6-Pack of Things To Do: Wednesday October 21 2020

One thing COVID-19 has shown us is how badly we need diversions. As a result, Peaks & Pints created 6-Pack of Things To Do so you may appreciate the small joys still available — and the creativity and toughness of a South Sound that continues to find the bright spots. This is part survival guide and part celebration of the many, many ways that our area continues to lift us up. Here’s to the chefs and shop owners who retooled on the fly to keep the lights on while offering services we want and need, to the activists who continue to fight for a better world, to all the spots built into this county that give us an outlet to enjoy ourselves and stay safe. Cheers!

NATURE: You couldn’t find any clean clothes this morning. Out of toothpaste. Out of orange juice. Shoelace broke. And, of course, you were late. How did this happen? How did life end up lacking … so … much … luster? Where is the action/adventure/drama? Sigh. You should head to the Powell Creek Protected and plant plants. The Nisqually Land Trust and Nisqually River Education Project need your help to plant more than 3,000 native trees and shrubs this fall. These trees and shrubs will help restore critical habitat in the beautiful Nisqually Watershed. There is a morning shift (9-12) and afternoon shift (12-3). Feel free to sign up for as many shifts as you’d like. To receive directions to help, click here. If you have any questions, send Susannah an email at volunteer@nisquallylandtrust.org.

CIDER FLIGHT: Happy National Apple Day! That’s right; Oct. 21 is National Apple Day. Apple pie. Applesauce. Apple crisp. National Apple Day celebrates the apple in all its various forms and reminds us that apples are shiny, tasty, and healthy. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” “Apple of my eye,” and “as American as apple pie” are all very common phrases in our language. Be it good health, familiarity or love, all are used to denote something we hold to be very important to our concept of culture in America. They also call attention to a humble fruit that not only shaped our language, but has also found its way into our landscape, built our economy, our taste in food and drink, our cultural heritage, our mythology and even our religious beliefs. Did you know there are more varieties of apples than any other fruit? Peaks and Pints celebrates National Apple Day in the only way we know — an apple cider to-go flight. Drop by our bottle shop, taproom and restaurant in Tacoma’s Proctor District and grab Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: National Apple Day On The Fly. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Peaks & Pints, 3816 N. 26th St., Basecamp Proctor, Tacoma

MUSIC: A graduate of California State University East Bay (B.A. Music) and New York University (M.A. Jazz Contemporary Music), and son of Indianapolis Hall of Fame drummer and educator Dr. Willis Kirk, Brian Kirk grew up in San Francisco where he performed with Gladys Knight, Marlena Shaw, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Bishop Norman Williams, John Handy, and Jessica Williams. Today, Kirk will discuss music and jazz education during the COVID-19 pandemic and what is at stake in terms of music education because of COVID-19 on the University of Puget Sound’s Schneebeck Live Zoom Hall. Kirk will also discuss his teaching philosophies and give an insight as to how to approach music for social justice. Following his lecture, Kirk will perform on drums and vibes with Dr. Hutchinson, director of theory and composition, on bass, and Dr. Joyner on piano. Pair the lecture/concert with North Coast Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale from the Peaks & Pints cooler. 11 a.m. lecture, 12:30 p.m. concert, Schneebeck Live Zoom Hall

CLUB: You know what Wednesday is? Wednesday is a day for planning. Planning, yeah. Let’s plan to do something later in the week. Hey, look it’s fall outside. Things are coolin’ off pretty quick. Soon, you’ll be wanting to snowshoe and climb frozen waterfalls. You should join the Tacoma Mountainieers right now. Right now. Riiiiggght now. OK, fine, you want to know something about them? They hike, they bike, they climb, and yes — they mountaineer, too. (And rockin’? Hah! — parties, too.) In short, indoors is out. Outdoors is in. So get out by getting in. Or something like that. Let’s plan. … join the Tacoma Mountaineers.

PLAYWRIGHTS: Remember when you used to dress your dolls up and make them act out your plays? There they were all lined up on the bed, and Barbie was fighting with Cabbage Patch while their passive-aggressive little stuffed animal children hid their eyes. Yep, you’ve always been strange. But the point of this is that there are better venues for your art. Tacoma Little Theatre is welcoming playwrights who have original scripts the chance to workshop and have their pieces performed as a staged reading online. We are looking for all genres and age levels, ranging in length from scenes, one acts, or full-length plays or musicals (no longer than two hours). Each script will have one rehearsal and then will perform in a Zoom staged reading setting on a Thursday or Saturday evening. Submit your words to TLT Production Manager Nena Curley at nena@tacomalittletheatre.com.

CITY DESK: The city of Tacoma will host a virtual community town hall with the Tacoma City Council to discuss Tacoma’s Proposed Budget for 2021-22. City staff will give a brief presentation on the budget and then offer opportunities for the public to provide their thoughts on its contents and ask questions now that the proposed budget has been presented. The City Council is scheduled to adopt a budget at the end of November 2020 and your feedback at this town hall is important in shaping this biennial budget. Grab a 21st Amendment Fireside Chat Winter Ale from the Peaks & Pints cooler before the town hall. 6-7:30 p.m., Tacoma Zoom Room, passcode: 219278