Fort Nisqually by candlelight, a $20 wage push, 37 oaks

Happy Friday, Tacoma. This week: a rainy start that clears for the weekend, a 21+ Wonderland takeover at Tacoma Art Museum, the council's $20 minimum wage timeline, and your first look at what October has in store. Grab a coffee; this one is a quick read.

Community Events & Things to Do

• Wonderland: A 21+ Event at TAM — Saturday, Sept 26, 8–11 p.m., Tacoma Art Museum (1701 Pacific Ave), 21+ and ticketed. The museum goes down the rabbit hole with an Alice in Wonderland theme, interactive art, games, pop-up performances, and hosted bars. Tickets and details at the Tacoma Art Museum box office.
• T.J. Miller — Friday, Sept 25 and Saturday, Sept 26, four shows across both nights, Tacoma Comedy Club Downtown. The Silicon Valley and Deadpool actor brings his absurdist stand-up to town; shows starting at 9:45 p.m. are 21+, earlier shows are 18+. Tacoma Comedy Club.
• Tacoma Fall RV Show — Thursday, Oct 1 through Sunday, Oct 4, Tacoma Dome, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. More than 350 RVs inside the Dome and 100-plus used rigs outside; kids 16 and under get in free. Tickets at the Tacoma Dome box office.
• Fort Nisqually Candlelight Tour — Friday, Oct 2 and Saturday, Oct 3, 6 p.m., Fort Nisqually Living History Museum at Point Defiance Park. Campfires and candles light an evening walking tour where costumed interpreters live out an 1850s autumn and pretend not to notice you; advance tickets are required. Candlelight Tour.
• Kawaii Rave — Friday, Oct 2, doors 7 p.m., show 8 p.m., Spanish Ballroom at McMenamins Elks Temple (565 Broadway), tickets from $18. An anime-inspired dance party and immersive rave; costumes strongly encouraged. Kawaii Rave.

For Families

• Kaleidoscope: Tacoma Arts Month Opening Party — Saturday, Oct 3, Tacoma Public Library Main Branch (1102 Tacoma Ave S). Tacoma Arts Month turns 25 this year, and its kickoff is a free afternoon of live performances, art displays, and hands-on art-making for all ages. Price: Free. Tacoma Arts Month.
• Pumpkin Chomp & Stomp — Saturday, Oct 3 and Sunday, Oct 4, 9:30 a.m.–3 p.m., Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville. Watch bears, otters, and other Northwest animals smash, chomp, and roll around in pumpkins; included with park admission or membership. Price: $$$. Pumpkin Chomp & Stomp.
• Fall into Nature — Saturday, Oct 24, 11 a.m., Tacoma Nature Center (1919 S Tyler St). A free morning all about what animals do in autumn: sharpen your senses in the nocturnal room, meet invertebrates up close, make a fall craft, and walk the Snake Lake trail. Price: Free. Fall into Nature.

Next Month in Tacoma

October is stacking up: it is Tacoma Arts Month all month long, and the calendar fills in fast behind it.

• Oktoberfest Northwest — Friday, Oct 9 through Sunday, Oct 11, Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup. The region's biggest Bavarian party turns 21 this year, with German food, steins of German beer, and host Manuela Horn. Oktoberfest Northwest.
• Tacoma Holiday Festival — Thursday, Oct 15 through Sunday, Oct 18, Tacoma Dome. Yes, holiday shopping in mid-October: the Northwest's big gift and craft show returns to the Dome for four days. Tacoma Holiday Festival.
• Hoot 'n' Howl — Fridays and Saturdays, Oct 16–17 and Oct 23–24, plus Friday, Oct 30, 5–9 p.m., Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Trick-or-treat stations around the wildlife park after dark; the 2026 map is coming soon. Hoot 'n' Howl.
• Tacoma Studio Tour — Saturday, Oct 17 and Sunday, Oct 18, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., studios across Tacoma, Free. Step inside the working studios of more than 100 local artists, watch demonstrations, try hands-on activities, and buy directly from the makers. Tacoma Studio Tour.
• Dancing in the Aisles: The Ultimate Motown Experience — Saturday, Oct 17, 7 p.m. (doors 6 p.m.), Rialto Theater. One night of live Motown classics in the 1918 Rialto, and the title is a pretty clear instruction. Tacoma City Theaters.
• Tacoma Film Festival — Thursday, Oct 22 through Sunday, Oct 25, The Grand Cinema. The 20th edition of the festival MovieMaker once named among the 25 coolest in the world; Tacoma-made films get their entry fees waived, so expect plenty of hometown work on screen. Tacoma Film Festival.

General Local News Roundup

Heads up if you drive north this weekend
WSDOT is warning of a heavy construction weekend across the Puget Sound region from Friday, Sept 25 through Monday, Sept 28, with major closures and lane reductions on I-405 and I-5. If you are headed to Seattle or the Eastside for a game, a show, or family, build in extra time or check conditions before you leave. Read more (WSDOT).

Train hits abandoned car on the tracks at Titlow Park
Police say a man drove onto the railroad tracks in the 9000 block of South 17th Street, at the south end of Titlow Park, around 10:19 p.m. Saturday, Sept 19, got stuck, and left the car behind. An oncoming train hit it and the rail line closed for about two hours. Tacoma Fire reported no injuries, BNSF said the crossing has gates, lights, and bells, and police arrested the driver for DUI. Read more (KING 5).

State argues it has no duty to investigate elder-abuse reports
An InvestigateWest report published Thursday details a June state Court of Appeals ruling that Washington's Adult Protective Services must "initiate a response" to abuse reports but is not legally required to investigate them, which shields the state from negligence lawsuits. The state is now asking the court to publish the opinion, making it binding precedent, while the family's attorneys plan to seek Supreme Court review and current and former investigators, including one who worked Pierce County cases, say they face pressure to close cases quickly. One elder-law attorney's practical advice: for urgent safety concerns about a vulnerable adult, call 911 rather than relying on APS alone. Read more (Tacoma Daily Index).

City Government & Council News

A $20 minimum wage ordinance is coming to the council this fall
Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell is drafting an ordinance to raise Tacoma's minimum wage to $20 an hour after months of feedback from small business owners, workers, and other stakeholders, and he says both a study session and a final council vote are possible before the end of 2026. Tacoma currently follows the state rate of $17.13; the change would put the city alongside Seattle and Everett with wages above the state floor. It lands against the backdrop of a continuing legal fight between UFCW Local 367 and the city over the union's own "Worker's Bill of Rights" ballot effort, which also sought $20. Read more (KOMO News).

The council comes to South Tacoma next week
Tuesday's regular council meeting has been moved to Wednesday, Sept 30, at 6 p.m. and relocated to STAR Center (3873 S 66th St) for an in-district meeting. It includes the regular agenda plus a community forum where residents can speak. If you have never been to a council meeting, this is the low-barrier version, close to home and after work. Meeting details (City of Tacoma).

Weather & Seasonal Notes

Fall is announcing itself today: the NWS forecast calls for rain before 2 p.m. Friday, then showers and thunderstorms likely between 2 and 5 p.m., with a forecast high near 57 and south winds gusting up to 26 mph. The weekend is the reward: partly sunny Saturday with a high near 59 and mostly sunny Sunday near 60, with lows around 47 both nights. Monday should stay mostly cloudy near 61 with a chance of rain, Tuesday carries a chance of rain and a high near 59, and Wednesday looks mostly cloudy near 61. Expect this pattern from here on out: rain jacket in the car, sunglasses in the glovebox, and leaves starting to pile up on the sidewalks. NWS Tacoma forecast

Local Business & Real Estate Spotlight

South Side storage project vs. 37 Garry oaks
Neighbors are pushing back on a proposed four-story self-storage building on Tacoma's South Side that could mean removing up to 37 Garry oaks, according to reporting by The News Tribune. The fight got a fresh reference point this week when a Lakewood hearing examiner ruled that a 900-year-old Garry oak must be preserved, shrinking a planned semi-truck parking lot by about 5 percent to protect the tree's root zone. Garry oaks are the region's only native oak, and these two cases are shaping how much weight they carry in local land-use decisions. Read more (Hoodline, via The News Tribune).

New on the books
Fresh from City of Tacoma business license records: Goldie and Mae, a book retailer at 3818 N 26th St in Proctor, lists an October 1 opening date; 14th Street Bakery, a baked goods retailer at 3113 S 14th St, lists October 16; Social Karma Collective, a gift and novelty shop at 743 Broadway downtown, lists October 25; and El Sol Cafe, a limited-service restaurant at 5615 South Tacoma Way in South Tacoma, lists November 1. These are registrations, not ribbon cuttings, so keep an eye on the storefronts. Business license data (City of Tacoma).

Food & Drink

The Snug is finally open in Proctor. After nearly two years of renovations, The Snug Family Pub opened Tuesday, Sept 22 at 2717 N Proctor St, serving family-friendly Irish-American fare. The owners are easing in with limited soft-opening hours, 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, before rolling out a fuller schedule. Read more (MyNorthwest).

Pumpkins and pinot in Old Town. Amytiques hosts a Pumpkin and Pour workshop at Bordeaux Wine Bar on Sunday, Oct 4, 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., pairing a hands-on pumpkin project with a glass in Tacoma's Old Town. Pumpkin and Pour.

Broadway market wraps, Proctor keeps going. The Broadway Farmers Market closed out its 36th season Thursday, Sept 24, but the Proctor Farmers' Market, Tacoma's only year-round market, runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at N 27th and Proctor through Saturday, Dec 19, with squash and apples now crowding out the tomatoes. Proctor Farmers' Market.

Frugal Tacoma

A quiet week on the deals desk: we could not verify enough active, dated bargains to pass along, so we will not pad the list. For free fun this week, Kaleidoscope on Oct 3 (above) costs nothing, and the Fall RV Show lets kids 16 and under in free. Know a happy hour or discount day we should be tracking? Hit reply.

Community Spotlight

If you have walked past the Tacoma Dome lately, you have seen the work of Anthony Duenas. The Puyallup artist spent this summer painting a mural on the Dome's south exterior Exhibition Hall in a traditional Coast Salish style, honoring the ancestral village that stood along the river long before the arena, the freeway, or the city. The Puyallup Tribe of Indians hosted a ribbon cutting and tribal blessing at the wall on Sept 16. It is a rare piece of public art that hundreds of thousands of visitors will pass every year, and it puts the tribe's presence front and center at the city's biggest front door. Go see it in daylight before your next show. Tacoma Dome Unveils Salish Mural (City of Tacoma).

Sports

Rainiers close the book on 2026. Tacoma finished its season on the road at Round Rock, dropping the first two games of the final series 5–2 on Friday, Sept 18 and 6–2 on Saturday, Sept 19 before salvaging the finale 3–2 on Sunday, Sept 20. Cheney Stadium goes quiet until spring. Rainiers schedule.

Mariners wrap the regular season at home. Seattle took two of three at Colorado (won 5–4 and 2–1, lost 5–3), then split a two-game set with Houston at T-Mobile Park, a 7–0 loss Tuesday and a 6–5 win Wednesday. The Angels opened a four-game series Thursday with a 6–4 win over Seattle, and the last three are this weekend: Friday, Sept 25 at 7:10 p.m., Saturday, Sept 26 at 6:40 p.m., and Sunday, Sept 27 at 12:10 p.m. Mariners schedule.

Kraken preseason rolls on. Seattle plays at Vancouver on Saturday, Sept 26 at 4 p.m. Pacific, with the game airing on KHN/Prime. Kraken schedule.

This Week in Tacoma History

On Thursday, Oct 1, it will be 137 years since Washington voters, Tacomans very much among them, went to the polls on October 1, 1889 and ratified the state constitution by a wide margin. That same ballot elected Elisha P. Ferry as the first governor and asked voters two separate questions that both failed: whether to grant women the vote and whether to adopt prohibition. Voters also weighed in on where the capital should sit; Olympia led the field but fell short of a majority, forcing a runoff the following year. Tacoma at the time was a railroad boomtown on its way to 36,000 residents in the 1890 census, and statehood followed six weeks later on November 11, 1889. The next time you grumble about a long ballot, remember the one that created the state.

Deadlines & Public Notices

• City Council Study Session — Tuesday, Sept 29, noon — open to the public in person and online; this is where the council digs into upcoming policy before voting. Study session (City of Tacoma).
• In-district City Council meeting and community forum — Wednesday, Sept 30, 6 p.m., STAR Center — see the Government section above for what is on the agenda. Meeting details (City of Tacoma).
• Voter registration for the Nov 3 General Election — Monday, Oct 26 is the deadline to register or update your address online or by mail; after that, you can still register in person at the Pierce County Elections office through Election Day. Pierce County Elections.

Before You Go

That is your week, Tacoma. Quick this-or-that for next Saturday, Oct 3: Candlelight Tour at Fort Nisqually or Kaleidoscope at the library? Reply with your pick and we will share the tally next issue. And if this saved you a search or two, forward it to a Tacoma neighbor who could use the same head start.