Community Calendar

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.”

For over 55 years, Tower of Power has delivered the best in funk and soul music.“We were a Soul band called The Motowns.” recalls Emilio Castillo. “Rocco was the bass player, I was there, and my brother was the drummer. I met “Doc” Kupka back in 1968, and gave him an audition. He came in the band, and we eventually changed our name to the Tower of Power.” The reason for the band name change was that they had a specific goal in mind.

East Bay Grease defined their sound and landed them with Warner Brothers. Bump City, their 1972 debut for the label, was a hit on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B Albums chart, and netted them the hits “You’re Still A Young Man” and “Down to The Nightclub.” The 70s were a boom period with radio classics like “So Very Hard to Go” and “What Is Hip?,” and the band continued to tour and record over the years. Castillo says their love of the stage is the same today as it was back in 1968.

50 years later, in 2018, they returned to Oakland to celebrate their landmark 50th anniversary. Tower’s window-rattling grooves and raucous party spirit has been a balm for the soul throughout their half-century existence, but the release of 50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

The band has long since surpassed Castillo’s modest aspirations, traveling the world, enjoying hit singles on their own and backing legendary artists including Otis Redding, Elton John, Santana, the Grateful Dead, John Lee Hooker, Aerosmith, Bonnie Raitt, and countless others. In the process they’ve defined an “Oakland soul” sound as instantly recognizable as those from Castillo’s hometown, Detroit, as well as inspirations like Memphis and Philadelphia.

A group of visual artists have come together to express their concern over the current state of the nation/world due to today’s political situation. The show title “Degenerate” Art harkens back to the label used by the Nazis in the 1930s to attack modern art and the artists who did not adhere to the permitted view of racial purity, militarism, and obedience.

Pieces by six established Vashon Island artists will be presented: Gregory Burnham, Bill Cleaver, Bill Jarcho, Alice Larson, Marc Pease, and Lenard Yen.

“Every day this becomes a more important show as we see the arts attacked and erosion of our freedom of speech,” said Alice Larson. “What is happening parallels fascism in Germany under Hitler. Anything not toeing the line of the administration in power is deleted, banned, and those related to it punished.”
Bill Cleaver summarized why the exhibit is particularly relevant to the group. “We are artists, so this is how we express our concerns. We hope this show will inspire others to find their own way to declare their distress.”

The “Degenerate” Art Show will be on display at Snapdragon Café, 17817 Vashon Hwy SW, Vashon Island, WA during November 2025, with an opening celebration on First Friday November 7, 6 – 9 p.m.

Echoes of the Floating World features a striking collection of 18th, 19th and early 20th-century Japanese woodblock prints from the Tacoma Art Museum and others, displayed alongside works by contemporary Northwest artists. This exhibition honors the rich legacy of ukiyo-e while exploring its cultural impact on today’s artistic expressions.

Hours-

Monday CLOSED
Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday 10 am – 5 pm
Thursday 10 am – 8 pm
Friday 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 10 am – 5 pm

We are protesting project 2025. TacomaRama marching band will join us for the next 4 years. We will meet each month on the Saturday closest to the 18th each month. Always 10am, always Reconciliation park.
Feel loved and supported.

The period from the 1870s to the 1900s, known as the Gilded Age, saw the rise of the railroad, textile industry, and production. It also saw a rise in migration to US cities, providing workers to fill low paying jobs producing many of the fashions of the era. This era marked a turning point in fashion as new technologies and changing cultural norms transformed the ways in which people dressed.

Explore this history and enjoy the rare chance to see clothing, notions, and artifacts of the period from the Washington State Historical Society collections.

Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music unveils the profound legacy of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul artists who shaped the soundscape of American culture and used their music as instruments of resistance, identity, and representation.

Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul embody the profound influence of African American music on culture and history. From the spiritual foundations and transformative movements of Gospel hymns to the revolutionary improvisations of Jazz, the Blues’ Southern roots rising from the Mississippi Delta, and Soul’s powerful amplification of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these genres have defined the unique sound and undying spirit of a nation that continues to echo through contemporary Black music today.

The 37th annual Best of the Northwest Fall Show is Seattle's Premier Art & Fine Craft show.

Location: Hangar 30 in Warren G. Magnuson Park, Seattle

Dates: November 7-9, 2025

Special VIP Preview: Friday, 11am - 2pm, 21 and over

General Admission: All-Ages - Friday, 2pm - 7pm, Saturday, 10am-6pm & Sunday, 10am-5pm

We are excited to announce our premier 3-day event, starting November 7. Help us celebrate 37 years of the Best! This year's event starts Friday morning with a special VIP Preview. Be the first to see the art and buy from the artists. Your VIP Preview ticket includes complementary assorted pastries and treats. Enjoy live music while you shop and enter for a chance to win prize drawings of gift certificates for artwork. Your VIP Preview ticket is also valid all weekend. $15 in advance/$20 day of the event.

The following days/times: Fri, 2pm-7pm, Sat, 10am-6pm and Sun, 10m-5pm are open to the public and all-ages. The general admission prices are $3 advance and $5 day of the event, with ages 12 and under entering for free during these hours. A variety of Seattle food trucks are onsite throughout the weekend. Enjoy seeing 115+ talented NW artists in all mediums. Find exciting treasures for yourself or a gift for someone special. Look for artists in action and see how the artwork is made. Vote for your favorite art booth and enter to win a gift card.

During the event, two cash awards of $250 each will be given to the two booths that receive the most People's Choice and Juror's choice votes. These artists will also be given a coupon for free application and a guaranteed spot in the next Best of the Northwest show. Two Honorable mentions will also be picked by voted and will receive a coupon for free application and a guaranteed spot in the next Best of the Northwest show.

This is a permanent exhibition. Since time immemorial, Tribal nations have existed in this place we call Washington. This Is Native Land invites visitors to understand Washington State through the lived experiences and voices of its Native people.

Tribal nations are sovereign nations. Today, Native history, culture, and community thrive in our state. Through everyday acts of sovereignty – big and small – Indigenous peoples demonstrate they are still here, they have persevered, and they will always be here.

This Is Native Land is guided by three teachings:
We are of the land and waters
With knowledge comes responsibility
Sovereignty protects people, lands, and waters

These teachings are shared through multimedia, artwork, and interactive objects designed for guest engagement. They represent a contemporary continuation of Tribal stories and traditions.

Over 100 Native contributors from more than 60 Tribes shaped the exhibition’s stories and content. We thank the Native Advisory Committee and all community participants for their contributions.

Stories are shaped by the ways we tell them. In Shaping the Story: Designs for the Theatre by Carey Wong, go behind the scenes to see how theatre sets bring stories to life. During a career spanning over 50 years, Carey Wong has designed sets and costumes for more than 300 productions, including operas, plays, musicals, and ballets.

This exhibition features scale models of his designs in addition to costumes, set pieces, and stories of Washington’s rich entertainment history. From sketches of an idea to fully realized sets, explore how a designer’s decisions craft the world of a story.