Dec 12 Friday
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.”
Dec 13 Saturday
Timeless in a way that few other acts today are, The Spinners are one of the most iconic and enduring groups in R&B history. With a towering legacy spanning over six decades, The Spinners have never lost their universal appeal. In 2021, they returned with their first all-new original album, the aptly-titled, Round the Block and Back Again.
The group created and came to define the smooth sound of Philadelphia Soul, channeling the highs and lows of romance and heartbreak into a catalog of classic hits, beloved across generations. Throughout the years the Spinners continue to top the Pop, R&B and now Adult Contemporary Charts, with smash singles like, “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love,” “Then Came You,” “The Rubberband Man'' and many more– earning Six Grammy nominations, 18 Platinum and Gold Albums, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and selling millions of records worldwide in the process.
Though The Spinners popularized, and came to embody, the lush sound of Philly Soul in the 1970s, they got their start in Detroit at Motown in 1954. The Spinners signed with Atlantic Records in 1972, teaming up with producer Thom Bell in Philadelphia where the group blossomed under his masterful productions.
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 CLOSEDTuesday CLOSEDWednesday 10 am – 5 pmThursday 10 am – 8 pmFriday 10 am – 5 pmSaturday 10 am – 5 pmSunday 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.
OPEN ADULT BALLET CLASS
Have you always dreamed of dancing ballet?Now’s your chance to step into the studio and move with grace, strength, and joy.
This class is also for you if you are returning after years away from ballet or any other forms of dance.
Saturdays 11:00 AM – 12:30 PMTacoma Urban Performing Arts Center (T.U.P.A.C.)1105 Martin Luther King, Jr Way, Tacoma, WA 98405
A Class Designed for You:- No experience needed—just a curious spirit- Go at your own pace in a supportive, judgment-free space- Build flexibility, confidence, and connection with your body
Wear what feels comfortable.Come ready to move with intention and joy.
Whether it’s your first plié or your hundredth pirouette, this is your time to shine.
Questions? Call us at 253-327-1873
Let’s dance together at T.U.P.A.C.—where every adult belongs at the barre.
Northern LightsMusic of the Nordic and Baltic Countries
The otherworldly beauty of the aurora borealis is the spark for our holiday concert. From medieval chant and traditional carols to dazzling works by Arvo Pärt, Ola Gjeilo, and Veljo Tormis, you’ll journey through a thousand years of ethereal Baltic and Nordic choral music. In our centerpiece, Northern Lights by Ēriks Ešenvalds, voices, chimes, and tuned water goblets combine to evoke the spectacle of the aurora.
In person: Saturday, December 13, 2025 ‐ 3pm & 7pmChapel at Bastyr University - Kenmore, WApre-concert conversation at 2:30pm & 6:30pm
In person: Saturday, December 20, 2025 ‐ 3pm & 7pmSeattle First Baptist Church - Harvard & Seneca, Seattlepre-concert conversation at 2:30pm & 6:30pm
Streaming: Monday, December 22, 2025 ‐ 7:30pm online, free; donations gratefully acceptedpremiering on YouTube on December 22 and available on-demand for 30 days
Of note: Our performances of Northern Lights at Bastyr University Chapel will be sung-through, and will not include any spoken introductions to the pieces after our welcome message; we will ask the audience to hold applause until the end of the concert. These concerts will be recorded.
Our performances of Northern Lights at Seattle First Baptist Church will include introductions from choir members and Karen P. Thomas, and audience members will be encouraged to applaud as they are moved to do so.
