Arts & Entertainment

It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween, with spooky critters appearing in front yards and piles of pumpkins at every grocery store entrance. The Scarecrow Festival at Sehmel Homestead Park from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, provides a preview of the holiday. The event includes hayrides and a petting zoo, pumpkin

Editor’s note: Patsy Surh O’Connell organizes the local ChuSeok Festival. An earlier version of this story misstated that fact. Hundreds gathered in Skansie Park on Sept. 30 for Gig Harbor’s third annual Korean ChuSeok Festival, a free and family-friendly event sponsored by the Asia Pacific Cultural Center. Often referred to as the “Korean Thanksgiving”, ChuSeok

While most Western countries mark the fall equinox as the height of the harvest season, in Korea it’s celebrated with a full-blown festival known as ChuSeok. Gig Harbor’s third annual ChuSeok Festival happens from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Skansie Park. It follows a similar event held in Tacoma last week.

The 2023 Gig Harbor Film Festival drew hundreds of cinephiles to the Galaxy Theatres Uptown for its four-day run last week. “We truly had a memorable event and it was our most successful yet. Filmmakers came from as far as Connecticut and one even drove up from Texas,” said Pam Holt, the festival’s executive director.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the date of the ChuSeok Festival at Skansie Park. The correct date is Sept. 30, 2023. The Gig Harbor Film Festival, happening this week at the Galaxy Uptown Theatres, features nearly 65 independent films. The festival starts Thursday, Sept. 21, and runs through early afternoon

If you grew up in Western Washington, or even just lived here for a good stretch of time, you probably think you already know practically everything about the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.   A short documentary premiering at this week’s Gig Harbor Film Festival could prove you wrong.  The 11-minute film, called

Nearly three dozen local artists will be on hand in their studios to show and sell their work during this weekend’s Open Studio Tour. Artists will answer questions about what inspires them and talk about their creative processes. Many will also demonstrate how they create their artwork. Featured media include paintings, photography, jewelry, sculpture and

The previous question posed by Gig Harbor Now and Then was: What two different sports were the girls’ teams playing in 1930 when Gig Harbor’s Union High School beat Vaughn Union High 17-15, then lost to Olalla 5-4; and in 1935 when Rosedale School beat Crescent Valley School 66-22? Answer: basketball and baseball, respectively. In

A short but jaunty maritime parade of historic vessels slipped out of Gig Harbor against the tide at dawn Wednesday, Sept. 6, embarking on an eight-hour voyage north to Port Townsend. The 1926, 65-foot restored purse seiner Veteran towed two 26-foot Thunderbird sailboats. The two are scheduled for display Sept. 8 through 10 at the