TACOMA, WA.- Museum of Glass will welcome visitors back to Glass Fest Northwest on Saturday, August 12. Glass Fest Northwest puts art and the Pacific Northwest center stage by bringing together local artists, artisans, vendors, and community members.

Visitors are invited to enjoy browsing the works of more than 50 local artists and vendors on the Grand Plaza. Food and drink will be available from a selection of food trucks as well as from La Finestra Café, the new residents of the Museum of Glass restaurant space. Also on the Grand Plaza will be live marble-making demonstrations by a lineup of flameworkers and marble racing on this year’s custom-built marble run.

The festivities continue inside the Museum. Visiting Artist Nancy Burgess will be working in the Cone alongside the Museum of Glass Hot Shop Team. Burgess is a Dakota/Grand Ronde (Umpqua) weaver, born in Seattle and based in Tacoma. She has been a weaver of cedar bark and spruce root hats and baskets for 37 years. She has taught many relatives and friends to weave throughout the years and is very proud of her children for carrying on the tradition. She has marketed her work in galleries and museums from Anchorage, Alaska to Grand Ronde, Oregon, throughout the US, and to many collectors from around the world. Burgess will be working with the Hot Shop Team in live glassblowing demonstrations to create new works in glass inspired by the hat and basket forms in her weaving practice.

In the galleries, visitors can get an in-depth look at three of the Museum’s current exhibitions by joining Museum of Glass staff members for gallery tours. Visitors can choose from three tour topics:

• Illuminate: Glass Art for Early Learners for Adults! at 11am
• Out of the Vault: Family Meal at 12:30pm
• Neon: An Evolving Medium at 2pm

These tours are being offered exclusively during Glass Fest Northwest, so visitors are encouraged to reserve their places early. Tours are free for Museum of Glass members and $5/person for non-members.

Across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, the Washington State History Museum will be hosting the 18th annual IN THE SPIRIT Arts Market & Northwest Native Festival. IN THE SPIRIT is a yearly summer celebration of the diversity of Native American arts and culture, including a juried exhibition at the Washington State History Museum, artist awards, artist talks, and an indoor/outdoor arts market featuring Native music, artist vendors, dance performances, and more. Museum of Glass encourages visitors to make a day of the two celebrations and explore the incredible offerings throughout the Tacoma Museum District during the weekend.