100th Monkey on Wednesday (24. July 2006, 05:57 by Derek Young) ~ The "Secret" Is Out
From what I can tell, the world is about to change. Why? Because the News Tribune has written about this month’s 100 Monkey. We found ourselves at the last 100th Monkey at Club Zoe and were absolutely shocked at what we found. What we saw was the true grass roots arts scene that we hoped existed in Tacoma, but had never seen. Paintings lined the walls. The live dance performance amazed us. The live music kept us moving. The people were open and friendly. It felt like a Django rhythmed rave.
We thought we had seen a lot of the art scene in Tacoma, but this really opened our eyes to the real scene. There’s a lot more out there than we had ever imagined.
My fear now is that it’s all going to change. When we first walked into the 100th Monkey event we felt like we had stumbled onto something a bit magical and different – something underground, yet not. If somebody knew about it, they were in the know. If not, well, they weren’t. We told friends about it afterwards. They would either know all about it and were surprised we hadn’t been before, or they couldn’t understand at all what we were talking about. We liked that. Will the hipness fade a bit as its popularity expands and the rest of Tacoma finds out about it? I hope not.
The next 100th Monkey is Wednesday at the Working Waterfront Museum from 8:00 to 10:00 pm.
Link to the 100th Monkey
Link to The News Tribune
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100th Monkey parties have been going on for a couple of years now. Lynn DiNino (lynndinino.com) came up with the idea. It was also her who started organizing the local arts community in 2003 with Artery Of Destiny parties.
Here’s a good way to hear about arty things in T-own: Join the TacomaArt listserv and ‘get connected’!
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1 | Posted by Claudia Riedener | Jul 24, 08:52 AM
“My fear now is that it’s all going to change.”
This is my fear too- that it will lose its magic and become too… public. But this is also what needs to happen. The goal of the Monkey parties is to create connections and I think there are still a lot more connecting that needs to happen.
Of course Thursday Bocce has the potential to become a great connector, but until we get our curling facility built in Wright park- it will be difficult to keep the momentum going through the winter :|
2 | Posted by morgan | Jul 24, 09:09 AM
“My fear now is that it’s all going to change….we felt like we had stumbled onto something a bit magical and different – something underground, yet not. If somebody knew about it, they were in the know. If not, well, they weren’t…â€
Well, I have to admit that seems to be my sentiment about everything neat that I find or am told about, be it monkeys (just heard about it last week), restaurants, activities, or secret places. Sometimes I’d like to close the gate. After I get in, of course.
3 | Posted by Dave L. | Jul 24, 10:39 AM
Hi all,loved to hear your comments about the Monkey. It is magical for sure. The enchantment of this gathering is the DiNino genius of knowing what works to build community. For example, everything is volunteer. The food, wine, entertainment, artwork which allows people to BE the event. There are many more subtle DiNino ‘rules’ that I follow (don’t MESS with success). So, as long as the community supports the concept, the monkey magic will happen. See you Wednesday, awesome venue and lots going on.
4 | Posted by Sue Pivetta | Jul 24, 11:43 AM
Unfortunately, my experiences at the 100th Monkey were nothing like all of yours. :(
Four different people came up to me and asked what kind of art I did. When I said that I was just an art appreciator, they said, “Oh, it’s kind of weird that you’re here,” or “well, then, what are you doing here?” or “we don’t really have outsiders that join us.”
I was disappointed, it felt unwelcoming to me, and I’m sorry to report that I’m not likely to return to one.
5 | Posted by Natasha | Jul 24, 01:06 PM
Super drag about your negative experience there, Natasha. Whoever said “we don’t really have outsiders that join us†was completely out of touch with the concept. The whole premise of the event is embracing everyone interested in art, not just artists. I know a number of non-artist art lovers who were foundational in making the event get off the ground. We’re trying to build a community of art lovers! So I hope you give it one more chance… B^)
6 | Posted by ixora | Jul 24, 05:00 PM
If it’s anything an artist loves it’s non artists who love art to join them in appreciating art. Those that said, “It’s weird..” must have been weird. Or ”..what are you doing here?” Well, I’m not an artist by trade and I’m the current organizer! There are no outsiders, or insiders at a DiNino event – much to the dismay of art snobs. So if you do return you may need to embrace our entire community of weirdos, art snobs, and disillusioned ‘insiders’ – cause community is full of all kinds of people (some clueless). Still it’s generally about the sharing, music, art of all kinds, gathering together to be ….well together regardless…
Are you sure it was a Monkey event? I am certainly not talented, but rather a bigger supporter of the Arts in Tacoma and I have had a great time at the events. I have always found it to be friendly and well organized chaos promoted by great people.
It is perhaps one of the most Tacoma things I do. Please give it another try.
8 | Posted by Marty | Jul 24, 07:06 PM
Last night’s Monkey was great and met so many. It was nice to finally put names to faces, faces to names, and meet more in the community. I’d never been to the Working Waterfront Museum. A little difficult to navigate, hard to enjoy and watch the stage, but good for wandering, exploring, and bumping into people. Looking forward to monkeying with you at the next one. Best
9 | Posted by Brett | Jul 27, 12:27 PM
Hey you monkeys! A round of applause for Sue who organizes these events. . .It’s easy to take for granted the complexity of setting these up; you walk in and go ‘hey! Who are all these people working the event!? Who did all this decorating? These monkey-butt very clever tiles selling like hotcakes! Monkey stuff everywhere. . . the base player was unbelievably good- we are so lucky to have such talent. . .I think he played two hours straight! Please provide his name here if you have it- I think I know it but don’t want to get it wrong.
It’s also fabulous that each guest DOES bring food and beverage: THIS IS BUILDING COMMUNITY BY SHARING. . .
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