula Park or Tuesday/Thursday at LeMay Field (p.s. it’s $0 to $10, so you can afford it).
4. Local Love - Find those patios!
Because of our significant rainy season (fall, winter, spring, early summer...) we don't have as many big patios here as you might find in cities with drier climates, but when the sunny days arrive, the patio chairs come out, the umbrellas open, and the tables fill up. Here's a list of cafes, restaurants, and bars where you can find some open air seating. These range from full patios with plenty of tables, to a few tables on a deck or along a sidewalk. Call ahead if you’re curious!
We always love an afternoon chat with a good sandwich at the Rosewood Cafe.
The Garden of Eatin’ at The Antique is just a short walk from the Rose Garden at Point Defiance. Have a snack, then smell the roses.
Snag a table and stay awhile with pizza, beer, and cocktails at Hanks.
Ruston Way Waterfront
The Ram
Duke's Chowder House
Katie Downs Tavern & Eatery
Harbor Lights
Anthony's (Point Defiance)
Point Ruston
Stack 571 Burger & Whiskey Bar
Wildfin American Grill
(Real) Ruston
The Antique Sandwich Co.
Macaluso’s Italian Restaurant
Cole’s Bar & Grill
Proctor
The patio at Top of Tacoma is heated and covered, so we’re pretty happy to eat their prawn tacos out there in any weather.
Crudo & Cotto
Rosewood Cafe
Cactus
Brewers Row
Cooks Tavern
6th Ave
Asado - (a few cocktail tables outside with a roll-up door that opens up the interior too)
State Street Beer
Beer Star (food trucks come to visit!)
West Side Waterfront
Boathouse 19
Narrows Brewing (no food served, but you can bring your own!)
The Beach Tavern
South Tacoma Way
The Church Cantina
The Mule Tavern
McKinley Hill
5. Volunteering & Sharing - 3 Opportunities in August
Image from Oscar’s Enemies/Peter Sowell
Oscar’s Enemies Litter Pick-up Day
Saturday, August 21st
9 - 11 am
Meet at Jason Lee Middle School
602 N Sprague Ave
Oscar’s Enemies is meeting up for a 6th Avenue neighborhood litter pick-up and storm drain marking morning and you are invited! Register here, bring a litter-grabber and Oscar’s enemies will provide the rest (gloves, bags, organization, prizes). See you there!
Image from Communities in Schools of Tacoma
Communities in Schools of Tacoma Back to School Campaign
Through Tuesday, August 24th
Windermere Abode
2200 N 30th St, Ste 102
Our Windermere Abode office is a donation site for Communities in Schools of Tacoma School Supply Drive this month! Drop by with supplies from the list and we’ll make sure they reach CIS Tacoma to support students all over the city for the 2021-2022 academic year.
images from 253 Club
Menstrual Product Drive with 253 Club
Wednesday, August 25th
5:30 - 8 pm
The Red Hot - 2914 6th Ave, Tacoma
The YWCA Pierce County’s 253 Club partners with The Red Hot for a menstrual product drive so you can support the community (menstrual products are both expensive AND necessary!) while also eating hot dogs/vegan dogs and drinking beer. Sounds good. 253 Club is raffling prizes from 5:30 to 8pm, and The Red Hot gives you $1 off your first beverage all day with a donation.
Keep in touch about Tacoma life, community, events, homes, and a bit about us.
