By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews
Stand back — a whale of a block party is about to surface Saturday in Waldport — and more action will cruise into Yachats the next day.
“Beach, Bike & Blues” is the big event from noon to 7 p.m. combining the downtown Waldport waterfront, the Oregon Coast Gravel Epic bicycle race, and what’s being called “the biggest blues music festival on the Oregon coast.”
The quote comes from Tom Fullmer, executive director of the Waldport Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing the bash for the second year and who expects more than 1,000 people to attend this year.
The festival began last year as a way to gather the community and celebrate the Gravel Epic. Now in its 11th year, the Saturday race will bring some 400 cyclists and their families to the central coast. Sunday’s Yachats-centered race is expected to pull about 250 racers.
It is the first big festival of the spring and summer season, which includes Waldport’s Beachcomber Days June 16-18 and Independence Day activities July 3-4 in Waldport and Yachats.
The free-admission festival will be centered outdoors at the Alsea Bay Bridge Interpretive Center and Museum. There, local restaurants, food carts and a vendor fair will serve the crowds gathered for six hours of blues music from local and Portland performers.
On Sunday, another related bike race called West Coast Gravel will pedal through the Yachats area, including along U.S. Highway 101 and around Cape Perpetua. It finishes up at the Yachats Commons with live music, food and drink beginning at 11 a.m. The post-race event is open to the public.
Launched last year to bring “adventure bicyclists” together with the coast community, the Waldport chamber’s Beach Bike & Blues festival has grown significantly. It is presented by Pioneer Connect, Lincoln County and the city of Waldport.
“We’re doubling the size of the beer garden — now called the Beachcrest Brewing Beer Garden & Music Pavilion — expanding the footprint farther into the parking lot of the Interpretive Center to accommodate more people,” Fullmer said.
Beachcrest, out of Gleneden Beach, is the official beer provider for the party; wine and hard cider will be available, too, along with soda and bottled water from Bigfoot Beverage. An all-ages dance floor will be set up as well.
Signs along Highway 101 will direct motorists to several parking areas, many being lent by downtown businesses for the event. The party is ADA-accessible; leashed dogs are welcome.
“Before last year, the community never really did anything to recognize the race,” said Fullmer.
After creating last year’s event “from scratch” in about 90 days, and attracting almost 700 people to downtown Waldport, “We thought, ‘We’ve got a hit on our hands’,” he said.
“Now, the racers and their families have a place to come and party when they’re done,” Fullmer said. “And the whole region gets to come together at a spectacular venue, right off the water, for a fun time.”
Noting that the racing crowd “takes up all the camping, RV sites and hotel rooms from Newport to Yachats,” Fullmer said the festival’s timing is “Perfect.”
“We get lots of visitors in June, July and August,” he said, but throwing an event like Beach, Bike & Blues in May “gives people an extra reason to get out and have fun.”
Some 40 volunteers under the leadership of Maureen Fullmer, the chamber executive’s wife, have been working to make the festival happen.
Racers are expected to finish around noon, just in time for awards and the start of the festival.
The entertainment line-up scheduled to run from 1-7 p.m. includes: “old time blues master” Paul Schuytema of Depoe Bay; Blue Variant, a four-member central coast favorite; a Portland-based trio made up of Sonny Hess, Lisa Mann and Kelly Pierce, and finally, the festival’s own locals Curtis Colt, Steve Cook and Jim Hobbs.
Spring cycling kick-off
Saturday’s Oregon Coast Gravel Epic is the spring gravel cycling kickoff for the Pacific Northwest. It covers about 65 percent unpaved logging roads, and 35 percent smooth pavement left from decades of active logging. It’s an endurance event taking racers through the Siuslaw National Forest via two routes — the 60-mile “Abomination” and the 37-mile “Son of Abomination.”
“I’m so excited for the community. After COVID, we need more getting together,” said Mike Ripley of Monroe, owner of race organizer Mudslinger Events. “Having Day Two in Yachats gives people a more compelling reason to visit.”
The big bike weekend is drawing racers and families from throughout the Pacific Northwest and California, British Columbia, and even Washington, D.C. and Boston.
“This weekend really kicks off spring cycling for the season,” Ripley said. “We’re seeing so many riders — from casual to serious — people who want to experience the coast. The community has been great.”
Sunday’s West Coast Gravel race will have throngs of cyclists pedaling along Highway 101, bringing a safety request from Ripley: “Please be aware that your friends who bike from ages 15 to 80 will be cycling from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. We appreciate your patience and support of healthy outdoor activities.”
Non-racers who’d like to mix and mingle with the group are invited to join the Sunday post-race party at the Commons. “Cowgirl Cookin” will have food to sell from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dave Cowden of Yachats will provide live music.
- Cheryl Romano is a Yachats freelance reporter who contributes regularly to YachatsNews.com. She can be reached at Wordsell@gmail.com