Whale Watching on the Oregon Coast

One of the most spectacular sights to see on the Oregon Coast is the annual migration of whales. Gray whales are the most frequently spotted as they travel from the cold waters of the Bering Sea to the lagoons of Mexico to breed and give birth. The 10,000 mile round trip is the longest known for any mammal.

In Winchester Bay, scout for the migration at the Umpqua River Whale Watching Station adjacent to the Lighthouse. A viewing platform and interpretive signage was constructed in 1989 through the efforts of local volunteer whale watchers known as the Umpqua River Spyhoppers.
 

RCLC & CDABA Gala - "It's the Cat's Meow"

Local and international artists are decorating this year's ceramic banks (cats, of course) and donating works of art to be auctioned during the evening.

Local restaurants and businesses are preparing mouth-watering treats for you to enjoy along with wine from Bradley Vineyards.

Bring your favorite guy or gal (wearing cat suits or your favorite casual attire) and enjoy an evening of art & food. To round off the festivities our very own "PBA and the Hot Flashes" will be playing music to keep you dancing for hours. The Gala will be held at the Reedsport Community Center - 451 Winchester Avenue.

Tickets are available from CDABA members and Great Afternoons board members - as well as the Family Resource Center and the RCLC office. The price is $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Coastal Douglas Arts and Business Alliance & Reedsport Community Learning Center/ Great Afternoons

Contact: RCLC 271-3926 or Family Resource Center 271-9700

Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner

For details please contact the Chamber office. 541-271-3495
 

Wine, Beer, Seafood & Music Festival: Confluence 2007

Reedsport/ Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce Presents A Wine, Beer, Seafood & Music Festival - Confluence 2007

Confluence - Noun: "a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point"

Location: the Old W.F. Jewett School in Gardiner, Oregon (2.5 miles north of Reedsport)

Dates: February 16-17, 2008

Time: Saturday noon-8:00pm and Sunday noon-6:00 pm

7 bands play Music All Day

Oregon Wineries - Oregon Microbreweries - Seafood Vendors - Craft Vendors

$5.00 admission per day

Master of Ceremonies:  Paul Biondi and Mark Madden

Plenty of free parking - Free Shuttle Bus Service in Winchester Bay, Reedsport, Gardiner

Location:
old W.F. Jewett School building
325 High Street
Gardiner OR 97441

 

Dune Musher's Mail Run

 

Memorial Day Weekend
Memorial Day Parade



WHAT: MEMORIAL DAY CELEBRATION
WHERE: Reedsport / Winchester Bay, Oregon
WHEN: Sunday, May 27, 2007, Monday, May 28, 2007, and Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sponsored by: Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber Commerce

This year's theme is: “Honoring Veterans Past, Present, & Future”. The celebration should be very special with performances by the 29 Palms Marine Corp Marching Band. The Green Beret Paratroopers from Fort Bragg, NC, will be jumping into the Memorial Service with a 35-foot x 65-foot American Flag. There will be a fly-by from an F-15 squadron and other Armed Forces participation. The parade will include groups and individuals of all ages and all are welcome to participate. Any one interested in participating in the Memorial Day Parade should contact the Chamber office.

The parade will be followed by a Memorial Service with displays and booths, BBQ, and live entertainment.

Come and help us celebrate a Memorial Day weekend packed with patriotic celebrations. For additional information call the chamber office at (541) 271-3495, (800) 247-2155, or Joe Mirvis at (541) 361-9080.

8th Annual Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Sculpting Championships

Professional chainsaw sculpture carvers from around the world gather at Rainbow Plaza in Reedsport. The main event takes "Art to the Extreme" with hours of carving large sculptures and daily timed "quick-carve" events. Come and meet the artists and enjoy super sales on carvings. Live Band and dance on Saturday night, June 16th. This is a great way to spend Father's Day on the coast!
 

Independence Day Celebration - Lakeside

Kathy 541-759-3883 after 5:30 for Street Faire or kromay @ msn.com
Gary & Fran 541-759-3919 Classic Car Show
Naomi 541-759-4935 Drawing & Bake Sale

FIREWORKS AT DUSK ON SUNDAY
street faire, Classic Car Show Saturday, Drawings, Bake Sale and fun, fun, fun.
 

Fireworks Over The Bay - Winchester Bay

The most spectacular fireworks display on the Coast. Visitors and locals grab a spot, fire up the barbecue or picnic and settle in for a night of fun. A Car Cruise & other events round out your stay. 

For more information call 541-271-4471 or email: wbmerchants@yahoo.com
 

Fireworks and Celebration in Gardiner


Looking for the small-town flavor of fireworks shows from yesteryear? The Friends of Gardiner Cemetery will be hosting a fireworks show on July 4 in Gardiner at dusk. Other activities during the day in Gardiner include: their annual potluck picnic at noon at the end of Front Street, along with games for the kids, including snail races, water balloon toss, and a watermelon-eating contest. For the "older kids," there will be an egg toss. Prizes will be tee shirts designed by local Jerry Solley, one of the owners of Cape Cod Cottages.

The Gardiner 4th of July Picnic has been held since 1992 and this will be the first year fireworks have been included in the festivities, thanks to the generous donations received from the Umpqua Bank, Tsunami Gallery, Bob and Donna Fullhart, Marc Fullhart, the Gardiner Guest House Bed and Breakfast, Compliance Service of America, American Bridge, Kel-Cee Ace Hardware, Cape Cod Cottages and other donations from Gardiner and Reedsport.

For more information, contact Dixie Hash at 541-271-4005 or Theresa Hart at 541-271-4063.

Ocean Festival

Come on over and enjoy three fun filled days at the Coast. Live Music, Beach
Blvd. Bazaar, children's Parade, Open House at the shops, Jet Boat Rides, Famous
Seafood Barbecue, Games for young and old. Coast Guard Demonstrations...
a summer's worth of fun packed into three days.

For more information call Phyllis Dever 541- 271-1510

Lakeside Cardboard Boat Challenge

Tenmile County Park
Viewing & Judging at 12:00
Race Starts at 1:00

Class I: Single Person Boats 
Class II: Unlimited Person Boats
$10 Entry Fee

For more information call Osprey Point at 541-759-2801
 

National Night Out

Enjoy a picnic with your neighbors and meet the men and women in law enforcement and fire & rescue who serve the community.

DuneFest

This 5-day event draws thousands of ATV enthusiasts to Winchester Bay, the heart of the Oregon Dunes. Events include drag races, challenges and more. In addition to all the action on the sand, you'll find ATV vendor booths, food, music and exhibitions featuring the latest products and vehicles. Some spectacular "show" buggies and quads are also on display and sale.

Find out all the details at the Official Dunefest Website.
 

Night Tours of the Umpqua River Lighthouse

This unique package includes a Powerpoint presentation of Oregon Lighthouses including a focus on this Winchester Bay gem, a personal tour of the Umpqua River Lighthouse Museum, and finally, the special feature of the evening, a tour up the tower to view the First Order Fresnel Lens while it rotates its red and white lights out to sea.

For more information and to reserve your spot (each tour group is limited to 12 participants), please call 541.271.4631
 

Lighthouse Week

 

Crab Bounty Hunt

Crabbing is always great fun and the crab is a tasty reward, but during the months of August & September, in Winchester Bay, a cash prize makes crabbing VERY rewarding. Crab are tagged with numbered metal tags. One of those numbers is sealed in the vault of Umpqua Bank. If you register that number before the end of the contest, you win the cash prize.  Information: 541-271-4471 email: wbmerchants@yahoo.com
 

Old Time Fiddlers Jamboree

The Oregon Old Time Fiddlers District 5 will be hosting its Fourth Annual Old Time Music Jamboree at the Winchester Bay Community Center in Winchester Bay in August. Last year's event attracted over 100 musicians and had enthusiastic audiences. We expect this year to be even better!

Musicians from all over Pacific Northwest and Northern California will be singing and playing fiddles, guitars, banjos and mandolins at the Grange Hall, the Gazebo, camp grounds and on the docks around town. Get ready to hear a wide variety of music including country, Cajun, swing, bluegrass, folk, waltzes and old time tunes. Open jam sessions will be going on all day long, with concerts at the Grange Hall every evening at 6:00pm. Admission is by donation. There will be a Gospel show on Sunday to close the event.

Sharon Gallagher (541) 572-2742  or Hal Weiner (541) 902-2336

2006 PRESS RELEASE  -  2006 FLYER
 

Lakeside Drag Boat Races

 

Kool Coastal Nights

The fun starts on Friday with the Burnout and Open Header Contests - hope you like LOUD cars and LOTS of smoke!! Saturday the cars are powdered and permed for the Show 'n Shine and Parade of Champions. There's also a Harbor Cruise for those who are nostalgic for the 50's. Bring your favorite gal or guy and shake your stuff at the Street Dance. Don't forget the famous Sea Food BBQ. Come Kool off at the coast and enjoy all the HOT cars!

Smith River Country Fair

Old-Fashioned Family Fun is a tradition at this annual event. Kids love the greased pig chase, chicken scramble, sack race and egg toss. A traditional pit BBQ Beef dinner is served at noon. Giant vegetable contest, exhibits and a raffle round out the day. Parking is limited, so please take the free shuttle to the Smith River site. A free bus runs every half-hour from the Safeway parking lot.

Winchester Bay Art By the Bay

September 1st & 2nd artists from all over Oregon will be participating in their crafts.
You will have a chance to observe styles & skills of Potters, Painters, Carvers,
Jewelry and more. Young people are welcome to take part in the face painting, tennis ball art, sand drawing and T-Shirt Art. Sign ups for Art Classes during the Fall and Winter months will be available.

This Event is sponsored by Friends of Winchester Bay and The Winchester Bay
Merchants Association. Proceeds are used to sponsor Art Classes for all ages
in the area. For more information and to participate call Joe Coyne at 541-271-2103.

 

STEP Salmon Derby

Sponsored by Gardiner/Reedsport STEP (Salmon-Trout Enhancement Program) this event is timed to coincide with the fall Chinook salmon run. Daily prizes awarded for the biggest salmon. Local tackle shops have registration forms and rules.
 

Car Rally Run (Roseburg to Winchester Bay)

 

Fort Umpqua Days in Elkton

 

Tsalila

Pronounced Sa-Lee-La, this festival is part entertainment, part education, lots of fun and both free and open to the public. Centered downtown at the Umpqua River and Discovery Center with activities focused on watershed restoration and salmon recovery.

A complete traditional Indian village is set up with tribal drumming, dancing, storytelling and demonstrations of flintknapping and other native crafts by the Confederated Tribes of Siuslaw, Coos & Lower Umpqua Indians.

Lots of children's activities, food and crafts booths and a traditional alder smoked Salmon dinner. Last year 2000 students from surrounding schools attended the festival. A great event to bring the whole family.  Learn more here. 

Gardiner Founder's Day Celebration

Gardiner Founder's Day Celebration - this event includes a tour of the historic homes, cemetery, and old Mercantile Store (Tsunami Gallery). We will also have a photo array (with photos of the old homes available for purchase) and a pancake breakfast at the fire hall.

A limited number of Tour tickets are available for $10 each and can be purchased at
Reedsport's Umpqua Bank located at 1975 Winchester Avenue (541-271-2176) or
the Umpqua Discovery Center located at 409 Riverfront Way in Old Town
Reedsport. For more information, call Dixie Hash at 541-271-4005 or Theresa
Hart at 541-997-8401 ext. 120 or thart@ohwy.com

46th Annual Holiday Bazaar
& Gingerbread House Contest

A vast array of hand-crafted wares awaits you at the Reedsport Community Building, along with homemade holiday food treats. Kids visit with Santa and the Gingerbread House contest awards prizes for bakers in several age categories.
 

Lower Umpqua Hospital Holiday Tour of Homes

Local citizens lovingly decorate their homes for the holidays and invite the community to start out the season in the spirit of fun.  As a bonus you also get to help fund the Hospital Auxiliary by supporting their annual fund raiser.
 

Festival of Trees

The Reedsport Garden Club and Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce bring the joy of the holiday season to the Reedsport area.  The Community Building will be decorated for the festivities.  Entertainment, stories and refreshments will be available.  The highlight of the event will be the trees, decorated by businesses or individuals, on display during the event - with an auction and raffles. 
 

Holiday Lights Contests

Reedsport and Winchester Bay become twin beacons of light as locals dress up their homes, businesses, and boats for the Holiday Season. Prizes are offered in both communities for the best light displays.