Grit City Magazine

06/01/2026

In case you've ever wondered what it looks like under water at the annual Polar Bear Plunge.

📷: Jami Cantrell

What would lead someone to wake up early on New Year’s Day just to jump into 50º water is beyond me. I guess if you start the year off by tricking your body into thinking you’re about to freeze to death, then anything that comes afterwards must be that much easier to handle? Whatever it is, the...

20/12/2025

Hard Copy 27 is out in the world and the poster that comes with it by Jude Grey is an important and visually impactful critique of the systems we currently live in.

Before we get to the artist’s statement, though, we have an important correction and note to make. In the artist feature, we misspelled their name and omitted their contact info. It’s Jude Grey, not Gray. You can follow them on Instagram at .left and see all their other offerings at feltleftco.com

This is Jude’s statement explaining the piece:

“Featuring our Tacoma Dome, this poster exemplifies both upcoming and historical overreach of a government hellbent on taking our power. A dome, integral to our community, yet built on peoples displaced and land stolen, is surrounded by the cameras our cities and counties all across Washington begin to implement at the behest of sycophantic leaders, corrupt police, and their enriched benefactors.

“Not only symbols of real fear and consequence, but also of our diminishing autonomy and forsaken privacy. A way to ensure our community cannot come together to take care of one another, and criminalize those who do. But not here. We cannot succumb. We will not. Watch them watch you, stay a step ahead- offer shelter and food and support to those around you, and read into Flock and other surveillance systems being implemented into your area.”

In the feature, when asked about Tacoma and how the city influences them they said, “The whisper of potential here is incredibly inspiring. It offers hope at a time where hope feels distant. We are a city full of gritty leftists, but also everyone else. And it can sometimes feel like we have a closer access to power here, or confronting power, than in some other cities I’ve lived in.” They went on to say that they aren’t sure if the people can ever claim that power, but the hope we gain can balance the despair some are feeling in today’s climate.

Read the rest and get an 11x14 print of Watch Them Watch You with Hard Copy 27: https://gritcitymag.com/product/hard-copy-27/

05/12/2025

All the rainy gray makes the colors that much brighter.

📷: Michael Weldon

03/12/2025

Mattice carried a lot in our community and that load is now in other people’s hands. The people and things she loved are still here and they need support.

If you always meant to visit her shop but you never got a chance to…
If you went in to chat but never actually bought anything…
If you learned something new about Tacoma from listening to her…
If you care more now because of the example she set…
If you respect her close friends and family and you want to show support without overreaching…

Please go to the GoFundMe and and give what you can: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mattice-catch-a-break

And if you’ve already given to the GoFundMe and you’re looking for a way to continue her legacy, remember the tenets of community that she lived by:

-Spend your money at local businesses—even if it’s out of your way.
-Go to city council meetings—even if it’s not for something that affects you personally.
-Call people out when they’re fu***ng up—even if it’ll cost you a few followers.
-Don’t just wait to mourn the loss of cultural institutions—do the quiet individual work to keep them thriving.

Pay attention, speak up, and take care of each other.

PS- In case you’re wondering, we made this “press pass” for Mattice leading up to a mayoral debate last July. The political scene will never be the same.

02/12/2025

We're working on this year's map of the best Christmas light displays in Tacoma and we need your input!

If you’ve seen any good ones around town, leave a comment here with an address or cross street and/or shoot us a DM if you have some pictures to share.

We’ll have this year’s list up ASAP but you can always check out the 2024 list if you need something quicker:

https://gritcitymag.com/2024/12/best-christmas-lights-in-tacoma-2024/

27/11/2025

Have you ever wanted to get into nighttime photography?

Our next photo class is Monday December 1st and we have a few spots left.

This class will teach you how to get good photos in any low light situation—with and without the use of lighting equipment.

We’ll talk about which manual settings to use and how to deal with high ISO and the associated degradation of image quality.

We’ll also get into the best kinds of lenses to use for different low light situations and other associated gear.

All skill levels welcome!

✨Special addition to this class, we’ll be doing some light painting at Lumora Theatre, a new experimental art theater opening soon downtown!

➡ December 1st, 7:00-9:30 PM
➡ Check the Eventbrite page for details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shooting-in-the-dark-low-light-and-long-exposure-photography-tickets-1894138923509

📷: Sierra Hartman

PS- If you’re into the crazy flying sparks photos, be sure to follow on Instagram. He’s the local master of spinning steel wool and we did a whole story about him in Hard Copy 15.