Welcome To Bandon Visitors Guide 2010

• Bandon Festivals

Published: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 Bandon Festivals Bandon hosts three festivals each year, including the Old Fashioned Independence Day Festival on July 4th, the Cranberry Festival in September, and the Celebration of Lights in December.

Fourth of July
The Bandon Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce go all out on the Fourth of July, with a fish fry and beer garden, free live concert on the outdoor stage in City Park, craft show and sale, car show, parade down U.S. Highway 101 and the grand finale: A spectacular fireworks show, set off by Bandon's volunteer firefighters at dusk.

The City Park will be the setting for the fourth annual "Independence by the Sea, Bandon's Wild, Wild West" old fashioned Fourth of July celebration, featuring an early Bandon/western days theme.

Cranberry Festival
One of southwestern Oregon's best-known events is the annual Bandon Cranberry Festival, which celebrates the community's No. 1 agricultural crop. This year, the 62nd annual festival will be held Sept. 12-14. Activities include the Blessing of the Harvest, crafts, food, music, a street fair in Old Town, Queen's Coronation, Grand Parade, Lions Barbecue, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort Golf Challenge, and the Cranberry Bowl football game.

Other activities planned for the big three-day weekend are a fishing contest, quilting demonstrations, cranberry farm tours, myrtlewood turning demonstrations, a public flower show and plant sale and more.

This is the most exciting late summer weekend on the southern Oregon Coast. Join the Bandon community in celebrating the harvest in the Cranberry Capital of the West Coast. A complete brochure of Cranberry Festival events will be available at the visitor information center in Old Town, and can be obtained by phoning (541) 347-9616.

Celebration of Lights
Bandon was one of the first communities along the Oregon coast to wrap itself in a blanket of glittering lights at Christmastime. The warmth of Christmas glistens all over town when Bandon celebrates its annual Celebration of Lights, and people come from near and far to enjoy the lights and the friendly atmosphere in local shops.

The festival, sponsored by the Bandon Chamber of Commerce, will kick off in early December with the lighting of the community Christmas tree, and most of the decorations will remain up through New Year's Day.

This year's event will kick off at the Bandon Shopping Center with the arrival of Santa and Bandon's 2008 Cranberry Festival Queen. Lots of activities for kids are planned in the following weeks leading up to Christmas, including the annual Living Nativity at the Visitor Center parking lot; a community Christmas tree lighting and special shopping events in Old Town; and Santa and Mrs. Claus visiting the Bandon boardwalk.

The boat basin and lighthouse glow with decorations, too. Bandon's volunteer fire department strings hundreds of lights to outline the lighthouse, making it glow across the river at night.

And the festival is not limited to the business community. Many homes, both in the city and in surrounding rural areas, are aglow with thousands of lights. Homeowners try to outdo themselves - and their neighbors - with the grandest of displays.

Shops throughout Bandon offer unique gift items, and nearly every merchant provides gift wrapping free.

A warm, old-fashioned, community feeling with plenty of Christmas cheer makes the Celebration of Lights one of Bandon's most inviting events.


Return to article directory