Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings: ‘Elvis meets Mozart’ concert

Gig Harbor vocalist Arthur Keast performs a free “Elvis meets Mozart” concert to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 18, at Fox Island United Church of Christ.

Keast is a 2023 graduate of Pacific Lutheran University. He’s headed to Chicago to perform the lead role of Ottone in Handel’s “Agrippina” with the Chicago Summer Opera.

Sunday’s free concert is a fundraiser to help Keast defray the costs of attending the opera’s summer program.

Five of Yeast’s PLU classmates will join him: Jack Burrows (also of Gig Harbor), Jinshil Yi, Lindsey Hansen, Ellie O’Brien and Caitlyn Babcock.

Admission is free, but reservations are required. Click here to make reservations and learn about how to support Keast’s efforts to raise money for the summer opera program.

Music starts at 3 p.m. The church is located at 756 Sixth Avenue on Fox Island.

Arthur Keast

Waterfront Walking Tours return

The Gig Harbor Downtown Waterfront Alliance’s Waterfront Walking Tours have returned for 2023 after a three-year hiatus.

The tours take place on Saturdays and Wednesdays, June 10 through Aug. 30. Harbor WildWatch and the Harbor History Museum partner with the alliance on the free walking tours.

The Wednesday tours, titled “Skiffs to Spirits,” are from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and go from Harbor History Museum to Heritage Distilling. It focuses on the history of Gig Harbor and its vibrant modern culture.

The Saturday tours, “Wonders of the Waterfront,” start at Donkey Creek Park at 10 a.m. and end at the Maritime Pier at noon. It focuses on the natural beauty and diversity of marine life, led by Harbor WildWatch guides.

Each tour is about 1.5 miles long. Transportation back to the starting point is not supplied.

A Waterfront Walking Tour in 2019. 

On the beach

Harbor WildWatch biologists and volunteer naturalists lead a low tide beach walk at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 18, at Titlow Beach Park in Tacoma. Meet at the parking lot.

Join WildWatch volunteers for beach monitoring events at Narrows Beach Park (10 a.m. Monday, June 19) and Sunrise Beach Park (10:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 20). Staff and volunteers of all ages collect data to help monitor how the beaches change over time.

This month’s Cocktails and Fishtales event takes place Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Ocean5.

Erin Gless, executive director of Pacific Whale Watch Association will present a program  titled “Marine Mammals of the Salish Sea:  A Guide to Identification and Responsible Viewing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 14, at Ocean5. Viewers can seen the program via Facebook Live.

At the movies

• Wednesday’s Flashback Cinema movie at the Galaxy Theater is “Twilight.” Showtimes are 11:50 a.m. and 6 p.m. On Sunday, it’s “Back to the Future,” Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis’ classic time-travel comedy. Showtimes are noon and 6 p.m. Flashback movies are just $5.
• Also at the Galaxy, it’s Summer Fest time every Tuesday and Thursday, with movies just $2 per ticket and Kids Packs at the concession stand just $3.50 with ticket purchase. This Thursday’s Summer Fest movie is “The Little Rascals,” with Alfalfa wooing Darla as his friends try to sabotage the relationship. Showtimes are 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, the Summer Fest movie is “Minions – the Rise of Gru” at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Other options

• An adult fiction book group meets at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at the Gig Harbor library, 4424 Point Fosdick Drive. This month’s selection is “Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid. It’s a bighearted story about race and privilege, set around a young Black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.
• James Coates brings his brand of folk, soul and R&B to the Olalla Vineyard at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 16. Reserve tickets here.
• The American Red Cross hosts a blood drive at the Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3519 Grandview St., from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 15. Click here to schedule an appointment.

Save the dates

• Celebrate the summer solstice June 21 at Make Music Day with live music starting at 1 p.m. at the Uptown shopping center. It’s free and open to all.
• KGI Watershed group is looking for volunteers to help with oyster planting at Penrose State Park and Kopachuck State Park on June 23. Sign up here.