Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings: Lighted Boat Parade, Cookies with Santa and more

Posted on December 6th, 2022 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

The city’s holiday tree is lit and this week’s calendar is packed with events to celebrate the season.

Say hi to Santa

After a two-year absence, hayrides with Santa are back from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10.

Hay rides with Santa returns to the Gig Harbor waterfront this year.

Board the hay wagon at Timberland Bank on Judson Street for a festive ride around the block, with a stop on Harborview Drive for a holiday sing-along. Sponsored by the Downtown Waterfront Alliance, the hayrides and post-ride hot cocoa are free.

Mr. Claus will also be at Sehmel Homestead Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, for Cookies with Santa. The event includes photo opportunities, crafts and other fun things, including a free, take-home cookie decorating kit. Admission is by donation. Registration is required; do that here. Sehmel Homestead Park is located at 10123 78^th Ave. NW in Gig Harbor.

Lighted Boat Parade

The Gig Harbor Yacht Club’s annual Lighted Boat Parade brightens the harbor starting at 5 p.m. Dec. 10, with dozens of decorated boats. Anyone with a boat — from big fishing boats to intrepid kayakers — is welcome to participate.

The Gig Harbor Yacht Club’s Lighted Boat Parade starts at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.

St. Lucia Festival

The St. Lucia Festival, honoring Gig Harbor’s Scandinavian history, returns to Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9.

Dubbed “Light Up the Night,” the festival begins with the St. Lucia procession and continues with games, music, stories, crafts and traditional Scandinavian treats. Admission costs $5 per person for everyone 3 years and older, but free for museum members and their families.

NJROTC Drill and Rifle Competition

The Peninsula School District’s Navy Junior ROTC program hosts a Drill and Rifle Competition starting at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10.

Drill teams from eight area schools will compete. Food concessions will be available and raffles for baskets donated by various military services.

Winter Beach Monitoring

Harbor WildWatch has two nighttime beach monitoring events this week.

During winter, the lowest tides are during the dark of the night, which adds an adventurous twist to the monitoring procedures. You don’t have to have a science background to participate, and you’re not required to stay for the entire duration of the typically three-hour program.

Headlamps are required. Register by email to [email protected].

Events are:

8:45 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Dec. 8, at the old ferry landing at the mouth of the harbor. Note that the path down to the beach is not maintained. Once you reach the beach, the monitoring site is to the left (facing the water).
10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at the Purdy sandspit: Meet about midway across the sandspit near the lone madrona tree. The site is near the old pilings on the public side. There’s a small scramble over the cobble to get to the beach.

Music and movies

The Gig Harbor Peninsula Civic Orchestra presents “Representing the Holidays” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at Lighthouse Christian School. The program includes Johann Strauss’ “Wine, Women and Song;” Coleridge-Taylor’s “Christmas Overture;” Judith Bailey’s “Noel;” Emile Waldteufel’s “Skaters’ Waltz;” Leonard Bernstein’s “Overture to ‘Candide’” and Arcangelo Corelli’s “Concerto Grosso, Op. 6 No. 10.” Admission is by donation. The school is located at 3008 36^th St. N.W.
This week’s Flashback cinema movies at the Galaxy Theatres are “Elf” at noon and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, and “Scrooge” at noon and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11. Admission is $5.

At the BoatShop

Santa’s BoatShop is back Saturday, Dec. 10. Kids ages 3 and older are invited to build and paint model boats. Each class takes about an hour and costs $15 to cover materials. Click here to select a start time.
Take a tour of the harbor aboard the “Veteran,” the BoatShop’s vintage, fully-restored fishing boat. Each cruise is 90 minutes and includes light snacks and hot chocolate. Reservations include up to six people. Tours take place Wednesdays and Fridays through Dec. 23. Cost is $300. Reserve your cruise here.

Toy Drives

The Lions Club’s Giving Tree continues through Dec. 11 at 41 locations throughout the harbor. Donations go to FISH food bank, the Boys & Girls Club and Children’s Home Society on the Key Peninsula.

Toys are also being accepted at FISH.

Coming up

Holiday festivities continue Dec. 17 with the lighted car parade and Santa’s Village at Uptown Gig Harbor shopping Center. Santa’s Village opens at 4 p.m. and the parade starts at 5:30 p.m.
Celebrate the first night of Hannukah at 4 p.m. Dec. 18, with the lighting of the giant menorah at the Uptown pavilion.
The BoatShop’s “Young Hands, New Skills” class takes place Dec. 19 and introduces kids to traditional boatwright skills like ship caulking, hammering boat nails, using a spokeshave, hand-sawing and more.

Photos from last week’s Gig Harbor Tree Lighting

Click on any picture below to view the photos as a gallery. Photos by Julie Warrick Ammann.