Lauren Sheehan opened the day with folk and gospel tunes.  I really liked that she encouraged sing-a-long to some great old tunes but most preferred to hear her unique sound.  Mary Kadderly and Nancy King kept the crowd of 500+ happy all afternoon, right up to, and through, the thunderstorm and rain showers.  I can see why Nancy King has been called both a cult hero and “the greatest living jazz singer”.   The way Mary Kadderly’s voice combines with Nancy’s to make a whole greater than its parts was delightful.  Dan, Dan and Bill:  Dang, guys.  You did good.

Taylor Shellfish donated the oysters for the day (Thanks, Taylor Shellfish!).  The fruit and cheese plates are always a popular item and this year’s addition of grilled salmon plates went over well also.  It was so hard to choose desserts! Jazz & Oysters is a fundraiser for Water Music Festival, when the group brings chamber music to the Peninsula in free and low-cost concerts, so the donations of oysters and desserts from many area restaurants were most welcome.

Click any image for a closer look.  Click it again for an even closer look.

Grab a blanket or a beach chair and stretch out on the grassy lawn of Oysterville’s historic schoolhouse (the whole village is on the National Historic Register).  Listen to first-rate musicians, wondering how this little team that could gets such top-notch entertainment to tiny Oysterville.  Get up and dance if ya wanna (I will!).

Meanwhile, smell oysters cooking on a huge outdoor grille, have a beer, wine or soda, maybe a shrimp or crab cocktail, some fruit & cheese, and some amazing desserts…

It’s one of those “Lazy Days of Summer” sort of experiences that have me continually saying this is “the beach of my childhood”.  AND, the event is a fundraiser for Water Music Festival in October, when the group brings classical music to the Peninsula in free and low-cost concerts, making it accessible to everyone.

This year, the brilliant merchants of Ilwaco, on the southern end of this spit of sand, have added a Saturday evening event called Blues & Seafood.  I’m sooo looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us tonight!

Don Nisb

Nisbett, of Ilwaco’s Crew House Gallery, did an outstanding job on the poster art.  I think Gayle and team are putting the original artwork up on eBay.  The t-shirts and sweatshirts bore the artwork and looked great (zap a note to jake@funbeach.com if you want to buy one), but the art posters are the really impressive part.  Don signed a limited edition of 400 and they’re only $25!

Things heated up in the evening with Wendy Murry’s adult program.  There was a body art show, quite the burlesque show (at least one City Council member was seen with blushed cheeks…), music by the Portland’s own psychedelic garage punk band “Snow Bud” and then there was Dingo… I’m not sure how to describe that delightful freak of nature.

Jake has been a favorite of visitors to Long Beach for as long as I can remember.  I see Jake bumper stickers all over Portland and even saw one in Los Angeles last month.  It’s great to see him getting his due.  Thanks, Gayle & Wendy, for putting together such a great event!  If you didn’t catch Jake’s interview with the Chinook Observer, or see the photos of him visiting friends around the Peninsula, it’s worth a click.

Photos of Jake’s birthday Jam are on funbeach.com/events/jake.

I spent today in Long Beach, enjoying two fabulous birthday parties.  First, it was off to the South Pacific County Humane Society, for Luigi’s birthday:

Most visitors to the shelter know Luigi, our beloved shelter mascot. He came to the shelter over 10 years ago as a young tom cat, and just kept hanging around… Luigi supervised the building, and “helped” the workers with their lunches. It wasn’t long after the shelter opened, that we noticed that we seemed to be receiving an unusual number of little “Luigi look-a-likes” as strays from the area surrounding the shelter. It seemed our young tom cat with the great mustache was a big hit with the local kitty ladies. We weren’t sure if Luigi belonged to anyone, but we figured if we had him “tutored” he might get mad and go home…

Well, Luigi didn’t leave- he loved the shelter and has remained with us throughout the years. He still “helps” with staff lunches, and meets and greets our visitors. He is also an avid hunter, and often brings us “presents” from the wetlands.

These open houses are also to show our appreciation for our loyal supporters. Without you, our doors would not still be open, and we would not be able to provide good care for needy animals. Please join us so that we can say “thank-you” in person. And, oh, Luigi says you can bring him presents if you want…

I’ve got to say, the shelter volunteers did an outstanding job decorating the place.  Everywhere I turned there were photo boards with stories of Luigi.  Hot dogs were being served amongst a flurry of cat-print balloons.  Raffle tickets were being sold in a colorful display out front.  Happy people wandered beneath festive crepe paper streamers, meeting animals and remarking on recent remodeling projects.  And the food!  Geez Louise!  Those folks really outdid themselves with trays of goodies everywhere.  Throw them a bone if you have an extra lying around.  They are a completely community-funded no-kill shelter.

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