Design for Gig Harbor Summer Art Festival poster by Ariana Smith. Image courtesy Peninsula Art League.

Looking for something to do this weekend? The folks from the Peninsula Art League are organizing the 24th annual Gig Harbor Summer Art Festival 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Here's what the organizers say will be there:

• 128 local and national arts and crafts vendors on Judson Street, in downtown Gig Harbor
• Fine food from crab melts to Peruvian, shaved ice to ice cream, and all of your favorite lattes, juices and soft drinks.
• Splendid music brought to you by Tammy Nilson – blues, country and bluegrass, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
• Children’s fun, art and entertainment including Tim Lowell making glass mosaic stepping stones, Harbor WildWatch interactive children’s art activities, and face painters

Parking in downtown Gig Harbor can be tough at the best of times, so take advantage of the free parking available at the Kimball Drive Park and Ride right off the City Center exit from Highway 16, where shuttles will pick up riders on an ongoing basis Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

For more information, call 253-265-8139.

The Grand Cinema is opening two new movies on Friday and they couldn't be more different. One, "Roman de Gare," is a devilishly twisty thriller from France's Claude Lelouch, best known as the director of 1966's "A Man and a Woman," which won the Oscar for best foreign language film. The other, "Up the Yangtze," is lushly photographed and remarkably intimate documentary about the vast social upheaval caused by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world that has caused millions of people to be displaced by its rising waters.

These pictures do have one thing in common: Both are uncommonly good. Excellent, even, each in its own very distinctive way.

Well worth checking out, either or both.

The board of directors at Tacoma Little Theatre has appointed local Doug Kerr as interim artistic director, following their decision last Wednesday to release David Duvall from the position. Here's what their press release has to say about Kerr:

“We have tapped a veteran of the arts with a strong business management background and familiarity with TLT and the management team,” stated TLT Board Vice President, Marie Kelly. “Doug was the head of the Pierce Community College Theatre Department for more than thirty years and is a respected and accomplished director, set designer and artist. Importantly, he shares both a commitment to the values and a vision of continued growth for TLT. We are thrilled to have him in place while we conduct a search for a permanent Artistic Director.”

Duvall was let go after 16 months in the position, during which time audiences dropped by around 20%, staff salaries were only partly paid, and positions remained unfilled, Duvall said last Thursday. (See that post on this blog below.)

The position of business director, left vacant by Cory Chapo last year, still remains unfilled. Previously, the business director worked with the artistic director in overall management of the theater. The 2008/09 season also remains unannounced.

Tacoma Little Theatre is, at 90 years, one of the oldest community theaters in the nation. Said Kelly: “We are poised to have a tremendous year of growth in artistic endeavors and our community involvement as we celebrate our 90th season. Our staff and board are committed to making this our best year ever!”