6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday January 13 2021

When you need a break from refreshing your various news feeds, turn to Peaks & Pints’ 6-Pack of Things To Do, from a Tacoma String Philharmonia Zoom performance of The Barber of Seville to The City of Tacoma and Metro Parks Tacoma virtual celebration of the Public Art Reaching Community, and from Ajax Gallery’s Tacoma Light Trail installation to a fundraiser for this year’s Monkeyshine, and more. Cheers!

CLASSICAL: Barney Rubble belted it in the bath. Spongebob stole Squidward’s thunder by singing it underwater. And most famously, Bugs gnawed his way through several rounds of “Figaro! Figaro! Figaro!” in the toon classic, Rabbit of Seville. Between its easily followed romcom plot and a score made universally familiar by the aforementioned pop culture references, Gioachino Antonio Rossini’s The Barber of Seville is an ideal introduction to opera. The Tacoma Youth Symphony Association’s Tacoma String Philharmonia performs this classic via YouTube for all to enjoy, including barbers.

BEER FLIGHT: Narrows Brewing and their customers donated one ton of food to the Emergency Food Network to earn the Hoppy Holiday Food Drive trophy. The 15-barrel brewhouse perched on pilings above the Narrows waterway led a group of other greater Tacoma craft angels — 7 Seas, E9, Grit City Ciderhouse, Odd Otter, Sig, Wet Coast, and Wingman — in raising 3 tons of food as part of the month-long effort conceived by Catie and John Douville of Douville Home Group, and little ol’ Peaks & Pints chipping in some addition work. Narrows was crowned Monday night, seven-plus years after Scott Wagner, Gordon Rush, Matt Smith, Thair Jorgenson, and Chris DeWald opened the brewery in 2013. Today, we salute Narrows, and their head brewer Matt Rhodes, with a to-go flight from the Peaks & Pints Cooler — a flight we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Champion Narrows On The Fly. Stop by then spend time with a winner tonight. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., 3816 N. 26th St., Basecamp Proctor, Tacoma

PUBLIC ART: The City of Tacoma and Metro Parks Tacoma present a virtual celebration of Public Art Reaching Community, the hands-on professional public art education program. Launched in spring of 2020, 12 artists participated in a learning and mentorship cohort designed to develop talent from emerging artists in the community. The final project concludes with the creation of temporary art experiences under the theme of Long Distance focusing on remaining connected during the physical distancing required by COVID-19. Today’s virtual program will highlight Sophia Munic’s “I Am Here for You” and Monica YoRam Yi’s Meott Magazine,” including a Q&A session with the artists. Noon to 1 p.m., Metro Parks Tacoma Zoom, passcode: 775455, free

MONKEYSHINES: Monkeyshines will unleash marauding gangs of craftspeople, artisans, and their multitudinous admirers on the genteel people of Tacoma soon. But, they need your help this year. What started in 2003 as two glass artists creating glass floats embossed with a Monkey stamp then hiding them throughout Tacoma is now a 2,000 ball and medallion endeavor with COVID messing with the Year of the Ox. Dozens of people have donated hundreds of hours of their time to pull this off without any potential pay. Please consider donating to their GoFundMe to support the creation of the glass objects and art they hide for you to find and keep. Monkeyshines GoFundMe

TACOMA LIGHT TRAIL: Ten years ago, Tacoma glass artist Diane Hansen was creating beautiful hand-blown glass floats, bellaballs. Today, her giant rat lights up the Tacoma Light Trail in downtown Tacoma. Named “Big Louie,” this rodent listens to jazz, specifically, the Kareem Kandi Band, via the Echoes app. The Tacoma Light Trail features more than 50 artists, arts organizations, businesses and downtown spaces hosting free light installations, including Big Louie outside the Ajax Gallery at 747 S. Court D. 5-9 p.m., through Jan. 24, tacomalittrail.com, Echoes sound app

BOOK CLUB: The Tacoma Classics Book Club is a classic. It’s been lurking around Tacoma since 1994. The book club can’t meet inside its beloved King’s Books, so its members don’t have to take time out of their busy schedule, request time off work, hire a babysitter or cancel other plans to attend a meeting in person. Join the club virtually tonight and discuss, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. 6:30 p.m., email Blanca to become a Classic.