Pierce County Events Calendar

Pierce County Events Calendar

This calendar is the place to find fun events happening throughout Pierce County, including Tacoma, Puyallup, Lakewood and beyond.

Have an event that isn’t listed? Please email events@SouthSoundTalk.com with the following information:

  • Name of Event
  • Date, time and location (name of business if applicable and complete address)
  • Organizer(s) name
  • Cost
  • URL to purchase tickets
  • Website URL
  • SHORT description of the event
  • Photo

Our editors will review and post within a few business days.

Agenda
Agenda
May 2023 – January 2025 May 2023 – Jan 2025
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May
4
Thu
New Washington State Poet Laureate: Passing of the Laurel to Arianne True @ Washington State History Museum
Tickets
May 4 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Join us on May 4 in Tacoma as we welcome the new Washington State Poet Laureate.

Current Laureate Rena Priest will “pass the laurel” to the new Laureate Arianne True.
Poets from around the state will share poems that speak to our shared places and culture.

The Washington State Poet Laureate program is jointly sponsored by the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) and Humanities Washington.

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Categories: Adult Focused Events Arts and Entertainment Author Talk Local Government Tags: #NativeAmerican civic literary National Poetry Month Poetry
May
25
Thu
State of the Urban Forest @ University of Washington - Tacoma
Tickets
May 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Join us for a special in-person conversation focused on tree canopy and climate connections in Tacoma.

Kristi Lynett, City of Tacoma Sustainability Officer for the City of Tacoma, will discuss the impact that climate change is having in our community and the role of trees in making us more resilient.

Mike Carey, Urban Forest Program Manager for the City of Tacoma, will share about recent progress on tree policy and programs at the city level.

Lowell Wyse, Executive Director of Tacoma Tree Foundation (TTF), will talk about the many ways that TTF is working to educate the public about urban forestry and create “tree equity” across the South Sound.

This panel will be held at the University of Washington Tacoma and moderated by Pierce County Council Member Ryan Mello. Suggested donations of $15 or more will support Tacoma Tree Foundation programs.

Date: May 25

Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Location: UWT (exact room to be determined)

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Categories: Education Local Government Non-Profit Fundraising Events Workshops, Classes and Lectures
Aug
11
Fri
Port of Tacoma Book Signing @ Tacoma Historical Society
Tickets
Aug 11 @ 6:30 pm

Join Tacoma Historical Society for our August Monthly Program presented by Rod Koon, author & former communications manager for Port of Tacoma. Rod will be discussing his recent publication “Images of America: Port of Tacoma” which details the history and development of the Port of Tacoma.

Copies of Rod’s book will be available for purchase and signing during the event.

Refreshments will be provided. Doors open at 6:00pm for exhibit viewing, talk begins at 6:30pm. This event is FREE or by donation. Donations can be made through Eventbrite or at the door.

RSVP on Eventbrite.

This event is generously sponsored by Tacoma Creates, the Port of Tacoma, Tacoma Public Utilities, Amtrak and Puyallup Tribe of Indians.

For questions, call (253)472-3738 or email info@tacomahistory.org
For more events related to the 150th Northern Pacific Commemoration, visit www.NP150.org.

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Categories: Author Talk
Aug
17
Thu
Olmsted Legacy @ Washington State Capital Campus
Tickets
Aug 17 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Join us on the Washington State Capitol Campus to explore the Olmsted legacy. Historian and filmmaker Laurence Cotton will dive deep into the remarkable life and career of Renaissance-man Frederick Law Olmsted, considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the United States.

Cotton will give a visual tour of masterful landscapes designed by Olmsted, with an added focus on the Pacific Northwest landscape legacy of John Charles Olmsted, Frederick’s nephew and adopted son. Historian Jennifer Ott will also present, focusing on Olmsted landscapes in Puget Sound region. Conclude with a guided tour of the Capitol Campus led by Washington State’s horticulturalist Brent Chapman.

Light refreshments will be served.

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Categories: Family Events Local Government Local History Workshops, Classes and Lectures Tags: #olmsted
Sep
9
Sat
Family Saturdays – Story Time @ Washington State History Museum
Tickets
Sep 9 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm

Included with admission, FREE for WSHS members

Explore how history connects us all during this half hour story time program designed for children ages 4–10 and their families. We’ll read Imagine, written by Juan Felipe Herrera and illustrated by Lauren Castillo. Herrera was the first Latino U.S. Poet Laureate (2015–17). After the reading, we’ll engage in a hands-on investigation of a related artifact.

This program will be conducted in English and in Spanish.

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Categories: Author Talk Tags: #family Kids
Sep
23
Sat
Feminista Frequencies: Community Building through Radio in the Yakima Valley @ Washington State History Museum
Tickets
Sep 23 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Henry R. Fenbert Challenging History Lecture
Saturday, September 23, 5:30 PM– 7:00 PM
Tickets: FREE for WSHS members, $15 for non-members. Registration is required.

The second annual Henry R. Fenbert Challenging History Lecture features historian Monica De La Torre, assistant professor of media and expressive culture in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.

De La Torre will discuss her first book, “Feminista Frequencies: Community Building through Radio in the Yakima Valley,” which tracks the emergence of Chicano community radio in rural farmworker communities in the 1970s. Her presentation will include a musical playlist featuring songs that illuminate the history explored in her research.

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Categories: Author Talk
Sep
30
Sat
Free The Vote Mural Celebration @ Surge Coworking Space
Tickets
Sep 30 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

The WA Voting Rights Restoration Coalition is excited to bring a lineup of mural installations across Washington to celebrate our state’s restoration of voting rights. We are organizing a celebration in Tacoma for the formerly incarcerated community to engage, register to vote, and kick off the election season. Join us for free food, music, painting, and story sharing!

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Categories: Arts and Entertainment Food & Beverage Local Government Volunteering and Community Enrichment
Nov
11
Sat
An Evening with David Sedaris @ Pantages Theater (901 Broadway - Tacoma, WA)
Tickets
Nov 11 @ 7:30 pm

As one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers, David Sedaris will regale you with tales addressing the human condition in an evening of superb storytelling followed by an audience Q+A. He is a master of satire, beloved for his personal essays and short stories, and the author of several instant bestsellers. There are over 16 million copies of his books in print, having been translated into 32 languages. Bring yours to the book signing after the show or purchase a copy from beloved local bookshop, King’s Books.

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Categories: Author Talk
Mar
16
Sat
ISRAELISM: See the Film, Hear the Filmmakers @ Tacoma Community College, Bldg 2 (off So 12th Street)
Tickets
Mar 16 @ 7:15 pm
ISRAELISM: See the Film, Hear the Filmmakers @ Tacoma Community College, Bldg 2 (off So 12th Street)

The award-winning documentary film ISRAELISM will be shown on Saturday evening, March 16 at 7:15 at Tacoma Community College (Auditorium in Building 2, off South 12th Street).

Following the film, there will be a discussion and Q&A with Erin Axelman, the film’s director, and Simone Zimmerman, one of the two people featured in the documentary. Zimmerman is also a co-founder of If Not Now.

Israelism is about two young American Jews who were raised to unconditionally support Israel and then while visiting there, they witness the way Israel treats Palestinians.  Initially devastated, they end up joining a movement of young American Jews who are battling the old guard to redefine Judaism’s relationship with Israel.

The film won a number of film-festival awards last year, including the Audience Award for documentaries at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Best Documentary at the Arizona International Film Festival, and the Official Selection at the Brooklyn Film Festival.

“This is a Jewish AND an American story,” says Barb Stuebing of Spokane, “of coming to terms with some hard realities that are contrary to everything we’ve believed.  Some of us had a Rodney King moment of realization, while others discovered it with George Floyd, or during the civil rights movement or the Vietnam War. Most of us at some point in our lives swam in some kind of ‘kool-aid’ and then had a reckoning. These two young Jews bring us along on their journey of understanding the moral challenges of Zionism.”

This event is sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace/Tacoma. Co-sponsors include the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice, Tacoma Democratic Socialists of America, and Veterans for Peace of Tacoma (134).

This event is free and open to the public.  Find it on Facebook HERE. An RSVP is appreciated but not required (email address below).

For further information, write Tacoma@JewishVoiceForPeace.org

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Categories: Adult Focused Events Education Local Government
Jan
9
Thu
HistoryTalks! The Evergreen Ballroom @ Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers
Tickets
Jan 9 @ 6:30 pm
HistoryTalks! The Evergreen Ballroom @ Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers

The Evergreen Ballroom story is an immigrant story, a local community story, and a music lovers’ story. From the time it was constructed to the last day that music played, the dance hall saw a number of people cross its stage who would go on to musical fame. In this presentation, Rebecca Sanchez will cover her research from a series of local history articles published on Thurston Talk.

Hybrid Format: Come in person or join online.

Registration required for online attendance only https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lS3QWnAcTpmwaTU6tf5sVQ#/registration

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Categories: Author Talk Education Local Government Local History
May 2023 – January 2025 May 2023 – Jan 2025