Rosemary Ponnekanti

A trail of light art in downtown Tacoma, Washington. A sound trail of music and poetry at each location. Celebrate light, joy, hope.
www.TacomaLightTrail.org

ART: Illuminated whale lanterns, by Kristian Brevik for Tacoma Ocean Fest.
SOUND: Paul Chiyokten Wagner (Saanich) plays "Living Freely on the Waters" and "Paddling Tranquility" on Native American flutes.

ART: Multicolored light plays over a glass sculpture inspired by water. Artist: Martin Blank, at the Museum of Glass.
SOUND: "Hot Shop" by Heather Bentley, played by the Northwest Sinfonietta and inspired by the heat and rhythm of glassblowing.

ART: "The Urban Nutcracker" ballet, danced by Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center and projected on the wall of Tacoma Art Museum.

SOUND: "Overture" from Duke Ellington's "Nutcracker Suite," from Tchaikovsky, played by Harmonie Ensemble.

ART: The arch of the Washington State History Museum, lit in colored light.

SOUND: The story of how Harold Moss, first Black mayor of Tacoma, arrived in town, in his own words.

ART: Lit in a romantic Parisian alleyway, Big Louie the giant rat lives the good life.

SOUND: "Hustlin'" by Kareem Kandi, jazz saxophonist and composer.

ART: Backlit cutouts of skateboarders soar in the upstairs windows above Alchemy Skateboarding.

SOUND: "See the Cow (pt 2)" by Mr. Blackwatch, a Tacoma indie rock band.

ART: Flashing TVs, a light-up slug and projection mapping at Alma Mater.

SOUND: "Peace of Mind" by electronica/hiphop artist Ralph Reign.

ART: The ballroom windows of the historic Courthouse (old Post Office), lit in stunning LED.

SOUND: "I Feel Your Pain" by singer and composer Erin Guinup, about the journey of antiracism.

ART: A giant illuminated Capricorn puppet in the empty storefront window.

SOUND: (in visions) by Erin Tail, a young Lakota poet and writer.

ART: Projection mapping of vintage letters in the windows of Good Design Works.

SOUND: "You Have To Go Back," a sound collage by Tacoma poet Burning Fog.

ART: Those words, projected big onto the side of the Convention Center.

SOUND: Land acknowledgement of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, in Twulshootseed and English.

ART: A light-up dragon with sparkling turquoise scales inside the Pantages Theater lobby.

SOUND: “Ólafur Liljurós,” an old Icelandic carol about a hero who meets the Hidden People, followed by Swedish herding calls. Sung by Puget Sound Revels.

ART: A giant illuminated Rooster puppet in the window of Tacoma Youth Theatre.

SOUND: A Macedonian song about granny buying animals at the market, sung by the Puget Sound Revels Children's Chorus.

ART: A giant illuminated Rabbit puppet, plus sparkly joy, in the windows of LeRoy Jewelers.

SOUND: "Salut d'Amour," played by Svend Ronning (violin) and Jinshil Yi (piano) of Second City Chamber Series. The ultimate love song...

ART: A swirling multicolor ball in the window of the Rainbow Center.

SOUND: "Burn (Chanukah prayer)" by Laila Tova, a Tacoma poet, editor and artivist, with guitarist C. Brinks.

ART: A giant illuminated Tiger puppet upstairs in the School of the Arts window (above Subway).

SOUND: "Lavender," by writer Tamiko Nimura with music by Josh Parmenter. Nimura learns from her garden how to survive tough times.

ART: The corner Woolworth Window lit up in a swirl of pulsing light. 

SOUND: "Everybody has a Song" sung by the Tacoma Refugee Choir, with guests. We all matter, we need each other, wherever we come from.

ART: A glowing chrysalis lantern surrounded by stars inside the Seymour Conservatory.

SOUND: "Clouds" by Rosemary Ponnekanti, played on looping, improvised double bass.

ART: Seven ballroom windows, each with a Tacoma City Ballet shadowbox (upstairs). Windows lit and painted with garlands (Corina Bakery). Video projection on The Grand Cinema's front window.

SOUND: "Saraswati" from "The Book of Goddesses" by Robert Paterson, played by Symphony Tacoma trio. A ballet in homage to the Indian goddess of music and knowledge.

ART: A weirdly flickering UFO sculpture on Tollefson Plaza.

SOUND: NASA sounds collected from various space probes and telescopes.

ART: A two-seater love tricycle with a light-up canopy, seated inside Unique Bakery.

SOUND: "How to Make" by Abby E. Murray, Tacoma Poet Laureate.

ART: Purple and green holiday sparkle in the window of Dragonfly shop.

SOUND: "My Cousins the Leaves" by Josh Rizeberg, poet and spoken word artist.

ART: Seven candles of Kwanzaa shine from the windows of the Tacoma City Association of Colored Women's Clubs.

SOUND: "You Are Not Alone" by Kim Archer.

ART: A silvery model of a Tacoma tower that was never built, lit inside the front window of the Tacoma History Museum.

SOUND: "Tacoma, The Rose of the West" was Tacoma's first city song in 1910.

ART: A window landscape of the Pacific Northwest inside the 253 Collective Gallery.

SOUND: "My Pony" by Tacoma poet Erin Tail (Lakota). The perfect poem for new beginnings.

Illuminated lanterns of species endangered by climate change in the window of 311 Puyallup. 
SOUND: "A Song for Our Warming Planet" by Daniel Crawford, played by Gretchen Yanover on cello. Each note is a year's average temperature on Earth from 1880-2012.

ART: A vintage airplane carousel ride lit with dripping crystals in Mecca Mercantile's window.
SOUND: "Stay By My Side" by Jim Meck, Tacoma singer/songwriter/pianist.

ART: Light and crystals combine for an intimate, meditative window beckoning to Mad Hat Tea Co.
SOUND: Sacred gong and soft guitar by Jordan Manville and Taylor Hadden.

ART: 16 giant illuminated flowers dream in the windows of Stink Deli and wine bar.
SOUND: "Lavender" by Tamiko Nimura with music by Joshua Parmenter.

ART: A campfire made of light flickers in the window of Campfire Coffee.
SOUND: "Be A Prayer" by The Whole Bolivian Army.

ART: Giant puppets and projections glow in the window of the Children's Museum.
SOUND: "What's Important About Me" by Tacoma children.

Tacoma Light Sound Trail

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Ghosts of the Salish Sea

Illuminated Steps

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