2022 GORSE BLOSSOM FESTIVAL DELAYED

The Greater Bandon Association is delaying the 2022 Gorse Blossom Festival from its planned February dates as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the state and our area. While enthusiasm for the event remains very high, it is difficult to ensure participants, vendors, musicians and our many volunteers that we can provide a healthy and safe environment for the festival. It also affects advanced ticket sales, necessary for our event planning.

We do want to proceed with an event this year. People are ready to party; vendors are losing money with all the cancelations and musicians are anxious to perform in public again. Just as important is that Gorse removal and eradication remains of highest priority on the South coast.

We have been and continue to plan. We understand we may have to change our venue given the constraints on parking in the area, for example. We may also reduce the number of days or of festival hours, especially if we have to move off of a three-day weekend.

With all that said, we believe the show must go on. Just not on our originally planned dates of February 19-21. We will keep you posted.

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Bandon is gearing up to host the fourth annual Gorse Blossom Festival during President’s Day weekend, February 14th-16th. This is the festival that was voted Oregon’s Best Downtown Special Event in 2017 in its very first run.

Inside the Port of Bandon’s Old Town Marketplace you’ll find three incredible days of beer and wine samples from across the state, tasty bites from local restaurants, live music from the southern Oregon coast’s best bands, and some quirky entertainment that you won’t find anywhere else. Tickets are $10 for a day’s admission and includes a commemorative glass to be used for your beer and wine sampling.  The festival is from 3-9pm Friday, noon – 9pm Saturday, and 11am-4pm Sunday.

The Festival kicks off Thursday with a free Science Pub, hosted at Bandon Brewing by the Gorse Action Group from 6 – 7:30pm. GAG will detail why “gorse is gross” and speak specifically to efforts and solutions for gorse abatement within Bandon and Coos County. This interactive presentation is open to everyone.

The highlight of the festival continues to be the Bloody Mary Stroll, which kicks off Sunday morning at 10am.  Tickets remain at $30 and include a 25-oz commemorative mug, t-shirt, entry into the festival, and a massive Bloody Mary made with Stillwagon Distillery Vodka and loaded with over-the-top garnishes from Old Town businesses. The stroll sells out each year and tickets must be purchased in advance and online at gorseblossomfest.com.

Several Old Town Bandon bars and restaurants are also joining the fun. Several will feature dinner specials, and some bars will keep the party going after the festival with drink specials or live music.

You might be wondering though, “why are we having a festival celebrating gorse?” Well, if you don’t know, gorse is a nasty invasive seen throughout our area that is highly flammable, painful to the touch, and nearly impossible to remove. We don’t like it. We would even say we hate it! But, it’s here, it’s part of our heritage, and we often get visitors who know nothing about it.

Luckily, Bandon has some incredible resources for dealing with this plant, including the Gorse Action Group. They’ll be at the festival along with others providing some not-so-fun facts about the plant, education about what it is and what to do with it, and, most importantly, will teach you how to stop the spreading of it.

Greater Bandon Association’s executive director Harv Schubothe says “the Gorse Blossom Festival is one of the major events to get heads in our lodging beds during the shoulder season when we have fewer visitors coming to town to shop and stay.”

Major sponsors for this year’s festival include Wild Rivers Coast Alliance, Cardas Audio, Banner Bank and Bain Insurance. This festival is presented by the Greater Bandon Association. For more information, visit the website at: http://www.gorseblossomfest.comor send an email to info@gorseblossomfest.com.