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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2021
Crab festival goes virtual over virus
By ALYSSA EVANS
The Astorian
The Crab, Seafood & Wine
Festival will be held virtu-
ally in April, marking the sec-
ond year the festival has been
impacted by the coronavirus
pandemic.
On Wednesday , the Asto-
ria-Warrenton Area Chamber
of Commerce announced the
festival will be held virtually
from April 23 to April 25.
“This year we are taking a
more unorthodox approach.
To ensure the safety of our
vendors, attendees, and vol-
unteers the 2021 festival will
take place virtually ... The fes-
tival has a large and loyal fol-
lowing and this year we’ll be
able to accommodate fans
from the safety of their own
homes,” the chamber said in a
statement.
The festival is a major
fundraiser for the c hamber ,
which typically raises money
through ticket sales. The gath-
ering is regularly attended
by more than 10,000 peo-
ple, which earns the chamber
about $100,000. The Astoria
Rotary Club relies on the fes-
tival to fund about $10,000
in scholarships to local high
school students.
“It’s a big fundraiser for us
every year,” said David Reid,
the chamber’s executive direc-
tor. “We took pains to fi nd out
who are the stakeholders in
our festival to fi nd a way to get
them engaged, including non-
profi ts and hotels. In a normal
year, crab festival is at least a
million dollar impact to our
economy.”
The festival will be held
through a virtual platform,
Event Hub. During the festi-
val, attendees can watch vir-
tual performances from local
musicians, chefs and artists.
Attendees can learn about
local nonprofi ts, make dona-
tions to organizations and
purchase vendors’ products
through a virtual marketplace
from April 23 to May 23 at
astoriacrabfest.com. Vendors
will be available to talk to cus-
tomers through video calls and
instant messaging during the
festival.
“We’re very pleased by
what we’ve been able to come
up with this year’s pivot. We
don’t feel like it’s a compro-
mise. It’s going to be a fun fes-
tival,” Reid said.
Last year’s festival was
also held virtually after large
gatherings were discouraged
to help contain the spread of
the virus .
“Last year, we had sort of a
vendor expo. This year we’re
doing more of a festival on a
virtual platform. It was not
practical or safe for us to do a
live event, given the COVID
restrictions,” Reid said.
This year’s festival will
be free to the public. While
the festival will be virtual, the
chamber plans to host some
in-person events that will fol-
low coronavirus guidelines.
“We’re creating a restau-
rant event during the festival
and days following that’ll get
people out to local restaurants
and maybe some retail shops,”
Reid said. “It’ll be a draw for
people who want to come to
town and stay safely in hotels.”
Vendor
applications
opened Tuesday, so the cham-
ber doesn’t yet know how
many vendors to expect .
“Some wineries have
already signed up. We expect a
similar mix of vendors as usual
but the exact quantity and mix
of vendors is still coming out,”
Reid said.
Survivor: Broke bones behind her neck at top of her spine
Continued from Page A1
Kenia loved balloons,
Martin-Ramirez said. “Every
time we would go to the store,
we would either buy a bal-
loon for her and would tie it to
her arm and she would have
fun with that,” she said. “She
also loved baths. Not a lot of
babies love baths. She would
actually cry when we would
take her out of the bath.”
Martin-Ramirez shared
her Catholic faith with her
child, singing church songs
and hymns. “Esperanza
would play them for her
and she would calm down,”
Ramos said.
On Valentine’s Day, the
roommates made cards for
friends, and Kenia joined
them, gluing and playing with
the balloons, memories that
Martin-Ramirez will never
forget. “Those little moments
are the ones that stay with us
forever, ” she said.
After the crash, everything
changed.
Late in the day on Feb.
15, Esperanza and Kenia
were in a Mazda driven by
Rony Tomas-Garcia, 23, of
Seaside. They were head-
ing southbound on Ecola
State Park Road in Cannon
Beach when the car veered
off the road, struck a tree and
came to rest on its top. Mar-
tin-Ramirez was taken to
Columbia Memorial Hospital
in Astoria before being trans-
ferred to Oregon Health &
Science University Hospital
in Portland.
Tomas-Garcia, who was
not injured, was arrested for
manslaughter, assault, reck-
less driving and driving under
the infl uence of intoxicants.
He is in Clatsop County Jail.
U.S. Immigration and Cus-
toms Enforcement lodged
an immigration detainer on
Tomas-Garcia on Feb. 16.
While
Martin-Ramirez
declined to speak about the
investigation, she refl ected on
the days immediately after the
crash .
She broke bones behind
her neck at the top of her spi-
nal cord, which must heal by
themselves — a healing that
could take at least six weeks .
“I was the fi rst one she
called and I was heartbroken,”
Ramos said. “It was surreal.”
At fi rst, Martin-Ramirez
was about to give up, but
relied on her faith and coun-
seling for inspiration.
“Both her arms and shoul-
der blades are very sore
because of the impact,”
Ramos said. “She was wear-
ing her belt. Everyone was
wearing their belt. She’s very
sore still, she can’t be up for a
lot of time.”
After returning home,
Ramos and other roommates
have been “super supportive,”
Martin-Ramirez said.
Co-workers have been in
touch and checking up on her.
“She is such a strong
woman, it is amazing,”
Ramos said. “I am amazed.
It’s crazy how she’s been
through so much and she still
doesn’t give up. Everything
happens for a reason. Now
she’s thinking positive, at fi rst
not so much, but with our sup-
port and a counselor’s sup-
port, it’s helped a lot.”
The aim of the fundraiser
is to help Martin-Ramirez
meet funeral and medical
expenses. “We’re her support
system,” Ramos said. “We are
here supporting her the whole
way but obviously, fi nancially
it is very diffi cult.”
The support from the com-
munity has inspired Mar-
tin-Ramirez to look to the
future and give back to the
community, just as others are
helping her now.
“Honestly, the whole
community coming together
brings me such joy,” Ramos
said. “You never know. It
was Esperanza today, but you
never know who it might be
tomorrow.
“I love her like she was
my sister,” Ramos added. “I
loved that baby like she was
my niece. A couple of days
ago, Esperanza shared a quote
that she saw. It said, ‘When
we lose someone we love, we
must learn not to live with-
out them but to live with the
love they left behind.’ That
touched her heart and it even
gives me chills.”
Retired county public
health director steps in
as interim director
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Margo Lalich, a for-
mer Clatsop County pub-
lic health director, will
step in as interim direc-
tor beginning Monday
while the county conducts
a search to replace Michael
McNickle.
The Daily World in
Aberdeen reported last
week
that
McNickle
accepted a job as director
of Grays Harbor County
Public Health and Social
Services in Washing-
ton state. He will start on
March 15, according to the
newspaper.
The news came as a sur-
prise to county leaders.
McNickle has declined to
comment on his departure.
The county said McNick-
le’s last day is March 5.
Lalich was hired by the
county as a public health
nurse in 1998 and served
as the director of the Public
Health D epartment from
2009 to 2013.
Following her time at
the county, Lalich served
as the director of h ealth
s ervices for the Mult-
nomah Education Service
District until 2017.
Most recently, she held
a contract position as exec-
utive director of Hawai’i
Keiki with the University
of Hawaii School of Nurs-
ing and Dental Hygiene.
Lalich has served as
a humanitarian response
nurse for nearly 20 years
for Medical Teams Inter-
national of Portland and
did tours in Africa, Asia
and Europe.
“Cannon Beach and
Clatsop County are home
to me,” she said in a state-
ment. “I look forward to
supporting public health
and working with com-
munity partners to ensure
a smooth transition while
continuing an effective
Margo Lalich
Margo Lalich at a refugee
camp in Bangladesh.
response to the pandemic.”
The county said it plans
to launch a search for a
permanent replacement for
McNickle shortly.
“So incredibly fortu-
nate to have Margo Lalich
in our community and
able to step in and lead
our Clatsop County Public
Health Department,” Mark
Kujala, the chairman of the
county Board of Commis-
sioners, said in a Facebook
post.
“She has a distinguished
career in health care and
made an impact in human-
itarian causes across the
globe. Her experience and
leadership will be a huge
asset to our county team.”
The Public Health
Department has 25 staffers
and an annual budget of
$4.1 million. The depart-
ment provides a range of
services and programs,
including maternal and
child health, immuniza-
tions, reproductive health,
communicable
disease
response and environmen-
tal health.
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2/15/2021
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Vietnam Veteran.
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