Events for the week ahead: Monster trucks at Tacoma Dome, Winter Cluster Dog Show in Puyallup, Martin Luther King Jr. community celebrations and more

With more trucks, racing, donuts and wheelies, Monster Jam Triple Threat Series is returning for five shows over three days at the Tacoma Dome for three days of family entertainment. Monster Jam trucks, speedsters and ATVs will battle for points to advance to the world finals. Shows will be at 7 p.m. Friday (Jan. 12), 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets start at $25 — children 2 and younger are free if sitting on an adult’s lap — and are available through Ticketmaster.

The Golden Dragon Acrobats combine award-wining acrobatics, traditional dance, colorful costumes, ancient and contemporary music and theatrical techniques. The Chinese acrobatic touring company will appear at 8 p.m. Friday (Jan. 12) at the Federal Way Performing Arts & Event Center, 31510 Peter von Reichbauer Way S. Federal Way. Tickets are $29-$39 and available online at fwpaec.org.

L.A. Theatreworks’ “The Mountaintop” provides a glimpse at the human side of Martin Luther King Jr. in the hours after his final speech in 1968. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of King’s death, the play uses humor and political jabs to tackle the issue of racial equality. The award-winning play will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma. Tickets are $19, $40, $55 and $69 and available online at broadwaycenter.org.

Several local events will commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr.:

▪ The Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at the McGavick Conference Center, 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood. Sponsored by the City of Lakewood, the free event will feature the Total Experience Gospel Choir, Little Church Prairie Bells, school choirs and more. For more information, call 253-983-7858.

▪ The 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast: Stand Up/Speak Out will feature keynote speaker, Rosalyn M. Brock, chairman emeritus of the National Board of Directors for the NAACP. Hosted by the University of Washington Tacoma, the annual breakfast will be from is 8-10:30 a.m. Monday at the UWT’s University Y Student Center, 1710 Market St., Tacoma. Tickets are $10-$20. For more information, call 253-692-4501 or go online to tacoma.uw.edu/mlk.

▪ The Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday at the Washington State History Museum will feature a 2 p.m. performance of “11 Days in the Life of Dr. King.” The show is educational, family-friendly and includes song and dance. The museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, will be open to the pubic all day in King’s honor. For more information, call 253-272-3500 or go online to washingtonhistory.org.

▪ Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and March for MLK will go from the downtown Tacoma campus of Bates Technical College to the Greater Tacoma Convention Center for the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. event. Marchers will meet at 9 a.m. for refreshments and conversation in the cafeteria at Bates, 1101 S. Yakima Ave. At 10 a.m., the group will march to the city’s celebration. For more information about the celebration and the march, call 253-680-7000 or go to bates.ctc.edu.

▪ The City of Tacoma’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Monday will explore “Be The Change.” The keynote speaker will be Nate Bowling, 2014 recipient of the Milken Family Foundation’s National Educator Award, the 2016 Washington State Teacher of the Year and current teacher at Lincoln High School. The event will include awarding the 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award to Dexter Gorden, director of the Race & Pedagogy Institute at the University of Puget Sound. The community celebration will start at 11 a.m. at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center, 1500 Broadway.

▪ The University of Puget Sound’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will feature Eddie Moore Jr., author and national educator on diversity and founder of the White Privilege Conference. He will give the talk “Dr. Martin Luther King: Why Keep Dreaming?” The free event will be from 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Kilworth Memorial Chapel on the UPS campus. The university’s Keep Living the Dream Award, honoring campus members who embody King’s legacy, will be awarded.

Brass Unlimited will perform its 20th Annual “Sounds of Brass” concert Sunday at the Tacoma Community College Auditorium, 6501 S. 19th St., Tacoma. Mary McCann will narrate the fable, “Puss and Boots,” set to music. The concert will feature Zachary Lyman, guest artist on trumpet. The 3 p.m. concert is free, but donations are accepted. Go to brassunlimited.org/events.html for more information.

With three kennel clubs and three dog shows, the Western Washington Winter Cluster will take over the Washington State Fair and Events Center, 110 Ninth Ave. SW, Puyallup. In addition to the three shows — Puyallup Valley Dog Fanciers on Saturday, Gig Harbor Kennel Club on Sunday and the Tacoma Kennel Club on Monday — six breed clubs will hold specialty events, starting Friday (Jan. 12). Competition events will include obedience trials, junior showmanship and rally, all-breed confirmation and pee-wee handler. Shows are from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. with judging starting at 8:30 a.m. each day. Admission is free and parking is available at fairgrounds parking lots for $5.

This story was originally published January 12, 2018 at 6:27 AM with the headline "Events for the week ahead: Monster trucks at Tacoma Dome, Winter Cluster Dog Show in Puyallup, Martin Luther King Jr. community celebrations and more."