Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings | Airport Day touches down at Tacoma Narrows

Posted on August 12th, 2025 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

Airport Day festivities take place at Tacoma Narrows Airport from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16.

The event includes STEM activities for kids and a variety of exhibits and vendor booths from local service clubs and flying clubs. Groups participating include the Federal Aviation Administration, the Airline Pilots Administration, the Peninsula School District and branches of the U.S. armed forces. Gig Harbor’s Vintage Aero Museum will also be open during the event.

There won’t be any air acrobatics, but there will be plenty of fly-bys. The Young Eagles and Red-Tailed Hawks flying clubs will offer special events for kids. Local plane owners will be on hand to talk about their aircraft.

Photo by Pierce County Planning and Public Works

Admission is free. Parking is allowed along the roadway shoulder on 26^th Avenue. Accessible parking places will be available at the airport office and the Hub restaurant parking lot inside the airport property. The airport is located at 1202 26^th Ave. NW.

Chalk the Harbor

The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance hosts the annual Chalk the Harbor celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16.

The event takes place at Donkey Creek and Skansie Brothers parks, as well as on sidewalks around downtown. People are invited to create chalk art on any available patch of pavement.

The alliance plans a community art project for this year, too. Look for details in a story later this week.

Chalk the Harbor on Saturday, July 20, 2024 in Gig Harbor. Photo by Vince Dice

Oar-making at the BoatShop

Tom Regan, the Community Boat Restoration Program leader at the Gig Harbor BoatShop, teaches an oar-making class Wednesdays through Oct. 22 at the nonprofit on Harborview Drive.

Boaters build oars specifically sized for their boat and rowing style. Each pair of oars is crafted from from vertical grain Sitka spruce, coated with six coats of spar varnish, with tips protected with fiberglass to prevent splitting, and hand-sewn leathers. Sign-up for an oar-making class here.

Live music

Kalimba, an Earth, Wind and Fire tribute band, provides the music at Summer Sounds at Skansie at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12. Next up, on Tuesday, Aug. 19, it’s 90’s Rewind, recreating hits from the 1990s.

Wind in the Heather plays Celtic tunes at the Gig Harbor Waterfront Farmers Market at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14.

Also on Aug. 14, Point of Sail plays yacht rock at the Uptown Summer Concert Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14. On Friday, Aug. 15, the Peninsula Youth Orchestra will present a special concert at 1 p.m. at the Uptown Pavilion.

The Grit offers up an eclectic mix of soulful originals, island reggae and country tunes at the Olalla Winery starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15. Reserve tickets here.

At the movies

PenMet Parks will show “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” at 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15, at Sehmel Homestead Park. Bring a picnic and a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy a movie under the stars.

For opera lovers, The Met’s “Rigoletto” shows at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, at the Galaxy Theatres in Uptown. This version of Verdi’s gripping drama shifts the story from 16th century Mantua to Las Vegas.

Grateful Dead fans will join together around the world Thursday through Sunday (Aug. 14 through 17) for the 2025 Grateful Dead Movie Meet-Up. The cult classic follows the band on what was thought at the time to be its final performances — a five-night run at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in October 1974. This IMAX release features the theatrical premier of “China Cat Sunflower / I know You Rider,” a bonus live performance not included in the original release, remastered for sound and picture. Locally, the Meet Up movie will be shown at the Galaxy Theatres at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 14 and 15; and at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug 16 and 17.

The Summer Fest movie at the Galaxy on Wednesday, Aug. 13, is “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings,” the first chapter of the trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels. The movie shows at 7:10 p.m. Aug. 13. On Sunday, Aug. 17 the Flashback movie is chapter two – “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” The Two Towers will be shown at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Flashback movies are just $4.

Summer Fest movies continue at the Galaxy with “Trolls Band Together” showing at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Aug. 12 and 13. On Thursday, Aug. 14, showtimes are 10 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Starting Friday, the Summer Fest movie is “Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse” showing at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday Aug. 15; Monday, Aug. 18 and Tuesday, Aug. 19. On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 16 and 17, Spiderman shows at 10 a.m. Summer Fest movies are just $2.

Civic engagement

The Gig Harbor Arts Commission meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, at the Civic Center on Grandview Street.

The Gig Harbor City Council meets for a study session at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at 3 p.m. in the Civic Center’s community rooms. Tentative agenda items for the study session include a report from the city’s Community Diversity and Engagement Committee, an update on landlord-tenant protections, options for tiered water rates, and discussion of an amendment to the wastewater element of the comprehensive plan. City meetings can also be viewed on Zoom.