Conversations RE: Tacoma Kicks-off Thursday September 27

Get your tickets now!!  Lectures start September 27th!!  The Conversations RE:Tacoma lecture series is in it's 4th year and the Emerging Leaders Group has been involved since the beginning working with other community groups, the AIA, Historic Tacoma, City of Tacoma and others to put on this great series.   We are very excited for this year's series which we hope to inform, educate and encourage public engagement with urban design issues. We will examine how facade improvements can stimulate a neighborhood, how advertising effects our communities and how citizens can effectively contribute to the design of our city. After each lecture we will get together at a nearby pub to continue the conversation. Below are details about the lectures and links to tickets. Check out the website for more info  www.retacoma.com Lecture #1 Extreme Make-Over: Façade Improvement Projects Thursday, September 27, 2012, 6:30-8pm New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th Street Learn how inexpensive façade improvement projects can spark new energy in a neighborhood, bring under-utilized buildings back to life and economic rewards to business owners.  Speakers:Jim Nicholls, senior lecturer, Department of Architecture, UW Seattle Odette D'Aniello, owner, Celebrity Cake Studio Nick Fediay, 6th Avenue Business District Association Sharon Winters, Historic Tacoma Aaron Winston, architectural designer, BLRB Architects   Moderator:  Kala Dralle, program development specialist, Community and Economic Development, City of Tacoma  tickets for lecture #1 $7.50 tickets for 3-lecture series $20 Lecture #2 Visual Clutter: How to Get Outdoor Advertising Thursday, October 11, 2012 6:30-8pm Trinity Presbyterian Church, sanctuary, 1615 Sixth Avenue After-event at Cork 606 N. State St. What is an effective outdoor advertising strategy at the neighborhood level and within the urban environment?  How do we balance the needs of businesses to promote with the needs of citizens to limit outdoor advertising?  What forms of advertising are most effective for local business owners?  Will lower cost and more personalized forms of advertising, like social media, be the next wave?  Why do we love the old neon on S. Tacoma Way and the ghost signs on Pacific Ave. but are less enamored of digital billboards? Can the speed of traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, limit the scale and density of outdoor advertising? Speakers:   Paula Rees, Maestri Design Rusty George, principal, Rusty George Creative Trevor Boddy, architecture critic Moderator:  Eric Jacobsen, Congress for a New Urbanism tickets for lecture #2 $7.50 Lecture #3 Be Heard: How Neighborhoods Can Engage in the Planning Process Thursday, November 8, 2012 6:30-8pm Tacoma School of the Arts Theatre, 1118 Commerce St. After-event at Varsity Grill, 1114 Broadway Join neighborhood and business district leaders and City Staff in a dialogue about how we can effectively contribute to the design of our neighborhoods, how City staff and elected officials can be more responsive to community interests, & how existing planning processes can be improved.  Speakers: Donald Erickson, AICP, chair, Tacoma Planning Commission Randy Cook, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, principal, TCF Architecture Jori Adkins, retired landscape architect/urban designer; neighborhood activist Moderator:  Ian Munce, Acting Division Manager, Long-Range Planning, City of Tacoma tickets for lecture #3 Tickets: Pre-paid admission - $7.50 each or $20 for all three through Brown Paper Tickets (service fee applies) At the door (if available) - $10.00 Students free with ID click for 3-lecture series tickets $20 click for lecture #1 tickets $7.50 click for lecture #2 tickets $7.50 click for lecture #3 tickets $7.50