‘Huge music festival’ with free admission returns to Tacoma, this time with dancing horses

Tacoma’s Art on the Ave festival returns Sunday, July 21 with more artists and bands than ever.

Also worth noting: There will be dancing horses and beer gardens.

The 24th-annual event will boast five stages, a car show, three performance areas (with themes like rollerskating, a Bollywood exhibit and a circus) and some 250 vendors, according to a press release. It takes place on Sixth Avenue between State and Alder streets from 12-7 p.m.

The fest, produced by the Sixth Avenue Business District, will feature a variety of food, performances and activities for any age, per the release.

Event coordinator Angela Jossy told The News Tribune that this year’s Art on the Ave will celebrate an array of different cultures.

“We wanted to make sure this year that we were ensuring a lot of inclusivity, and so we did a lot of outreach to get (the) international community involved,” Jossy said. “... (We) definitely know that our art community is very diverse, and we wanted to get as much of that in there as possible.”

For example, Latino performers will grace the Todos Unidos Stage, Jossy said, adding that “they’re even bringing dancing horses, which is a first for Art on the Ave.”

Dancers from various cultural backgrounds will show off their moves through the Asia Pacific Cultural Center.

One friend of the fest will display art that he purchased in India, she said, and a Bollywood-themed section will be next to Gateway to India, 2603 Sixth Ave.

The fest has also partnered with Real Art Tacoma on the All Ages Stage, where young musicians can play.

The Lujack Stage will livestream its lineup on Tacoma.fm, an internet radio station featuring local musicians, Jossy said.

It’s important to Jossy that Tacoma’s creatives can come together in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which splintered the community. She said one of the reasons why she purchased the Weekly Volcano was to try and reconnect local artists.

One thing is crystal clear as far as Jossy is concerned: Tacoma is home to a robust artistic community.

“We’re not quite at the level of South by Southwest, but maybe one day,” Jossy said. “We do have a lot of talent here — so much talent. … This is a huge music festival that nobody pays a dime to go to.”

To view a map of this year’s Art on the Ave festival, visit weekly-volcano.com/682024-cover. Head to on6thave.org/art-on-the-ave to donate and learn more.

Art on the Ave’s music lineup will feature singer-songwriters and genres such as grunge, jazz, indie and Latin rock. See the artists and festival schedule at weekly-volcano.com/702024-recreation-1 .