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Showcase Tacoma offers the best in local and regional art of all kinds

By Matt Nagle

Tacoma Weekly
mattnagle@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: August 07, 2008

The museum district in the heart of downtown Tacoma will be bustling with activity Aug. 8-9 for the third annual Showcase Tacoma, a free, multi-disciplinary arts event featuring local and regional visual and performing arts exhibits and demonstrations, art installations, music, food and much more.

“The purpose of Showcase Tacoma is to bring the arts to the community so that everybody of all different ages, abilities and interests can see what it is that Tacoma is made of and the local talent we have,” said Phedra Redifer, supervisor with festivals, events and permits with Metro Parks. She said that with people enjoying “staycations” this year to save money rather than traveling to a distant destinations, exploring one’s own back yard can be rewarding. “It’s all happening right here in Pierce County.”

Showcase Tacoma offers the perfect opportunity for area residents to learn more about visual and performing arts classes that are available throughout Tacoma and the county. With instructors on hand during the two-day event, parents in particular can find out how their children can get involved in the arts, and adults as well can find their place within the Tacoma arts scene. At Metro Parks’ performance stage and registration station, those attending Showcase Tacoma can see performances and demonstrations and sign up at 15 percent off fall classes.

Entertainment will be offered on three stages and a poetry stage. On the main stage at Tollefson Plaza, the featured performer Aug. 8 will be The Helio Sequence from 7-9 p.m. and Deborah Page will headline Aug. 9, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hailing from Oregon, electronica-tinged indie band The Helio Sequence is made up of Brandon Summers on guitar and vocals and Benjamin Weikel on keyboards and drums. Tacomans Deborah Ritchie and Paul Uhl comprise the alternative/indie/folk duo Deborah Page, and they are always a hit when performing as they often do in the Puget Sound region. Also appearing on the main stage will be Matt Coughlin (rock), Pearl Django (Gypsy jazz), the Kareem Kandi Band (jazz), Players Club (Motown, pop) and Kim Archer Band (heavy soul and groove jam).

On the Club SOTA Stage on the steps of University of Washington-Tacoma (UWT), numerous local bands will perform on both days, and Tacoma Fashion Explosion will be presented at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. both days by UrbanXchange, Embellish Salon and ChipShot Photography. Tacoma Artists in the Round will take the stage 7-9 p.m., with musicians, painters and poets together on one stage: Pablo Trucker, John Van Deusen of The Lonely Forest, Phil O’Sullivan, Josh Rizeberg and Nick Butler.

The Metro Parks Tacoma Performance Stage in Artist Alley in the heart of the UWT campus, across from Dugan Building, will come alive with all kinds of dance on both days, from elementary age students performing hip-hop and creative movement to the rousing Puget Sound Revels. At 1:45 p.m. Aug. 8 and 2:30 p.m. Aug. 9, An Imaginary Theater Company presents “The Doctor In Spite of Himself,” a farce by Moliere directed by David Domkoski. “The Doctor In Spite of Himself” is a bawdy, rowdy, slapstick story about a woodcutter mistaken for a learned doctor. Add a pinch of ill-starred lovers, a pugnacious wife, a tenacious father, and a wet nurse for a laugh-a-minute comedy of epic proportions suitable for all ages.

In addition to music and dance, poetry, storytelling and literature will be celebrated at Showcase Tacoma as well at various locations including Keystone and Carwein auditoriums at UWT, King’s Books, and the outdoor Suitcase Stage located next to Keystone Auditorium. Washington State Poet Laureate Sam Green and Tacoma Poet Laureate William Kupinse will perform at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 9.

New this year, the enhanced ArtMart will feature all kinds of indie crafts and art. On Aug. 8, Tacoma Art Museum will be offering free admission 5-8 p.m. for “A Midsummer Night’s Community Festival,” a Renaissance-inspired festival featuring music, performances by Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, dancers from D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, and fanciful crown making. Back by popular demand, Tacoma’s Iron Artist Competition will pit artist against artist in a challenge to create original masterpieces in just one hour using surprise materials.

There is so much to do and see at Showcase Tacoma: chalk art murals being created right before your eyes, a children’s art zone where the little ones can make sock puppets and paper bag hats or try their hand at the potter’s wheel, and even ballet and belly dancers glad to show how it is done to anyone looking to explore these types of creative movement.

“This year we’re just going to knock it out of the park,” Redifer said.

For a complete listing of all that is offered at Showcase Tacoma, including performance times and transportation/parking options, visit www.showcasetacoma.org.

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