Take a look at this year’s Christmas light displays in the South Sound —

Winter Solstice Lights
Where: Lakewold Gardens | 12317 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood, WA
When: 11/25/22 - 12/31/22
Event Details →

Fantasy Lights
Where: Spanaway Park | 14800-15470 Bressmann Blvd. S Spanaway Park, Tacoma
When: 11/25/22 - 1/1/2023
Time: 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Event Details →

Zoolights
Where: Point Defiance Park | 5400 N Pearl Street, Tacoma
When: 11/25/22 - 1/2/2023
Time: 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM
Event Details →

Holiday Magic at The Fairgrounds in Puyallup
Where: Washington State Fair | 110 9th Ave SW, Puyallup, WA 98371
When: December 1-4, 8-11, 15-18 & 20-23, 2022
Time: 4:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Event Details →

Another excellent resource for finding Christmas light displays in the area is the Pacific Northwest Christmas Lights map. Check it out!

Featured reading —

Events in the South Sound | October 2025

Festival of Light
Where: Eastside Community Center
When: October 4^th from 11am to 6pm
Learnmore →

Tacoma Arts Month 2025
Where: All Around Tacoma
When: October 11 -12th from 11am to 5pm
Learnmore →

Proctor District Halloween Parade
Where: Proctor District
When: October 18^th from 4pm to 9pm
Learn more →

Greek Festival
Where: 1741 N Schuster Way
When: October 3, 4 & 5 2025
Time: 11am
Learn more →

Dia de los Muertos Craft Classes
Where: 110 9^th Avenue SW
When: September 18 - October 23
Learn more →

This Week in Survey: Expanding Our Capabilities by Land,
Air—and Water

Aug 11 2025

At McInnis Engineering, we’re committed to delivering uncommon engineering value—and that means continually investing in tools that improve accuracy, efficiency, and outcomes for our clients. This week, we’re excited to share some major upgrades to our survey equipment that expand our capabilities across Pierce, Thurston, and King Counties.

Eyes in the Sky: DJI Matrice 4E RTK Drone

We’ve added a DJI Matrice 4E RTK drone to our survey toolkit. This isn’t your hobby drone—it’s a precision-engineered workhorse equipped with real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning for centimeter-level accuracy. The Matrice 4E allows us to quickly capture high-resolution aerial data, generate detailed topographic surfaces, and perform volumetric calculations with speed and precision.

Whether we're mapping large development sites, tracking construction progress, or surveying hard-to-access terrain, this drone allows us to do more in less time—without compromising accuracy.

Boots on the Ground: New Leica Total Stations and GPS Units

In addition to the drone, we’ve upgraded to Leica’s top-tier survey instruments, including total stations and GNSS gear that set the industry standard. These tools improve field efficiency, reduce errors, and allow us to handle complex survey conditions with confidence.

For clients, this means faster turnaround, reliable data, and survey crews equipped to tackle the toughest site challenges.

Into the Water: A Boat for Pond Surveying

Not every job stays on dry ground. We’ve also added a survey vessel to support work in ponds, wetlands, and other water bodies. This boat is equipped for shallow water surveying, and it helps us safely and accurately gather data where traditional equipment can’t go.

It’s a key part of our commitment to environmental and stormwater-related survey work, which continues to grow throughout the region.

Why It Matters

These investments aren’t just about having cool gadgets—they’re about giving our clients better information, faster. Whether it’s a preliminary site survey, an as-built for a stormwater pond, or topographic data for design work, we’re bringing the best tools to the job.

If you’ve got a project coming up that needs surveying—whether by land, air, or water—we’d be glad to talk.