Washington’s only Reptile Man will slither into Des Moines on Saturday, Feb. 18, for a show at the Des Moines Activity Center.

The Reptile Man, aka Scott Petersen, has performed for more than 800 schools in the Northwest. Corporations such as Microsoft, Boeing, and Eddie Bauer have found this program to be exciting for all ages. He has been seen on Bill Nye The Science Guy, Evening Magazine, Northwest Afternoon, Town Meeting, Q13 Kids Club, and Watch This.

Scott is fully insured and has teaching credentials. He has a teachers State Patrol Certification on file with the State Superintendent of Public Education. This program will create an interest in the natural sciences and teach students about the importance of all animals in the balance of nature.

The program starts at 10:30 a.m. The Des Moines Activity Center is at 2045 S. 216th St., Des Moines.

Tickets are $3 in advance and $5 at the door, or $10 and $15 for families.

Advance tickets are available through the Des Moines Parks & Recreation Department at 206-870-6527.

For more information on The Reptile Man, visit www.reptileman.com/home.html.

Upcoming shows include:

• Harmonica Pocket Get Loose with Seuss, March 17, also at 10:30 a.m.

For more information on the Des Moines Arts Commission, visit www.desmoinesartscommission.com.

Here are some videos of the Reptile Man in action:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jennifer Walstrand

From our sister site The Waterland Blog comes this report by Ralph Nichols about how Daniel Alexander Threadgill will face a minimum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced for the brutal murder of Jennifer Walstrand in her Des Moines apartment Aug. 31, 2010.

Threadgill, 24, was convicted by a King County Superior Court jury Feb. 7 of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of Walstrand, who was 28.

Prosecutors told jurors that Walstrand, who had an extensive record of prostitution working as a “high-end” call girl, was stabbed at least 63 times even as she pleaded for her life.

They said she also suffered severe blunt-force trauma when Threadgill then stomped on her head because she was still breathing, inflicting additional brutal injuries.

Read the full story here.

The Roving Pizzaioli

When you come to the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival, (March 2–4 and the Landmark Event Center), make sure you come with an empty stomach! Not only will they have 25 wineries and two breweries at the festival, they’ll also have eight food merchants who are offering delectable Northwest cuisine and desserts.

New to the festival this year, but certainly not new to pizza fans at the Des Moines Farmers Market, is Roving Pizzaioli. Roving Pizzaioli is a mobile wood fired pizza company based out of Normandy Park. It’s easy to spot the Roving Pizzaioli because of their very distinctive copper wood fire oven, which is set on wheels. Co-owners, Marshall Hansen and Walter Smith, along with their team create all kinds of pies, but their specialty is NY style pizza by the slice. At the festival, they will be on hand all three days making warm yummy cheesy goodness, which (we might add) pairs quite nicely with a glass of wine.

Another new offering at the festival is the Poverty Bay Bistro, which will be operated by Rotarian Vince Koester, owner of Koester Landscape Management. Those who know Vince, know that his true passion is cooking. Vince can make a mean burger and is always on the lookout for the perfect burger! Some of the menu choices at the Poverty Bay Bistro will be grilled chicken cesar salad, poached wild salmon, beef stroganoff, and (of course!) a mean cheeseburger. Proceeds from the restaurant will go to fund the charitable projects of the Rotary Club of Des Moines.

Other food merchants available at the wine festival include:

• Panera Bread
• Salty’s at Redondo
• Scotch & Vine Restaurant and Bar
• Redondo Fred Meyer Deli
• M&T Smoked Products
• Forte Chocolates

For more information about the Poverty Bay Wine Festival or to purchase tickets, please visit www.dmrotary.org.

Helpers assist the Bascos in moving out of the Karuna Arts Yoga location Friday, Feb. 3. Photo by Scott Schaefer.

Karuna Arts Yoga has occupied the building on the corner of Ambaum Blvd. and SW 152nd in Olde Burien for 7 years and Anne Basco the owner has successfully taught a wide range of students from the novice to advanced. She has also conducted in-depth programs that have produced many new teachers who now teach at the studio and who have carried the skills taught by Anne to studios around the area and beyond.

Johnny Basco opened The Tag Zone 2 years ago and has built a thriving business that has attracted children and their parents to Old Burien.

The studio is now moving to a new location in Des Moines, on the corner of 6th Ave SW and S. 223rd (605 South 223rd Street). The building has been extensively remodeled, turning it from a boat showroom into a 1st class yoga facility with 2 studios and reception area, bathrooms and changing rooms. The Tag Zone is in the same building but in its own separate and private space.

This weekend Feb 4-5th, the Bascos are hosting an Open House, with tours of The Tag Zone as well as free yoga classes. Saturday at Noon the Mayor of Des Moines will be cutting a ribbon to celebrate the opening of two new businesses in Des Moines. Definitely a celebration in these lean times.

I hope this may be of interest to you and your Readers as the moving of the studio will leave a big hole at the entrance to Olde Burien but will be filling a hole in the business core of Des Moines.

Thanks for your kind attention,
Avril Steele
Yoga teacher at Karuna Arts

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Feeling lucky? Well, here’s an easy way to enter to win Two FREE Tickets to the 8th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival, coming to the Landmark Event Center March 2 – 4!

Simply text message the word ‘dmrotary‘ to 90210 and you’ll automatically be entered into the drawing.

The Des Moines Rotary Club is presenting this annual fun fundraiser, and guests will enjoy live music and great food while tasting wines from 20 Northwest wineries.

The festival kicks off on Friday, March 2 at 5:00 p.m. The fun continues on Saturday and Sunday, with more wine tasting, food, and live music.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Corky Cellars in Des Moines (206-824-9462) or at www.dmrotary.org.

All proceeds fund the service projects of the Des Moines Rotary Club, including college scholarships, grants to local schools, safety and recreation programs for children, yard projects for elderly residents, support for the local food bank and the homeless, and projects to assist needy people as far away as South Africa and the Philippines.

HOURS:

• Friday: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
• Saturday: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• ?Sunday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

MUSIC:

• Uncle Ernie – Friday, 6:30-9:30
• All Stars No Stripes – Saturday, 3:30-6:30
• Ambience – Sunday, noon-2:00
• Stephanie Porter – Sunday, 2:30-4:30

For more information, please visit www.dmrotary.org.

by Dave Markwell

I had the unfortunate experience of passing a mirror the other day. I did not look as good as I felt and it made me mad. I felt like the mirror was tricking me, because in my head, I looked much better. I had witnessed myself looking better many times. I was sure of it. What was this stupid mirror’s friggin’ problem!?! I wondered. After some soul searching and kicking my dog, I came to the conclusion that mirrors are both criminally deceptive and warmly reassuring. They are both tremendous liars and unbearably honest and it really depends on the day as to which I prefer. It depends on whether the lie or the truth makes me feel better. Usually, I suspect, it’s the lie.

This mirror passing incident inspired much thought about how we look. I mean how we REALLY look. It seems that how we look changes all the time. Some days, I look in the mirror and think, “Not too shabby, Markwell. Not too shabby.” Other days, I see a thin-haired, rather Shrek-ish creature unworthy of even a cross glance in my direction. I don’t know if my looks really change that dramatically or not. However, I do notice that sometimes other peoples’ looks do indeed change. I can look at my son one day and see a fine, handsome, and intelligent kid capable of capturing the heart of the fairest maiden in the kingdom, otherwise known as the hottest chick in class. Other days, I look at him and see a creepy, hairy, little rodent complete with the big teeth and yellow eyes and I am sad with the understanding that he is going to die lonely. I love him either way, so don’t judge me here…and it’s unlikely that he’s really that ugly anyway, even on a bad day, but here lies my question: What do we really look like? Are we our best or our worst vision of ourselves? And what determines which look we see? Many factors, I’m sure, shape our perception, but I think the most urgent one is simply how we feel. When we feel good we look good, even to ourselves. It is impossible to look bad, feeling good. I have known plenty of average, if not outright ugly, people who look beautiful, because they are happy. Likewise, I have known many of pretty, but ugly folks as well. Beauty is an illusion. It is a magic trick. It is not a “look” and cannot be seen. It is felt. Beauty is a personality and has its own life. It lives in an easy smile and a kind word, a hearty laugh and a genuinely concerned frown. It is that which connects us as human animals on our deeper levels.

Our judgment of beauty is sometimes primitive, largely banal and usually involves unseen elements of character which sway the eyeball one direction or another. I believe, though, that we will always recognize and appreciate a truly beautiful soul, sometimes even our own. With this in mind, I will not call my son ugly just because he invents, on a daily basis, new ways to shave time off of my life. I know, more than anyone, how truly extraordinary he is. And if the mirror is unkind to me, I will simply shine a casual middle finger in its direction and move on with my day. A mirror can’t feel the minute variations in a heartbeat or see inside a soul and that’s where everything important and truly beautiful resides.

[EDITOR'S NOTE:"Feel Good Friday" is a regular column written by Des Moines resident Dave Markwell, who extols to all neighbors: "Enjoy where we live. Put your feet on the pavement and truly feel how great it is to live here!" Also, you can "friend" Dave on Facebook here. Or work out with him at his new exercise company Waterland CrossFit!]

Click image to print Coupon.

The Tag Zone has moved to a huge new warehouse-sized location at 605 South 223rd Street in Des Moines, just west of the downtown district at 6th and 223rd (map below), and will be holding its Grand Opening celebration beginning at 6 p.m. this Friday night, Jan. 27th!

Open Fridays and Saturdays, this new warehouse-sized arena erupts into a safe, Nerf-filled fun zone for kids of all ages with two battlefields:

• A 2,300 square foot inflatable bunker zone
• A 1,900 s.f. “Army Field”

The Tag Zone was created by Johnny Basco, former U.S. Army 2d Ranger at Ft. Lewis, who says:

“This is my calling – to host a safe, entertaining, affordable and FUN place for your little or big ones to play, and always wanting to come back for more.”

Former Army Ranger Johnny Basco is ready for you.

At The Tag Zone, participants play an assortment of organized games with safety always on the minds of the supervisors, who oversee every game with rules constantly being reinforced.

“We strongly encourage team work in order to play as many games as possible,” Basco adds. “This is also an exciting way to develop tricks and tactics, as well as controlling emotions and stress.”

Cost is just $7 per hour (the same price as last year), and according to Basco one of their more popular functions is to allow for a ‘Parent’s Night Out’:

“Fridays and Saturdays between the hours of 6-10pm we offer you the opportunity to drop your kids off and you have the option to stay or have a few hours to yourselves while we keep them busy playing a wide variety of controlled and refereed games. While they are here we divide teams equally as participants arrive and depart. We make every attempt to keep your kids and possibly their friends together on the same team however on occasion adjustments have to be made in order to keep the teams competitively equal. Score is not kept but the competition level can still be pretty intense. We do not allow participants to argue with each other and definitely towards any of our referees or loss of one game will occur.”

The Tag Zone's arms cache awaits.

Here’s more from their website about the kinds of games played:

Open Play Sessions at The Tag Zone: Friday and Saturday nights, 6:00-10:00 pm

Squad vs squad
Objective:

• Eliminate opposing squad.

Game:

• Each team begins from its home base. At the signal, the players must find and tag the entire opposing team before being itself eliminated.

Protect the leader
Objective:

• To seek and tag the opposing team’s leader.

Game:

• Each team must protect its leader from getting tagged.
• Volunteer players will attempt to eliminate the opposing team’s leader.

Capture the Flag
Objective:

• To end the game with both team’s flag in its possession, in its home base.

Game:

• Each team begins with their own flag, located at their home base.
• The players must retrieve the opposing team’s flag.

The Prison
Objective:

• The players are to be tagged and placed in the opposing team’s prison.

Game:

• The teams begin in their own home base. When a player is tagged, he must head for the other team’s prison. The prisoner (s) are to be rescued by a teammate so that he (they) may continue the game. The prisoner is rescued from prison when his own teammate hand tags him out. The game is terminated when an entire team is imprisoned.

Look closely and you'll see Johnny's face in the middle of this bunker.

Here’s one more quote from Basco, posted on their Facebook Page (“Like” them here):

“What an amazing journey this has been and one I continue to look forward to. It’s still hard to believe I was doing hair two years ago! This would have never happened had it not been for my wife Anne and Karuna Arts Yoga. I love you Anne, especially for putting up with me during the build out. Thank you to all the kids who have supported The Tag Zone and to the future ones. This is one of the happiest and proudest days of my life. Dreams really do come true guys!”

The Tag Zone
605 South 223rd Street
Des Moines WA 98198

For questions regarding pricing and availability please e-mail thetagzone@gmail.com, text or call 206-719-4632.

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Burien Arts’ Fourth Annual Classic Jazz Festival will be held on Saturday, March 10th from 3 p.m. – 10 p.m., and will offer a Big Program at its new location, The Landmark Event Center in Des Moines.

There will be more music with 11 bands participating in two music venues, and more styles of music including Straight Ahead Jazz classics, early and mid-20th century jazz styles, from Dixieland, Gypsy Jazz and Western Swing to Big Band Swing.

This great jazz experience will include Concerts, Dancing, Food and Drink, as well as Jam Sessions!

The bands include:

• Del Rey & Matt Weiner
• Echoes of Harlem Orchestra
• Gail Pettis
• Glenn Crytzer & His Syncopators
• Holotradband
• The Jangles
• Jennifer Scott Trio
• Mount Rainier High School Jazz Band
• Pearl Django
• Susan Pascal with Greta Matassa
• Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band

The two music venues allow for more concerts. Comfortable close-up seating in the Auditorium will keep these concerts intimate. There will be dancing in the Banquet Hall, and the elegant living room will be the site for jam sessions.

A full dinner will be provided by EJ’s Catering and there will be a no-host bar.

“Jazz lovers will have a lot to like about the new and improved festival,” said Festival Director Lance Haslund.

Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for seniors and military, and FREE for youth 18 and under.

Tickets are available online at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling Burien Arts at 206-244-7808. They will also be available at the Highline Jazz Festival Booth at the annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival, sponsored by the Des Moines Rotary and held in the Landmark Event Center March 2-4, 2012 and at the door the day of the event.

Reduced admission is offered with the donation of a band instrument to Music4Life, a community service activity of Highline Rotary clubs providing musical instruments and other resources needed to expand elementary school music programs.

For $100.00 individual sponsors will receive two adult tickets, reserved seating and reserved or valet parking, two drink tickets, access to the band hospitality room, and more.

The fourth annual Festival is presented by Burien Arts, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing affordable access to visual and performing arts in the Burien/Highline area, and by Landmark Event Center, a 1926 historic building overlooking Puget Sound.  It is sponsored by Cedarbrook Lodge & Copperleaf Restaurant, 4Culture, SoKing Internet Radio, Alaska Airlines, and the City of Burien, Parks, Recreation and Culture.

The Landmark Event Center is located at 23660 Marine View Drive South, Des Moines, WA 98198.

by Dave Markwell

“Dad, you need to make my sandwich”, my twelve year old son, Aden, informed me this morning. And so began our daily dance. Every single day, we both don’t want to make the sandwich, so every single day we bob and weave trying to avoid it. His strategy is to dink around and stall for twenty minutes collecting his school stuff and falsely searching for his shoes and socks until I have to make the sandwich. My strategy is less sophisticated: I sit on the couch drinking coffee and yell at him to “hurry up”. This doesn’t work. He screws around until I am faced with the choice of making his stupid sandwich or wasting a half-hour of my valuable morning time driving him to school because he missed his bus. I always make the sandwich. I hate making his sandwiches. I have made hundreds of them. I used to enjoy it. I used to feel dutiful and loving and proud while making his lunch. I don’t feel this way anymore. In the past, I would sneak a secret treat into his lunchbox to surprise him. I would imagine him finding my gift and declaring to all his classmates seated near him in the school cafeteria that he and he alone, had the best Dad ever! I don’t care about this anymore. Now, I just want him to make his own damn sandwich.

I’m not sure when this changed, but I suspect it has been a progression. I recall no definitive moment standing as a benchmark between times. It just happened. Somewhere along the way, things changed and the doting, ever-concerned father was replaced with a somewhat indifferent and passive man bearing a rather eerie resemblance to my own Dad. It is happening. I am becoming my Dad. I swore I never would, but it was inevitable, I suppose. We become our parents, just as they become theirs. And so it has been since time began.

As I ponder this phenomenon, the only conclusion I can draw is that all kids possess a diabolical power to transform their otherwise reasonable, rational, thoughtful and intelligent parents into mindless and shameless servants. They need things that only we can provide and we have a duty to provide these things. They know we have this duty and so, they manipulate our sense of this duty to turn us into resentful, yet still compliant lackeys placed on this earth to serve only their needs. We are mobile, but beaten robots. We are the defeated.

Since the dawn of parenthood, kids have been screwing over parents exactly this way. It’s what they do. Our job is to take it. It’s what we do. I say this without ill regard or malevolent intent. It is just so. It doesn’t bother me all of the time, just most of the time. I have become a servant, a serf, whose purpose is serving my kingdom’s masters. The masters happen to be a lovely, slightly snotty, eight year old girl and the aforementioned too-smart-for-his-own-good twelve year old boy. They direct my day, hour by hour, minute by minute. They own me. I say this without complaint, only somber resignation. It is what it is and I signed up for it.

“DAD!! DAD!! DAD!!, Diego threw up in my room. Come quick!!” my girl bellowed from the hallway just as I sat down on the comfy couch for an afternoon snack. I didn’t want to clean up dog puke. But I did. I didn’t want to scrape the still warm and soft, half-digested Purina off the carpet. But I did. I did this and I will do this for some time, I suspect. I am here to serve whenever and wherever directed, including and probably especially, on the super nasty jobs. So it goes.

“Hold on, Sweetie!! Let me get a towel!” I replied to my little gal… with a much better understanding about why my Grandma and Grandpa always looked so happy watching my parents serve their masters…

[EDITOR'S NOTE:"Feel Good Friday" is a regular column written by Des Moines resident Dave Markwell, who extols to all neighbors: "Enjoy where we live. Put your feet on the pavement and truly feel how great it is to live here!" Also, you can "friend" Dave on Facebook here. Or work out with him at his new exercise company Waterland CrossFit!]

The Des Moines Rotary Club will be presenting the 8th annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival from March 2-4, once again in the historic and grand Landmark Event Center in Des Moines.

Guests will enjoy live music and great food while tasting wines from 20 Northwest wineries.

The festival kicks off on Friday, March 2 at 5:00 p.m. The fun continues on Saturday and Sunday, with more wine tasting, food, and live music.

Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Corky Cellars in Des Moines (206-824-9462) or at www.dmrotary.org.

All proceeds fund the service projects of the Des Moines Rotary Club, including college scholarships, grants to local schools, safety and recreation programs for children, yard projects for elderly residents, support for the local food bank and the homeless, and projects to assist needy people as far away as South Africa and the Philippines.

HOURS:

• Friday: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
• Saturday: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
• ?Sunday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

MUSIC:

• Uncle Ernie – Friday, 6:30-9:30
• All Stars No Stripes – Saturday, 3:30-6:30
• Ambience – Sunday, noon-2:00
• Stephanie Porter – Sunday, 2:30-4:30

For more information, please visit www.dmrotary.org.