Ghost tour, Tacoma HONK! Fest and mushroom walk highlight this weekend’s to-do list
What better way to enjoy the chilly gray weather this weekend than exploring what Tacoma has to offer? This week we found a good variety of free festivals, as well as debuts of a new play and art exhibition, a ghost tour and a forest walk on Vashon Island.
Friday: Ghost tour and ‘Misery’
Take a ghost hunt with Pretty Gritty Tours on Friday exploring the Orr House in Steilacoom, a home that dates to 1857 and has been a focal point for ghost hunters and supernatural enthusiasts alike. Tours begin at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and include a walking tour of downtown Steilacoom before a tour by flashlight through Nathaniel Orr’s home and wagon shop. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online. Space is limited.
Friday also is opening night of “Misery” at Tacoma Little Theatre, based on the novel by Stephen King. The show will run through Nov. 5. Tickets are $29 for adults, $27 for students/seniors/military and $22 for children age 12 and under. The play follows a successful romance novelist who is rescued from a car crash by his No. 1 fan and wakes up captive in her secluded home. Address: 210 N. I St., Tacoma.
Saturday: Tacoma’s first HONK! Fest and history celebration
For the first time ever, the McKinley Hill neighborhood is putting on Tacoma HONK! Fest. Described as “an accessible community music festival driven by the energetic performances of PNW street bands and cultural groups,” don your favorite costume and bring a noise maker to join in on the celebration. Instead of formal stages, bands will be moving and marching around, and the audience is encouraged to join in. It will take place from 1-5 p.m. Saturday in various locations. Learn more online.
Also Saturday there will be another free City of Destiny festival that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad to Tacoma. Taking place at the Foss Waterway Seaport from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Tacoma Historical Society will be hosting, with hands-on activities, performances, exhibits, heritage and cultural organizations, vendors and food trucks. The Northwest Room Community Archives will also be capturing oral histories, so plan to share any stories you have about Tacoma and the train.
Sunday: Mushroom walk and new glass exhibit
If you’re looking to get out of Tacoma, take the ferry over to Vashon Island and participate in a community mushroom walk hosted by the Vashon Nature Center. Mushroom expert Hannah Morosoff will be your guide on these popular walks and will be there to answer questions and educate you about the world of fungi and lichens. You’ll walk around the Judd Creek Loop trail on the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust’s Judd Creek Preserve, about 1.5 miles. Tickets are $25 and the walk is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Rather stay close to home? Check out a new exhibit at the Museum of Glass. “A Two-Way Mirror” is an exhibition of contemporary Black artists who use glass to create work that deconstructs aspects of social, cultural, gender and racial identity. Glass is used as a medium to explore the historical representation of Black people, borrowing from the abstraction of African art and exploring the perception of self. The exhibit debuts Saturday. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
