When we first launched Gig Harbor Living Local in January of 2014, we knew it would take time to grow our publication and establish relationships within the community. The unexpected surprise, however, was how quickly we were embraced by the businesses and residents of Gig Harbor. The relationships we have built and the people we have come to call our friends have been nothing short of amazing. We attribute our success to you, the community of Gig Harbor. We enjoy bringing to

Serving the community since 1975, find your dream home with Gig Harbor Homes. With more than 30 years of real estate experience, the Linda Petersen Team makes buying and selling real estate successful for a win-win transaction. More than just a real estate agent, Linda Petersen of Keller Williams Realty, Gig Harbor Homes, is an expert in the profession. With a goal to always provide a win-win outcome for both buyers and sellers, Linda has created a team of professional partne

Most travelers to Africa return with amazing stories of grand vistas, vast wilderness, and teeming wildlife. Volunteers who visit southwest Kenya with Partnering for Progress (P4P), a Spokane, Washington based non-profit, see spectacular sights on a six-hour ride through Kenya’s Great Rift Valley to the rural villages of Kopanga/Giribe. The valley is bordered by massive escarpments, contains a chain of volcanos and is traveled by red-cloaked Maasai tribesman. Many volunteers

Gig Harbor resident Karen Larson smiled last year as she watched dozens of families take advantage of an evening filled with games and fun activities. Why? Because she knew that proceeds from the evening would help fund the preservation of nature trails and create guardians to protect sensitive areas of the peninsula. ​ Larson is the director of development for EnviroCorp, the outdoor advocate division of the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. She made her observation last summer

Olympic swimmer and gold medalist, Amanda Beard, not only calls Gig Harbor home, she’s sharing her passion for water safety for children at her upcoming school, Beard Swim Co. ​ Beard made Olympic history as the youngest athlete competing at the 1996 summer games and winning one gold and two silver medals. She competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics, winning a total of seven Olympic medals. Since then, she’s been busy with business ventures, children and her memoir, “In

“Timely advice is as lovely as gold apples in a silver basket.” -Ancient Proverb W hat happened when a local, 72-year-old, Air Force Veteran serendipitously partnered with the early-40s radio station manager for Gig Harbor’s own KGHP FM? ​ Something beautiful. ​ At first blush, an association between burly Spencer Abersold — a passionate music fan — and stately Ed Brook—a former executive and business owner — may have seemed unlikely. However, both share a powerful tie that b

On the morning of my first day at work I couldn’t feel my hands. It was not because of nerves or excitement, but the frigid air that hovered around zero degrees Fahrenheit. Darlene Arviso, an elderly Navajo woman, chuckled from the driver’s seat as she saw me rubbing my hands next to her. “The desert isn’t just hot. It’s tough year ‘round,” she said. We were driving through Northern New Mexico, just outside of a town called Thoreau on the Navajo Reservation. White snow sat on

When Gig Harbor resident Cordell Council took his spot at the starting line of the Boston Marathon in April, there was more on his shoulders than the race bib No. 13290 draped across his chest. The long distance runner began the 26.2 race mile competition through the streets of the city and eight nearby townships just 15 days after his latest treatment for advanced melanoma. The race gave Council his first break from the grueling series of surgeries and procedures he has endu

The future of the Peninsula Shopping Center has been the subject of considerable debate for some time now. Among the possibilities for the site is a phased redevelopment that would make it a “live-work” place with apartments and community spaces. Prior to April of 2015, Jon Rose, president of the Olympic Property Group (OPG), approached the owners of Gig Harbor's Peninsula Shopping Center (PSC) after learning the Milgard family, the current owners, was interested in the possi

Even though Gig Harbor’s FISH Food Bank has been a Gig Harbor staple for the past 40 years, their actual operation is comprised of a modest area shared with our local Eagle’s Club. Neither the building nor the food bank’s small sign on Burnham Drive adequately tells the story of what happens once inside the food bank. For the real miracle of the food bank originates in the dedication and boundless generosity of everyone involved. Founders Ron and Jan Coen, over 200 dedicated