Flowers native to Oregon are the focus of “Flower Girls,” an exhibit presented by the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts featuring 24 oil paintings by Lincoln County artists Victoria Biedron and Katia Kyte.

It has been roughly a decade since my friend Dennis Gibson, a wheelchair user, gently pointed out that I was often forgetting to include accessibility information in my stories. Dennis passed away in 2017, but since the time he awakened me to my unintentional oversights, many gains have been made to increase access to the trails and beaches that make the Oregon Coast such a treasured place to live and visit.

It’s January 2021 and here we are, still in the throes of the pandemic. Some creative types, like members of Newport’s performing arts community, are working hard to keep the muse alive. 

Fans of wood art should be sure to turn out for the latest exhibit presented by the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, “A Segment of Art,” running through Saturday, March 20, in the Coastal Oregon Visual Artists Showcase at the Newport Visual Arts Center.

Traditionally, the times considered best for whale watching on the Central Coast are the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day and the week of Spring Break. But according to marine biologist and owner of Whale Research EcoExcursions, Carrie Newell, not only can Gray whales be seen here all year, spring is good and summer is best.

Since the end of last year, Lincoln City’s Driftwood Public Library has been hosting a virtual Death Cafe, facilitated by Death Doula Crystal Akins.

There’s no doubt about it, times have changed. Life during the pandemic means mask-wearing, social distancing and avoiding crowded spaces. Creative thinking abounds, however, like within the Yachats Lions Club, which will be holding its annual Crab Feed on Saturday, Jan. 30 — with a bit of a twist.

The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology is continuing to throw open the virtual doors and share the work being produced by its resident artists and scientists, inspired by the trees and wildlife on Cascade Head just north of Lincoln City

After six weeks of closure, Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City will re-open this Friday, Jan. 15, with increased safety measures in place.

Words people usually associate with animal rescue are ones like, “fluffy,” cuddly” and “cute.” Not, usually, “scaly,” “poisonous” or “illegal.”

Whether you credit the quote, “With great power comes great responsibility,” to Voltaire or Spider Man’s Uncle Ben, we should all be grateful that the state of Oregon has imbued everyone with the power to visit most of the coastline.

Thanks to a rescheduling, Lincoln County artists now have a bit more time to get works in for the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts PushPin & ClothesLine Show, which will now run from Saturday, Jan. 16, through Saturday, Feb. 27 in the Runyan Gallery of the Newport Visual Arts Center.

The Lincoln City Community Center is back open and, to help celebrate, is holding a socially distanced version of the annual New Year’s Swim on Saturday, Jan. 9, from 9 to 11 am, where a group of swimmers will try to complete a total of 2,021 lengths of the center’s pool.

With the fast evolution of the smartphone camera and easily added filters making everyone a “photographer,” it’s easy to forget that it wasn’t that long ago that photography was an art practiced by few and admired by many.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Wim Hof, aka “The Iceman,” a Dutchman who has made a name for himself by combining attention-seeking stunts, like spending more than an hour lying on a huge block of ice in his underpants, with medically overseen experiments that reveal evidence that shocking the system regularly can have real long-term health benefits.

Spend enough time around trail runners and you’ll soon find that they are too tired all the time to have a sense of humor that transcends the adolescent level.

For the past few months, the current cohort of artists- and scientists-in-residence at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology have been engrossed in their work, secluded among the trees and wildlife. Join them for the Resident Show & Tell at 4 pm on Tuesday, Jan. 5, to see what they have produced so far.

Ashley Andersen is having trouble sleeping. It’s not just because she worries about where she and her boyfriend, Jason Taylor, will end up next. It’s not just because she can’t help but recount all they lost in the Echo Mountain fire, a list that can be easily summed up as “pretty much everything.”

The Cape Perpetua Collaborative is a community organization that focuses on conservation and collaboration in one of the most visited natural areas in Oregon.

While you might lose a little by not being in the same room with the instructors and fellow students, the fact that you can now take an Oregon Coast Community College class from pretty much anywhere with an internet connection should more than make up for it.