Ho Ho Ho In and Around Gig Harbor

Black Friday has come and gone. I hope your day was filled with whatever it is you like to you – be it ‘shop till you drop’ to find a good deal, or be it ‘snuggling up by the fire’ and enjoying a good meal with family. Or maybe it was a combination of both.

Mine was filled with more of the latter. I am not a loyal Black Friday shopper. But what I am, is a local shopper. The last Saturday was Shop Local Saturday. Why not carry through the end of the year? This year there is no better option than to shop local in and around Gig Harbor.

I encourage you to remember that shopping local supports your community. Our shops, whether large or small, corporate or locally owned, provide jobs and much needed tax revenue that filters back through your community for police, fire, roads, parks and much more. When you shop on-line those dollars provide zero support for your local community. In addition, although shopping on line might seem easy, you are missing the wonderful interaction with those in our community whose job it is to serve. Please consider this and step away from your computer this season. There are many new shops in and around Gig Harbor. Go in and visit with our local merchants.

Another thing I try to remember each holiday season is to get out there to support and enjoy our local performing arts programs around Gig Harbor. Paradise Theatre continues its showing of Wizard of Oz through December 15th with a special Holiday Dinner Theatre on the 14th at 6:00pm featuring memorable songs like "Merry Old Land of Oz", If I Only Had a Brain", "Over the Rainbow", and "Munchkinland".

New this year is The Gig Spot – a venue featuring live music from local bands and musicians. The Gig Spot is located in the old Encore Theater building at 6615 38th Ave. Another new music venue is The IIT Factor located on Wollochet Drive. This music performance studio offers a 16 week long course for young children called, “Glee Stars”. And while the location in Gig Harbor is not offering a holiday performance this year (I imagine because it is so new), I’m hopeful it will in the coming years like its sister location in Port Orchard. In addition to those two new venues, many musical groups that have been community pillars for years remain – for example the Peninsula Civic Orchestra is hosting a Christmas Concert on December 14th at 7pm at the Peninsula High School Auditorium.