Move to Tacoma Podcast

Maureen Sorensen, Pierce County Director at Amara Foster Care, comes on the podcast to talk about the link between the affordable housing issues and the opiod crisis and how it has caused a foster care crisis in Tacoma and Pierce County. Kids come into foster care in Pierce County at twice the rate that they do in King County.

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Michael Haeflinger, Executive Director of Write 253, and Forest Beutel, a one man-band and member of many local bands, join the show to talk about the upcoming music series Tacoma AF: four music shows in awesome Tacoma venues from June to September. Tacoma’s music scene ranges from punk, gospel, folk, rock, hip-hop and a lot more and this will feature all of it. It’s Tacoma AF.

THE SILVER DOLLARS / FOREST BEUTEL / SISTER MADAME / JESSIE FOUTS

MIRRORGLOSS / THE RUSTY CLEAVERS /

STEPHANIE ANN JOHNSON / STINGY BRIM OLDE

CARRIE AKRE / MISTER BLACKWATCH /

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Nate Bowling hosts a panel on the rise of Neo-Nazism and white supremacists in the Pacific Northwest and Tacoma. Guests include Craig Sailor from the News Tribune and Miri Cypers from the Anti-Defamation League. This event occurred on April 16, 2018.

The post ACHH: Who are the Nazis in your neighborhood? appeared first on Move to Tacoma.

Richardson speaks candidly throughout the interview. She now resides in Hilltop where she plays witness to what she calls “street theater”, which in her words is both a blessing and a curse, and a combination of peace and battle that provide her a plethora of parently tools and advice.

Marguerite inquires, how does one become the poet laureate and what does that entail? Richardson explains that the responsibility of the poet laureate is to develop the literary arts in Tacoma and walks us through the application process which includes submitting work and engagement strategies you would use during your term to achieve this.

Hear why Richardson’s first and favorite event she hosted during her term as a writing workshop and open mic held at the Women’s Correctional Facility in Purdy.

Richardson talks about her efforts to create spaces of cross cultural dialogue and healing to cultivate human connection you might not have otherwise. She speaks on her work with youth and students in particular and dives a bit into the topic of criminalization of black girls in schools. How girls are impacted by words and perceptions using this role across different sectors with examples of coded language. The ideal outcome, she says, “is to give young people, the youth most impacted by these decisions and behaviors to have the space to talk about what that impact is,” by providing a safe space to discuss how language has negatively impacted their education experience. Most notably how it impacts and influences students and self-concept and self-image.

When discussing resources to help with these dialogues, ultimately, she is hesitant to point people to books because it doesn’t change your connections with other humans. Instead she encourages all to “go engage where you are in the minority if you can’t think of anywhere you need to work on your circle. Go engage with other humans. Period.”

Richardson recently released What Us Is, a collection of poems that has been haunting her world for some time now. Some stuff is 10 years old, some is less than a year old but all revolves around unpacking experiences of identity and how that intersects with gender, faith, grief and loss. The collection is currently available on Amazon.

Kellie is a self-professed, “late bloomer” in terms of art and sharing her work. She began her blog Brown Betty 253 as a way to heal but also let other people know they aren’t alone in their experiences. You’ll also encounter her venting about random things and mom trauma—which includes everything from a love letter written by her son in 2nd grade to accidently seeing her son’s member.

Richardson has a line of luscious hair and body care products called Brown Betty that are all handcrafted. With the tagline #wedontdoashy, she created the line after reading that up to 60% of what you put on your skin goes into your bloodstream and wanting to produce something that keeps you hydrated and feeling good, knowing what types of ingredients are being used.

The two also speak on her experience with Spaceworks Tacoma which she found positive. It’s open and welcoming environment and network, that provided support and feedback from cohorts with a variety of backgrounds.

Closing thoughts, anything else we need to know? Kellie Richardson is a Sagittarius. Her birthday is December 21 and she welcomes gifts like Almond Roca.

If there are opportunities you’d like Kellie to participate in like leading a discussion, writing workshops or gathering younger or older people to get together to talk about the literary arts email her at [email protected].

The post Podcast: Tacoma Poet Laureate, Kellie Richardson appeared first on Move to Tacoma.

Nate Bowling hosts a panel of two City of Tacoma employees, a developer, and a Metro Parks commissioner to dive deep into rising housing costs in Tacoma. We look at the causes of the rent and property value increases as well as the consequences.

You can also check out the live stream on Facebook!

This event occurred on February 23, 2018.

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The Space: Alma Mater Tacoma at 1322 South Fawcett, is a live music venue, artist co-working space, café and lounge all wrapped into one. The grand opening of Alma Mater takes place the weekend of April 19, with festivities occurring each day through Saturday the 21. Festivities include an all ages dance party with DJ Eddie Bermuda and Sassy Black (Thurs), Live Music with Deep Sea Divers, SISTERS and Smokey Brights (Fri), Lucha Volcanica and Filthy FemCorps (an all ages afternoon show Sat), and Lucha Volcanica and Gritty City Sirens (21+ Sat Evening). Other festivities include art installations throughout the space.

Ervin describes the space as an artist driven work, performance and hospitality space. “We don’t need to build community, we just need a place to connect them and have conversations from different communities.” This space hopes to facilitate those conversations.

The Origin: The space has been a work in progress for 3 years now. Ervin and Spiro talk about the project’s roots beginning with founder, Jason Heminger talking about how physical space matters and inspires people to look at things and work in different ways. Heminger’s background in the arts and education really laid the foundation for what Alma Mater would evolve into. An investor befriended Heminger while working together in the education world and believed in his vision as a musician who wanted to explore what it takes for an artist to sell their work.

At the core of what Alma Mater is doing is the artist incubator. The leading questions are what is it and how can we help you achieve your goals? Resources will include coach led mentorships focusing on the music studio. A 6-month program will come on line a bit later. The café, Honey and venue, Fawcett Hall are already in full working order. Next to follow will be the lounge Matriarch with the workspace and incubator to finish it all off.

Honey Café offers up well executed espresso made with Heart Coffee paired with elegant and compelling brunch bites crafted by chef, Kyle Wnuk. Open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. the space boasts open, airy vibes with plenty of USB ports. The Matriarch Lounge will officially open in a few weeks. The menu will highlight a passion for carefully crafted libations paired with small plates highlighting big flavor.

Shows being booked in the 500-person venue are elevated the live show scene on a local level. The first show hosted at Fawcett Hall was coordinated by Danno Presents and SOLD OUT. And there are already an itinerary of shows to look forward to thanks to the booking team, with Spiro leading the helm including acts booked by The Warehouse Team, Darryl Cruz.

Many ask what it’s all about, what is this space for? Ervin says, “It’s for artists in Tacoma and their patrons and it’s about wanting to change the way a city interacts with artist.” Key concepts Alma Mater is trying to support includes accessibility, and a sense of ownership of the space on all different levels for all artistic communities. The space aims to be as reflective of Tacoma and the people who reside and create here as possible.

In closing, Spiro wanted to express the reason the group chose the name that Ervin articulates so well. The name of the space, Alma Mater also translates to “Nurturing Mother” or spirit mother in Latin. Though schools have adopted it, and Alma Mater Tacoma has an education spirit at its core, the space as a whole is meant to nurture artists and provide a safe, nurturing, open and progressive experience for all without people feeling judged or that they don’t know enough or that it’s inaccessible. The name carries throughout the space with Mothership Studios, Honey Café and Matriarch Lounge.

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Dean Burke comes on the podcast to talk about how all Tacoma’s can have a closer connection to the sea. Dean is the Executive Director of the Tacoma South Sound Sports Commission. He left the Texas Gulf Coast for Tacoma’s North End 23 years ago. 

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Punk Rock, Punches & Puget Sound: Before moving to Tacoma 10 years ago, Forest was a drummer for various punk rock bands and was deep into the rock n roll scene in Rhode Island. Somewhere in there he spent some time as a competitive boxer, which as he put it, “was the first step in improving his life.”

After applying to universities in the Pacific Northwest, he made it to the University of Puget Sound where he earned a Bachelor’s degree, as a Psychology major.

Banjo and Bluegrass: A 1991 Toyota Camry was the sweet chariot of transportation that delivered Forest to Tacoma and since the drum kit didn’t fit in the backseat, Forest’s grandpa gifted him with a banjo which serendipitously led to his involvement with the Tacoma Bluegrass Band “Barley Wine Review”. He later went on to found the Rusty Cleavers and release solo albums.

The Tacoma Music Scene: Forest talks about how the blue grass and country music scene in Tacoma seems to ebb and flow in ways that are healthy. Plus, he talks about the abundance of live music venues and dishes what aspects are the most valuable for performers in building a relationship with venues and supporting good shows.

Consumate Hustler: As a performer you gotta work that hustle. Beutel says social media and a strong web presence is crucial. On top of working the promo gig, he manages booking, website, Instagram, YouTube updates and more. In 2018, Forest is committed to releasing a new song every week on YouTube which will include both covers and original songs.

SUPPORT: Marguerite poses the question, “what can we do to be better fans?” and Forest answers, “Pay the cover charge. There’s a ton that goes on that’s not the 45 minutes on stage. It’s a gift we share but it’s work.” He also talks about merch, the tip jar and more.

Tacoma Love: Indulge in 12 singer-songwriters of various genres rocking out on February 10 for the Tacoma Love event.

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Adult Civics Happy Hour lures community members into an approachable way to be civically engaged and informed. The event provides a jargon free zone using happy hour language to discuss issues that impact our community and neighbors.

ACHH moderator- teacher and Nerd Farmer podcast host, Nate Bowling was joined by a panel of speakers that included: Tacoma Housing Authority Deputy Executive Director, April Black, Tacoma News Tribune Reporter, Kate Martin, Realtor and Move to Tacoma podcast host Marguerite Martin and William Towey, a UWT Grad Student.

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