What's Happening? 15 Local April Events

This is us with our dog Dandie getting out and about around Tacoma via the Skyline Bridge.

Things are happening. Happening in Tacoma, happening nearby in Puyallup and Gig Harbor. Things like live music, like night markets, Black & BIPOC markets, community late nights for teens, a Daffodil Festival as old as your grandma (if you’re lucky), a queer storytelling event, film screenings, poetry readings, a 5k from a brewery and back, printmaking and paper arts, a chance to shred paper (not the arts kind), a chance to pick-up litter with a bunch of nice people. You can even celebrate the birthday of a certain old building if you want.

Grab the kids, your dog, your friend, yourself and step out the door into the community a time or two this April. The days are lengthening and brightening and blooming and warming and you might meet someone new, bump into a friend, or even get to know yourself better. Maybe we’ll see you out there.


1. The Daffodil Festival - 90 Years Around the sound

Grand Floral Parade
Saturday, April 1st
Tacoma 10:15am
Puyallup 12:45 pm
Sumner 2:30 pm
Orting 5:00 pm

Daffodil 8 K
Sunday, April 2nd
9:30 am - 12 pm in Puyallup

Daffodil Marine Parade
Sunday, April 16th
Tacoma Yacht Club (near ferry terminal to Thea Foss Waterway)

62nd Annual Junior Daffodil Parade
Saturday, April 22nd
10 am in Proctor

2. The Black Night Market

Saturday, April 1st
1 - 7 pm
The Tacoma Armory

A chance to support small BIPOC-owned businesses and creatives, to gather with friends, hear music, and just be out on the town.

  • 80 Black & BIPOC-owned businessea

  • live performances

  • food trucks

  • fashion

  • art displays

  • cash bar

Keep an eye out for more events with The Black Night Market this spring and summer.

3. Spring Volksmarch - 5K Walking Course with E9 Brewing co.

Sunday, April 2nd
11 am - 2 pm
E9 Brewing Co.

Start and end your 5k walk/march at the E9 downtown taproom, loop Wright Park, and return for $5 off your tab. (Make sure to check-in at the halfway mark too—no faking!)

Brew Dog will be on-site cooking up bratwurst and veggie dogs for that appetite you built over the 5k.

No entry fee, $12 commemorative stein (first fill free!).

4. The Resting Place - short film screening

Saturday, April 8th
2 pm
The Moore Library

Take a little time on a Saturday afternoon to learn more about the Vietnamese community in Tacoma. Hosted by the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation-CRPF. Free to join with no registration required thanks to funding by Tacoma Creates.

5. Pass the Torch

Wednesday, April 12th
6 - 7 pm
The Moore Library

The Tacoma Arts Commission and Tacoma Public Library invite you to Pass the Torch, a free community event to celebrate both the current and incoming Tacoma Poet Laureates. Hear poetry from 2021-2023 laureate Lydia K. Valentine and from the 2023-2025 laureate Christian Paige. Poetry spoken aloud is powerful, but especially so if people are there to hear it!

6. McMenamins Elks Temple 107th Birthday!

Friday, April 14th - Sunday, April 16th
McMenamins Elks Temple

The Elks Temple building is 107 years old! McMenamins is ready throw its building a party and you’re invited. Two days of live music, garden tours, specials, and the release of a new stout too.

7. Oscar’s Enemies Litter Pick-up

Saturday, April 15th
9 - 11 am
Tacoma Location TBD

“Pick up litter and make the city glitter.” And do it with a whole big group of other people from around Tacoma who like to take care of the city and be outdoors and get the chance to win raffle prizes and fun stuff like that. If you want to come help out be sure to RSVP here and Oscar’s Enemies will email you with all the good details you need (they’re helpful like that).

Steamroller prints in the window at King’s Books

8. Tacoma Wayzgoose

Saturday, April 15th
11 am - 4 pm
Moore Library

One of our favorite Tacoma events! Tacoma Wayzgoose has been on hold since the last event in April 2019, so lovers of printmaking and paper arts are so excited it’s back. Traditionally held at King’s Books, the event is moving to the Moore Branch of the Tacoma Public Library for the first time—we hear it’s to give the event a bit more space. Here’s what to expect:

  • letterpress, printmaking, and book arts extravaganza

  • local printers with wares for sale

  • the opportunity to make paper, bind books, and print a keepsake of the event

  • steamroller prints! 2 x 3-foot linoleum block prints made using an actual steamroller in the parking lot—yes, please

Image from Windermere Abode

9. Shredding event at Abode

Saturday, April 15th
11 am - 1 pm
Windermere Abode Old Town

We don't want to talk to you about taxes because we don’t want to talk about taxes. But we will invite you to stop by our office to get rid of old documents. Shredding documents you don't need anymore makes space in the drawer for more weird stuff and protects you against fraud.

The Old Town Abode Office is hosting a shredding event where you can bring your unwanted personal and tax documents to be securely shredded. Unsure of what you should be keeping vs. shredding? Take a look at the Abode blog for what you should definitely shred, what you might want to get rid of, and what you should definitely keep.

Image from the Rainbow Center

10. Queer Identity Storytelling Workshop

Saturday, April 15th
1 - 3 pm
Rainbow Center

Learn how to write your story with the option to share it in a safe queer space. Participating in this workshop gives you the opportunity to be part of the oral history project with Tacoma Public Library's Community Archives. Make sure to RSVP to save your spot!

Image from Metro Parks Tacoma

11. Spring Fling at Eastside Community Center

Saturday, April 29th
1 - 3 pm
Eastside Community Center

Free family event to celebrate spring!

  • play in the pool

  • DJ

  • over-sized games

  • bouncy house

  • ice cream

  • taco truck

  • & more!

12. Tacoma Night Market

Saturday, April 29th
5 - 10 pm
Sunday, April 30th
11 am - 4 pm
Freighthouse Square

It’s local shopping, mingling, eating, connecting, discovering. Show up for local vendors selling food, art, handmade items of all kinds, vintage, and more. The market continues Sunday with drag brunch to mix a bit more life and liveliness into the market atmosphere.

The location is set for Freighthouse Square’s Foss Hall and Rainier Room, but just check back with the Tacoma Night Market page for updates and details.

Weekly Events to Try in April

Image from 7 Seas Brewing

13. Tuesdays & Saturdays: Live Music at 7 Seas Gig Harbor Taproom

Tuesdays, April 4, 11, 18 & 25
Saturdays, April 1, 18, 15, 22 & 29
6-8 pm
Gig Harbor Taproom (temporary location at 3207 57th St Ct.)

Every Tuesday! Every Saturday! You can go ahead a make live music part of your regular life. Follow the 7 Seas page to see who’s playing, or just show up and stay open. If beer’s not your thing, order a cider from event partner Locust Cider instead. Live music nights are family friendly and leashed pets are welcome too. Feel free to bring your own food, or order in from local restaurants.

Image from The Mill by J & A

14. Thursdays: Singer-Songwriter Spotlight with Cascade Music Alliance

Thursdays, April 6, 13, 20 & 27
6 - 9 PM
The Mill by J & A

Hosted weekly on Thursdays at The Mill by J & A, it’s a time to listen, share, support, sing, play, and get inspired. Get to know the Cascade Music Alliance a grass roots group of musicians who like to be face to face with other musicians; maybe that’s you! Order pizza, sit with a glass of wine, and bring your dog if you want. For ages 21+.

People’s Center

15. Fridays: Teen Late Night

Fridays: April 7, 14, 21 & 28
8 - 11 pm
People’s Community Center
Eastside Community Center

Teen drop-in time every Friday in a supervised setting with:

Eastside Community Center - Images from Metro Parks Tacoma

  • open gym

  • sports

  • cooking

  • games & much more!

Notice that grades 6-8 meet at People’s Center in Hilltop on 1st & 3rd Fridays, and at Eastside Community Center on 2nd & 4th Fridays, and vice versa for grades 9-12, so there’s somewhere to go for each grade on each Friday. School ID is required and entry is free.

KEEP IN TOUCH ABOUT TACOMA LIFE, COMMUNITY, EVENTS, HOMES, AND A BIT ABOUT US.

On this closing day the biggest excitement came from a 7 year old who’s about to have his own room and who loves (fervently) the bathroom downstairs with orange walls. We’re excited for the whole family. Friendly neighbors came over to sa
I’m grateful Michael is willing to join me again, again, again and again on Orcas Island. We went last week so I could turn 41 in a place where my heart feels quiet, where deer tracks and bird tracks cross on the beach, where paths bordered by
When even the east glows at sunset What stills me in one window frame Where fabric flower feather and wax make the table a place How light of sky and light of candle and light of bulb need their own names Why home is also the distance seen beyond its
There’s change in the air across Tacoma, the return of things once lost, the reopening of places once closed, the transformation of one restaurant into another, the creation of brand new places to gather, shop, eat, and drink. We’ve been
From Sunday to Tuesday we joined almost every single person from @windermereabode for a retreat at @seabrookwa. We entered a time of camaraderie, visioning, personal exploration, and so many hugs. I don’t know how many realtor retreats are full
Featured
What's New, Tacoma? 17 New Businesses + 3 Coming Soon
What's New, Tacoma? 17 New Businesses + 3 Coming Soon

There’s change in the air across Tacoma, the return of things once lost, the reopening of places once closed, the transformation of one restaurant into another, the creation of brand new places to gather, shop, eat, and drink. We’ve been experiencing this change across the city and wanted to pull some of it together in one place. What follows is a list of 17 new, renewed, and returned businesses along with 3 coming soon. See if you can enjoy and support something new this month; if you do, we’d love to hear about it!

Tacoma Community: 15 Things to Do in October
Tacoma Community: 15 Things to Do in October

We’ve rounded-up and narrowed-down 15 ways to get out into community this October. Don your most intellectual scarf and hat combination for a literary night, dance and eat with the Greeks, step into a candlelit tour our 1855, get psyched up about cycling (and bicycle fashion), try forest bathing, don your most eccentric scarf and hat combination for the film festival, write letters for fun, tour art studios, hear from Latinas who experience being The Firsts in so many ways, take a local art walk, and celebrate Día de los Muertos. We’ve got some ways to volunteer in here too—lend a hand with Habitat for Humanity, pick up litter, or pull weeds and plant seeds at a favorite park to keep Tacoma green.

Get Out of Town: Puget Sound Day Trips
Get Out of Town: Puget Sound Day Trips

Once in a while, we all need to get out of town. This month we’re sharing about Port Townsend and Vashon Island, two places we go again and again when a change of scene is calling. They’re places where the beach is always near, where parking is easy, where woods and trails beckon us away from the sidewalks. Places where small, local bakeries, coffee roasters, independent bookstores, and one of a kind shops outnumber chains by far. We’ll share some of the ways we pass the time and how we fill our stomachs (never a problem). Don’t worry too much about planning; these destinations are so close to Tacoma, you can show up again and try what you missed. Wake up one morning and just decide to go!

Tacoma Outdoor Dining Guide
Tacoma Outdoor Dining Guide

Want to go out and really be out—out in the open air, beneath a colorful umbrella, on a shaded patio, beside a bustling sidewalk, seated on a deck overlooking the water, pulled up to a bar counter by the street? We’ve gathered over 60 of Tacoma’s outdoor dining spots by neighborhood to get you started. Take a look at our list of restaurants, cafes, and bars with outdoor seating, then get yourself away from the screen, out the door, and into the life of Tacoma’s summer. See you out there!

Out on the Town 2024: Tacoma Tuesdays
Out on the Town 2024: Tacoma Tuesdays

Tacoma, Tuesdays, Trivia, Tacos, Talent. It’s the truth, there’s stuff to do. We have 19 of those things listed right here (twenty would have sounded so good) and not all of them start with “t.” There’s ballet and book club, wine and film, story time and bingo. So dust off your dancing shoes, clean your spectacles, strap the baby in a stroller, study up on random facts, warm up your vocal chords, and work up an appetite; it’s Tuesday in Tacoma!

Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things—Vol. 4
Tacoma Love: 5 Good Things—Vol. 4

This is not an ultimate, all time, best of the best, win or go home, top 5 list. No, we aren’t really bringing that kind of energy to life. This is the 4th edition of 5 things we like in Tacoma from a list of way more things we like in Tacoma. Sound good? An annual rogue art treasure hunt, a tiny slip of sandy beach, an old place to watch new and cult classic films, a weekly opportunity for repairing your stuff, and a spot where the noodles and broth fill you up in a good way. Some of it’s free. All of it’s good. We’re not making any other claims (who needs all that best-stress anyway?).

The Sunset Side: Tacoma's Other Waterfront
The Sunset Side: Tacoma's Other Waterfront

This month we're here to give a shout out to the other waterfront, the home of Titlow Beach, Seashore Drive, the iconic Narrows Bridges, and the Tacoma sunset. We’ll share where we eat and what we order, the trails we like to take, and what makes this side of the city feel like home. All you need is one evening for a waterfront getaway.

Hi, I'm Michael Duggan, a licensed broker with Windermere Abode. I would love to help you through the home buying or selling process. Please contact me to set up a meeting and get things started.