Community Calendar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
South Sound Day of Remembrance Walk
April 28, 2025
Timothy Campbell, Program Coordinator
timothyc@downtownonthego.org | 206.403.7040

Tacoma, WA — Downtown On the Go and the Washington State Historical Society invite the public to the South Sound Day of Remembrance Walk on Thursday, May 15, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM in downtown Tacoma.

The event marks the 83rd anniversary of the forced removal of Japanese Americans from South Puget Sound during World War II. Participants will join a guided historical walking tour highlighting Tacoma’s former Japantown community, hear live performances, and take part in a ceremonial procession honoring those who were displaced.

The evening begins at 5:00 PM at Theater on the Square Plaza (917 Broadway) with a tour led by public historians Tamiko Nimura and Michael Sullivan, ending at the Washington State History Museum. A special open house at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple will also be offered along the route.

Following the tour, attendees can enjoy a Taiko drum performance by Tacoma Fuji Taiko and participate in a ceremonial walk to Union Station, a historic site connected to Tacoma’s incarceration history.

The event is free with registration and open to all. Early registrants attendee’s will receive commemorative keepsakes, including a limited-edition linocut folio by Yoshi Nakagawa and historic postcards.

Alternative ways to engage include a slideshow of the walking tour and access to the free digital exhibition, Tacoma Japantown.

To register and learn more, visit https://tinyurl.com/Day-of-Remebrance-Walk
Presented in partnership with Downtown On the Go, the Washington State Historical Society, Write253, Yoshi Nakagawa, Tacoma Buddhist Temple, and Tacoma Fuji Taiko.

For more information on the full 2025 Walk Tacoma Series and how to register, visit www.downtownonthego.org or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

About: Downtown On the Go!
Downtown On the Go (DOTG) is the transportation advocate and resource for anyone whose daily life is in Tacoma. DOTG is a collaborative effort of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, City of Tacoma, Pierce Transit, and downtown businesses. DOTG helps businesses save money, position their business as an active downtown community member, improve their employees’ health and well being, and protect their local and global environment through transportation management.

Sister Kate Dance Company presents...
REELS & HEELS
A Cinematic Cabaret
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🎬 "Lights, Camera, Chorus!" – A Dazzling Tribute to the Silver Screen 🎭
Step into the spotlight and get swept away in Lights, Camera, and Chorus Dancers — a high-kicking, glittering celebration of cinema’s most iconic moments.

From golden-age glamour to modern blockbusters, our sensational chorus dancers bring the magic of the movies to life with show-stopping dance numbers, jaw-dropping costumes, and enough sparkle to light up Hollywood.

Whether you're a fan of classic musicals or action-packed fantasy adventures, this toe-tapping spectacle will leave you cheering for more. Get ready for a night of pure entertainment — because the movies never danced like this!
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May 8-17, 2025
Jewelbox Theater @ The Rendezvous Seattle (Belltown)

Welcomed by KNKX. Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List:” for the Wall Street Journal.

His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three continents – and still growing – performing in some of the world’s most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.

Pasquale Grasso - It was the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of, and then some. In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine’s February 2016 cover story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who’d impressed him. “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso,” said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult. “Mostly what I hear now are guitar players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of [John Scofield] and a little bit of [Bill Frisell],” he continued. “What’s interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn’t sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his model—which is an incredible model to have—is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.”

They were just four guys from Jersey until they sang their very first note. They had a sound nobody had ever heard… and the radio just couldn’t get enough of.

But while their harmonies were perfect on stage, off stage it was a very different story — a story that has made them an international sensation all over again. Go behind the music and inside the world of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons in the Tony Award-winning true-life musical phenomenon, Jersey Boys.

This scintillating new production is full of electrifying performances of chart-topping hits including: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Dawn,” “My Eyes Adore You,” and so many more!

R & J

By William Shakespeare Adapted and directed by Aaron Lamb

When two young lovers lock eyes across a crowded dance floor, their hearts are forever bound. But can their love survive the brutal blood feud that has torn apart their rival families, the Capulets and Montagues? The greatest love story of all time, Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet has captivated audiences and artists for centuries.

Now, in a nation divided like no other time in recent history, the question posed by these two young people rings loud and long: can true love survive in a divided community? This fresh new adaptation by Artistic Director Aaron Lamb seeks to find modern parallels and star-crossed relevance with the young lovers we’ve known for centuries.

Fri Apr 25|7:30
Sat Apr 26|7:30
Sun Apr 27|2:00
Thu May 1|7:30
Fri May 2|7:30
Sat May 3|7:30
Sun May 4|2:00
Thu May 8|7:30
Fri May 9|7:30
Sat May 10|7:30
Sun May 11|2:00
Wed May 14|2:00
Thu May 15|7:30
Fri May 16|7:30
Sat May 17|7:30
Sun May 18|2:00

A rag-tag theater group tries their hardest to put on a show, but the playwright’s revisions become a big obstacle. This hilarious farce is gag filled…come enjoy the often slapstick-filled antics of a put-upon community theatre group as they do their best to stage what may be one of the worst productions ever written. If you enjoyed Noises Off, this show is for you!

The greatest love story of all time, Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet has captivated audiences and artists for centuries.

Now, in a nation divided like no other time in recent history, the question posed by these two young people rings loud and long: can true love survive in a divided community? This fresh new adaptation by Artistic Director Aaron Lamb seeks to find modern parallels and star-crossed relevance with the young lovers we’ve known for centuries.

Sponsored by KNKX. Robert Glasper is the leader of a new sonic paradigm with a career that bridges musical and artistic genres. To date, he boasts 5 Grammy wins and 15 nominations across 9 categories, an Emmy Award for his song for Ava Duvernay’s critically hailed documentary “13th” with Common and Karriem Riggins, and a Peabody Award for his Composition of “Mr. Soul!” His work and accolades bridge all aspects of the music business, from live touring to film scoring, composing and producing.

Evolution is his hallmark. Glasper’s breakout crossover album Black Radio changed the face of the genre and set a new expectation for what popular music could be. The album won him the Grammy for best R&B album and established him as the musician of choice for some of the world’s most iconic artists; notably playing keys throughout Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, winning another Grammy for the elastic track “These Walls”. The ongoing Black Radio series has since become Glasper’s calling card, upholding a place at the heart of a trailblazing community: from long-time sonic brothers Mos Def and Bilal, to legends including Ledisi, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu.

Glasper’s eternal pursuit to further his sound has been consistent in challenging and transforming his creative horizons across the board. Whether producing a remix album with Kaytranda or as a bandleader, Robert consistently defies the limits of the genre. This is evident in a portfolio that ranges from his acoustic jazz trio; which simultaneously defies and elevates the traditional idiom by uniting it effortlessly with electronics from visionary DJ Jahi Sundance, to August Greene; a collaboration with Common + Karriem Riggins, to R+R=Now; a supergroup at the crossroads of hip-hop and Jazz.

Sponsored by KNKX. The inaugural KKWO Music Festival features top regional jazz artists as well as visiting jazz musicians from France. Performances are free. Get more information here.

The lineup:

Friday April 11th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring Cara Francis - 6pm to 7:15pm

Friday April 11th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring Tracy Knoop - 8pm to 9:15pm

Sunday April 13th: The Antique Sandwich Company - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra - 4pm to 6pm

Monday April 14th: Farm 12 - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra - 6pm to 8pm

Tuesday April 15th: The Tacoma School of the Arts Theater - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra - 6pm to 8pm

Thursday April 17th: Broadway Farmers Market - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra feat. Julien Osty - 11am to 1pm

Saturday April 19th: Tacoma Swasey Library - Jazz From Around the World - workshop and performance - 1pm to 2pm

Saturday April 19th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring The Pete Christlieb Vanguard Revival Big Band - 3pm to 4:15pm

Saturday April 19th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra - 5pm to 6:15pm

Saturday April 19th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring Cassio Vianna - 7pm to 8:15pm

Sunday April 20th: Museum of Glass - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra featuring visiting French Artists - 1pm to 4pm

Sunday April 27th: O’Malley’s - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra featuring Kacey Evans - 11am to 1pm

Sunday April 27th: O’Malley’s - The Jay Mabin / Mason Hargrove Quartet - 1:30pm to 3:30pm

Saturday May 3rd: Apizza - Sheryl Clark & Saxtunes - 1pm to 4pm

Saturday May 3rd: Apizza - Threeocracy - 5pm to 8pm

Sunday May 4th: Peaks and Pints - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra featuring Jimmie Herrod - 5pm to 8pm

Friday May 9th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring Greta Matassa - 6pm to 7:15pm

Friday May 9th: Jazz at The Speakeasy featuring Velocity - 8pm to 9:15pm

Sunday May 11th: The Antique Sandwich Company - Casey Macgill - 4pm to 6pm

Sunday May 18th: Museum of Glass - The Kareem Kandi World Orchestra featuring Ted Dortch - 1pm to 4pm

The TD Victoria International JazzFest is the longest-running professional music festival on Vancouver Island. This iconic event, the “grandfather” of music festivals serving audiences on Vancouver Island and beyond, has evolved from a four-day festival to a vibrant, 10-day celebration of jazz and its associated genres located in the heart of Victoria. Attracting over 40,000 people every year, TD JazzFest is an integral part of the local, national, and international jazz scene, and the highlight of the Victoria Jazz Society’s annual presentations. The 2025 lineup includes Madeleine Peyroux, Eliane Elias, Richard Bona, Artemis, Marquis Hill, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio and LowDown Brass Band.