By Anne Howard

If you’ve got a taste for something different this holiday season, look no further.

This month, Tacoma Arts Live’s Theater Northwest will present the production of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse. Director Josh Knudson leads the cast in a seasonal satire about four white people attempting create an educational and politically correct First Thanksgiving pageant for Native American Heritage Month.

The play explores themes of privilege, historical accuracy, and the challenges faced by the protagonists in navigating these complexities in an eye-opening, confrontational farce. The cast deliver FastHorse’s hilarious and poignant commentary in what actor Rodman Bolek describes as a “satirical bloodbath of attempted PC-ness.”

The Thanksgiving Play opens with a preview night on Thursday, October 12, followed by 13 performances October 13 – November 5 in the Roosevelt Room at Tacoma Armory. Tacoma Armory’s Roosevelt Room will be transformed into a classroom-style space, with seating on both sides of the playing area. Audiences expecting a ‘traditional’ Thanksgiving pageant might be surprised by the play’s subject matter, which draws attention to the disparities between the myth of the peaceful feast between pilgrims and Native Americans, and the much bloodier reality.

This will be the first time The Thanksgiving Play is in Tacoma. It made its Broadway debut at the Hayes Theater just earlier this year, making Larissa FastHorse the first female Native American playwright known to have a play produced on Broadway. FastHorse is a MacArthur Fellow, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, a playwright, director, and choreographer from South Dakota. Following a career in ballet, television, and film, she has made significant contributions to Native American drama by creating space for Indigenous artists, stories, and experiences in mainstream theater and countering misrepresentation of Native American perspectives in broader society.

FastHorse wrote The Thanksgiving Play in response to production roadblocks and casting difficulties with her other plays, which require Indigenous actors. The play addresses the misrepresentation of Native Americans, the lack of Indigenous casting, and the challenges of accurately representing Indigenous people in theater.

Whether you’re looking for a laugh, some fodder for discussion, or you’re ready to face the realities of wokeness and whiteness, there’s a seat for you at the table. Tickets to The Thanksgiving Play are on sale now. To purchase tickets, call Tacoma Arts Live Box Office at 253.346.1721, visit Tacoma Armory in person at 1001 S Yakima Ave., or online at TacomaArtsLive.org. Please be advised that this production contains blood, excessive violence, and gunshots.

Cast

Logan: Andrea Gordon
Jaxton: Rodman Bolek
Alicia: Valerie Ryan Miller
Caden: Mikel Michener

Production Team

Director: Josh Knudson
Production Manager: Lily Oellerich
Assistant Production Manager: Monique Otter-Johnson
Stage Manager: Kay Meier
Costume Designer: Mary Kelsay
Lighting Designer: Brett Carr
Sound Designer: Don Littrell
Props Designer: Kelly Zeiler Lynch
Technical Director: Mike Figueroa
Dramaturg: Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden
Cultural Consultant: Andre Bouchard
DEIA Liaison: Eric Clausell

All stage work on this production is performed by employees represented by IATSE, Local #15.

To learn more, check out TacomaArtsLive.org and follow @tacomaartslive on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and tiktok!

Undoing Tacoma’s redlining history takes time, patience and tenacity but it’s something we as a city are committed to achieving. At the forefront of this effort is the Black Homes Initiative. Weekly Volcano will be interviewing them for a future issue but until then, check out their website and find out how you can help.

https://www.blackhomeinitiative.org/take-action

Pierce Transit is hiring bus drivers. CDL training provided. $5000 signing bonus. Wages start at $28.50 per hour.

Learn more here: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/piercetransit/jobs/4209634/transit-operator-5000-signing-bonus?pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs#details-info

Washington state will see about 81% of the sun blocked out, with a partial eclipse starting at 8:09 a.m. The annular eclipse will reach its max for Washington at 9:20 a.m. and last for several minutes before fading into a partial eclipse, lasting until 10:39 a.m.

In ancient civilizations, annular eclipses were often seen as powerful omens or divine messages. For example, in some ancient Chinese beliefs, eclipses were thought to be caused by a celestial dragon devouring the Sun, and people would bang drums and make loud noises to scare away the dragon and restore the Sun's light. In Norse mythology, eclipses were seen as potential harbingers of impending doom, often associated with the wolf-like creature Fenrir swallowing the Sun.

In Native American cultures, annular eclipses held spiritual significance, with tribes like the Navajo viewing them as opportunities for introspection and reflection. These celestial events were seen as moments to connect with the spiritual world and contemplate the balance of light and darkness in life.

Throughout history, annular eclipses have left a lasting mark on human imagination, inspiring stories, rituals, and cultural interpretations that highlight our enduring fascination with the cosmic wonders that unfold in the skies above. Today, while science has provided us with a deeper understanding of these phenomena, the cultural and historical significance of annular eclipses continues to be a source of intrigue and reverence for many.

Click here for everything you need to know about seeing the eclipse on Saturday morning.

Apparently WalletHub, a personal finance site, is not bullish on Tacoma, at least not when it comes to its ranking on the safest cities in America. It seems people just can’t make up their minds about Tacoma. They either say its the best or nearly the worst but one thing is for sure, WalletHub has a credit card to sell you.

Click here to read My Northwest Story

by Angela Jossy

This is an opinion so hear me out here. We can all agree that rent is too damn high and it’s impacting our most vulnerable citizens.

We can also agree that we need a better solution.

Tacoma for All has good intentions. On the surface it sounds great. But what it doesn’t do is get to the heart of the problem. Banks force landlords to raise rents or their property values go down. This means landlords can’t access their equity in order to maintain or improve their properties, or to use it to buy more, unless they agree to charge market rate rents. And market rate rents can be manipulated.

If Tacoma for All is successful, local landlords will lose. When most people think of landlords, they think of big companies with deep pockets. If this were true, Tacoma for All would be an easy answer.

What is happening with real estate investing is that local landlords will be annihilated by this initiative. Local landlords generally care more about their tenants and about the city. But what they can’t do is cover a mortgage for months without receiving rental income. Bigger companies will be able to swoop in and buy more properties which will only exacerbate the issue.

Instead I propose we come up with something that supports local landlords and gives them an advantage over out of state and out of country investors. What is that? I am not sure but I think if we zoom in on it, we could figure something out.

I also propose supporting more funding for HUD and other nonprofits that provide rental assistance to low income people who can’t afford rent.

Tacoma Housing Authority could use a lot more funding for the Section 8 program. There is typically a very long wait list to get on this program. They only open up the opportunity to apply on a limited basis.

There is also another program called Project Based Section 8 and this program is much easier to get into, but most people don’t even know about it.

Project Based Section 8 applies to a specific property. If you apply to a property with Project Based Section 8, the wait is usually much shorter and you get the benefits of Section 8 for as long as you live at that property. This means your rent will never be more that 1/3 of your income.

If we were to get more funding for both of these Section 8 programs, the inflation of rents wouldn’t impact residents. They would still only have to pay 1/3 of their income.

I’m greatly simplifying this and there are a lot of other factors involved but this is a lot better than local landlords losing their investment properties because the government forced them into a no win situation.

Click here to learn about the efforts to fund rental assistance.

Last week 18-year-old Angel Anthony Mendez was charged with killing mini-grocery store owner Charlie Park.

Park owned The Little Store on S Ainsworth Avenue in Tacoma.

What are we going to do about all these kids with guns?

Read more here.

This is a tale of two stories that unexpectedly connected.

Residents in Tacoma’s East Side were alerted recently about a pet python who had escaped and was free roaming around the neighborhood.

Neighbors were also suspicious of what looked like a recently dug grave.

Someone dug up the grave to find out if someone was buried there and discovered the missing python.

Rest in Peace Monty the python. Sorry your freedom didn’t pan out for you buddy.

It’s a good news bad news scenario for Tacoma. The good news is the Tacoma Aroma is gone for good. The bad news is the Westrock Papermill was using a large percentage of the water from Tacoma Public Utilities and without their business, Tacoma businesses and residents will be paying for it at the faucet.

Tacoma was already due for an annual increase but this made it even higher. There is assistance available.

Residents can apply at MyTPU.org/Assistance.

Businesses can apply at MyTPU.org/BSO

Due to some pretty credible environmental concerns, citizens are protesting the construction of a mega warehouse in Tacoma. Click here to read story.

Ultimately Tacoma School District will have the final say on what happens to Gault Middle School Building. We will do a more in depth story about this soon but you need to know that your voice is needed at two different gatherings with two different solutions proposed.

The gist is that TPS is looking at demolition. But there may be a couple of other solutions if we can all come to the table and talk about options.

Monday October 16th at 6:30pm the Eastside Neighborhood Council will have a Zoom meeting to hear from the community. Click here to get more details

Members of the “Save Eastside Tacoma’s Historic Gault School” group are holding a community meeting open to the public on Saturday, Oct 14 at 1PM at the Moore Library (215 S 56th St). The goal of the meeting is to organize, advocate, and plan for the preservation and repurposing of the historic school as a community center. Click here to get more details.

October is ARTS MONTH in Tacoma. This weekend is Studio Tour Weekend when artists in Tacoma open their studios and let strangers in to see what goes on behind closed doors. There is a list and a map and lots of inspiration to be had. You should check it out! Click here for details.

A celebration is planned for the Eastside Community Center’s 5th Anniversary. Did that go by fast or what? It’s going to be an afternoon full of of FREE festivities for all ages:

• Food trucks (free for youth under 18) Free Haircuts

• Swimming 4-5 pm: lap swim and family zone 5-6 pm adult swim

• Open Gym

• Food from I Love Tacos, Gigo’s Jamaican Grill and cookies by Yannababy’s Bakery

• Performances by Hearts for Kids and Vision Step Team Live, interactive demonstrations from the Mobile Teaching Kitchen

Local speakers to inspire you:
-Christian Paige, Emmy-Nominated Poet
-Shalisa Hayes and Team Billy Ray
-Antonio McLemore, Supervisor, Eastside Community Center
-Brigid Olson, Branch Manager, Milgard Family Eastside Branch, Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound

Click here to learn more

Residents in Dome District and East Side are requesting sidewalks be installed from the L Street bridge up the hill. The side of the road is overgrown and muddy. Lots of people walk up that hill and they tend to walk in the road which is dangerous because cars coming down the hill may not see them. If you agree with this request you can let the city know using the Tacoma 311 app. Click here to learn more

If you’d like to grow your own food or learn how to garden, Tacoma has several community gardens around town and the fees are pretty affordable. You might ask what could you possibly plant this time of year?

Click here to learn what to plant in October in Tacoma.

Click here to learn where the community gardens are and how to apply for a plot.

Weekly Volcano did not meet the deadline to request an interview with pop icon P!nk but that doesn’t mean we aren’t excited about her presence.

We decided to pretend because we think she’d approve of that. We did our “Tiger Beat” style interview using our own imaginations (and some googling).

WV: What character would you be on 80s TV Sitcom “Facts of Life?”

Imaginary P!nk: Definitely Jo.

WV: Didn’t we all wanna be Jo? I know I’m probably a Natalie but I wanted to be Jo too. What’s your astrological sign?

Imaginary P!nk: Virgo but I’m not judging you, I promise.

WV: Thank you for that. Honestly I’m a mess. What is your favorite color?

Imaginary P!nk: You think I’m gonna say pink don’t you? Well I’m not falling for it. I’m gonna say black because it encompasses all colors. Also I’m a small town girl and I love motocross.

WV: Well played madam. We see you. Thanks for rockin’ it in Tacoma. We love you.

GET TICKETS HERE

Owner of local business Alhambra Crystal House on Tacoma Avenue recently posted this Tiktok video about how her customer parking area was reduced by a new Pierce Transit bus stop. Are local businesses getting a fair shake?

Click here to hear her story