May is Bike Month. May is Historic Preservation Month. May holds Affordable Housing Week. May is the month for a lightsaber battle, for live music and crafts in Old Town Park, for night markets, plant sales at your local high school, hands-on printmaking and paper arts, and locally made short films. It’s the month to learn about the history of Tacoma, and even contribute your own story at events like the Eastside Story Fest. It’s the month to pick-up litter with a bunch of nice people, the month to set out nutritious foods for your mail carrier to share with the food bank, the month to take time to learn more about affordable housing. It’s the month to tune up your bike and join a group ride.
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!
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?).
As we take our first steps into 2024, we’re thinking about home and how we make it. We’re thinking about how we continue to seek, find, and create belonging. In this list we’ve collected 7 ways we’ve made ourselves at home in Tacoma and made friends with the city. Go to a festival, become a regular, follow some local news, help out, be pals with the library, explore local history and art, do something new. After a while you’ve made a connection that didn’t exist before. These 7 ideas aren’t deep Tacoma secrets. Rather, think of this list like suggested ingredients for making yourself at home. Take a look and join us.
This month we’ve created a list focused on 10 ways to give in December. You’ll find 5 sections of recommendations for local gift giving with holiday markets and some of our favorite small shops included, and 5 suggestions for giving outside your circle of friends and family to community and unknown neighbors. All 10 ways of giving put love into the Tacoma community! Read on for a choir made of refugees and USA-born residents offering a concert to celebrate peace, a list of local cafes for coffee lovers, a gift card drive to support clients at the YWCA, a nostalgic holiday movie marathon, a diaper drive to comfort local families, a gift that cares for birds, and more.
In this list you’ll find opportunities to give bikes or books away for other people to use, volunteer days in our parks, a film festival, storytelling about homelessness, an online concert, a Then & Now tour of Tacoma, a chance to make sandwiches for neighbors in need, a fundraiser for Feed253, Zoolights and more!
It’s November. We’re not kidding. Get out of the house, out of your head, and into the Tacoma community. I mean, mix some cozy, book-reading, hot-buttered rum sipping, curled-up on the couch times in there too, but then go out and get literary, or party like it’s 1999, celebrate Día de los Muertos, submit your vote, take a cooking class, meet Indigenous artists, support a small business, or gather some friends for a local crafts market. We’ll show you the way.
