Tacoma Beer Week Basecamp: Proctor Polar Bear Crawl
Tacoma Beer Week 2026 unfolds February 27 through March 8, a citywide celebration of craft beer, local breweries, neighborhood bars, and the people who move between them with curiosity and intention. Events scatter across the city like well-marked trailheads. You don’t do it all in one place — you gather, you choose, you go. Peaks & Pints embraces that reality by offering Tacoma Beer Week Basecamp, a daily event in itself where people meet, take stock, experience the day’s featured Peaks & Pints event, and then set the course for the rest of the night.
Saturday, February 28, opens Tacoma Beer Week Basecamp at Peaks & Pints, anchored by the 3rd Annual Proctor Polar Bear Crawl — hosted by Party for Polar Bears, supported by Drinking for Conservation, and fueled by 7 Seas Brewing. Basecamp runs from 5 to 8 p.m., that brief window before the night decides what it’s going to be.
Polar bears were the first species declared threatened due to climate change, officially listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2008. Their dependence on Arctic sea ice for hunting and raising young makes them especially vulnerable as warming temperatures continue to thin and retreat that ice. It’s distant, daunting science — until it shows up somewhere human-scale, like a neighborhood crawl or a conversation across a bar top.
Party for Polar Bears was founded in 2015 by retired Point Defiance Zoo polar bear keeper Cindy Roberts after attending the Climate Alliance with Polar Bears International and traveling to Churchill, Manitoba, the polar bear capital of the world. What began as education quickly became an annual fundraiser timed around International Polar Bear Day on February 27, turning concern into action through community gatherings.
Since its founding, Party for Polar Bears has raised more than $65,500 for polar bear conservation, channeling neighborhood goodwill and well-timed pints into real-world impact since 2016. Roberts has returned to Churchill as a field ambassador with Polar Bears International and received the Nico van Strien Leadership in Conservation honor — recognition for the rare ability to translate awe, urgency, and community spirit into lasting protection for polar bears and the places they still call home.
Drinking for Conservation brings its own joyful urgency to the mission. Co-chaired by Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium biologist Suzanne Akerman, the group raises funds for wildlife and environmental causes through beer-centered events powered by enthusiasm, costumes, and a belief that joy can be put to work. Their philosophy is simple and effective: drink beer, help animals.
The Proctor Polar Bear Crawl runs from 2 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, inviting participants to roam the Proctor District for shopping, treats, and polar-bear cheer at Chirp & Co, Compass Rose, Pacific Northwest Shop, Tacoma Glass Gallery & Fusing Studio, Teaching Toys & Books, Fondi Pizza, Ice Cream Social, Narrows Brewing, and Brown Family Vineyards.
From there, the crawl funnels naturally into Peaks & Pints for the finale — and the first Tacoma Beer Week Basecamp — from 5 to 8 p.m. Basecamp isn’t about discounted drinks or racing the clock. It’s the gathering place where friends meet, plans sharpen, the day’s featured event unfolds, and the night fans back out across Tacoma Beer Week.
7 Seas Brewing will anchor Peaks & Pints’ Western redcedar tap log for the Party for Polar Bears finale. Founded in 2008 by Mike Runion and Travis Guterson, 7 Seas has grown from its Gig Harbor origins into one of Pierce County’s defining breweries, with major locations in Gig Harbor and Tacoma’s Historic Brewery District. Known for being Washington’s first brewery to can craft beer and for building community-driven spaces, 7 Seas brings both range and heart to the night.
Start the week together. Raise a glass for something bigger. Then head back out into Tacoma Beer Week.
LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory
