Dia De Los Muertos: TAM's 11th Annual Day of the Dead Festival

The Tacoma Art Museum will be hosting their 11th Dia De Los Muertos festival this November 1st 10:00am-4:00pm. This year they will be hosting a Calavera Costume Contest where you can enter to win a $100 prize. There will be free face painting, sugar skull making, and you can create chalk memorials under the TAM's grand awning.

Artist Rene Julio will be featured along with community and partner made altars throughout the museum. Traditional foods will be served in the TAM cafe along with mariachi music to dance to.  

While the event does run from 10:00am-4:00pm, special times and events have been scheduled throughout the day. From 11:00-12:00pm there will be a mariachi performance by Mariachi Lucero, at 2:00pm Danza Quetzacoatl de Olympia will be performing. 3:00pm the winner of the Calavera costume contest will be announced and throughout the entire day PBS will be screening their series: Latino Americans. 

This event is free and open to the public. There are more activities yet to be announced so be sure to check out their Facebook and website links below.

 I hope to see you all there! 

Find out more on the TAM's Facebook Page or the the TAM website

Get inspired here for Calavera cosutme ideas! 

Film School Shorts is a production of KQED.

Written and directed by Ashley Graham, Kate Reynolds and Lindsey St. Pierre. The film won Gold Medal at the 2013 Student Academy Award for Best Animated Short.

Music by Corey Wallace 

Sound Department Mauricio d'Orey 

Time to Once Again Brush Up on Tacoma Arts Month

As many Tacoma locals know, the month of October brings many wonderful things to the downtown area. While most cities are hunkering down for the winter and the end of tourist season, Tacoma is still buzzing with so many things to offer. A little cold has never bothered the city with the most grit. Tacoma locals are tough, weather going people with a soft side for art. As you might have guessed it is time for Tacoma Arts Month.

While some exhibits are presented year round in local store fronts and in the plethora of museums that the downtown area has to offer, some of the exhibits are only here for the month of October so be sure to see what our local artists have to offer at this year’s festivities. This year’s 76 exhibits are sure to inspire the artist within us all.

Being the 14^th anniversary for the Tacoma Arts Month, it promises to be a spectacular showcase of art, culture, dance and local businesses. One of the highlights to Tacoma Arts Month is that participants get the opportunity to take a studio tour October 17-18 at 35 locations featuring over 57 artists and a unique look into how their art comes to life. The tours run on both days from 11am-5pm. The tour is a free, self-guided tour and offers the opportunity to purchase art pieces from the artists directly. Be sure to get your Tacoma Studio Tour Passport to earn stamps and win prize packages. Tacoma Arts Month online website offers you a customized map with all tour locations to ensure you don’t miss out and have the opportunity to create your own art experience. Information regarding the passport, maps, and all that the month of October has to offer can be found on their website http://tacomaartmonth.wpengine.com/

Tacoma Arts Month kicks off this Thursday, October 1^st at 6pm at the Historic Tacoma Armory. This is a free public event with no RSVP required. The kickoff will be featuring pop-up exhibits, aerial and cirque performances, dance, poetry, and food. This event is being sponsored by Tacoma Arts Commission, SpaceworksTacoma, Historic Tacoma Armory.

Pop-Up Art Putt! in Downtown Tacoma

It’s finally here – the U.S. Open Golf Championship has come to the 253. For many, the anticipation has been building for years.

There has been word of Tiger Woods sightings as he played some practice rounds in the weeks leading up to the tournament. Some are hoping that practice might lead to a Tiger return to glory. It seems doubtful.

Others dream of a local boy like Michael Putnam or Ryan Moore coming out of nowhere to win their first major. That also seems unlikely, but would be really cool.

Whatever happens with the actual golf, we are all hoping for a nice economic boost for the city, county, and region. We can anticipate the world will fall in love with the pure aesthetic beauty of the course and its surroundings, as they watch the tournament unfold later this week.

I will not be heading out to Chamber’s Bay for the tournament. I’ve never played the golf course because, well, I’m terrible at and easily frustrated by the game of golf. Why pay all that money to be pissed off and when I can enjoy the course and the view for free by walking the trail? I’ll track the tournament and the coverage on T.V. this week.

If I actually grab a golf club this week, it will be to play something a little more my speed – like the Pop-Up Art Put mini golf course being brought to downtown Tacoma by the Tacoma Art Museum (TAM) and the Tacoma Arts Commission.

Ten local artists have been commissioned to create ten sculptural miniature golf holes for a course that will span TAM’s Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Plaza, Tollefson Plaza, and the Prairie Line Trail.

You can get your club, golf balls, and score cards at the TAM and when you are finished playing the course you can vote for your favorite artist-designed hole. Unlike Chamber’s Bay – this course is FREE to play.

As the first day of play is winding up at Chambers Bay, the party will just be getting started at the Pop-Up Art Putt course in downtown Tacoma.

The Opening Party for the exhibit will be this Thursday June 18 from 5-8 pm. You can dance along the course to tracks spun by a live DJ. There will be food trucks along the course and of course a beer garden, because this is Tacoma.

Come on – go ahead and check this out! This is one hell of a cool idea. Bravo TAM and Tacoma Arts Commission!

Pop-Up Art Putt! Hours will be…

Thursday, June 18, 5 pm – 8 pm
Friday, June 19, 10 am – 8 pm
Saturday, June 20, 10 am – 8 pm
Sunday, June 21, 10 am – 4 pm