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TACOMAWEEKLY NEWS FREE • SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2019
WWW.TACOMAWEEKLY.COM
FREEDOM FAIR WILL GO ON DESPITE CITY’S CALL FOR PROPOSALS Tacoma Events Commission pledges to continue fireworks and air show celebration while the City of Tacoma and Metro Parks search for new producers July 4th celebration
BY MATT NAGLE matt@tacomaweekly.com
On July 4th, the Tacoma Events Commission (TEC) produced what is known as one of the best 4th of July shows in the world – the Tacoma Freedom Fair. This year was perhaps the biggest and best show yet, with upward of 125,000 people filling Ruston Way for two-and-a-half miles of music stages, vendors, street performers, food courts and an air show with Navy, Air Force and Marine aircraft taking part. The day ended with one of the biggest firework displays in the country. Now, the City of Tacoma and Metro Parks Tacoma have issued a request for proposal (RFP) to provide event planning, coordination, and leadership for Tacoma’s annual 4th of July celebration, which will be held on July 4th along portions of Ruston Way and at Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park. TEC has held up its part of the deal to produce Freedom Fair for well over 20 years. In the last few years, the City of Tacoma seems to make it more and more difficult and later and later to approve contracts with regard to 4th of July. “Despite the city’s roadblocks, this year’s show was a giant success,” said TEC President and CEO Tony LaStella. “It’s next to impossible to raise money for a 4th of July event when the city does not approve it until June, a month prior to the event.” Not just a fireworks show, Freedom Fair is a family event, air show and much more. A lot of work, much of it volunteer, goes into putting it all together, with the city’s only active part being to provide police officers. All of the infrastructure – everything – is done by a few paid employees and hundreds of volunteers over the years. LaStella said that the city has yet to recognize the accomplishments of the TEC, let alone thank the hundreds of volunteers over the years, but didn’t hesitate to advertise for new 4th of July organizers. “We have known for some time that the festival needed to be changed,” LaStella said. “Closing down Ruston Way, the logistics make it extremely difficult and expensive. But instead of pushing the event further down Ruston Way toward the park, making it difficult to view the show and limiting the amount of crowds, why
HARALD HOHENDORF
The 4th of July attracts people from throughout the city of Tacoma, and a perfect place to gather is in downtown – the heart of the city, accessible to everyone. Suggested ideas of interest to the Tacoma Events Commission: •Focus activities at Thea Foss Waterway and its adjacent park; •Light up the Murray Morgan bridge and turn it into a “Bridge of Breweries” to celebrate the many local breweries in Tacoma; •Close Dock Street and make it into a family area with rides, bounce houses, vendor booths and more; •Downtown could be music central, with bands playing in a large performance area not expand it and bring it to downtown such as we did with Tall Ships and other events that were successful?” LaStella suggested several novel ideas, like lighting fireworks over Thea Foss Waterway, shut-
ting down Dock Street for family activities, food, inflatables and more. In addition, Tacoma now has a large number of breweries, even a district called Brewery Row. “We could shut down Murray Morgan bridge and u See FREEDOM / page 5
KAREN VIALLE LEAVES LASTING GIFTS TO TACOMA First woman mayor of Tacoma was just one of her extraordinary life achievements
BY MATT NAGLE matt@tacomaweekly.com
Every now and then, as we make our way through life’s journey, we come upon people who stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. In Tacoma, one of these people was Karen Vialle. Karen, 76, passed away on Sunday, July 21 after more than a year of battling lung cancer. Her loss is being felt across the city, as she touched the lives of
so many during her years of being an engaged citizen and trailblazer for women, passionate in her convictions and steadfast in her belief in education for youth to be the leaders of tomorrow’s generations. "We have a responsibility to provide our children with an excellent educational experience in a safe and productive learning environment," she once said, and she walked her talk in this matter and all that she did throughout her life. A Tacoma native and lifelong resident, Karen’s roots here were deeply embedded, as she descended from area pioneers. A graduate of Wilson High School (class of 1961), she earned two degrees from the University of Puget Sound and holds advanced degrees from Washington State University. In everything she did, Karen brought experience,
heart and sometimes a fierce determination that didn’t always sit well with others but earned her high respect whether in governance, community service or education. As outlined in her bio at the Tacoma Public Schools website, she served as a Tacoma City Council member for two years and then as mayor of Tacoma from 1990 to 1994, where she played a major role in the Foss Waterway cleanup, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians land claims settlement, Union Station renovation and the development of the University of Washington-Tacoma. She worked in state government for five years, including service as assistant director of the Office of Financial Management under then-Gov. Dan Evans. As the first woman in Tacoma to hold the u See KAREN / page 7