Goldfish racing is back at the Harmon Tap Room | Events

After several weeks of controversy, the Harmon Tap Room is bringing back its wildly popular weekly goldfish racing event.

Tacoma KOMO broke the news last week that the popular weekly event had been cancelled after a furious letter-writing campaign led by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Since the story broke here Tuesday, it's been featured by media outlets from radio stations in Australia, to the Washington Post, to Canadian newspapers, to Practical Fishkeeping (yes, it's real).

Harmon Brewing Company owner Pat Nagle says he decided to resume the races after receiving a flood of feedback from people calling for the return of the goldfish racing.

"What came down to me when I was really thinking about it, it’s really not these races that we do because you race horses and lots of other animals, it’s how you treat them," Nagle said. "And we’re treating these goldfish great."

While Nagle maintains that the fish were not being mistreated in the first place, he says the new season of races will feature stricter standards, including a set of goldfish racing rules that will be posted at the Tap Room.

The rules address some of PETA’s complaints, and will forbid touching, poking or swallowing the fish. The fish will be handled only by an employee wearing gloves. Nagle says he’ll also do away with squirt bottles that were used to propel the fish forward in their racing troughs.

Nagle says people had the wrong idea about what was happening at the races. A rumor even made its way back to the Tap Room that the races involved fish being fired through tubes and emerging dead on the other side. Not so, he says.

“We’re really just taking them for a nice swim,” Nagle said. “We’re going to take care of them, we’re going to love them and we’re going to take them out for a little exercise every Tuesday.”

The races are held every Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.  Join the Harmon Brewing Company and Tacoma KOMO at the Tap Room next Tuesday, May 3, to kick off the start of the official racing season.

Entering the races is free, and lucky contestants could win gift cards to Harmon restaurants, t-shirts and other swag, and more.

The races are just one of a series of beer games and events hosted by the Tap Room. Check their website for more information.