Yachats Oregon Writer Rick Schultze

Nor can you judge a village by just driving though and looking at it and

a good example of that is Yachats. On a sunny day a leisurely drive north or south on highway 101 thru the village reveals a small village with restaurants, shops, markets, motels and people walking to and fro. On a stormy day the village can look almost empty as winds whip power lines and banners about. On a foggy day you can almost miss the village trying to keep your eyes on the road and the ocean might not even be visible. After darkness falls, depending on the hour, the village can twinkle with lights from businesses, but later into the night just the street lights and headlights are the only illumination. But on those clear starry nights when a full moon is casting its powerful light on the ocean the village appears to be a magical spot glowing under nature’s light show.

However that’s just at first glance. What many folks passing through Yachats don’t see is what’s going on the behind the scenes. While there is no real movie theater in Yachats there is a science fiction epic movie being written and produced in Yachats. There is no school but there are youth from Yachats playing sports and performing splendidly academically for schools in Waldport and Newport and there is a plethora of programs for the youth returning to the village daily after school to become involved with music, art, community park work and volunteer work. There is more live music being played in the village than in many towns along the coast. From nightly performances in clubs and pubs, performances by traveling bands, concerts by renown classical artists, the sweet sounds of big band music, Celtic music performances, to the name artists and guitarists who play at the Yachats Commons. All of this live music requires scheduling; coordination of the various programs which is time consuming, and planning all the other events is accomplished by village dwellers. Many are anonymous even to their fellow villagers, but all of it gets done. The 4^th of July La De Dah festivies and firework spectacular, the upcoming Mushroom Festival, the recently held car show and dance, the “Beat The Tide” run and stroll benefit fund raiser for the Yachats Health Clinic, and the classical music performance by youth from the Yachats Youth and Family activity program were again the work of the residents of the village which looks to many like just a cute, quaint, even sleepy little coastal village. But you can’t judge this book by its cover so visit Yachats and check out what it’s really all about!

To reach Rick Schultze email yarick@pioneer.net