Tacoma's Art at Work Month has become a Godzilla's feast of literary, visual and performing arts. Is there any other town of comparable size in the Western Hemisphere that has anything to match it? We don't think so. November is Art at Work Month, but the festivities actually begin Monday, Oct. 28 with an opening party and the AMOCAT Arts Awards presentation inside and outside of the Foss Waterway Seaport. The free event offers appetizers, dessert and a no-host bar while Taxi Driver plays jazz, Tacoma Community College artists pour molten iron into blocks of ice, BareFoot Collective dances, Fab-5 breakdances, Tacoma Poet Laureate Lucas Smiraldo paints with words and Kat Ogden and Carla Barragan screen their latest films. As a bonus this year, Diane Hansen will remove the rope around her soon-to-be-installed public art piece, The Locks, so guests may personalize a provided padlock to hang on the installation. Toward the middle of the evening, Mayor Marilyn Strickland and the Tacoma Arts Commission will present the three 2013 AMOCAT Arts Awards winners, as well as the 2013 arts fund recipients. Dress warm.

ART AT WORK OPENING PARTY AND AMOCAT ARTS AWARDS, 6-8:30 p.m., Foss Waterway Seaport, 705 Dock St., Tacoma, free admission, artatworktacoma.com

See Also

Calendar: Arts and Entertainment

Calendar: Music and Nightlife