July 3, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A
Parade kicks off Sandcastle weekend festivities
By Andrew R. Tonry
Cannon Beach Gazette
Signaling the start of Sand-
castle Weekend, the Friday,
June 19, parade boasted clowns,
mermaids, Boy Scouts and
more. Garnering hundreds of
spectators, children and adults
alike lined the curbs and side-
walks of Hemlock Street, revel-
ing in the rare spectacle.
“Nobody really knew that
we were doing it last year,”
Sandcastle Contest Chairwom-
an Debbie Nelson said. “This
year there were so many people
lined up waiting for us. So that
was very fun.” Nelson resur-
rected the parade in 2014.
Participants came from Can-
non Beach and beyond, includ-
ing Seaside’s Boy Scout Troop
642, the Oregon Mermaids, the
Haystack Rock Awareness Pro-
gram and more.
Wearing loud face paint, col-
orful, ill-fitting attire and devilish
grins, the Astoria Clowns were a
fan favorite. Atop minibikes and
piloting a wildly painted wag-
on, complete with sirens and a
pipe-organist in tow, the storied
group swerved through the streets
and into the crowd, sharing hugs
and high-fives along the way.
“The clowns, they’re cra-
zy!” Dana Jones, who brought
her two children from Seaside
for the parade, said. Jones too
enjoyed the oddity. “It’s kind of
fun to see a bunch of old men
riding around on bicycles,” she
said.
“We do a number of dif-
ferent parades,” clown Chuck
Westerlund (aka “Swiggy”)
said. “Some are huge. This is
rather small, but it’s good for
the town.”
Regardless of size, Wester-
lund added, the joy of clown-
ing is simple: “Just seeing
the smiles on the young chil-
dren, saying ‘Mr. Clown! Mr.
Clown! Can I have a hug?’
Stuff like that is cool.”
Floats from local businesses
were on hand as well, includ-
ing Coaster Construction, pull-
ing a replica sandcastle, and the
Chocolate Cafe, whose march-
ers passed out samples from a
tiny yellow van.
The procession also made
URRPIRUQRQSUR¿WJURXSVOLNH
the campaign for a new char-
ter school, the Cannon Beach
Farmers Market, whose sign
reminded attendees to “make
half your plate fruits and veg-
etables,” and the Coaster The-
atre, promoting their produc-
tion of “Little Shop of Horrors”
with bright set-pieces.
The parade’s long tail was
comprised of local servicemen
DQG ZRPHQ LQFOXGLQJ ¿UH
trucks, medical vehicles and
Gunner the police dog. Their
LQFOXVLRQ ZDV ¿WWLQJ DV WKH
event was organized in large
part by Cannon Beach Police
Chief Jason Schermerhorn.
In its second year back, the
parade seemed to have grown.
“Last year it took us 20
minutes to go through,” Nelson
said. “This year it took about a
half-hour. So a few more peo-
ple got on the bandwagon and
said ‘Hey, I want to be involved
too!’”
“There used to be only
the sandcastle build on Satur-
day morning,” Nelson added.
“We’ve now created a three-
day, six-event weekend. This
kicks off the entire weekend.”
After the parade, visitors
were encouraged to attend a
dinner at the Chamber of Com-
merce.
“It’s very much a success,”
Nelson said of the parade. “I
just love seeing the smiles on
everyone’s faces as you go
through town.”
Dip in attendance at contest made for ‘a more tranquil event’
“The last couple of years
we haven’t done well,” Haw-
ley said. “We brought some
organization back to our
group and worked a lot of
things out, and now we’re
cutting sand like we used to.
We’ve been champions be-
fore, and to come back and
be champions again feels
great.”
The team, Hawley said
would split the winnings.
“We’re going to drink beer,”
he chuckled. “We’ve got
IPAs with our name on
them!” Hawley’s good spir-
its extended to competitors,
spectators and even the event
organizers.
‘No lost kids’
“Everything went really
smooth, actually,” Sandcastle
Contest Chairwoman Debbie
Nelson said.
“Turnout was less than
last year,” she added. “Last
year was our 50th anniversa-
Jessop said of being trailed by
the cameras. “They came up
and followed us on a practice
Masters teams
in April for one day.”
Inside the ropes, competi-
$W ¿UVW LW GLGQ¶W JR ZHOO
WLRQZDVDV¿HUFHDVHYHU³:H “Everything fell down that
had eight Master teams last day,” Jessop said. “And then
year, and seven this year,” Nel- they came up and interviewed
son said. “I think eight might us yesterday, and they’ve
be the most we’ve ever had. been poking cameras in our
It’s been great to have all of face all day. But it’s been a
that enthusiasm again, because fun experience.”
a lot of people really come to
The Jessops suffered a
see the Masters.
bit of bad luck at the contest
One of those teams, the when two bridges between
Jessop family from Indepen- sandcastles collapsed only
dence offered an added buzz ¿YH PLQXWHV EHIRUH WKH ¿-
as they were being followed nal bell sounded. “I’m a little
by television cameras from
Oregon Public Broadcasting,
¿OPLQJ IRU DQ XSFRPLQJ HS-
isode of Oregon Field Guide
on the Sandcastle Contest.
This year the three-genera-
WLRQ-HVVRSWHDP¿HOGHGWKUHH
generations, including four
siblings, wives and cousins,
They’ve been competing for
WKHODVWVHYHQ\HDUVDQG¿YH
in the Masters Division. “It’s
been interesting,” Raymond
around the seven Masters di-
vision plots.
Castles from Page 1A
ANDREW R. TONRY — FOR EO MEDIA GROUP
Wabi Sabi’s sandcastle project took first-place in the Mas-
ters contest.
ry and we expected a massive
crowd. We’re guesstimating
about 10,000 in attendance
this year. Last year it was
close to 30,000.”
Rather than disappoint-
ment, the dip in attendance
made for a more tranquil
event.
Of particular relief to Nel-
son and her logistical team
ZDVWKDWIRUWKH¿UVWWLPHLQ
years, no young children were
separated from their parents.
“I think that’s a record!”
Nelson said. “No lost kids
this year! So that was great.
That’s why it’s so calm,
there’s no sense of panic.”
Indeed, when held up
against the 50th anniversa-
ry’s overwhelming crush of
spectators, the 2015 contest
was relatively serene, both on
the beach and throughout the
town. And while the crowds
may have been thinner, they
were still stacked rows deep
disappointed about the arches
falling,” Jessop said. “But
that’s just the way it goes. We
did one practice sculpture on
Tuesday that was maybe two
or three inches wider than the
one that fell, and it held for
about nine hours.” Still, the
Jessops, whose sculpture de-
picted the board-game LIFE,
quickly cleaned up the fallen
bridges and managed a third-
SODFH¿QLVKEHKLQGWKH)RUP
)LQGHUV:KLOHWKHRI¿FLDODF-
knowledgment and the $400
check were no short shrift,
the family’s participation was
about more than just awards.
Cannon Beach Library
ANNUAL BOOK SALE !
J ULY 3 RD & 4 TH 9 AM TO 4 PM
J ULY 5 TH 9 AM TO 3 PM
Three Days
of
THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING
Publisher
Steve Forrester
Editor
R.J. Marx
Reporter
Erick Bengel
Advertising Manager
Betty Smith
Production Manager
John D. Bruijn
Circulation Manager
Samantha McLaren
Advertising Sales
Laura Kaim
Wendy Richardson
Great
Bargains!
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
The Cannon Beach Gazette is
published every other week by EO
Media Group.
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside,
Oregon 97138
503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285
www.cannonbeachgazette.com
• email:
editor@cannonbeachgazette.com
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
Annually: $40.50 in county, $58.00
in and out of county.
Postage Paid at: Cannon Beach,
OR 97110
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to Cannon
Beach Gazette, P.O. Box 210,
Astoria, OR 97103
131 N . Hem lo ck
Ca n n o n Bea ch
503.436.1391
Copyright 2015 © Cannon Beach
Gazette. Nothing can be reprinted
or copied without consent of the
owners.
S erving Resid ents a nd Visitors sinc e 1927
Coastal Advantage
In “THE COURTYARD” @ 219 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach
/REMAXCoastalAdvantage
503.436.1777
Alaina Giguiere
Martin Giguiere
Egrane Brown
Susan Tone
Maryann Sinkler
Andrea Mace
Owner /Principal Broker
c: 503.440.3202
f: 877.812.1126
e: alainagiguiere@mac.com
Owner /Broker
c: 503.440.7676
o: 503.436.1777
e: mr007@pacifier.com
Broker
c: 503.440.1648
e: egranebrown@gmail.com
Broker
c: 503.354.4072
e: suanetone@nehalemtel.net
Broker
c. 503.440.9280
e: maryanns@remax.net
Broker
c. 503-440-4024
e: Andrea.k.mace@remax.net
“Our Featured Properties” • Please visit our website to view all our properties!
VERY RARE – OCEAN FRONT
INCREDIBLE OCEAN VIEWS
OCEAN VIEW DREAM
OCEANVIEW MASTERPIECE
DELIGHTFUL HOME ACROSS FROM HAYSTACK ROCK
Cannon Beach • $3,245,500
Cannon Beach • $2,950,000
Gearhart • $1,090,000
Cannon Beach • $949,000
Cannon Beach • $925,000
OCEAN FRONT COTTAGE
OPEN FLOOR PLAN
307 YUKON - VERY LARGE YARD
EASY WALK DOWNTOWN
123 ARBOR LANE
NEW LISTING
Arch Cape • $720,000
Gearhart • $659,000
Cannon Beach • $648,000
Cannon Beach • $575,000
Cannon Beach • $439,000
433 UPLAND DR.
DUPLEX STEPS TO THE BEACH
3 MASTER BEDROOMS
EXQUISITE DETAIL IN AND OUT
FRESHLY ‘RE-DONE’ BEACH HOUSE
Manzanita • $499,000
Manzanita • $489,000
Cannon Beach • $474,900
Manzanita • $449,000
Cannon Beach • $445,000
FREEDOM FROM THE CROWDS
CONDO WITH GREAT VIEW/ RENTABLE!
WONDERFUL BEACH HOUSE
1345 CASCARA LANE
NEW LISTING
Cannon Beach • $368,900
Cannon Beach • $349,000
Manzanita • $346,000
Cannon Beach • $269,000
815 POPLAR
15 WEEK OWNERSHIP
Manzanita • $79,000
• • • • • • • • • VACANT LAND • • • • • • • • •
8105 Leaward Way, Manzanita • $470,000
Silver Point Terrace, Cannon Beach • $125,000
31845 Clatsop LN, Cove Beach • $300,000
Pinyon Dr Lot 81, Manzanita • $121,500
Ridge, Manzanita • $295,000
Acardia - Hiway 101, Cannon Beach • $99,900
Nazina, Cannon Beach • $289,500
Shore Pine Ln #167, Manzanita • $92,900
Big Cedar Ct, Arch Cape • $85,000
8140 Nehalem Rd, Manzanita • $259,900
5 East Surfcrest Ave, Cannon Beach • $225,000 35070 The Promenade, Manzanita • $74,500
SilverPoint, Cannon Beach • $155,000
Winkler St, Wheeler • $55,000
Big Cedar Ct Lot10, Arch Cape • $149,950
4 Pine Ridge Dr, Manzanita • $49,900
Hills Ln, Cannon Beach • $139,000
Schooner Way, Manzanita • $44,900
E Sustina St, Cannon Beach • $139,000
Greenleaf, Arch Cape • $25,000
1 E Surfcrest Ave, Cannon Beach • $129,900
N Larch, Cannon Beach • $25,000
SCAN
HERE
to go
to our
website
NICE OCEAN VIEWS
NOW WITH 2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!
219 N. Hemlock in Downtown Cannon Beach 503.436.1777
430 Laneda in Downtown Manzanita 503.368.1777
www.CoastalAdvantage.com
Member of 2 MLS Systems Each
office
independently owned & operated
Cannon
Beach is
• $995,000
H a v e a Fu n & Sa fe
“Real Estate standards for those with ‘Higher’ Expectations.
4
th
of Ju ly
above the crowd!”