Take off to Tillamook
Tickets are now on sale for
Celebrate the Bounty of our Bays, the
annual gala fund-raiser from Tillamook
Estuaries Partnership (TEP), scheduled
to take place on Saturday, Feb. 29, in
Tillamook.
Held at Pacifi c Restaurant, the event
will see TEP share its 2019 Year in
Review as well as hosting a happy hour,
surf and turf dinner, and an extensive
silent auction full of exclusive, outdoor
activities like guided fi shing trips,
scenic hikes and vacations to coastal
resorts.
Executive Director Kristi Foster said
the evening serves as TEP’s primary
fundraiser, and the money raised helps
the organization off er their educational
programs to local students.
“We are a non-profi t environmental
organization so we rely largely on
grants that we get from diff erent
agencies at both the state and federal
level, but we are also looking for
support from the community through
donations and fundraising,” she said.
“Th is community support helps us run
some our other programs, specifi cally
our Children’s Clean Water Festival
and Down by the Creekside fi eld trips.”
TEP, which became its own
nonprofi t in 2002, has existed in
diff erent forms throughout the past
26 years and has always worked with
diff erent student groups to involve
them in restoration projects around the
county.
“We’ve had student groups help
us with everything from putting
wood chips down to planting trees
along rivers and streams, and other
stewardship activities that have
impacted Hoquarton Slough, Alder
Creek Farm, Kilchis Point and many
other places that so many of us enjoy,”
Foster said. “Education is a big piece of
4 • oregoncoastTODAY.com • facebook.com/oregoncoasttoday • February 21, 2020
what we do every single day.”
Th is is the second year for Celebrate
the Bounty of the Bays, which was fi rst
held to honor the 25th anniversary of
Tillamook Bay’s designation as a Bay
of National Signifi cance. Th e inaugural
event was a great success, raising
more than $29,000 to support clean
water, healthy habitats and vibrant
communities.
Th is year’s event will begin at 4 pm
with the 2019 Year in Review at 4 pm,
off ering a chance to meet the staff
and ask questions. Th e ticketed event
begins at 5 pm, featuring a happy hour,
silent auction and seafood dinner. Th e
evening will continue with a cash bar
after party from 8 to 9 pm.
Tickets are $60 per person and
include surf and turf dinner with two
beer or wine tickets. Other drinks will
be available for purchase at the bar. To
buy tickets, go to www.tbnep.org.
potpourri
Please
clap
A Lincoln City handbell expert is
off ering people the chance to leap into
a new hobby this Leap Day, with an
introduction to the art of handbell music
on Saturday, Feb. 29.
Georgia Roelof, a handbell ringer and
director with 35 years of experience as
both a volunteer and a paid professional,
will share her passion for this little-
known instrument in a hands-on
presentation at the Congregational
Church of Lincoln City.
Roelof will demonstrate how to
learn to ring a bell by hand, on a padded
table, in the air or with mallets. Th e
bells come in many diff erent sizes and
weights, from half a pound to four and a
half pounds.
“Th ey’re quite easy to ring,” Roelof
said, “and you don’t need the ability to
read music or even have any musical
experience to make it happen.”
Participants can also try using hand
chimes that are very diff erent from the
handbells and look very similar to a large
tuning fork.
“Leap Day only comes once every
four years,” Roelof said, “so why not do
something totally diff erent to celebrate
this Leap Year and pick up a handbell?
You‘ll be glad you did.”
Saturday’s session will run from 9:30
to 11 am at the Congregational Church
of Lincoln City, 2435 NW Oar Place,
behind Kenny’s IGA north.
For more information, call Roelof at
914-330-6251.