Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings | Open Studio Tour, ChuSeok Festival highlight week’s events

Posted on September 17th, 2024 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

Celebrate the arrival of autumn and the Harvest Moon with songs from the Scottish Highlands, Korean moon cakes and tours of local artists’ studios.

A work by Mark Hurwitz that will be featured in this weekend’s Open Studio Tour. Photo courtesy of the Open Studio Tour

Open Studio Tour

This weekend, 42 artists will open their studios to the public during the 31^st annual Open Studio Tour. Painters, potters, jewelry designers, sculptors and artists who work in glass, wood, fabrics, stone, clay, metal and other materials will be on hand to talk about their creative processes and sell their work, where they work.

The free, self-guided tour takes place Friday through Sunday, Sept 20 through 22. Download a printable map showing all the artists and the studios here.

This sculpture by Sharon Feeney can be seen during the Open Studio Tour this weekend. Photo by Charlee Glock-Jackson

ChuSeok Festival

The Asia Pacific Cultural Center’s ChuSeok Festival takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in Skansie Park.

The festival is a traditional Korean celebration of the full moon that marks harvest and the coming of autumn. It includes dancing, face painting, lantern-making, poetry readings and seasonal food. Have your name written in Korean calligraphy, learn to make rice cakes, learn about Korean culture and join in the grand finale musical performance. Free; all ages are welcome.

The 2023 ChuSeok Festival. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann

Returning tribal artifacts

Author Trevor Bond will discuss how museums across the country are working with tribal peoples to return cultural artifacts to their rightful places. Bond speaks at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Dr.

Items that have deep historical significance to tribal communities are often housed in museums far away from those communities. Bond will share the remarkable story of how the Nez Perce Tribe and its allies purchased the largest and oldest collection of Nez Perce material — including dresses, shirts and other regalia — from a museum more than 2,000 miles away from its homeland.

Bond is the director of the David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities and the associate dean for Digital Initiatives and Special Collections at the Washington State University libraries. He is the author of “Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimiipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage.” Thursday’s program is sponsored by Humanities Washington. Register at [email protected].

Kids stuff

This month’s Tales at the BoatShop takes place at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept 19, with an “All About Ferry Boats” theme. Kids 2 to 6 years old (accompanied by an adult) can join the fun at the Boatyard House 3805 Harborview Dr. (the Brick House next door to the BoatShop). Free.
The library’s Chess Club (for grades K through 8) meets every at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, for 20 minutes of instruction and 40 minutes of play. The library is located at 4424 Point Fosdick Dr.
The Point Fosdick library’s Book Kids Book Club meets Wednesday, Sept. 18, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. to talk about “Pax” by Sara Pennypacker. Book Kids events are geared to elementary-and-tweenagers and include games and other activities
This month’s Read to a Dog party takes place from 10 to 11 Saturday, Sept. 21, at the library. Kids ages 5 to 10 can hone their reading skills by reading a book to a therapy dog. Library events are always free. The library is located at 4424 Point Fosdick Drive.

Flowers, flora, fauna

Every Wednesday through Oct. 2, members of the Flower Farmers Guild sell bouquets, vases and single blossoms from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Uptown Pavilion. The vendors change from week to week, so there are always new offerings.
Test your knowledge of Salish Sea flora and fauna starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Gig Harbor Wine Co., as Harbor WildWatch presents an evening off Salish Sea Trivia. All ages are welcome. Gig Harbor Wine Co. is located at 6745 Kimball Drive, Suite E.

Live music

The Mark Hurwitz Combo with Tanya Hodel bring their music to Kimball Coffeehouse at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. Free and family friendly. Kimball also hosts an open mic every at 5:30 p.m. Thursdays.
The Olalla Winery also hosts an open mic in the Loft starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

At the movies

The Flashback Cinema movie at Galaxy Theaters Uptown on Wednesday, Sept. 18, is “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.” Showtimes are 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday’s Flashback movie is “Psycho,” Alfred Hichkock’s classic psychological thriller, with restored footage cut from the original theatrical release. Showtimes are 12:15 and 6 p.m. Flashback movies are just $5.

The Galaxy’s SummerFest movie season ends this week with showings of “Scoob!” at 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. SummerFest movies are just $2.

Civic engagement

The Gig Harbor City Council meets for a study session at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in the community rooms at the Civic Center on Grandview Street. Agenda items include discuss traffic cameras, new purchasing and contracting guidelines, and guidelines for commercial cross connection controls. Mayor Tracie Markley will also introduce her choice for appointment to the city’s planning commission. City meetings are open to the public and can also be viewed via Zoom.

Engage Gig Harbor hosts a community discussion about public safety at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, upstairs at The Club at the Boatyard, 3117 Harborview Dr. City Police Chief Kelly Busey, Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One Assistant Chief Scott Booth and City Administrator Katrina Knutson will answer questions. Engage Gig Harbor requests questions be sent in advance to [email protected].

Water shut-off

Businesses and residences in the vicinity of the city’s Burnham Drive project will experience a water shut off from approximately 10 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 until approximately 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20.

Affected businesses and residences have been notified. Those affected should shut off all irrigation systems and avoid using dishwashers, washing machines or showers during this time.