Moon Festival Saturday, SR 167 opens, and 101 cats

Happy Thursday, Tacoma. This week: two free cultural festivals on the same Saturday, a new highway segment opening near the Port, and a one-day look at Washington's original 1889 constitution.

Community Events & Things to Do

• Tacoma Moon Festival — Saturday, Sept 12, 1–6 PM, Chinese Reconciliation Park (1741 N Schuster Pkwy), Free. The 14th annual harvest celebration puts lion dancers, Cambodian classical dance and Bollywood on one waterfront stage, with food trucks, then closes with a 6 PM lantern parade. Tacoma Moon Festival
• Indonesian Day at APCC — Saturday, Sept 12, 11 AM–4 PM, Asia Pacific Cultural Center (4851 S Tacoma Way), Free. The second annual Indonesian Day brings traditional performances, food, vendors and hands-on activities to South Tacoma. APCC events calendar
• Cody Johnson Live '26 — Saturday, Sept 12, 7:30 PM, Tacoma Dome. The recent CMA Male Vocalist of the Year brings his arena country tour to the Dome. Cody Johnson tickets
• Washington's Original 1889 Constitution — Thursday, Sept 17, 1–7 PM, Washington State History Museum, included with admission and free from 3 PM on Third Thursday. The State Archives brings the actual founding document to Pacific Avenue for one day; go after work and it costs nothing. 1889 Constitution viewing
• Bleachers with The Linda Lindas — Saturday, Sept 19, doors 6:30 PM, Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park. Jack Antonoff's band makes its first Tacoma stop at the waterfront amphitheater, with the L.A. punk quartet The Linda Lindas opening. Bleachers tickets
• Stadium District Art & Wine Walk — Saturday, Sept 19, 1–4 PM, check-in at First Presbyterian Church (20 Tacoma Ave S), $30, 21+. About 20 Washington wineries pour inside Stadium District shops alongside local artists; it usually sells out, so buy ahead. Stadium Art and Wine Walk

For Families

• Touch A Truck — Saturday, Sept 12, 10 AM–1 PM, Sprinker Recreation Center. Kids climb on fire engines, dump trucks, tow rigs and a school bus, with a no-horns hour from noon to 1 PM for sensory-sensitive kids. Rain or shine. Price: Free. Touch A Truck details
• For Gold & Glory opening and Family STEAM Day — Saturday, Sept 19, 10 AM–5 PM, LeMay – America's Car Museum. A world-premiere exhibit on Black racing pioneer Charlie Wiggins opens alongside the museum's monthly hands-on STEAM day; visitors 18 and under get in free, adults pay regular admission. Price: $$. For Gold and Glory
• Tacoma Fiber Fling — Saturday, Sept 26, Old Town Park (2350 N 30th St). Job Carr Cabin Museum's fifth annual all-ages fair: fiber arts demos, local makers, live music and kid-friendly crafts. Price: Free. Job Carr Cabin Museum

General Local News Roundup

SR 167 Expressway opens its first stretch Sunday morning. WSDOT says the new two-mile segment between I-5 in Fife and SR 509 near the Port of Tacoma will be open to traffic by 9 AM on Sunday, Sept 13. It includes a new bridge over I-5 and a new intersection at SR 509 and Alexander Avenue East, giving Port-bound freight a direct link from the freeway for the first time. The full connection to Puyallup comes later, and the expressway will eventually be electronically tolled. Read more (WSDOT)

101 cats seized from a Northeast Tacoma home; shelter now caring for 500-plus. Tacoma police and Animal Control removed 101 cats and kittens from a house in the 6100 block of 29th Street NE after a welfare check last week, with many animals showing hair loss, fleas and respiratory problems. The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County took them in and now houses more than 500 cats after three large rescues in a few weeks, including dozens pulled from an abandoned sailboat near Owen Beach. The shelter is asking for help. Tacoma Humane update Read more (KIRO 7)

Last call for donation Fridays at the transfer station. The City's weekly reuse drop-off at the Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center, where usable household items go to local nonprofits instead of the landfill, ends with September. That leaves Fridays Sept 11, 18 and 25 to clear the garage guilt-free. Read more (City of Tacoma)

City Government & Council News

Council skipped this week; September's neighborhood meeting moves to the STAR Center. The Sept 8 study session and council meeting were canceled, so the council returns Tuesday, Sept 15. The meeting originally set for Sept 29 has moved to Wednesday, Sept 30 at 6 PM at the STAR Center (3873 S 66th St) as an in-district meeting with a community forum, so South Tacoma residents can raise issues without a trip downtown. Read more (City of Tacoma)

Mayor Ibsen sets September office hours. Drop-in hours, no appointment needed: Wednesday, Sept 16 at Puget Sound Pizza (317 S 7th St), 2:30–3:30 PM; Wednesday, Sept 23 at Fish House Cafe (1814 MLK Jr Way), 2–3 PM; and Wednesday, Sept 30 at Buddy's Chicken & Waffles (3709 S G St), 10:30–11:30 AM. Read more (City of Tacoma)

Pierce County pitches a 50-unit tiny-house shelter in Spanaway. The county held a community meeting Tuesday on a proposed enhanced shelter village at 415 208th St E, made up of 50 tiny houses plus shared community facilities for single adults, couples, seniors and veterans experiencing homelessness. Each unit would be 8 by 12 feet, and Tuesday's session at the Parkland/Spanaway Library was a chance for neighbors to ask questions before the project advances. Read more (Pierce County)

Weather & Seasonal Notes

Mostly cloudy today and Friday with highs in the mid-60s and lows in the low-to-mid 50s. Saturday is the one to plan around: a chance of morning rain, then showers and thunderstorms likely between 11 AM and 5 PM, a high near 64 and up to a quarter inch of rain, so pack a layer for the Moon Festival and Touch A Truck. Sunday dries to partly sunny and 65, and next week looks pleasant: mostly sunny Monday at 66, partly sunny Tuesday at 67 and sunny Wednesday near 69, with nights around 53. The fall equinox lands Tuesday, Sept 22, and we are losing roughly three minutes of daylight a day, so evening walks are getting dimmer fast.

Local Business & Real Estate Spotlight

A quiet week on the business beat: no verified openings, closings or major permit filings inside Tacoma surfaced in time for this issue. Know of one? Hit reply and we will chase it down.

Food & Drink

Three Thursdays left at the Broadway Farmers Market. Downtown's 36-year-old market wraps its season Thursday, Sept 24, so today, Sept 17 and Sept 24 are your last shots at peak tomatoes and a hot lunch from 40-plus vendors on Broadway between 9th and 11th, 10 AM–2 PM. Broadway Farmers Market

Fresh-hop season has arrived in Proctor. Peaks & Pints rolled out a Breakside fresh-hop flight built on four just-harvested hop varieties this week, plus a five-glass German Oktoberfest flight from pale festbier to dark Märzen. Fresh-hop beers exist for only a few weeks each fall, so drink them while they are, well, fresh. Breakside fresh-hop flight

Frugal Tacoma

• Free Third Thursday museum night — Downtown Museum District, Thursday, Sept 17. Tacoma Art Museum and Museum of Glass drop admission from 5–8 PM and Foss Waterway Seaport is free too; TAM adds a free Teen Open Studio. Pair it with the 1889 constitution viewing and you have a zero-dollar night out. Third Thursday details
• Fair Express bus to Puyallup — Pierce Transit, through the fair's run ending Sept 27 (closed Tuesdays). Park free, ride every 30 minutes straight to the Blue Gate for the regular $2 adult fare and skip fair parking entirely; youth 18 and under ride free.

Community Spotlight

With cold nights not far off, this is a good week to know Tacoma Rescue Mission. It is the largest shelter operator in Pierce County, and its flagship at 425 South Tacoma Way is undertaking a $20 million expansion that will roughly double its beds. The Mission is also developing more than 150 units of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless neighbors, backed by a $21.5 million county investment, with the first units expected in 2027. Beyond beds, its work centers on meals, recovery and the long climb from shelter into stable housing. You can help by donating, volunteering or dropping off warm clothing as the weather turns. Tacoma Rescue Mission

Sports

Last call at Cheney Stadium

The Rainiers wrap up their home season this weekend with the final three games of a six-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7:05 PM; Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:05 PM; and Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1:35 PM. After that, Tacoma finishes the regular season on the road at Round Rock, so this is your last chance to catch baseball at Cheney until spring. Schedule and tickets (Tacoma Rainiers)

This Week in Tacoma History

Three years ago this week, on September 16, 2023, Tacoma's streetcar finally climbed the hill. The T Line's Hilltop extension opened that Saturday, carrying light rail from downtown up through the Stadium District and along Martin Luther King Jr. Way, and the Old City Hall station on Commerce Street, closed since August 1, 2022 for the construction, reopened the same day. It was the biggest change to the line since the original Tacoma Link opened on August 22, 2003, six years before Seattle got its first light rail, which made a modest downtown loop the region's rail pioneer. The Hilltop extension was talked about and argued over for most of those twenty years. Next time you glide up MLK, remember the tracks under you took a generation to arrive. Old City Hall station history

Deadlines & Public Notices

• Tacoma City Council regular meeting — Tuesday, Sept 15, 5 PM (study session at noon) — first council meeting in two weeks, open to public comment in person or online. Council meetings
• Public Utility Board meeting — Wednesday, Sept 23, 6:30 PM, TPU Auditorium (3628 S 35th St) — the board that oversees Tacoma Power and Tacoma Water takes public comment in person or via Zoom. Public Utility Board
• Summer Reading prize pickup — Wednesday, Sept 30 — anyone who finished Tacoma Public Library's 2026 Summer Reading log must claim prizes at a branch by this date. Summer Reading

Before You Go

That is the week. Two festivals on one Saturday means a hard choice, so tell us: Moon Festival on the waterfront or Indonesian Day on South Tacoma Way? Hit reply with your pick, and if you spot a shop or restaurant opening near you, send that too. And if a neighbor still gets their Tacoma news from a group text, forward this along.