By CHERYL ROMANO/Lincoln Chronicle
YACHATS — The accent is on family fun and shopping this Mother’s Day weekend when the “Wild Things” festival returns and the popular Yachats Farmers Market re-opens for the season.
On Saturday, May 10, all ages are invited to enjoy Wild Things 2025, when the free nature festival returns for its second year in and around downtown. The outdoor farmers market begins its season at 9 a.m. Sunday on West Fourth Street and the west parking lot of the Yachats Commons.
Wild Things runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday primarily at the Commons and the Yachats Lions Hall, where kids and grown-ups can share hours of celebrating Oregon’s outdoors. There will be live music, plant and animal walks and demonstrations, story time, a chance to meet a bird of prey, and an interactive presentation of a kelp forest.
There will also be a day-long sale of native plants coupled with expert advice, plus a whale watch viewing station at Yachats State Park.
The festival will wind up with a “March of the Wild Things” parade led by giant animal puppets, including Puff the Puffin and Bubbles the Otter.
Featured activities include:
- Animal Tracking Walks: Behind the Commons’ Pavilion at noon, 1, and 2 p.m.;
- Journey Under the Sea: Room 3 in the Commons, live kelp forest show from 11:15-11:45 a.m. and hands-on display until 12:45 p.m.;
- Meet a Bird of Prey: Yachats Lions Hall, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a live raptor from Chintimini Wildlife Center in Corvallis;
- Pollinator Plant Walk: Prospect Park, at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.;
- Wetlands Walk: Behind the Commons’ Pavilion., 12:45 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.;
- Your Song My Song: Commons’ multipurpose room, 2:30-3 p.m. An all-ages, interactive musical experience; and
- Parade of the Wild Things: Meet by the Pavilion, 3 p.m.
Although the nature festival is targeted to children ages five to 12, “Much can be learned and enjoyed by teenagers and adults,” said Yachats resident Jim Welch, who originated the inaugural “Wild Things” last year.
“This is an opportunity for us to give back to families to learn about our beautiful environment,” Welch said. “We all need to respect it and protect it. So put on your Wild Thing costumes, masks, or just dress up crazy and join us.”
Continuing the wild things emphasis, the MidCoast Watershed Council will conduct a day-long plant sale at the Commons, featuring native trees, shrubs and flowering plants not often found at commercial nurseries. The organization will present local plant experts to answer questions and offer botanical guidance.
The festival name was inspired by the classic rock hit “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, and Maurice Sendak’s children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are. The one-day event is sponsored by the Yachats Chamber of Commerce with support from the city.
Yachats market opens
The Yachats Farmers Market, a more than 20-year tradition, returns on Mother’s Day just off U.S. Highway 101 along West Fourth Street.
Emphasizing locally-grown produce, foods, and artist-made crafted goods, the market will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. A full roster of 45 vendors will be on hand. Shoppers can browse tables and stalls full of vegetables, fruits, pottery, jewelry, glass, soaps, textiles, breads, jams, jellies and honey. Prepared food options will include kettle corn, frozen tamales and salsa.
“There will be an exciting variety of produce that changes with the seasons, along with the other goods and products that we all love,” said Robin Nolan, a member of the farmers market board. Nolan works at Bread & Roses Bakery for owner Blythe Collins, who is in charge of the market.
Well-behaved dogs are allowed.
Nolan urged market visitors to bring shopping bags for their goods. Vendors accept cash, credit and debit cards.
The market will run each Sunday through mid-October and open on two days —July 4-5 — for the Independence Day weekend.
Waldport’s Wednesday Market opens Wednesday and runs through late September in the parking lot of the Waldport Community Center. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Newport Farmer’s Market began its season in late March, operating from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays through December at the corner of Highway 101 and Angle Street.
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