Listen! Do you hear that? I don’t either, and that makes me worry. Bremerton is just a little too quiet these days. There are no griping or shocking headlines. It’s like there’s no more to say. Even the love-to-hate-Bremerton nay-sayers have retired their poison pens. Calling department heads means receiving recorded messages and a lot of people are out all at once. Do I sense a whisper of meetings? It’s anyone’s guess, but since this is Bremerton any suspicious lull makes one pause.

The only hump in the lull lately is the art scene. We seem to stay steadfast amongst all weathers – just steadily growing all the time, peeking our heads out once in a while to holler, “Hey! Here we are!”

June 15, sooner than anyone expected, the Naval Museum opened its doors at its new location. That new location is smack next to me, and I couldn’t be any happier about it. It’s a class addition to the arts district. That makes three museums almost side by side.

Friday July 5, they’ll be a huge hump of activity. It’s the First Friday Gallery Walk where most of the galleries and businesses stay open late to celebrate new exhibits, events and poets. There’s a new restaurant added to the mix called City Limits, which is located on 4th Street just down from Pacific Avenue. It used to be called Melody Lane. A point of interesting trivia is that the refurbished eating counter is a solid length of mahogany wood that originally was installed in 1910 in the old McGill’s Tavern.

It is easy to get side tracked when Bremerton is concerned. There’s a story behind and in front of every doorway and street crevice. Before I get back to July 5, let me take you to another unrelated but interesting story. One of the Naval Museum volunteers has a gun that was involved in a 1905 shootout at the end of Pacific. That was the time the Department of Navy threatened to pull out of Bremerton altogether because it was so corrupt. This particular incident saw a guy with a gun in each hand fighting his way from a bar to the street where he got shot and killed by another guy.

Now do you see what I mean about being suspicious when there’s a lull in Bremerton? July 5 is a non-lull. Besides everything else, Junior Cadillac will be playing in concert on the Boardwalk. Then as darkness falls, the Main Street Outdoor Cinema will present a Harley Davidson extravaganza with Easy Rider and Marlon Brando’s Wild One with free parking for bikes and a beer garden sponsored by City Limits. The mural screen is located across from the side of The Sun building on 5th Street.

If you haven’t heard enough about Bremerton – check out the new Arts District brochure on the ferry, which is thanks to the City of Bremerton and the Bremerton Patriot. And a big thanks to the Kitsap Business Journal, because they were right there ready to help.