Bandon's Circles In The Sand Releases 2023 Schedule - S. Oregon Coast, Video

Published 04/19/23 at 9:02 PM - Updated 04/19/23 at 9:06 PM

(Bandon, Oregon) – [Updated To Include Timelapse Video] For a little over a decade now, these artisan-created sand circles have graced the southern Oregon coast during the spring / summer seasons, causing a stir at Bandon's Face Rock area that's built up to almost rock star status. They're a big deal now. (Photos courtesy Circles in the Sand)

From meager, introverted beginnings as a kind of meditation for local artist Denny Dyke, Bandon's Circles In The Sand are now a major tourism draw to the wee fishing village. The peace-inducing phenomenon has grown to the point where sometimes regional media is actually requested to not cover it.

Now, Circles In The Sand readies to start again and has released its 2023 schedule for the season. It all begins this weekend on April 21, a day before Earth Day. From there, it mostly happens for four days in a row, much of the time starting with that Friday or Saturday. However, it gets tricky in late summer, starting on different days of the week.

See the Circles in the Sand 2023 schedule below or click on the site.

April 21 - 9 a.m.
April 22 - 9 a.m.
April 23 - 10 a.m.

May 6 - 9 a.m.
May 7 - 9 a.m.
May 8 - 10 a.m.

Full schedule for June, July and August click on the site.

What's happening during these Circles In The Sand?

There are about four different artists and a handful of volunteers that come together two hours before the walks begin, creating labyrinth-like drawings in the sand that otherwise known as “dreamfields.” They painstakingly etch elaborate, detailed works of art in the sand – known as a “draw.”

It's still mostly about meditation, even if there are dozens and dozens of folks around you at Face Rock Viewpoint. The point is to quietly walk the labyrinths in the sand, contemplating yourself or the greater universe, engaging in moments of peace.

Their website says you should set aside 20 minutes of meditation on foot here, and the actual window of availability to walk them is generally touted as two hours. However, it's dependent on the tides, which could cut or elongate the time.

What you have is an irresistible atmosphere of south Oregon coast breezes and the surreal, engaging rock structures of Bandon's Face Rock Viewpoint all around. If this isn't a soul-cleansing, re-energizing activity - then who knows what on Earth could be? Jagged spires and a couple of sea caves add spice to the whole thing, and of course the looming presence of Face Rock in the background is something you can't unsee.

Subjects featured in the draws are varied and differ every time, though the point is always an expression of love or peace. Sea creatures to highly esoteric designs of shapes you've never seen before are given life in the sands.

Dyke has said in the past there is never a plan: artists hit the sands and simply start moving. It's a brilliant stream-of-consciousness kind of approach that verges on the kind of improvisation that makes for outstanding jazz moments.

He started all this around 2010 has a personal form of meditation, and just to see if he could accomplish something artful in the sands. Over time, his experiments grew bigger and bigger crowds, until he finally turned it into a business in 2015 and then created this yearly, highly-anticipated south Oregon coast staple.

Video courtesy Manuela Durson - see Manuela Durson Fine Arts for more

Parking at the south Oregon coast hotspot is often at a premium, and that has become rather intense in the year or so since COVID restrictions relaxed. So a shuttle is once again utilized. It's now the second year in a row for the bus.

“The shuttle will be running all three days, which is the best parking option,” the organization said in its blog. “What could be better than a free 'park and ride?' Our shuttle driver, Jim Knox, is a wealth of information about things to do and places to go in Bandon.”

Further schedules and information are on the Circle In The Sands website.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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