Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings | Who let the dogs out?

Posted on September 2nd, 2025 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

The annual Harbor Hounds Community Dog Festival is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 at Skansie Brothers Park. It’s a celebration of all things canine, with hundreds of pups and their people participating.

This year’s event includes a scavenger hunt (with a $100 prize ), food trucks, games and raffles, live music and contests in which dogs compete for prizes for things like Best Kisser, Best Dressed, Best Trick and Musical Sit and Stay.

Piggy, left, and Ruby, right, charge up to the camera (and possibly this photographer), during the Rotary Club of Gig Harbor Midday’s Harbor Hounds 2024 charity event on Sept. 8, 2024. Photo by Carolyn Bick.

Mayor Mary Barber will judge the dog contests at 2:30 p.m.

This is the 25^th year for Harbor Hounds, sponsored by Gig Harbor’s Midday Rotary to support programs like Food Backpacks 4 Kids; FISH Food Bank, the Prison Pet Partnership, Red Barn Youth Center, high school scholarships and local food pantries. Admission is free. Get information here.

Fish Bowl

The Peninsula and Gig Harbor high school football teams face off on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Mount Tahoma High School.

Kickoff is at 5 p.m. Saturday, with gates opening at 3:45 p.m. Tickets cost $8 for adults or $5 for those ages 62 and older or who qualify for other discounts. Peninsula School District students with ASB cards, and kids in elementary school or younger, get in free.

Attendees must buy tickets online through GoFan. Tickets will not be sold at the gate.

Click here for more information about the game.

Gig Harbor and Peninsula line up for a play in the first quarter of the 2024 Fish Bowl at Mount Tahoma Stadium. Photo by Vince Dice

Race for a Soldier

The 15th annual Race For a Soldier begins at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept 7, starting from the Tom Taylor YMCA.

Sponsored by the Permission to Start Dreaming Foundation (PTSD) the 12K, 5K and virtual races support military personnel and first responders and their families. Both runs start and end at the YMCA, located at 10550 Harbor Hill Drive.

Registration fees are $70 for the 12K; $55 for the 5K and $45 for the virtual run. The opening ceremony will also feature military speakers and a flyover of Blackhawk helicopters. Click here to register or for more information.

Runners in a previous Race for a Soldier in Gig Harbor. The race is one of the Permission to Start Dreaming Foundation’s biggest annual fundraisers. This year, the Race for a Soldier is Sunday, Sept. 10.

Book discussion

The Gig Harbor Literary Society meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Harbor History Museum to discuss “The Library Book” by Susan Orlean. All are welcome to attend, whether or not you’ve read the book.

Make your own oars

The Gig Harbor BoatShop welcomes people to make a pair of spoon-blade oars sized to your individual rowing style and boat. Classes are from 1 to 3 p.m. every Wednesday.

The blades have a true “spoon” shape, with tips protected with fiberglass to prevent splitting. Click here to register.

Live music

Billy Stapleton’s Powerhouse Band takes the stage at Kimball Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5. Kimball also hosts an open mic at 6 p.m. Thursdays, with sign-ups at 5:30 p.m.

The Dmitri Matheny Group plays jazz from the silver screen at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5 at the Olalla Winery. The quartet features Chris Bickley on saxophones; Bill Anschell, piano; Osama Afifi, bass; Mark Ivester on drums and Matheny on flugelhorn. Admission is $20; reserve your space here.

The Beer Vault, 14004 Purdy Drive, has a free open mic at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5. All skill levels are welcome.

Locust Cider, 3207 57t Street Court (next to The Inn at Gig Harbor) has a free open mic from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays.

At the movies

This week’s Summer Fest movie at the Galaxy Theatres in Uptown is “Hotel Transylvania,” showing at 10 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2; and at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 3 and 4. Starting Friday, Sept. 5, the Summer Fest movie is “Storks.” Showtimes for “Storks” are 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5; 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 6 and 7; and 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 8 and 9. Summer Fest movies are just $2.

This week’s Flashback Cinema movie is “Jaws” 50^th Anniversary, showing at 11:15 a.m., 12:30 and 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2; 12:45 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3; and 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Sept 4. Some showings are in IMAX; contact the theater for details.

Starting Sunday, Sept. 7 the Flashback movie is “The Breakfast Club.” Showtimes are 11:15 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7. Flashback movies are just $5.

Civic engagement

The Gig Harbor Parks Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, at the Civic Center on Grandview Street to discuss a tree donation proposal from the Rotary Club and recommendations regarding the Masonic Lodge.

Meet the four finalists vying to be Gig Harbor’s next police chief at an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, at the Civic Center, 3510 Grandview Street.

The Gig Harbor City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, in the Civic Center. Tentative agenda items include a public hearing on impact fees, a resolution in support of the upcoming public vote on a Cultural Access program, and awarding a contract for changes to the Harbor History Museum’s driveway entrance.

Looking ahead

Tickets are on sale for the Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance’s Sip and Stroll event, which takes place from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13. More than two dozen downtown waterfront locations will offer sips of locally crafted beer, wine, cider and spirits. There’s also live music, snacks and sweet treats, plus free shuttle service. Tickets cost $65 and are available here.

Harbor History Museum’s annual “History Rocks” fundraiser takes place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Vintage Aero Museum, 1108 26^th Ave. NW. This year’s event is a celebration of the Roaring 1920s and the spirit of the Jazz Age. There are also silent and live auctions (called by local favorite Jim Borgen), food from Snuffin’s Catering and a dessert dash. Tickets are $125 per person. Purchase them here.

The Gig Harbor BoatShop will host a concert by Kelos on Monday, Sept. 22. The three-piece group (fiddle, accordion and guitar) plays music inspired by the maritime traditions of Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia and North America. Tickets are $35. Make reservations here.

Th Gig Harbor Film Festival, Sept. 25–28, will feature 14 full-length films and more than two dozen shorts. Purchase general admission and VIP passes here.