Tacomans must've been on their best behavior lately (aside from that whole Bieber laptop swiping - and hey, it's debatable whether that's even a bad thing,) because the Gritty City's stocking has been stuffed with one of the finest gifts ever - Katy Evans, who like the spirit of the holidays, spreads joy and goodwill throughout her community.

"You really feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself," says Evans of Tacoma.

Evans' awe and enthusiasm flowed into our two-hour long conversation as we sat at The Red Hot, drinking E9 Brewery's Hard Day's Work Saison, (Evans' recommendation) and discussing all her hard work for the city of Tacoma.

Last week, Evans received the city of Tacoma's 2012 AMOCAT Award for her community outreach, working to encourage engagement in local culture from citizens of all ages, abilities and means.

She's co-founder of the online arts site Post Defiance, as well as a major contributor,  she sits on the Spaceworks Steering Committee, she coordinates Campus MLK, she coordinates Tacoma Cash Mob and she pens a sometimes blog, at fullygrownfan.com. Her love of arts and music is evident in all her work - she was even in the all-girl punk band To See You Broken.

And, as the cover picture suggests, Evans is a big fan of Christmas. (More on that later.)

Love Tacoma

Evans's love relationship with Tacoma began at age 10. Living on Lake Tapps, her eight-year stint with the Tacoma Youth Chorus exposed her to the old theaters and different area in downtown Tacoma.

"It was formative for me and made a very positive impression of Tacoma," Evans says, now 32. "Even then, when things were dingier, Tacoma still had charm."

After high school and a spell living in Seattle, Evans moved to Olympia to attend The Evergreen State College. About a year later, and after meeting her current boyfriend, Evans realized that the Tacoma campus was a more affordable option and shortly after moving back, she landed a job as grants manager at the Museum of Glass.

The international exposure of arts that MOG offered,  combined with her love of local arts and music - and her independent nature - brought Evans to where she is today. 

"Even when she was in high school she was independent," says Janice Bridges, Evans' mom. "She's definitely not a Lone Ranger style of independence. She likes to set her own agenda - but she's always surrounded by people of all walks of like."

Evans also held a direct-service grant writing  job to encourage youth reading and a communications position with University of Puget Sound.

UPS was perhaps a pivotal point in Evans' journey. As she put it, "Coming from the semi-terrifying world of arts and grassroots fundraising to go to a place with such a reliable history and to see a well-oiled machine where no one was panicking was really cool."

Now, with a Bachelor's degree under her belt, loads of writing experience and a lust for life in Tacoma, Evans does full-time fundraising and grant writing for Metro Parks Tacoma.

"I like fundraising," says Evans, "I think it's valuable. I think giving people an opportunity to invest in their community is essential."

Drew Ebersole worked with Evans when he was the executive director of the Greater Metro Parks Foundation.

"Katy is a superstar," says Ebersole. "She has a rare combination of great intuition and an ability to lead fearlessly in her community. She's bright, has clear ideas and follow through.

"If we can't keep people like Katy in Tacoma, we're not doing our job," he adds.

While she thoroughly enjoys her work with Metro Parks, she still makes time for her hobby jobs, which includes managing Post Defiance.

"I wish I could do it full time," admits Evans, who even joked about the possibility of getting a Post Defiance tattoo. (It wouldn't be her first - the lady has style.)

The website highlights arts, such as Fulcrum Gallery's current show "Union Tac"; community, such as Tacoma-inspired Halloween costumes; recreation, such as the zipline at Northwest Trek.

The name, Post Defiance, took some thought.

"We thought about calling it Defiant Point - but then it's like we'd have to be yelling all the time," laughs Evans.

"We are definitely feeding a niche market," adds Evans, who says her favorite thing to write is profile pieces on folks launching cool, underground ventures.

Evans says it's important to encourage readers to start conversations about their local scene as well as including multiple voices representing the arts. Eventually, she hopes local seniors will add their voices to Post Defiance.

Evans, who calls herself a "confident nerd," has also made a huge impact with her work on the Spaceworks team, which works to bring vitality to downtown Tacoma by matching emerging artists and creative enterprises with landlords of vacant buildings - breathing life into spaces that would otherwise be barren. Spaceworks provides a 6-month cycle to allow could-be tenants an opportunity to start making money. The organizations come ready to pay utilities, but not rent.

The work has been successful.  Two thriving businesses based off this model - Modern Cottage, now on Broadway, and Poppy & Co. are permanent businesses.

"It's been a fascinating experience with entrepreneurship and creativity," says Evans. "We hit it from both sides. We cooperate with property owners and lease holders for empty buildings and ask them to donate space - which is good for them, for insurance purposes and upkeep of the building - and we  hook them up with start-up artists and other various small businesses."

Evans says a jewel right now is a space on Hilltop with Fab 5, Live Paint, 2nd Cycle, Write@253 and Nate Dybevik, a musician and piano restorer.

"Four of the five of those organizations are now able to pay rent," says Evans.

Bring up Campus MLK and Evans is all smiles.

According to Campus MLK's website, "Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood is home to dozens of community organizations, agencies, and businesses who offer creative opportunities to our young neighbors: Campus MLK will reach out and share these opportunities in a comprehensive and captivating way, allowing youth to pick and choose, using their neighborhood as a student would a campus."

Five grassroots arts organizations make up team Campus MLK: The DASH Center, Fab-5, Write@253, The Warehouse and Post Defiance.

"All of us involved felt that we needed to work more collaboratively," says Evans. "We've met kids who had no idea what services were just three blocks away. We want everyone to have an awareness," says Evans.

The list continues.

Evans also coordinates Tacoma's Cash Mob, which brings spurts of money and joy to local businesses such as Teaching Toys, Crescent Moon, King's Books, Poison Apple and Dorky's. The next Cash Mob is Nov. 17 with a starting point at Landmark Temple. "There is a very special prize for the first 80 Cash Mobbers," hints Evans.

Love Christmas

Spreading joy and sprinkling magic on Tacoma comes naturally to Evans. Christmas can grab most of the credit. Her upbringing with family and friends around the holiday influenced her giving nature.

"Ever since she was little she loved Christmas," says Bridges. "She lit up as much as the tree."

"I've loved the holidays since I was a kid," affirms Evans, who hosts many holiday parties, including a winter reading and cookie exchange. "I'm not sure exactly why, but I invest a lot in the seasons themselves, celebrating the changes, eating seasonally, paying attention as the world around me grows, dies and reemerges. Makes the experience a little bigger, somehow."

Evans' wish, or gift, for the future of Tacoma?

"I continue to be inspired by the direction we're headed," says Evans, "but I want to see a big investment, I want to see a community level ground swell of investment in Tacoma, I don't want to see one magic person invest - If we can all find ways to celebrate and support the things we love would be awesome."

And the story behind the nickname Holiday Hero?

"A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a button that says The Holiday Hero," says Evans. "I loved the idea of a hero for the holidays.

"I'm pretty unabashed about spreading cheer. Also, I like sparkles and silly Christmas music. And although it's audaciously early, it is a privilege to make the cover an homage to one of Tacoma's native sons, Bing Crosby, and celebrate the impending holidays."

While she may indeed be a Holiday Hero, her goodwill extends year round.

Perhaps Evans' colleague Ebersole said it best, "Katy's presence is a present to us all."