16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
It’s crab and oyster time in Cathlamet
Pick up a game of pickleball
Annual feed raises
funds for July’s
Bald Eagle Days
WARRENTON and LONG BEACH,
Wash. — Now you can play
pickleball nearly every day
in the local area.
Camp Rilea pickleball
play takes place from 10
a.m. to noon every Wednes-
day. The fee is $3. Or, if
you’re a weekender, the time
for Saturday’s pickleball
play is from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. at a cost of $5. Paddles
and balls are available if
needed. The fees cover the
gym rental. All ages are
welcome, as well as those
skilled from beginner to
advanced.
A driver’s license is
required at the entrance gate
to Camp Rilea, which is lo-
cated at 333168 Patriot Way
in Warrenton.
The North Coast Pick-
leball Club is also pairing
up with Lighthouse Resort,
located at 12417 Pacific Way
in Long Beach, Washington.
Days of play in Long Beach
are Monday, Wednesday,
Friday and Sunday from
noon to 2 p.m. Cost is $5
paid at the office. Balls and
CATHLAMET, Wash. — The
Wahkiakum Chamber of
Commerce will host its
annual Crab and Oyster Feed
on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the
Norse Hall, located at 444
Washington State Route 4 on
Puget Island.
The Crab and Oyster Feed
is a fundraising event for
the chamber. Funds raised at
this dinner help support Bald
Eagle Days and the fireworks
show in July.
Due to the large amount of
attendees in years past, there
will be three seating times for
this dinner: at 3 p.m., 5:15
p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
All seating times will be
for guests 21 and older since
there will be beer and wine
served both upstairs and
downstairs.
All seating will be
reserved, so get your tickets
early.
Tickets for the Crab and
Oyster Feed are available at
the Cathlamet branch of the
Bank of the Pacific. Ticket
price is $32 per person.
In addition to crab and
oysters served at the dinner,
there will be baked beans,
coleslaw, potato salad and
fresh bread.
Attendees are asked to
bring their own condiments
and crab cracking tools.
Attendees are not permitted to
bring their own alcohol on site.
Participants will also be
invited to purchase tickets
for a raffle with more than
50 prizes donated from local
businesses throughout Wah-
kiakum County.
Contact the Wahkiakum
Chamber of Commerce at
360-795-9996 or by emailing
wchamber@cni.net if you
have any questions or would
like to donate raffle prizes to
the event.
Can writers learn from ‘South Park’?
Manzanita Writers’
Series hosts author
Arthur Bradford for
workshop, reading
MANZANITA — At first
glance, the crude animated
show “South Park” might
appear to offer few lessons
for the serious fiction writer,
but O Henry Award-win-
ning author Arthur Bradford
discovered that the uncon-
ventional way this show is
produced actually offers
valuable lessons for anyone
engaged in a creative pur-
suit, especially writers.
Hosted by the Manzanita
Writers’ Series, Bradford
will lead the first workshop
of the 2017 season “What
Can Writers Learn From
South Park?” from 1 to 3:30
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 at the
Hoffman Center for the Arts.
Bradford has published
two books of fiction and is
also an established doc-
umentary filmmaker. He
brought his writer’s sensi-
bility to a recent film project
in which he documented
the creation of the TV show
“South Park” for Comedy
Central. The film, “Six Days
to Air” was nominated for
an Emmy Award, in part
because of the unprecedent-
ed intimate access to the
writer’s room of the show.
In the workshop, Bradford
will show clips from his film
and discuss which lessons
apply to writers in general.
Participants should come pre-
pared to write as the lessons
will then be applied to short
writing exercises after which
participants are encouraged
to share and comment on
each other’s work.
This is a fiction/non-fic-
tion writing workshop. Tui-
tion is $40. Register online
at hoffmanblog.org
The Manzanita Writers’
Series will also host Brad-
ford as its featured author
for a reading later in the
evening, to be held at 7 p.m.
at the Hoffman Center.
Bradford will read from
his short story collection,
“Turtle Face and Beyond.”
The book is a strangely
funny assortment featuring
prosthetically limbed lovers,
a snakebitten hitchhiker
turned wedding crasher, a
lawyer at the end of his rope,
a ménage à trois at Thai-
land’s Resort Tik Tok, and a
whole host of near disasters,
narrow escapes, and compli-
cated victories. “Turtle Face
and Beyond” was a finalist
for the Ken Kesey Award for
Fiction in the 2016 Oregon
Book Awards.
Bradford’s writing
has appeared in Esquire,
McSweeney’s, Vice, Men’s
Journal and other publica-
tions. His first book, “Dog-
walker,” has been translated
into 10 languages. He’s also
published two children’s
books, “Benny’s Brigade”
and “43 Monsters.”
Bradford is also creator
and director of the acclaimed
“How’s Your News?” docu-
mentary series, versions of
which have been broadcast
on HBO/Cinemax, PBS, and
Channel Four England.
Following Bradford’s
reading and a ques-
tion-and-answer session,
there will be an Open Mic,
where up to nine local or
visiting writers will read
five minutes of their original
work. The suggested theme
for the evening’s Open Mic
is “A Good Idea That Turned
Bad.” Admission for the
evening reading is $7. The
Hoffman Center for the Arts
is located at 594 Laneda
Ave.
PHOTO BY DAVID PLECHL
Hard,
lightweight
and
punched with little holes, the
pickleball resembles a wiffle-
ball. Hard paddles are used,
and the court is smaller than
a tennis court.
paddles are available, and no
reservations are required.
Pickleball is a combina-
tion of tennis, badminton
and ping-pong. It’s played
with a whiffle ball and a
paddle on a badminton-size
court. The game starts with
an underhand serve and
played in doubles for a total
of 11 points.
The sport originated in
1965, and in 1972 the U.S.
Pickleball Association was
formed, as was a rulebook.
In 1984, the USPA with
15,000 members became the
governing body of the sport.
It is popular with all age
groups, but has been grow-
ing since the baby boomer
population adopted it.
Pickleball is well suited
to the boomer-and-beyond
crowd. Using a smaller
court, a lighter ball and
paddle — made of wood or
granite — the sport avoids
joint jarring. The underhand
serve helps keep shoul-
der joints pain free. This
low-impact but dynamite
sport burns calories you’re
unaware you’re using
because you’re too busy
having fun.
If you’re new to the
game, learn more about
pickleball at www.usapa.org
For more information,
call Alice Lane at 503-860-
1382, or visit the website at
www.northcoastpickleball.
org. For Long Beach, call
360-642-3622.
Oregon State University to
host Small Farms Conference
Featured presenter
to focus on farm
efficiency Feb. 18
CORVALLIS — The 16th
annual Oregon Small Farms
Conference will take place
Feb. 18 at Oregon State
University.
The event, one of the
flagship educational offer-
ings of OSU Extension Ser-
vice’s Small Farms Program,
is geared toward farmers,
agriculture professionals,
food policy advocates,
restaurant owners, students
and managers of farmers
markets.
Over the years, partic-
ipants have learned about
subjects such as marketing,
disease control, economics
and organic certification.
Last year’s conference
drew more than 1,000
people.
This year’s conference’s
speakers will include farm-
ers, OSU faculty and rep-
resentatives of agribusiness
and government agencies.
The featured presenter
this year is Ben Hartman,
farmer and author of “The
Lean Farm,” who will do
a series of sessions on the
concept of eliminating
waste and introducing effi-
ciency.
“There are two pieces to
lean production,” Hartman
said. “On the one hand is
waste elimination. On the
other hand is an intense
focus on creating what cus-
tomers actually want. You’re
either adding value or you’re
contributing to waste.”
In addition, the Oregon
Small Farms Conference
will feature 24 workshops,
including four in Spanish,
on topics that include: dry-
land farming, organic weed
control, specialty crops, di-
versifying with cut flowers,
record-keeping, agritourism,
field-to-market essentials,
parasite control in livestock,
and insurance.
To register, visit the
Small Farms Conference
website, http://smallfarms.
oregonstate.edu/sfc