Online Interactive Guides
The largest Fourth of July celebration in the South Sound is on Ruston Way. Packed with food, music and fireworks, this is the place to be for big city action. Click here to view our interactive 2018 Freedom Fair program.
Travel
La Conner is a cute little waterfront town about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). Plan to find a place to park and enjoy this beautifully walkable town, filled with shops, museums and great places to eat. First stop, head towards the waterfront and visit the Scone Lady Bakery.
Military Life
As a military wife, I keep our guest bedroom on the ready at all times with summer being the busiest season for family, friends and traveling soldiers. When it comes to houseguests, I am passionate about setting up the guest bedroom with cozy and accommodating details. Today, I am sharing
Features
An early look at weekend weather is encouraging for the two food truck festivals going down in the South Sound this weekend. Saturday, June 16, you have the previously mentioned Truckaroo Food Truck Festival taking place at Bates Technical College's South Campus (2201 S. 78th St.), featuring 20 trucks selling
Stage
Lakewood Playhouse's Little Shop of Horrors may have two more weekends of shows before it ends its run, but once it does, that will mark the end of the theater's 79th season. Save for some classes over the summer, Lakewood Playhouse has nothing to do but begin preparation for its 80th season, beginning in
Reviews
ANNOUNCER: A long-time popular neighborhood shop in the Stadium District, The Harvester has been serving up diner-style food for years. Now under new management, the old menu has been tossed and a new all-scratch menu has replaced it. Jackie and Dutch rushed in to see what changes have occurred in
Arts
Childhood's End Gallery's latest show is clearly different from their usual group show. "Oaxaca to Washington" is an exhibition of more than 30 prints by Mexican artists from the state of Oaxaca. Local artist Mimi Williams became friends with Mexican artist Edgar Martinez (not the baseball player), who now lives
Music
It seems, looking back, like a foregone conclusion that punk and folk music would become intimate bedfellows. The two genres have long existed on each others' peripheries, with each style aspiring to a sort of pure aesthetic, stripped away of unnecessary embellishments and the staid trends of popular music. Add on
Music
When was the last time you went to a live show and local poets performed between sets? If your answer is never, or at least never in our mid-sized city of Tacoma, you're not alone. That's about to change, though, as the multi-genre, mixed artform "Tacoma AF Music Series" kicks
News Front
After winning all three regular tournament matches, the Air Force men's soccer team defeated Navy in the championship match 5-2 to take their second straight title winning the 2018 Armed Forces Soccer Championship at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Air Force jumped out early in the match with Capt. Eric Wilson of
News Front
Like its namesake, Exercise Rainier War was a mountainous undertaking executed by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and Australian air force to train for potential future conflicts June 6 at McChord Field. "One of the biggest challenges was we planned this for 20 C-17 Globemaster IIIs and that's a lot
News
The Korean War was the first test of the United Nations' resolve to stand against tyranny with 21 nations banding together with the United States and South Korea in a remarkable display of solidarity to stem the tide of communism. "You halted the tide of communism that threatened to sweep over
News Front
The 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command named the Non-commissioned Officer of the Year, 1st Sgt. of the Year, Junior Officer of the Year, Warrant Officer of the Year, and Soldier of the Year April 25. The competition took place April 17 to April 20. It is an Army tradition to have competitions
News Front
Personal courage, unwavering dedication to patient care and expert casualty management skills are a few terms that describe Staff Sgt. Tyler Campbell in a nomination letter calling for his award of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Medic of the Year. Campbell is a special operations flight medic assigned to 4th
News
Throughout the Vietnam War, many of those who served in the American or Allied forces came home not only unwelcomed and dishonored but spurned and spit upon. For those South Vietnamese unable to leave following the war, the war went on a lot longer. Many veterans were imprisoned for "reeducation"
Critics' Picks
Once again, the Volcano's readers' poll will be the engine that drives Best of Tacoma 2018. Think you know the best band, Italian restaurant, fashion designer, blog, thrift store, local hero, dance bar in Tacoma and Pierce County? Cast your vote below. Remember, our annual survey
Archives
A while ago as I showered at the Downtown YMCA a woman came up right next to me (we were the only two there) and proceeded to attempt to engage me in conversation while she lifted up body parts and scrubbed vigorously. Fast forward, today at the Morgan Family branch, I
Arts
"The 13th Annual Student Art Exhibition" now fills the gallery at South Puget Sound Community College. My first impression was admiration for the audacity and humor of "Boombox," a gigantic boombox made of cardboard with wood screws that are used both structurally and for aesthetic purposes. Immediately upon seeing it, I
South Sound Cinema
Some 40 years after creating Travis Bickle and Taxi Driver, Paul Schrader gives us Ernst Toller and First Reformed. Travis was a tightly wound loner caught in the grips of despair. He kept a diary as he grew ever more isolated from the world around him, ever more certain he needed
Features
I'm not really sure what the "summer bod" thing is all about? I mean, your body is your temple. I've never heard of folks counting the calories they placed upon altars of the divine, why start now!? I'm team Dionysus, that dude knew how to party. Keep the fermented grapes
