Community Calendar

Supported by KNKX. In honor of his brother Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker and Charged Particles recorded a live CD of Michael's music which was included on “Best Of” lists in JazzTimes magazine, Jazzwise magazine, All About Jazz, The Mercury News, Glide Magazine, the Jazz Journalists Association Poll, and the Jazz Critics Poll.

Jazz trumpeter and composer Randy Brecker has helped shape the sound of jazz, R&B and rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Parliament/Funkadelic to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius and Frank Zappa.

Born in 1945 in Philadelphia to a musical family, Randy’s musical talent was nurtured from an early age. He attended Indiana University from 1963-66 studying with Bill Adam, David Baker and Jerry Coker and later moved to New York where he landed gigs with such prominent bands as Clark Terry’s Big Bad Band, the Duke Pearson Big Band and the Thad Jones Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra.

In 1967, Randy ventured into jazz-rock with the band Blood, Sweat and Tears, but left to join the Horace Silver Quintet. He recorded his first solo album, Score, in 1968, featuring a young, then unknown 19 year-old tenor saxophonist named Michael Brecker. After Horace Silver, Randy joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers before teaming up with brother Michael, Barry Rogers, Billy Cobham, and John Abercrombie to form the seminal fusion group ‘Dreams’.

In the early 1970s, Randy performed live with many prominent artists including Larry Coryell’s Eleventh House, Stevie Wonder and Billy Cobham. He also recorded several classic albums with his brother under the leadership of the great pianist/composer Hal Galper.

By 1975, Randy and Michael were ready to front their own group, the Brecker Brothers Band. A band of immeasurable impact and influence, they released six albums on Arista and garnered seven Grammy nominations between 1975 and 1981. Their eponymous first record, which Randy wrote, arranged and produced, featured his now classic composition “Some Skunk Funk.”

The R&B funk icon, Confunkshun, who has been pleasing fans for over 50 years, is at it again! While fresh off the success of "Love’s Train" being rerecorded by Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak) and reaching #1 on the charts, the band’s locomotive is once again rolling out with a new single, "Text Me Tomorrow" from their 2023 summer album release Smooth Jukebox.

Initially known as Project Soul, the R&B funk icon group we now know as Confunkshun, has been pleasing fans for over 50 years.

Originating in Vallejo, CA, founding member Michael Cooper along with high school classmates, Louis McCall, Karl Fuller, Cedric Martin, Danny Thomas, Paul “Zebulan” Harrell, and newfound talent, Felton Pilate, started this unprecedented music journey. Eventually, the group found a home in Memphis in the mid-‘70s when they booked a performance backing Stax Recording Artist, the Soul Children. Soon they were recruited as the background band for Rufus Thomas for the Golden Globe nominated Wattstax Benefit Concert/ Documentary.

While in pursuit of a recording contract, the group adopted a new name inspired by the group Nite- Liters’ song, Confunkshun. The newly re-named act attracted the attention of Mercury Records, and soon set funkateers around the world on fire with their debut album featuring their first single “Sho’ Feels Good To Me.” Confunkshun went on to release a total of 11 albums, and eight top ten Billboard hits including the No. 1 hit single “Ffun”, “Chase Me”, “Shake & Dance”, “Baby I’m Hooked” and more.

Ironically, their biggest hit was an album cut that was never released as a single. The fan favorite, "Love’s Train", propelled Confunkshun’s To the Max album to Gold Status. But it was 40 years later that supergroup Silk Sonic’s remake of the single took it to #1 on the charts, helping the duo (Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak) win a BET Album of the Year Award.

Live Music Returns to the Waterfront This Summer!

Get ready for an unforgettable summer on the water—Oodalalee: Concerts at Pier 62 is here. Brought to you by your friends at The Crocodile, this brand-new summer series transforms the recently renovated Pier 62 into a beautiful open-air concert venue, right on the edge of Elliott Bay.

Kicking off June 1 with a performance from Hermanos Gutiérrez, the series brings a stacked lineup all summer long, including Silversun Pickups, Watchhouse, Deltron 3030, Cosmo Sheldrake, Blind Pilot & John Craigie, Fruit Bats, and Otoboke Beaver with even more to be announced.

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.

Don’t miss Brick Bending LEGO Art with viral sensation and Portland-based LEGO artist Jeff Sanders, whose mesmerizing, curved LEGO structures have enchanted over 250 million viewers online (check him out on YouTube). During this four-day LEGO extravaganza, Jeff will be on-site leading collaborative builds and showcasing his unique art. Whether your child is a seasoned builder or simply loves to stack and snap, this event promises endless inspiration and jaw-dropping creations.

Presented by Small to Tall Pediatric Dentistry 

Mandela: The Official Exhibition explores the life of the world’s most famous freedom fighter and political leader. His epic journey is told in a series of experiential galleries, from his rural childhood home through years of turbulent struggle against the apartheid regime, to his eventual vindication and final years as South Africa’s first democratically elected president.

An immersive and interactive experience, the exhibition features previously unseen films, photos, and the display of historical artifacts and personal effects on loan from the Mandela family, museums, and archives worldwide. This unprecedented exhibition offers fresh insights into the people, places, and events that formed Nelson Mandela’s character and the challenges he faced.

MOHAI will also highlight Mandela’s 1999 visit to Seattle and present a look at Seattle’s role in the anti-apartheid movement, including the work of the Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid. Mandela recognized Seattle as one of the first U.S. cities to boycott South African goods.

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.

"Echoes, Memories and Curiosities" is an unconventional one-man show of art by Chuck Iffland, an outsider artist whose works spring from his inner visions. The son of painters, musicians and craftsmen — he uses his great-grandfather’s hand tools — Iffland turns his dreams and imaginings into sculptures and prints.
The show, divided into what he calls echoes, memories and curiosities, is open noon to 5 PM daily except Tuesdays. A free opening celebration is set for 5 p.m. Saturday, July 12, and Iffland will do a free Q & A at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 27.
This artist is a free spirit. His degree is in political science, while “I have no art degrees. And I never wanted any art degrees,” says Iffland, who lives and works in rural Chimacum. He infuses his fascinations with archeology, history, borders and the natural world into wood, stone, paper and copper, making what he calls “artifacts of the mind.” His travels, including hikes in the American Southwest and explorations of Belize, also inspire him.