Spew

Azarra Salon adds wine

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: PLUS ABBY'S ON BROADWAY SET FOR THE MIDDLE FLOOR >>>

Tacoma has always delighted me with its uncanny ability to present The Random. And when The Random mixes it up with wine, I become positively giddy.

One long-time random wine haunt of mine has been the Chevron gas station off Pearl Street, near Point Defiance Park. While I loved the ability to multi-task — gallon o’ gas with that liter of wine? Yes please! — my friends would look at me with something akin to horror when I would offer up a bottle of gas station wine. When that wine was a bottle of Townshend T3 (sadly, not a bottle carried there anymore) or a cute bottle of “Rosé the Riveter” those expressions would meld into pleased surprise.

Now I can expand my random wine shop repertoire to include two new fabulously established businesses. I can’t wait to say, “Oh I’ll just get myself an antique wardrobe, get my eyebrows waxed, and pick up some Infinity Soup with a bottle of red at Sanford & Son.” Or, I can tell the honey, “I’m just going to get my hair done” — and come back with a fresh new look and bottles of shampoo and chardonnay from Azarra Salon.

Yes, wine is coming to Sanford & Son and Azarra Salon. Unfortunately, neither place is technically ready for me yet.

See the Nether Land tonight

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES >>>

Begun more than 10 years ago (last year was the 10th Anniversary of V-Day) as a one-woman show, The Vagina Monologues were playwright/performer/activist Eve Ensler’s pet project to raise awareness of violence against women. The result of interviews with more than 200 women, the monologues dish up more than the standard gossipy girl chat; examples include “I Was Twelve, My Mother Slapped Me” (a chorus of first-period descriptions), “My Angry Vagina” (a rant about vaginal injustices such as tampons, douches, and OB/GYN tools), “The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could” (recalling sexual healing) and “Because He Liked to Look At It (or, how a guy named Bob helped bring a woman to warm fuzzy thoughts about her genitalia.)

Of course, not all the pieces are filled with levity, and each year brings a new “spotlight” subject or area of concern. This year’s performance will be no exception to that, with the spotlight being on injustices occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where rape and torture are used as weapons of war. Awareness will be raised to that area through the use of a spotlight video, and then money will go toward raising funds to build shelters that will enable women to leave their bad situations for better ones; additionally, awareness will help bolster ongoing political work toward peace efforts and aid.

For more information on tonight's staging of The Vagina Monologues, check out the Weekly Volcano Web site.

[Pantages Theater, Saturday April 11, 7 p.m., $15-$45, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894]

Kate Monthy to head south

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: WE'RE LOSING ONE GREAT DANCER/TEACHER >>>

Birds are singing today. Loudly. Coulda’ been they are singing about warm weather and spring. Or, are they singing songs about a petite T-town songbird-staple, and a strong-limbed graceful dancer flying from our pond to make it in a bigger lake near a big red bridge?

Rumors have been murmured, that dancer Kate Monthy is going to spread her wings and work professionally in San Francisco this fall, leaving MLKBallet (Web site disappeared) in a passionate board of directors’ hands. I’ll follow up with this sad-for-us, great-opportunity-for-her news soon.

LINK: Previously on the Weekly Volcano Web site

LINK: Previously on Spew

Dwell for sale

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: SEEMS LIKE A KILLER DEAL TO ME >>>

You love Tacoma. You really love Tacoma. You want to keep local Tacoma alive.

Wanna put your money where your love is? In a proven-to-please place?

Dwell is up for sale, unofficially-ish, but officially. Turns out owner one — Shelly — has a hubby who’s been accepted to a doctorate program — in Chicago! — and owner two — April Donato — also has relocation plans in her future.

So for less than 100K, you can buy a business in the black, with rising income level and stable customer base, in a good part of North Tacoma. For less than 100K, you get a 1,000-person plus customer base, current inventory and vendor contacts, and all fixtures (and current, rad! location.)

Inquire within, or tell your friends to inquire within, or become a collective of friends and inquire within. Because the last thing Tacoma needs is another vacant-spaced “for lease” sign.

[Dwell, 2716 N. 21st St., Tacoma, 253.761.1889]

LINK: Previously on the Weekly Volcano Web site

Third Thursday ArtWalk tonight

JESSICA COREY-BUTLER: TACOMA'S HAPPY PILL >>>

I know, I know. The weather outside is enough to make you want to open a main vein and escape this mortal coil, or at least curl up in the fetal position listening to Bauhaus and The Smiths. Everything you hear and see on the news echoes the grey skies and hail and rain, and you just want to escape it all.

And once again, like a sunshiney-bright chunk of Prozac, Tacoma is here to help.
How, you ask?

ArtWalk.

Yep, that Third-Thursday, walk-about-the-town-enjoying-culture-from-five-to-eight-p.m. ritual is back — though it never actually went away — and like all the best things in life, it’s free. You can pull yourself up from that pool of snot and tears and get your art on. Act as art-pretentious as you want to, or be honest about your feelings and perhaps learn a little while meeting some fine folk — whatever you want, it’s there.

I mention a few ArtWalk highlights on the Weekly Volcano Web site.