Arts & Entertainment

Whether you’re looking to be entertained or enlightened, Gig Harbor Now covers fun and informational events taking place in the community.

Two In Tow & On The Go | Fast times on Tacoma’s Chutes and Ladders

Oct 04, 2024 | By:

Tacoma’s Chutes and Ladders to the east end of the Wilson Way bridge is the fun way to quickly get down to the marina complex below. Each slide has a set of stairs next to it for those who prefer a slower route.

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Local man helping auction relics from Western Flyer, a boat famously connected to Steinbeck

Oct 03, 2024 | By: Chapin Day

How much would you pay to own one-of-a-kind pieces of fishing, environmental, scientific and literary history? Could you be an “angel?” Those are questions inspired by a Wauna man’s quest. Michael Hemp, a vibrant, engaging and consistently curious 81-year-old whose business card lists him as “Historian, Heritage Marketing & Communications Consultant, Researcher, Archivist, Lecturer, Novelist,”

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Gig Harbor Film Festival attendance up 57% from 2023

Oct 01, 2024 | By: Carolyn Bick

2024 Gig Harbor Film Festival awards went to “First We Bombed New Mexico,” “7000 Miles,” “Dawgfather” director Kent Loomer and others.

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Harbor Happenings | Fall fun starts this week

Oct 01, 2024 | By:

Correction: Fox Island Octoberfest is Friday, Oct. 4. An earlier version misstated the day of the event. The annual Scarecrow Festival kicks off the Halloween season from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at Sehmel Homestead Park. PenMet’s Scarecrow Festival includes a pumpkin launch, peeweee rodeo, Markers Market, and an assortment of vendors.

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Day Tripper | A spooky stop on our Puget Sound Loop

Sep 26, 2024 | By: Mary Williams

I admit it. I’m easily distracted. Staying focused is not my strong suit. Take last year, when I set out on a daytrip to Port Townsend to check out the place that’s reported to be one of the most haunted towns in the Pacific Northwest, if not the entire United States. Instead, I ended up

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Wingnut Metal Works makes fine art from spare parts

Sep 26, 2024 | By:

Repurposing old, rusted metal into art that is both functional and decorative has been a hobby for Ray Swift since his high school days. Recently, Swift launched a business, Wingnut Metal Works, from his shop at his home on Raft Island. He learned to weld while working for a sculpture professor at Pacific Lutheran University

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A candid discussion of mental health struggles and seeking help, in recognition of Suicide Prevention Month

Sep 24, 2024 | By: Carolyn Bick

Reader warning: This article contains discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and self-harm. Heather Arneson is the artist behind LIVEeachmoment Art, a small, mental health-focused art business Arneson opened in 2020. Arneson has struggled with her mental health for more than 15 years, and this decade-and-a-half’s worth of personal experience informs her work. In

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Harbor Happenings | Film Festival, Cider Swig and Pier Into the Night

Sep 24, 2024 | By:

The Greater Gig Harbor Foundation’s Cider Swig is Saturday in Tacoma while the first Pier Into the Night of the season is that evening.

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Film festival headliner shines spotlight on a good coach who was also a good person

Sep 23, 2024 | By:

When a friend pitched him the idea of making a movie about former University of Washington football coach Don James, Kent Loomer was skeptical. He didn’t want to make a football movie. Nor did he want to make what he called a “puff piece.” But Mike Martin, a longtime friend and big-time Husky football fan,

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Gig Harbor Now and Then | If only they had followed their own advice

Sep 23, 2024 | By: Greg Spadoni

Who knows how old these people would have turned if they hadn’t picked up a bad habit. And about that term, “would have turned …”

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