Win Season’s Tickets to Tacoma City Ballet!

Ethereal moment at a Whalesong rehearsal. Photo: Connie Riggio

Put all those hours on Facebook to good use: work your social media connections and get the buzz out about Tacoma City Ballet’s Spring Dance Extravaganza. You could win a grand prize of two 2012 season’s tickets to the ballet! Contest deadline is Wednesday, April 18, 5pm.

Spreading the word is easy: simply post Tacoma City Ballet‘s Facebook page on your wall, or tag @TacCityBallet with a link to the Broadway Center event page in your Twitter feed; every time you encourage your friends to purchase tickets to TCB’s Spring Dance Extravaganza you’ll earn another entry in the contest. There’s no limit to the number of times you can post. The participant with the most entries will win a pair of tickets to all of TCB’s 2012 productions:

• Spring Dance Extravaganza – April 20th – 22^nd
• Storybook Ballet Theatre – May 19th & 20^th
• Tacoma City Ballet’s Annual Art Gallery – July 21^st
• The Haunted Theatre – October 20th – 28^th
• The Nutcracker – December 8th – 23rd

Photo: Connie Riggio

Get creative and support your local city ballet! Are you a blogger? Write about the Spring Dance Extravaganza, repin the performance on Pinterest, or film a YouTube video – and help fill the theater. See the TCB blog for the fine print. For further information, contact Leah Taff at 253.272.4219 or visit www.tacomacityballet.com.

Tags: free tickets, Tacoma City Ballet

The Grand Cinema Oscar Party, Sunday, February 26

It’s George Clooney Night – oops, we mean the Oscars! – next Sunday, and the Grand Cinema is hosting Tacoma’s premier Academy Awards party at Theater on the Square (915 Broadway). Get set for a night of red carpet fun with doors opening at 4pm, and televised coverage starting at 5pm.

Take your seats for an evening of fun, Feb. 26.

Order your tickets now for a shot at a year’s worth of free tickets to the Grand for the individual with the most prescient Oscar ballot. The ticket price ($20/members; $25 general admission) includes a catered box dinner from Maxwell’s Restaurant with decadent dessert by Corina Bakery. Take this opportunity to dress up and step out at Theater on the Square; the winning costume will score $100 to Chopstix courtesy of the Weekly Volcano. Info: 253-593-4474 or GrandCinema.com.

Tags: Grand Cinema, Oscar party

Tacoma is for Lovers, February 12 at King’s Books

Poster by Chuck Knigge

Attention, V-Day shoppers: Tacoma is for Lovers and King’s Books are presenting a special, romantic edition of the artist craft fair Sunday, Feb. 12, 11am-4pm at King’s Books (218 St. Helens Ave.). Find gifts to tickle the most discriminating valentine, including rabbit tees, Victorian-framed insects, letterpress prints, stylish accessories, heavenly scents, delicate corsages, vintage fashion, artisanal cheese and creamery products by some of T-town’s best-loved creative souls.

Tacoma Is For Lovers is a community-based organization that promotes the visibility of local artists and encourages reuse, intentionality, sustainability and high craft. Participating artists include: Backcountry Creamery, Mindy Barker,  La La Laurie, Orange House Press, Lulu, Deeds and Petunia, DEVIANTdecor, Urban Doe, Libertine Tacoma, Lauren Logsdon, Mara Loveday, Eleven11Wish, Atlas Past, Parisienne Girl Design, Miranda Pollitz, Matthew Porter, Singe, Heather Rowland, Senua, Slide Sideways, and James Wenlock.

Look for Opal and Lola selling lemonade! All proceeds of the lemonade stand will benefit Laurie Cinotto’s terrific Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. Get a sneak preview of TIFL here.

The 10th Northwest Biennial is on through May 20, 2012!

There’s more than one way to enjoy the 10th Northwest Biennial at the Tacoma Art Museum, thanks to a series of special activities honoring this spectacular showcase of regional art and artists. Next up, An Evening of Education and Art, on Third Thursday gallery night, Feb. 16, 5–8pm. Enjoy performances and art-making celebrating the achievements of the civil rights movement and Black History Month, and the 10th Northwest Biennial. This family-friendly event celebrates the intersection of education and art at TAM with a vibrant mix of local artists, teachers, teen interns and members of the community. Check out the Community Art Space featuring elementary student artwork curated by School of the Arts (SOTA) interns. Learn about educational resources at TAM, and upcoming programs through the Puget Creek Restoration Society, Metro Parks, and more. Nibble complimentary snacks, and win fabulous prizes in a TAM raffle. Admission: free from 5–8pm; free for teachers all day! Click here to see a schedule of events for the evening.

On Saturday, Feb. 18, 10am–5 pm, TAM presents Art from the Heart. Join several of the artists honored  in the 10th Northwest Biennial in this day of interactive works of art inspired by the idea of “art and social practice,” a contemporary movement in which artists encourage their audience to think about, discuss, and even act on important social questions of the day. All activities and performances are free with museum admission. Click here for information about each event.
• 12–4 pm: Abraham Ingle presents Fake Up
• 1–5 pm: Ariana Jacob discusses The American Society for Personally Questioning Political Questions
• 2-4 pm: Wynne Greenwood invites participation in Video, Performance, and Identity (pre-registration required)

National Print Exhibition Opening at PLU, February 8

Art work by Arvid Anderson. Photo courtesy of PLU University Gallery

The Human Experience is the subject of a national print exhibition opening Feb. 8, 5-7pm, at Pacific Lutheran University. The show brings together art from across the country that explores “the avant garde in terms of printmaking,” according to PLU assistant professor of art and design, Craig Cornwall, in a YouTube video.

Cornwall and Jessica Spring, PLU visiting artist of English art and design, will give a fascinating onsite demonstration of the printmaker’s art – and a few lucky gallery attendees will receive an original print to take home.

Art by Jessica Spring and Chandler O'Leary. Photo courtesy of PLU University Gallery

Visitors will have the opportunity to see how etchings are printed, “see the actual plate, the press, the pull process, in terms of how [a print] is put together,” promises Cornwall.

Can’t make the opening reception? The University Gallery in Ingram Hall is open Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm; admission free. Pacific Lutheran University, Wheeler St. S. and 121st St. S., in Tacoma. Exhibition runs through Mar. 7.

2/4 Book Signing:”Cinder” Introduces Cyborg Cinderella

WHO: Tacoma author Marissa Meyer
WHAT: Book reading and signing for her debut novel, Cinder
WHERE: Wheelock Library, 3722 N. 26th St.
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2pm
ADMISSION: Free. Books will be available for purchase at the event.

Put-upon storybook heroines in fiction, fantasy and fairytales have morphed into arresting, razor-sharp superheroines, as Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson’s novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, illustrates. Popular culture embraces this new archetype, whose influence stretches from music, literature and urban street style to the unlikely reaches of the French haute couture, where Givenchy recently encaged models’ faces and necks with sinister “jewels” that evoked the treasures of a future eon, a different galaxy.

Now Tacoma author, Marissa Meyer, has jumped into the fray with Cinder, a young adult novel that recasts the Cinderella story into the future. A press release sets the scene: “Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl….Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.”

Meyer, 27, is Tacoma-born and raised, and studied creative writing at Pacific Lutheran University. Her debut novel is the first installment of a four-piece series (all based on classic tales) called The Lunar Chronicles: the package deal sold at auction for $800,000, and Cinder reached the New York Times Best-Sellers List (in Children’s Chapter Books) within two weeks of its Jan. 3 publication. Buzz about a movie is in the works. Talk about fairytale endings (and beginnings!).

BULA! From Fiji, With Love

WHO: Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC)
WHAT: BULA! 14th Annual Asia Pacific New Year’s Celebration
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 11, 11am-6pm
WHERE: Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall, 2727 East D St.
ADMISSION: Free!

We don’t know about you, but after the recent winter whiteout we’re more than ready for a blast of tropical heat. Just in time comes BULA! The 14th Annual Asia Pacific New Year’s Celebration, a multicultural extravaganza celebrating the arts, culture and history of 47 countries of Asia and the Pacific Islands. At first we thought this had to be a conspiracy of fun; a cool way to extend New Years celebrations ever deeper into the spring calendar. Well, it is! Each year the family-friendly party grows in popularity, with 8,000 expected to attend this year.

The host organization, the Asia Pacific Cultural Center (APCC), is proud to showcase the Republic of Fiji at this year’s festival (bula is Fijian for “hello”). The all-day event features traditional music, dance, food, crafts, storytelling and hands-on activities from across the Pacific Islands and Asia. Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Okinawa, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Tonga, Tahiti, Guam, Korea, Japan and China are some of the cultural groups that will be represented. The featured guest of the Fijian community is the Honorable Ambassador Winston Thompson from Washington, DC.

Itching to release your inner hula dancer? Save the date – hula sessions will be offered throughout the day!

Tags: APCC, Asia Pacific Cultural Center, Bula

10 in 10: 2002 Museum of Glass Transforms Tacoma Skyline

(This piece concludes our 10 in 10 series spotlighting 10 of the top people, ideas and organizations to hit Tacoma in the past decade. 10 in 10 was conceived in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Art at Work Month, Tacoma’s premier annual cultural event, and a month-long celebration of the arts.)

"Cone Study No. 3," the tilted cone at the Museum of Glass. Photo: Sharon Styer

The Museum of Glass opened its doors in 2002 and Tacoma instantly won a place on the international art map. This spectacular, world-class museum grew out of a conversation 10 years earlier between Phil Phibbs, recently retired president of the University of Puget Sound; and Tacoma native, glass visionary, and co-founder of the Pilchuck Glass School, Dale Chihuly. The two agreed that the emergent Studio Glass Movement deserved its own showcase, and that Tacoma should be its nexus. The idea would unfold over the next several years, achieving undreamed of success with its opening in 2002.

"The Glass Ceiling," the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. Photo: Sharon Styer

Today, the Museum of Glass forms the most recognizable silhouette on the Tacoma skyline. The MoG operates a top-flight learning facility for glass artists, with a Hot Shop Amphitheatre located inside its 90′-high tilted cone. Master glass artists from all over the world teach and exhibit at the MoG, and artists from other mediums are also represented in the galleries. The Chihuly Bridge of Glass, connecting the museum to downtown Pacific Ave.,  is a tribute to the glass artist who helped make an incredible vision a reality, and elevated Tacoma’s status as an art center.

Photographs of the Museum of Glass and art by Sharon Styer.

Enjoy past stories in our 10-in-10 Series:

10 in 10: 2003 New Tacoma Art Museum Unveiled
10 in 10: 2004 Scattered Ephemera
10 in 10: 2006 City Arts Magazine Hits Tacoma
10 in 10: 2001 Free Ya Mind
10 in 10: 2006 the Broadway Center Shines Anew
10 in 10: 2001 The Birth of Tacoma’s Very Own Volcano
10 in 10: 2005 The AMOCAT Awards
10 in 10: The F.W. Woolworth Building
10 in 10: 2001 Tacoma Gets Smart (UW-Tacoma and SOTA)

Tags: cone, Dale Chihuly, Museum of Glass, Phil Phibbs, Pilchuck Glass School