Another reminder folks: Tacoma’s Wintergrass Festival starts tonight.  I hope to see the whole city of Tacoma out for this one.  I guarantee it will be a blast!

If music festivals aren’t really your thing, hopefully sports are, becuase there’s a couple crazy sporting events happening this weekend.  First off, it’s the Dockyard Dairy Dames women’s roller derby league kickoff!  2 games and 2 filled hours of sweat, blood, and tears (well, maybe not tears, but we promise plenty of fishnet!).  It’s all going down at the Tacoma Soccer Center this Saturday.

Second on the agenda is the indoor motorcycle & quad flat track racing event.  This is also on Saturday so you’ll have to choose between racing and roller derby.  Hmm… tough choice.  If you choose this one, however, it’s happening at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  I’ll see you there!

- Dale

Four days. Dozens of bands. An international collection of fans and musicians. What’s not to love? If you like old-timey music, then you need to head to Tacoma for its annual Wintergrass festival. You’ll catch some of the best names in bluegrass and get to watch them perform and then mingle with them afterwards. There are also workshops on everything from overcoming stage fright to mastering Old Time fiddle. The hotel lobbies are filled with impromptu jams. February 19-22. Yee haw!

– Danielle

What is Tacoma, if not the sum of its cool architecture, funky shops, the arts scene, small businesses and other unique, local offerings? In any season, these things could be undermined by big corporate interests and developers. While we love big business too, let’s resolve to preserve that which keeps Tacoma unique. Let’s shop local. Let’s take a moment to look, really look, at the amazing buildings that populate our downtown. Let’s skip a night at the movies and go see a play. Let’s resolve to keep Tacoma unique.

–Dale

Yes, it’s true.  Our very own Hotel Murano was recently featured on the Today Show.  They were doing a show on art hotels and selected us as one of their top picks.  If you’re interested in watching the clip, we’ve posted a video of it right here.

In case you didn’t know and are new to the area, the Hotel Murano features all glass art throughout the entire hotel.  Each floor is dedicated to a different artist and best of all, you can buy any of it!  I’d say it’s time to start planning a trip to Tacoma.

- Danielle

This could be one of the best graphics arts shows of the year. Handforth Gallery at Tacoma Public Library.  is showing 230 concert posters by the Ames Bros., who won awards for designing virtually every poster for Pearl Jam concerts. In addition, their work is highly sought after by Nike, MTV, Amazon.com, K2, Ride Snowboards and others. Very inspiring stuff.

–James

Either it’s new or it’s new to me. But finally there is one place to go online that tells you about all the wine tasting events around town. Thanks to a calendar, compiled by Suzy Stump at the Weekly Volcano called “Sipping Out”, you can now find out where to go every day of the week to sniff and slurp in public. I may bookmark this one myself. Our guests need to know where to go!

Toodles,
Danielle

Props go out to Tacoma Mama for her redesigned website. She is truly one of the best mavens for all things Tacoma on the Internet. Just to prove it, drop by her site, which is split up into several family-friendly categories, including Eat, Play, Learn, Celebrate, Shop, Explore, Talk and Cool. Click on the Celebrate page and you’ll get all sorts of ideas for things to do during the holidays. My favorite? You know how I like trains. I learned we can ride the Mount Rainier Scenic RR Snowball Express up into the snow-covered mountains. Kids’ll even get to meet Santa and get a gift from The Old Guy himself! It runs now through December 21, and you can get details here.

–Dale

On the other hand, tired of seeing the kids cooped in the house all day? Ready to do anything to tear the X-Box controllers from their sweaty little hands? Pile those kids in the car and head to Point Defiance Zoo for an evening of Zoolights.  Featuring half a million lights, this annual night-time event is just like a walk through a video game. At least, it’s like a video game, circa 1983.

–James

A good place to start, if you have little ones, is the Children’s Museum of Tacoma.  The Story Time sessions and Learning Lounge are intriguing enough, but parents might especially enjoy the “New Digs” feature. According to the website, it’s “a neighborhood brimming with container gardens and interactive window boxes. A produce stand and delivery truck offer abundant opportunities to sort, count, weigh, buy and sell a vibrant bounty of fruits and vegetables. Garden to table connections are made as children role-play in the sidewalk cafe, whipping up tasty treats or ordering a fresh lunch.”  Sounds like a tasty idea to me.

–Dale

Tacoma has a wonderful history – one worth preserving. And, to recognize special achievements in that area, the Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission has released its list of 2008 Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation Award winners. They are:

– David & Josephine Root (502 N. I St.) – Their house stood vacant for a number of years, calling upon extraordinary determination and commitment by the owners to finish the renovation project.

– Todd & Paula Bond (407 N. E St.): The residence, constructed in 1893 and remodeled in 1903, is located in the Stadium-Seminary National Register Historic District.

– Dr. Caroline T. Swope & David Waring (2902 N. Cedar): The Lord Residence, which was designed and constructed in 1906 by notable builder Sherman L. Blair, has been extensively rehabilitated. In 2007, it was designated a landmark on the Tacoma, Washington and National Registers of Historic Places.

– Metro Parks This award is for the stewardship of two important public historic assets: Point Defiance Park and Wright Park; both which are accessible and enjoyable to all of Tacoma’s citizens.

– Chinese Reconciliation Park The Chinese Reconciliation Park supporters are recognized for their dedicated persistence in initiating and building a Chinese Commemorative park and international pavilion to educate the community and memorialize this part of Tacoma history.

– Historic Tacoma & Save Our Bridge organizations The Murray Morgan Bridge is listed on the Tacoma and National Registers of Historic Places, as well as the Washington State Heritage Register. It was listed as one of 2008’s Most Endangered Historic Properties in the state.

(Information gleaned from Tacoma Daily Index.)

–Dale