Updated: Central Oregon Coast Glass Floats Return, Flood Lincoln City with Color

Published 10/10/2017 at 1:37 PM PDT - Updated 10/11/2017 at 2:28 PM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Lincoln City, Oregon) – (Updated with Weekend Weather and Lodging Info). The Oregon Coast is about to get colorful, with Lincoln City's Finders Keepers glass floats getting dropped on the beaches again, starting back up this weekend: October 14. This is the 19th year of the signature promotion, which again runs through Memorial Day 2018.

2,018 officially numbered glass floats will be carefully hidden along the seven-and-a-half miles of pristine beach in Lincoln City, from Roads End on the north side of town to Siletz Bay on the south end. Floats can be found above the high tide line and below the beach embankment, and are always hidden during daylight hours. If you find a glass float: you keep it.

New to this year’s Finders Keepers season is The Hot Shop. Located in Newport, The Hot Shop is the creative outlet for artist Jeff Hajek, who is stoked to be selected as one of the official glass blowers.

“I always knew about Finders Keepers as a glass blower,” said Hajek. “When I was finally able to open my own studio, The Hot Shop, I was really excited to be selected as one of the featured artists.”

Hajek’s floats are a distinctive sort, a new look which visitors will enjoy hunting for.

“I like to mix things up when it comes to patterns and colors,” he said. “Unlike other art mediums, transparency is key to glass blowing. How natural light reflects through the glass is dependent on what colors and patterns you choose. For my Finders Keepers glass floats, I decided to go with ocean colors like blues and greens. If somebody finds one, hold it up to the sunlight and watch the colors shine through.”

What does Hajek look forward to most with Finders Keepers? He says it is interacting with the people who find his floats.

“I hope that they love the floats,” he said. “I am a very outgoing person and enjoy interacting with the folks who visit my studio. If someone finds one of my floats, I encourage them to visit The Hot Shop and learn more about glass blowing. It’s a mystical craft that has been around for thousands of years.”

As if daily float drops weren't enough, keep an eye out for special glass art drops throughout the next several months, which will boost the total count for this season to over 3,000. These special drops will include a combination of unnumbered glass floats, antique Japanese glass floats, sand dollars, crabs, starfish, and holiday-themed floats. For a schedule of upcoming drops visit www.oregoncoast.org/glass-floats.

On opening weekend, October 14th and 15th, an extra 100 glass floats will be carefully placed on the beach to kick off the season. In addition, a jumbo float will be hidden with a prize package attached. Find the jumbo float, and take home a weekend getaway courtesy of Lincoln City. The weekend getaway includes lodging, restaurant certificates, and a certificate to blow your own glass float in this central Oregon coast hotspot.

Share your glass treasure discoveries on Lincoln City's social media channels. Post a photo on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LincolnCityOregon, on Instagram or Twitter @LincolnCityOR.

The official handcrafted Finders Keepers glass floats will be signed and numbered, and when they are found, they become collector’s items. Register your glass treasure and you will receive a certificate of authenticity and a biography of the artist who created the float. To register your float, call 541-996-1274, visit Lincoln City's website, or text FLOATS to 24587. You can also bring your discovered treasure to the Visitor Information Center at 540 NE Hwy 101 in Lincoln City. If you have limited mobility or are unable to walk on the beach due to disability, stop by and fill out an entry form for a chance to win a glass float.

Finders Keepers began in 1999, when a local artist first thought of glass floats as an intriguing way to launch the new millennium. Lincoln City sponsored the project, hosting the inaugural season in 1999-2000. Each year, tourists continue to come from around the country to search for their own brightly colored, signed and numbered glass float.

The entire event is inspired by the glass floats from Japan historically found on Oregon coast beaches, until about the '80s. These were literal treasures from the far-east: blown glass floats in intriguing shades of green and blue. Used by Japanese fishermen to float their nets, these spheres were as small as two inches or as large as two feet. They were collected, polished, and admired; the ultimate find for any dedicated beachcomber. Today fishing vessels around the world use buoyant plastic, making glass floats a rare find – except in Lincoln City where these treasures can be found every October through May during the Finders Keepers season.

About Staying in Lincoln City This Weekend: Many hotels, motels and vacation rentals in Lincoln City are now at low October rates and major specials are starting to show up. See the Lincoln City Lodging page for bulletins on this. Some rentals and even a few hotels are starting to offer free nights after a certain minimum stay. These offers differ greatly: keep checking that page for further updates.

Weather on the central coast over the weekend is expected to be mostly sunny as well – still traces of the Second Summer phenomenon. Check Oregon Coast Weather.

For more information about Finders Keepers, visit OregonCoast.org or call 541-996-1274. Lincoln City Hotels/Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

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