Sunday, September 9, 2012

A little Hawaii in Gig Harbor, Washington


My friend recently invited me to visit her aunt’s home in Gig Harbor, Washington for a Luau.  The event was being held as a fundraiser for Relay for Life and I was excited to attend and help support such a great cause.  Not to mention my friend had told me a lot about her aunt’s estate and regularly tried to get me to go up there and visit with her.  She wasn’t exaggerating; it was a beautiful home along the east shore of the harbor right on the water. 

I was originally planning to go up on Friday night and take advantage of the area a little more with a couple friends, but unfortunately had to prioritize catching up on some work and instead opted to drive up myself and meet them up there on Saturday.  When I arrived, a short while before the Luau, they gave me a quick tour and I understood the hype.


Enjoying a Luau fundraiser in Gig Harbor, Washington
After getting jazzed up a bit, we went downstairs to find a full-service bar, live music, an amazing spread of various Hawaiian dishes, a few vendors set-up and an array of items displayed for the silent auction.  I was impressed, as I had never participated in this type of event in someone’s home (I guess my background comes out a little here.)   Even though the event had just begun and people were still coming in, there was already a lot of energy.

It was family friendly and there were some great activities such as live music throughout the entire event and a performance of traditional Hawaiian dances put on by a local dance company.  That was a real treat, and they also had multiple costume changes representative of the songs/dances they were performing.  Towards the end they had a dance lesson where people got involved, including a good number of the kids, which was very entertaining for everyone involved.


Hawaiian dance lesson at the Luau Fundraiser
And Washington couldn’t have treated us better by holding back its notorious grey skies.  After a full afternoon of festivities, food and drink, we were able to enjoy the end of the evening with a beautiful sunset and a fire pit.  There, the few of us who remained drank wine and listened to my friend’s cousins play the guitar and sing until the early hours of the morning.

And to think this was only a few hours away from home and just an overnight trip.   It reminded me that you shouldn’t underestimate the small journeys. 

Cheers!