Arts & Entertainment Community
Latest community art project buoys Ancich Park
Ancich Waterfront Park has been tagged. But not in a graffiti vandalism way.
The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance unveiled its latest community art project on Thursday, Oct. 22, at the park on Harborview Drive. Dubbed Buoy Oh Buoy, the installation consists of wooden tags painted by community members.
The alliance distributed the tags at last summer’s Chalk the Harbor, itself a super-sized community art project. It’s the second year the alliance has tacked a second art project onto Chalk the Harbor, after 2025’s Community Currents mural.
People picked up and decorated the tags at the Chalk the Harbor event in August. The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance affixed them to a corkline for display at Ancich Park. Photo by Vince Dice
More than 400 wooden tiles comprise Buoy Oh Buoy, decorated with assorted lighthouses, boats, birds and messages. They hang on an authentic fishing corkline, donated by the Puratich family.
The installation will remain at Ancich Park through January, after which it will move to a location to be announced along the downtown waterfront.
“It really is a community art piece. Not one person made this happen. It’s the community of gig harbor and we’re proud to have it in this location today,” Alliance Executive Director Clare Dunis said.
A Brandani Killilea Creative Endeavor Grant from the city of Gig Harbor helped pull the project together, along with sponsors Rohrbaugh Team Crosscounty Mortgage, Puget Sound Energy, the Peninsula Art League, Propper Smiles & Curated Gig Harbor, the Puratich family and MD Studio.
The installation includes more than 400 tags decorated by the community. Photo by Vince Dice