Each heron has been created exclusively for SalmonChantedHarbor by a local artist. The event will culminate in an auction of each heron to raise money for Peninsula Hands on Art, an arts educational program in four of our local schools.

Created in 2003, Peninsula Hands on Art creates a community of young artists that embraces the artistic talents of each individual child. The vision is to provide an all district elementary art program that educates and engages children in art history, mixed media, and encourages the talents of each child. The students have the opportunity to work with local artists on a project all their own.

The projects are evaluated to ensure a variety of experiences, especially for students who continue to get to participate from year to year, and engage a wide range of ages, from kindergarten to fifth grade. The program strives to not only teach artistic technique, but also the relative art and local history. It also incorporates art supplies not generally available in the classroom, so students get a chance to try new tools for exploring their creativity.

Currently the program is conducted at Artondale, Harbor Heights, Vaughn, Voyager and Discovery elementary schools in the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula area. To date, over over 36,000 individual lessons have been provided to the Peninsula School District. This year over 2500 students, and 200 parent volunteers are participating in the Peninsula Hands on Art program..