Sculptured Sand in the City

What do St. Paul’s Cathedral, Winnie-the-Pooh and a dragon have in common? They’re all possibilities for sand sculpture at Olympia’s annual Sand in the City event this weekend, attracting artists, architects and toddlers alike. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today—sand-sculpting; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday—beach party; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday—public viewing. Free ($5 donation for party). Port Plaza, Olympia (near Farmers’ Market). 360-956-0818, www.hocm.org/page.php?id=75

MoG’s Last Day for Lino

August 24 is the last day at the Museum of Glass to see the glass art of Venetian maestro Lino Tagliapietra, a sweeping retrospective of

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Grand Cinema director Philip Cowan has had some angst filled days recently, trying to pick one winner out of the 50 great designs submitted in a competition to design a poster for their Tacoma Film Festival in October.

The winner: Laurie Davenport.

Cowan says choosing just one entry wasn’t easy. “It was extraordinarily tough. Literally every day I had a different poster leading in my mind (and through feedback of others).”

The design had to include the words “The Grand Cinema presents the 3rd Annual Tacoma Film

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There’s plenty on for ArtWalk this Thursday: I’m going to try and make it to see TNT illustrator Fred Matamoros’ work at Gallery Madera, painter Mindy Barker at Fulcrum, some UWT work at the UWT Gallery and The Helm Gallery‘s first photography show.

Suzanne Moore in her Vashon Island studio

But if you’ve seen The Saint John’s Bible at Tacoma Art Museum, or even if you’ve been delaying it, this Thursday’s the time to go. Not only will it be free, but the only local illustrator

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Ceramic bowls, Anne Riley.

Need pottery? Eight local potters are getting together this Friday and Saturday for a house-sale of high-fired and mid-fired wares. Susan Thompson is the host, and her house, deck and (weather permitting) garden in the Stadium district will be filled with pots, bowls and other functional items. Potters include Ann Meersman, Anne Riley, Charan Sacher, Jill Rohrbaugh, Janet Rudolph, Kazumi Divens-Cogez, Rowena Forde and Thompson herself. You may have seen several of these display work at the local farmers’ markets. I have some of Anne Riley’s gorgeous double-colored bowls

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I had a chat with Tacoma Little Theatre’s interim artistic director Doug Kerr last week. The theater is about to start its 90th season.

Kerr has been filling the director’s chair until a permanent replacement can be found. Former director David Duvall resigned in July.



Kerr says the theater "may be the oldest cultural entity left here in Tacoma. There are a lot of loyal patrons of this place."

Kerr has freelance directed for TLT, Lakewood Playhouse and Centerstage Theatre. He headed the theater program at Pierce College until he retired in 2001.

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Matthew Lillard, left, with other cast members of “Scooby-Doo”

Hollywood actor Matthew Lillard, probably best-known for his work as Shaggy in 2002′s “Scooby-Doo” and its 2004 sequel, “Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,” will be on hand for the opening of the Gig Harbor Film Festival on Sept. 11 and 12.

The festival is new this year, and Lillard’s mom, Paula Lillard, is one of its founders and serves as vice president of its board of directors. Thanks to that family connection, Matthew will be attending an invitation-only VIP opening night party on

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And the winners of the 2008 Seattle Opera Wagner Competition (a.k.a. Wagnerian Idol) are….Elza van den Heever, from South Africa, and Michael Weinius, from Sweden. Selected Saturday night from eight finalists singing Wagner arias accompanied by the Seattle Symphony, each winner received a $15,000 prize.

"All of the judges agreed that we had eight fine finalists. I feel that the level was even higher this year than the first year," said Seattle Opera director Speight Jenkins."It was a hard-fought decision for the two winners, but a great one."

Van den Heever performed "Dich, teure Halle"

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When the sun goes down Saturday night, a “Moon” will rise … on a big inflatable screen at the McKinley Playfield, 4321 McKinley Ave. Or to be more precise, the Spanish-language film “Under the Same Moon,” will be screened there as part of Metro Parks’ ongoing Summer Sounds and Comcast Cinema film series. The well-made independent feature traces the long-distance journey of a 9-year-old Mexican boy who makes his way from his hometown in Mexico to Los Angeles, where his mother, an illegal immigrant, works as a maid.

The screening is free, and it will be preceded at

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