6-Pack of Things To Do November 11-13 2022

To the men and women who served our country with pride and integrity, your service inspires ours. Here are six things to do in Tacoma this weekend. Cheers!

MOVIES: Tacoma Sister Cities International Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary with feature films from eight of Tacoma’s sister cities through Sunday at the Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma’s Proctor District. On the playbill are films from Norway, Mexico, Croatia, Korea, Cuba, Morocco, Japan, and Taiwan. Some are films of the past and some are new, and all of them are critical favorites spanning the past 20 years and showcasing the filmmaking of these Tacoma sister city countries. At each evening film showing, the respective committees will present a short cultural program. The film festival kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday night with the Pacific Northwest Film Making Forum featuring a special panel of notable Pacific Northwest filmmakers discussing filmmaking on the Tacoma side of the sister city relationships. For more information, visit tacomasistercities.org. Stop by Peaks & Pints before or after the screenings for a Fort George Brewery Blue Mouse IPA on tap.

BEER FLIGHT: The historical epoch of Armistice Day began with the Nov. 11, 1918, signing of a ceasefire between Germany and the Allied powers of World War I. President Woodrow Wilson initiated it. In the South Sound, we’re reminded of war’s impact more often than people in most other cities. But even so, it’s not often enough. Our freedoms, our heritage, and the way of life we enjoy today are made possible because of our military veterans. Today’s 100th anniversary of Veterans Day honors all of America’s veterans for their patriotism, service, and sacrifice. And for their families, there is no better time than now to recognize them and give thanks for the remarkable sacrifices they have made. Happy Veterans Day to all the veterans and current troops serving in our military. Today, Peaks & Pints offers a special veteran-themed to-go beer flight. 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday, Nov. 11, 3816 N. 26th St., Basecamp Proctor, Tacoma

GRIT & GAIN PODCAST: Norm! Grit & Grain Podcast sat down with their longtime friend and Deschutes Brewery/Boneyard Beer Sales Executive Norm Cartwright to discuss his days waiting on Elton John at Stanley & Seafort’s and pitching Tacoma bars and taverns for Columbia Distribution. Episode 19 focuses on Norm’s early days learning the beer trade, his ride along adventures with brewery reps, his mentors, and his first encounters with Tacoma drinking institutions. Norm will be back next week for Episode 20 and a deeper dive into Deschutes and Boneyard. To listen to Grit & Grain Episode 19 with Norm Cartwright of Deschutes Brewery and Boneyard Beer, and the previous Grit & Grain episodes, visit gritandgrainpodcast.com, or search your favorite podcast mediums, including Channel 253. Cheers!

HOPPY HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE: The holiday season is a time to be charitable, and there are scores of specific ways to donate in Pierce County this winter. Usually, that means donating cash, but that isn’t the only way to help our fellow neighbors. Douville Home Group, in partnership with Peaks & Pints, has kicked off the fourth annual Hoppy Holiday Food Drive, where Pierce County breweries and cideries come together to support the Emergency Food Network. Through Nov. 29, 2022, 14 breweries and cideries will collect non-perishable food items and hygiene products to be distributed to thousands of Pierce County residents in need. Then join the breweries, ciders, Emergency Food Network, and Douville Home Group at Peaks and Pints on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29, for a final weigh-in, announcement of our Hoppy Holiday Tap Handle Trophy winner, and raffle drawings for sweet brewery swag. Visit hoppyholidayfooddrive.com for a list of breweries and to make cash donations in the name of your favorite participating brewery or cidery.

MUSIC: Swampy Americana blues musician Forest Beutel will perform at the Proctor Farmers’ Market Saturday. Beutel is a soulful one-man band slinging banjo, guitar, harmonica, kick drum and a hi-hat. A modern-day ramblin’ man, Beutel’s voice blends the high lonesome sounds of Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt with gruff baritone vibrations akin to Tom Waits and Johnny Cash, making a twangy upbeat atmosphere that engages a crowd buying carrots, mushrooms, and cold-pressed juices. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12, 27th and Proctor, Tacoma

LECTURE: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, an act that led to a story about the excess of power and secret government. Two young reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, broke the story and won Pulitzer for their work. Tacoma Arts Live welcomes legendary Washington Post investigative reporter and author of 21 bestsellers Woodward to Tacoma for an evening that takes a riveting look back at a seminal moment in American history, and all that’s followed with the 10 presidents he’s covered, accumulating insights that qualify him as a working authority on the office of the presidency and the men he’s covered. 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 13, Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, tickets here, photo by Lisa Berg