Harboring a secret? Pretending that you travel for the restaurants, shopping or theater? Well, you’re not alone. There are a lot us out there. Closet museum geeks. That’s right. We don’t really care what’s it’s a museum of. Shoes from around the world? Sure. Beer bottles of every continent? Why not. It’s not to say that we don’t enjoy a higher, shall we say, caliber, of museum, but we take what we can get.
Tacoma’s got you covered, my friend. Everybody’s familiar with our famous Museum of Glass (hmm, can you say Chihuly?), but we’ve also got a top-notch Art Museum—currently showing a wonderful Impressionism exhibit. You’ll also need to make it over to the Washington State History Museum, housing fascinating artifacts, interactive exhibits, even storytelling. All are walking distance from the Hotel Murano, which has an impressive glass art collection of its own. Told you we had you covered.
Among my friends, we joke that just about every story we tell starts with, “I heard something interesting the other day on NPR…” I sometimes sit in my car to listen to the end of a show, and This American Life is one of my favorites. At the end of January, Tacoma is lucky to have the show’s host, Ira Glass, at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts Pantages Theater. For one night only, Glass will present a behind-the-scenes look into the making of This American Life, and explain what makes it tick. He’ll play clips from the program, and give away a few secrets about sound and editing. For me, part of the thrill is just watching such a familiar voice come to life.
The show is part of the Pantages’ Laugh Out Loud series, which will feature the Smothers Brothers and Defending the Caveman in following months.
If you golf, you know that fall means the end of sunny days on the links. So, get it while the getting’s good. The Hotel Murano has a great hotel package right now, with a tee-time included to play on the course Travel & Leisure Golf Magazine named the best of 2007 and Golf Digest, in 2008, deemed the best new public course.
I guarantee that the Chambers Bay Golf Course is one of the most spectacular you will ever see. Right on the Puget Sound, you’ll enjoy magnificent views, grass-covered dunes, and not a golf cart in sight. That’s right, you duffers, it’s a walking course (with caddie-service available).
After a day on the greens, head back to the Murano for the night, $60 toward the Savi Day Spa (hey, I could use a massage these days after walking 18 holes), breakfast and parking. Fore!
If you’ve ever been to Mexico in October, you know that the Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is such a cool, colorful holiday. On November 1 and 2, Día de los Muertos is a way for family and friends to celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died.
This year, you can come check it out, too. On October 17, the Tacoma Art Museum began a two-week observance of the holiday, and is holding a community-wide celebration at the museum on Sunday, November 1. In the museum lobby, local artists will be creating a colorful tapete (sand painting). Everybody is also invited to join in on building a collaborative altar, or ofrenda.
If you’ve never seen the amazing folk art, altars, dance, and music associated with this holiday, here’s your chance. It really is a great, life-affirming experience. And don’t let the skeletons scare you!
As soon as I heard about this event, at the Tacoma Dome, I was reminded of a day when I was a little girl. It was late November and my mother took me to the huge hall at the county fairgrounds. We spent the entire day visiting booths at this giant “Christmas Fair.” We made gifts, bought gifts, got ideas of what to make later on our own. It was one of those magic days that you have as a kid.
Well, maybe your magic day is awaiting at the 27th Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival. I’m hoping that the art and crafts booths, the sparkling jewelry, and the tables overflowing with Christmas ornaments and decorations inspire a bunch of great gift ideas.
If not, I can always just get an eggnog latte and gawk at the 45-foot hanging Christmas tree and get my picture taken with Santa.
It’s a special delight to run across an interesting and unusual spot in your own town. I just learned that right in Old Town Park, just a block from where it originally stood, is a replica of Job Carr’s cabin. Um, who? And, what?
Well, turns out that old Job was Tacoma’s first Euro-American settler, plopping himself down, in 1865, in what is now Old Town Tacoma. A permanently disabled veteran of the Civil War, Carr made his way from Indiana to Commencement Bay, purportedly exclaiming “Eureka! Eureka!” when he spied the future Tacoma.
He built himself a cabin, got himself a cat—Tom, of course—and got down to the business of making his claim. His cabin is now a museum with all his pioneer stuff, some great old musical instruments, and some audio musical samples of the music of Carr’s day.
If you ever wondered what Old Town looked like when it wasn’t so old, a visit to Job Carr’s home will give you a glimpse. You can also check out the Job Carr Museum as well.
Ready for a spot where not only have you left the kids at home but everyone else has, too? Then Katie Down’s on the waterfront is the place for you. There are plenty of fancy places in town that are 21-and over only, but Katie Down’s is different: a fun, casual spot — without the crying and chaos (until closing time, that is).
A Tacoma institution, this spot consistently serves up great burgers, fish and chips, and salads, and they also have world class pizza (try the white sauce!). They have a good beer selection, a decent wine list, and a full bar (a relatively recent change for those of you who remember the days when you couldn’t get a gin and tonic on a hot day).
The service is sometimes leisurely, shall we say, and the crowd can be boisterous, but Katie Down’s is still the place to go when you want a relaxing afternoon or evening out. And a darn fine view. Remember to get there early for happy hour (1/2 price apps), and their deck is amazing on a sunny afternoon/evening.
I bring you yet another of Tacoma’s very cool no-cost summer outings. On Saturdays, through August 29, Metro Parks will transform a park into a concert venue, a movie theater, or both.
For example, on this past Saturday (August at Portland Avenue Park, you could see both music and film. The band, Miho and Diego, started things off at 7 p.m. A blend of Latino, Japanese, African and American traditions, it was just the thing to get everyone up and dancing.
The music was then followed by a very family-friendly flick, Surf’s Up (saw it, loved it). If you wanted to get there early with the kids, there was even a back-to-school carnival from 2 p.m.-6 p.m.
Each of the events is all lawn seating, so you’ll need to bring your own blanket or lawn chairs. As usual, they had me at “admission is free.” Hope to see you there over the next couple of weeks.
I bet you thought nothing very exciting could happen amidst parked SUVs and mini-vans. Well, in Tacoma some clever folks are prepared to prove you wrong: They actually stage Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night right in a parking lot.
At Tacoma’s Curran Apple Orchard at University Place, Art on the Ave, Sanford & Son, and Kings Books, you can enjoy a free performance (donations are most welcome, however) of one the bard’s most well-loved, and dare I say “accessible” plays. A romp involving twins, mistaken identity, cross-dressing, it’s sort of an Elizabethan cross between Freaky Friday and Monty Python.
The troupe invites and encourages audience participation, just as they did and still do at
Shakespeare’s original theater in London, The Globe (coincidentally, also open-air). The play is performed at various times and days throughout July (with more venues to be added), so check their site for all the details.
Dale, I loved the “the art of meeting people’s needs” line. It actually got me thinking about our art. So after writing about the Neddy Fellowship the other day I took a little tour of our collection. I’d never done that if you can believe it! I recommend it, especially to any employees like me who really checked it out.
Here are some of my favorites. In case you want to include them in your itinerary.
Grand Corridor
Specimen Block by Steffen Dam: It’s like a puzzle that you could look at for hours.
Lobby
Fish Lures by Rick Beck: They’re just fun. I’m lucky I can seem them all day from reception.
Floor 4, Bite Restaurant
Totem by Costas Varotsos: It’s amazing the way he managed to use both glass and stainless steel.
Floor 24
Iceberg by Peter Bremers: This one is incredible because of all the research he did. See the pictures showing his process.
Visit us and you’re sure to find some favorites of your own!
at Portland Avenue Park, you could see both music and film. The band, Miho and Diego, started things off at 7 p.m. A blend of Latino, Japanese, African and American traditions, it was just the thing to get everyone up and dancing. 
