This Year's Top Events on the Long Beach Peninsula of Washington

I just returned from a writing trip to Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula. I checked out the newly renovated Shelburne Hotel. There’s always something going on and many reasons to pack your getaway bag for the beach.

Community organized events on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, a 28-mile-long beach destination bordered by the Pacific Ocean, the Columbia River and Willapa Bay, offer the opportunity to experience an array of local pastimes and passions. Among them are razor clam digging, coastal gardening, beach running and cultural events.

Top events include the following:

·      Long Beach Razor ClamFestival (April 20-21) resurrects a popular community event of the 1940s as well as a subsistence tradition. Participants can learn from longtime residents how to find, dig and clean razor clams, taste and vote for the best clam chowder, visit with mermaids, enjoy musical entertainment, relax at a beer garden, enter contests, and more.

·      Beach to Chowder (June 16) run/walk, with a start and finish at the “World’s Long Beach Arch” on Bolstad Avenue, Long Beach, is an ideal way to engage the entire family (dogs permitted on leash) in a fun event over Father’s Day weekend. Local and visiting competitors in 5K and 10K distances run or walk for fun and prizes along a flat stretch of hard-pack sand. Steaming bowls of chowder are enjoyed afterwards during the awards ceremony.

·      Music in the Gardens (July 21) showcases a variety of lovingly tended, magnificent, coastal gardens up and down the peninsula. Hosts welcome ticketed tour goers with garden insights, plant identification and light refreshments, while regional musicians entertain. 

·      Water Music Festival (Oct. 12-14) brings classical musicians to perform at intimate and interesting venues on the Long Beach Peninsula. Many of the attendees are local residents who appreciate world-class chamber music performances brought by the Water Music Society to their remote locale.

·      6x6 Art Show and Auction (Nov. 3) offers a glimpse into the thriving local art scene. Fantastic art objects produced by the region’s most talented artists are auctioned off as a benefit for the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum’s exhibition programs. 

The Long Beach Peninsula is host to more than 50 annual events. For event details, destination information and trip planning, please call the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau at 360.642.2400 or access www.visitlongbeachpeninsula.com to download the 2018 event calendar directly.

Information Courtesy: Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau

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