Variety is the spice of life. This year’s Gig Harbor Garden Tour truly exemplifies that old adage. From elegant, English-style greenhouses to sweet, pocket-sized gardens to big, community raised-beds bursting with herbs, fruits and vegetables, there is something for every garden taste in the luscious, spicy offerings of 2020. The 23rd annual tour includes four […]
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Posted inPeople & Places
Gig Harbor’s Maritime ‘Library of Things’
Much of Gig Harbor’s history is written in fish. For centuries before white settlers arrived, Native Americans had a village on Gig Harbor Bay, near today’s Austin Estuary and Donkey Creek. They were the sxw babš band (pronounced sk-WHUH-babsh) or “swift water” people of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and they called their village tuwaw […]
Posted inPeople & Places
West Sound’s Co-Op Art Galleries Feature Collective Talent
Historically, co-operative art galleries have served two functions: as a small-town network for local artists and as an alternative to the established, more conservative artworld. The still-active Carmel Art Association in the California village of Carmel was founded in 1927 to provide support for far-flung artists living on the Monterey Peninsula. It claims to be […]
Posted inThe Home
A Hillside Perch for Aging in Place
The trend toward abandoning grassy front lawns in favor of perennial beds and vegetable gardening is taking hold, and none is more breathtaking than what Anne and Bob Knapp have created. Their two-story, custom home in Gig Harbor graces the irregularly shaped lot on which it is built, provides a colorful approach to the concept […]
Posted inThe Home
The House of Music
The stately, wrought-iron gate at the top of the driveway gives the first clue to what lies beyond: “Wurlitzer Manor.” Wurlitzer Manor, the Gig Harbor home of Barbara Hammerman and Raymond Lavine since 2002, sits atop a bluff overlooking the Tacoma Narrows, with a straight-on view of Mount Rainier. The house was built in the […]
Posted inFood & Entertainment
Paint Parties — An Artsy Pastime for a Long Winter Night
The room buzzes with excitement as people gather, serve themselves some refreshments and find their seats. The artist instructor prepares palettes of paint, distributes brushes and socializes with each of the guests, and then the fun begins. Most of the time, everyone in the room will be following the artist’s instructions, step by step. At […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Harbor Construction Co. — High-Quality Craftsmanship Runs in the Family
Gig Harbor business owner Alfredo Linares began his apprenticeship in ornamental plaster work when he was just 12 years old, working alongside his father and his uncle in Mexico. At age 17, Linares had become a full-fledged professional and began to make his way in the world, emigrating to the United States in 1997. Linares […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Three-Dimensional Beaded Treasures
Paulette Hoflin is a sculptor known for the uncommon material she chooses. This material can be less than an eighth of an inch in size, but when gathered en masse by multiple stitches of fine thread, the beads can take on the three-dimensional quality of any shape she chooses. Roughly 45 years ago, Hoflin delighted […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Rockin’ Art
Linda McWhirter’s art rocks. Literally. McWhirter paints lovely images — some whimsical, some very detailed and realistic — on small, smooth stones she finds here and there. She’s been doing her little rock paintings since she retired from 20-plus years of teaching — mostly social studies — at Key Peninsula Middle School. Her husband, Larry, […]