Taking a Piece of History Home

In June, Tacoma welcomed the world into our backyard and for the first time in State history hosted the US Open. While many of us continued on with our regular routines, for that brief moment Golf was the highlight of our week. 

We watched and hoped for our champions to rise and watched as some of the greatest golfers were taken down by one of the hardest golf courses in the country. We witnessed a young man swing into the history books as the youngest person to ever win the US Open and we were right there beside him.

Take a piece of the history home with you by purchasing a US Open Banner. These banners were proudly displayed throughout Tacoma and are now available for purchase. There are a limited amount of banners and cost $20 each. These lightly used banners are roughly 30inX60in and are made of all weather vinyl.

They are available for pick up at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber at 950 Pacific Ave #300, Tacoma, WA 98402.

Call the Chamber at (253)627-2175 if you have any questions.

Now’s Your Chance to Design a Downtown Banner

The City of Tacoma’s Urban Forestry Program is currently accepting applications for the Urban Forest Project, a nation-wide street banner project celebrating Arbor Day 2011.

Winning tree-themed designs will be printed on street banners and “planted" on downtown light poles as part of a forest of art along Pacific Avenue in Downtown Tacoma. The project seeks to not only raise awareness of the importance of trees in the city, but to celebrate the vibrant creative community of Tacoma.

The banners will be displayed through April and May and then recycled into unique one-of-a-kind totebags designed exclusively for the project. Proceeds from the sales of the totebags will go to EverGreen Tacoma, the city’s urban forestry program to help maintain and plant trees in Tacoma. The winning banners/artists will be showcased with artist bios on the project website. Artist names will also be included at the base of each banner they design.

The deadline for submissions has been extended to February 21, 2011. Professional, student and amateur designers, artists and architects from Tacoma and the greater Puget Sound Region are invited to submit designs. Individuals may submit more than one design. Here is more information about how to submit artwork. A panel will review submissions and select up to 100 of the submitted designs. Winners will be notified the week of February 28, 2011. Email inquiries to ufp@cityoftacoma.org.

Save the Date: April 2, 2011 for the banner kick-off event (and Arbor Day celebration) at Tollefson Plaza 1-4pm. Stay tuned for more details! http://www.ufp-global.com/

The Downtown Tacoma Business Improvement Area (BIA) coordinates and manages the Downtown Tacoma Banner Program.