Yachts up?

Sign up for anchor-management classes at Toledo’s Wooden Boat Show

By Leslie O’Donnell

For the TODAY

Free family fun is offered at the 17th annual Wooden Boat Show at the Port of Toledo’s Waterfront Park this Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 20 and 21. With a full lineup of live music, vendors, children’s activities and lots of watercraft, the event features plenty to do for all ages.

“We’re very happy to present this show after a two-year break because of COVID,” Port Manager Debbie Scacco said. “We’re holding a lot of fun activities at this great family event, and all the activities for kids are free. We invite people to bring their boats and paddle around. Our focus is on wooden boats, and there are a lot of home-built boats that people bring — beautifully crafted kayaks and canoes and mini-tugs.”

The port’s Yaquina Queen will take festival-goers on a free ride downriver to the launch ramp on a first-come, first-served basis. The Queen can take about 12 people at a time.

The boat’s route goes under the Georgia-Pacific mill’s tube and past the port’s shipyard, then turns back. Boats leave on the hour from 10 am to 3 pm at the boathouse.

“You’ll see wonderful wildlife, lots of birds out on the river,” Scacco said. 

In addition, the port’s boathouse will have kayaks and rowboats available for families to borrow or use for the poker paddle, which takes place both Saturday and Sunday. 

Also on display will be the port’s three Teak Ladies — 17-foot teak sailboats that were donated to the port and are maintained by members of the volunteer Teak Lady Society. 

Kayak safety rescue and rolling demonstrations are set for 10 am and 2:30 pm on Saturday and 1 pm on Sunday.

A special activity at the show on Saturday is the annual containerboard boat contest, sponsored by Georgia-Pacific’s Toledo mill. 

“GP donates the material, and the builder can add whatever they want,” Scacco said. The boats, some big enough to fit a whole family, are launched from the bank of the river. “They have to paddle around a buoy and come back. Some of them tip over!” 

A special award will be given for the most spectacular sinking.

Registration for the containerboard race is from 8:30 am to 10:30 am Saturday, with voting from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and the race to the buoy from 1 to 2:30 pm. 

Also on Saturday, the port is joining with its neighbor, the Yaquina Pacific Railroad Historical Society, to mark the centennial of One Spot, a 1922 Baldwin steam locomotive on display on the society’s museum grounds. 

Lisa Watson, the society’s executive director, said the unveiling of One Spot’s “Cab Walkthrough” — a newly fabricated set of stairs and access to the train cab — will take place at 11 am on Saturday. All are invited to the ribbon cutting, to share a slice of birthday cake and tour One Spot and the railroad museum.

The steam locomotive spent its entire working life within the forests of Lincoln County from 1922 to 1959, when it was retired and went on permanent display in Toledo. Also known as Georgia-Pacific Steam Locomotive No. 1, it was the last steam locomotive to operate on the Southern Pacific Railroad branch in Lincoln County.

On Sunday, the museum will be open from 10 am to 2 pm with free admission. 

According to Scacco, the wooden boat show recognizes Toledo’s boat-building heritage in a fun, accessible way. 

“Toledo has always been the industrial center of Lincoln County,” she said. “Many shipyards operated here. The ferry that took people across Yaquina Bay before the bridge in Newport was built was constructed in Toledo. And we’re still building boats.”

The festival, which began in 2005, includes a silent auction and vendors with items ranging from art and T-shirts to food. The Toledo Chamber of Commerce cooks up a pancake breakfast starting at 7 am both days.

“It’s a nice family event,” Scacco said.

Festival hours are 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday. For more information, go to portoftoledo.org 541-336-5207. 

The Yaquina Pacific Railroad Historical Society is located at 100 NW A Street. For more information, go to yaquinapacificrr.org or call 541-336-5256. 

Live Music

Saturday, Aug. 20

• 11 am - Revel’n, bluegrass

• 12:15 pm - Saundra Perrin, alternative rock folk 

• 2:30 pm - Lloyd Jones, roots, blues and Americana

• 3:50 pm - Sons of the Beaches, folk, blues and originals

• 5:15 pm - Sonny Hess Band and Lady Kat, rhythm and blues.

Sunday, Aug. 21

• 11 am - Weird Science, rock n’ roll 

• 12:20 pm - Lyle Ronglien, solo acoustic guitar

• 1:40 pm - David Jacobs-Strain, roots and blues

• 3:30 pm - Bill Rhoads and the Party Kings, blues