Real estate agents, circus performers, teachers, and software engineers — while the groups might not have much in common in their day-to-day lives, every other Wednesday they gather at Gasworks Park for a pyrotechnic celebration of light, music and dance. Fire dancing has been around for decades, but its popularity has climbed rapidly in the past five or six years.

While Kent may be a statistically diverse area, its cultures remain considerably isolated among each other, and Paul Singh believes it's time to end that trend. It started with a charity drive, Singh said, where he and his friend, Gurinder Grewal, worked to find blankets in the Sikh community to donate over the holidays.

Forziya Abdul Aziz had never worn a mortar board in her life – until recently when the Somalian woman basked in the glow of a special ceremony. Abdul Aziz, a Somali immigrant and mother of seven, was among the 300 parent graduates on hand who received their diplomas from the Kent School District's PASA (Parent Academy for Student Achievement) commencement at the Kent-Meridian High School gymnasium Dec. 16.

“When you’re cross-country or backcountry skiing, it’s not easy to stop and take stock of your environment,” McLean says. “On snowshoes you get to interact directly with an environment that you just don’t see in your day-to-day life.”. Many snowshoe kits come with hiking/trekking poles, and while these aren’t necessary, Brown suggests buying a pair to help distribute weight and get used to the different dynamics of hiking on snowshoes.

When Tom Martin moved to Sequim from Seattle, he knew exactly what to do with the small building on the side of his home. “I saw that detached garage and said, ‘That’s the place for my brewery.’”. Martin owns Sequim’s only microbrewery, Fathom and League, based out of his home on Old Olympic Highway.

It’s not every day you walk down a trail and find a 67-year-old man rolling half-ton boulders into a stream bed, but if you plan a hike when the Grey Wolves trail work crew is out, you’ve got a good chance of seeing just that. The Grey Wolves, a crew comprised mainly of retirees, maintain the wilderness trails near Sequim, including the well-known trail that is their namesake.

Lynn Lofstrom pauses to talk to Kentridge science teacher Matthew Czajka during a bi-monthly classroom workshop for new teachers in the district. While many districts offer similar mentorship programs, few provide a dedicated mentor to new teachers, instead using the time of another teacher in the school.

Mount Rainier's activity, combined with its proximity to Tacoma, Seattle and Yakima, has earned it a label as one of the most dangerous in the world in the event of an eruption, according to the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior’s Decade Volcano list. Mount Rainier's last eruption occurred around 1100 AD, and the volcano that sits south of Auburn and Kent has remained dormant since.

An air of mystery surrounds the island north of Discovery Bay, nestled between the western shore of Port Townsend and the eastern shore of Sequim. Signs surround it, warning visitors to stay 200 feet away from the shore. Even aircraft are barred from breaching the 2,000 foot no fly zone. Residents and visitors view Protection Island as an enigma.