Happy Friday Newsletter 5.8.26

Posted on by Ande Dunn

Neighborhood News

  • Whittier Elementary Groundbreaking May 27 9 AM
    • Tacoma Public Schools breaks ground on the new Whittier Elementary at 777 Elm Tree Ln, Fircrest at the end of the month, and the community is invited to come watch the shovels go in. Half an hour, in and out, short enough to fit between coffee and the rest of your morning.
  • The Taste Northwest @ Washington State Fair Event Center June 26 – 28
    • The Taste Northwest returns to Puyallup for its fifth year June 26-28, with 150-plus food and shopping vendors, four stages of live music, comedy, and chef battles, and five bars including a PNW craft beer and cider tasting Saturday and Sunday. Free admission. Taste Packs (5 tastes plus games) go on sale Wednesday, May 6 at $49, and an XL version at $99 throws in parking. Opening day pairs a non-perishable food drive for the Puyallup Food Bank with a free $6 Taste coupon. New this year: Sunday corgi races, plus the second annual Puyallup Paddle Battle pickleball tournament. thefair.com.
  • University of Puget Sound’s Commencement at Baker Stadium Sunday at 2 PM
    • UPS sends off the Class of 2026, undergraduates plus students from all five graduate programs, Sunday afternoon at Baker Stadium. Keynote speaker Ellen Ferguson ’72, longtime Burke Museum leader, philanthropist, and the donor behind the $2 million Puget Sound Memory Project, will receive an honorary degree alongside trustee emeritus Bill Weyerhaeuser. Student speakers are DPT graduate Rovin Ian Antonio (“Grounded: Choosing How We Show Up”) and theatre arts senior Isabel Magdalen Fitzgibbons (“Into Confusion”). Tickets are required for the ceremony itself; the livestream is open at pugetsound.edu/commencement. Academic Convocation precedes commencement on Saturday at 2 PM in Schneebeck Concert Hall.
  • Steilacoom Confidential Document Shredding at Public Works May 9, 9 AM to Noon
    • Steilacoom’s annual free shred event lands Saturday morning at the Public Works facility, 1030 Roe St. Bring up to two file boxes or three grocery bags per household; the truck stops when it’s full, so don’t sleep in. No plastic bags, DVDs, or anything else that’ll jam the blades. Non-perishable food and cash donations support the We Love Steilacoom Food Pantry. A statewide list of shredding events lives on the Washington Attorney General’s site under Upcoming Events.
  • Seabury School Opens Downtown Tacoma Early Learning Center
    • Browns Point’s Seabury School, the only independent school in the south Puget Sound serving exclusively gifted students from pre-K through eighth grade, opens a downtown preschool Monday at 925 Court C, right next door to Tacoma School of the Arts. The space was Seabury’s middle school campus until the school consolidated in 2024. May and June run as a test enrollment ahead of the full school year, with tuition at $2,000 a month full-day or $1,500 a month half-day; the standard year runs $22,904 full-day and $18,584 half-day. Class size caps at 20. Site director Katy Moon plans to use downtown as the extended classroom: Children’s Museum recess, Point Defiance Zoo field trips, partnerships with the School of the Arts. No testing required to enroll. seabury.org.
  • BLOOM Market at The Bair in Steilacoom May 9, 8 AM to 1 PM
    • BLOOM is back on the lawn at The Bair Drug and Hardware, 1617 Lafayette St in Steilacoom, a curated market of local artisans selling photography, ceramics, watercolor, abstract and mixed-media art, bath and body, floral, fiber, woodworking, and vintage finds. Live music includes Jim Anderson on ukulele. Plan a full Steilacoom Saturday: hit the Steilacoom Garden Club plant sale, grab breakfast or lunch at The Bair, then browse the market.
  • South Tacoma Business District Wins 2026 Neighborhood Revitalization Award
    • The City of Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission has named the South Tacoma Business District a recipient of its 2026 Outstanding Achievement Award in the Neighborhood Revitalization category. The Historic Preservation Month Awards Ceremony is Thursday, May 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum, 5519 Five Mile Dr. Free and open to the public, with complimentary refreshments and a special presentation by Parks Tacoma staff.
  • Center for Dialog & Resolution Open House May 20
    • The Center for Dialog & Resolution (717 Tacoma Ave S) is hosting a themed open house May 20, with snacks, a tour of the space, and a low-key intro to how mediation, training, and facilitation work for local businesses and organizations. The team’s leaning into the metaphor: conflict often feels like Wonderland, with everyone talking and no one heard. Drop in any time between 3:30 and 6:30. Bring a colleague or a friend. RSVP at centerforresolution.org/open-house-2026.

Local Governance

  • Peninsula School District Buys Second Home Near Crowded High School
    • Peninsula School District is paying just under $660,000 for a 1.46-acre property at 6412 144th St. NW, the second single-family home it has bought this year next to Peninsula High School. The first, a neighboring lot at 6422 144th St. NW, went for about $490,000 in January. Combined with a 20-acre purchase in November 2024 for $6.2 million and a 5-acre parcel last spring, the district is steadily ringing the campus with land, a strategy Director of Facilities Patrick Gillespie attributes to the “space-constrained” high school site and the rising cost of waiting. The latest buy is funded by interest on the 2019 bond and state School Construction Assistance Program match dollars. No specific use is planned yet; the district expects to decide by year’s end whether to keep or demolish the existing buildings, and is exploring a rezone from Residential Resource to Public Institution.
  • Task Force Recommends Replacing Remann Hall On-Site
    • The 15-member Juvenile Justice Task Force, formed last summer by County Executive Ryan Mello, has recommended replacing, not renovating, Remann Hall at its current 5501 6th Ave location and rebranding the complex as the Family and Youth Justice Center. Thursday’s report lays out ten design priorities: flexible multipurpose space, clear separation between secure and public areas, and dedicated room for counseling and mental health services. Remann Hall opened in 1971 and hasn’t seen a major renovation since 1995; a 2023 study pegged on-site redevelopment at roughly $180 million. The county expects firmer numbers in late 2027 after schematic design. Mello has said bond financing is nearly certain given the county’s stressed budget.
  • UP Safety Summit at City Council Chambers May 13, 1PM
    • University Place Police Chief Pat Burke walks residents and business owners through current public safety issues at a special Safety Summit Wednesday afternoon, then breaks the room into small-group table discussions where attendees can ask questions and weigh in directly with UPPD personnel. Light refreshments. RSVP to UPPublicSafety@cityofup.com to reserve a seat.
  • Tacoma Moves Municipal Code to a Real Search Engine
    • Looking up local law just got dramatically easier. The City Clerk’s Office has migrated the Tacoma Municipal Code to a fully web-based platform with a Google-style search bar, an interactive table of contents that tracks your position as you scroll, and a “New Laws” button for ordinances waiting to be codified. You can print, email, or download specific sections, sign up for change alerts on chapters you care about, and run the whole thing through Google Translate. Find it at tacoma.gov/municode.
  • Tacoma for All Gathering Signatures for Safe Homes for All Initiative
    • A group called Tacoma for All is collecting signatures to put its “Safe Homes for All” initiative on the November ballot, aiming for roughly 9,000 over the coming weeks. The proposal would expand enforcement of local tenant laws through new per-unit rental license fees, mandatory financial penalties on housing providers, expanded tenant-led legal action, and additional regulatory requirements. Supporters frame it as accountability; the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is warning that the new costs and legal exposure could squeeze housing supply and workforce affordability. Worth reading the proposal in full before signing, or before deciding not to.
  • Styrofoam Recycling Returns to the Tacoma Recycle Center
    • After four years off, the city’s Styrofoam densifier is back in service at the Tacoma Recycle Center, 3510 S. Mullen St. The original machine had been down since 2022 with persistent mechanical issues; staff ultimately decided that a full replacement was cheaper than another repair. Drop off clean block Styrofoam, including rigid foam packaging, coolers, and packaging sheets, for free. Packing peanuts, food containers, and contaminated foam are not accepted. Collected material is compressed on-site, then trucked to a Kent recycling facility for remanufacture. tacoma.gov/recycle.
  • Public Hearing on the 2026 One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan Amendment May 19, 5:15 PM
    • Tacoma City Council holds a public hearing May 19 on the 2026 amendment to the One Tacoma Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Regulatory Code. Show up in person, join virtually, or watch live on TV Tacoma or tacoma.gov. Written comments go to cityclerk@tacoma.gov or City Clerk’s Office, 747 Market St., Tacoma, WA 98402, by 5 PM Monday, May 18. Before the hearing, the city is hosting a family-friendly info session at STAR Center, 3873 S. 66th St., on Saturday, May 9 from 1 to 3 PM to walk residents through the proposed updates. Background and full text at tacoma.gov/codeamendments.
  • Tacoma’s 2025 Climate Action Plan Progress Report Hits Council
    • The City’s annual Climate Action Plan check-in landed at the May 5 Study Session, with concrete numbers behind a 2050 net-zero target. LIDAR analysis shows Tacoma’s tree canopy has climbed to 21 percent, up 1 percent citywide since 2017, and up 2 to 4 percent in priority census blocks where targeted equity planting was focused. The Home in Tacoma zoning update was formally adopted in February 2025, followed by the Tideflats Subarea Plan in December. A new Department of Ecology-funded e-bike rebate program distributed bikes to 213 residents, with 95 percent of rebates going to low-income recipients. Beyond the Bin’s eight reuse events in 2025 kept more than 16,000 pounds of usable goods out of the landfill, and 72 low-income homes were switched from natural gas to electric heat pumps with state grant funding. The Commencement Bay Restoration and Resilience Master Plan, a sea-level-rise collaboration with the Puyallup Tribe, Port of Tacoma, Pierce County, and Parks Tacoma, kicked off in 2025 and is due late 2026. Full report at tacoma.gov.
  • May Office Hours with Mayor Anders Ibsen
    • The mayor’s weekly office hours hit four spots across Tacoma in May, all open for residents to drop by and talk about whatever’s on their mind. May 6 from 2:30 to 3:45 PM at Thyme Well Spent, 5608 Park Ave S. May 13 from 10:30 to 11:45 AM at McDuff’s Café, 1400 N. Highlands Pkwy. May 20 from 6 to 7:15 PM at Bigfoot Pizza and Bar, 1308 N. I St. May 27 from 2 to 3:15 PM at Bluebeard Coffee Roasters, 2201 6th Ave. Business owners interested in hosting a future office hours can submit a request at tacoma.gov/mayor.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Mother’s Day Tea Party at Gig Harbor Court May 10, 1 PM
    • Gig Harbor Court hosts a tiered Mother’s Day tea on Sunday afternoon: finger sandwiches, sweets, pots of tea, then a photo booth for portraits with Mom, Grandma, or both. Residents, daughters, sons, and grandchildren all welcome. 3213 45th St Ct NW, Gig Harbor.
  • 5th Annual BIPOC Market at Annie Wright Schools May 9, 11 AM to 4 PM
    • The BIPOC Market returns for its fifth year at Annie Wright Schools, 827 N. Tacoma Ave, with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color makers, artists, and entrepreneurs from Tacoma and the surrounding area. The student-led event, run by Annie Wright’s Community by AWS group (IG: @communitybyaws), has drawn thousands in past years, with food trucks, live demos, and a deep roster of local vendors. Free and open to the public.
  • Mother’s Day Brunch and Candle Making May 9, 12 to 3 PM
    • Bring Mom for a brunch spread of pastries, eggs, bacon, sausage, juice, and bubbly, then walk away with a signature candle she’ll burn long after the dishes are done. All ages welcome; bring the little ones or the grown ones. 5104 6th Ave Suite 104, Tacoma. Tickets at square.link/u/1KyIuLZ4.
  • Second Annual Women Build Night Market at STAR Center May 8, 4 to 8 PM
    • Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity’s all-women makers market lands at the STAR Center this Friday evening. Shop local women creators and vendors, eat, drink, and toast a few hours of celebrating women’s work. Proceeds support Habitat’s affordable housing programs in Pierce County.
  • Tacoma By Twilight: Dinner Cruise & Seventy48 Race Kickoff at Chippewa May 29, 5:30 PM
    • Tacoma Rising is back aboard the historic Chippewa for an evening on Commencement Bay timed to the kickoff of the Seventy48, the 70-mile human-powered race from Tacoma to Port Townsend. This year adds a chef cooking dinner live on deck, drinks, sunset, and a front-row view of racers shoving off. Capacity is capped at 40, and last year sold out. Tickets through Tacoma Rising on Eventbrite.
  • Tacoma Ceili: Live Irish Music & Dancing at Immanuel Presbyterian Church May 9, 7 to 10 PM
    • Tacoma Ceili (pronounced kay-lee) is a high-energy, low-pressure night of live Irish music and called dancing, think a fun Irish version of line- or square-dancing. Maldon Meehan teaches the steps and walks you through each dance with a strong bias toward fun over precision. Margaret Keefe and Patrick Andrews return on fiddles, banjo, and accordion. Lesson 7 to 7:30, music and dancing 7:30 to 10. All ages and abilities, no prior skill required. 901 N. J St., Tacoma. Enter from 9th Street. Donations gratefully accepted ($10 to $20 suggested) but not required. Find them on Facebook (Tacoma Ceili) or Instagram (@tacoma.ceili).
  • Concert in the Cone: James Doyle at Museum of Glass Hot Shop | May 21, 6PM
    • Percussionist James Doyle performs Confluence: Within the Space of Making, a multi-sensory program of vibraphone and analog synth, in the Hot Shop with live glassblowing by Hilltop Artists alongside the music. Free, part of Museum of Glass’s Third Thursday programming. Hot Shop seating is first come, first served, so show up early. Members can RSVP for a 5 to 6 PM lounge with snacks and drinks before the show. museumofglass.org/concert-in-the-cone.
  • Bach & Handel at Mason United Methodist Church May 18, 7 PM
    • The 2026 Salish Sea Early Music Festival lands in Tacoma with a program of 17th- and 18th-century vocal and chamber masterworks: six of Handel’s nine German Arias and his flute sonata, selected arias from Bach cantatas, Bach’s Italian Concerto for solo harpsichord, and the cantata Ich habe genug. Performers are soprano Maike Albrecht, harpsichordist Hans-Jürgen Schnoor, Montreal-based viola da gamba player Susie Napper, and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan. Period-instrument chamber music spanning six centuries, presented in collaboration with Mason United Methodist Church.
  • TAPCO Food Truck Community Lunch Thursdays in May, 11 AM to 2 PM
    • TAPCO Credit Union kicks off a Thursday food truck lunch series at its main Tacoma branch starting May 7, with rotating vendors through summer. The May lineup: Dick’s Drive-In on the 7th and again on the 28th, La Cocina de Jalisco on the 14th, and Brank’s BBQ on the 21st. June and July add Bun & Press on June 4 and July 2. Free to show up, bring an appetite, eat outside.
  • Shifting Perspectives Artist Reception at South Sound Scooters May 15, 7 to 9 PM
    • South Sound Scooters and Spaceworks Tacoma are teaming up again on a new artist showcase that pairs Tacoma’s creative scene with the joy of the ride. They’ve commissioned local artists, including some familiar names, to paint one-of-a-kind diecast Lambretta pieces, which will be auctioned online to fund Spaceworks’ arts and entrepreneurship programming. Reception is free; the auction proceeds support the work.

Opportunities

  • Apply to Tacoma’s Mural Artist Roster by Deadline June 2, 5 PM
    • The City of Tacoma’s Mural Artist Roster is open to Pierce County residents 18 and up who want their portfolio in front of building owners, community groups, and city projects looking for muralists. Application asks for a 250-word artist statement, a short bio, and eight work samples with descriptions, all submitted through Submittable. No AI-generated work samples accepted. Artist teams can apply jointly. If you’re already on the roster, you can resubmit your portfolio without another panel review; check your inbox for direct instructions. tacomaarts.submittable.com.
  • Lakewood Playhouse Festival of New Voices Deadline May 18
    • Lakewood Playhouse is reopening submissions for its second Festival of New Voices, held July 15 to 19 with rehearsals June 29 through July 14. A panel of local arts professionals picks up to six new theatrical works for staged readings followed by playwright-and-cast talkbacks. Submissions are free but capped at the first 100; only completed drafts that are unproduced and unpublished are eligible, one per playwright. Musicals are accepted only if all compositions are original (no licensed material). Required materials: full PDF script with cover info, cover letter, playwright bio, script summary (cast, setting, time period), and a question you hope the reading will answer about the work. Email submissions to newvoices@lakewoodplayhouse.org by May 18.
  • Equity in Contracting Advisory Committee Seeks Six Members Apply By May 18, Noon
    • The Tacoma City Council is recruiting for six positions on the Equity in Contracting Advisory Committee: three community members from Council Districts 1, 3, and 4, and three contractor representatives (Certified Business Nos. 1 and 2 plus an Open Shop Firm). The committee monitors compliance with the City’s Equity in Contracting policy under TMC 1.07 and advises the EIC Program Manager on overall program performance. Applicants must live in Tacoma or work in the TPU service area, and the City is explicitly inviting BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, senior, youth, immigrant, and refugee applicants. Apply at tacoma.gov/cbcapplication by noon Monday, May 18.
  • Spaceworks May & June Workshop Series
    • Spaceworks Tacoma’s spring workshop calendar is up and registering. May offerings: Cybersecurity Essentials and AI Opportunities, Financial Projections and Profit & Loss Statements, and Learn Gel Plate Printmaking. June rolls in Marketing on a Shoestring, Revenue Growth and Funding Opportunities, and Understanding the Design Cycle for Prototyping. Full details, dates, and registration at spaceworkstacoma.com/events.
  • Tacoma Area Commission on Disabilities Seeks Members by May 26
    • The City is recruiting six members for the Tacoma Area Commission on Disabilities: five general positions plus one emerging leader seat for applicants between 16 and 24. The Commission advises City Council on policy, raises awareness of issues affecting people with disabilities, and helps educate the public. Apply by May 26 at tacoma.gov/cbc.
  • Pierce County Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Open for 2026 Applications
    • Eligible Pierce County seniors can apply for an $80 electronic benefits card to spend on fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs, and honey at participating farmers markets and farm stores through the 2026 season. Eligibility: 60 or older (or 55+ if American Indian or Alaska Native), with monthly income at or below $2,461 for one person or $3,337 for two. Apply online or call the Aging and Disability Resource Center at 253-798-4600 or 1-800-562-0332. Paper applications are available at the ADRC office, 3602 Pacific Ave, Suite 200 in Tacoma, in multiple languages. Benefits must be used by October 31. Participating vendors display “Senior Farmers Market Benefits Welcome Here!” signs, and a free SFMNP mobile app lets you check balances and find vendors. piercecountywa.gov/653/Senior-Farmers-Market-Program.

Recreation

  • Mother’s Day Stroll at Lakewold Gardens, May 9 & 10, 10 AM to 5 PM
    • Lakewold’s spring peak lines up with Mother’s Day weekend: full bloom, sweet scents, the works. Self-guided is fine, or join a guided tour scheduled hourly from 10:15 AM to 3:15 PM. Pack a picnic for the lawn; lemonade and water are on the house. $12 general, $10 for seniors, students, military, and educators, $6 for youth 6 to 17, free for kids under 6 and Lakewold members.
  • A Trendy Take on Thrifting Comes to the Spanaway Habitat Store
    • Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity is borrowing a page from the online-returns economy at its Spanaway store. Four eight-foot bins are restocked Fridays at 15801 Pacific Ave with electronics, beauty products, home goods, toys, and discontinued retail, mostly Amazon returns and donated overstock. Pricing slides through the week: $5 Friday and Saturday, $4 Sunday, $3 Monday, $2 Tuesday, $1 Wednesday. Thursdays bring “blind boxes,” $15 grab bags of liquidated items mixed with higher-value donations. The Puyallup store at 1329 E. Main Ave runs the same model with six clothing bins restocked Fridays. Proceeds support Habitat’s Pierce County affordable housing work. Or, as one director put it: kind of like if Goodwill and Home Depot had a baby.
  • Walk Tacoma: Women’s Impact on Tacoma May 13, 6PM
    • May’s Walk Tacoma traces the women, past, present, and future, who shaped the city, with Puyallup Tribal Elder, author, and longtime advocate Ramona Bennett joining as special guest to read from her memoir Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe. The walk steps off at Tollefson Plaza and ends at UW Tacoma. Free, registration on the Tacoma On the Go site at downtownonthego.com. Sponsored by MultiCare.
  • Tacoma Trails Challenge | June 1 to 30
    • Parks Tacoma’s Trails Challenge is back for June, this time with bingo. Register for free, grab a card, and complete five challenges in a row for a line bingo or all 25 squares for a blackout. Finishers go into a prize drawing. First prize is a $450 stay at the Silver Cloud Hotel at Point Ruston with a Copper & Salt restaurant credit; second is a pair of AirPods Pro 3; third and fourth are gift baskets. Anyone who hits a blackout gets a souvenir iron-on patch and triple entries. Pre-order a t-shirt by May 18 to support the Tacoma Parks Foundation. Official kickoff is Saturday, June 6 at the Point Defiance Flower & Garden Festival from 11 AM to 1 PM, where they’ll hand out cards and swag while supplies last. Register on the Parks Tacoma site.
  • South Sound Youth Lacrosse Tournament at Chambers Bay Event Lawn May 16 & 17
    • The University Place Lacrosse Club hosts the South Sound Youth Lacrosse League tournament at Chambers Bay this weekend, with teams traveling in from Auburn to Orting and Centralia to Poulsbo. Organizers expect roughly 3,000 spectators each day. Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in the South Sound, even if it rarely cracks the local sports page, and the timing isn’t accidental: high school playoffs kick off this weekend too, with the state championships landing at Starfire in Tukwila over Memorial Day. Bring a folding chair.
  • Duck Daze in University Place is Coming Saturday, June 6
    • UP’s Duck Daze festival returns Saturday, June 6, and the day’s official maker market is opening vendor applications now. Crafters and makers can apply through South Sound Makers Market at southsoundmakersmarket.com/upcoming-markets, the only sanctioned channel. Parade applications go live in the next few weeks. Watch the City of UP’s Facebook (facebook.com/CityofUPWA) for the rest of the schedule as it shapes up.

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