Dec 05 Friday
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.
Bundle up and let BIMA light your way into the season! For two unforgettable nights, the plaza transforms into a sparkling winter wonderland filled with vendor booths, cozy vibes, and live music. Twinkle lights set the mood as you browse hand-crafted goods from talented Pacific Northwest makers—perfect for checking off your gift list with something truly one-of-a-kind.
Shop local: Discover a curated lineup of artisans and creatives offering everything from jewelry and textiles to ceramics and gourmet treats.
Play & create: Dive into all-ages DIY craft stations, snap a free photo-booth pic, or warm your hands at the fire-pit lounges.
Sip & savor: Enjoy seasonal drinks—both spirited and zero-proof—alongside delicious street food to keep you fueled while you explore.
Soak up the sounds: A live DJ keeps the energy high on the plaza, and each night features a special headlining concert inside the museum (artist announcements coming soon!).
Need a break? Head to the BIMA Classroom for cozy, free screenings of holiday film favorites.
It’s the perfect blend of light, sound, and community magic—don’t miss this joyful kickoff to the season!
Interested in becoming a vendor? Learn more here!
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
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.”
BIMA presents two evenings of live virtuosic acoustic instrumental music with Wes Corbett and Simon Chrisman. This extraordinary duo brings original compositions and mind-blowing technical ability to the Frank Buxton Auditorium for a night of unforgettable music.
About the ArtistsWes and Simon started down the musical road at around the same time, on the same small island, but only met by chance and with the accidental help of Bill Frissell and a local noodle shack. Fast friends from the start, theyve made music together every chance theyve had along the way, making two records with chamber grass outfit the Bee Eaters, and stealing chances to get in a two or two when passing through each others city of residence while on tour with other bands. Now, sixteen years after meeting, theyre releasing their first duo recording
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Wesley Corbett has been playing the banjo since he was 16, after a split from the classical piano. He has performed with many of the most influential acoustic musicians of our time, including Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Sarah Jarosz, Sierra Hull, Bruce Molsky, Robert Earl Keen, Tony Trischka, Molly Tuttle, and Laurie Lewis (among many others), as well as touring internationally with the Indie-Popgrass band Joy Kills Sorrow. From 2011-2015 Wes was the professor of banjo at Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA. He now lives in Nashville, TN and plays in the Molly Tuttle Band.
Hammer dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman brings an unusual style to an instrument that has previously been thought to have limited range and technique…his inventive virtuosic touch and sophisticated rhythmic sensibilities are redefining the instrument and earning the attention of musicians from all over the world. He tours with the Jeremy Kittel Band and the Bee Eaters, and has performed with Darol Anger, Bruce Molsky, Mike Marshall, Laurie Lewis and Seamus Egan.
Dec 06 Saturday
Slow Burn is a new high point in a remarkable career that now spans more than three decades and includes a long list of accolades; four GRAMMY nominations, three NAACP Image Award nominations, a Soul Train Award for Best Jazz Album and four RIAA Gold Record certifications. In 2009, Billboard named James one of the Top 3 Contemporary Jazz Artists of the decade. In 2024 year Boney became the first ever artist to score 20 number one singles on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart.
But Boney James has never been one to look backwards and Slow Burn, which the artist produced, marks several firsts. Beginning with the album's opening track, 'Arcadia.' The very first notes on the album are the acoustic bass playing of the legendary Marcus Miller. It's one of the few times that Miller, known for his electric bass guitar work, has committed his standup bass playing to a recording and the first time that James has incorporated an upright bass into his own music.
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.
