By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON
The 31st annual Beachcombers Fun Fair, March 3-4 at the Ocean Shores Convention Center, brings together all kinds of information, experts and enthusiasts for a weekend that event planner Dianne Hansen says is “all about the love of the beach.” Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission, good for both days, is $3 for adults, $1 for children ages 5-12, and free under 5.
Along with the speakers, displays, hands-on educational activities and beach-related vendors, the event offers folks who actually spend enough time near the surf walking around and looking down to call themselves beachcombers, the opportunity to display some of their finds and creative talents.
In her third year as producer of the event, Hansen explained that a popular, traditional part of the event is the numerous displays from members of the general public of all manner of things found on beaches in the Pacific Northwest. She expects several hundred entries in more than 40 categories, which include single objects, collections, photography, and various creative and artistic efforts, such as collages, carvings, mobiles, mosaics, flower arrangements, home décor and furnishings.
Entries should be brought to the venue on Friday, March 2, from 2-7 p.m. Entry forms can be completed then, and are also available in advance at the Visitors Information Center on the west side of the Convention Center, at The Dusty Trunk, 759 Pt. Brown Ave. NW.
All entries must be picked up just after the event closes, from 4-5 p.m. Sunday, March 4. There is no charge to enter any of the display categories. Entrants are competing for ribbons and Best of Show and People’s Choice awards.
In addition to an array of informational and educational booths, displays and kids’ activities both days, four beachcombing experts are on tap for Saturday afternoon seminars:
• 1 p.m., David Berger, author of “Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest.”
• 2 p.m., retired UW oceanographer and “Flotsametrics” author Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer.
• 3 p.m., John Anderson, owner of John’s Beachcombing Museum in Forks.
• 4 p.m., Alan Rammer, retired WDFW shellfish biologist and educator and one of the event’s founders.
At 5 p.m., the four will be joined by Steve Green, from the Ocean Shores Coastal Interpretive Center, for a panel discussion, including identification of unusual items found on area beaches.
Two favorite events take place Sunday morning. Rammer will conduct his annual educational beach walk. Space is limited and people should sign up at the event on Saturday. At the same time, folks can pick free trash bags for the other Sunday morning activity, Dr. Ebbesmeyer’s “Dash for Trash and Treasure.” From 9 to 11 a.m. people can bring their freshly-found items from the beach to tables set up just outside the Convention Center, where he will offer his observations about the origins of the objects.
Hansen said the annual event is one of just a handful of similar celebrations, where “experts share their world,” with the people who live, work and play on and around the beach, and look at “why we’re here and why we need to preserve it.” More information is available on the Facebook page, Beachcombers Fun Fair.
Beachcombing ID from A to Z
This Sunday, Feb. 25 from 2 to 4 p.m., Rammer will be at the Museum of the North Beach in Moclips for the second Beachcombing ID from A to Z event. Folks are invited to bring in their unique, mysterious or everyday beachcombed objects and he will be on hand to identify and educate.
Rammer believes that finding items on the beach should not only be enjoyable, but he tries to help participants try to figure out what the items are, where they originated and what the findings could mean. A prize will be awarded to the most unique beachcombed find. This is a free event in partnership with the Coastal Interpretive Center.
The Museum of the North Beach is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends during the winter months.
For information visit the Facebook page, Museum of the North Beach, call 360-276-4441, or email kelly@moclips.org.
