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Fort Lewis Band Participating in Woodstick

(Official Release) - Only an attempt to set a new Guinness Book of World Records could attract
such diverse performers as the US Army Band at Fort Lewis and celebrity
drummers Carmine (The World's Greatest Rock Drummer) Appice (Vanilla Fudge,
Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck, and Pink Floyd), Alan White (YES, John Lennon) and
death metal drummer Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal) to perform in the same place
at the same time. And, the effort is to also raise funds for research on
hearing regeneration!

The appearance of the band and drummers will highlight Woodstick 2007 at the
Showplex on the Puyallup Fair grounds on Saturday, Oct. 27, according to Don
Doman, event chair.

Woodstick 2007 hopes to attract 1,000 drummers this year to play the same
music at the same time for six minutes and thus set a new Guinness World
Record. In previous years, drummers ranged in age from 3 to 90 years, male
and female and from numerous states, Canada and several other foreign
countries.

Almost as important as setting the record, funds raised during this fifth
annual event will benefit the hearing regeneration project at the University
of Washington’s Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center. Funds
contributed to the research will be met dollar for dollar by the Oberkotter
Foundation.

Doman said three of the four previous events established a new record with
the current mark being 533 drummers. The first event was held in a hangar at
Tacoma Narrows Airport. The next two events took place in the Tacoma Dome
and last year, Quest Field’s convention center was the site. The Showplex is
a great central location with plenty of free parking and adequate space,
Doman remarked. Drummers will be able to drive directly into the Showplex
with their complete drum sets making setup and teardown much easier.

Chris Kimball of Lakewood was the founder of Woodstick with support from
Tacoma Rotary Club #8. Kimball is a financial planner by profession and
drummer by hobby. He was joined the second year by Donn Bennett of Bellevue,
drum store operator in Bellevue. This year the drumming record attempt is
being sponsored by Rotarians for Hearing Regeneration, Comcast and Ted Brown
Music.

In addition to the Army band and the celebrity drummers, there will be
drawings and raffles with prizes ranging from a two-week vacation in Tahiti
to an autographed guitar and a variety of additional merchandise.

Registration can be done online at http://www.woodstick2007.com
. Volunteers are also being sought to help
with the wide variety of jobs that need to be done before and during the
day-long event. For additional information, check the website or contact Don
Doman: 253-759-0639.

Moment of Thunder

The Big “Rev-up”: Local motorcyclists set to create “A Moment of Thunder” to raise money for military families

By Bill Timnick

“The event is just getting huge,” said Dan Rogers, Edmonds-based business owner and organizer of “A Moment of Thunder,” an I-5 corridor-wide military support event coming August 18. “My original plan was to host it in one location – and now we have seven locations hosting it.”

“A Moment of Thunder” is a production of Support America’s Armed Forces, a committee of the Pierce Military and Business Alliance (PMBA) – itself an association of local businesses and organizations that works to support local military members and their families. The event plan calls for local motorcyclists to gather at sites ranging from Tacoma to Tukwila and Renton, Lynwood and Arlington, start their engines at exactly 1 p.m., and “rev” those engines for a full 60 seconds. Proceeds from that “moment” will benefit the Fort Lewis Fisher House Foundation, the “home-away-from-home” organization that allows military family members to be near their hospitalized loved ones.

“Every event we [PMBA] plan provides monetary or morale support to those who protect our country,” said Carlene Joseph, VP for military relations at Harborstone Credit Union. “And in the case of “A Moment of Thunder,” we’re donating the proceeds to the Fort Lewis Fisher House.”

So why has the event already grown to include so many more locations than originally planned? One reason, Rogers explained, is because area motorcycle dealerships, once they heard about “A Moment of Thunder,” wanted to be a part of it. Each location event is being hosted by one of those dealerships.

“Motorcycle dealerships are really big on supporting the community,” Rogers said, “and when I brought the idea out to the dealerships, they really got excited about it. They got on board with supporting our troops.”

Why motorcycles? “I’m a motorcycle rider myself,” Rogers said, “and the motorcycle community bands together so well, doing all types of events.” Generally, he concluded, “we’re all great people who want to do great things.”

The local gathering, hosted by Destination Harley, is at Lakewood’s Fort Steilacoom State Park, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The motorcycle will be sharing the facility with the Pierce County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Latino Festival 2007. “A Moment of Thunder” carries a $15 registration fee for participants, and includes a raffle. All riders and bikes are invited – street bikes, dirt bikes, quads and three-wheelers.

For more information, visit www.amomentofthunder.com or a participating dealer.

Military Appreciation Day

Puyallup ­ Members of the military community will enjoy the Spring Fair in Puyallup this year, especially if they take advantage of FREE gate admission on Military Appreciation Day, Friday, April 20, 2007.

Free gate admission will be offered to all active, reserve and retired military and their dependents, and disabled veterans when they show valid military ID. This includes members of the following branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard.

Radio station AM 570 KVI is the media sponsor of Military Appreciation Days, created in an effort to acknowledge service of the military and their families in the community.

The Spring Fair, which started in 1990, is open from 3 p.m. 10 p.m. on Thursday, April 19; from 10 a.m. 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21; and from 10 a.m. 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 22.

There are a wide variety of family-oriented activities to enjoy. In addition to 400+ exhibits, rides, food and animals, popular Spring Fair attractions will include a bicycle stunt show, pig races, dog Frisbee show, and Mexican dancing horses. The Garden Show will feature celebrated garden experts Ciscoe Morris, Ed Hume, and more, plus local florists participating in a design contest. The Northwest Junior Livestock Show and Sale has been a part of the Spring Fair in Puyallup, and will be a foundation feature again in 2007. The enthusiasm of all grade levels for the annual Puyallup School District science fair means a return engagement of the event, ³Science Explorations 2007² featuring projects created by students. Annual favorites include the KidZone and Creative Kids Exhibit.

Adult admission is $8, Students (6-18 years) $7, and five years old and under are free. Advance discount tickets with ride bracelet coupons are available at Pierce and South King County Fred Meyer stores, Safeway, Columbia Bank, The Commons at Federal Way and South Hill Mall. Parking in official parking lots is free. For further info, visit www.thefair.com or call the 24-hour hotline at (253) 841-5045.

Free Admission to Military

(Puyallup Fair release) – Members of the military community will receive FREE gate admission at Military Appreciation Days, held during the Puyallup Spring Fair on Friday, April 20, 2007; and at the Puyallup Fair on Mondays, Sept. 10 and 17, 2007.

Free gate admission will be offered on Military Appreciation Days to all active, reserve and retired military and their dependents, and disabled veterans, when they show valid military ID. This includes members of the following branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard.

The Puyallup Spring Fair, which started in 1990, is open from 3 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Thursday, April 19; from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21; and from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 22.

Through Hell & High Water

The Scandinavian Cultural Center at Pacific Lutheran University in Parkland hosts the movie "Through Hell and High Water" Sunday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. It's the love story of Nancy Eide, an 18-year old Norwegian girl living in Hammerfest and Archie Kelly, a British sailor who took part in one of World War II's greatest rescues. The documentary film has garned numerous rewards, and will be introduced by Nancy Kelly, the couple's daughter. For more information, call (253) 564-2832.

84th ARTAC Hauling Gifts

Members of the 84th ARTAC at Fort Lewis will help residents at the Park Rose Care Center by packing and shipping their gifts destined to loved ones outside the area. The Fort Lewis troops will be on hand December 9 from 1-4 p.m. at the center. Organized by Right At Home, a local in-home care company, the event is also supported by students from Foss High School.

Military Night

Chopstix Dueling Piano Bar (2702 6th Ave., in Tacoma) salutes the military November 24 & 25 with a evening of music and singing with NO Cover Charge to military personnel. Nice.

Military Family Statue

The Rotary Club of Hawks Prairie unveils the "Military Family" statue this Saturday, 10 a.m. at the Home Depot-Costco parking lot - corner of Marvin Road & Quinault Drive. In the works for a couple years, the statue salutes the families who support this nation by supporting their military loved ones.

Representing the local military will be Brigadier General William J Troy, deputy commanding general I Corps and Ft Lewis.

Got Fish?

Get some! Here are some great on-line resources that will help you catch some fish before the season ends:

www.salmonuniversity.com (good general information, from general how-tos to fishing reports, tips, and some great pictures of the lucky people with the ones that didn’t get away)

http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/page.php?id=79 (everything you ever wanted to know about the Pt Defiance Boathouse)

www.capscharters.com (list of charter boat captains in Washington state, choose from Tacoma charters for day trips, or go out as far as Neah Bay or Anacortes for an extended “Washington Fishing” experience)

www.fisheyesoup.com (general fishing website with some local fishing reports that you can get to by navigating around the user-friendly site.)

Where are they biting:

Anglers suggest the mouths of the Puyallup and Nisqually rivers, plus off the tip of Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. Good luck.

Traffic Circles on I-5 update

The Transportation Department tells us that the circles at Nisqually on I-5 are goinng away. They'll relocate the anti-tailgate initiative somewhere else. Yeah!! – Ranger