THIS WEEK'S BEST FREEBIES OCT. 3-9 >>>

Rent is due on Monday, which means unless you're some type of money-saving wizard, you're probably a little short on cash this week. Don't worry, though: There is a ton of stuff to do this coming week for free, including Broadway Center's Fall Free For All community arts festival, which all on its own can take up your entire weekend. But if you're not into giant puppets and Vaud Rats, there's plenty to choose from this coming week.

MONDAY 10-3: Saxophonist Steve Munger and his quartet fill Olympia's Royal Lounge with soulful jazz every Monday from 7-9 p.m. without a cover charge.

TUESDAY 10-4 It's honestly not every day that an award-winning writer the likes of Sherman Alexie comes to Puyallup. It's not even every-other day. But Tuesday, as part of Banned Books Week, Alexie will appear at the Pioneer Park Pavilion in P-town, delivering a free talk focused on issues of censorship and intellectual freedom. Alexie's acclaimed novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has been widely censored for it content - just one of many truths that makes Alexie's inclusion in this event so fitting. The event seats only 400, so those interested in attending are advised to arrive early.

WEDNESDAY 10-5: J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is an indisputable classic of English literature. It's also freakin' 1,240 pages long, depending on the edition. Who the hell has time to read that many pages? Dr. John West had time. He'll be speaking and leading a discussion of the spiritual meaning of this book at 7 p.m. as part of a free Wednesday series on "Great Truths from the Great Books" in the South Chapel of First Presbyterian Church of Tacoma. Dr. West is editor of Celebrating Middle-Earth: The Lord of the Rings as a Defense of Western Civilization. He has some idea what he's discussing. Plan to be awake when he utters this line: "I will serve the master of the Precious. Good master, good Sméagol, gollum, gollum!' Suddenly he began to weep and bite at his ankle again." Just remember: Frodo lives!

THURSDAY 10-6: While environmental groups often get stereotyped as elitist, Prius driving, granola munching, tree hugging, sandal wearing wackos, it's a misconception that could use debunking. Especially these days, environmentalists are everywhere and are everyone - and thank goodness for it. Somebody has to look out for Mother Earth. If you need proof that environmentalists are just like you and me, consider this: Environmentalists like to drink. It's true. Not only do they like to drink, but also in Tacoma they get together and do it regularly. It's called Tacoma Green Drinks, and the group meets Thursday at 5:30 p.m. inside the Harmon Brewery and Eatery to hear the latest from the Puget Creek Restoration Society. Admission is free. You're totally invited - unless you insist on driving that 1974 Plymouth Duster. Tacoma Green Drinks suggest you take the bus or ride a bike.

FRIDAY 10-7: Beginning at noon, Downtown On the Go hosts it second free Tacoma fall walking tour of the season, this time flooding your eyes and noggin with all that is the Brewery District. Tacoma City Councilman and architect David Boe will discuss the rich architectural history of this area. This hour-long walk starts in front of the Swiss Building. No RSVP is necessary.

SATURDAY 10-8: Holy shit! Tacoma's Broadway Center will stages 75 performances and musical acts over two days for free under the umbrella title "Fall Free for All." And the acts are solid, quality performance, and not some grandma performing hand shadow puppetry while grandpa bangs on a coffee can. Nope. We're talking Professor Humbug's Flea Circus, Fab-5 break dancing, folkie Laura Gibson, Portland Cello project, YES YOU MAY show, Drew Grow & The Pastors' Wives, Tacoma Round featuring Noah Gunderson, Kris Doty and Nick Principe, Concours d'Elegance and many more musical acts, theater performance, lectures and films. Check out the schedule here. And reserve your free wristband here.

SUNDAY 10-9: Tain't nothing like a gallon or so of fresh cider to clear the constitution.  The folks at Lattin's Country Cider Mill and Farm host their annual Apple Harvest Festival Sunday offering apples in every way and fashion, plus tractor rides, a corn maze and pick you own pumpkins. The free festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

LINK: More arts and entertainment events in the South Sound

THE GRAND CINEMA CARES >>>

This just in from The Grand Cinema:

The Grand is happy to host a few more screenings from Filmmaker Magazine's list of best new directors in America.  At 2:00 p.m. and 4:00p.m. today we have the directors in town to screen their short films, mostly an amazing set of documentaries.  For example, at the 4 p.m. screening you'll see, among others, documentaries (about 8 minutes each) on L'Arche, minor league baseball, and 9/11 "truthers".  At 2 p.m. you'll see a series of profiles on amazing people in a series called "American Nobodies", plus two great short dramas with children as their focus, one that played at Sundance. 

At each screening the director will talk about the amazing work at the end of the film.  This is a true experience, far beyond simply attending a film.

And today, for these screenings only, admission is free if you mention this email.  Please show these filmmakers that Tacoma can support great film.  We promise you'll be amazed at what you see.  We wouldn't bring them to the Grand if that wasn't the case.

IT'S GOOD YO BE YOUNG >>>

Properly speaking, Harlequin Productions' Sixties Kicks isn't musical theater, it's a concert. Five talented young people backed by a killer five-piece rock band sing 37 hits of the 1960s. I'm not a music critic, but I don't have to be Lester Bangs to give a thumbs-up to the source material.

The cast and band are rock solid.  Brad Schrandt, for example, plays keyboards, flute and saxophone, all in the same act.  Alison Monda is fully committed as usual, roaring through "Magic Bus" and "House of the Rising Sun."  Monda's fiancé Matthew Posner works his Daltrey chops on "Won't Get Fooled Again" - and his Act II costume makes him look unnervingly like '70s icon Freddie Prinze.  (Note to Gen-Y readers:  I'm referring to Freddie Prinze Jr.'s father, a comedian who starred on a sitcom called Chico and the Man.)  Fellow Oklahoman Kate Dinsmore has a knack for hippie ballads.  (Note to Linda Whitney: Why in the Haight didn't you give Dinsmore a Nancy Sinatra number in Act I?)  But the emotional highlight of the show, for me and other Lennon-McCartney idolaters, is Antonia Darlene's gospel rendition of "Let It Be."  I wiped away tears.

Read the full review here.

Ed. note: Harlequin has extended Sixties Kicks' run to include this coming Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. As an extra bonus, they're offering half-price online tickets for those 30 and younger (online discount code: "beatle"). They're also serving half-price beer, wine and specialty cocktail through the end of the run. Nice. 

Sixties Kicks

Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31, 8 p.m. $12-$38,
Harlequin Productions, 204 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia
360.786.0151, harlequinproductions.org

DINING NEWS, NIBBLES AND BITS >>>

Free Is Good: Tully's Coffee will be offering free drip coffee from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. today as part of an Independence Day celebration at participating locations. It will also offer a buy-one-get-one-free barista drink to customers through Monday July 5.

Wine Tasting: Taste wines from Shooting Star Winery tasting from 3-6 p.m. today at Water to Wine in Gig Harbor. More wine tastings can be found here.

Highly Recommend: Asado serves two delicious wild steelhead cakes as appetizers through next week for $11. They're not cakey or fishy, but rather moist chunks of goodness.

New Menu: Minoela Wine House and New American Bistro owner Danielle Kartes and staff celebrated a one-year anniversary at Minoela June 23, and they overhauled their French and Italian cuisine inspired menu. Grab the scoop here.

Food Matters: Obama cookie-rama

LINK: South Sound happy hours

LINK: Restaurant coupons

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

MADNESS! >>>

Live Nation today announced the 10 day countdown to the end of "No Service Fee June" by offering fans a special $10 all-in lawn ticket for specific artists:

Beginning Monday, June 21, 2010 White River Amphitheatre and the Gorge Amphitheatre offer fans $10 all-in lawn seat tickets exclusively at LiveNation.com. Each promotion will begin at 12:01 am local time through 11:59 pm local time on the specified dates.

"No Service Fee June" continues through 11:59 pm ET on Friday, June 30th with no service fee tickets for all artists, all seats and all shows at both White River Amphitheatre and the Gorge Amphitheatre.
             

Participating artists/events at White River & The Gorge:

June 21-25

RIHANNA w/ special guest Ke$ha - White River Amphitheatre - July 2, 2010

LILITH w/ Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Sugarland - The Gorge Amphitheatre - July 3, 2010

June 26-30

TOBY KEITH w/ Trace Adkins & James Otto - White River Amphitheatre - July 24, 2010


BRAD PAISLEY w/ Darius Rucker & Justin Moore - The Gorge Amphitheatre - Sept. 11, 2010

For a complete list of all artists, please visit LiveNation.com.

LINK: Find a concert in Western Washington

MONDAY DISCOUNTS >>>

Monday Deal: Engine House No. 9 serves an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner every Monday for $4.95, with each meatball priced at 25 cents. Also, they knock a dollar off martinis every Monday.

Another Monday Deal: The Hub serves spaghetti or Fettucini Alfredo for $5 every Monday from 5-10 p.m. For another $3 you can receive cheesy garlic bread, three meatballs or grilled chicken breast.

Wine Discount: Budd Bay Café in Olympia offers half-priced bottles of wine every Monday.

Future Things Are Coming: Chambers Bay Golf Course Executive Chef, Dustin Joseph will create a wine dinner centered around Chandler Reach Winery Friday, May 14 at 7 p.m.

Food Matters: To combat obesity, scientists propose fat ... but not your average white kind.

LINK: Restaurant coupons

LINK: Wine and beer tastings, dinners and events

LINK: South Sound Restaurant Guide

LINK: Send us your restaurant and lounge news

THEIR INVENTION >>>

GreySlade Music's Chad Hagedorn (The Happy Vanishing) and John Walker (John Walker and the Hitchhikers) wrote and produced the art rock/sci-fi folk album The Measurement Problem as a force known as My Own Invention.

And they want feedback.

Download The Measurement Problem here. Listen to the "musical journey down a rabbit hole which will assuredly entertain and stimulate" as they describe it. Then send them your thoughts on the album.

Some early reviews are in:

"The album is simply wonderful - I haven't heard it yet, but I know it's simply wonderful!" - John's Mom

"They're such nice boys!" - Chad's Mom

GOOD SUPPORT DURING THESE TRYING TIMES >>>

Bikinis Espresso Bar, one of Lakewood's many bikini espresso stands, will knock 25 cents off your cup of coffee if you say the word "bra" today. That's nice.

S.O.L. >>>

For Your entertainment, or f.y.e., the music, movie and video game store owned by Trans World Entertainment Corp. located at 2330 South 37^th St. by the Tacoma Mall, will close Sunday. Most everything in the store is marked down 60 to 80 percent of the original price.

DEALS AT THE FRED MEYER AT 19TH AND STEVENS >>>

We all have that grocery store which is our constant. It may not be our favorite store, but it’s the one we usually shop at on a regular basis. Most likely that store is the closest to your home or work. I prefer to shop at Metropolitan Market, but my bank account begs to differ. You may catch me in there once or twice a week, but for everyday shopping it has to be Fred Meyer on 19th and Stevens. Read why here.