Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2017)
2 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Locals’ ‘Coastal Christmas’ reimagines holiday classic COURTESY JENNIFER GOODENBERGER First-year holiday fair opens at Astoria church ASTORIA — Paintings, photography, jewelry, fused glass and gourmet baked goods. These are just a few of the artist and artisan wares that will be available at the First Presbyterian Church during Astoria’s First An- nual Holiday Fair 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9. Admission is free. In addition, there will be vintage accessories, unique gifts for the home, international treasures, wine cork trays and trivets, and CDs of holiday music. A cadre of local artists will be displaying and selling their unique creations. The event will be held in the church’s Fellowship Hall. The entrance is on the corner of Harrison Avenue and 11th Street in Astoria. Come meet and support the artists, enjoy hospital- ity and community, and shop for exquisite gifts for the holidays. For more information, call the church’s office at 503-325-1702. When Santa and his reindeer plummet into the Columbia River on Christ- mas Eve, will all be lost? Find out, as two local talents combine to offer “A Coastal Christmas,” a unique paperback now on shelves throughout the Co- lumbia-Pacific region. Published for the first time in 2016 by Coast Week- end, this charming retelling of “The Night Before Christ- mas” adds a touch of local flair to a holiday favorite. Lost in the fog at the mouth of the river on a stormy night, Santa’s team must rely on the good seamanship skills of a local crabbing crew. But his problems don’t end with his rescue. With the reindeer out of commission and his rounds still unfinished, it takes a clever solution and the entire local coastline to save Christmas. With words by Lynette Rae McAdams, a freelance writer on the Long Beach Peninsula, the story borrows from the familiar cadence of the original Victorian poem, but weaves a tale unique to the coast, with inside jokes and more than a few amus- COURTESY LYNETTE RAE MCADAMS ing shout-outs. Brilliant illustrations by Astoria artist Sally Lack- aff originally rendered in watercolor with imagination and exquisite detail makes this a perfect addition to the Christmas collection of any- one who loves the coast. Printed locally and assembled by hand, this spe- cialized chapbook, designed Jim’s Biplane Rides Since 1992 2018 cates Gift Certifi able il Now Ava Seaside Municipal Airport 2797 US-101 1.7miles North of Broadway JimsBiplaneRides.com • 503-647-1929 by the duo themselves, is also meant to be a decora- tion. Unfurling lengthwise in an accordion fold, it can be displayed as a mantle card or table runner; turn the front and back pages cov- er-to-cover, and it becomes an eight-pointed star — or compass rose. Dating back to 16th century Europe, chapbooks • Come fly in a fully restored 1929 Travel Air Biplane • Seats two side-by-side in the front cockpit, plus pilot rear • Flying daily throughout the summer months from the Seaside Airport where drop-ins are welcome • Tours in the Columbia River Gorge in the Spring and Fall from the Troutdale Airport by appointment became popular with the advent of the printing press, which finally made it possible to bring the written word to everyday people. Produced inexpensively and peddled on the street by hand, these earliest “paper- backs” were small and short in length, containing folk songs, poetry and simple stories. Often read aloud by families and in public hous- es, they contributed greatly to the spread of literacy at a time when an education was still a privilege reserved for the wealthy. “A Coastal Christmas” costs a little more than the half-penny it would have fetched 500 years ago (and, thankfully, McAdams and Lackaff won’t be forced to sell it on our watery local streets). “We’re so grateful to the vendors who agreed to carry this for us,” said McAd- ams, noting that everyone involved in the project took a bit of a profit hit, but they all did it with a smile. “It’s nice to know we still live in a place that understands that sometimes, you just have to be in it for the love.” A nice holiday treat for the whole coast — from Oysterville, Washington, down to Nehalem — the chapbook is about four inches wide by five inches tall and is available at the following locations: NIVA (Long Beach, Washington), Time Enough Books (Ilwaco, Washington), Columbia-Pacific Heritage Museum (Ilwaco), Forsythea (Astoria), Astoria Co-op, Beach Books (Seaside), Can- non Beach Book Company (Cannon Beach) and Cloud & Leaf (Manzanita). For more information, visitfacebook.com/coastx- mas/.
