Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings: Celebrate fall at ChuSeok Festival

Posted on September 26th, 2023 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

While most Western countries mark the fall equinox as the height of the harvest season, in Korea it’s celebrated with a full-blown festival known as ChuSeok.

Gig Harbor’s third annual ChuSeok Festival happens from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Skansie Park. It follows a similar event held in Tacoma last week.

Gig Harbor’s ChuSeok celebration will have traditional Korean music and dancing, face painting, lotus lantern-making, rice cake tasting and you can even have your name written in Korean calligraphy. The free, family friendly festival is sponsored by the Asia Pacific Cultural Center.

MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective performed at the ChuSeok Festival at Skansie Park on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. Courtesy APCC

My Haunted Forest

Get a jump on Halloween at the medieval-themed My Haunted Forest from Sept. 30 to October 29.

It’s an mile-long meander through a Vaughn forest inhabited by jesters, ghosts, dragons and other mythical beasts. The forest is open from 6 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The low-scare family hour is from 6 to 7 p.m.

My Haunted Forest is at 17616 S. Vaughn Road. General admission tickets cost $24 in advance or $28 on-site. Fast pass tickets, which get you access to a shorter line, cost $38 or $45.

Click here to buy tickets in advance.

Fundraising motorcycle ride

The ninth annual Wigged Out motorcycle ride, which celebrates cancer survivors and raises funds for breast cancer centers, makes stops at Uptown and St. Anthony Hospital on Sunday, Oct. 1.

Organizers are expecting about 100 motorcycle riders, most of whom will be decked out in pink and wearing wigs. Funds raised in the event helps buy wigs for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.

The ride starts at 9:30 a.m. at the LeMay Car Museum in Tacoma and arrives at Uptown at about 10:45 a.m. Riders will leave Uptown around noon and roll through downtown en route to St. Anthony. Click here to sign up or donate.

People participating in the Wigged Out Ride, decked out in pink wigs. Photo courtesy Sue Scanlon

Junior Sailing Club fundraiser

The Yacht Club’s Junior Sailing program has taught more than 700 young people how to sail. To support the program, the club is holding an online auction and an in-person auction-cum-dinner on Friday, Sept. 29. Make reservations here.

College and Career Fair

The Peninsula School District will host a College and Career Fair from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, at the Tom Taylor YMCA. Students in grades 6-12 are encouraged to attend to learn about the college admission process, course enrollment and scholarships.

Books and the library

The Greater Gig Harbor Literary Society meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Harbor History Museum to discuss “Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore” by Matthew Sullivan. It’s the tale of a bookstore clerk who tries to unravel a puzzle left behind by a patron who died by suicide. The book group discussions are free and open to all.
Teen Tuesdays start Oct. 3 at the Gig Harbor Library, 4424 Point Fosdick Drive, and continue through the fall. Programs include Mood Boards, rock painting, mandala coloring, fluffy slime fun and a movie night. Sessions start at 5:30 p.m. and include free snacks.
The library’s Chess Club gets together at 5:45 p.m. Thursdays. Each session includes 20 minutes of instruction and 40 minutes of play for youth ages 5-12.

Movies and music

Wednesday’s Flashback Cinema movie at the Galaxy Theaters Uptown is “Legally Blond,” showing at 12:30 and 6 p.m. Showing at noon and 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, and Wednesday, Oct. 4, is “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.” Flashback Cinema movies cost just $5.
Ten Strings & A Box plays covers of tunes by Neil Young, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot, Bruce Springsteen and others at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at the Olalla Winery. It’s the Winery’s final outdoor concert of the year. Reserve tickets here.

Civic affairs

The Gig Harbor City Council will meet for a study session at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Agenda items include discussion of the city’s 2024 legislative agenda, proposed lease agreements for the Fishermen’s Homeport; and the 2024 update of the city’s comprehensive plan. The council meets at the Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview St., or online here.
City Council candidates Ed Nadler, Ben Coronado and Mary Barber will participate in a Meet the Candidates event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, at the Club at the Boatyard. Engage Gig Harbor and the Pierce County League of Women Voters host the forum at The Club at the Boatyard, upstairs at 3117 Harborview Drive.

Looking ahead

This year’s Worldwide Photo Walk happens Saturday, Oct. 7 along the downtown waterfront. Walkers will meet up at Skansie Park pavilion and spend a few hours shooting and sharing photos. Click here to register.
PenMet Parks’ annual Scarecrow Festival is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at Sehmel Homestead Park starting at 11 a.m.
Harbor Wildwatch’s first Pier Into the Night of the season starts at 7 p.m. at Jerisich Dock.