Community Calendar

Sponsored by KNKX. National Book Award-nominated author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois Honorée Fanonne Jeffers is at a crossroads in her nonfiction debut with this personal and thought-provoking work that explores the journeys and possibilities of Black women throughout American history and in contemporary times.

Q&A with Colleen Echohawk, our Community Curated Series director.

Got a big dream of playing the Tiny Desk? Send us a video of you playing one song behind a desk of your choosing. If you win, you'll get to play your very own Tiny Desk concert and go on tour with NPR Music. When you enter the 2026 Tiny Desk Contest, you join a nationwide community of music-makers and creators. Get started on your video now! GET ALL THE DETAILS HERE.

Here's what you do:
Create a new video that shows you playing one song you've written.
Do it the way you'd perform a Tiny Desk concert: at a desk. (Any desk!)
Upload your video to YouTube.
Fill out the entry form after it opens at 10 a.m. ET on January 13 and before 11:59 p.m. ET on February 9, 2026.

The winner will:
Play a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington, D.C.
Be featured on NPR’s All Things Considered
Headline NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour

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.

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.

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.

LeMay – America’s Car Museum proudly presents The Birth of the American Supercar, a groundbreaking exhibition guest curated by renowned automotive innovator Steve Saleen. This one-of-a-kind display invites guests on an exhilarating journey through the evolution of American supercars. From early speed pioneers to cutting-edge modern marvels, visitors will experience a stunning lineup of vehicles that have redefined engineering, speed, and style, built by a wide range of American automotive manufacturers like Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Saleen himself, and even some more obscure ones like Vector, Cunningham, and Hennessey. From roaring V8s to sleek carbon-fiber bodies, discover how American automakers pushed boundaries, challenged European rivals, and redefined what a supercar could be. This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see some of the most thrilling and historically significant American-made performance vehicles ever built—all under one roof.

Join us for CASINO de SALSA with the incredible Takechi Ruiz, Wednesdays at 6 PM! No partner? No problem. Just bring your energy and we’ll bring the rhythm. 💥

Let’s make some 🔥 moves together.

Location: Tacoma - 1105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, WA
Day: Every Wednesday
Time: 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Ages: Ages 12+
Registration Link: https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/regv2.asp?id=532322&preLoadClassID=20477009

Contact: 253-327-1873

AfroCuban Dance is HERE and you’re invited!

Experience the roots, rhythms, and soul of AfroCuban dance with the phenomenal Takechi Ruiz every Wednesday at 7:15 PM.

This is more than a class, it’s a celebration of culture, community, and movement. Perfect for all levels. Let’s move!

Location: Tacoma -1105 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Day: Wednesdays
Timed: 7:15 – 8:15 PM
Age: Ages 12+
Contact: 253-327-1783

Registration Link: https://app.jackrabbitclass.com/regv2.asp?id=532322&preLoadClassID=20477009