Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings: Summer Art Festival runs all weekend

It’s a perfect week for music and arts lovers with live, outdoor concerts in three locations, two arts fairs – plus a chance to make-your-own sidewalk art.

Arts and crafts

• Saturday and Sunday, head downtown to Judson Street and find some of the best paintings, pottery, glass art, photography, jewelry, basketry and more – and meet the 120 Northwest artists and craftspeople who create them — at the annual Summer Art Festival. There’s also live music, food trucks, art-making activities for the kiddos and even a literary corner. Free admission. Free shuttle from the Franciscan Medical Center on Kimball Drive. Saturday, 10 a.m.– 6 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.
• Saturday from 10 a.m. — 3 p.m. it’s Chalk the Harbor, all along Harborview Drive. Register and pick up a free bucket of chalk at Skansie Brothers Park or Devoted Kiss Café, stake out a space and make your own art on the sidewalk. Want to try for a prize? Contest information is available at registration.
• Sunday, 10 a.m.– 3 p.m. the Makers Market pops up at Skansie Park with 40 booths filled with locally handcrafted goods, plus live music, face painting and balloon art for kids. And the splash pad will be open.

Music

• Wednesday at 6 p.m., PenMet Park’s “Music in Harmony with Nature” concert series kicks off in Sehmel Homestead Park with acoustic singer-songwriter, Gina Belliveau. Bring a blanket or low-back chair and a picnic, and enjoy the free show. 10123 78th Avenue NW.

• Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Uptown Pavilion it’s the Michael Crain Band playing classic rock and roll tunes from Elvis through the 1960s. Free.
• Friday, Deadwood Revival brings their rootsy-with-an-edge bluegrass, folk, old-timey and even jam band licks to the Loft at the Olalla Winery. Music starts at 6:30 p.m. Limited seating. Make reservations here.
• Next Tuesday, July 18, Summer Sounds at Skansie presents Casey and Company, a three-piece band playing new and classic country. Free. 6 p.m. rain or shine.

Book discussion

The Greater Gig Harbor Literary Society meets Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Education Room at Harbor History Museum to discuss this month’s book, “White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche,” by Gary Krist. It’s the story of the 1910 avalanche near Wellington, Wash., in the Cascades that buried two trainloads of passengers and killed 96 people. The event is considerably more complex than that sobering statistic and Krist relates the story in detail, basing his work on primary source material including diaries, letters from passengers and transcripts of the official coroner’s report and newspaper articles. Free and open to all.

Movies

• Wednesday’s Flashback Cinema movie at Galaxy Theatres in Uptown is “Grease,” playing at 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday’s movie is Shrek 2 at 11:40 a.m. and 6 p.m. Flashback movies are just $5.
• Thursday’s SummerFest movie at Galaxy is “Beethoven” at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. It’s the fun story of a slobbering St. Bernard that becomes the center of attention for a loving family, but must contend with a dog-napping veterinarian and his henchmen.
• Next Tuesday’s SummerFest film is “The Bad Guys” at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. A crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws is about to attempt its most challenging con yet — becoming model citizens. SummerFest movies are just $2.

Free lunches for kids

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Food Backbacks 4 Kids provides free, healthy sack lunches for kids of all ages from noon-1 p.m. while lunches last. Three locations: Gig Harbor Skate Park – 3510 Grandview St.; Gateway Park – 10405 Highway 302; and Home Park – 17220 8th Ave Ct. on the Key Peninsula.

Gardening with kids

Kids can learn about flower parts and common pollinators Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Sehmel Homestead Park Demonstration Garden. Presented by Pierce County Master Gardeners. Free, but pre-registration is required through PenMet Parks.

Ongoing

• Thursdays from 1 – 6 p.m. the Waterfront Farmers Market sets up in Skansie Park with fresh produce, seafood, flowers, baked goods, honey, spice blends and more. Food and craft vendors, too. This week’s kids corner features a scavenger hunt, coloring sheets and rock painting. Musical entertainment is provided by Gig Harbor’s own Eijah Bossenbroek playing from 2 – 4 p.m.
• Explore Gig Harbor’s downtown waterfront on Wednesdays and Saturdays and learn about history, wildlife and natural resources of the harbor. Wednesday’s tour, “Skiffs to Spirits,” starts at 5:30 p.m. at the History Museum and ends at Heritage Distilling.
• Saturday’s “Wonders of the Waterfront” tour begins at 10 a.m. at Donkey Creek Park, ends at the Maritime Pier. Tours are free and approximately 1.5 miles long. There is no transportation provided at the end.

Civic engagement

The Gig Harbor City Council will hold a study session Thursday at 3 p.m. in the community rooms at the civic center. Agenda items include a discussion of options for the Masonic Lodge as part of the Crescent Creek Master Plan; a cultural access program; a 2024 Fourth of July event; and a revision of the city’s flag display policy. The meeting can also be accessed via Zoom here.