DIVERSIONS

by David Kauffman

THURSDAY 3/9

SIXTH ANNUAL WEARABLE ART SHOW & SALE -- Support local artists, help women combat domestic violence, and encounter raiment you otherwise wouldn't -- all to benefit the YWCA of Tacoma and Pierce County. Shop "guilt-free and tax-free" the wares of artists from the Northwest and beyond. Larson Motor Co. Mercedes-Benz, 4001 E 20th, Fife, 253-272-4181 ext. 352, through March 12, Fri-Sat 10 am-6 pm, Sun 11 am-4 pm, free.

SATURDAY 3/11

GONCHAROVA & BEGELMAN -- Classical music concerts are too often expensive, stilted, and long. This is free, unpretentious, and of a reasonable duration -- one hour -- for the classically uninitiated. Tatiana Goncharova (piano) and Igor Begelman (clarinet) perform and discuss works by Debussy, Schumann, Poulenc, and Gabriel Pierene. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 2 pm, free.

TAE KWON DO -- Come watch people literally kick ass at the 22nd Washington State Tae Kwon Do Association Championship. Mercer Arena, at Seattle Center. Call 425-820-9933 for information. 9 am-5 pm, $8.

MONDAY 3/13

THE AMAZON -- Kristy Royce and Ashton Palmer, longtime residents of the Amazon rainforest, discuss recent entrepreneurship by Amazon natives and present a natural-history overview in a talk entitled "Green Hell or Amazon Paradise?" To be discussed is "community-based tourism": the efforts of indigenous people to finance their communities in an environmentally sustainable way by opening tourist lodges. Royce and Palmer will also shed light on the contrasts between stereotypical perceptions of Amazon natives as "noble savages" and the capitalist aspect of this endeavor. Miriani's Restaurant, 2208 N 45th, 7:30 pm, free.