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May 1, 2013

Zip Wild Open May 4 with New Challenges and Adventures

Four zip line/challenge courses will provide thrills and a sense of accomplishment for ages 6 and up at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

PRESS RELEASE
EATONVILLE, Wash. – Zip Wild, the Northwest’s premier complex of zip line/challenge courses, opens May 4 at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park with new adventures for ages 6 through adult ...    read more


Tacoma Art Museum Celebrated Building's 10th Birthday with Free Spring Community Festival

PRESS RELEASE
Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Art Museum’s building is turning 10 years old and we’re throwing a party to celebrate! Come and join in the festivities as we also welcome in the Spring at our 10th Birthday Spring Festival on Saturday, May 4 from 10 am to 5 pm ...    read more


April 24, 2013

Touch Stingrays, See a Live-Animal Show and Visit the Colorful Budgies During a Blockbuster May at Point Defiance Zoo + Aquarium

PRESS RELEASE
TACOMA, Wash. ῜ The motto for next month could well be “May you have fun” at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium ...    read more


April 18, 2013

Tacoma Art Museum Reveals Design for New Wing

The News Tribune By Craig Sailor The Tacoma Art Museum released renderings Wednesday for its new Western American art wing, revealing a street-level extension joined to the current building by a tall canopy. Construction is expected to begin in the fall, with completion set for late 2014 ...    read more


April 17, 2013

Surprise Sumatran Tiger Cub Born at Point Defiance Zoo

The News Tribune By Alexis Krell It’s not easy to get clear ultrasound images of a standing, moving tiger. That’s partly why a newborn Sumatran tiger cub found Wednesday morning in a nest box at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was such a surprise, staff said, even though they had performed several ultrasounds on mother Jaya in the past few weeks ...    read more


April 16, 2013

Public Invited to Walk Through Glass Wall May 11th

Foss Waterway Seaport Ready for First Seasonal Opening Since 2011

PRESS RELEASE
Tacoma, Wash. - The Foss Waterway Seaport announces the historic 113 year-old Balfour Dock Building and Working Waterfront Maritime Museum will open to the general public for the season beginning May 11, 2013 ...    read more


April 15, 2013

Museum of Glass to Join in association of Art Museum Directors' Celebration of Art Museum Day on May 18, 2013 with Free Admission on Thursday, May 16

Visitors Encouraged to Share Their Museum Experiences Throughout the Celebrations via Social Media

PRESS RELEASE

Tacoma, WA — Museum of Glass announced today that it will offer free admission on Thursday, May 16 as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors’ (AAMD) Art Museum Day, coinciding with International Museum Day on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Last year, Museum of Glass—along with more than 120 other AAMD member museums across North America—participated in Art Museum Day ...    read more


April 8, 2013

Tacoma Museum District Celebrates Mother’s Day with Free Admission for Moms and Many Special Events

PRESS RELEASE
Tacoma, Wash. — The Tacoma Museum District celebrates all mothers this Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 15 ...    read more


Tacoma Museum District Celebrates Mother's Day with free Admission for Moms and Many Special Events

PRESS RELEASE
Tacoma, Wash. --The Tacoma Museum District celebrates all mothers this Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 15 ...    read more


April 2, 2013

Zoo, Zoo, Zoom! Zip Line/Challenge Courses Open for Season on Saturday at Point Defiance Zoo + Aquarium; It's Epic Fun for Ages 5 and Up

Two courses test physical agility and mental toughness – and anyone can conquer them

PRESS RELEASE
Tacoma, Wash. – Zip line/challenge adventure ZOOM reopens Saturday, April 6, at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium ...    read more


March 28, 2013

Growing Tourism in Pierce County



...    read more


Timeline for U.S. Open Volunteers and Tickets

...    read more


March 27, 2013

Flora & Fine Arts Returns to Tacoma Art Museum

Puget Sound designers create art-inspired arrangements for exhibition

MEDIA RELEASE
March 27, 2013 - (Tacoma, WA) – April showers will bring all manner of flowers to Tacoma Art Museum for a special four-day exhibition this spring. In partnership with Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma Garden Club invites prominent Puget Sound designers and floral artists to create 24 stunning arrangements inspired by Drawing Line into Form: Works on Paper by Sculptors from the Collection of BNY Mellon ...    read more


March 20, 2013

Tickets on Sale now for 2nd Annual Gig Harbor Beer Festival

PRESS RELEASE
The 2nd Annual Gig Harbor Beer Festival — a fund-raiser for the Gig Harbor/Peninsula FISH Food Bank — will be held Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Uptown Gig Harbor Pavilion.
Get your beer belly’s ready, here come the craft brewers ...    read more


March 12, 2013

State Tourism Summit Takes Place Today in Olympia

Industry gathers, Governor Inslee speaks in support of funding for tourism marketing – just as new state tourism impact numbers are released

PRESS RELEASE 
March 12, 2013 – SEATTLE – The Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) will convene its third, statewide Tourism Summit today in Olympia to present a “state of the industry” and engage tourism stakeholders in discussions of its future funding, marketing programs and legislative agenda.
Governor Inslee will deliver the keynote address to some 200 attendees from destination marketing organizations, hotels, visitor attractions, tour and transportation companies, restaurants, retail establishments, meeting venues and other private and public sector organizations ...    read more


March 4, 2013

Gig Harbor Garden Tour Celebrates 16th Anniversary

PRESS RELEASE
March 4, 2013, Gig Harbor Wash; Gig Harbor’s annual Garden Tour returns for its 16th year Saturday and Sunday June 29 & 30th. Saturday hours are 10:00 a ...    read more


February 26, 2013

Tacoma's Hotel Murano Awarded Four Stars by Forbes Travel Guide

The artful property is one of four Four-Star hotels in Washington state and Tacoma’s first-ever Star-rated property

Tacoma, WA — February 26, 2013 — Forbes Travel Guide today unveiled its 55th annual list of Star Award-winning hospitality establishments and Hotel Murano, with Four Stars, joined the elite ranks of properties receiving the coveted designation.  Forbes Travel Guide’s star ratings have, since the company’s founding in 1958 as Mobil Travel Guide, been the gold standard for hospitality excellence ...    read more


February 25, 2013

Known for its Skiing, Crystal Mountain Attracts Snowshoers, Too

Snowshoe Magazine

By Rick Stedman

Washington State’s Crystal Mountain has been one of the premier ski resorts in the country since opening in 1962. You can come for the day, or stay for the night ...    read more


February 10, 2013

There's more Chihuly in Tacoma

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Rob Owen

TACOMA, Wash. -- Although Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle offers the greatest concentration of Dale Chihuly art, his hometown 35 minutes south also has many of his works on display, often for free ...    read more


February 9, 2013

Tacoma Museum District has it all: Autos, Glass, Art, History

The Oregonian

By Terry Richard

A cure for the common cold awaits 2 1/2 hours north of Portland, where a 2,000-degree blast furnace is sure to warm a winter day. A seat by the oven comes with admission to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma ...    read more


February 8, 2013

Escapes: Best Northwest Getaways

Outdoors Northwest

By Hilary Meyerson

Any time of year is great for a getaway in the Northwest. We have so many destinations to choose from, we’re downright spoiled ...    read more


February 4, 2013

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Museum of Glass

PRESS RELEASE
Feb. 4, 2013 - Tacoma, Wash ...    read more


February 1, 2013

Tacoma Art Museum Appoints Laura F. Fry as New Curator of Western American Art

Leading Scholar Peter H. Hassrick to Serve as Advisor

(Tacoma, WA) – Tacoma Art Museum has named Laura F. Fry as the Haub Curator of Western American Art ...    read more


January 24, 2013

Sustainable Living Event Heads Back to Puyallup

Mother Earth News Fair covers gamut of homesteading and green living topics, adds fiber arts competition

Jan. 24, 2013 — Puyallup, Wash ...    read more


January 23, 2013

Eric Carle Reveals his "ArtArt" at Tacoma Art Museum

Beloved Children's Book Artists Shows Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle

TACOMA, WA – For the first time, Eric Carle’s fans on the West Coast will have a chance to see the remarkable variety of paintings, sculptures, and personal sketches that the artist has been making privately for years. Best known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar and more than 70 other picture books, Carle has created a significant and varied body of artwork that was never intended for book publication ...    read more


January 16, 2013

Tacoma Tops List of America's Gayest City

The Advocate's Fourth Annual List Includes Three Washington Cities in the Top 5

Tacoma Weekly
By Kate Burrows
A newly released, and admittedly subjective, poll by one of the nation’s foremost LGBT magazines praises the City of Destiny for its inclusiveness, support for marriage equality, activism and…number of roller derby leagues in town?  The criteria that The Advocate used for the publication’s fourth annual “Gayest Cities in America” list provided quite a range – from the number of gay rugby teams in town to the number of anti-discrimination laws in place ...    read more


Tacoma and UPS March Arm-in-Arm to the Heights

Tacoma is on the move again. You can feel it.

The News Tribune
By Ronald R. Thomas
Tacoma is on the move again ...    read more


January 7, 2013

DETAILS: Tacoma Art Mingle on its way

Weekly Volcano

By Kristin Kendle
The Tacoma Art Walk is no more!
Wait ...    read more


America's Car Museum Awards Naming Rights

The Business Examiner
LeMay – America’s Car Museum (ACM) today awarded naming rights for new "Collectors Hall of Fame" to Hedges Family Estate, Washington state's largest winery.
“Fine wine and classic cars only get better with age,” said ACM president and CEO David Madeira, “(and) Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges understand the importance of memorializing collectors who are preserving automotive history and culture ...    read more


January 5, 2013

Zoolights Helps Point Defiance Zoo Post 3rd-highest Attendance

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium drew 661,748 visitors last year, thanks in part to the celebration of Zoolights’ 25th year and to the new zoo babies featured in the clouded leopard, tiger and red wolf exhibits.

The News Tribune
By Stacia Glenn
The numbers aren’t record-breaking, but they still tally success.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium drew 661,748 visitors last year, thanks in part to the celebration of Zoolights’ 25th year and to the new zoo babies featured in the clouded leopard, tiger and red wolf exhibits ...    read more


January 4, 2013

Why there's an interactive mural in downtown Tacoma

The Weekly Volcano
By Kristin Kendle

A vacant building on the corner of 11th and Market in downtown Tacoma has some newfound pizazz. Namely a mural painted by Downtown on the Go, a transportation advocate for residents and businesses downtown ...    read more


December 10, 2012

Small Tapestry Exhibition at Harbor History Museum, Gig Harbor is Getting Rave Reviews

Gig Harbor, WA, December 10, 2012— The Harbor History Museum’s newest temporary exhibit “NWxSE: A Collaborative Small Tapestry Project of Northwest and Southeast Weavers” that opened on September 15, 2012 is getting rave reviews. This cross-country exhibit showcases the works of weaving artists from Puget Sound (“NW”) and the Southeast United States (“SE”) ...    read more


December 6, 2012

Sumner's Bridge Street Bridge to Be Replaced

Santa has come early in Sumner, and he's brought a couple of large ticket items for our entire city.

Bonney Lake-Sumner Patch
From the City of Sumner
Santa has come early in Sumner, and he's brought a couple of large ticket items for our entire city. The first is a $9 ...    read more


December 3, 2012

Ring in the New Year with Provenance Hotels in Tacoma and Portland

December 3, 2012 – PORTLAND, Ore. – Provenance Hotels, a collection of award-winning, art-filled boutique hotels, is ringing in 2013 with enticing New Year’s Eve packages at Hotel Murano in Tacoma and Portland’s Hotel Lucia, Hotel deLuxe and Governor Hotel ...    read more


November 16, 2012

Tacoma Looks at how to Tell and Sell its Story to Tourists

Tourism did matter Thursday as the South Sound hospitality industry met at the Landmark Convention Center for the annual “Tourism Matters” meeting of the Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau.

The News Tribune
By C.R Roberts
Tourism did matter Thursday as the South Sound hospitality industry met at the Landmark Convention Center for the annual “Tourism Matters” meeting of the Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau ...    read more


November 7, 2012

Youth Artists' Work gets Permanent Home

Tacoma KOMO
Marisa Petrich
It's a heady thing for an artist to see their work up in a gallery for the first time.
Tacoma high school students are experiencing it a bit earlier than most ...    read more


November 5, 2012

Pacific Avenue Streetscape Project has Launched

Weekly Volcano

By Bob Swarner
This morning, Tacoma officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Pacific Avenue Streetscape Project, a beautification and innovative stormwater improvement plan that includes new street paving, sidewalks, bicycle lanes and crosswalks along the Pacific Avenue stretch from Old City Hall at Seventh Street to the Tacoma Art Museum at 17th Street.
This is not your Grandfather Sprague's streetscape project ...    read more


October 31, 2012

Zoolights 25th Anniversary Tickets Now on Sale

Scuba-diving Santa returns; iconic Flame Tree will glow; and a Giant Pacific Octopus covers aquarium roof Nov. 23-Jan. 1 as half-a-million lights color holiday season nights

PRESS RELEASE 
Tacoma, Wash. – It’s been one of a kind since 1987 ...    read more


October 29, 2012

Tacoma Visitor Information Center gets a Facelift

Business Examiner
Tacoma Visitor Information Center is becoming more than just a location for visitors to gather information about what to do and see in Tacoma and Pierce County. The VIC, in partnership with The Young Creative, will now be a constantly changing art gallery featuring the work of Tacoma’s young artists ...    read more


October 24, 2012

Warhol's Pop Art Inspires Local Hop Art Ale

Harmon Brewery and Tacoma Art Museum Bring Beer and Art Together

PRESS RELEASE
TACOMA, WA – In 1982, Andy Warhol set his sights on Tacoma with a proposal to drape the Tacoma Dome with a Pop Art flower. Today, those flowers are coming to Tacoma Art Museum and have inspired the local Harmon Brewery to create Hop Art Ale, a special, seasonal IPA to celebrate Warhol’s Tacoma connections ...    read more


First in Spirits Since Prohibition! Heritage Distilling Company’s Spirits Soon to Start Flowing

Heritage Distilling Company, Inc.™ opens this fall to the public for tastings, bottle sales and tours.

PRESS RELEASE
Gig Harbor, WA (PRWEB) October 24, 2012-The first and only craft distillery location in the United States where spirits lovers can legally craft or custom order their own small-batch spirits launches November 3rd. Heritage Distilling Company, Inc ...    read more


October 19, 2012

Long-awaited Point Ruston Path Opening Soon

The first phase of Point Ruston’s new Waterwalk, from the north end of Ruston Way to Point Ruston’s ferry boat sales office, is expected to open in November.

The News Tribune
By John Gillie
Before Oregon artist Anna Fornachon began designing the mosaic centerpieces of five intersections on Point Ruston’s new Waterwalk waterfront pathway, she took time to learn some marine biology. Fornachon studied books and videos, photos and real life examples of the fish and sea creatures that inhabit the waters of Puget Sound ...    read more


October 8, 2012

The Tacoma Film Festival Winners, Plus the Poetic “Valley of Saints”

The News Tribune
Rosemary Ponnekanti
And the winners are…(drum roll)…The winners of each category in the Tacoma Film Festival were announced to an almost-full house at the Grand Cinema last night by filmmaker Warren Etheredge. Six of the seven winners will be screened again on Wednesday at the Grand, with a screening of the seventh later today ...    read more


October 1, 2012

Maestro Lino Tagliapietra Returns to the Museum of Glass Hot Shop,

October 10 – 14, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Italian glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra and his glassblowing team return to the Museum of Glass Hot Shop for a five-day residency, October 10-14, 2012. Tagliapietra will make some of his most challenging and exquisite series that demonstrate his masterful glassmaking techniques ...    read more


September 25, 2012

Children’s Museum of Tacoma receives $105K for Play to Learn

The Business Examiner
The Children’s Museum of Tacoma is one of three organizations out of a pool of 30 applicants who have received a grant from Washington State’s Council for Children and Families to deliver child abuse prevention programs.
The $105,000 grant will allow the museum, in partnership with A Step Ahead Pierce County, to expand its free Play to Learn program to two additional sites ...    read more


September 21, 2012

One Year and Going Strong: Social Bar and Grill on the Foss waterway

The News Tribune
By Sue Kidd
In my dream scenario, I enjoy sunset dinners on the patio of Social Bar and Grill until summer fades to wind and rain … around December.
Enter reality: The rain will return soon enough as it always does, so you should get down to Social Bar and Grill’s sun-drenched outdoor patio, which has reached its full potential this summer with new chairs and tables inset with fire bowls ...    read more


September 14, 2012

Three news Zip Lines/Challenge Courses Opened Saturday at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

Lineup will provide extreme thrills for adults and easier obstacles for kids as young as 6

PRESS RELEASE
Eatonville, Wash. – Zip Wild is about to get a whole lot wilder – and more fun ...    read more


September 10, 2012

Lakewood Farmers Market to Return Thanks to Turnout

The News Tribune
By Christian Hill
A second year of the Lakewood Farmers Market is a lock due to the success of its first season that was recently extended, the city’s parks and recreation director said Friday.
The season will last a total of 11 weeks after staying open for two more market days – 11 a ...    read more


September 7, 2012

Tacoma to Host Go West Summit: 2014

International tour operators and travel buyers to experience Washington state

PRESS RELEASE
Sept. 7, 2012—Tacoma, Wash ...    read more


August 28, 2012

Tacoma Craft Beer Festival: Tap Lists from 7 Seas, Duo and Harmon

The News Tribune
By Sue Kidd
For proof that South Sound beer tastes have grown much more sophisticated than a tall boy of PBR, look to the Tacoma Craft Beer Festival Saturday on the Thea Foss Waterway. Serving at the event will be some of the most highfalutin beer the Northwest has to offer – but don’t call a brewer highfalutin ...    read more


August 15, 2012

Tourism Chief Calls Every Resident "Ambassadors" to the Region

The Weekly Volcano
Steve Dunkelberger
Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau selected Bennish Brown as the organization’s new president and CEO back in May. He arrived at work in June ...    read more


Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau Partners with SagaCity Media

New Direction for 2013 Tacoma + Pierce County Visitor Guide and Meeting Planner Guide

Aug. 15, 2012—Tacoma, Wash ...    read more


August 8, 2012

New Direction for Pierce County Tourism [VIDEO]

...    read more


July 30, 2012

Business Brisk at Inaugural Moveable Feast

Judging by the diners standing 20 deep at the trailer shaped like a giant pig, Tacoma’s first mobile food truck meet-up Sunday was a success.

By Sue Kidd
The News Tribune
Judging by the diners standing 20 deep at the trailer shaped like a giant pig, Tacoma’s first mobile food truck meet-up Sunday was a success.
Thousands of diners converged on Cheney Stadium for Moveable Feast, a gathering of about 30 mobile restaurants serving everything from Filipino to Southern food, from fried meat pies to fry bread ...    read more


July 27, 2012

Sumner Art + Rhubarb Pie Festival, August 3-4, 2012

The Rhubarb Barrel House to Feature Exclusive Rhubarb Brews

July 27, 2012—Tacoma, Wash.—On Aug ...    read more


Pierce County is Home to 10 Unrivaled Attractions

Eat your heart out, Seattle. You might think you're the Big City In Washington, but you have nothing to beat LeMay-America's Car Museum, Point Defiance, or the Narrows Bridges. Oh, and that Mountain? It's ours.

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
When LeMay – America’s Car Museum opened in June, by our count, it gave Pierce County 10 tourist destinations that are unrivaled in the state. You might protest that assertion, especially if you’re from Seattle, but we offer evidence below ...    read more


Food Cart Meetup: Tacoma’s First Mobile Restaurant Event this Sunday at Cheney Stadium

By Sue Kidd
The News Tribune
Our neighbors to the north and south, as well as across the country, have food cart lots – places where mobile restaurants flock so that diners can mingle and graze. Not that we’re bitter about that or anything ...    read more


July 25, 2012

Provenance Hotels Roll out new Program for Pampered Pooches with Pet Room Service Menu, Spiritual Menu and More

PRESS RELEASE
Portland, Ore., July 25, 2012 – Provenance Hotels have always been pet friendly and, with the launch of a new brand-wide initiative, guests of the artistically-inclined hotels in Portland, Ore ...    read more


July 21, 2012

Riders Feel the Rush on Zip-Lines Across Western Washington

Not long ago a family zip-line trip was hard to find in Western Washington. But over the last 16 months, three canopy tours have launched in Western Washington.

By Craig Hill
The News Tribune
One morning earlier this month, when Melissa Michler was testing the new zip-lines at Northwest Trek, she noticed a curious moose watching from the fence line.
"He watched for a little bit and then left,” said the manager of the wildlife park’s new Zip Wild challenge course ...    read more


July 20, 2012

Tacoma Makes Playing Cards Exceeds Funding Goal

Exit 133
We want to congratulate Tacoma Makes on an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign. The Tacoma Artist Playing Cards project closed its Kickstarter campaign with $21,532 and 400 backers, blowing its original funding goal of $13,000 out of the water ...    read more


July 18, 2012

This weekend’s Gig Harbor Art Festival deemed Best in the Region

The annual festival is a fundraiser for Peninsula Art League.

By Ric Hallock
Kitsap Sun
The best festival in the entire south Puget Sound region takes place right here in Gig Harbor this weekend, according to more than 5,000 readers of SouthSound Magazine who voted the annual Gig Harbor Summer Art Festival as the best festival in the area.
This year’s event — the 28th anniversary edition — will take place July 21-22 on Judson Street in the historic downtown waterfront district ...    read more


2012 Air Expo will give Public Views like this at JBLM Over the Weekend, Only from the Ground

Thousands of spectators are set to converge on Joint Base Lewis-McChord for its biannual 2012 Air Expo this weekend.

By Zach Smith
The News Tribune
Thousands of spectators are set to converge on Joint Base Lewis-McChord for its biannual 2012 Air Expo this weekend. While there, they will get a up-close look at why Lt ...    read more


July 16, 2012

3rd Annual Pioneer Days Festival

PRESS RELEASE
Tacoma - June 13, 2012: Looking for something fun and FREE to do with your family? Bring them to Job Carr Cabin Museum, 2350 N ...    read more


July 14, 2012

Adriatic Grill Owner to Lead Convention, Visitor Bureau

The board of directors of the Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau board has announced that Adriatic Grill owner Monique Trudnowski has been named as board chairwoman for the remainder of 2012.

By C.R Roberts
The News Tribune
The board of directors of the Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau board has announced that Adriatic Grill owner Monique Trudnowski has been named as board chairwoman for the remainder of 2012 ...    read more


The Swiss, LeMay Among Winners of Chamber Award

The New Tacoma Awards were announced Friday at a luncheon held by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.

By Kathleen Cooper
The News Tribune
The New Tacoma Awards were announced Friday at a luncheon held by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber.
Five businesses, organizations or people were recognized for their contributions to downtown Tacoma ...    read more


July 11, 2012

Philanthropy tastes good in Gig Harbor

Wine and Food Festival benefits park, museum

By Jennifer Johnson
The Weekly Volcano
Tired of outdoor festivals that are centered on people standing in long lines in the sun waiting to eat food made in a truck and sold at prices that would be laughed at in a real sit-down restaurant?
Get ready for Saturday's Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival ...    read more


Downtown Tacoma Places, People Nominated for 5 Annual New Tacoma Awards

Five businesses, organizations or people will receive awards Friday for their contributions to downtown Tacoma.

By Kathleen Cooper
The News Tribune
Five businesses, organizations or people will receive awards Friday for their contributions to downtown Tacoma.
The annual New Tacoma Awards, presented by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, will be announced at a luncheon at the Pacific Grill Events Center ...    read more


Zip Wild Opens Saturday at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

Exhilarating zip line/challenge course runs through breathtaking tree canopy; zip liners surge through the sky at 33 feet per second – and several stories high; this is no Point A to Point B festival zip line – it’s a wild adventure

PRESS RELEASE
EATONVILLE, Wash: It’s time to get wild with Zip Wild.
A zip line and adventure challenge course unlike any other in the Pacific Northwest opens Saturday at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park ...    read more


July 10, 2012

Community Comes Together for Lakewood's First Farmers Market

Jason Whalen celebrated the first-ever farmers market in Pierce County’s second-largest city with a Breeto’s Hawaiian shave ice, a sunrise of syrups drizzled with condensed milk.

By Kathleen Merryman
The News Tribune
Jason Whalen celebrated the first-ever farmers market in Pierce County’s second-largest city with a Breeto’s Hawaiian shave ice, a sunrise of syrups drizzled with condensed milk.
On Tuesday, the Lakewood city councilman strolled along the path around City Hall with Mayor Doug Richardson, Councilwoman Marie Barth and about 500 of Lakewood’s happiest residents ...    read more


July 9, 2012

New Exhibit Showcases John Steinbeck’s Tacoma-built Western Flyer and journey to Sea of Cortez

PRESS RELEASE

The Foss Waterway Seaport has announced the opening of a new exhibit, “Voyage of Tacoma’s Western Flyer: John Steinbeck in the Sea of Cortez,” at the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch. The free exhibit will be on display at the Library’s Handforth Gallery from July 10 through August 25, 2012 ...    read more


July 7, 2012

Gift will Double TAM’s Space, make it a Destination for Western American Art

A German billionaire with deep Tacoma roots is giving his Western American art collection to the Tacoma Art Museum. The museum will build a new wing to house it, doubling its gallery space.

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
A German billionaire with deep Tacoma roots is giving his Western American art collection to the Tacoma Art Museum, and the museum will build a new wing to house it, doubling its gallery space. 
Most of the new 15,000-square-foot wing and all of the 280-piece art collection come courtesy of Erivan Haub and his wife Helga, who own property here ...    read more


June 25, 2012

Study: Tacoma’s Nonprofit Arts and Culture Generates $64.7 Million in Economic Activity

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
The city of Tacoma is touting a new study that says the nonprofit arts and culture industry pumps $64.7 million annually into the Tacoma economy ...    read more


June 23, 2012

"Terror in Tacoma" to take over Museum

The past really will come alive this fall at the Washington State History Museum. More precisely, it will become undead.

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
The past really will come alive this fall at the Washington State History Museum. More precisely, it will become undead ...    read more


June 20, 2012

‘Let’s Move’ with Zumba on the Museum of Glass Plaza Third Thursday, June 21

Sessions at 6 and 6:30 p.m.

PRESS RELEASE
Museum of Glass and the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties are teaming up to host an evening of Zumba fitness dancing in conjunction with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Museums & Gardens initiative. The event will take place on the Museum of Glass Main Plaza during Third Thursday ArtWalk from 5 to 8 p ...    read more


June 19, 2012

Fife Starts Planning for a City Center

By Sara Schilling
The News Tribune
The City of Fife has warehouses, car dealerships and housing subdivisions.
Fast-food restaurants and gas stations entice drivers to pull off Interstate 5 ...    read more


June 16, 2012

For Sea Scouts of Tacoma, their Ship has Come in

Tacoma Youth Marine Center makes it official today on the Foss Waterway, giant scissors and all. It celebrates its grand opening with tours, boat rides, a free barbecue and officials praising the innovation and perseverance of the people who made it real.

By Kathleen Merryman
The News Tribune
Tacoma Youth Marine Center makes it official today on the Foss Waterway, giant scissors and all. It celebrates its grand opening with tours, boat rides, a free barbecue and officials praising the innovation and perseverance of the people who made it real ...    read more


June 15, 2012

Tacoma Native and ‘Voice’ Alumna Vicci Martinez Set for Two Puget Sound Shows

More than a year after her breakout TV appearances, Martinez is on tour supporting her new album "Vicci." She talks about how life has changed and how it hasn't.

By Craig Sailor 
The News Tribune
It’s been more than a year since Vicci Martinez taught the rest of the nation what Tacomans had long known: Don’t underestimate The Warrior. Viewers of the first season of the NBC talent show “The Voice” were mesmerized by Martinez’s voice and the energy coming from the diminuitive Tacoma native ...    read more


Museum of Glass 10th Anniversary Exhibition Showcases Recent Works by Lino Tagliapietra

PRESS RELEASE
Maestro: Recent Works by Lino Tagliapietra July 14, 2012 – January 6, 2013 Organized by Tagliapietra Studio Sponsored by Russell Investments and Schantz Galleries
Tacoma, Wash. [June 15, 2012]— Museum of Glass marks its 10th Anniversary with a new exhibition featuring the work of esteemed artist Lino Tagliapietra ...    read more


June 12, 2012

Broadway Center Announces its 2012-13 Season

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
David Sedaris, TEDx, Wayne Brady, Roberta Flack, August Wilson plays, Alfred Hitchcock films and “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” – they are just some of the 40 events in the just announced 2012-13 season at Broadway Center. Theater, dance, comedy, music and films are all represented ...    read more


Tacoma Singer Survives another Round of the ‘The Glee Project’

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
Tacoma singer Nellie Veitenheimer became a party rocker tonight and made it to episode three of "The Glee Project"
The reality TV show will send one talented and lucky contestant on a seven episode stretch on the hit Fox-TV show “Glee.”
Link to full article ...    read more


June 11, 2012

Lakewood to Open Farmer's Market in July

By Christian Hill
The News Tribune
The first-ever farmers market will open this summer in Lakewood, currently the largest city in Pierce County without a farmers market.
Vendors will sell arts and crafts, food and locally grown produce one day a week at the City Hall plaza ...    read more


Give if you can, or this Freedom Fair could be the Last

Freedom Fair is free. That’s non-negotiable. It is one of the Tacoma festival’s founding values, and a reason it has become one of the biggest Fourth of July celebrations in the nation.

By Kathleen Merryman
The News Tribune
Freedom Fair is free. That’s non-negotiable ...    read more


June 7, 2012

TAM Scores 400-Piece Glass Collection

A renowned Seattle glass artist has donated his 400-piece glass art collection to the Tacoma Art Museum. Paul Marioni, a founder of the studio-glass movement, is giving his collection – which includes his own work and the work of others – to the museu

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
A renowned Seattle glass artist has donated his 400-piece glass art collection to the Tacoma Art Museum.
Paul Marioni, a founder of the studio-glass movement, is giving his collection – which includes his own work and the work of others – to the museum because of its long commitment to Northwest art, he said in a statement Tuesday ...    read more


June 6, 2012

Tee Up The Pacific Northwest's Ultimate Championship Experience: Stay at Hotel Murano, Gold at Chambers Bay, Golf Mountain and Home Course

PRESS RELEASE
June 6, 2012–TACOMA, Wash. – Three Pacific Northwest courses, each selected by the USGA to host some of golf's most prestigious championships, have joined with Tacoma's Hotel Murano, ranked on Condé Nast Traveler's 2012 Gold List as one of the top hotels in the world, to offer The Championship Experience ...    read more


June 5, 2012

SDA Member of the Month: The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse

The Sumner Downtown Association's Member of the Month this June is The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse.

Bu Laurie Miller
Bonney Lake - Sumner Patch
The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse was selected as the Sumner Downtown Association's Member of the Month for June 2012. A name well known in Sumner and surrounding communities for almost 30 years, The Old Cannery has been known for their strong ties to Sumner, longtime support of organizations and charities, and now the location of Sumner’s Visitors Center ...    read more


Point Ruston Adding Upscale Supermarket to its Commercial Center

By John Gillie
The New Tribune
Tacoma’s big Point Ruston development, in a recession-induced hibernation for three years, is adding yet another big tenant as it emerges from its torpor.
Marlene’s Market & Deli announced today it will join a 9-screen Century movie multiplex and a 175-room Silver Cloud Hotel as the third anchor for the mixed-use development’s Waterwalk at Point Ruston commercial center ...    read more


McMenamins Work on Tacoma Elks Temple on Track, Company Spokeswoman Says

By Kathleen Cooper
The New Tribune
The City of Tacoma’s plans to rebuild Stadium Way won’t affect McMenamins’ renovation of downtown’s Elks Temple, the company said today.
“Anything the city’s doing won’t change our plans,” said Renee Rank Ignacio, McMenamins spokeswoman ...    read more


June 2, 2012

Tacoma Festivities Celebrate LeMay Museum's Opening

By Patti Payne
Puget Sound Business Journal
LeMay-America’s Car Museum in Tacoma was the scene of a huge pre-opening bash Friday night. Hundreds of guests, many of them dressed in period outfits from the Great Gatsby era to the 1950s and more contemporary, hobnobbed and visited around hundreds of perfectly polished cars, as perfectly coiffed “cigarette girls,” looking like pinups with their neck-strap trays of cigars, slipped carefully between tables, offering "smokes" and raffle tickets ...    read more


May 27, 2012

LeMay Car Museum Ready for it Test Drive

By Rob Carson
The News Tribune
After casino tycoon Bill Harrah died, most of the cars in his legendary collection went cruising off to all corners of the Earth.
That worried Harold LeMay ...    read more


May 26, 2012

Exploring Culture, History, Art Along Tacoma's Museum Row

Tacoma, the longtime home of the paper-mill-made "aroma," has blossomed into Seattle's cultural cousin to the south.

By Nicole Brodeur
The Seattle Times
This may be the time to stop teasing Tacoma.
The longtime home of the paper-mill-made "aroma" has blossomed into Seattle's cultural cousin to the south, with a museum district that just got a significant boost from the completion of the LeMay-America's Car Museum (ACM), set to open Saturday ...    read more


May 25, 2012

Opening Day of the South Tacoma Farmers Market – Sunday, June 3rd11am-3pm

PRESS RELEASE
The long awaited opening day of the South Tacoma Farmers Market has arrived! Sunday, June 3rdthe 2012 season will begin at its brand new location at the MetroParks STAR Center with a proclamation from Mayor Strickland and a celebration of food and fun ...    read more


May 24, 2012

Star Center takes Center Stage of Recreation Hub

By Steve Dunkelberger
Tacoma Weekly
Years of planning and months of construction have ended. Classes are now in session as Metro Parks’ new South Tacoma Activities and Recreation Center – STAR Center – opened May 19 with a showcase of fun ...    read more


May 23, 2012

Puyallup Fair Among 'Best Commercials Ever'

Business Examiner
A Puyallup Fair television commercial from more than three decades ago took second place honors as one of “Seattle’s Best Commercials Ever” during the inaugural Marketing Awards Reception. The TV spot from 36 years ago was the brainchild of Denny Hinton, who at Cole and Weber Advertising Agency ...    read more


May 22, 2012

Point Defiance Park Converts Historic Lodge to Welcome Guests; Shuttle will Run on Weekends

By Alexis Krell
The News Tribune
Point Defiance Park will usher in the summer season this Memorial Day weekend with two new amenities intended to encourage visitor exploration of all the park has to offer. A visitor center opens Friday in the historic lodge located near the park’s Pearl Street entrance ...    read more


Drivers, Start your Engines

LeMay: America's Car Museum Revsup for its Grand Opening

By Steve Dunkelberger
Tacoma Weekly
It’s almost “race day” for what is primed to be Tacoma’s main attraction. All the cars have been waxed and buffed and waxed and buffed again for the grand opening of LeMay: America’s Car Museum June 1-3 at the landmark facility next to the Tacoma Dome ...    read more


May 15, 2012

Crystal Mountain Still Open Weekends for Skiing

Crystal Mountain is the last resort in the state and one of only 9 resorts in North America that is still open for skiing and snowboarding

PRESS RELEASE
Crystal Mountain, WA- When all the other resorts in the state have already called it quits, Crystal plans to remain open Saturdays and Sundays and Memorial Day for skiing and snowboarding until May 28th or later, conditions permitting. There will be discounted tickets available for access on all 6 lifts operating this weekend including the Mt ...    read more


May 10, 2012

The Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival Set for July 14, 2012

Third annual event brings new date and new Executive Director

PRESS RELEASE
Gig Harbor, Washington [May 2012] – The Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival is making changes in its evolution with a new date and a new Festival Director. The festival is being moved to July 14, 2012 and Victoria Trimmer has been hired to guide the festival as it develops during the third year of the event ...    read more


May 9, 2012

Gig Harbor Historic Waterfront Association Received 2012 National Trust Main Street Accreditation

PRESS RELEASE
Gig Harbor, WA- May 9, 2012 – The Gig Harbor Historic Waterfront Association has been designated as an accredited National Main Street Program for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by the National Trust Main Street Center®. Each year, the National Trust and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street® programs that have built strong revitalization organizations and demonstrate their ability in using the Main Street Four-Point Approach® methodology for strengthening their local economy and protecting their historic buildings ...    read more


May 3, 2012

Rock Hill, S.C., Executive Tapped as CEO for Tacoma Visitors Burear

The Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau has a new CEO

By C.R Robert
The News Tribune
Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau has a new CEO ...    read more


May 1, 2012

Indy Film Shooting in Tacoma Stars Michael Pitt of HBO's 'Boardwalk Empire'

By Craig Salior
The New Tribune
A film about an outlaw hobo starring Hollywood actor Michael Pitt is filming in Tacoma through Thursday. “You Can’t Win” features Pitt, one of the stars of HBO’s "Boardwalk Empire" and Hannah Marks of this year’s “The Amazing Spider-Man ...    read more


Pierce County Expands Popular Puget Sound Amateur to 2 golf courses

PRESS RELEASE
This spring's annual Puget Sound Amateur, one of the top golf championships in the Northwest, will span two days over two of Pierce County's most popular public courses.
The 47th Annual Puget Sound Amateur will take place May 19-20 at Lake Spanaway Golf Course and Chambers Bay ...    read more


April 26, 2012

Car-free Getaway - Bus it to Tacoma's Museum Row

Explore Tacoma's Museum Row by taking Sound Transit's express bus from Seattle for a car-free getaway.

By Carol Pucci
The Seattle Times
Is $4 gasoline blowing a hole in your budget? Then ditch that gas burner and go green ...    read more


7 Seas Added to Gig Harbor Beer Festival Roster

The inaugural event is also giving away free VIP tickets through its Facebook page.

Gig Harbor Patch
The beer is almost here! The inaugural Gig Harbor Beer Festival is Saturday, May 12 at the Uptown Gig Harbor Pavilion ...    read more


April 24, 2012

Wine and Brew Festival This Weekend at Ashford

Sue Kidd
The News Tribune
This week is free entry to Mount Rainer National Park and here’s just one more reason to head there – a beer and wine festival in Ashford.
Link to full article ...    read more


America to Celebrate the 5th Annual National Train Day

Amtrak celebrates the experiences only a train can offer on May 12, 2012

PRESS RELEASE
January 23, 2012 
WASHINGTON, D.C – Amtrak presents the 5th Annual National Train Day, a celebration of trains and the different ways trains touch the lives of people around the country ...    read more


April 23, 2012

The 20 Best Small Towns in America

There are lists of the best places to get a job, retire, ski, golf and fall in love, best places lists for almost everything. We think any best place worth traveling to should have one quality above others: culture ...    read more


April 19, 2012

Pierce County’s Sustainability Efforts Save $1.3 Million

PRESS RELEASE 
Pierce County saved more than $1.3 million in 2010 and 2011 by reducing its use of energy, water, fuel and office supplies, according to its second Annual Sustainability Index ...    read more


April 16, 2012

Trade Group Formed to Promote Tourism in Washington

By Eric Wilson
King 5 News
SEATTLE - Washington is the only state in the nation that does not provide funding to promote tourism. In the midst of a desperate budget crisis, lawmakers cut the $1 ...    read more


April 12, 2012

South Sound Wedding Magazine adds Digital Version

PRESS RELEASE
South Sound Wedding & Event magazine is among the first magazines in the Northwest to produce a digital format. South Sound Wedding & Event magazine 2012 is on sale through the Apple App store ...    read more


Parks Appreciation Day Volunteer Opportunities

Exit 133
If you enjoy using Tacoma’s parks, next weekend is a great opportunity to give back.
Metro Parks’ Parks Appreciation Day gives the community an opportunity to show up en masse at our neighborhood parks to prune, rake, pick-up, and plant the public spaces we’ll get to enjoy all summer ...    read more


At 15, Tacoma's Grand Cinema is a Community Treasure

The News Tribune
The top three films in the Grand Cinema’s 15-year history are, in order: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” “The King’s Speech” and “The Descendants.” Back in 1997, some didn’t think Tacoma could support a theater showing independent and foreign films ...    read more


TEDx Tacoma Speakers to Tackle Transformation

Local visionaries to expound upon whatever's on their mind at this very moment

By Kristin Kendle Weekly Volcano TED is a nonprofit organization dedicated to sharing knowledge and ideas. Most people with an Internet connection probably know about the TED talks posted online, but now Tacoma will have its own TED event ...    read more


April 11, 2012

Chambers Bay goes Gas-Free for a Day to Celebrate Earth Day

PRESS RELEASE
It takes a lot of equipment and fuel to mow and maintain a 250-acre golf course like Chambers Bay. But on April 22 - Earth Day - not an ounce of gas will be used to maintain the course ...    read more


Hunger Games coming to Tacoma on Thursday Night. Please no Killing.

By Craig Hill
The News Tribune
Hide your children and flee for the woods, the Hunger Games are coming to Tacoma.
Tacoma’s Trident Athletics is staging its own version of the Hunger Games on Thursday; with free events planned for 5 and 6:30 p ...    read more


April 6, 2012

Celebrating 15 Years of the Grand Old Grand Cinema

Exit 133 The Grand Cinema is celebrating 15 successful years since its rebirth back in 1997 with 15 days of deals to thank its loyal patrons. Tacoma’s nonprofit theater has made some changes over the years, including the recent expansion into a fourth theater, and the addition of a slew of unique programming ...    read more


LeMay ACM and the Ace Cafe Bring Motorcycles to Tacoma this Summer

Exit 133
The new LeMay America’s Car Museum hasn’t even opened yet, but already we’ve been hearing excitement not only here in Tacoma, but at the national and even international level. And it looks like the LeMay will be more than just cars; motorcycle enthusiasts are looking forward to the “Summer Shakedown,” an event this August that will showcase vintage motorcycles ...    read more


Washington Tourism Alliance Launches First Online Fundraiser

Win an All-Inclusive Trip to Bellingham and Friday Harbor

PRESS RELEASE
SEATTLE – The Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) announced its first online auction at today’s second annual tourism summit. WTA will auction off three weekend packages to Bellingham and the San Juan Islands during the month of April ...    read more


April 5, 2012

Flower Festivals of the US

The Travel Channel

From the roses of Portland to the lilacs of Rochester, cities across the US take their flower festivals seriously.
Link to full article ...    read more


April 2, 2012

Puyallup, Sumner First in Line for Sounder-Stop Upgrades

By Sara Schilling
The News Tribune
Sound Transit says this is the year it will start formulating specific plans for long-term access improvements at two Sounder stations in eastern Pierce County.
The improvements at the Puyallup and Sumner stations could include building parking garages as well as adding features to make it easier for riders to get to the transit hubs by foot or bicycle ...    read more


March 30, 2012

Tacoma Opera Squeezes Puccini Classic ‘La Bohme' into Rialto Theater

By Rosemary Ponnekanti
The News Tribune
Plenty of people have heard of “La Bohme.” You might know the beloved Puccini opera from its original incarnation as the tangled love story of a group of starving artists in 1880s Paris, which draws crowds in opera houses around the world ...    read more


March 29, 2012

French City Wants Ties With Tacoma

By John Larson
Tacoma Weekly
Tacoma may soon have a new sister city in France. The City of Destiny and Biot, a small city in the south of France, both have reputations for being centers of glass art ...    read more


March 28, 2012

New Wine Tour App Makes Finding and Visiting Wineries Easy for Enthusiasts and Travelers

PRESS RELEASE
New Wine Tour App Makes Finding and Visiting Wineries Easy for Enthusiasts and Travelers
The iPhone and Android app provides information for thousands of wineries across the country
TACOMA, WA – Now wine enthusiasts and travelers can instantly get information about what wineries are near them, when they are open, and how to find them, thanks to new iPhone and Android application created by SiteCrafting.
The Wine Tour app provides information about thousands of local wineries and vineyards across the U ...    read more


Adriatic Grill Receives Washington Wine Commission Award for its Promotion of Washington Wines

By Sue Kidd 
The News Tribune
Gearing up for this weekend’s Taste Washington event – an annual culinary binge where Washington wineries pair with Seattle restaurants for a truly gluttonous eat-around event – the Washington Wine Commission on Monday announced its annual wine awards for restaurants. The awards are given to eateries with wine programs that promote the Washington wine industry ...    read more


Point Defiance Zoo's New Tiger Set for His Debut

By Rob Carson
The News Tribune
When the latest addition to the Point Defiance’s Zoo’s small family of Sumatran tigers emerged from a cargo plane at Sea-Tac Airport last month, he didn’t seem entirely thrilled with his new home. The 270-pound, 3-year-old tiger, Malosi, was born and raised at the Honolulu Zoo, near Waikiki beach, where the temperature averages an idyllic 80 degrees ...    read more


LeMay, America’s Car Museum – Grand Opening

By John Lamm 
Road & Track Blog
You’ve possibly never heard of LeMay, America’s Car Museum, but that’s about to end. After two years of construction–pouring 35 million pounds of concrete–the $60 million automobile museum in Tacoma, Washington is just about finished ...    read more


March 23, 2012

New Car Museum Nears Finish Line

By Valerie Bauman
Puget Sound Business Journal
How do you bring a major museum project across the finish line during a brutal recession?

That's what the founders of the LeMay-America's Car Museum had to pull off en route to creating the four-story showpiece that opens near Tacoma Dome June 2 ...    read more


Experience Both Hotel Murano and HIDE/SEEK with This Special Deal

The Out Traveler As we told you over at Out.com, there is an amazing art exhibit showing in Tacoma, Washington right now that anyone in the area should not miss ...    read more


March 20, 2012

Susan Warner Named New Executive Director and Curator of Museum of Glass

By Rosemary Ponnekanti The News Tribune The board of trustees of Tacoma’s Museum of Glass has named Susan Warner as the museum’s new executive director and curator, beginning today. The move comes just two months after the resignation of former director Tim Close, who cited a need for a change in leadership as his reason for leaving ...    read more


LeMay – America’s Car Museum Set to Open June 2

South Sound Magazine
Local media outlets were treated to a sneak peek inside LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma on Tuesday. The museum is 165,000 square feet of space and features a 3 ...    read more


March 15, 2012

Dan Hockaday of Hotel Murano: An Insider's View

Dan Hockaday Hotel Murano - Tacoma, WA What service can you provide to groups that they normally might not receive? Aside from top-tier guest service that one should expect at a hotel like the Murano, the guest services staff of the Murano offers personalized service to every guest who steps through our door ...    read more


March 9, 2012

Port of Tacoma Lands Three Major Shipping Lines

By John Gillie The News Tribune Tacoma could regain its crown as Puget Sound’s largest container port thanks to a Thursday decision by a group of three container shipping lines to forsake the Port of Seattle in favor of the Port of Tacoma’s Washington United Terminal.. Link to full article ...    read more


March 8, 2012

Tacoma Art Museum’s Opening Party for “Hide/Seek” Filling Up Fast

By Rosemary Ponnekanti The News Tribune Want to be at the opening party for “Hide/Seek,” the controversial GLBT art show coming next weekend to Tacoma Art Museum? Then you’d better hurry ...    read more


March 7, 2012

"Hide/Seek" at Tacoma Art Museum Offers Difference and Desire

By Alec Clayton Weekly Volcano The internationally-acclaimed exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desirein American Portraiture caused a ruckus when it debuted at The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery in 2010. David Wojnarowicz's unfinished film, A Fire in My Belly, was removed from the exhibition, sparking a national controversy, demonstrations and renewed discussions about censorship and artists' rights ...    read more


March 2, 2012

Happy Birthday: Mount Rainier National Park Turns 113 Today

By Craig Hill 
The News Tribune
Mount Rainier National Park turns 113 today.. Link to full article ...    read more


March 1, 2012

Passport to Travel Offers Local and Faraway Destinations

By Jessica Hall
Northwest Guardian Looking to take a vacation but not sure where to go? Then head over to Leisure Travel Service’s Passport to Travel Show on Wednesday ...    read more


February 29, 2012

Tacoma Slider Cook-Off

A Slider Competition to End All Slider Competitions at the Museum of Glass By Jennifer Johnson

The Weekly Volcano

"A sheriff, a radio show host, an artist and a director walk into a museum." Sounds like the intro to an interesting joke, doesn't it ...    read more


February 20, 2012

Hoteliers Betting on Future Growth

By Breanne Coats Business Examiner When it comes to hotel development in Puyallup, when it rains it pours.

During the last year, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Tacoma/Puyallup and Hampton Inn & Suites By Hilton opened ...    read more


February 18, 2012

Point Defiance Zoo's Upgrade Plans Include a Modern Aquarium

By Stacia Glenn
The News Tribune
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is getting ready to roll out its plan for a new complex that will feature a modern aquarium, bigger facilities for marine mammals and family-oriented activities such as a wave tunnel and diving with the fish. An architectural firm has sketched preliminary designs after gathering suggestions from the public and staff biologists at the zoo ...    read more


February 17, 2012

State History Museum's Great Depression Exhibit Helps Put Current Woes in Perspective

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
Unemployment, home foreclosures, political encampments, cash-strapped governments, backyard gardens. Our Great Recession has made all these a reality on a scale we’ve never seen ...    read more


February 14, 2012

Critically-Acclaimed "Hide/Seek" Makes West Coast Appearance at Tacoma Art Museum

Edge on the Net TACOMA, WA - As Washington moves forward to become the seventh state in the Union to legalize gay marriage, Tacoma Art Museum presents a timely exhibition that spotlights how lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender identity have shaped modern American portraiture.

Hailed by The New York Times as an "historic event," HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture will make its final stop at Tacoma Art Museum from March 17 to June 10, 2012, which marks the exhibition’s only West Coast destination ...    read more


HIDE/SEEK at the Tacoma Art Museum

By Derek Young
Exit 133
With the ink of Governor Gregoire’s signature still barely dry on the marriage equality bill, controversy over equal rights for gays in Washington is sure to continue in the coming months. In light of this, the Tacoma Art Museum’s next exhibit seems particularly timely ...    read more


February 3, 2012

Snowshoeing in Paradise: Mt. Rainier National Park

By Nigel Boney Snowshoe Magazine Rising above the skyline from 54 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington State’s highest and most prominent volcano in the Cascade Arc, is still considered one of the world’s most dangerous. Reaching an elevation of more than 14,000 feet, makes it an unforgettable sight from almost any vantage point in this vibrant city ...    read more


January 12, 2012

Reinventing Play

By Kate Burrows
Tacoma Weekly
When the new Children’s Museum of Tacoma opens its doors on Jan. 14, it will not only feature nearly double the play space, but it will also offer for the first time a pay-as-you-can admission fee ...    read more


Strings of the Heart

By Somer Breeze-Hanson
Northwest Guardian
When Twyla Eddins was 4 years old she heard a song on the radio she thought was pretty. She walked over to the piano and began to search out the keys to play it ...    read more


January 9, 2012

Children's Museum Grand Opening

By Abigail Lawver
For Exit 133
The Children’s Museum of Tacoma has settled into its new home at 15th and Pacific, and will be celebrating with a Grand Opening this Saturday, January 14th. Given that we aren’t exactly the museum’s target audience, we decided to bring in a writer in a more appropriate demographic category ...    read more


January 6, 2012

Point Defiance Zoo Enjoys Record Attendance in 2011

By Rob Carson
The News Tribune
The Great Recession caused people to cut spending in many areas. 
But apparently not at the zoo ...    read more


December 30, 2011

Straight From the Gullet: The 10 Best Things I Devoured in 2011

By Sue Kidd
The News Tribune - TNT Diner
Not since 2006 has the South Sound seen a flurry of interesting restaurants opening in such an abbreviated time frame. I’ll remember 2011 for the quality additions to the region’s culinary landscape – Social Bar and Grill, Marrow Kitchen Bar, Zara Mediterranean Cuisine, JW and 208 Garfield ...    read more


December 28, 2011

A New Year, a New Children's Museum for Tacoma

By Debbie Cafazzo
The News Tribune
Water, wood and flights of fancy beckon kids to the new Children’s Museum in downtown Tacoma.
The new play space, located on the north edge of the city’s Pacific Avenue museum district, opens to the public Jan ...    read more


December 23, 2011

Tacoma’s Adriatic Grill: Wood-Fired Eats and Superb Service–Yes, in a Mall Location

By Sue Kidd
The News Tribune - TNT Diner
Adriatic Grill resides within one of the toughest neighborhoods for upscale dining. I’ve tried convincing friends that a restaurant near the mall – yes, that mall – serves superb Kobe flat-iron steak, turns out pizza from a wood-fired oven, masters garlicky Bolognese with al dente chewy pull, and doses grilled peaches with sweetened balsamic for dessert ...    read more


December 21, 2011

New Fairfield Inn + Suites Opening in Puyallup

By John Gillie
The Biz Buzz [The News Tribune]
The same Bellingham-based hotel company that owns Tacoma’s Courtyard Marriott Downtown plans to open a new hotel Dec. 30 near Puyallup’s Good Samaritan Hospital ...    read more


December 19, 2011

All Work, Now Play: After Years of Hard Work and Fund-Raising, the Children's Museum of Tacoma is Ready to Have Fun

By Todd Matthews
Tacoma Daily Index
The Children's Museum of Tacoma has a history downtown that dates back more than 25 years. In 1985, a group of parents, teachers and community leaders united to create a museum for kids ...    read more


December 6, 2011

Sharon Styer Wins Local Photography Contest

Weekly Volcano TACOMA IS PRETTY >>> This fall The Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau, otherwise known as the catchy TRCVB, held a photography contest seeking the most awesome photo of Tacoma and Pierce County. The judges have made their decision ...    read more


November 30, 2011

Crystal Mountain and Alta Crystal Resorts Offer Great Family Snowshoeing Deals

By Ryan Alford
Snowshoe Magazine Get the family together and head to Crystal Mountain Resort to take advantage of midweekspecials offered during non-holiday periods. Spend quality time with the family outdoors while saving money for holiday shopping or your next excursion ...    read more


November 27, 2011

New Museum Celebrates America's Love Affair With The Car

By Eric Johnson
KOMO News
TACOMA, Wash. - This month, construction will wrap up on a one-of-a-kind museum to show off the one-of-a-kind collection from a one-of-a-kind man ...    read more


November 26, 2011

No Experience Needed to Enjoy New Rink in Tacoma

By Sara Schilling The News Tribune Hayden Rush Bundy is a novice ice skater, but he was feeling confident Friday as he put on his skates. “I won’t fall down ...    read more


November 23, 2011

Mount Rainier Ranked as Best Wildflower Spot in U.S.

By Craig Sailor The Seattle Times A new book that picks the 50 best wildflower spots in the world names Mount Rainier National Park as the best in the U.S for its natural bouquet ...    read more


November 12, 2011

Another Step in Foss Waterway Seaport's Evolution

By C.R Roberts
The News Tribune
What’s old is about to be new again ...    read more


November 9, 2011

2011 Renovation of the Year: Cheney Stadium

Ballpark Digest We're back with our second round of Ballpark Digest awards for 2011. Today, we have another renovation award: Best Renovation ($20M+) for Cheney Stadium, home of the Tacoma Rainiers(Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) ...    read more


November 2, 2011

Hampton Inn + Suites Opens Property

By Andrew Fickes
The Puyallup Herald
The Hampton Inn and Suites, a Hilton-brand hotel which features 122 rooms on four floors, opened at 1515 S. Meridian on Oct ...    read more


October 25, 2011

Old Cars, But New Museum Smell

By Randy McCarthy
The News Tribune
Sunny and – more importantly – dry: A good day for moving 40 antique cars.
The first of the hundreds of cars that eventually will be displayed at the LeMay-America’s Car Museum rolled in Monday ...    read more


October 21, 2011

Photographer Alert: Visitor Bureau Announces Pierce County Fall Photo Contest

Deadline is Nov. 21

By C.R Roberts
The News Tribune
Pick up your camera and start thinking images: a leaf falling softly from one of the Narrows Bridges, a sunrise over Mount Rainier, a trio of playful kittens on a farm in Orting ...    read more


October 19, 2011

America’s Car Museum Takes Shape in Tacoma

By Jonathan Schultz The New York Times To hear David Madeira tell it, building a 165,000-square-foot, four-story museum to house the breadth of American automotive history is a solemn task and a mathematical quandary. While the gravity of the undertaking may be clear, an answer to the baseline question, “How many cars are we talking about ...    read more


October 16, 2011

Actress Julie Andrews Pays Visit to Gig Harbor

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
She didn’t arrive in a gilded carriage or wear a tiara, but royalty nonetheless came to Gig Harbor on Saturday. Hollywood royalty ...    read more


October 9, 2011

Artist Transforms Tacoma into Glasstown, U.S.A.

By John Gottsberg Anderson The Register-Guard You might think of Washington’s second city as the town that Dale Chihuly built. Not many years ago, despite the scenic beauty of towering Mount Rainier, which looms over the city to the east, Tacoma was regarded as anything but a mecca for tourism ...    read more


October 4, 2011

Point Defiance Named One of 10 Great Public Spaces

By Halley Griffin
Tacoma KOMO The American Planning Association today named Point Defiance Park one of "10 Great Public Spaces for 2011," as part of its Great Places in America program. Point Defiance was recognized for its "spectacular views," natural amenities and engaged citizens, and is included on the list with parks in Colorado, Indiana, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, California, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin ...    read more


September 22, 2011

Full Speed Ahead

LeMay - America's Car Museum is Coming Together in Preparation for its June Grand Opening

By Kate Burrows Tacoma Weekly For the city of Tacoma, the opening of LeMay – America’s Car Museum could mean a boost to the local economy in the form of an estimated $34 million annually. For local car enthusiasts, it is a chance to celebrate their love of the automobile at the world’s largest car museum – in our own back yard ...    read more


September 21, 2011

Great Mountains of the World: Mt. Rainier

By Steve Casimiro
Adventure Journal Locals know it simply as The Mountain. It's a giant that rises behind the city on clear days, drawing the eye, then curiosity, and then maybe the feet ...    read more


September 17, 2011

Murano Manager Looks to Future

By C.R Roberts
The News Tribune
Stan Kott took his first job in the hospitality industry at the age of 12, working as a busboy at a chain restaurant in his native Michigan ...    read more


September 16, 2011

Tacoma Boasts Weird and Wonderful Places You Can See on Foot

By Rosemary Ponnekanti
The News Tribune
In the list of walkable cities of the world, Tacoma doesn’t normally rank at the top. New York has more businesses, London has actor-led historical walks ...    read more


September 8, 2011

Destiny Harbor Tours Thrives Despite a Struggling Economy

By Jeanine Stewart
The Peninsula Gateway
Out on Gig Harbor Bay, Tom Drohan takes the wheel of his restored U.S Navy boat multiple times a day ...    read more


September 1, 2011

Tacoma-Pierce Visitor Bureau Releases Latest Destination Video

By C.R Roberts 
The News Tribune
Art, glass, berries, Crystal Mountain, Hotel Murano, golf, kayaks, flowers – it’s all there in just over three minutes ...    read more


August 31, 2011

Watch New Tacoma + Pierce County Destination Video

By Halley Griffith
Tacoma KOMO
The Tacoma Regional Convention + Vistor Bureau sent us a link to a brand-new video marketing Tacoma to business and leisure travelers.. Link to full article [with video] ...    read more


August 30, 2011

Truck Stops, Shops, Get a Fresh Look in Sumner

By Sara Schilling
The News Tribune
More than a thousand trucks pass through Sumner every day, going to and from the city’s north end industrial area.
But the East Pierce city of 9,400 people doesn’t have many spots where those drivers can park their rigs and take a break ...    read more


August 29, 2011

COMING SOON: Tacoma + Pierce County Destination Video

By Matt Driscoll 
Weekly Volcano  POPCORN AT 11AM >>> This morning I had the pleasure of joining a small theater full of folks at the Grand Cinema to see the debut of the new "Tacoma + Pierce County Destination Video," which will soon be coming to a trade show near you thanks to the Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau - with plenty of help from JayRay Ads, Bellingham's Hand Crank Films and others. The short (2-3 minute) commercial for Tacoma and Pierce County is designed to help the Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau sell our region to potential travelers and event planners, created, according to an official press release, to be used, "on social media, in presentations to clients, for media purposes and shared with global audiences ...    read more


August 28, 2011

LeMay - America's Car Museum Takes Shape and Raises Funds in Preparation for 2012 Opening

By Rob Carson
The News Tribune
With less than a month of construction remaining before its first public event, Tacoma’s new LeMay – America’s Car Museum is revealing its final shape.
But what is that shape, exactly ...    read more


August 26, 2011

Crystal Mountain Offers Year-Round, Mile High Fun - and More

By Craig Sailor
The News Tribune
It’s easy to forget that a whole mountain of fun gets buried under the snow at a winter-focused ski area. But take a summer trip to Crystal Mountain and you’ll find more than just rocks emerging from the ice ...    read more


It's a Bird, it's a Plane, it's a ... Caboose?

By Stephanie Kim
The News Tribune
David Cantlin waited anxiously Thursday for a crane to pick up a piece of railroad history – a 93-year-old caboose he helped bring back to life in Fife.
It took about 10 years to restore Oregon, Washington Railway and Navigation Company Caboose No ...    read more


August 22, 2011

Jennifer Kilmer Picked as Director for Washington State History Museum

By Jordan Schrader
The News Tribune
Jennifer Kilmer will lead the State Capital Museum in Olympia and the Washington State History Museum in downtown Tacoma into the next chapter in their history.
Gig Harbor’s Kilmer will replace retiring State Historical Society director David Nicandri in October ...    read more


August 12, 2011

'StoryCorps' Oral History Project Visits Tacoma in September

Tacoma Daily Index StoryCorps, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs, will record interviews in Tacoma from Sept. 8 to Oct ...    read more


August 11, 2011

Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival Emerging as Premier Event

By Susan Schell
The Peninsula Gateway
Wine lovers congregated for the second time in as many years on Saturday for a party at the Harbor History Museum.

Wine and food merchants from across the state gathered for the Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival to give visitors a taste of what they do best ...    read more


August 3, 2011

Gig Harbor wine and food fest is back

By Rosemary Ponnekanti

The News Tribune
Mmm, beer, cheese and – chocolate? Definitely, says Mike Runion, owner of 7 Seas Brewing in Gig Harbor ...    read more


Family Roundup: Day Trip to Tacoma

By Kathleen F. Miller
Bellevue Patch
Now that the sun has finally arrived you might be in the mood for a family road trip ...    read more


August 1, 2011

A Golf Course Even Non-golfers Will Love

By Candace J. Brown 
Good Life Northwest

The first time I saw Chambers Bay golf course in University Place, I saw it from a distance, out on the water, and I didn't know what I was looking at ...    read more


Crystal Mountain Goes Year-Round

By Dave Helgeson

RV Life

The highest restaurant in the state of Washington is Summit House, which sits atop Crystal Mountain at an elevation of 6,872 feet. Reaching Summit House in the past involved riding two ski lifts, which were open to the elements, and in ski season you had to rely on your own abilities to get yourself back down the mountain ...    read more


July 25, 2011

New GH Museum Exhibit Weaves Art, History of Basket Making

Kitsap Sun

GIG HARBOR — The Harbor History Museum is currently home to 250 baskets through October. The museum’s latest rotating exhibit, “Woven Stories: Native American Basketry of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska,” is a collection of both modern baskets from private collections and artifacts dating back to the 1800s ...    read more


July 24, 2011

Cyclists ready to tackle streets in Grit City Crit

By Craig Hill

The News Tribune
Today is bittersweet. This morning, I get to enjoy one of my favorite summer traditions by waking up early and watching the Tour de France ...    read more


July 21, 2011

New downtown Tacoma hotel begins construction after 3-year delay

By John Gillie

The News Tribune

Construction has begun without fanfare on Tacoma’s first new downtown hotel, the 164-room Holiday Inn Express and Suites near the old Heidelberg Brewery. The hotel, which was mired in city design reviews and permitting for three years, will be the first new Tacoma hotel to open in five years when it begins renting rooms in December 2012 ...    read more


July 11, 2011

Piece by piece

Sumner’s trail system inching closer to completion


By Breanne Coats

Business Examiner

Piece by piece, Sumner’s trail system is coming together — and there could be an economic benefit to the region once it’s complete.

But the region might have to wait a bit for that revenue boost ...    read more


July 5, 2011

Freedom Fair crowds bask in sunshine, spirit of patriotism

By Kathleen Cooper The News Tribune The Fourth of July had not a cloud in the sky, so an acrobatic pilot made some. Tim Weber flipped and rolled his one-seat plane over Commencement Bay on Monday, leaving white corkscrew vapor trails behind him ...    read more


June 30, 2011

Tacoma's Vicci Martinez loses popular vote on 'The Voice' but scores a victory for her career

By Craig Sailor The News Tribune It was almost but not quite for Vicci Martinez. The Tacoma singer-songwriter wasn’t able to garner enough votes to become “The Voice” Wednesday night on the hit NBC talent show ...    read more


June 29, 2011

'Such a warrior': Tacoma's Vicci Martinez learns tonight whether she is No. 1 on 'The Voice'


By Craig Sailor

The News Tribune
Now, it’s up to America. Tacoma’s Vicci Martinez performed competitively for the final time on “The Voice” Tuesday night ...    read more


Crystal Mountain will open ski, boarding slopes for holiday weekend

By Jeff Mayor

The News Tribune
Not sure what to this holiday weekend, hike, boat, ski? This year will be the second time in Crystal Mountain history skiers and snowboarders can celebrate Independence Day on snow ...    read more


June 24, 2011

Sunrise on Mount Rainier to open in time for holiday weekend

Mount Rainier National Park said it plans to open Sunrise, the highest point in the park reachable by vehicle

By Susan Gilmore

The Seattle Times
Mount Rainier National Park said it plans to open Sunrise, the highest point in the park reachable by vehicle, on Friday in time for the busy Fourth of July weekend. The park had said Sunrise wouldn't open until July 8, which drew complaints from business owners in the area who said it would hurt their tourist traffic ...    read more


June 22, 2011

Taste of Tacoma returns

June 24-26

Tacoma Weekly

This weekend, Tacoma’s tastiest tradition returns as 32 restaurants, 19 food product booths, beer gardens and live music stages take over Point Defiance Park. Emerald Queen Casino’s Taste of Tacoma will be held Friday and Saturday from 11 a ...    read more


June 21, 2011

Van Cooney leaving as head of Hotel Murano and convention bureau; he's on his way to luxurious San Diego

By C.R Roberts

The News Tribune

Although he never quite found a use for the old Rose Room at the top of the building, he did turn a profit while gaining an international reputation ...    read more


June 13, 2011

The investigation continues

Interactive scavenger hunt promotes tourism, local businesses

By Breanne Coats

Business Examiner

They might not have magnifying glasses, pipes or their own Watson-esque sidekicks, but South Sound residents have the opportunity to be ace investigators through a regional tourism effort titled, “Tourism Revealed: The Adventure of Puget Sound.” ...    read more


June 5, 2011

Seaport celebrates National Marina Day

Foss Harbor Marina and Foss Waterway Seaport will hold Salty Dock Day

The News Tribune To celebrate National Marina Day, the Foss Harbor Marina and Foss Waterway Seaport will hold Salty Dock Day on Saturday. The inaugural event will celebrate the recreational opportunities provided by marinas through a series of boater education classes, speakers and demonstrations ...    read more


June 4, 2011

The Inn at Gig Harbor: Heritage Restaurant caters to all occasions

By Rodika Tollefson Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal As one of only a few hotels in Gig Harbor, and the only full-service conference space — complete with guest rooms, catered food, audiovisual, WiFi and other services — The Inn at Gig Harbor is a popular destination.. Link to full article ...    read more


June 1, 2011

Makeover at iconic Tillicum Village brings more Coast Salish lore

By Tim Vinh The Seattle Times BLAKE ISLAND — President Clinton came here. So did King Olaf V of Norway ...    read more


May 29, 2011

Indoor climbers find their balance

By Craig Hill The News Tribune Standing at the base of a 25-foot faux rock pillar, Benn Cordy pointed up at a climbing route that looked as if it would give Spider-Man trouble. Not only were some of the holds about the size of a pack of gum, but also reaching them would require some serious flexibility ...    read more


May 26, 2011

Clouded leopards spring one on keepers; litter expected at Point Defiance in June

By Stacia Glenn The News Tribune It was an unplanned pregnancy. Keepers at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium thought Chai Li and Nah Fun, a pair of 20-month-old clouded leopards, were too young to breed ...    read more


May 24, 2011

Tacoma’s Broadway Center 2011/12 season tickets on sale Thursday for members/multi-show

By Rosemary Ponnekanti The News Tribune The Broadway Center for Performing Arts has announced the 2011/12 season for Tacoma’s downtown theaters, and tickets go on sale for members and multi-show packages 11 a.m this Thursday ...    read more


May 18, 2011

Pierce County TV: Rainier Country

a review of the 2010 Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay

RAINIER COUNTRY - Spring 2011
As golf season picks up, we review the 2010 Amateur Championship at Chambers Bay. In Puyallup, the benefits of 'Agritourism', a new economic program sponsored by the State of Washington ...    read more


Car-free getaway | Bus it to Tacoma's Museum Row

Explore Tacoma's Museum Row by taking Sound Transit

By Carol Pucci The Seattle Times Is $4 gasoline blowing a hole in your budget? Then ditch that gas burner and go green ...    read more


May 15, 2011

Downtown diamond destination

By Rosemary Ponnekanti The News Tribune At 75, most of us want to be debt-free, have a nice place to live, be admired by our peers, and have achieved some of our ambitions. That’s exactly where Tacoma Art Museum finds itself at after celebrating its 75th birthday last fall, weathering the recession in its new building and gaining a reputation as one of the best museums in the Northwest – while still aiming for bigger goals ...    read more


April 29, 2011

Tacoma’s Heart of Glass

Keep an open mind on a sojourn to the South Sound.

By James Ross Gardner

Seattle Met
A SEATTLEITE IN TACOMA might maintain a sense of superiority up to a point—during that last bend in Interstate 5 when our southerly sister city’s stubby skyline swings into view. While rolling up Sixth Avenue, with its gauntlet of fast food chains and nail salons ...    read more


April 28, 2011

Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau Receives City of Destiny Award


TACOMA, Wash. – Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau [TRCVB] has received the City of Destiny Award from the City of Tacoma ...    read more


April 27, 2011

Stina’s Cellars relocates to Lakewood

The Suburban Times The south Puget Sound city of Lakewood is now home to Stina’s Cellars, an award-winning winery that has carved out a niche in the production of small lots of premium wines at affordable prices. Previously located in University Place, the new location in the Lakewood Industrial Park allows the winery to more than double the square footage of the wine production facility and warehouse space as well as build out a new tasting room ...    read more


April 26, 2011

Tacoma honoring volunteer efforts

Tacoma's top volunteers – six individuals and four groups

Business Examiner

Tacoma's top volunteers – six individuals and four groups – will be recognized during the 25th annual City of Destiny Awards at 7 p.m on May 10 at the Stadium High School Auditorium, 111 North E St ...    read more


April 15, 2011

TRCVB secures four major conventions

By Breanne Coats Business Examiner Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau announced today it has secured the conventions of Joint Affordable Housing Management Association of Washington and Washington State Council for Affordable + Rural Housing, National Railway Historical Society and Meeting Professionals International Cascadia..
Link to full article ...    read more


April 12, 2011

Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau a Finalist for Business Examiner’s 2011 South Sound Top Places to Work

  Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau [TRCVB], the official destination marketing organization for Tacoma + Pierce County, is an award finalist for the Business Examiner’s 2011 South Sound Top Places to Work. Top Places to Work recognizes outstanding company cultures in the five program areas of integrity, appreciation, equity, gratification and solidarity ...    read more


A Greener Way to See Tacoma

Bicycle Paper.com Tacoma, Wash ...    read more


April 8, 2011

Spring Fair in Puyallup has something for everyone

Put a little spring in your step at the younger sister of fall’s Western Washington Fair.

By Craig Sailor The News Tribune Put a little spring in your step at the younger sister of fall’s Western Washington Fair. The 22nd annual Spring Fair at the Puyallup Fair & Events Center starts Thursday with lumberjacks, racing pigs, music and dancing horses ...    read more


Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau Achieves Destination Marketing Accreditation

  TACOMA, Wash. – Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau [TRCVB] is happy to announce that it has been awarded accreditation from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program [DMAP] ...    read more


March 25, 2011

Foss Waterway to be site for new festival in June

By Jeff Mayor The News Tribune The Foss Harbor Marina, in partnership with Foss Waterway Seaport, this afternoon announced the creation of Salty Dock Days, a new public event to be held June 11 at Foss Harbor Marina in downtown Tacoma.. Link to full article ...    read more


March 20, 2011

Plenty of time to send ski season out in style

Today is the first day of spring, and for Washington skiers and snowboarders this season has more to offer than ever.

By Craig Sailor The News Tribune Today is the first day of spring, and for Washington skiers and snowboarders this season has more to offer than ever. Thanks to its new $5 ...    read more


March 17, 2011

bellaballs floats help and hope to Japan

  Hope floats at bellaballs. Since the original concept for designing their glass bellaballs was inspired by and made in the ancient tradition of Japanese fishing floats, the owners want to personally reach out to Japan in the true spirit of giving ...    read more


March 11, 2011

Get your Irish on: A local go-and-do guide

There are more Americans of Irish ancestry than there are people in Ireland, which practically makes St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday here.

By Craig Sailor The News Tribune There are more Americans of Irish ancestry than there are people in Ireland, which practically makes St. Patrick’s Day a national holiday here ...    read more


March 10, 2011

Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play

By Golfweek Staff Golfweek The number of courses per state varies based on course supply, population and level of play; includes daily-fee layouts and courses accessible via resorts.. Link to full article ...    read more


March 9, 2011

Culinary tourism

Savor Washington workshop, the brainchild of state tourism departments, stopped by East Pierce in an effort to engage local farmers, businesses

By Joan Cronk The Puyallup Hearld Independent consultant Judy Walden of Walden Mills Group based in Denver, came to Puyallup last week to help kick off the Savor Washington workshop.

Her goal was to help get the ball rolling to develop culinary tourism for the state of Washington ...    read more


March 1, 2011

Our new seaside hangout

A new park meets a new beach

A new park meets a new beach, and we call that a love connection. Take deep breaths of salty air on the bluffs and dunes of the 3-mile loop trail at Chambers Creek park near Tacoma, Washington, which now hooks you up with just-opened Puget Sound beach ...    read more


February 17, 2011

Meetings Generate 250M Room Nights; $11.3B in State & Local Tax Revenue

Just released, landmark research

By Andrea Cates

DMAI Connections

Just released, landmark research – substantially funded by the Destination & Travel Foundation – reveals that the U.S meetings industry directly generates 250 million room nights and supports 1 ...    read more


February 7, 2011

Tourism impact expected to increase in 2011

South Sound poised to offer travelers interactive experiences

By Breanne Coats

Business Examiner

Tourism in the South Sound is expected to increase during 2011, despite state budget cuts and changing trends within the industry. Last year, travelers to Washington spent an estimated $15 ...    read more


More meetings equals more money being spent

Hospitality industry insiders optimistic for 2011

By Breanne Coats

Business Examiner

When times got tough, meeting planners got savvy. From negotiating with hotels and meet­ing facilities to learning how to use different technologies, 2010 was an educational year for those in the event and meeting planning industry ...    read more


February 6, 2011

Tacoma’s hotel inventory: Rooms to spare?

Is the movie motto, “If you build it, they will come,” just about Iowa cornfields and baseball games, or does it have a real life application in Pierce County’s hospitality industry?

By John Gillie The News Tribune Is the movie motto, “If you build it, they will come,” just about Iowa cornfields and baseball games, or does it have a real life application in Pierce County’s hospitality industry? A corps of would-be hotel developers may soon be finding out ...    read more


January 30, 2011

Washington State History Museum exhibits more than the mummy

By Craig Sailor

The News Tribune

About 2,600 years ago, a man named Ankh-Wennefer lived in the Egyptian city of Akhmim. He raised at least one son, served as the second prophet in the temple of Min, and upon his death was given funereal customs the average person of his day couldn’t afford ...    read more


January 19, 2011

Tourists shell out $15.2 billion in Washington in 2010, report says

Visitors to the Evergreen State spent an estimated $15.2 billion in 2010, according to the preliminary Travel Impacts Report released Tuesday by the Department of Commerce and Washington State Tourism.

By C.R Roberts The News Tribune Visitors to the Evergreen State spent an estimated $15 ...    read more


January 9, 2011

Nighttime family adventure coming to Tacoma waters

People for Puget Sound is bringing its Pier Peer program to the waters of Tacoma

The News Tribune People for Puget Sound is bringing its Pier Peer program to the waters of Tacoma. The conservation group, in conjunction with Foss Waterway Seaport, will hold the nighttime family adventure program Saturday from 8-9 p ...    read more


January 6, 2011

Respecting the Glass Ceiling in Tacoma, Washington

Chihuly Bridge of Glass

By Emily Keeler Alhadeff Tazzler.com Ornamented with towering blue glass sculptures that resemble that sugary rock candy on a stick, the Chihuly Bridge of Glass proves that Tacoma is serious about public art ...    read more


January 4, 2011

Full-service grocery store coming to downtown Tacoma's Pacific Plaza

A full-service grocery store for Tacoma's downtown core is just a few signatures away.

By Kathleen Cooper The News Tribune A full-service grocery store for Tacoma's downtown core is just a few signatures away. Dan Putnam said this morning that he and his partners, owners of Pacific Plaza at 1250 Pacific Ave ...    read more


January 2, 2011

Gondola opens at Crystal Mountain

The temperature was 17 degrees an hour before sunrise Saturday when Crystal Mountain skiers began queuing up to become the first to ride Washington's only ski area gondola.

By Craig Hill and John Gillie The News Tribune The temperature was 17 degrees an hour before sunrise Saturday when Crystal Mountain skiers began queuing up to become the first to ride Washington's only ski area gondola. That two-hour outdoor wait for the 9 a ...    read more


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