Budget-friendly Bremerton

Holiday bills have you thinking that it’s too pricey (and cold) for an outing?

Think again.

Spend a day exploring the waterfront and Arts District of Bremerton, warming up in art galleries and places to eat. Admire sculptures, tour a battleship, and check out Pyrex, puppets and history.

A tunnel, a vital piece of a $54 million revitalization project, provides the first surprise. Near the Seattle-Bremerton ferry terminal, vehicles enter a 20-foot-tall, 950-foot tunnel that includes sculptured artwork on the walls.

It funnels traffic slightly away from the waterfront and keeps the Harborside District more pedestrian-friendly.

To start your walking tour, head down the boardwalk to the USS Turner Joy and take a tour, then walk back to the impressive 2.5-acre Harborside Fountain Park, a public space that would generate pride in far-larger cities.

The stars are the five large copper-ringed fountains with a dance of differently timed water spouts not unlike Olympia’s Heritage Park fountain. During the holiday season, the fountains’ colored lights make a spectacular addition to Bremerton. The lights will stay on through January.

Follow the various sculptures slightly uphill toward the Arts District, between Pacific and Washington streets and Park and Sixth avenues.

One statue is of Esther Bielmeier. During World War I, Bielmeier heated rivets (metal fasteners) and gave them to the male riveters at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The statue honors the women who worked to support the war effort.

Another is a set of large circles incorporating naval and shipyard photographs.

The adjacent Arts District is next. It’s in the early stages of becoming a vibrant area. Much of the district is still economically roughed up but there are gems that make it worth your time.

The Arts District may be a glimpse into Bremerton’s future with help from more entrepreneurs and a better economy.

PUPPETS, PYREX AND ART

Bremerton’s known for more than 100 years of shipbuilding and maintenance in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. But from a visitor’s standpoint, it’s more about a quartet of museums and two must-see galleries.

The Puget Sound Navy Museum was relocated from the shipyard in 2006 to property next to the fountain park, enhancing the revitalization. The collection is focused on the shipyard. In front of the museum is the sail from the submarine USS Parche, used for special operations during the Cold War.

A good stop for children is the Aurora Valentinetti Puppet Museum, where children can create and perform their own puppet shows, and everyone can enjoy seeing puppets from around the world.

The Kitsap County Historical Society Museum is the keeper of Bremerton’s history. It has a simulated Main Street and exhibits on Native American textiles and baskets, shipbuilding, medical practitioners, farming, watchmaking and other topics.

Next door is the Amy Burnett Fine Art Gallery and the tiny Pyrex Museum, full of hundreds of pieces of colorful vintage Pyrex cookware.

Award-winning artist Burnett has earned a reputation for her contemporary approaches to such topics as salmon, horses, landscape and Victorian women.

The 15-year-old cooperative Collective Visions Gallery is home to the work of 24 artists. Musicians perform on the third Friday of each month.

This interesting gallery turns wide-ranging art work into a whole that hangs together, complete with accessible prices.

Another stop is Tami Sioux’s TableWare, where Sioux has turned silverware into art. She shapes new designs from recycled silver-plated silverware, giving them new life. Interesting items include the spoon belt (interlinked spoons) and bud vases (from knives).

EATING OUT

From a culinary standpoint, the Harborside District has both the tried-and-true with a waterfront view – Anthony’s – and a surprise: Fritz European Fry House.

Fritz takes French fries to a higher plane. After all, who wants salt and ketchup to be the fry’s only companions?

The owners have kept true to Belgium’s popular fry-house concept: on-site fresh-cut fries, dipping sauces (Wasabi garlic mayo, anyone?) from original recipes, beer-battered cod, and German sausage and kraut on a roll.

Top it off with your choice of ales; we recommend Chimay, a beer brewed in a Trappist monastery.

It’s warm and bright in Fresh Local in the Arts District, which offers organic ingredients in glass jars, hot soups, and delicious Bella Bella cupcakes (try the lemon ginger).

Manager Jean Schanen talks passionately about Kitsap Peninsula farmers’ recently opened nonprofit store and the push to use local goods.

“I’m an urban farmer,” she said, growing food in her yard, on her roof and in her carport. “Our goal is to create 1,000 productive gardens in Bremerton.”

It’s fun just to peruse the shelves, with finds such as Scratch and Peck organic chicken feed; gunpowder green tea, with each tea leaf a tiny rolled ball; and bush tea, a favorite of Precious Ramotswe of HBO’s “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.”

The combo of a battleship, galleries, museums, fountains and food add up to a trip that you can take in any weather and for a price that won’t melt the credit card.

And Bremerton is not finished. A boardwalk over the water is in the plans.

Writers Sharon Wootton and Maggie Savage are authors of “Off the Beaten Path: Washington.”