Peninsular Thinking

Port Orchard kicks off its First Friday Art Walk tonight (the art walk is held on first Fridays through the warm weather season). Can summer be far behind?

Also on Friday is the kick-off of Viking Fest, Poulsbo’s celebration of its Norwegian Heritage. Events are scheduled through Sunday.

Festival season kicks off as well. The Armed Forces Day parade is set for Saturday in Bremerton. This year’s event will focus on the community’s healing from two shootings that took place in February. The parade will include a tribute to Trooper Tony Radulescu, who was shot and killed during a traffic stop Feb. 23. Amina Kocer-Bowman, 9, will be the civilian grand marshal. Amina suffered critical gunshot wounds Feb. 22 when a gun a fellow student brought to school went off. She is healing slowly.

And mark you calendars. Kitsap Harbor Festival runs May 26 and 27 (Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend), with multiple events on both the Bremerton and Port Orchard waterfronts.

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The Sustainable Cinema series, sponsored by Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido and held at the Dragonfly Cinema in downtown Port Orchard at 822 Bay Street, continues with a film at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to commemorate Earth Day. The film “Ocean Frontiers” is about efforts on many fronts to save the oceans.

Here’s the press release from Kitsap County.

“To mark Earth Day 2012 (and to honor Navy Earth Day events), this month’s Sustainable Cinema will feature Green Fire Productions’ critically acclaimed ‘Ocean Frontiers.’

‘Ocean Frontiers’ features on-the-ground reporting from places across the country at the forefront of implementing promising new approaches to ocean and coastal management. Industrial shippers, whale biologists, pig farmers, wetland ecologists, sport and commercial fishermen, reef snorkelers and many more are embarking on a new course of cooperation, in defense of the seas that sustain us.

Jim Brennan will lead a discussion of the film after it is shown. Jim is a Marine Scientist with over 30 years experience working in public and private sectors on research, education, environmental assessment, watershed planning, restoration, regulatory and policy programs in marine resource management issues. He has served with the Pacific Estuarine Research Society, Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Partnership Science Team and the Governing Board of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation. Jim is currently working for the Washington Sea Grant Program at the University of Washington.

The Sustainable Cinema Series offers interactive and educational information to Kitsap County residents about sustainable living. Donations are gratefully accepted. $5 is suggested.”

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This will be your Friday Afternoon Club heads up a little early. The Rotary Club of South Kitsap plans a “Bay Street Bash” at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Port Orchard Pavilion, 701 Bay St.

The Mardi Gras-style event features casino games, a light Cajun-style dinner and activities. There’s a no host bar.

Tickets are $40.

The Rotary Club hosts exchange programs and has scholarships for local students, as well as international feeding programs and disaster relief. The club is involved with a mission to help Kenyan villages get clean water and sanitation.

“Here in Port Orchard we take life’s basic necessities for granted, but for much of the world such things are an everyday struggle”, said club President Kyle Morkert. “We hope the good folks in South Kitsap and throughout the region will join with us to make a difference through this fun and exciting fundraiser.”

In conjunction with the Bay Street Bash, MoonDogs, Too will host a “Bling a Bra” event. This a is widely used type of fundraiser for breast cancer, according to MoonDogs owner Darryl Baldwin.

Individuals and businesses can decorate bras; the respective entry fees are $10 and $25. The glamorous bras will be on display at MoonDogs from Friday through March 3, when the winner in each category will be announced. Votes cost $1 apiece and all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

The individual winner will get a Victoria’s Secret basket. The business category winner will receive a plaque from MoonDogs at this year’s Relay for Life, set for June 1 through 2. This is MoonDogs’ third year to participate in South Kitsap Relay for Life.

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Port Orchard Party is South Kitsap’s annual big fling, maybe the one time of year folks in these parts see fit to get all gussied up and par-tay.

The event, set for Nov. 19, is a fundraiser for its organizers, Fathoms ‘O Fun, which also puts on the town’s annual 4th of July fireworks, among other activities. Profits are shared with community groups, this year the South Kitsap High School Band.

This year, party organizers are promising a surprise guest, who will come and play with headliner band Soulstice. The nationally known artist, whose music has been embraced by new generations, asked that his visit to Port Orchard be kept on the QT, said Port Orchard Party publicist Julie Ancona-Shepard. So for now, you’ll just have to guess.

The party will be from 7 to 11 p.m. Nov. 19 at Sk8 Town off Bethel Avenue. Here are more details on the party from Julie.

Press release begins here:
Fathom’s O Fun is gearing up for the 22nd annual Port Orchard Party. Fathom’s O Fun is a non-profit organization serving Kitsap County. This fundraising Gala helps raise money’s for all the free events they put on throughout the year.
The party will be held at a new location this year at Sk8town off of Bethal Ave. in Port Orchard. This year’s event is a Mardi Gras theme, and to add a little mystery we ask our guests to come in their favorite mask. The party will feature so many exciting things:

Soulstice- The Band
Emcee- DJ Scott Fijolek
Two Tarot Card Readers
12 local Restaurants offering food
Tommy C’s- No Host Bar
Photography – Summerill Photography

Attire is Cocktail/ Black Tie- Wear your best mask as well!
The Port Orchard Ambassadors as well as Miss Kitsap will be appearing that evening. Our de facto King of the Mardi Gras will be Phil Paquette.
We will have raffles going on throughout the evening as well as a mask contest for a prize to the best mask which we will reveal and announce at the end of the night.
This year we are helping to support the South Kitsap High School Marching band for their trip to Pearl Harbor is December to play at the 70th Anniversary memorial. The night of the Party, the Marching band will play a special performance with Soulstice of Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk” and “Don’t Stop”. Fleetwood Mac performed this set with the USC Marching band for their Reunion Tour, and as far as we know it’s not been duplicated since.
We have a special Celebrity guest to appear and play a few sets with the band as well as available to sign autographs. He is confirmed but we cannot release his name at this time.
Time: 7pm-11pm November 19th 2011
Tickets: $40/ person (look for specials on Kitsap Tawk and Living Social)
Participating Ticket Locations:
Kitsap Bank: Lund/Bethel and South Park Branches
Columbia Bank: Sedgwick Branch
Peninsula Credit Union
Alfred Interwest Insurance
Port Orchard VFW – 35.00 discounted military ticket
Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce
Carters Chocolates
Any time ONLINE at www.portorchardparty.com

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Our condolences to the Gibbard family on the sad news that Olympic High School grad Ben Gibbard and his wife of two years, Zooey Deschanel, have separated.

Seriously, I’m kind of sad about this. I love the depth I see in Death Cab for Cutie music and I’ve always thought Deschanel was kind of cool. I’m not sure why any of us bother to get our hopes up for celebrity couples, but why not? They both seem likable.

I guess I won’t be seeing the two of them at my house. You can still come over, Ben.

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Tiah Tolliver, the East Bremerton Safeway deli clerk who powered her away into “The X Factor” finals is out after the first live audience performance. The field of contestants is now down to 12.

We know all her local fans will be disappointed. Considering the thousands who originally auditioned, the fact she made it that far was literally against the odds. I think it’s fair to say she gave her Bremerton and Kitsap County supporters a pretty good ride.

Tolliver gave a steamy performance of “Sweet Dreams.”

An online reviewer gave her thumbs up and predicted “we don’t think that’s the last we’ll hear of Tiah Tolliver.”

So what do you think? Did the judges make the right decision?

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The Olalla Bluegrass Festival is coming right up. Set for Aug. 20, the event, now in its 20th year, features special anniversary guests The Sugarbeets. Gates open at 10 a.m. at the Olalla ballfield.

The all-volunteer-run festival will get a boost from the newly reopened (and rechristened) Dragonfly Cinema in downtown Port Orchard, with a benefit concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, featuring the Blackberry Bushes String Band as headliners. The cinema is at 822 Bay Street.

Sponsoring the event so far are the folks at Mainline Music in Port Orchard, Bay Street Bistro, and Spirit Wind West, also in Port Orchard.

Tickets are available at Mainline Music and Spirit Wind West for $10 in advance. They cost $12 at the door.

Here are a few licks from the The Blackberry Bushes:

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Kitsap County police departments have a message for criminals: We’re watching you. We’re on the lookout, and we’re unified to fight crime.

Police departments from Port Orchard, Bremerton, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island, as well as Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies, are participating in National Night Out, an anti-crime initiative that began 28 years ago and is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. (See list of events below.)

The National Night Out campaign involves citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from more than 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, more 37 million people participated in National Night Out 2010.

The event is intended to:

* Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
* Generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs
* Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships
* Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Different communities have their own agendas. Here’s what’s happening in Kitsap County, all on Tuesday.

Port Orchard Police Department will observe National Night out with free food, music from the Greenbriar Project and informational booths, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Port Orchard Marina/ Gazebo Park off Bay Street. The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office will have a booth at this event. Contact: Officer Wheeler, POPD, (360) 876-1700.

Bainbridge Island Police Department will partner with local merchants to provide food and entertainment from The Hometown band, along with informational booths, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Town Square, located between City Hall and Bainbridge Performing Arts.

The Poulsbo Police Department will hold its National Night Out Event from 4 to 8 p.m. at the town’s waterfront park, featuring booths, police cars and boats on display and a meet-and-greet with local law enforcement.

The Bremerton Police Department will hold a block party-style event from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at Viewcrest Village Apartments, 3401 Spruce Avenue. Police officers and firefighters from Bremerton Fire Department will be there. Kids activities include a learn-to-fish booth.

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In case any of you missed the Kitsap Sun’s most recent article on attempt to revive the cinema in downtown Port Orchard, the Dragonfly Cinema — formerly the Orchard Theatre — will open its doors Friday, with the recent Paul Giamatti indie flick “Win Win” and one of the evergreen cult movies, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

New owner Gryphon Schafer credits the relatively swift resuscitation of the theater, which closed five months ago, to a cadre of volunteers/fans who call themselves Reel Friends of the Dragonfly Cinema.

What films would you like to see brought to the Dragonfly?

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Proving that we really can all get along, the Port of Bremerton, city of Port Orchard and city of Bremerton will team up over Memorial Day weekend for Kitsap Harbor Festival.

The port is hosting the festival to showcase its marinas on either side of Sinclair Inlet. City governments, chambers of commerce and community groups all have their oars in the water to offer up a boatload of fun.

At the heart of the festivities will be boats: big, small, vintage, military and famous. Scheduled events include a visit from tall ships, boat shows and races, food and entertainment.

Port Orchard is using the festival to roll all its wacky maritime festivities into one weekend, including turning the town over to pirates, a murder mystery contest, a Dingy Derby Race, a seagull wing cooking contest and … the ever lovin’ reason we are Port Orchard, while other, more sane towns are not … the Seagull calling contest on Sunday.

Bremerton’s waterfront will be alive with action, including a Bridge-2-Bridge Run, arts and antique show, Kitsap Car Cruz with live entertainment, scuba demos, tours of an historic Coast Guard vessel and more.

Linking the two fair cities over the weekend will be the Bremerton to Port Orchard foot ferry, operating every 30 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Saturday through Monday. The fare is $2 each way. The port and both cities contract for the service, which is no longer provided on Sundays by Kitsap Transit.

Events are on the Bremerton Boardwalk (B) or Port Orchard waterfront (P), unless otherwise specified. For a complete listing of events, visit the Port of Bremerton’s Kitsap Harbor Festival page.

Saturday, May 28
7 to 10 a.m.: Bremerton Lions Club Pancake Breakfast (B)

8 a.m.: Registration, 4.4-mile Bridge-2-Bridge Run/Walk (run starts
at 9 a.m.) (B)

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Kitsap Arts & Antique Show/4th Street Market (B)

9 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Farmers Market and Pirate Marketfaire (P)

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Bremerton Boardwalk Festivities, crafts, merchants, food, scuba demos; remote underwater vehicle demos at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.; beer garden, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Kitsap Library story time, 10:30 to 11 a.m., Carrie Kay, 1 to 1:30 p.m., Northwest Navy Band, 5 to 7 p.m. (B)

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Kitsap Harbor Regatta (both)

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Kitsap Car Cruz (B)

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Murder Mystery Weekend Registration & Clue Gathering (P)

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Bay Street Merchants’ Beer Garden; separate kids’ root beer garden (P)

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Historic military vehicle display (B)

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Tours of Comanche 202 – Historic U.S Coast Guard Vessel (B)

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Tall Ship Tours and Cruises – exact times to be scheduled by ship captain (B)

11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: B.O.O.M Pirates at the Marina Park (P)

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Pirate Costume Contest (adults, kids, pets) (P)

11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Kids’ Pirate Zone (Mermaid Cove) (P)

1 p.m.: Kids’ Pirate Story Time (kids ages 2-5) at the Port Orchard Library (P)

1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Land Lubbers Pirate Dingy Derby Race (P)

4 p.m.: Free movie (Blackbeard’s Cove) at Port Orchard Library (P)

6:30 p.m.: Pirate Ball at Moon Dogs Too, music by Soulstice, (kids welcome until 8 p.m.)

Sunday, May 29
8 a.m. to 10. a.m.: Pancake Breakfast at Amy’s On The Bay benefiting the South Kitsap Helpline (P)

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Farmers Market and Pirate Marketfaire (P)

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Kitsap Harbor Regatta (both)

10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: Tall Ship Tours and Cruises – exact times to be scheduled by ship captain (P)

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Historic Military Vehicle Display (B)

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Tours of Comanche 202 (B)

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Bremerton Boardwalk Festivities (see above); beer garden 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Kitsap Library Storytime 10:30 to 11 a.m.; Freckles Brown Band, noon to 2 p.m.; freestyle 3 to 5 p.m. (B)

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Bay Street Merchants’ Beer Garden/separate kids’ root beer garden (P)

11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Murder Mystery Weekend continues (P)

11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: B.O.O.M Pirates at the Marina Park (P)

11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Kids’ Pirate Zone (Mermaid Cove) (P)

11:45 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.: Coroner’s report: Hear the gritty details surroundin’ the murder and piece the mystery together. (P)

Noon to 2 p.m.: 23rd Annual Seagull Calling Contest Contest (P)

Noon to 2 p.m.: “Seagull” Wings Cook-Off (amateur setup at 9 a.m.) (P)

4:30 p.m.: Murder Mystery reveal and cannon show (P)

Monday, May 30
Note: Monday events are held in Bremerton only.

10 a.m. to noon: Memorial Day Service, USS Turner Joy (DD951)

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Bremerton Boardwalk Festivities; 10 to 10:50 a.m., Carrie Kay Patriotic Songs; 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m,. Synergy Dance Company; 1 to 3 p.m., Joey Dean Band

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Tours of Comanche 202, historic Coast Guard vessel

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