Oregon Coast Events & Festivals

Year-Round Celebration

Why Oregon Coast Residents Never Run Out of Things to Celebrate

Life on the Oregon Coast is punctuated by a remarkable calendar of events that celebrate everything this extraordinary place has to offer — its seafood, its art, its wildlife, its weather, its history, and its community. From the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest (held annually since 1964 and attracting tens of thousands of spectators) to the intimate Fleet of Flowers memorial in Depoe Bay (where flowers are cast on the harbor in memory of fishermen lost at sea), the Oregon Coast’s event culture is as varied and authentic as the coast itself.

For Oregon Coast residents, this calendar is one of the great perks of coastal living. You don’t have to travel to find culture, entertainment, and community celebration — it comes to you, season after season, on your beach and in your town. January brings whale watching week. February brings the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival. June brings the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest and Lincoln City Kite Festival. August brings the Hood to Coast finish at Seaside and the Tillamook County Fair. November brings Stormy Weather Arts Festival and the return of storm season itself — the most dramatic show on the Oregon Coast and one its residents deeply love.

Oregon Coast Events Calendar Overview

Winter (December–February): Whale Watch Week (Oregon State Parks, late December & mid-March), Newport Seafood & Wine Festival (February — Oregon Coast’s largest food & wine event), holiday lights events, storm watching season begins in earnest. Spring (March–May): Cannon Beach Spring Unveiling (gallery openings), Fleet of Flowers at Depoe Bay (Memorial Day), northbound whale migration peaks. Summer (June–August): Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest (June), Lincoln City Kite Festival (June & October), Hood to Coast Relay finish in Seaside (August), Tillamook County Fair (August), Seaside Beach Volleyball Tournament (Labor Day weekend). Fall (September–November): Depoe Bay Salmon Bake (September), Lincoln City Glass Float Hunt begins (October), Stormy Weather Arts Festival Cannon Beach (November).

Must-Attend Events

Oregon Coast’s Most Celebrated Annual Events & Festivals

Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest — June Oregon’s most spectacular beach art event, held annually since 1964, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest draws master sand sculptors from across North America alongside amateur family teams to compete in timed sculpting events on the beach below Haystack Rock. The finished sculptures — some reaching 8 feet tall with extraordinary architectural and artistic detail — attract tens of thousands of spectators over the weekend before the tide erases them. One of the Pacific Northwest’s most distinctive and beloved community traditions.
Newport Seafood & Wine Festival — February The Oregon Coast’s largest and most celebrated food and wine event, the Newport Seafood & Wine Festival transforms the Newport Bayfront each February with 100+ Oregon wineries, dozens of seafood vendors, cooking demonstrations, and live music. The event draws 20,000+ attendees over four days and has been a cornerstone of Oregon Coast culture since 1977. For Newport residents, it’s one of the great annual celebrations of what makes their community extraordinary.
Lincoln City Kite Festival — June & October Held twice annually on Lincoln City’s famously windy 7.5-mile beach, the Lincoln City Kite Festival fills the sky with hundreds of colorful sport kites, show kites, and giant novelty kites in a spectacle visible for miles. Professional kite fliers demonstrate ballet and precision flying; families learn to fly and purchase kites from vendor booths. The October festival celebrates fall winds and the beginning of the Finders Keepers glass float season simultaneously, making it a doubly festive weekend.
Stormy Weather Arts Festival — Cannon Beach, November Perhaps the Oregon Coast’s most uniquely character-revealing event: the Stormy Weather Arts Festival celebrates the arrival of winter storm season with gallery openings, wine events, live music, and the beloved Quick Draw competition where artists create finished works in just 90 minutes. Only Cannon Beach would celebrate bad weather with an arts festival — and only Cannon Beach could pull it off so elegantly. Attendance swells as storm-watchers and art lovers converge on the town for a November weekend.
Fleet of Flowers — Depoe Bay, Memorial Day One of the Oregon Coast’s most moving traditions, the Fleet of Flowers ceremony takes place each Memorial Day in Depoe Bay’s small harbor. A fleet of decorated fishing and pleasure boats parades through the harbor as passengers cast flowers onto the water in memory of fishermen and mariners lost at sea. The ceremony reflects the deep connection between Depoe Bay’s community and the ocean that sustains — and sometimes claims — the people who work it. Profoundly affecting for those who witness it for the first time.
Hood to Coast Relay Finish — Seaside, August The finish line of the world’s largest relay race lands on Seaside’s famous Promenade each August. The Hood to Coast Relay covers 197 miles from Mt. Hood’s Timberline Lodge to the Seaside Promenade, with 1,000+ teams of 12 runners completing the course over approximately 24 hours. The finish-line celebration on the Prom is a massive, joyous event that fills every hotel in Seaside and north Clatsop County. For Seaside residents, Hood to Coast weekend is one of the most energizing events of the year.
Tillamook County Fair — August One of Oregon’s great traditional county fairs, the Tillamook County Fair celebrates the agricultural heritage that has defined Tillamook County for over a century. 4-H livestock competitions, dairy exhibits, carnival rides, local food vendors, live entertainment, and the tradition of Tillamook Creamery cheese and ice cream sampling make this a family event that captures the distinctive flavor of life in Oregon’s most famous dairy county. Held each August at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds.
Depoe Bay Salmon Bake — September An annual celebration of the Pacific salmon runs that have sustained the Oregon Coast for millennia, the Depoe Bay Salmon Bake features wild salmon prepared in the traditional Native American alder-wood plank style over open fires. The event celebrates Depoe Bay’s fishing heritage and the Siletz Tribe’s deep connection to these waters, combining exceptional food with cultural significance. One of the coast’s most authentic and atmospheric fall festivals.

Why Oregon Coast Residents Never Run Out of Things to Celebrate

Oregon Coast Events Calendar Overview

Signature Events in Every Oregon Coast Town

Newport

Lincoln City

Seaside

Depoe Bay

Tillamook

Cannon Beach

Oregon Coast’s Most Celebrated Annual Events & Festivals

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