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May is a busy time at the beach! Not only are we preparing to welcome visitors for the summer months, but we also celebrate our special relationship with Mombetsu, Japan every year. Newport and Mombetsu (pronounced mom-bets) have been participating in the sister city's “people-to-people” program since 1966. President Eisenhower created a national sister city program in 1956 as a way to promote world peace by learning from different cultures. The relationship began when Mombetsu resident Shunichi “Shun” Kobayachi contacted the Newport Rotary Club in 1964 and explained that both cities share the same latitude, the 44th parallel, and could benefit from learning about each other through the sister city program. Newport Rotarian Connie Gates was very receptive and rallied the city to officially establish the relationship, which it did several years later. Since then, delegations of citizens have been traveling between the two cities to learn from one another. The two cities have also presented each other with gifts that represent the two communities. Newport City Hall has many of these gifts on display, and we even have a Mombetsu Sister City park that’s worth a visit the next time you travel to the beach. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay.

It’s that time of year again! Come celebrate the 66th annual Newport Loyalty Days and Sea Fair Festival! The Festival will take place May 5th through May 7th and is a chance for locals and visitors to come together and support the community, country, and the brave men and women who serve and have served our nation. This year’s Loyalty Days celebrates the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War by giving special honors to those who served in Vietnam, and officially says, “Welcome Home Vets.” Bring the whole family and all of your friends down to the coast for a weekend of fun and remembrance! The idea for Loyalty Day originated with East Coast chapters of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) shortly after World War I, and steadily gained popularity across the nation. The purpose of the event was to set aside a special day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States of America and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom. Shortly after Loyalty Day was recognized by Congress in 1955, and even before President Eisenhower dedicated it to a national holiday in 1958, Newport’s American Legion Post #116 started the local Loyalty Day Festival in 1956. Newport’s first Loyalty Day was celebrated with a free crab dinner. Although a fixture of the Newport community, there was a lapse in organization in 1973, and the event went unobserved. This prompted the students of Newport High School to set and accomplish the goal to revive Loyalty Day in Newport. The determined teens breathed fresh life into Loyalty Day, and with their active participation since 1974, the event has steadily grown in size and has added numerous activities. Local community volunteers are an essential part of the Festival’s continued success, and Newport remains one of the only cities in the United States to have made the national day into an annual weekend celebration. The Festival will start on Friday, May 5th at 11:30 A.M. with a Veterans luncheon at the Newport 60+ Activity Center. The reading of the names of every fallen Vietnam Vet from Oregon will be held later that evening at 9 P.M. at Newport National Guard Armory. On May 6th, HWY 101 will shut down for the parade at 11:30 A.M. from Hwy 20 north to Walmart. The Loyalty Days Run will start near Safeway on Hwy 101, with the Competitive Mile at 11:35 A.M., followed by the Open Mile at 11:38 A.M., the Youth and High School Mile at 11:44 A.M., Non-Competitive Community Mile at 11:47 A.M., and the Masters Mile at 11:51 A.M. The Parade will begin at 12 P.M. and will be led by the honor guard from Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay, Newport fire, police, and other first responders, Grand Marshal, John Miller, and this year’s Loyalty Day Princesses, Kasin Schwab, Lilliebelle Bassingthwaite, and Julie Zeng. The parade will end just before the intersection of Hwy 20 and Olive St. An open house will be held at 1:30 P.M. at the American Legion, and a military display to honor vets will take place at the National Guard Armory at 2 P.M. The Festival will conclude on Sunday, May 7th, with the Newport Fishermen’s Wives beginning the day with the Survival Suit Race at 9 A.M., where teams, including the princesses, will compete in a race between Port Dock 1 and Port Dock 5. The Blessing of the Fleet, to honor local fishermen and their families, will follow at 11:00 A.M. The Newport Fishermen’s Wives annual BBQ will take place at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club at 1 P.M. and is free to the public until the food runs out. The final event of the Festival will be the Memorial Service to remember fishermen lost at sea, and it will take place at the Fishermen’s Memorial Sanctuary at Yaquina Bay State Park at 4 P.M. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay.

Did you know that May is Oregon Wine Month? And, did you know that we have a very special relationship with wine in Newport? It’s true! We have hundreds of unique wines to choose from in Oregon, and we’re sure you’ll find a favorite varietal or vintage here to highlight a great meal, a special occasion, or simply a moment to ponder what makes Newport such an exceptional place to relax and unwind. As the nice weather returns to the coast, celebrate Oregon Wine Month by enjoying a glass at the beach, a scenic overlook, your hotel patio, or at one of our many restaurants that serve Oregon wine. Though Newport Seafood & Wine has been serving Oregon’s finest wines to thousands of locals and visitors nearly every February since 1977, there’s not a bad time to enjoy wine in Newport! More than 80 Oregon wineries entered the 2023 Newport Seafood & Wine Commercial Wine Competition, and gold medals were awarded to VinTyr Wine, Flourishing Palm Cellars, Redgate Vineyards, Stone Grifffon Vineyard, Season Cellars, Awen Winecraft, Trella Vineyards, Chris James Cellars, Cardwell Hill Cellars, Bellingar Estates, Darque Wines, Pinot Vista Vineyards, Ducleaux Cellars, and Knostman Family Winery. Visit these winery websites linked above for more information and to find out where you can get a glass or bottle to enjoy at the beach. In Newport, great Oregon wines by the bottle can be found at Nye Beach Wine Cellar, Newport Liquor Store, JC Market, Fred Myer, Safeway, and other grocery stores in Newport. Clearwater, Zach’s Bistro, Local Ocean, Mo’s Seafood and Chowder, Ocean Bleu Seafood @Ginos, and Georgie’s are just a few local restaurants that regularly serve Oregon wine. We have miles of sandy beach, a variety of scenic vistas, hotel spaces, and great restaurants that are just perfect for sharing a bottle of wine or enjoying a glass all by yourself. Plan your vacation in May, or any other time of the year to enjoy Oregon wine at the beach! For a complete list of all the wines that won awards at the 2023 Newport Seafood & Wine competition click here. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay.

Visitors and locals alike know Newport is a great place to live and visit! Perfectly situated along the Oregon Coast, around Yaquina Bay, and surrounded by temperate rain forests, Newport offers a variety of opportunities for work and play. Settlers realized that the area was the perfect place to be back in the 1860s too, and although Yaquina Bay was home to Native Americans then, the settlers began to move into the area. Sadly, Natives who remained in the area were systematically moved from their land and forced to live on a nearby reservation. In recent years, Natives, historians, and interested citizens have sought to further investigate, document, and add the experiences of Newport’s first people to the history of the area. The first people to live in the Newport area, roughly from Cape Foulweather to the north to Beaver Creek in the south, and inland along the Yaquina Bay, were the Yaqo’n (pronounced Yacona). The Yaqo’n tribe inhabited the region for at least 3,000 years before European-Americans began to interact with them. They traveled on foot throughout the area and built their villages far enough inland to be protected from the storms and rough weather that constantly move in from the Pacific Ocean. The Yaqo’n didn’t have to migrate often for food because the bay was full of oysters, salmon that were plentiful in the river, and the forest provided deer, elk, roots, and berries. Prior to outside interaction, the Yaqo’n tribe is believed to have had a population of about 700, but unfortunately, the first European fur trappers, explorers, and early colonists brought diseases like smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, and influenza. By the turn of the 19th century, nearly eighty percent of the Native population had died because they had no immunity to those diseases. A series of forest fires in the early 1800s also destroyed Yaqo’n villages and killed many of the residents, and by 1850 only about 80 Yaqo’n people were left in the area. By mid-1850, settlers had steadily expanded onto the Oregon Coast and the United States government formed the Siletz Reservation in 1855, when five coastal tribes met on the Yaquina Bay and were persuaded to sign away their rights to the area. The original reservation consisted of about 100 miles along the Pacific coast and stretched inland from the beach for approximately twenty miles, with Yaquina Bay at its center. More than 2,700 Native people from nearly thirty tribes were forcibly relocated to the Siletz Reservation from as far away as northern California and southern Washington. At first, residents of the Yaqo’n tribe remained in the Yaquina Bay adopting homes and Western clothing as was required by the policies of assimilation, but by the 1860s settlers wanted access to the land and the oysters that grew in the bay. The United States government began to reduce the size of the reservation and expand areas for settlement. Twenty-five miles of land was carved out of the center of the reservation in 1865, and by 1875 only 225,000 acres of the original 1.1 million Siletz Reservation remained. The Yaqo’n and all other tribes who had lived in those areas were forced to abandon their homes and move into the community of Siletz. By 1900, only nineteen Yaqo’n people remained in the Siletz Reservation, and today, only one family can trace their ancestry back to the Yaqo’n tribe. Since 1977, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have been regaining their rights and restoring their land base. By the mid-1980s, the Tribes of Siletz had their own school, which emphasizes traditional language, culture, and history, a health clinic, and cultural and natural resource departments. Today, the tribe owns and manages Chinook Winds Casino and Hotel, which helps to generate income for Native communities. Independently, private donors have established a nature preserve on a peninsula just east of where the Yaquina River enters Yaquina Bay. Founders of the 340-acre Yakona Nature Preserve plan to rehabilitate the area to its original state and open a Yakona Learning Center to educate the public about Newport’s first people and their history. For more information, visit Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians at www.ctsi.nsn.us and Yakona at www.yakonaoregon.org The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay. Photo Credit: www.yakonaoregon.org/history

Yakona is a privately owned property focused primarily on education. We offer limited public access to our trails by escort. If you would like to join a guided group tour, please visit our Events page for dates and details. You can access Yakona Nature Preserve & Learning Center on your own by obtaining a permit to hike two miles across neighboring private property. You must apply for a permit from Emery Investment Properties in order to cross their land. You may apply via email to: permits@eenw.com. Yakona has no control over the issuing of Emery permits. Your hike begins at a locked gate at the end of SE 40th St./SE Harborton St. near Wolftree Brewery in South Beach. You may park on the pavement across from SE College Way or near Wolftree Brewery.

Help celebrate Earth Day 2023 with a trip to Newport! The official theme this year is Invest in Our Planet, and we have so many opportunities to do that here at the beach. 2023 marks the 53rd anniversary of Earth Day, and there’s no better way to commemorate the occasion than spending time thinking about sustainability or even helping to regenerate the beach and surrounding forests. Since 1970, Earth Day has served as a reminder that we can come together to respect and protect our natural world by conserving resources and eliminating damaging and wasteful practices and policies. Visitors to Newport experience the first-hand beauty of the natural environment, from the mighty waves crashing onto our serene beaches, to the complex relationships within our temperate rainforests, to the many kinds of wildlife that call these ecosystems home. We have a special balance here, and you can be a part of that when you visit. Practicing Sustainable Travel is an easy way to celebrate Earth Day this year, and every day that you travel away from home. Be aware of your own travel habits and focus on using only enough resources for your needs. When you spend time in town, on the hiking trails, or on the beach, leave an area the way you found it. Turn off the lights in your hotel room when not in use and use the same towel and sheets for the duration of your stay. Eat and drink local food and beverage that require fewer resources to bring those products to you (and it tastes way better too)! Or take your stay at the beach to the next level this Earth Day by practicing Regenerative Travel, where you make a conscious effort to leave the beautiful places you visit better than you found them. Pick up as much trash as you can carry away from the beach every time you visit. Volunteer with local organizations to replant trees or clear brush and debris from surrounding forests. Forage your own greens, mushrooms, clams, crab, and berries, and be mindful of the impact of how you gather them. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay. Happy Earth Day!

Happening on July 4th at dusk, enormous mortar rounds will be launched from a barge in Yaquina Bay. The spectacular display can be seen from all over town and the surrounding area. There are many great places around Yaquina Bay and in town to watch and hear the fireworks. Want to find the perfect place to view the show? Here are our recommendations: Find a place that overlooks the bay or an unobstructed area that allows you to look at the sky above. Settle into your spot in advance, well before the fireworks display begins at dusk. Here are some of the best spots to watch the fireworks Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site Under the Yaquina Bay Bridge On SW Bay Blvd. Abbey St. Pier The Embarcadero Resort Hotel and Marina Clearwater Restaurant on the Historic Bayfront Rogue Brewery and Marine Science Drive in South Beach

The Annual Quilt Show, "Quilts by the Sea", at the Newport Recreation Center.

The Coast Busters Walk for breast cancer is the outcome of two ladies wanting to inspire hope for other women and their families struggling with breast cancer. The Coast Busters Walk is a 3-mile walk that will be held on the track at Newport High during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Proceeds raised from the event will stay local and benefit Pacific Communities Health District Foundation Women’s Cancer Fund. This is an opportunity to proudly raise awareness in our community and to provide faith, courage, confidence, and hope for all women who have been affected by breast cancer. View website for updates.

The 24th annual Newport Marathon and Half Marathon is sure to be a winner for runners of various skill levels who come from all over Oregon, at least thirty-seven other states, and several foreign countries! The route begins at Yaquina Bay State Park, where runners head north and loop through the city and back to the starting area, proceed downhill under the Yaquina Bay Bridge to the Historic Bayfront, then wind around the Yaquina Bay and Estuary to mile marker 15, where the course turns back toward town and runners retrace the same route. Runners will be surrounded by amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, Yaquina Bay, temperate forests, local wildlife, and fishing and crabbing boats. The route is primarily flat, very fast, and always produces numerous personal records. The course is also USATF certified and is considered an excellent qualifier for the Boston Marathon. The Newport Marathon began in 1999 and has steadily grown to an expected 1000 participants. Aid stations will be set up every two miles along the course, with water, electrolyte hydration drink, and portable toilets; fruit will be available at select stations. The coastal setting for this boutique-style race is made even more unique by the Oyster “shooters” that are offered to runners at miles 11 and 19! Please keep the route clean by disposing of trash in the provided receptacles. The Marathon will take place on June 3rd, 2023, with Full Marathon Walkers beginning the race at 6 AM, Full Marathoners following at 7 AM, and a 7:45 AM start for those who will run the Half Marathoners. Registration is available until May 26th or until the event is full and must be done online. Runners must pick up their race packets at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM on June 2nd. Food and drinks will be offered at the finish line, and Newport High School will offer post-race showers for a small towel fee. Awards will be presented at 11:00 AM for the half marathon and 1:30 PM for the full marathon at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club, and all runners will receive a Finisher T-shirt and commemorative medal. Buses will also run the morning of the race to shuttle spectators to various locations along the route. Most athletes come for the race and stay for the weekend, so booking accommodations in advance is recommended. In addition to supplying oyster shooters during the race, Newport offers the freshest seafood available anywhere. And what could be better than an extra day at the beach? The Oregon Coast Aquarium, Historic Bayfront, Nye Beach shops, and miles of open sandy beaches are just some of the many things that make Newport a great place to spend the rest of the weekend. Visit newportmarathon.org for more information and to register for the race. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay.

You know that Newport is home to some of the absolute best whale-watching opportunities on the Oregon Coast, and hopefully, you were able to see them last December when a large number swam just off the shoreline. It’s that time again! You can watch whales spout, breach, dive, and spy hop from the shore or from a boat out in the Pacific Ocean! Whales can be seen from Newport and the surrounding area all year round, but two weeks of the year allow for a much greater chance to see the whales, and one of those weeks is in late March and early April! A pod of gray whales lives along the Central Pacific Coast year-round, but an additional 25,000 of them migrate past Newport every winter and spring. From mid-March through April, the large group of whales swims up the coast from their breeding grounds off Baja California, Mexico, to the cooler waters around Alaska for the warmer months. People travel from around the world to watch and study the whales as they pass through the area, especially when the largest number of whales can be seen. The best time for spring whale watching usually happens from mid-March to Mid-April, and the Oregon State Parks Whale Watching Spoken Here® program hosts a whale watching event during that time. This year, the Winter Whale Watching event will take place from March 28th to April 1st. Since 1978, Whale Watching Spoken Here® has stationed trained volunteers along the coast at 24 locations to assist locals and visitors to view the whales. They’ll be equipped with spotting scopes, field guides, and a wealth of information about whales and a variety of other local sea life. Go to www.whalespoken.org for a complete map of sites and more information about where to watch the whales. Whale-watching charters also provide another great opportunity to watch whales during seasonal migrations or at any time throughout the year. Charters allow guests to get closer to the whales, and the boats are able to move from one place to another, depending on where large concentrations of whales are at that specific time. Reserve a whale-watching tour with Marine Discovery Tours, Newport Tradewinds, or Newport Marina Store & Yaquina Bay Charters to get up close and personal with the whales. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay.

Spring is the perfect time to visit the beach and discover all of the amazing things that Newport has to offer! Rain or shine, you’ll find plenty of adventure and excitement here during your coastal retreat; from great places to stay and eat, to all sorts of activities, we’ve got you covered! Come down for an individual experience, a romantic getaway for two, or plan a gathering with friends and family. With miles of sandy beach, you’ll have plenty of opportunity for beachcombing, kite flying, surfing, or just strolling along, watching the waves roll in and out. Our working Historic Bayfront is not only home to Oregon’s largest fishing fleet, but also has a wide variety of gift shops, art galleries, fish markets, and restaurants to explore. And of course, the shopping in Nye Beach and the Deco District, marine science in South Beach, and Oregon’s tallest lighthouse above Agate Beach are also great places to check out. Stay The Whaler is Your place at the beach in Newport! Located at the northern end of Nye Beach, across from the Newport Performing Arts Center, The Whaler has a variety of spacious, comfortable rooms with private balconies that offer stunning views of the ocean. Complete with a heated pool, spa, and exercise room, The Whaler also has pet-friendly options and an array of amenities to complement your visit. Moolack Shores Inn is Ideally located atop a cliff off Highway 101 between Otter Rock and Yaquina Head. Stay in the Safari Suite or the Lighthouse Room or choose from ten other differently-themed rooms at Moolack Shores; each room has an equipped kitchen, a private deck overlooking the ocean, and some rooms even have a fireplace. A staircase leads down to six miles of the beach below, and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse is visible and easy to access just to the south of the Inn. Eat Fish Peddler Market and Restaurant is conveniently located right in the heart of Newport’s Historic Bayfront. The restaurant and fish market are owned and operated by Pacific Seafood, which also processes much of the fish that comes into the bayfront and provides many jobs in the area. They offer fresh, local, and sustainable seafood, fish n’ chips, chowder, burgers, and tacos. Stop in for lunch and shop the market to find some of the freshest seafood available anywhere. Wolf Tree Brewery Taproom & Restaurant is tucked into the Wilder Community in South Beach and features some of the most unique beers in Oregon. The brewery itself is located a bit further south in Seal Rock and is proud to use spring water and many local ingredients in the brewing process. Their menu is full of scrumptious surf and turf options, and changes often, especially when they host special events like Taco and Trivia night. Play Come on down to the Historic Bayfront to stroll and shop, visit the resident sea lions (you’ll be able to find them by following the barking and grunting), and check out real-life oddities and strange things at Ripley’s Believe It or Not, then go see the lifelike wax figures of your favorite characters and celebrities at Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks right next door. Cross the bay to South Beach and visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s dozens of displays and many themed exhibits. Visit the Hatfield Marine Science Center next and learn even more about oceanography and coastal science. From there, stop into Aquarium Village, a family-friendly nautically themed shopping center with dining and entertainment. The Newport Chamber of Commerce is always ready to welcome you to the beach! Visit newportchamber.org for a detailed calendar of events and a list of local businesses that will take care of every aspect of your stay.