Oct 03 Friday
How far can an apron, a bowl, or a book take one small Chinese girl with a passion to cook?
The Downtown Issaquah Association (DIA), in partnership with the Issaquah Library, returns the interactive Story Stroll™ to the windows of Olde Town businesses with the light-hearted dreams of a young Chinese chef. This year’s stroll features the inspiring and light-hearted tale of a young Chinese chef whose dreams would change America’s culinary landscape. All ages will delight in reading the historic tale while engaging with local businesses from Sept. 5 through Oct. 5, 2025.
Carrie Clickard’s delectable rhymes tell the story of how Joyce Chen, a girl born in Communist China, immigrated to the United States and popularized Chinese cooking. Illustrator Katy Wu brings this inspiring story beautifully and deliciously to life.
“This uplifting story will delight young children and their parents and grandparents,” said DIA President Christina Bruning. “We are taken on a journey that delights both palate and soul.”
The Story Stroll™ complements the city of Issaquah’s annual Culture Fest event on September 5, 2025, at the Issaquah Community Center. The celebration honors the area’s rich cultures from around the world. The free, family-friendly event spotlights the community’s cultural diversity. Festivities include music, world dances, interactive art, Henna art, resource booths, and food trucks.
Visitors are encouraged to experience both Culture Fest and the self-directed Story Stroll™, two engaging opportunities to celebrate our community’s diverse cultural heritage, discover ways to get involved locally, and support Issaquah’s unique small businesses.
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.
Join us October 3-5, 2025, for the annual Oregon Coast Jazz Party!
For more than two decades, Oregon Coast Jazz Party has celebrated great live jazz—and the dedicated fans who love it—on the beautiful shores of Nye Beach at the Newport Performing Arts Center. Enjoy a lively, marvelously music-focused weekend of live jazz in an idyllic coastal location filled with charm, shopping, local brews, and fresh seafood.
Music director Ken Peplowski returns in 2025! As of April 21st, the full lineup of musicians has been announced: Ken Peplowski (Music Director, Clarinet, Sax), Bruce Harris (Trumpet), Lucy Yeghiazaryan (Vocals), Scott Hamilton (Sax), Mariel Bildsten (Trombone), Diego Figueiredo (Guitar), Mark Feinman (Drums), Alejandro Arenas (Bass), John O’Leary (Piano), Katie Thiroux (Bass), Rossano Sportiello (Piano), and Greg Williamson (Drums).
Session 1: Friday, October 3 @ 7pmSession 2: Saturday, October 4 @ 1pmSession 3: Saturday, October 4 @ 7pmSession 4: Sunday, October 5 @ 1pm
Presented by KNKX. Booker T. Jones is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and arguably the most famous Hammond B3 player in history. As leader of the legendary Booker T and the MGs, this pillar of soul music collaborated with Otis Redding, Albert King, and more during his tenure at Stax Records. Since then, Booker has lent his trademark keyboard chops to and produced classic albums such as Willie Nelson's multi-platinum hit “Stardust” and Bill Withers’ “Just As I Am” featuring the hit song “Ain’t No Sunshine". Both Booker's 2009 solo release "Potato Hole" and his 2011 solo release "The Road From Memphis" won GRAMMY Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Album. In 2013 Booker released “Sound The Alarm”, marking a return to Stax Records after 40 years.
In 2016, Booker debuted his live show “Booker T Presents: A Stax Revue”, working with new talent to create a show that reflects the heart and soul of Stax Records. Most recently, Booker released his memoire, Time is Tight, and an accompanying album “Note by Note”. Booker is currently working on a new recording project and touring worldwide with his solo band.
Have you ever watched a movie musical and found you really, really fantasized about being up on the screen with the cast? Well, here is your chance to almost do that! Friday Nights 6:30 - 9:30
A 30-minute dance move tutorial will be held prior to the start of each film.
FREE!!!
7/19: In The Heights
7/26: Kinky Boots
8/2: CHICAGO
8/9: DREAMGIRLS
8/16: West Side Story
8/23: HAMILTON
9/6: Sweet Charity
9/13: RENT
9/20: TBD
The First-Ever Wagner Ring Cycle in Tacoma! A groundbreaking four-year journey begins with the most ambitious production in Tacoma Opera history. Experience the mythic power and revolutionary music that changed opera forever.
Acclaimed singers from Germany, Great Britain, Korea, New York, California, and the Pacific Northwest unite to bring Wagner's divine music to life on the Pantages stage.
Special pre-production lecture series exploring Wagner's revolutionary music, Nordic mythology, and the enduring power of Das Rheingold. Schedule and speakers to be announced.
Stage of Fools Written by Joy McCullough Directed by Amy Poisson
A scrappy feminist theater company is about to go under when they receive an offer they can't refuse: has-been 80s action movie star Jake Stone will endow them with more money than they've ever dreamed of, if they'll produce King Lear, with him in the titular role. Never mind that he's an entitled, egotistical blowhard. These women can survive anything for the sake of the theater they love...right?
Evening and matinee performances.
