A wild weekend
Yachats celebrates the natural world at inaugural Wild Things festival
Wild Thing.
You make my heart sing.
You make everything groovy.
Wild thing.
— The Troggs
Story & photo by Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
Get groovy in Yachats this Saturday, May 11, during the inaugural Wild Things festival.
The Yachats Commons will be base camp for a series of workshops, story times, walks, music and unique activities for families and nature enthusiasts to celebrate the diverse and beautiful wildlife of the Oregon Coast.
The highlight of the event will be the parade of larger-than-life wearable puppets designed by Michael Guerriero and built through a great community art project where everyone can channel their inner Wild Thing.
“While the name of the festival refers to a song from the ’60s, our effort here is to celebrate some of the wildness around us,” Guerriero said. “The animals we are depicting in our parade with puppets all have their stories. The gray whale is rebounding in its population this year, due in part to the protections given through many decades. The sea star was in dire condition just a few years ago due to the wasting die off, yet it has made a remarkable recovery and can be seen once again in large masses near here. The sea otter no longer lives here in Oregon. Yet, with the dedication of the Elakha Alliance, an effort is now being made to restore a healthy population of them to the Oregon Coast and to thereby make Oregon’s marine and coastal ecosystem more robust and resilient.”
All are welcome to join the parade, so come dressed as a tree, bee, otter, or just be yourself and join the fun.
Educational and interactive booths for all ages will help to explore the wild things featured at the festival.
“There will be booths everywhere from different organizations,” said Yachats Chamber Tourism Director Mindy Parsons. “Every booth is either a conservation group or a community group and I asked everyone to have some kind interactive element at their booths. If someone was looking for way to get involved in the community, this is it. We are gathering many different groups that are focused on conservation in one place. There’s something awesome about that.”
Grow your garden with more wild things at the Native Plant Sale hosted by MidCoast Watersheds Council and Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District.
Musical entertainment will be provided by Your Song My Song, an environmental justice-focused children’s entertainment group from the Central Oregon Coast that performs unique, funky and original songs about connecting to the planet.
“Getting that group was pretty unexpected,” Parsons said. “I wasn’t finding any local groups that would be a good fit, but one of the other conservation groups put me in touch with them and I knew they’d be perfect.”
Other venues will also host events.
“Another fun thing about the day is that there will be things going all around town,” Parsons said. At the State Park, the tide pool ambassadors will be there, Audubon will be there to identify birds, and state parks staff will be doing whale watching. Behind the Drift Inn there will be walks at Prospect Park.”
Event originator Jim Welch is part of Swallows in Flight to Yachats, aka: SWIFTY, a group of five conservationists who are building nesting boxes for cavity-nesting birds in need.
“Besides the song, the name of our festival also references the children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are,” which speaks to my interest in holding an event to educate the coming generations to appreciate and conserve our wildlife,” Welch said. “Also, the name celebrates the eclectic nature of our town, as embodied in our “La De Da” July 4 parade.”
Finally, there will be a raffle for the original poster for the event, beautifully illustrated by local Yachats artist Lucinda Cross, with proceeds going to help preserve more of the natural area surrounding the town.
“This is a very Yachats event,” Parsons said. “It’s whimsical and playful but with a heavy emphasis on conservation and taking care of where we are.”
The Wild Things festival runs from 9 am to 4 pm. For more information, go to yachats.org.
Schedule
9 am to 4 pm
Native Plant Sale at the Yachats Pavilion
Tidepooling, birdwatching and whale watching at the Yachats State Park platform
10 am, 11 am, noon, 1 pm
Library Story Time — a story on conservation followed by a craft in Yachats Commons Room 3
10:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm
Guided walks through the Yachats Wetlands highlighting bird and native plant Identifications. Meet behind the commons
11 am-1 pm
Walk through Prospect Park — meet at 2nd and Prospects Streets behind the Drift Inn
Recess Outdoor Adventure School bubble station, in the green space next to the pavilion
1 pm
Puppet Show about rare coastal birds at the Yachats Pavilion
2 pm
Your Song My Song on the Yachats Commons Main Stage
Paul Engelmeyer talks about Coastal Conservation Issues and Strategies at the Yachats Lions Club.
3:30 pm
Wild Things parade behind the Yachats Commons