Oregon Coast Visitors Association

This week, the City of Coos Bay joined a short list of Oregon cities, including Albany, Astoria, Bend, Cottage Grove, Oregon City, Roseburg and Salem, that have earned the right to claim the name of Oregon Heritage All-Star Community. Many thanks to Heather Christenbury, the Executive Director, Curator & Collections Manager of Coos History Museum, for chatting with us about what the designation means for the city, the impact of heritage tourism on the local economy and the many partners working collectively to share the unique cultural heritage of Coos Bay.

A recent study by the Oregon Coast Visitors Association (OCVA) found that 90 percent of the seafood consumed on the Oregon Coast is not sourced locally. In an effort to shift that trend, OCVA has launched the Ocean Cluster Initiative. The initiative aims to help Oregon's communities capture more economic, public health, and environmental value from local sea fare. An increase of just 10% in local seafood staying in Oregon markets can result in a $90 million economic impact. You can help by checking out Sea Grant's list of restaurants and markets offering local seafood:

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend Mountain Bike Oregon with some tourism industry colleagues (who also happen to be MTB pals) to promote mountain bike trails on the Oregon Coast! Specifically, the 3-part enduro race series along the coast, Ride the Dirt Wave, currently in its sophomore year. Mountain Bike Oregon, held every year for the last 19 years in Oakridge, Oregon, is a host to hundreds of mountain bikers from all over the Pacific Northwest and even a handful of folks from the East Coast for three packed days of sending trails, ripping bikes, and enjoying the stoke in Central Oregon. The goal of representing the Coast at Mountain Bike Oregon: Inspire people to come and experience all that the Oregon Coast has to offer. With 363 miles of coast that is open 365 days to the public (thanks to Gov. McCall for the 1967 Beach Bill), the Coast offers so much, including, arguably and in my personal opinion, some of the best MTBing in Oregon and rad people to be your MTB tour guides and hosts at their local trails 🥳. Oregon Tourism leaders and organizations like the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, Travel Oregon, and Northwest Trail Alliance (and more clubs, investors, and volunteers included in this, too) have been partnering diligently and strategically over the last 5+ years to invest and build significant MTB trail system assets in various rural communities of the Oregon Coast, making way for a coast-wide event like Ride the Dirt Wave to form. Ride the Dirt Wave hosts its first of the three races on the North Coast at Klootchy Creek Trails, the second on the South Coast at Whiskey Run Trails, and the third on the Central Coast at Big Creek Trails. In addition to representing and promoting MTBing on the Oregon Coast, we brought other great assets and delicious coast staples: local seafood and local craft beer. The Oregon Coast's seafood and craft beer scene and partnering organizations lead sustainability efforts, especially advocating for our ocean's health. It is easy to get behind and promote brands that produce a great product, invest in their community, and actively work toward taking care of our environment. This weekend is the second of three 2024 races held at the Whiskey Run trails. And I'm stoked to soon be in such a positive MTBing atmosphere again and to see many folks we biked with at MBO making the trip out to the coast. Events like these have a tremendous positive impact on the local rural towns of the Oregon Coast, helping to keep business owners and local economies thriving. Thanks to the incredible industry pals who are making Oregon and the Oregon Coast a fantastic place to be. Finn Johnson, Lynnee Jacks, Javier Parada Torres, Dave Lacey, Jesse Dolin, Harry, the Crowders, and more.

It's an honor to partner with The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) on this project designed to encourage and simplify Land Action! Please read CTSI's Facebook post below to learn more and get involved: "The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians has partnered with the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County (EDALC) to provide an opportunity for individuals and businesses to sponsor dance categories for the upcoming Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow, taking place on August 9th, 10th and 11th at the Pauline Ricks Memorial Pow-Wow Grounds in Siletz, OR. All sponsorships will be highlighted in the Siletz News and announced during the Pow-Wow. This will be the first year that sponsorships are available to be processed on an online platform ( https://lnkd.in/gvwHp7R3 ). If you sponsor a dance category, or a place within a category, your name and/or business name will be announced by the emcee over the P.A. system when the prize is awarded to the winning dancer. You can also choose to be an anonymous donor. If preferred, you can still sponsor a category by contacting our Cultural Education Manager, AJ Warren, at AJW@ctsi.nsn.us. The Tribe would like to thank EDALC for stepping up and providing this platform. The Tribe itself does not currently have an online donation platform for this purpose, so EDALC has generously stepped forward to donate their staff time and Community Connector Grant Funds to this website development, hosting, online store, credit card fees, and other costs related to this year’s project. This platform also allows people to submit general donations to the Pow-Wow, if you so choose. You can learn more about the great work EDALC has done on the Tribe’s behalf by visiting their website at https://lnkd.in/gEfyyvra If you have any questions about this, you can reach out to Lisa Norton at LisaN@ctsi.nsn.us " This project has been in my "mental parking lot" for years, and I'd like to give a huge thank you to Lisa Norton, Buddy Lane, AJ Warren, Kat Hudson, Robert Kentta, my EDALC team, The Ford Family Foundation, and everyone else involved in the years of learning and relationship-building that led to this website. For any organization with a Land Acknowledgment identifying CTSI, please consider sponsoring Pow-Wow to show your support. If you're unable to make a financial contribution, I recommend sharing a link to https://lnkd.in/gEfyyvra as a call to Land Action. In addition to the Pow-Wow Sponsorship donation page, the site includes links to CTSI education, history, news/events, and volunteer resources, offering multiple free ways folks can Take Action to align their understanding and efforts with CTSI. If you recognize CTSI or other Tribal Organizations in a Land Acknowledgment, consider adding links to their websites to share their public-facing resources. Consider why your organization makes Land Acknowledgements, and how you can also inspire and encourage Land Action.