Two uniquely North Beach events this weekend

By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON For Grays Harbor News Group • February 28, 2019 1:30 am
(Angelo Bruscas | Grays Harbor News Group) A Coastal Interpretive Center docent explains some of the beachcombed items on display at a past Beachcombers Fun Fair. The center always has a very informative display during the annual event, to be held this weekend at the Ocean Shores Convention Center.
(Angelo Bruscas | Grays Harbor News Group) A Coastal Interpretive Center docent explains some of the beachcombed items on display at a past Beachcombers Fun Fair. The center always has a very informative display during the annual event, to be held this weekend at the Ocean Shores Convention Center.

By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON

For Grays Harbor News Group

Ocean Shores hosts a couple of uniquely North Beach events this weekend: the Beachcombers Fun Fair at the Convention Center, and the UFO Summit at the Quinault Beach Resort & Casino.

Beachcombers Fun Fair

This grassroots, enthusiast-inspired celebration of many aspects of life on the North Coast. Its 32nd annual edition will fill the Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10-4 Sunday.

The festival consists of exhibits of beachcombed items, seminars, information booths, and vendors. It also features beach walks and children activities and is designed to help visitors and locals appreciate and preserve the quality of life in this unique setting.

This year, a timely topic will be covered in a special presentation Saturday at 11 a.m. Representatives from the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Department will offer information and answer questions about the unspent anti-aircraft explosive rounds used in military exercises dating back decades and found on some North Coast beaches this past weekend.

In her fourth year as producer of the event, Ocean Shores resident and business owner Dianne Hansen has found an always popular element of the event is the numerous displays from members of the general public of all manner of things found on beaches in the Pacific Northwest. She anticipates several hundred entries in dozens of categories, including single objects, collections, photography, and various creative and artistic efforts, such as collages, carvings, mobiles, mosaics, flower arrangements, home décor and furnishings.

Entries should be brought to the venue on Friday, March 1, from 2-7 p.m. Entry forms can be completed then, and are also available in advance at The Dusty Trunk, 759 Pt. Brown Ave. NW, and online at www.oseventplanner.com. Judging will take place that night and ribbons will placed on winners’ entries before the doors open on Saturday.

All entries must be picked up just after the event closes, from 4-5 p.m. Sunday, March 3. There is no charge to enter any of the display categories. Entrants are competing for ribbons and Best of Show and People’s Choice awards.

Guest speakers will weigh in on a variety of topics starting at 11 a.m. and running until closing both days.

Two of the most popular events take place Sunday morning. Alan Rammer, retired WDFW shellfish biologist, author and educator, is one of the event’s founders. At 9 a.m., he will lead his annual beach walk and share bits of his encyclopedic knowledge of the beach environment.

Also, anyone can participate in the “Dash for Trash and Treasure.” Folks are encouraged to pick up a garbage bag (or use your own) on Saturday; go for a walk on the beach and enjoy some beachcombing, and put your finds in the bag. Then bring it back to the Convention Center between 8 and 9 a.m. Sunday morning, when beachcombing experts will examine your finds and let you know what is trash and what is treasure.

Admission is $3.00 for adults & teens, $1.00 for children 5-12 and good for all weekend. More information can be found online at www.oseventplanner.com and on Facebook at Beachcombers Fun Fair.

UFO/Paranormal Summit

Whether or not “the truth is out there,” and just what it consists of anyway, are topics up for discussion this weekend at the fourth annual UFO/Paranormal Summit at Quinault Beach Resort & Casino.

The event features researchers of the UFO and paranormal realms as they present their evidence, theories and information. It includes paranormal-related vendors throughout the resort grounds, seminars on Friday and Saturday including sessions for witness testimony, and hands-on workshops Sunday.

The research conference runs 6-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and wraps up Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon with a set of three limited-seating workshops featuring UFO and paranormal experts.

The event is produced by Johnny Manson, who lives between Ocean Shores and Hoquiam, and is the host of “Morning Madness,” broadcast weekdays on KJET 105.7 FM in Aberdeen, as well the “Strange Harbor” show that airs Sundays at 4 p.m. on KBKW 1450 AM and 100.5 FM. Manson also produces the annual “Sasquatch Summit” event in the fall at QBRC.

Similar to last year’s event, he expects around 500 to attend over the weekend. Friday’s program features Manson’s favorite part of the weekend, “Witness Testimony,” when ordinary people recount and discuss their extraordinary experiences. Saturday offers discussions of UFO sightings, alien abductions, ghosts and other paranormal occurrences, with six separate speakers. Tickets good for both Friday and Saturday are $45. Tickets for the Sunday workshops are limited to 45, cost $100, and include admission to all three days of the event. Tickets are online at www.ufosummit.com or at the door.