5210 - How Easy Is That???

New YMCA Program to Fight Childhood Obesity

Leave it to the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties to partner up with MultiCare and other community leaders to bring a fun new community-wide initiative to our schools. The new 5210 program is a great opportunity to commit to daily health goals for young and old alike!

Gig Harbor residents Ken and nancy Keiter are supporting this outreach by offering a challenge grant to expand the Y's work and encourage others to join this new movement. Every new or increased donation to the YMCA's Strong Kids Campaign directed to prevent youth obesity will be matched by the Keiters, up to $10,000.

5210 is based on a curriculum from "Let's Go! Maine" and is designed to help youth learn everything from appropriate food portions, and family exercise ideas, to the importance of water, and activities to reduce time spent in front of a screen. Material is presented in a fun and nurturing environment that promotes strenghthening the spirit, mind and body. Here's how you remember it:

5 servings of fruits/vegetables

2 hours or less of recreational screen time

1 hour or more of physical activity

0 sugar-sweetened drinks

Queen For A Day - the Gig Harbor Way

Queen for a Day!

Okay you can admit it – are you a closet Royal Watcher? I don’t understand our infatuation with “the Royals”, but I admit I was up at 1:30a.m. a year ago watching the wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William.

So if you are openly a Royal Watcher, or closet Royal Watcher or a Beatles Fan…no matter what, you might want to consider this fun sounding event coming up in Gig Harbor on June 2nd.

Celebrating Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable six decades on the British throne, the Diamond Jubilee celebration will not only take over all of England, it will also take over the INN at Gig Harbor with a great event being planned by Gig Harbor’s own resident Brit Neil Bennett of the British Connection (www.thebritconnection.com).

Let's Move Together Gig Harbor!!

I’ve enjoyed seeing so many Gig Harborites at the 6 Weeks to a Healthier You event over the past several weeks. I feel better and have learned a lot attending this wonderful series by Joe Piscatella and presented by Franciscan Health Systems.

With better weather, getting outside to enjoy some physical activity is a perfect way to get into shape. A couple of annual fun and easy activities are coming up to help you get into shape.

May 26th is the annual Gig Harbor Street Scramble presented by the Gig Harbor YMCA. This free event provides a casual or competitive opportunity to explore your community on foot or bike; walking, running or riding; individually or a team. The Gig Harbor Street Scramble is the only free Street Scramble in the region and is the largest Street Scramble in the United States. The first 200 who register also receive a t-shirt, so register now !

This free, family event marks the official kick-off summer and outdoor fun in Gig Harbor. The Gig Harbor Street Scramble is the largest Street Scramble in North America and the only free Street Scramble in the greater Puget Sound region.com.

Community Celebration for Thunderbird

Mark your calendar for May 19th

Celebrate!

It’s time to celebrate together as a community on a milestone accomplishment. Join the Gig Harbor BoatShop at Eddon Boat on Saturday May 19th for the historic “re-launch” of Pirouette – the restored Thunderbird sailboat hull #2.

The beautiful boat, which has been restored by volunteers at the Gig Harbor BoatShop, will float off its cradle mid to late afternoon on Saturday May 19th as part of a day-long celebration at the historic Eddon Boatyard, 3805 Harborview Drive.

The community celebration begins at 10am and includes a day full of maritime skill demonstrations, children’s activities, food and fun. Want to be one of the first to sail on the Pirouette? Raffle tickets for the chance will be available for $5.

New Craft Distillery Is Coming to Gig Harbor

More great news for our community

Gig Harbor has not had a distillery since Prohibition. But that's about to change with the opening of Heritage Distilling Company, Inc. Justin Stiefel, a most enthusiastic and knowledgeable craft distiller sent me the following information today. I am sharing it with you just as he shared it, full of excitement and enthusiasm for this new Gig Harbor business. Watch for more news on Heritage Distilling in the weeks and months ahead!

Heritage Distilling Company is majority owned by Gig Harbor residents under the leadership of Jennifer Stiefel (Founder and President) and Justin Stiefel (Founder, CEO and Head Distiller). HDC is scheduled to be fully licensed and operational by August 2012. The Federal TTB permit has been granted and we are in the middle of review with the Washington Liquor Control Board for our state license. It will be licensed as a “Craft Distillery” under Washington State law.

We are moving into the building next to the Inn at Gig Harbor that currently houses 7 Seas Brewing Company.

We will initially be making Whiskey (both unaged and aged), Gin and Vodka, then branching out into other spirits as the operation grows and based on customer demand.

Gig Harbor Moms Make the World Go 'Round

Best Mom Contest

There are all kinds of Moms; young moms, old moms, soccer moms, grand-moms, stage moms, working moms, stay-at-home moms, step-moms. No matter what kind of mom you have, Mother’s Day is a time to give a shout out to Mom everyone’s biggest fan.

Few would disagree that Mom’s make the world go around. Keeping the family moving, while working, cooking, shopping, and hitting Zumba, Gig Harbor mom’s are on the go. In honor of Mother’s Day we’d like to give a shout out to Gig Harbor Mom’s. Local businesses have donated a wonderful variety of gifts Mom will love and we are giving away a gift basket this month to one lucky Gig Harbor area Mom.

Here’s how it will work. Send us an email telling us in two paragraphs or less why your nominated Gig Harbor area Mom (she does not need to be your own mother) should win this prize. You must include your name, address and phone number in the email as well as the full name, address and phone number of your nominee.

We will randomly draw a winner from the entries, and we will post some of the best written entries on our Facebook page. Deadline to enter is Thursday May 10th at noon.

Email your entry by May 10th to lundl@cityofgigharbor.net

GIG HARBOR BEER FESTIVAL IS HERE!

May 12th at Uptown

“Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” – Dave Barry

Hooray for beer. Hooray for all of us who live in the cradle of craft beers and microbrews. And must of all, hooray for all of us in Gig Harbor, where May 12th we can enjoy the first annual Gig Harbor Beer Festival at Uptown. Hooray for May!

I’ve never been a foo-foo drink kind of girl. Sure I’ll have a tropical drink when I’m on a beach…but give me a beer most of the time. I’ve been living with a beer lover for 30 years…one who slurps and sniffs and uses words like “hoppy” and “roasted” and “amber”. My husband has taught be to be a beer drinker in a connoisseur kind of way. We grow hops in our yard and we have homebrew bubbling in our utility room. You will never find Budweiser (heaven forbid) anywhere near our house. Yes, you can say, we are beer snobs at the Lund house. There are worse things we could be.

Splash Returns!

Annual Art Event April 28th at Harbor History Museum

For the past three years the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor has presented “Splash! Art at the Museum” in live and silent auctions featuring art by northwest and international artists. This year’s Splash event is on April 28, 2012. In addition to art there will be bidding on an “Art and Architecture Tour”, viewing local art collectors’ homes, and a “Boat Cruise” to tour the Tacoma Art Museum and Museum of Glass.

An array of diversified art will highlight sculpture, painting, hand-blown and fused glass, jewelry, wood, wearable art, and mixed media textile. Among shown art is a signed lithograph by Dale Chihuly, a Barbara Noonan pastel, a Barry Connolly painting, a Lisa Stirrett glass cairn, Lellah Hamilton jewelry, fused, stitched textile by Barbara Lee Smith … in all 57 works of art.

Hilltop artists will feature hand-blown glass in the historical one-room Midway Schoolhouse, along with area high school art. Dale Chihuly founded the Hilltop program to provide artistic training for talented young artists and proceeds from the sale of their art will go back into funding their program.

Gig Harbor Garden Tour is Coming

Another sneek peak at one of this years beautiful gardens

Jan and Jeff have created a masterpiece garden. A river of blue "Rozanne" geraniums welcomes the visitor. Two pond are home to a dozen fish. The focal point, a long arbor extending across the front of the house and garage, laden with wisteria and under-planted with shade-loving plants including lush and healthy heucheras and hostas.

Not to be outdown by the luscious front of the house, the back garden opens up to a spectacular view of Puget Sound and Point Defiance. Here you can stroll amongst the sea-breeze tolerant perennials and find relaxing places to sit and enjoy the view, both marine and botanical. Closer to the house are raised beds of vegetables and raspberries, interesting garden art and small, unique water features. On the deck is a wonderful collection of bonsai.

Natural elements have been used through out the garden: look for the driftwood framing the succulents and the arbor of corkscrew willow covered in fragrant jasmine on the shady side of the house.

The Gig Harbor Garden Tour is a not to be missed event in our gorgeous community. This year's tour is June 30th and July 1st. Learn more at www.gigharborgardentour.org

Developers Ask - "What do you want Gig Harbor?"

Feedback on retail, restaurant and other new development needed

Rarely a day goes by that I don’t hear someone say “I wish Gig Harbor had a (blank) store”. Although our community is not so little anymore it does still seem to be missing a few retail and dining options which would fill in the blanks. Given that our tax rate is lower in Gig Harbor than in Tacoma, and that our wish is to keep our residents shopping local, pinpointing the missing links might help local developers.

Kohl’s Department Store has broken ground in the new Safeway Shopping Center, and this is an exciting development for Gig Harbor. The new Kohl’s, officially a department store, is unlike anything else Gig Harbor has yet seen. It is a game-changer.

I have recently had conversations with local developers and leasing agents who are working towards getting that perfect fit for Gig Harbor with additional new retail and restaurants. As a city employee, I’m often aware of what new stores are coming to the harbor, but rarely in a position to announce that information until developers say “go”. But this time, developers are looking to me to help ask the question of you our residents “what do you want?”