A New Way to Snag Coveted Glass Floats on the Oregon Coast
Published 11/14/2016 at 4:53 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff
(Newport, Oregon) – There is yet another way to snag those coveted glass float treasures of the Oregon coast: this time it's in Newport. From now through to the end of the year, each week sees someone who has visited the town winning an extraordinary fine art glass float with “Newport, Oregon” engraved on it.
These special glass fishing floats are the hand-blown creations of The Edge Glass Blowing studio in Newport, all part of the promotion called Treasures by the Sea. Each one is individually crafted with the same techniques that have been used for 2,000 years to create such art. Each is distinct from all the others created there.
This is the 18th year of Treasures by the Sea, a two-month-long event that is geared towards giving locals something to do and explore as well as a way to let visitors in from the rain when the storms kick in on the beaches.
Literally dozens of the glass keepsakes will be given out by the time the promotion ends. Treasures of the Sea started on November 1 and ends on December 31 – leaving almost eight more weekends of giveaways. Each week there is a new winner, with a total of 25 winners on the final day: New Year's Eve.
How to get one? Well, it doesn't involve beachcombing, but it does involve a treasure map.
First you obtain the treasure map from either the Greater Newport Visitors Center office (on Highway 101) or online at www.newportchamber.org. These list 25 businesses in Newport which have some on display.
There, you fill out the entry form and drop it off. You can do this at more than one business, increasing your chances.
Weekly drawings will then be held by the chamber to give away one of these glass floats. On the final day, one name will be drawn from each of these merchants, creating a flurry of winners on the last day of the year.
Winners will be notified by mail.
A wide range of businesses will be involved, including lodgings, a media company, eateries, several insurance companies, an RV park and a mattress store, among others. They range as far north as north as Lincoln City and as far south as near Waldport, and include Inn at Spanish Head, Little Creek Cove, Pig 'n' Pancake, and even Oceanview Senior Living.
It's all a descendant of a vast tradition on the Oregon coast of finding such fascinating treasures on the beaches for generations. Up until about the '70s, Japanese glass floats that were used for fishing nets washed up on these shores with regularity. It began to greatly subside in the '80s, and finding them now is extremely rare.
These days, the tradition has a modern, artsy twist with the objects made in Newport.
The Greater Newport Chamber said this promotion also helps bring in people during the slow winter season, when exceptional lodging deals and sensational storms of the Oregon coast are mixed with the holiday season and the relaxed vibe of the beach. Call the Newport Chamber of Commerce at 800-262-7844 or see www.newportchamber.org. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Map and Virtual Tour
More About Newport Lodging.....
More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....
LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles
Back to Oregon Coast
Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted