A few years ago, when the word “Wayzgoose” was uttered it was met by blank, befuddled stares. Now, not so much.



Say the word and people will nod, uttering “letterpress” or “King’s Books.”  A rare few might know that the word itself is derived from a celebration thrown by a master printer for his workmen on St. Bartholomew’s Day in late August. But people in Tacoma also know — probably — that unlike the archaic celebration from days of yore, our own Wayzgoose is held in early March (March 1, this year), and features a slightly different take on things.



But don’t expect testosterone and ale served by the odd busty wench in faux-Renaissance finery. Our festival this year will feature The Cartoonist’s League of Absurd Washingtonians (or C.L.A.W.) for a dose of creative testosterone, the creation of the latest installment of feminist art by the masterminds of Anagram Press and, once again, a man named sweet pea. His hair, big, red, and curly, may be held back in stiff little pigtails as his poncho flutters in the breeze created by his wild ride upon his fiery steed. OK, probably it needs to be pointed out that the steed is actually a big-hurkin’-hunk-o’-machine, commonly referred to as a “steamroller” though it’s not actually powered by steam. It will be used at this Wayzgoose, as it was last year, to create very limited edition broadside prints, smashing wood- or linoleum-cut pieces of art created by a diverse group of local artists into paper held between sandwiches of plywood.



sweet pea (whose name is, legally, sweet pea with capitalization optional) elaborated on what to expect this year, in terms of the steamroller press: “We have a better idea of the process this year. Last year, we were kind of flying by the seats of our pants. Now we know, if there’s gravel on top of the plywood, it leaves an impression on the paper … it’s a physics thing. You don’t want it to be perfect because it’s street art, but we do understand the process better.”



He confirmed as well that he will be wearing a poncho again this year, but expect something different. “If you’re doing steamroller printing, you’ve got to have a spectacle,” he explained.



He also emphasized that the King’s Books Wayzgoose is about more than just a poncho on a steamroller. It’s a celebration of the small press, hence the timing of the event (March is Small Press month). This will be the fifth Wayzgoose presented by King’s Books. As in years past, there will be L’Arch Farms’ paper-making along with various other activities that center around the art of small press, but the focus is still on letterpress.



Echoing the popularity of letterpress in general, (see letterpress greeting cards at gift shops and made-in-China fake letterpress stationery at Target as just two illustrations) the popularity of letterpress in Tacoma has “exploded.” sweet pea points to attendance at the first year’s Wayzgoose — “maybe 200?” — contrasted to last year’s “six or seven hundred,” and then also points to an influx of new letterpress talent into the area.



Both Chandler O’Leary (who works with Jessica Spring as the entity Anagram Press) and Allison Baer of Lettuce Press are new to Tacoma, and will represent themselves at the Wayzgoose, along with longtime Wayzgoose attendees Lance Kagey and Tom Llewellyn (Beautiful Angle) Catheryn Alice (May Day Press), Lisa Hasegawa (ilfant press), Jenny Craig (Notta Pixie Press,) and Carl Montford (Montford Press).



Joining the C.L.A.W for steamroller-print design work will be artists Chris Sharp, Marc Dombrosky and Shannon Eakins (whose work is set to be a sewer-cap impression sans ink, pending help from the city of Tacoma), Stadium High School’s printmaking program, and Ric Mathies, among others.



The steamroller prints will be created in batches of six, with one print from each set to be raffled off to a lucky ticket buyer at the Wayzgoose, and with another to be auctioned off in November’s Book Arts Auction.



But even those who don’t win steamroller prints can walk away with cool free works of small-press art after spending a uniquely fun, uniquely Tacoma, all-ages-engaged afternoon.



[King’s Books, Sunday, March 1, noon to 4 p.m., free, 218 St Helens Ave, 253.272.8801]