Arts & Entertainment

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

Harbor Happenings: Chum Fest is a Chum Walk this year

Nov 14, 2023 | By:

The Chum Walk on Saturday, Nov. 18, is not just a celebration of the annual return of salmon to Donkey Creek. It’s also is a reminder that the quality of our water, and the habitat it supports, connects us all. That’s according to Lindsey Stover, executive director of Harbor WildWatch, the event’s organizer. The Chum

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Le Mans sailboat race a well-loved and wacky local tradition

Nov 13, 2023 | By: Chapin Day

“All hands below deck!” Weather permitting, that strange command should echo around Gig Harbor next Saturday morning, Nov. 18, just five minutes before one of the world’s wackiest sailboat racing starts. Even the most committed landlubber ashore, ignorant of sail racing’s rules or which side is port and which side is starboard, can enjoy the

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Elementary students get ready to rhumba with ballroom dance lessons

Nov 08, 2023 | By:

Sultry tango music plays in a half-empty portable classroom at Voyager Elementary School. Chairs and tables have been pushed aside to create a small dance floor, where students in pairs mark the beat with their feet. Step, step, step, to-the-side and close. “T-A-N-G-O,” calls out instructor Roxanne Nielsen, helping count the rhythm. It may not

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Harbor Happenings: A salute to veterans on Nov. 11

Nov 07, 2023 | By:

The sixth annual Gig Harbor Veterans Day Celebration starts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Gig Harbor Antique Aero Museum at Tacoma Narrows Airport. This year’s event will include a special ceremony commemorating veterans of the Vietnam War. United States military forces withdrew from Vietnam 50 years ago this year. The keynote speaker

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Gig Harbor Now and Then: Donkey Creek Park Douglas fir isn’t all that old … for a tree

Nov 06, 2023 | By: Greg Spadoni

Our most recent Gig Harbor Now and Then questions of local history involve Gig Harbor’s first big industry, logging. Specifically, they concern a single second-growth Douglas fir tree standing tall in the city of Gig Harbor’s Donkey Creek Park. They are: How old is the Donkey Creek Park fir tree? Answer: Between 50 and 100

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Two In Tow & On The Go: A forgotten treasure at Point Defiance

Nov 03, 2023 | By:

Today’s adventure brings us across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and over to the wooded wonderland that is Point Defiance Park to explore yet another local playground almost hidden in plain sight.

Sandwiched between the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and the Marina, this playground is outdated – but also secluded and awesome. Finding it atop a narrow bluff among the trees, the kids and I felt like we stumbled upon a well-kept secret with its hand-powered scoot platform, climbers and log-style-construction.

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Books in a Bus a perfect pairing of owner’s love of reading and Volkswagons

Nov 02, 2023 | By:

A fidgety, exuberant buzz runs through the classroom as the afternoon kicks off at Gig Harbor Co-operative Preschool. There’s a special visitor today. She’s tan, wears four wheels and lots of colorful stickers, and she’s too big to fit inside the classroom. It’s Connie’s Books in a Bus. Accompanied by GHCP teacher Nadine Mart, small

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Harbor Happenings: Post-Halloween edition

Oct 31, 2023 | By:

Bundle up and learn about the critters that live in Gig Harbor bay on Saturday, Nov. 4, during this month’s Pier into the Night. Starting at 6 p.m. at the Maritime Pier next to the Tides Tavern, divers will transmit underwater images onto a big screen on the pier while Harbor WildWatch biologists discuss what’s

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On Raft Island, the Peninsula’s last summer camp carries on, with updates

Oct 26, 2023 | By:

Residents on the east side of Lay Inlet enjoy looking across the bay at All Saints Camp and Retreat Center, a heavily forested stretch of Raft Island shoreline that provides a home to wildlife and brilliant fall colors. The view hasn’t changed in decades. Neighbors might have worried earlier this month, when barges and heavy

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Day Tripper: A diversion in Port Gamble becomes the main attraction

Oct 25, 2023 | By: Mary Williams

Gas prices are sky high, and a night in a hotel is approaching astronomically expensive.  So, for the foreseeable future, I imagine many of you are going to find yourselves taking day trips rather than the road trip vacations we’ve grown to love.  This beautiful region in which we live is ripe with opportunities to

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