By BARBARA B. COVELL/Oregon Coast TODAY

**Artists participating in the 15th year of the Nye Beach Banner Project were asked to work around the theme of endangered species.**

It was a banner summer on the central Oregon Coast. With warm, balmy weather, locals and visitors alike were entranced by the area’s beauty and endless recreational opportunities.

It was also a stellar season for aficionados of the arts.

Post-pandemic community theater resumed with auditions and rehearsals for shows in Newport and Lincoln City. Visual art displays were offered countywide at the Newport Visual Arts Center and Lincoln City Cultural Center, as well as multiple community programs supporting various artistic endeavors.

In Newport’s Nye Beach neighborhood, 38 banners graced light poles throughout the summer for the 15th annual Banner Art Project. These colorful hand-painted banners are designed and painted by artists throughout Lincoln County, in addition to Newport’s sister city in Mombetsu, Japan.

All 38 banners are on display until Saturday, Nov. 11, on the second floor of the Newport Visual Arts Center. The banners will soon be auctioned off to support the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts youth arts education programs.

The online auction begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, and ends at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11. Banner previews are available at www.32auctions.com/nyebeachbanner2023. There is also a color booklet available for $6 that features every banner.

The auction kickoff party will run from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4, with refreshments and live music by Ronnie Pirrello. On the banner auction’s closing day there will be a free, family-friendly art activity from noon to 4 p.m. featuring printing and card making.

“Everyone is welcome to participate,” said Sara Sigglekow, arts engagement manager for the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts. “This will be the last opportunity to see the banners hanging together. I am always overwhelmed to see such amazing art in one spot.”

Sigglekow said the fund-raiser specifically benefits the Oregon Art Bus, a mobile classroom that brings free education and creative opportunities for area youth.

“Funds raised also go toward youth scholarships, supplies, camps, workshops and art activities,” she said. “This is a 100-percent volunteer project and it showcases the best of our community. From the people who cut the canvas drop cloth fabric, to those who sew the banners, to those who paint the first coat of background paint then clear coat afterwards, to the artists themselves, and to the volunteers who hang the banners. There are many steps along the way and all of them are donated. It is amazing to see so many people come together to make this work.”

Many of the banner project artists are seasoned veterans and some are first-time art makers who donate their time and talents to create their original works on canvas. Sigglekow said that anyone who wants to participate is welcome until the blank banners run out.

Every year there is an inspirational theme provided to the artists. This year’s honors the 50th anniversary of the federal Endangered Species Act, with banner artists providing their interpretations of threatened species locally, statewide and nationally.

“This is the fourth year of banner exchanges between Newport and her sister city in Mombetsu,” Sigglekow said. “We send four banners every year and this year we received five. All of them are on display and available for auction.”

The entire banner program has been the brainchild of Newport businesswoman Veronica Lundell.“She started the project and continues every year,” Sigglekow said. “She coordinates every detail and works tirelessly to raise money for youth arts in our community.”

Unfortunately, Lundell fell 15 feet from a ladder Oct. 21 while bringing down the banners and sustained serious injuries that required emergency hospitalization and subsequent inpatient rehabilitation. A GoFundMe page has been established on her behalf at www.gofundme.com/f/veronica-lundell.

The Newport Visual Arts Center is located at 777 N.W. Beach Drive and is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-6540.