Showcase Tacoma
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A hands-on weekend of celebrating local arts in the museum district.
by Bill Timnick
Aug 09, 2007
To Nancy Johnson, communications director for Metro Parks Tacoma, it makes sense for the city to “showcase” its artistic talent and arts-related resources. “Because really,” she explains, “the arts are at the center of what ‘re-sparked’ Tacoma.”
So for the second time, performing and visual arts will literally take center stage as the city’s cultural arts celebration, “Showcase Tacoma,” returns to the Museum District’s Tollefson Plaza and adjoining Artist Alley, Aug. 10-12.
And even the event’s location has significance for Metro Parks’ Johson: “Being able to enjoy our natural assets, with a venue like Tollefson Plaza,” Johnson says, “which soaks in the beauty of downtown, of Mount Rainier, the Thea Foss … It’s so apparent where this event got its name, because not only are you showcasing the talents of the community, but you’re looking out and showcasing the natural beauty, the buildings and the historical architecture that’s been reclaimed and that just stands as a symbol of what Tacoma is.”
But the focus at the three-day celebration of the arts is on the talented performers and crafters who call Tacoma home. The downtown gathering features a mix of sculptors and painters, actors and poets, pottery makers, dancers and performing musicians.
Showcase Tacoma is a co-production of the City of Tacoma, Metro Parks Tacoma and the Tacoma School of the Arts. And the event is designed with as many purposes as it has sponsoring organizations.
“It’s a multi-faceted event,” explains Alexa Folsom-Hill, arts and special projects coordinator for SOTA. “The Tacoma School of the Arts is committed to art education … We’re really trying to bring art to the forefront of peoples’ minds. “Art isn’t just something that you do,” she adds. “It requires a lot of skill and a lot of work.”
SOTA is one Tacoma organization that helps the community create new artists and crafters — but it isn’t the only such resource. So one of the goals of Showcase Tacoma is to provide its resident arts-related organizations with an opportunity to show the community what they can provide. Examples of participating organizations include Hilltop Artists in Residence, M-Space, a public-access glass blowing studio, the Tacoma Academy of Fine Art, and the Bronze Works, among others.
Another focus at the three day event is “interactivity.” — something beyond, as Folsom-Hill explains, “coming down and walking around and deciding whether or not to purchase somebody’s work … We’d actually like them to engage and be part of what’s going on … We’re trying to get people excited about touching, and being part of, an art world.
“The real emphasis is not on vending; it’s on education and interaction,” Folsom-Hill says. “There are actually opportunities to touch and try these things out.”
What forms will the interactive aspects of Showcase Tacoma take? Many, if not most of the artist participants will be offering live demonstrations of their work. M-Space, for example, will run portable glass-blowing equipment at the Showcase site, creating original works for onlookers. “Chalk artists” will create sidewalk originals throughout the event. Metro Parks is offering interactive demonstrations teaching attendees to shape, glaze and fire original works of raku pottery to take home with them. And mural artist Rachael Dotson is set to craft an original giant mural as the Showcase weekend progresses.
“There are not many times during the year that one gets to see artists making art and doing art,” Folsom-Hill says. “And it’s so diverse — from 2D to 3D to performance art — and everything in between.”
Performance events begin at the Tollefson Plaza music stage at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug.10 and continue through mid-afternoon Sunday, Aug. 12. Visitors are invited to begin the celebration with lunch (featuring samples from a variety of local food vendors and eateries) and listen to the music before touring the living arts demonstrations and displays. Live performance events continue throughout the Showcase Tacoma weekend, with live music until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and special dance performances featuring local companies on Sunday afternoon.
Parking is available at the nearby Tacoma Dome Station — with free rides aboard Tacoma’s light rail Link system to the Museum District and University of Washington Tacoma campus, the site of Tollefson Plaza. Parking is also available at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.
[Tacoma Museum District, Aug. 10-12, no cover, 17th Street and Pacific Avenue, www.showcasetacoma.org]
Showcase Tacoma Performance Schedule
Friday, Aug. 10
LIVE MUSIC
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Hat Trick
1:30-3:30 p.m., Three Tenors
4-6 p.m., Pearl Django
6:30-8:30 p.m., Bill Ramsay/Gary Shutes
9-10 p.m., Native Blue
DANCE
6-6:30 p.m., YMCA Dance Company
8:30-9 p.m., BQ Dance
Saturday, Aug. 11
LIVE MUSIC
11 a.m.-12 p.m., The Paperboys (Celtic/rock/funk)
12:30-2:30 p.m., Lance Buller/S. Porter (jazz standards)
3-5 p.m., Players Club (rock/funk/Motown)
5:30-7:30 p.m., Jim Varnell and Raucous (rock)
8-10 p.m., Michael Powers (smooth jazz)
DANCE
12-12:30 p.m., Metro Parks Tacoma Ballet (ages 3-5)
5-5:30 p.m., Hip-Hop Dance
Sunday, Aug. 13
LIVE MUSIC
11 a.m.-12 p.m., Steve Stefanowicz (folk/rock)
12:30-1:30 p.m., Sommer Stockinger (jazz/R&B)
2-4 p.m., The Schematics (funk)
DANCE
12-12:30 p.m., Metro Parks Tacoma Flamenco
1:30-2 p.m., Tacoma City Ballet
