Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings | Scarecrow Festival launches us into fall

Posted on September 29th, 2026 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

Peninsula Metropolitan Parks District’s annual Scarecrow Festival — with live music, a scarecrow contest, more than 70 vendors, food trucks, a petting zoo and pumpkin launchers — takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at Sehmel Homestead Park, 10123 78th Ave. NW.

The fun also includes a Pee Wee rodeo, carnival games, a bounce house, hayrides and craft-making. Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH Food Bank will be on hand to collect food donations.

A free shuttle will take visitors from Gig Harbor High School, 5101 Rosedale St. NW, to Sehmel. Park in the school’s lower parking lot and look for the “shuttle pick up” sign.

A pumpkin takes flight at the 2022 Scarecrow Festival at Sehmel Homestead Park. Vince Dice

Sip and Stroll

The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance’s popular Sip and Stroll waterfront prowl is from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, with sips, snacks, live music and small bites at 22 downtown locations. Tickets are $65 per person here. Tickets include access to the free shuttle and water taxi.

Madrona Fest

Stephanie Ann Johnson will provide the music for the Key Peninsula’s annual MadronaFest on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the KP Civic Center, 17010 S. Vaughn Road NW in Vaughn. The event includes an old-time music jam, workshops and food trucks from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Suggested donation for admission is $25. Buy tickets here.

Pier into the Night

Autumn brings shorter days and the return of after-dark activities like Harbor WildWatch’s Pier into the Night. The season’s first pier peer takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Maritime Pier.

Divers and an underwater drone will livestream what they find below the surface, while staff biologists identify the critters that appears on the big screen set up on the pier. Likely spottings include feather-duster tube worms; sculpin and gunnels; several species of crab; nudibranch; giant Pacific octopus and more.

Final farmers market

The year’s final fall Farmers Market is from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, in the parking lot at B’s Bagels, 3308 Uddenberg Lane, with fall produce and other products for sale. Guitarist Jonathan Sherrill will provide the music, and the first 50 people to show proof of purchase will receive a free market tote.

Junior Sailing club auction

Support the Gig Harbor Yacht Club’s Junior Sailing program and meet some of the program’s young sailors at a dinner-auction Friday, Oct. 2, at the Yacht Club, 8209 Stinson Ave. Tickets cost $60 per person here.

TV shoot

Croatia TV will be in Gig Harbor on Thursday, Oct. 1, shooting footage for a film that will be shown at Seattle’s annual CroatiaFest on Sunday, Oct. 4. Producers will wander through town all day, filming and interviewing people. The Skansie Netshed Foundation invites people to meet at the netshed in Skansie Brothers Park at 11 a.m. to welcome the film crew.

Book discussions

The Gig Harbor Literary Society meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Harbor History Museum to talk about “Rough Trade” by Katrina Carrasco. It’s a queer historical crime novel set in 1888 Washington Territory that follows Alma Rosales, an ex-detective living as a male stevedore who runs a dangerous opium smuggling operation in Tacoma. The story blends queer romance, high-stakes smuggling and a whodunit mystery. Book discussions are free and all are welcome, whether or not you’ve read the book.

Invitation Book Shop’s Under-200-Pages book club meet at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 at 3119 Judson St. to discuss Invitation’s book of the month.

Art Show

Work by artist Barbara Bleich is on display at Tacoma Community College’s Gig Harbor branch through Dec. 23. Bleich calls the show “Pondering the Feminine Mystique.” It includes color-infused paintings that incorporate a variety of mediums and techniques like layering, sanding back, scraping and moving materials. TCC is located at 3993 Hunt St. NW. The show is open during regular class hours.

Write in the Harbor

Registration is open for Tacoma Community College’s 12th annual Write in the Harbor, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7, at the Gig Harbor branch. This year’s workshop, dubbed “Sharing the Narrative,” features author Suzanne Morrison and other authors. Find information and register here.

Fun and games

Thursday, Oct. 1, is Trivia Night at the Beer Vault, 14004 Purdy Dr., with games starting at 6:30 p.m. The Vault will host a tailgate party Friday, Oct. 2, before the 7 p.m. kickoff of Peninsula High’s football game against Capital.

Locust Cider (soon to become The Harbor Hideout under new ownership) has Trivia from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Drag Bingo with Hanna MiaJoint at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2.

Hop Pharm, 3216 Judson St. has five rounds of bingo starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Ocean5, 5268 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, has family bingo at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays; and trivia at 6 p.m. Thursdays. Sunday, Oct. 4 it’s Awkward Family Portrait Night, with professional portraits, selfie stations and picture frame-decorating from 5 to 8 p.m. All ages are welcome.

Hidden Harbor Wine Library has bingo every Monday and canasta every Thursday, all starting at 4:30 p.m. Location is 8805 N. Harborview Dr., Suite 204.

The Float,14511 Sherman Dr. NW in Purdy has karaoke from 8 p.m. to midnight Fridays.

Live music

The Harbor Ukulele Group gets together from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Gig Harbor Library, 4424 Point Fosdick Dr., to share tunes. Newcomers are welcome.

Springtide plays traditional Celtic and Scandinavian fiddle tunes at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Dr. Admission is $20 for museum members or $25 for nonmembers.

Kimball Coffeehouse hosts an open mic every Thursday, with signups at 5:30 p.m. and music at 6 p.m. The Billy Shew Band plays the blues at Kimball at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2.

Singer-songwriter Thea Wescott provides the music at Olalla Winery at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2. Luke Stanton joins her. Tickets are $20 here.

Celebrate the end of summer at the Beer Vault at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, with Sounds Like Dolores.

Shadowhouse plays at Locust Cider, 3207 57th St. Ct., at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3.

Country artist Adam Krum plays a 21+ show at Ocean5 Saturday, Oct 3, with music starting at 7 p.m.

At the movies

The Flashback Cinema movie at the Galaxy Theatres in Uptown on Wednesday, Sept. 30, is “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” showing at 6:30 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 4, it’s “The Shining,” Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic based on the Stephen King bestseller. Showtime is noon. Flashback tickets are just $7.

The Galaxy’s Friday Night Fright film is “Dracula” in its original 1931 version. Showtime is 8:45 p.m. on Oct. 3, with tickets just $6.

The Galaxy Classic movie on Monday, Oct. 6, is “Lost in America” (1985), about a husband and wife in their 30s who decide to quit their jobs and live as free spirits, cruising American in a Winnebago. Showtime is 7 p.m. Tickets are just $5.

Civic engagement

The Gig Harbor City Council will meet for a study session at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. Tentative agenda items include a review of the Rotary Living Tree Program service agreement; housing diversity; amendments to stormwater and sewer maintenance agreements with the Harbor Hill Resident Owners Association; lodging tax grant recommendations; and updates to water rights and wastewater discharge permits.

The council will also hold a study session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, to discuss the 2027-28 budget. Council meetings take place at the Civic Center, 3510 Grandview St. and can be watched on Zoom.