98 bands plus a parade. Porchfest takes over Central Tacoma on Saturday. Details here
Dozens of front porches in Tacoma will become musical stages this weekend for Porchfest.
Porchfest is a walkable music festival that spans several blocks in Central Tacoma.
Porchfest co-organizer Irina Rasputnis told The News Tribune that the festival is grassroots, created by friends and neighbors in Central Tacoma.
The festival is 1-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, between South Cedar Street and South Sprague Avenue, Sixth Avenue and 12th.
Rasputnis, who moved to Central Tacoma in 2019, said she felt it was the right place to hold the festival because of its “neighborhoody vibe”.
“Central Tacoma just feels like a neighborhood that puts on block parties and where neighbors kind of band together,” Rasputnis said.
There will be 52 porches and 98 bands participating this year, doubling the amount of porches and bands that participated last year.
The festival will feature musical performances from local bands from different genres, including pop punk, indie rock, ska and hip-hop. There also will be multiple food trucks, Porchfest merch tables, a parade and a kids zone.
The festival will start on the east side of the neighborhood between South Fife Street and South Sprague Avenue and will have on-going performances on various porches from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
The parade will begin at the Ferry Street community garden at 3 p.m. and will transition people to the west side of the neighborhood between South Fife Street and South Cedar Street, where more bands will perform from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Anna Lee is returning as a porch host this year and will open her front lawn to people to listen to her boyfriend, whose artist name is Billy Universe, play some of his music. She said Porchfest is an event that music lovers will enjoy.
“The real kind of special thing about the Porchfest if you’re a music lover is one, it’s for all ages and you are at your own pace,” Lee said. “Whether on rollerblades or a pogo stick or a skateboard or walking or strollers or wheelchair, and you can say yes to a porch and no to a porch and keep moving or hang out in someone’s lawn. You get to see a lot of music in a short amount of time, and that’s really unique.”
South Prospect Street between South 8th Street and South 10th Street will be kid central and will have bounce houses and other kid friendly activities.
Although the event is organized by Central Tacoma neighbors, this year the festival is being sponsored by Central Neighborhood Council. The City of Tacoma also gave festival organizers a $9,500 grant through the Central Neighborhood Council.
Rasputnis told The News Tribune that most of the grant money would be used to pay BIPOC musicians.
“Some of that $9,500 is getting it eaten up by permitting, signage and all of the things that the city requires, but the vast majority of that grant is going to go to help compensate bands that have members who identify as BIPOC,” Rasputnis said.
Max Finley, a 24-year-old singer and bassist, and his band Man On TV performed at last year’s Porchfest and are returning again this year as performer’s and as co-porch hosts.
“[Porchfest] opens up a lot of opportunities to get out and meet people and be social in the neighborhood,” Finley said. “We’ve played around town a lot and go and do things throughout the town, and this is definitely one of our favorite areas to play in.”
The Tacoma Porchfest website has a full artist line-up and a festival map.
People interested in volunteering at the festival can send a message to the Porchfest Instagram or Facebook.
Street Closures
South Prospect Street between South 8th Street and South 10th Street will be closed to vehicle traffic throughout the entirety of the festival.
South Ferry Street; South 10th Street between South Prospect Street and South Ferry Street; South Prospect Street between South 8th Street and South 10th Street; South 8th Street between South Anderson Street and South Prospect Street will all be closed from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. for the parade.
This story was originally published August 3, 2023 at 11:03 AM.
