Things to do in Tacoma, Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
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!

Out on the Town 2024: Tacoma Tuesdays
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
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?).

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things—Vol. 4
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
Tacoma 2024: Make Yourself At Home

As we take our first steps into 2024, we’re thinking about home and how we make it. We’re thinking about how we continue to seek, find, and create belonging. In this list we’ve collected 7 ways we’ve made ourselves at home in Tacoma and made friends with the city. Go to a festival, become a regular, follow some local news, help out, be pals with the library, explore local history and art, do something new. After a while you’ve made a connection that didn’t exist before. These 7 ideas aren’t deep Tacoma secrets. Rather, think of this list like suggested ingredients for making yourself at home. Take a look and join us.

Tacoma 2024: Make Yourself At Home
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2023

This month we’ve created a list focused on 10 ways to give in December. You’ll find 5 sections of recommendations for local gift giving with holiday markets and some of our favorite small shops included, and 5 suggestions for giving outside your circle of friends and family to community and unknown neighbors. All 10 ways of giving put love into the Tacoma community! Read on for a choir made of refugees and USA-born residents offering a concert to celebrate peace, a list of local cafes for coffee lovers, a gift card drive to support clients at the YWCA, a nostalgic holiday movie marathon, a diaper drive to comfort local families, a gift that cares for birds, and more.

10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2023
Tacoma Community
Michael Duggan
5 Ways to Support Food & Housing for ...

We all get by with a little help from our friends. And really, we get by with a little help from strangers too. Be a friend or a friendly stranger by finding one way to support neighbors in the Tacoma community, in Pierce County, or across Washington by choosing from the 5 ways to give on our list. Support affordable housing and mental health, volunteer at a food bank, help prevent displacement due to gentrification, and serve or provide a community meal. Over time, we all have something to give and a real need to receive—most often it’s probably both at once.

5 Ways to Support Food & Housing for Neighbors in Tacoma & Beyond - Vol. 2

Things to do 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?).

Tacoma 2024: Make Yourself At Home

Tacoma 2024: Make Yourself At Home

As we take our first steps into 2024, we’re thinking about home and how we make it. We’re thinking about how we continue to seek, find, and create belonging. In this list we’ve collected 7 ways we’ve made ourselves at home in Tacoma and made friends with the city. Go to a festival, become a regular, follow some local news, help out, be pals with the library, explore local history and art, do something new. After a while you’ve made a connection that didn’t exist before. These 7 ideas aren’t deep Tacoma secrets. Rather, think of this list like suggested ingredients for making yourself at home. Take a look and join us.

10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2023

10 Ways to Give Local Love - 2023

This month we’ve created a list focused on 10 ways to give in December. You’ll find 5 sections of recommendations for local gift giving with holiday markets and some of our favorite small shops included, and 5 suggestions for giving outside your circle of friends and family to community and unknown neighbors. All 10 ways of giving put love into the Tacoma community! Read on for a choir made of refugees and USA-born residents offering a concert to celebrate peace, a list of local cafes for coffee lovers, a gift card drive to support clients at the YWCA, a nostalgic holiday movie marathon, a diaper drive to comfort local families, a gift that cares for birds, and more.

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The Sunset Side: Tacoma's Other Waterfront

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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.

Tacoma High 5 - August 2023

Tacoma High 5 - August 2023

Tacoma High 5 is our way to nudge you toward what we love about Tacoma. It’s a short list with a commitment to the local—it embraces the season, invites a bit of variety into life, encourages a spirit of exploration and some generosity as well. This month’s list includes a benefit concert with karaoke, a music festival staged on porches across Central Tacoma, block parties and outdoor markets, free berries, a favorite local publication, a neighborhood clean-up, and the chance to support the YWCA while eating hot dogs and nacho cheese. Maybe we’ll see you out there!

  1. Community Event

  2. Sweet Treat

  3. Exploration & Adventure

  4. Local Love

  5. Volunteering & Sharing

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 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!

Tacoma High 5 - May

Tacoma High 5 - May

Tacoma High 5 is our way to nudge you 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 a ballet about a local activist, a new coffee shop to visit, a new open mic, farmers market updates, a community scavenger hunt/race for affordable housing, bike month events, and a chance to lend your hand at cleaning up the city!

  1. Community Event

  2. Treat Yourself

  3. Exploration & Adventure

  4. Local Love

  5. Volunteering & Sharing

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things - Vol. 3

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things - Vol. 3

Is this an ultimate, all time, best of the best, win or go home, top 5 list? No. Are these our 5 absolute favorite things in Tacoma? That’s not really the point. This is the 3rd group of 5 things we think are good in Tacoma. A place to go for a hometown tropical getaway, gloriously fresh bread, a loop trail around a 15,000 year old lake, a treasure hunt, and a drink we think you should try. Some of it’s free. All of it is good. We’re not making any other claims (who needs all that best-stress anyway?).

Tacoma 2023: Make Yourself At Home

Tacoma 2023: Make Yourself At Home

As we hang our 2023 calendars on the wall and consider a new year we’re thinking about home and how we make it. We’re thinking about what makes us feel like we belong, how we experience belonging in our lives, and how we can create it. In this list we’ve collected 7 of the ways we’ve made ourselves at home in Tacoma and made friends with the city. Making friends with a place is kind of like making friends with a person—you listen, show up, help out, pay attention, participate, and receive. After a while you’ve made a connection that didn’t exist before. These 7 ideas aren’t deep Tacoma secrets. Rather, think of this list like suggested ingredients for making yourself at home. Take a look and join us.

10 Ways to Give: Local Love - 2022

10 Ways to Give: Local Love - 2022

This month we’ve created a special list of 10 ways to give in December. You’ll find 5 sections of recommendations for local gift giving with holiday markets and some of our favorite small businesses included, and 5 suggestions for giving outside your friends and family, ways of giving to community and unknown neighbors, ways of giving your time, and even a gift that supports wildlife conservation and education. All 10 ways of giving put LOVE into the Tacoma community!

Tacoma Community: A Dozen Ways to Connect in October

Tacoma Community: A Dozen Ways to Connect in October

October is a big month in Tacoma. It’s Tacoma Arts Month, Hispanic Heritage Month continues, and it’s time for the Tacoma Film Festival. That’s just the beginning. Find ways to support a healthy environment through volunteering, eat bratwurst and sing to the Beatles, write in the company of others, head to the museum for a trip through Mexico, and celebrate Halloween by (or on!) the water.

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things - Vol. 2

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things - Vol. 2

Is this a top 5 list? No. Are these our 5 absolute favorite things in Tacoma? Nope. This is just the second edition of a group of 5 things at a time from a list of way more things we think are good in Tacoma. The list is long: a corner we like to stand on, a window it feels good to sit by, a sandwich we like to eat, a place to search for treasure, a garden to visit at a particular time of year. Some of it costs no money at all. It’s a living, growing list of good things—not necessarily best (who needs all that over-the-top comparison and perfection?). Good is good.

Tacoma Summer: Go Outside!

Tacoma Summer: Go Outside!

If you’re looking for ways to get outside in and around Tacoma this summer, take a look at our list of local beaches (plus some favorites a bit farther afield), our Tacoma neighborhood guide to patio dining, and a few opportunities for volunteering in the great outdoors. Even if you don’t get away for a vacation, you can find some ease and fun nearby in these treasured weeks of summer near the Salish Sea.

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!

What's New, Tacoma?

What's New, Tacoma?

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 gatherings. We’ve been hearing about and experiencing this change across the city and wanted to gather some of it up in one place. What follows is a list of 10 new, renewed, returned, resurfaced, reconstructed, reopened spots and experiences. Challenge yourself to experience something new this month; if you do, we’d love to hear about it!

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things

From nachos to the cemetery and everywhere in between, this is just what it says, a list of 5 good things. No one said best! No one said “top rated.” Get out of here with that! Good, is good, is good. Enjoy just the first group of 5 from a long of way more things we think are good in Tacoma. The full list is long and growing: a corner we like to stand on, a window it feels good to sit by, a beverage we like to drink, a street to walk, a tree or garden to visit at a particular time of year. Some of it costs no money at all and all of it is good. Promise.

Life in Tacoma 2022: 5 Ways to Create Belonging

Life in Tacoma 2022: 5 Ways to Create Belonging

The new year has us considering belonging, how people find it, how we create it. In this list we’ve collected 5 of the ways we’ve found belonging in Tacoma, or ways we’d like to continue building it. These aren’t deep Tacoma secrets, or never-been-seen-before ideas. There’s nothing sensational here. This list is more like suggested ingredients for finding your place by giving and receiving, exploring and settling down. Sometimes belonging just happens to us, other times we need to find it and foster it. Take a look and join us.

10 Ways to Give: Local Love

10 Ways to Give: Local Love

This month we’ve created a special list of 10 ways to give in December. You’ll find 5 recommendations for local gift giving with some of our favorite small businesses included, and 5 suggestions for giving outside your friends and family, ways of giving to community and unknown neighbors, ways giving of your time, and even a gift that supports wildlife conservation and education. All 10 ways of giving put LOVE into the Tacoma community!

Tacoma High 5 - October

Tacoma High 5 - October

Tacoma High 5 is our way to keep nudging you 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 arts and outdoor markets, a new business you ought to meet, a delicious accompaniment to your pot of tea, and a simple way to help our neighbors!

  1. Community Event

  2. Sweet Treat

  3. Exploration & Adventure

  4. Local Love

  5. Volunteering & Sharing

Tacoma High 5 - September

Tacoma High 5 - September

Tacoma High 5 is our way to nudge you 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 arts and trails, a new bakery, ways to support refugees, and a 10 Stop Pizza Tour of Tacoma!

  1. Community Event

  2. Sweet Treat

  3. Exploration & Adventure

  4. Local Love

  5. Volunteering & Sharing

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.