For the past 20 years, Bainbridge Island resident Tami Allen has had a “secret.” A sailboat captain for Lille Danser Boat and Breakfast and a Bainbridge Island Police Department harbormaster by day, she’s also a Cajun and zydeco music performer. Currently a vocalist and fiddler with a band called WHOZYAMAMA, she performs about once a […]
People & Places
West Sound has an incredible number of talented artists, interesting people, fascinating places and popular destinations. We love to share their stories with our readers. These articles are only a sample of what we have in West Sound Magazine each issue — subscribe to the print version to see all of what we have to offer!
Get Ready to Get Your Feet Wet!
Leadership. Example. Educate. Stewards. Mentor. These are words you hear over and over when talking with the staff and dozens of volunteers who make Harbor WildWatch the first-rate, local, marine environmental, nonprofit organization it has become. In less than a decade, Harbor WildWatch has gone from one person’s dream to create awareness and sustainability of […]
The Seaside Garden of Dody Solaas
If you were to drive west toward Hood Canal after passing the Hansville General Store on the right, you could easily miss a charmingly beautiful seaside garden on the Hansville shore. The cozy home and garden of Hugh and Dody Solaas is tucked behind a double car garage and lattice fence, with a small, gravel […]
The Forever Home on the Lake…
What do you do when you own a beautiful piece of waterfront property on Mason Lake, and you’re not sure what to do with it? You build your forever home on it, of course. Mason Lake is one of those special places that many people in the West Sound region have heard of, but are […]
Unsung Hero — Jan Coen
Jan Coen has been involved with Gig Harbor’s FISH Community Services since its inception in 1976. When she and her husband moved to Gig Harbor in 1975, she was surprised not to find a coalition of churches working together to provide services to the community. Coen had been involved with that type of a group […]
The Waypoint on Bainbridge Island
Welcome to a series of articles we will write on unique, innovative and creative park and public space projects in West Puget Sound that contribute to our community in terms of quality of life. We hope to identify the community leadership, the project’s funding, the partnerships that were created in order to build it, the […]
A Perk of the Merc — A Century of Coming Together
For more than a hundred years, the Keyport Mercantile has stood as the heart and soul of its community. Affectionately known as “the Merc,” the business has ridden out the rise and fall in the fortunes of its hometown alongside the people it serves. From its first years, when Millie the farmer’s wife loaded her […]
Now and Then — Roxy Theater
First-run movies and folks who once lined up around the block to get in at the Roxy Theater have long been faded memories. The double-sided, age-worn, empty marquise, the towering vertical sign with missing letters and the huge, old “ROXY” sign — which was once eliminated with blinking Broadway-like splendor — can hardly be seen […]
Everything Old Is Cool Again
Vintage style is hot, and vintage shops are abundant in West Sound. Finding that perfect mix of eclectic and elegant, shabby and chic, or upcycled and uptown is easy with the collection of vendors and vintage experts right in your own neighborhood. Vintage is not antiques. Antiques are normally items that are over 100 years […]
