Dining Al Fresco—From the Bay to Your Bucket

State Ranger Cameron Rauenhorst, known affectionately as Ranger Clameron, grins as he holds up a BIG shell. A seven-inch neck protrudes from the shell and Clameron tells us that fully extended the neck can be nearly three feet long. Known as a Gaper, Horse, Horseneck, Blue, or Empire clam, this bivalve is one of the many clams that you can harvest on Oregon beaches. Clameron dug up this particular Gaper at low tide in Alsea Bay.

“Look for the show,” he tells us. The show is the oval hole left in the sand by clams at low tide. In the case of the Gaper, it is nearly two inches in diameter. Though smaller clams are found closer to the surface, the Gaper requires a serious hole—two feet deep in some cases. “Grab a small child by the feet,” says our grinning guide, “and hold him over the hole to dig the last couple of inches by hand.”

In a net bag, Clameron displays the smaller hardshell clams he dug that morning. Butter clams, cockles, and littlenecks are also found in Alsea Bay. Someone asks where to dig. Turning toward the Alsea Bay Bridge, Clameron points to the Y-shaped cement supports, telling us that it is the largest Y-leg bridge in the country. In the arch between the third and fourth Y, he says, you’ll be able to dig your limit in about twenty minutes. (The limit is 20 clams per person per day, of which only 12 may be the big gapers or geoducks. See sidebar for daily limits for all shellfish.)

Moving over to the seawall, Clameron explains how to bait a crab trap—chicken, fish, turkey, mink, or ghost shrimp all work well—and tosses a crab ring over the edge. If you were on the docks or a boat, you would let the ring  soak for 15-20 minutes before hauling it back up. “Do it fast,” he warns, pulling the rope up hand over hand with a well-practiced motion. “If you dawdle, the crabs will crawl right out and escape.” Crab pots actually trap the crabs and can be left for up to three days.

Another option is the “crabhawk,” which you hang from the end of a fishing pole. When the crab crawls onto the screen to get the bait, there is a tug, your signal to reel in the trap, which automatically closes as soon as you start pulling it in. (Designed by Steven DeMars—visit www.crabhawk.com for more information.)

Oregon State Sport Fishing Regulations allow you to keep only male crabs—the females are laden with millions of eggs and harvesting them will jeopardize production of future crabs. Cameron demonstrates how to sex a crab: the female’s abdomen is wide, the male’s is narrow. If you need help, check it out in the pamphlet Crabbing in Oregon.

Crabs must be at least 5 ¾ inches measured in a straight line across the back immediately in front of the little bumps on the side of the crab. All females and undersized crabs must be returned to the water carefully and immediately.

The Long Tradition of the Yachats Music Festival

When Joanne Kittel and her husband Norman arrived in Yachats in 1988, the Yachats Music Festival had already been in existence for seven years. “We stumbled onto it,” says Joanne. If there had been any doubt in their minds about the wisdom of leaving Chicago and moving to this remote little village on the central Oregon coast, those doubts died when they entered the Yachats Community Presbyterian Church.

Norman had loved classical music since he was a child. On their first date, he took Joanne to a five-hour Wagner opera. Joanne learned to appreciate the music, but what really impressed her was the warmth and friendliness of the Four Seasons artists. Over the years, she and Norman formed strong ties to the performers and the board members and sponsors of Four Seasons Arts, the booking agency founded by Dr. W. Hazaiah Williams to promote music for audiences of all races and conditions and to provide venues for performances by artists of all races as well. “The opportunity to hear, to know, understand and appreciate good music,” said Dr. Williams, “will lead to far greater communication between races and people.”

And so it has, not just for the Kittels, but for many of the residents of Yachats who step up as sponsors and audience, and who volunteer, as Joanne and Norman did, to help with publicity, the artists’ reception, ushering,  and all the other tasks that support a three day music festival.

For the 20 to 30 artists who travel worldwide for their scheduled performances, the Yachats Music Festival is a treasured opportunity to play, relax, and learn together. The festival includes four workshops for the artists and festival patrons, another way to further Dr. Williams’ vision of lifelong learning through music.

Dr. Williams was the first African-American impresario to head a concert-giving organization in the United States. He believed that classical music is for everyone, and both his stage and his audience reflect the human family in all its diversity. Although Dr. Williams died in 1999, his legacy continues; the Yachats Music Festival is dedicated to his memory.

This year, the concerts take place July 12 through July 14. There is a concert each night, at 8 p.m., and an afternoon performance at 2 p.m. on Sunday. General admission to each concert is $19. Tickets are available online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/248537 or locally at the Adobe Resort (541 547-3141) or the Yachats Visitor Center (541 547-3530 or 800 929-0477).  Member and patron packages are available at $85 and $140; call 541 961-8374 for details. Additional information is available at Four Seasons Arts, 510 845-4444, www.fsarts.org or www.yachats.info/ymf/.

Yachats Arts Guild Summer Show

The Yachats Art Guilds Summer Show opens on June 28 and runs through July 7, in rooms 7 and 8 at the Yachats Commons. The display includes oils and acrylics, wood carvings, watercolors, pen and ink, pencil, pyrography, and mixed media, as well as photographs inspired by the beauty of the “Gem of the Oregon Coast.”  All the art is for sale, as well as cards and prints.
   
The Yachats Art Guild has grown from the seven original founding members to 34 members dedicated to supporting and promoting Central Coast artists as well as the natural beauty of the area.  Works by members of the Yachats Arts Guild grace local galleries, restaurants, and hotels. The Guild maintains a permanent show at Ona Restaurant in downtown Yachats and at the Yachats Public Library. There is also a “Perpetual Art Walk” that pairs local artists with merchants in the area. Upcoming shows include the Yachats Arts Guild Fall Show, a show at the Siuslaw Library in Florence in September, and a show at Canyon Way in Newport in 2014.
The Yachats Arts Guild Summer Show, rooms 7 & 8, Yachats Commons (off Highway 101 next to the Bank) June 28-July 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on the last day when the show closes at 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.yachatsartsguild.com, or the Yachats Arts Guild Facebook page.