Parks Tacoma

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Parks Tacoma Visit us online at www.ParksTacoma.gov

The Norpoint Turkey Trot is Tacoma’s original Thanksgiving-day fun run! Bring your family and friends for a 3k or 5k la...
10/15/2026

The Norpoint Turkey Trot is Tacoma’s original Thanksgiving-day fun run! Bring your family and friends for a 3k or 5k lap around NE Tacoma before your holiday festivities. 🏃🍗🍂 Register by November 8 to save on the entry fee.

The event begins at 9 am on Thursday, Nov. 26, and is stroller, pet, and family friendly.

Supported by Proliance Puget Sound Orthopaedics

There is an immense amount of talent and spirit behind the new Shinto shrine that was dedicated last week in the Japanes...
10/14/2026

There is an immense amount of talent and spirit behind the new Shinto shrine that was dedicated last week in the Japanese Garden at Point Defiance Park.

It was built in Tacoma’s sister city Kitakyushu in Japan by Mr. Kondo, a master carpenter. Mr. Kondo traveled to Tacoma in September 2024 – his first time leaving his own country – to inspect the old Shinto shrine. The red shrine was rotting and weathered. He measured, inspected, and proposed building a new shrine and refurbishing the original.

In Japan, Shinto is a faith built around kami spirits believed to inhabit natural features and sacred objects. Shrines are built to house the deities and people visit them to pray for good fortune or seek blessings.

By the end of his trip to Tacoma, Kondo knew what he wanted to do.

With more than 40 years of experience at his family’s shrine building business while also teaching woodworking at a high school, Kondo seemed the perfect solution to keeping a Shinto shrine at Point Defiance.

His students in Japan helped draw blueprints of the design. Then he spent six months carving the new shrine before it was shipped to Tacoma.

It will be on display for about two weeks and then brought inside for the winter to protect it from inclement weather.

Thank you to Tacoma Parks Foundation and the Tacoma Sister Cities for helping make this possible.

Join us at People's Center for free community music classes presented by the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association!🥁Discover...
10/14/2026

Join us at People's Center for free community music classes presented by the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association!

🥁Discover Drums - Tues, Oct. 27
5 pm: Students learn rhythm skills and try out world percussion instruments in a fun drum circle setting—no previous musical experience necessary!

🎸Explore Ukulele - Wed, Oct. 28
5 pm: Ukulele classes build music skills through group classes focused on fundamental techniques, musicianship, basic music theory, and friendship. No prior musical experience is necessary!
Classes are free and open to the public, and all equipment is provided.

November classes will be held at STAR Center and December at Eastside Community Center. View the schedule online. Link is in the first comment.

No pre-registration is required to attend. Programs are designed for ages 6 and older.

Looking for free family fun? We’ve got you covered! 😁🫶👍Dates and times are listed in the caption. A link to more info is...
10/13/2026

Looking for free family fun? We’ve got you covered! 😁🫶👍Dates and times are listed in the caption.

A link to more info is in the comments.

Be sure to check the website before leaving home to check for schedule changes!

➡️Tots & Babies on the Trail
Babies: Every Wed
Tots: Every Friday
10:00 AM
Point Defiance Park
Meet at the Fort Nisqually Picnic Shelter
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Fish Tales
Every 2nd Tuesday
11:00 AM
Point Defiance Marina
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Story Hour at the Conservatory
Every 3rd Thursday
11:00 AM
W.W. Seymour Conservatory in Wright Park
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Guided Dog Walk
Saturday, Oct. 17
2:00 PM
Wright Park
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Family Nature Walks
Saturday, Oct. 17
Saturday, Nov. 14
10:00 AM
Point Defiance Park
Meet at the Fort Nisqually Picnic Shelter
Sign up at the link in bio

➡️Discover Drums
Tuesday, Oct. 27
5:00 PM
People’s Center
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Explore Ukulele
Wednesday, Oct. 28
5:00 PM
People’s Center
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Game Night with the Park Guides
Friday, Oct. 30
4:30 PM
Eastside Community Center
No pre-registration necessary

➡️Youth Mushroom Hike
Saturday, Nov. 7
10:00 AM
Point Defiance Park
Meet at the Fort Nisqually Picnic Shelter
Sign up at the link in bio

Park Guide programs are presented by TAPCO Credit Union

We'd like to thank an anonymous donor. Recently a note came in the mail that included $25. Neatly written on looseleaf p...
10/13/2026

We'd like to thank an anonymous donor. Recently a note came in the mail that included $25. Neatly written on looseleaf paper, the note said:

"This $25 is reimbursement for something I stole from Point Defiance in 1967. I was told this would cover the cost. My apologies."

We don't know what they took, and we assume it was valued around $2.50 in 1967. We logged the $25 as a donation, and we hope someone's conscience feels a little lighter today.

On Thursday, October 15 at 10:15 a.m. several Parks Tacoma facilities will be participating in the Great ShakeOut earthq...
10/12/2026

On Thursday, October 15 at 10:15 a.m. several Parks Tacoma facilities will be participating in the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill. The Great ShakeOut is an annual opportunity to learn and practice earthquake safety with millions of people worldwide.

At our four community centers, headquarters building, and Fort Nisqually, staff will complete the 60-second “Drop, Cover and Hold On” exercise, followed by a full evacuation of the facility (note that there will not be an evacuation at the Center at Norpoint).

This drill will cause a short disruption to all classes and activities happening at 10:15 a.m. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience.

10/11/2026

Before Jimothy, there was Jawless Jerry 🐺

If you were around Tacoma in 2023c you might remember the coyote with the unmistakable face who started popping up in neighborhoods (and parks!) around the city and quickly became something of a Tacoma legend.

Despite the name, Jerry was actually a she. Missing much of her upper snout, she somehow kept roaming, eating and surviving for months while Tacomans followed her sightings online, made art in her honor and adopted her as an unofficial Grit City crpytid. Jerry’s run came to an end in early 2024 but her place in Tacoma lore lives on.

So, Tacoma: did you ever cross paths with Jawless Jerry? Maybe in one of our parks, your neighborhood or somewhere else around the city? We want to hear your Jerry stories 👇

1926 was a pretty big year for Titlow. Exactly 100 years ago, the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma began purchased t...
10/10/2026

1926 was a pretty big year for Titlow. Exactly 100 years ago, the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma began purchased the land that would transform this waterfront destination from a private resort into a public park for Tacoma.

In 1903, Tacoma attorney Aaron R. Titlow purchased land along the waterfront and dreamed of turning it into a destination. By 1911, that dream included the Hotel Hesperides: a Swiss chalet-style hotel designed by prominent Tacoma architect Frederick Heath. The resort had 30 guest rooms, a formal dining room, billiard room, barber shop and even boats that took guests out onto Puget Sound. The historic photo shows hotel guests relaxing on the veranda of the hotel, which overlooks the Puget Sound.

After Aaron Titlow died in 1923, the hotel closed. Three years later, the Park District purchased the first portion of the property for public use. In 1928, it acquired the hotel and additional surrounding land, eventually reopening the former Hotel Hesperides as Titlow Beach Lodge.

Here’s to 100 years of Titlow Park!

Address

4702 S 19th Street
Tacoma, WA
98405

Telephone

+12533051000

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