Community Calendar

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.

The Farm Fresh Market, featuring Ayala Farms, run Saturdays October 11 – December 6 from 9 am to 2 pm at the Historic Shell Station. Locals and visitors take advantage of the seasonal flowers and support local farmers. Live music from 11 am to 1 pm.

Enjoy a rainbow of colors and bushels of fun at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden’s Fall Foliage Festival and Plant Sale on November 8-9.

Join us for this free event featuring garden tours and plant talks, kids’ scavenger hunt, a food truck, or search for the perfect spot to take that quintessential fall photo. Also shop RSBG’s biggest sale of the year! Discover an immersive wonderland of sights, sounds, and sensations – from cool breezes to rustling leaves and the quiet swaying of golden-brown maple trees.

The garden’s annual Fall Foliage Festival and Plant Sale is sure to please garden enthusiasts and nature lovers of all ages. For plant hunters looking for something special, featured pop-up vendors will bring their cultivated collections to the Rutherford Conservatory terrace.

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.

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 PM
Tacoma 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.

It’s almost like being in love! Dance your way back in time to one of the most romantic musicals ever written, Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon. Americans Tommy and Jeff are hiking the Scottish Highlands, when out of the mists they stumble upon the enchanting village of Brigadoon, which appears for only one day every 100 years. But this dreamlike place is far more than it seems—and those who fall in love there might never be the same.

From the writers of My Fair Lady and Camelot comes this soaring love story, full of glorious ballet and favorite tunes like “Come to Me, Bend to Me,” “The Heather on the Hill” and “Almost Like Being in Love.” This production features an exquisite new adaptation, which enhances all the romance and magic that makes Brigadoon a truly timeless masterpiece.