Bay City Pearl & Oyster Music Festival Page A2-3
North Coast
Citizen Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, August 21, 2025 | Vol. 32, Issue 16
$2.00
www.northcoastcitizen.com
Music returns to Bay City with Pearl and Oyster Festival STAFF REPORT
Ben Salo won Saturday’s championship Pig n’ Ford race thanks to three perfect cranks and two smooth pig exchanges.
Salo wins 100th Pig n’ Ford STAFF REPORT
Another Tillamook County Fair is in the books, after a week of music, food, rides, animals and so much more from August 6-9. The week kicked off on a drizzly Wednesday that saw the Pig n’ Ford association forced to cancel their first day of racing but ended with three days of beautiful weather, culminating in Saturday night’s Pig n’ Ford championship race and demolition derby. This year, the fair celebrated the Pig n’ Ford races centennial anniversary, with booths around the fair getting in on the fun, limited edition, commemorative souvenirs available for sale and a driver meet and greet on Friday night. Ben Salo won the centen-
nial championship in the #20 car owned by his father Ken, with the Walker franchise #13 car finishing second and the Prince #15 car coming in third. Exhibit halls at the fairground were busy throughout the week as locals showed off their green thumbs and handiwork, while area youth showed a plethora of farm animals as part of FFA and 4H competitions. Parimutuel horse racing filled the afternoons in the main grandstand, while various entertainment from ice cream tasting and bubble gum eating contests to magicians kept families delighted in the courtyard. Chase Matthew, Fleetwood Mac cover band Taken by the Sky and up-and-comer Waylon Wyatt put on memorable concerts in the grandstand arena.
Salo embraces his father, Ken, owner of the #20 franchise after triumphing in the championship race.
Tillamook County’s Parks Department was named the best commercial booth at the fair.
Riders jockey for position in the last pari-mutuel horse race of the week on Saturday evening.
Bay City’s fourth annual Pearl and Oyster Festival is scheduled to bring a weekend of music and family fun to Al Griffin Memorial Park on August 23 and 24. As in past years, Saturday will see a full day of live performances from professional bands before Sunday is dedicated to kids, with a talent show and other activities, games and entertainment for the youth. First held in 2019, the festival was envisioned as a celebration of the city and a way to attract visitors and returned for its second edition in 2023 after a three-year pandemic hiatus. Each year, the festival shuts down Fourth Street in Bay City, as dozens of vendors offer their wares, while Al Griffin Memorial Park is transformed into a concert venue featuring two stages. On Saturday, the main stage will play host to three cover bands, with Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Tombstone Shadows playing the first set at 1 p.m. Grand Royale, a Beastie Boys tribute band, performing at 4 p.m. and Eagle Eyes wrapping up the evening with renditions of Eagles’ favorites at 7. The second stage in the park will host two performances by Hope Montgomery & The Invasive Species at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. A beer and wine garden will be hosted by Clatsop Distributing and Grocery Outlet and food will also be available for purchase. On Sunday, kids will take center stage with games, music and chalk art on offer and the opportunity for kids to set up their own vendor table with no charge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A pet parade will start the day’s festivities at 11 a.m., with kids encouraged to bring their furry pal and to be prepared to walk several blocks with them. At noon, a local kids’ band will perform and at 1 p.m., an open-mic hour will give kids a chance to prepare for the talent show. Kicking off at 2 p.m., the third annual kids’ talent show is open to those aged zero to 18, has five categories and a five-minute time limit per performer, and offers a cash prize. To register for the talent show and find more information about the weekend’s activities visit baycitypearlandoysterfestival.com.
CARE prepares for October shelter opening WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
In October, those experiencing Tillamook County will have two new options to help on the path to stable housing,
when Community Action Resource Enterprises Inc. opens a new congregate shelter and shelter village at its Tillamook headquarters. Community Action Resource Enterprises Inc. (CARE) Executive Director Jeff Blackford said that he was excited for the facilities to open and believed that they would be an asset for the community. “We’re trying to make the neighborhood safer; we’re trying to make the neighborhood just a nicer place to be,” Blackford said. “We want our neighbors to be happy with what we’re doing because we did hear them loud and clear when they were not happy when this was first announced. And we think we’ve done a really good job at making it blend into the environment, into the neighborhood.” Work on the new shelters began in February 2024 and is being funded with
$266,000 from behavioral health and resource networks, which were created with the passage of Measure 110 in 2020. Difficulties with utility installation slowed the project’s progress, but as of early August, utilities had been connected to the large congregate shelter, two three-person shelters, eight oneperson shelters and three bathrooms, and a fence had been installed around the project’s exterior. Finishing touches like landscaping, covering for the paths in the shelter village area and the installation of outdoor kitchen equipment remained to be done, and finding a date for an opening ceremony has caused another slight delay. “We are having a challenge right now of getting our speakers and elected ofSee CARE, Page A5
The McDonnell-Douglas AV-8B Harrier II hovering over the runway at the Tillamook Airport.
Harrier lands WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
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The new congregate shelter’s entrance off CARE’s parking lot.
Hundreds of aviation enthusiasts gathered around the perimeter of the Tillamook Airport on August 4, for the delivery of a McDonnellDouglas AV-8B Harrier II ground-attack jet to the Tillamook Air Museum. After arriving from China Lake, California, the aircraft’s pilot performed several low fly-bys before putting on an extensive demonstration of the plane’s hover and turn maneuvers, and short takeoff and landing capabilities. Following the demonstration and a short decommissioning, members of the public were given an opportunity to take photos and meet the pilot before the craft was moved into Hangar B for preparation to be exhibited in the museum. Visit our Facebook page for video of the aircraft.