Earth, Ocean, Arts Festival in Cannon Beach September 20-22

It only comes every two years; the Earth & Ocean Festival will return to Cannon Beach September 20-22.

Proceeds from the festival will support five local environmental groups: the North Coast Land Conservancy, the Wildlife Center of the North Coast, Friends of Haystack Rock, See Turtles Forever and Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve.

Representatives from the organizations will be at booths on Saturday to talk about the work their groups are doing. The participating galleries are House of Orange, Dragon Fire Gallery, Shearwater Gallery, Jeffrey Hull Gallery, Images of the West, Cannon Beach Arts Association + Gallery, Northwest by Northwest Gallery, Bronze Coast Gallery and White Bird Gallery.

Some galleries will be holding raffles for pieces, while others will be contributing in other ways, like donating a portion of the weekend’s proceeds to the environmental groups.

Joe Clayton, owner of the Bronze Coast Gallery, is on the Earth and Ocean Festival Committee and likes that the festival provides the opportunity to bring artists into the area. “I’ll bring artists in from different areas to bring in new art as a way to support the environmental nonprofits,” Clayton said. “It helps promote the city while also helping businesses.”

Jeffrey Hull, an artist and owner of the Jeffrey Hull Gallery, has been in Cannon Beach for half a century. Hull, who specializes in watercolor painting, will be working on a demonstration painting which will be sold to support the environmental nonprofits. “It’s fun for people to see the different aspects of a painting bloom before them. So that’s what I’ve done for the last two or three Earth and Ocean Festivals, and I’ll do it again this year,” said Hull.

Many different artistic mediums will be represented at the festival, showing off the diverse forms of art that Cannon Beach is known for. Cannon Beach, having long been a haven for artists, with its natural beauty is the perfect location to merge the love of art with the love of nature.

Artist Diane Aoki will be having an event at the House of Orange Gallery on Saturday, September 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants will be creating pieces using repurposed objects. Elk Creek Coffee will provide coffee and treats. Aoki will bring materials for participants to use for their pieces. Participants are also welcome to bring their own found items. The event costs $140, and tickets can be purchased at houseoforange.gallery. All proceeds benefit the environmental nonprofits.

For Ginger Gordon-Brown who owns the House of Orange Gallery along with her husband Greg Scott, this will be their first Earth and Ocean Festival and they are excited to participate after having moved to the area from Washington.

“We’re really excited to be here. The arts community is really wonderful and really active,” Gordon-Brown said.