Arts & Entertainment Community

Harbor Happenings: Eddon Brick House re-opens Thursday

Posted on October 4th, 2022 By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

As we get deeper into October, more and more in-person events are emerging from their Covid-19 hibernation.

The city of Gig Harbor will celebrate the grand opening of the Eddon Boatyard Brick House at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6. Mayor Tracie Markley, Gig Harbor BoatShop President Guy Hoppen and representatives of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation will speak.

The main floor and deck of the house can be rented for private gatherings. The BoatShop will also use the space for public programming and events.

The house at Eddon Boatyard Park. Vince Dice

The second floor of the house will serve as office space for the BoatShop’s Northwest Fleet Program, a documentation system that keeps a record of historic, regionally significant boats.

The Brick House remodeling project began in 2009, when the Gig Harbor City Council authorized its conversion into a community space. The remodel ended in October 2021, with additional fine-tuning earlier this year. Driveway and parking improvements were completed this summer as part of the Harborview Drive/Stinson Avenue roundabout project.

Auction supports Junior Sail Program

The Gig Harbor Yacht Club will host an in-person dinner and live auction to raise funds for the Junior Sail Program at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7.

The Junior Sail Program provides boats, equipment, facilities, and scholarships for local kids who want to learn about sailing. This year, more than 600 kids attended the club summer camp, and the program provided $11,000 in scholarships. For information, email [email protected].

Sip & Stroll on Saturday

The Autumn Sip & Stroll returns to the downtown waterfront, thanks to the Downtown Waterfront Alliance and local Rotary Clubs. The event is from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, with registration at the Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive.

Participants will receive a tasting glass, a map of all 24 Stroll Stop locations and vendors, and 15 sip tickets for alcohol. This event is sold out.

Crowds flocked to the Gig Harbor waterfront for the “winter” Sip & Stroll, held in April 2022.

Narrows Challenge for experienced paddlers

Also on Oct. 8, experienced paddlers can join the 2022 Narrows Challenge, sponsored by the Gig Harbor Canoe & Kayak Club. The Challenge is open to all types of human powered watercraft: kayak, surfski, SUP, outrigger canoe, paddleboard and others. Participants should be familiar with tides and open water conditions.

Advance registration is required; the deadline to register is at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7. The entry fee is $55 per person or $275 for teams of six or more. There is no day-of-race registration. Email [email protected] for information.

Non-paddlers can watch the races as they start and finish at the mouth of the harbor at lighthouse point.

Trunk or Treat

“Trunk or Treat,” a popular Halloween tradition, returns in-person from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 8 at the Gig Harbor High School parking lot. Local vendors with trunks full of goodies will fill kiddies’ bags with treats. The event is free, but pre-registration is required; do that here.

Marlinspike workshop

On Tuesday, Oct. 11 the Gig Harbor BoatShop hosts a Marlinspike Seamanship & Three-strand splice workshop from 6-8 p.m.

Marlinspike seamanship is the art of knots and splices in fiber and wire rope, both practical and decorative. The workshop covers the history and tools used for splicing; ropework and different types of lines (ropes); difference between knots and splices and when to use them, and the basic 3-strand splice and whipping.

The workshop will be taught by Brent Wagner, a lifelong sailor and boatwright and rigger of nearly 25 years. Email [email protected] for details. The BoatShop is located at 3805 Harborview Drive.

Looking ahead

Oct. 22: Junior Naturalist Workshop – a guided forest walk presented by Harbor WildWatch, 10 a.m. at McCormick Forest Park, 10301 Bujacich Road.

Oct. 26: Harbor WildWatch hosts Cocktails & Fishtales, 6 p.m. on Facebook LIVE. This month’s topic is larval crab monitoring with the Becker Lab from the University of Washington-Tacoma.

Oct. 15: Orca Recovery Day, from 9 a.m. to noon 9am-noon at DeMolay Sandspit Park on Fox Island. The event includes speakers, a beach cleanup and family art activity.

Oct. 15 and 16: The Gig Harbor Quilt Festival returns in person at Pioneer Elementary School, 8502 Skansie Ave.

Oct. 20: Harbor WildWatch hosts its Make Waves Fundraiser. Tickets available at www.harborwildwatch.org (21-and older)

Oct. 30: Rattle dem Bones costumed bike ride, 7:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at the Kimball Park and Ride.

Oct. 31: Trick or Treat on the downtown waterfront and in Uptown, from 3 to 6 p.m.

For information on more local events, visit Gig Harbor Now’s Calendar page. To submit an event to our calendar, click here or email [email protected].

Editor’s note: The Trick or Treat event is from 3 to 6 p.m. An earlier version of this story mistakenly gave an incorrect start time.