Just in case you haven’t heard, a national sport has evolved called dock dogs, of which Tacoma has their own chapter with the Puget Sound Dock Dogs. The concept is pretty simple. Get a bunch of dogs and their owners together wherever there’s a body of water (hint: the swimming pool at Mill Creek Town Center works great) and let them take turns diving into the pool. When your dog’s number comes up, toss its favorite chew toy into the water, yell “Fetch!” and watch the aerial ballet begin. Naturally enough, kids are more than welcome. But it’s the canines’ turn to bark “Last one in is a rotten egg!” Next event is September 29th and 20th at Northwest Club Challenge and Fun Jump in Lacey.

-Dale

Sometimes it feels like a part-time job, explaining to my out-of-town friends that Tacoma is heading in a new vibrant direction. It’s a city in transition, where its blue-collar origins mingle vibrantly with the upscale economy of urban revitalization. For an artist’s take on this scene, drop by the windows of the Woolworth Building at Broadway and 11th Street for its current series, featuring Patrick Grenier, Paul McKee, Margot Myers, Heather Joy & Matthew Olds and David Traylor. These pieces have been touted in the press as depicting the contradictory nature of a city in transition. Okayyyy. I’ll have to run down there and take a peek before the show ends November 3.

Cheers,

Josh

I’ve always experienced Tacoma as a beer town. A place where you could always get a good pork chop and a pitcher of beer. Here are a couple of places where you can celebrate the magic of the hops this harvest season:

Harmon Brewery Beer Dinner

For its 10th Anniversary, Harmon Brewery will roll out a few barrels of Killerbrew, its Oktoberfest Lager for a five-course dinner, in which each course is matched with a special beer.

Where: Harmon Brewery, 1938 Pacific Avenue
When: September 26

Cost: $30

Info and reservations: 253.383.2739

Third Annual Oktoberfest Northwest
At this traditional Munich-style festival, you can get your bratwurst on, your schnitzel schnapped and , well, you get the picture. Kids wilkommen.

Where: Puyallup fairgrounds

When: October 5 through 7

Prost!

Dale

There is a special place in this world for my sister-in-law, Tara. Where other people happily go about their business, blissfully unaware of their neuroses, fears and mental tics, Tara has charted the entire architecture of her psyche, the way scientists have mapped the human genome. Whether it’s the Meyers-Briggs, a good old-fashioned I.Q. test or even the freebie at Tickle.com – she’s done them all. Naturally, when she heard that the psychic fair at Crystal Voyage Wellness Center happens the first weekend of every month, she was all over it. This last time, she sat for a palm reading. Next month, she plans to have her aura photographed. Cool. I thought the head shot she uses to promote her real estate business wasn’t the most flattering, anyway.

Josh

Around our house, now’s the time to begin planning your Halloween. The gals over at Tacoma Mama think so too. They’re starting a special section called The Halloween Pages, which will include family-friendly Halloween happenings. They’re compiling the list right now, so if you have an event that could be included, drop by the site and let them know about it.

Dale

The way I see it, a pub sandwich ain’t the real deal unless its juices are running down your arm. Maybe that has something to do with why I have a hard time getting second dates. By that standard, Varsity Grill is my current favorite. On Tuesday I worked a split shift and headed down to the high tech sports pub to load up on their Grinder – a culinary mosh pit (but in a good way) of smoked turkey, salami, swiss and cheddar cheeses with lettuce, tomato and Italian dressing served on a hoagie roll. Five napkins and two Cokes later (I was working a split shift, so no beer for me) I was done. And then came the bill, plus 25 cents, courtesy of my waiter. On Tuesdays, they’ll flip a coin; if you win, they’ll take 50% off your food bill. I lost the toss. Better luck next Tuesday, when I take on their California Buffalo Burger.

Josh

You’re making the annual pilgrimage to corn dogs, elephant ears and just about anything that will fit in a deep fryer, right? And then you’ll be stepping onto a ride that measures its value in degrees of centrifugal force, right? I’m talking, of course, about the Puyallup Fair, September 7 – 23. You may go for the food and carnival rides, but I’ll be there to watch the wax artists dip flowers, body parts and whatever else you want (as long as it doesn’t entail breaking the law) in their vat of epoxy and memorialize it forever as either a mummified or cast sculpture. Something tells me I won’t see any students from the Pilchuck Glass School taking notes.

Josh

I’m just back from the glass show at Travers Gallery. If you’re expecting traditional Muranese glass, such as strings of kaleidoscopic beads or shelves filled with fancy vases, you would be in the wrong place. These pieces are abstract and purely decorative. Four or five artists were represented. Here are my thoughts on two of them:

Lino Tagliapietra is well known in these parts. Breaking with Muranese tradition, he moved here to the Northwest and started revealing the secrets of the craft at Dale Chihuly’s Pilchuck Glass School. You can see his influence on the scene; like much of Chihuly’s work, his pieces at the Travers Gallery seem inspired by exotic creatures that might be found under the sea or under a microscope.

Another artist whose work fascinated me was Silvano Rubino. Rubino works with master glass sculptors in Murano who blow the glass, which he subsequently carves. This collection’s black and tan pieces have been engraved with geometric designs that remind me of Native American pottery. I have no idea where he gets his ideas, but if Rubino has spent time on a New Mexican pueblo, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.

Be sure to get down to gallery to catch this show soon. It ends September 9.

Josh

I’m heading down to the Traver Gallery right now to check out the art exhibit featuring glass sculptors from Murano, Italy. (How can I not? It’s free and it gives me a mission on behalf of my job.) In preparation, I Googled a few of the artists who’ll be showing there. Aside from a few online mentions in similar gallery shows, they don’t have much of a Web presence. I guess that, in Italy, it’s possible to exist without a MySpace page. It’s a relief to know that there are still places where you can practice and sell your art the old fashioned way using traditional relationships with gallery owners, etc. Increasingly, it seems, artists have to spend as much or more time marketing their work on- and offline than they do actually practicing their craft. Good to know there are still places in the world where that isn’t necessarily the case.

Buona Sera,

Josh

I’ve told you what a kick I get out of working with Dale Rush. The man is a motivational speaker and Bell Captain all rolled up into one. The other day, a visitor had this to say about his visit with us and Dale’s “sunny” presence:

“I got one of the “new” rooms and what a surprise….it was fantastic. Had a huge flat screen TV, an iPod docking station and the staff was great. Dale greeted me with a smile so big, I was glad I had my sunglasses on! He helped me to my room and gave me the low down of where to go to eat and what else I could see while I was in town. I had a great time and would recommend this hotel to anyone.”

Curiously enough, just one day before I saw that post, a visitor from New York wrote into Trip Advisor and said this about Dale:

“When I got there I was greeted by the bellman Dale. He was awesome and made me feel really welcome right away. He took my luggage and escorted me to the front desk where I was checked in promptly.”

Sure, this hotel has world class artwork and special “boutique” touches. But these online reviews remind me that what makes this place special is a staff that defines what the hospitality industry is all about.

- Brian