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Plan for a beach-friendly Fourth
Peninsula July
4 events aim to
respect public
lands, stop litter
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Volunteers got rid of nearly 40 tons of trash after last year’s
Fourth of July celebrations on the Long Beach Peninsula,
including a “burning man” ireworks installation.
Clean up the
beach July 5
LONG BEACH PENINSULA,
Wash. — After the Fourth of
July ireworks fade from
the sky and the holiday is
over, it’s time to clean up the
beach. The public is invited
to come join the Grassroots
Garbage Gang on Tuesday,
July 5 and rid the beach of
litter.
Organizers will be sta-
tioned at all the major beach
approaches at 9:30 a.m. to
hand out bags and help di-
rect volunteers to where help
is needed.
This one of four commu-
nity-initiated cleanups that
happens on the Long Beach
Peninsula each year. Come
by yourself, with a friend or
your family. If you can come
and are lexible on location
to clean, email organizer
Shelly Pollock at Shelly@
OurBeach.org
The truck brigade sup-
porting the beach cleanup
needs more trucks and peo-
ple in them who can pick up
illed garbage bags and other
debris and sling it into their
rigs for transport to a dump-
ster at a beach approach.
Four-wheel drive is manda-
tory. If you have a trailer,
too, that would be a tremen-
dous asset. If you would like
to be included in this helpful
group, contact Linda Bierma
at 360-665-4362 or bierma@
willapabay.org
After the cleanup, there
will be a soup feed for
volunteers at the Peninsula
Senior Center, located at
21603 O Lane in Klipsan
Beach, from noon until the
pot runs dry. It will be a time
to see what’s been found
and share your indings with
other volunteers, if you so
choose.
Support for the Grass-
Roots Garbage Gang comes
from volunteers, local
businesses, the city of Long
Beach, Marine Resource
Committee, Washington
State Department of Ecolo-
gy, Washington State Parks,
Willapa National Wildlife
Refuge, NOAA and more.
The gang, a 501(c)(3)
nonproit organization, is
focusing on its inancial fu-
ture in 2016. The gang seeks
to create a cleanup fund, to
sustain future beach cleanup
efforts. For more informa-
tion or to donate, visit www.
OurBeach.org
LONG BEACH PENINSULA, Wash.
— The Long Beach Peninsu-
la has long been a gathering
place for those wishing to
salute the nation’s freedom
from British rule. This year’s
Independence Day celebra-
tions will be marked by a
renewed sense of making the
beach approachable for the
general public and enjoyable
for all.
“Paciic Northwest fam-
ilies have a long-standing
tradition of celebrating the
Fourth at the beach, and we
love being a part of that,”
said Andi Day, executive
director of the Long Beach
Peninsula Visitors Bureau.
“This year, there will be extra
encouragement to keep the
beach safe and clean during
and after the celebration.”
Beach-Friendly Fourth
is a new campaign launched
to raise public awareness
of how to minimize the
impact of Independence Day
celebrations on the beach, a
Seashore Conservation Area
managed by Washington
State Parks. Visitors and res-
idents are asked to use com-
mon sense, be respectful to
others and the environment,
and pay attention to posted
regulations, which include
PHOTO BY NATALIE ST. JOHN
Patriotic spectators enjoy the annual Ocean Park Fourth of July
Parade.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Washington State Parks Communication Department de-
signed this banner, featuring logos of partners who have come
together to develop and implement a plan for July 4 celebra-
tions on the peninsula. From left are: Magen Michaud, Vicki
Vanneman, Bette Lu Krause and Virginia Spurkland.
no overnight camping on the
beach.
These efforts come in re-
sponse to the 2015 Fourth of
July weekend revels, which
brought an estimated 100,000
visitors to the Long Beach
Peninsula, about 40 tons of
litter, a homicide, hundreds
of noise and congestion-relat-
ed complaints, and more.
The Long Beach Visitors
Bureau suggests making ho-
tel and motel, RV and camp
site reservations in advance,
as lodging historically sells
out on the holiday weekend.
The Long Beach Penin-
sula will continue to host
free-to-the-public Fourth of
July events. They include the
following:
• Feel the Thunder
Fireworks and Firecracker
5K at the Port of Ilwaco on
Saturday, July 2. Run or walk
the course at 9 a.m., and then
settle into one of the best sea-
side spots to watch ireworks
over the water at 9:30 p.m.
• Old-Fashioned Fourth
of July Parade at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, July 4 in down-
town Ocean Park. Enjoy a
hometown parade with kids
on bikes, horseback riders,
classic cars, homemade
loats, chalk art, waving
lags and more, followed by
Art in the Park in Sheldon
Park.
• Long Beach Indepen-
dence Day Fireworks on
the beach at dusk (9:30 to
10 p.m.) July 4. The city of
Long Beach puts on one of
the best ireworks displays
in the region. Bring your
blankets and folding chairs,
and view this huge, colorful
display on the beach in front
of the Long Beach board-
walk.
Dance party to beneit Orlando shooting victims
ASTORIA — The Lower Co-
lumbia Q Center and Astoria
Arts & Movement Center
will present Pulse, a dance
party with proceeds beneit-
ing the victims of the June
11 Orlando shooting.
The all-ages, LGBT-pos-
itive event will be held at
9 p.m. Friday, July 1 at the
Astoria Arts & Movement
Center.
DJ Takimba and DJ Ali
Aht will create the pulse for
dancers at the party.
Takimba is no stranger to
the summer festival circuit.
This year he is a headliner
at both What the Festival
and Lucidity. While not on
the road playing with names
like Fort Knox Five and Ott,
he holds down The Melting
Pot radio show at Portland’s
KBOO 90.7 FM.
Ali Aht is a Portland
regular having played rooms
like Holocene, The Whisky
and Refuge. He has also
shared the bill with names
like Avidas (Ministry of
Sound UK), Donald Glaude
(Moonshine Music) &
Sterling Moss (Up all night/
Racetrax UK).
Astoria Arts & Move-
ment Center is located at
342 10th St. The Lower Co-
lumbia Q Center serves the
local lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and questioning
community.
There is a $5 cover; all
proceeds, will be sent to
Orlando. For more informa-
tion, email Marco Davis at
marcogerarddavis@gmail.
com