Music
When was the last time you went to a live show and local poets performed between sets? If your answer is never, or at least never in our mid-sized city of Tacoma, you're not alone. That's about to change, though, as the multi-genre, mixed artform "Tacoma AF Music Series" kicks
Arts
On a chilly Wednesday night last January, Claudia Castro Luna took up the mantle of Washington state poet laureate. She is the state's fifth poet laureate, and she'll serve as a poetic ambassador to communities across the evergreen state from 2018-2020. Her prior experience as Seattle's inaugural Civic Poet (2015-2017),
Travel
Nowhere is there a city as enamored with goats as Spokane, Washington. We're not just talking "bah bah bah" goats, we're talking garbage-eating goats, goats doing yoga, goat-inspired breweries, goat namesakes ... goats doing everything. They've run amok. And since we're never one to spoil the party, we thought we'd
Military Life
There's something intensely satisfying about toiling in the garden on a cool summer morning. Whether it's the feel of damp soil clinging to the underside of your nails or the plucking of sun-ripened vegetables from the vine -- the act of gardening can bring you a sense of "Zen" that
Travel
When talking about University Place, you may be tempted to refer to it as a quiet, waterfront neighborhood of Tacoma. You might also be tempted to call it sleepy, or maybe wave your hand dismissively when a friend asks, ‘what's there to do in UP?' because you're pretty sure there's
Travel
No one goes to Tacoma's 6th Avenue neighborhood to explore the outdoors or catch a glimpse of the sweet waters of the Puget Sound. They go there to experience the funky Tacoma vibe -- the one the gritty city is -- and has been -- known for over the last
Travel
There's nothing like the sun-kissed days of summer here in Washington State, especially after a long and cold winter followed by a soggy spring. So, to welcome in the sun and the season, we decided to hit the road for a weekend getaway to Spokane. The "Lilac City" is the second-largest
Veterans
In an ideal world, when a National Guard or Reserve servicemember attends annual training, monthly drill or is called to active-duty status, her coworkers and employer are there to support her. They absorb her workload -- probably with a little grumbling -- then work together to finish her projects as
Stage
Pop Quiz: what do you get when you combine a short summer hike into a Rhododendron preserve with live theater under the canopy of conifer trees? You get none other than the Kitsap Forest Theater, an outdoor theater experience found only in the Pacific Northwest. This spring and summer, Kitsap
Military Life
For some, the appeal of participating in the arts is the ability to breathe life into imaginary worlds -- to take an idea and shape it into artwork you can see, touch, hear or feel. For Syierra Elise Smiley, a screenwriter and high school senior at Tacoma's School of the
