By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews
YACHATS — Sipping and shopping, wining and dining will be formally uncorked in downtown Yachats when the second annual “Sip ‘n Stroll” saunters into town Saturday.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. local shops and restaurants will host visiting wineries, a brewery and a distillery for customers to sample and buy beverages, food and merchandise. For $20, attendees receive five wine sampling tickets, a map of participating shops and wineries, and an event wine glass.
“We’re really growing,” said Nichole Lippincott, director of the Yachats Chamber of Commerce, which is producing the event for second year. “Everybody really enjoyed last year’s event. Some of the businesses involved reached out last fall to make sure they’d be included this year.”
Last year’s inaugural event drew 214 attendees, 13 wineries, breweries and distillery, and 13 local shops and restaurants. This year, Lippincott says, “We’re hoping for 300 folks” and the chamber has purchased 400 event glasses. The number of participating businesses has jumped to about 19, and 21 beverage producers have signed up.
Attendees will be able to sample wares from wineries all over Oregon, beer from Depoe Bay Brewing and rum from Stillwagon of Florence.
To encourage pre-registration, the chamber is offering one extra taste ticket to people who register online, up until the night before the event. To pre-register, visit the event website.
For registering on the day of the Sip ‘n Stroll, the signup location is the event center at Overleaf Lodge on the north end of town, or at the Yachats Visitor Center downtown. Pre-registrants can pick up their tickets, a map and glass at the Overleaf.
The sites scheduled to participate are: Overleaf Lodge; Adobe Resort & Restaurant; Yachats Community Presbyterian Church for bathroom breaks, snacks, and water; Peephole Gallery Studio; Billow Cloud Soaps; Perpetua Records; Sea Note Restaurant; Yachats Mystique Antiques & Antique Virgin; Ya-Hots Video Country Store; Coastal Balance Chiropractic & Massage; Drift Inn; Ona restaurant; Styx, Stones ‘n Bones; Big Dog BBQ; the chamber’s visitor center for bathroom breaks and water); Earthworks Gallery; Touchstone Gallery, and Beach Daisy Wine.
All attendees will be able to buy additional taste tickets at a couple of spots throughout town at a cost of $3 apiece.
“We really want to encourage people to park in town and use the free shuttle bus,” says Lippincott.
The bus will run on a loop from 10:45 a.m. to approximately 4:30 p.m. The stops are at the Overleaf, the Adobe Resort, the Midtown Guitar Plaza near the Yachats Commons, and the Green House Marketplace, which is home to Beach Daisy Wine, galleries and a gift shop.
As an alternative to walking along U.S. Highway 101, Lippincott urged walkers to use the 804 Trail.
Tote bags for holding bottles will be available for $5. One new feature — prompted by attendee requests last year — is a courier service for people who want to buy wine by the case, but have no way to lug it around town.
“When you register, you’ll get a number,” said Lippincott. “If you find a wine you’d like to buy by the case, give that number to the winery representative, and keep the receipt.” Volunteers will drive purchases by the case to the Overleaf, where they can be picked up throughout the day.