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.

Jul
22
Sat
Relay for Life of South King County @ Game Farm Park
Jul 22 @ 1:00 pm

One person can make a difference. In May 1985, Dr. Gordon “Gordy” Klatt walked and ran for 24 hours around a track in Tacoma, Washington, raising money to help the American Cancer Society with the nation’s biggest health concern: cancer.

Gordy spent a grueling 24 hours circling the track at the University of Puget Sound. Friends, family, and patients watched and supported him as he walked and ran more than 83.6 miles and raised $27,000 through pledges to help save lives from cancer. As he circled the track, he thought of how he could get others to take part. He envisioned having teams participate in a 24-hour fundraising event. The next year, 19 teams were part of the first Relay For Life event at the historical Stadium Bowl and raised $33,000.

After previously battling stomach cancer, Gordy passed away from heart failure on August 3, 2014 at the age of 71. But his legacy lives on. He shaped an idea that started as one man walking and running a track and helped turn it into a global fundraising phenomenon.

Jul
29
Sat
Tacoma Bon Odori Festival @ Tacoma Buddhist Temple
Jul 29 @ 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Our Tacoma Buddhist Temple Bon Odori Festival is back after 3 years! As part of our religion, we honor those who have passed by celebrating them through Japanese traditional dancing called Bon Odori. Everyone is welcome to dance, enjoy the food or just watch the dancing and taiko performances. 4pm: Food, beer garden, info booths, Japanese items for sale and Kings Books table. 4:30: Obon service. 5pm: Dancing and taiko drumming will occur in front of our temple on Fawcett Avenue up from UW Tacoma. 8pm: memorial candle service. Come early before the food runs out. Credit card and checks preferred for all purchases. Questions: info@tacomabt.org.

Aug
1
Tue
Arts Night Out Block Party 2023 @ Hilltop Heritage Middle School
Aug 1 @ 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Save the date for Hilltop Artists’ annual block party!

Stop by the Hilltop Heritage hot shop to see glass demos; grab a free snack, groove to the beat, and enjoy hands on arts and crafts.

This year, our partners from the Imagine Justice Project will join us. Check out exciting booths and activities from our collaborators in youth-serving organizations. Roster to be announced!

So many more exciting activities are in the works: we’re excited to bring the community together this summer.

Aug
11
Fri
Port of Tacoma Book Signing @ Tacoma Historical Society
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.

Aug
17
Thu
Evergreen Tacoma College Tour: Explore a World Where Education and Community Meet @ Evergreen-Tacoma
Aug 17 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

TACOMA—The Evergreen State College Tacoma Campus is excited to announce its upcoming Summer College Tour scheduled from 1-4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 17. This event will provide prospective students with a unique opportunity to explore a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs designed to pave the way for rewarding careers in various fields such as:

  1. Community and Organizational Development
  2. Law, Justices and Public Policy
  3. Public Administration and Management
  4. Environmental Studies and Public Health
  5. Social and Human Services
  6. Education and Outreach
  7. Early Childhood Development

During the tour, attendees can meet staff and faculty members who contribute to Evergreen-Tacoma’s reputation for academic excellence. Dr. Marcia Tate Arunga, Dean of the Tacoma Campus, will also be present to share insights about the unique learning environment and the college’s dedication to fostering a supportive and inclusive community.

Evergreen-Tacoma is in the heart of the historic Hilltop neighborhood at 1210 6th Avenue. For more information contact Stella Haioulani or Lawrence Norman.  For more information about the Tacoma campus, please visit the website.

 

Sep
9
Sat
Intro to Woodworking: Crafting Your First Birdhouse @ Foss Waterway Seaport
Sep 9 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

In this class, run in collaboration with Toolbox Laboratories, you will learn the introductory woodworking skills necessary to construct your very own birdhouse. You will be the creative mastermind behind design elements and decoration, to create the (bird) home of your dreams!

Family Saturdays – Story Time @ Washington State History Museum
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.

Sep
23
Sat
Feminista Frequencies: Community Building through Radio in the Yakima Valley @ Washington State History Museum
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.

Oct
7
Sat
Beer and Bites Dinner and Auction Benefiting South Sound CARE Foundation @ The Waterfrom Venue at Narrows Marina
Oct 7 @ 5:00 pm

ANNUAL AUCTION BENEFITING SOUTH SOUND CARE FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 10 YEARS

Beer & Bites is October 7th! 

Beer & Bites, the annual event and auction benefitting The South Sound CARE Foundation (CARE) will celebrate its 10th anniversary on Saturday, October 7th 2023. All proceeds from this annual event go towards expanding clinical trials and research for patients fighting cancer in the South Sound. Historically a cancer diagnosis in the South Sound meant an immediate referral to Seattle or cancer centers far beyond. Since 2008, the South Sound CARE Foundation has been expanding access to the very best care for patients in the Puget Sound region. Important trials are conducted locally, patients are living longer and they are living better lives. Beer & Bites helps fund this research and provide access to care that patients were previously unable to find locally.

Spearheaded by CARE’s Founder, Dr. Frank Senecal, and Gordon Rush, a CARE Emeritus Board Member and Founder of The Rush Companies, Beer & Bites got its start in 2013 as a way to get the local community involved in improving treatments options for a disease that has touched far too many: cancer. The 10th annual Beer & Bites fundraiser will be held at The Waterfront Venue at Narrows Marina. The generosity of the local community has allowed Beer & Bites to raise more than $7.6 million over the last 10 years to bring important research to our area and to allow cancer patients to stay close to home, surrounded by their support systems during some of the most challenging times of their life.

“Finding a better way to care for our patients and a better way to treat the cancer – whether it is surgery, immune therapy, chemo therapy, or radiation therapy—all depend upon good clinical research,” said Dr. Frank Senecal, Founder of the South Sound CARE Foundation. “Beer & Bites helps make that research possible.”

Oct
14
Sat
HopeSparks Lighting the Way Dinner and Auction @ Marriott Tacoma Downtown
Oct 14 @ 5:00 pm

You are cordially invited to the 2nd Annual HopeSparks Lighting the Way Dinner and Auction Fundraiser!

We’d love for you to join us as we envision the future together and celebrate our accomplishments.

Ticket price includes: Reception with silent auction and appetizers, delicious dinner with complimentary wine, opportunities to engage in games – including a dessert dash, and a chance to bid on incredible live auction items.

Tickets are $150 per person or $1,500 for a reserved table of 10 guests.

This is a dressy casual, 21 and over event

All event proceeds go to HopeSparks programs that directly benefit children and families who have experienced trauma, adversity, and  overwhelming life challenges.