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BAY AREA FUN FESTIVAL 2024 PREFONTAINE MEMORIAL RUN / CRUZ THE COOS / DOWNTOWN PARADE
Photos By Brandon Summers
High school students take off down Anderson Avenue for the start of the 43rd annual Prefontaine Memorial 10K run held Sept. 21 as part of the 2024 Bay Area Fun Festival. BY WORLD STAFF WRITER
Known as “the greatest last party of the summer,” the 2024 Bay Area Fun Festival also celebrated Coos Bay’s 150th birthday. Many events and displays occupied downtown Coos Bay from morning through afternoon on Sept. 21. The annual event is organized by Coos Bay Downtown Association Beginning the day was the 43rd annual Prefontaine Memorial 10K run, starting
from the corner of Fourth and Anderson in Downtown Coos Bay. The event had fewer participants this year than it had last year, said Bob Huggins, Prefontaine Foundation, Executive Director. “We’ve got a competing event up at Lane Community College that’s drawn away some of the high school teams, so we’re not as big as last year,” he said. Still, the event drew many participants and an awed crowd to carry on the memory of
Olympian and Coos Bay native Steve Prefontaine. “There’s 22 high school teams represented here today, I think, some 365 kids,” said Huggins. The 5K high school team competition launched at 9:45 a.m., followed by wheelchair runners at 9:50 a.m. and the 10K & Fun Run at 10 a.m. Cruz the Coos started the day with a Show N’ Shine hosted at Mill Casino, allowing visitors to admire many shining automobiles ahead of the evening’s downtown cruise.
“We have 130 cars this year,” said Steve Schneiderman, Event Co-Organizer. “It’s a little bit down from previous year. The economy prevents a lot of the out-of-towners, outof-staters from traveling, but it’s still acceptable.” He added, “They’re beautiful cars this year.” Best of all about the day is that Cruz the Coos is an ongoing community tradition, said Schneiderman. “This is a multi-year tradition in our community, through fun festival weekend,” he said.
“Since Coos Bay/North Bend Rotary started putting on this event, it’s a big fundraiser for us to be able to do these scholarships for higher education for our local students and grants to local community projects.” Bay Area Fun Festival’s downtown parade had about 33 entries registered either walking or on floats, driving antique vehicles, on horseback, fire truck and more. The number is about equal Fun Festival continues on page 3
Santa’s Shuttle Returning for 2024 Shore Acres Holiday Lights
North Bend Public Library Gets Grant Funds Ahead Of Major Remodeling Project
Photos By Brandon Summers
BY BRANDON SUMMERS
On Sept. 30, North Bend Public Library starts its first major remodeling project since opening in 1989. Ahead of the effort, NBPL received a grant for $34,421 from Oregon Cultural Trust to improve the library’s children’s
room. The children’s room is a key area of the remodeling project’s final phase, said Library Director Haley Lagasse. “We will be making quite a few changes in that space to Grand Funds continues on page 3
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BY BRANDON SUMMERS
Santa’s Shuttle is returning for this year’s Holiday Lights at Shore Acres annual event. The shuttle, provided by the Coos Bay/North Bend/Charleston Visitor & Convention Bureau, will run for 19 of the events 31 nights this year. The event, marketed by the VCB, is the biggest for the Coos Bay area. “Holiday Lights brings in anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 people into the state park from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day,” said VCB Executive Director Janice
the park,” said Langlinais. Oregon State Parks decided this was not safe, and in 2022 instituted timed parking passes. The passes, which cost $5, must be purchased online for a specific day and time. There was confusion, as some people thought the parking passes were per person and not per car, for example. “That first year back, there were a lot fewer people who got to go to the lights because there were people who had bought four, five, six parking passes for one car,” said Langlinais. Shore Acres continues on page 3
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Langlinais. “People come from far and wide, as well as almost every state in the union. It was like 280 different Oregon communities that came.” Holiday Lights at Shore Acres has been going on for more than 35 years, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t held in 2020 and 2021. During the brief reprieve, Shore Acres tackled an ongoing problem with the event: the traffic. “Up until 2019, cars would back up on that little two-lane road, past Sunset Bay, sometimes to the turn off to Bastendorff Beach, waiting to get into
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