THE STARS

Stargazer’s night

Every so often, on cloudless nights that follow slow traffic days, smog makes a deal with the atmosphere and agrees to cut out early so South Sounders can see those white, twinkling things Midwesterners and mountain purists call “stars.” But apparently billions of these star things are floating around up there every night in patterns that form tangible-looking objects — and better yet, it’s freakin’ dark at Wolf Haven International.  So load up the kids Friday and head to the wolf sanctuary to check out their organized Perseids meteor shower viewing party. — Suzy Stump

[Wolf Haven International, Friday, Aug. 10, 9:30 p.m., $8-$15, 3111 Offut Lake Road S.E., Tenino, 360.264.4695]

THE FESTIVAL

Pets rule

There\'s nothing cuter than a big ol\' wet dog. Well, OK, cats wearing sunglasses are pretty cute. A baby with creamed corn on his face, cute too. Pig in a tutu — check. And an iguana in a sombrero? Dios mio — the cute-o-meter is gonna blow!



But big ol\' wet dogs are still up there. And Saturday’s McKinley Street Festival is gonna serve up a fat, stanky plate of canine cute as it hosts the Dugan Foundations’s Animalocity Pet Parade where dogs, cats, birds and other cuteness parade down McKinley Avenue around 3:30 p.m.



The festival will feature a kiddie carnival (cute), a school supply giveaway, food, and music by Larger Than Life Band, Stacey Jones and the Wulff Tones, Angela Jossy and Sammy Barrett.



What about the wet dogs?



A art auction titled Drink will be held to raise funds for the Dugan Foundation and the street festival.  Donated, hand-decorated doggie drinking bowls will go to the highest bidders.  And the Weekly Volcano has money on water added to those bowls immediately for the dogs in the parade.  After all, parading is hard work.



Oh, and leave Cujo at home: All aggressive dogs will be banned immediately.



One more thing. Don’t let your dog drive a motorized parade float. Not even if they\'re wearing sombreros! — Suzy Stump



[McKinley Street Festival, Saturday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free, 35th and McKinley, Tacoma, www.myspace.com/topoftacoma]

THE PAST

Fur Brigades

As a rule, the Weekly Volcano doesn’t like to repeat itself here in Playlist-land. “Say something once, why say it again?” spat out Talking Head David Byrne in “Psycho Killer.” Exactly, we’ve always thought. But here’s a worthy exception. We are, once again, directing you to the Fort Nisqually Brigade Encampment. It might be 2007 to the rest of the world, but to a group of South Sound re-enactors it’s 1855 when fur brigades from east of the Cascades camped at Fort Nisqually.  Want to see what those nutty brigades did way back when?  Check it out Saturday. — SS

[Fort Nisqually, Saturday, Aug. 11, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., $2.50-$5, Point Defiance Park, 5400 N. Pearl St., Tacoma, 253.591.5339]

THE WORD

Stories in the dark

The Weekly Volcano has been reading the same Highlights Magazine short story, “The Red Kite,” for the past month. We just can’t finish it because we keep getting distracted by the Puzzles ‘n’ Funnies on the opposite page. Plus, well, Goofus and Gallant are always telling it like it is. Anyway, The South Sound Story Guild sympathizes with our distracted little selves, so they have organized a night of short adaptations of literary work, folk tales and local history Saturday for all ages (7-8 p.m.) and spooky stories beginning at 8 p.m. — SS

[Priest Point Park, Saturday, Aug. 11, 7-9:30 p.m., free, bring chairs and flashlights, 2222 East Bay Dr. N.E., Olympia, 360.753.8380]

THE ART

Walk the art

So there you are in your studio, stuck in a hopeless mire of artistic schizophrenia. Traditional painting is more respectable. Computer-generated art is edgier. Ceramics break, but have a certain charm.  Woodcarving?  Water-color? Your studio is empty; your head is scattered.  What is the best way to express yourself? Well, grab a wall downtown during the Tacoma Third Thursday Art Walk, which is held Aug. 16.  Besides the museum, art galleries, and Freighthouse Square parading their wares, businesses and restaurants open their walls to artists. Get busy.  — SS

[Downtown Tacoma, Thursday, Aug. 16, 5-8 p.m., free, Tacoma, 253.272.4327]