It’s back: the series of kid-friendly films at The Grand Cinema. And this time, folks, it’s totally free.

The Click! Family Flick series runs the third Saturday of each month at 10:30 a.m., beginning this weekend. In the past, The Grand has made it cheap, or free to library card holders. This time, thanks to Click! Network, everyone gets in for free (though seating is limited to 100, so be there early.)

This Saturday kicks off the series with “The Princess Bride” (1987), one of my all-time favorites for

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Go Pierce College: the Farwest Vocal Jazz Ensemble there has just been named Best Collegiate Vocal Jazz Group in the country by Down Beat Magazine, a national monthly jazz publication.



From the press release:

“The contest was open to all collegiate level vocal jazz groups and selection was based on recorded songs submitted to the magazine last fall. Pierce College’s Farwest Jazz Ensemble submitted four songs featured on its most recent CD, “Groovin’ Hard,” which was recorded on the Pierce College Fort Steilacoom campus last spring.”



"It is a nice

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Just when you thought you couldn’t afford any more classical music tickets for a loooong time, the Rainier Family Opera steps up to the pitch again for three evenings of opera that’s not only affordable but enjoyable for kids, families and non-opera-goers as well.

The Rainier Opera started out a year ago as a way of giving local opera singers more stage time plus making opera accessible for both their young families and everyone else’s. Since then, the RO has staged several concerts of concertized, semi-costumed arias and scenes, but they don’t dumb it down. There are opera

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Claudia Gorbman, a professor of film studies at the University of Washington Tacoma, has won the university’s Distinguished Research Award. The award goes to a faculty member "who has achieved a record of notable scholarship or creative activity," according to the university.

Gorbman has been on the faculty of UWT since its founding in 1990. She teaches film in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences Program. She was chosen by a committee of her peers.

An expert in the field of academic research of music in film, she is the author of "Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music," published

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Canadian Brass. Photo courtesy Tacoma Philharmonic.

Canadian Brass at the Pantages

After 10 years, the world-famous brass quintet heard equally in concert halls and on The Tonight Show is back in Tacoma. 7:30 p.m. March 19, pre-concert conversation 6:30 p.m. $32.50-$62.50 (discounts available.) Pantages Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma. 253-272-0809, 253-591-5894, www.tacomaphilharmonic.org

Cellist Joshua Roman with the Northwest Sinfonietta

Cello star Joshua Roman plays solo with the Northwest Sinfonietta in Taverner’s achingly beautiful "The Protecting Veil." 7:30 p.m. March 14. $28-$45, dinner/concert $55. Rialto Theater, 310 S. 9th St.,

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“Now and Forever” and how. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical “CATS” will be licking from Seattle’s saucer of milk next month.

The longest running musical in Broadway history is having a much shorter run in Seattle April 15-19 at The Paramount Theatre and tickets go on sale Friday.

Tickets for the seven shows start at $20 and will be available at Ticketmaster outlets or BroadwayAcrossAmerica. Tickets will also be available by calling 206-292-2787 or at The Paramount Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

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…Tacomans love their roads. You know, they’re necessary things and do the job, but boy, they could sure use a lot of improvement.

ArtWalk is 20 years old this year. But instead of getting bigger over the years, the free-museum-and-gallery happy hour from 5-8 p.m. on Third Thursdays is dwindling. Galleries get maybe 20 or 30 people, as opposed to the 100 that ArtWalk originators like Rick Gottas remember. It’s a far cry from the 150-300 that get through an average Seattle or Portland gallery on First Thursdays, or the 10,000 that attend Olympia’s bi-annual ArtWalk. It’s also, might

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Hana Lass as Juliet, John Farage as Friar Laurence and Michael Place as Romeo in last year’s Wooden O production of “Romeo and Juliet”. (Seattle Shakespeare Company)



Summer seems so far away right now but it’s time to get out your calendars and turn to July. That’s when Shakespeare in the park returns.

Seattle Shakespeare Company announced today its Wooden O outdoor summer play schedule. Most of the free shows for “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Richard III” are in Seattle/King County but you’ll be able to

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