Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
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.

10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2024
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
What's New, Tacoma? 17 New Businesses + 3 ...

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!

What's New, Tacoma? 17 New Businesses + 3 Coming Soon
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
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.

Tacoma Community: 15 Things to Do in October
Puget Sound Day Trips
Michael Duggan
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!

Get Out of Town: Puget Sound Day Trips
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
Tacoma High 5 - July 2024

Tacoma High 5 is our way to nudge you (and us!) toward what we love about Tacoma. 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. This month’s list includes Tacoma Pride, an all ages neighborhood music festival, a game that gets you supporting small businesses (and winning prizes), Swedish-style baked goods, and the chance to help out Habitat for Humanity or spend Friday afternoons watering trees to keep Tacoma (and its future) healthy and shaded.

  1. Community Event

  2. Sweet Treat

  3. Exploration & Adventure

  4. Local Love

  5. Volunteering & Sharing

Tacoma High 5 - July 2024

Tacoma Events

What's Happening, Tacoma? 21 May Events

What's Happening, Tacoma? 21 May Events

May is Bike Month. May is Historic Preservation Month. May holds Affordable Housing Week. May is the month for a lightsaber battle, for live music and crafts in Old Town Park, for night markets, plant sales at your local high school, hands-on printmaking and paper arts, and locally made short films. It’s the month to learn about the history of Tacoma, and even contribute your own story at events like the Eastside Story Fest. It’s the month to pick-up litter with a bunch of nice people, the month to set out nutritious foods for your mail carrier to share with the food bank, the month to take time to learn more about affordable housing. It’s the month to tune up your bike and join a group ride.

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Out on the Town 2024: Tacoma Tuesdays

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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!

What's Happening? 15 Local April Events

What's Happening? 15 Local April Events

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 queer storytelling event, a Daffodil Festival as old as your grandma (if you’re lucky), 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. 15 things to get you started, and we know there’s so much more.

13 Things to Do & Try in Tacoma This July

13 Things to Do & Try in Tacoma This July

This is just a tiny glimpse at all the things happening around Tacoma this month. We’ve included a few events, some new spots that opened up recently, and small businesses to keep an eye on so you’re ready to support them when their doors fully open—food festivals, Tacoma Pride, new coffee roasters, a way to lend a hand, delicious deliveries, and fix-it fairs too. Follow the links for details and see if you can find something—even someone—new out there!

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Tacoma Community: 10 Ways to Connect in October

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Tacoma Community: 10 Ways to Connect in October

This month we have 10 ways (actually 14, we threw is some special extras) to connect to Tacoma community! It’s a truly Tacoma mix of events and gatherings from storytelling to free community meals, from workshops to develop your recording artist skills to domestic violence and racism education and advocacy, from classes in watercolor to classes on how to use tools, from women in business to women and the vote (by the way: vote!).

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Tacoma Community: 10 Ways to Connect in September

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Tacoma Community: 10 Ways to Connect in September

Summer is waning, but we’ve gathered 10 things to do in Tacoma this September to get you through. This list is all about connecting to community. You’ll find a vintage yard sale, community meals, opportunities to give your time to people and to the environment, a public art tour, new pizza places, a cooking class, and more. We hope you find something for you, something that gives you hope, or a way you can give hope to someone else. Take a look.

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Connect to Tacoma Community: August 2020

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Connect to Tacoma Community: August 2020

Take a look at our list of 15 ways to connect to Tacoma community this August. Events have shifted from up close and personal gatherings, to remote or distanced gatherings, but connection is still the goal. You’ll find opportunities to serve the community, drive-in movies, a live music festival, social and racial justice conversations, and free community meals. Dig in and take care!

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March: 16 + Tacoma Events

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March: 16 + Tacoma Events

March is a month full of events! Tacoma continues rolling out community gatherings, open houses, Ladies Nights, fundraisers, dance parties, exhibitions, learning opportunities, markets, and tours no matter which calendar page is open. Speaking of Ladies’ Nights, March is Women’s History Month, so make the extra effort to learn about ordinary/extraordinary inspiring women; they’re all around you. Take a look at our list of 16 Tacoma events!

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February: 16 + Tacoma Events

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February: 16 + Tacoma Events

February in Tacoma is a month when the gray skies can hang pretty low, but it’s also the month of the Destiny City Film Festival, the month we celebrate lunar new year in the Lincoln District, when we focus on Black History, when we make homemade cards for gals/pals/and partners, when we go outside despite the rain (stalwart Pacific Northwesterners that we are). Take a look at 16 ways to get into the Tacoma community this month!

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January: 16 Tacoma Events

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January: 16 Tacoma Events

These monthly Tacoma events posts are becoming a tradition with us. We’re a year and a half-in and we’re on a roll. If you’re feeling more like taking a slow roll after all the holiday festivities we understand! Here’s our advice: Choose one thing from this list of 16. Choose one market, one history night, one celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one open mic, one craft for kids, one community gathering. Then take a pause; that’s good too!

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The December Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

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The December Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

Whether you’re all about Santa Claus coming to town, holiday markets, hot cocoa, and getting down with festive crafts, or you just want to play your bingo, drink beer, and count some birds, Tacoma has you covered this December. We’re ready again (even if you’re not) with a list of 25 Tacoma events. There’s something for everyone in this last month with its darkest day and celebrations of light.

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The November Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

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The November Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

It’s November. We’re not kidding. Get out of the house, out of your head, and into the Tacoma community. I mean, mix some cozy, book-reading, hot-buttered rum sipping, curled-up on the couch times in there too, but then go out and get literary, or party like it’s 1999, celebrate Día de los Muertos, submit your vote, take a cooking class, meet Indigenous artists, support a small business, or gather some friends for a local crafts market. We’ll show you the way.

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The October Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

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The October Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

Are you ready? There’s a chill in the air, October has come, and life goes on. Here’s a list of 25 ways life keeps on going here in Tacoma, a list of gatherings, happenings, fests, events, tours, a list of community opportunities, a list of ways to while away the hours, a list inviting you to join it. And if you’re into the arts, you’re in for a treat because October is Tacoma Arts Month!

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September Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

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September Edition: 25 Tacoma Events

We’ve rustled up 25 events around Tacoma throughout September. There are gatherings to wake us up and guide us toward equity. There are events to call for action, calls to deepen our understanding of diversity, to demand solutions for our beautiful Salish Sea, to hear and acknowledge Native voices, to celebrate our immigrant community. And there are events that invite you to dance all night to ‘90s jams or to eat Norwegian pancakes until you can eat no more. They’re all mixed up together in this list, because that’s what life is like. At least, that’s what it’s like here in Tacoma.

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The July Edition: 21 Tacoma Events

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The July Edition: 21 Tacoma Events

July is all about celebration in Tacoma! We celebrate Tacoma Pride (yes, it’s finally time for the Tacoma Pride Festival!), We celebrate cultural diversity, food, music, art, history, and a brand new park; we celebrate summer. So here you go, over 21 ways to celebrate the Tacoma community this month.

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The May Edition: 20 Tacoma Events!

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The May Edition: 20 Tacoma Events!

We’ve compiled another list of 20 Tacoma community events that we absolutely hope will inspire you to reach out into the city we share. You’ll find an abundance of markets, chances to taste wine and beer, cooking classes, kids crafts, outdoor excursions, Japanese American Remembrance events, a food forest, a fix-it fair, and more!

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The April Edition: 22 Tacoma Events!

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The April Edition: 22 Tacoma Events!

It’s spring in Tacoma; the season of damp dirt, delicate blossom, deep digging, seed scattering, light jackets, unbuttoned cardigans (oh my!), the season of the Lincoln High School Plant Sale, the season when the daffodils go on parade. What else? How about the opening day of the McMenamins Elks Temple, a big Norwegian pancake feed, the Tacoma Sister City Film Festival, and the 4th Annual Black Earth Celebration. Take a look!

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Now It's November! 19 Tacoma Events

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Now It's November! 19 Tacoma Events

November is for curling up with a good book and a warm drink, but it’s also for getting out the door for community fundraisers, holiday markets, concerts, tree lightings, fix-it fairs, Tarot readings, and volunteer opportunities. There are so many ways to give back, get involved, and get to know Tacoma!

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5 Reasons We Love Tacoma Summers

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5 Reasons We Love Tacoma Summers

Tacoma is home. Want to know what we love about the sunny summer months here? It’s no secret; check out our list with tips for outdoor dining, city beaches, the best nearby park adventures, and more!

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.