Celebrate opening of the Eastside Community Center

Celebrate the opening of the landmark, 55,000-square-foot Eastside Community Center on Saturday, Oct. 20. The location: Eastside Community Center, 1721 E. 56th St (on the First Creek Middle School campus). The activities: music, dance, samples of local culinary delights, a giant birthday cake, fitness demonstrations, free swimming, building tours, hands-on art experiences, recording studio demos, and a lot more.
The day begins with the Eastside Families Parade, which starts at 10 a.m. in the Salishan neighborhood. The event formally begins with a 10:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting. Keynote speaker is Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards. After that, the center will come alive with hands-on, free activities. Highlights include the dedication of a time capsule and a host of performers including:

• Obe Quarless, a steel pan virtuoso whose specialties are soca, calypso and reggae
• Pachanga Alert!, presenting blend of music from Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia
• Ballet Folklorico de First Creek Middle School presenting regional dances of Mexico
• Vision Step Team, performing traditional step dance arrangements
• The League, from the Iconic Arts Complex, doing hip hop
• The Movement, showcasing young rappers and singers
• Hearts for Kids, performing traditional and modern dancing from the Pacific Islands
Once the activities wrap up around 2 p.m., the center will be open for guests to stay and play free of charge for the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday. And at 6 p.m. Saturday, Eastside Community Center staff will present a free indoor movie and open up the gym for basketball.
The center’s amenities include a multi-use gymnasium, sound recording studio, social hall, culinary kitchen, weight room and cardio-fitness areas, and a large pool with party rooms, lap lanes, diving board, climbing wall, water slide and hot tub/spa. The building is expected to attract as many as 350,000 users annually, including 200 youngsters each weekday through programs of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.