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Newport Oregon is an ocean front town incorporated in 1882 on the
Oregon coast that many artists call home. Newport has developed a vibrant
arts community of working artists, talented young people, exuberant
volunteers and dedicated audiences. Together they produce a year-round
season of theatre, music, dance, exhibitions, readings and lectures. From
Circus Biserkus, a youth touring troupe, to the splendid Yaquina Chamber
Orchestra, there is something for everyone.
The Newport Performing Arts Center frequently welcomes performers of
international stature to its stage. With the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop,
the center is itself a wonderful addition to the Historic Nye Beach
District of Newport. In the 400-seat Alice Silverman Hall or the
experimental Studio Theatre, a progression of actors, dancers and
musicians present classic and experimental work. The
Newport area boasts the picturesque Yaquina Bay the Pacific Ocean and
offers an endless variety of recreational activities. Fishing, crabbing,
clamming, boating, sailing, canoeing, bike riding, kite flying,
tide pooling or walking on the beach are all excellent ways to "re-charge"
your batteries. Or walk along the bay front and check out "Ripley's
Believe it or Not", the Undersea Garden, visit the galleries, restaurants
and many quaint and unique shops. For the fisherman, Sport fishing is
available offshore, on-shore or up the rivers. Newport attracts fishermen
from throughout the world.
The Pacific Ocean is an ideal spot for surfing and windsurfing with hilly
landscapes and ocean breeze's that combine to make a perfect environment
for hang gliding. Also, An abundance of state parks and campgrounds
provide summertime retreats, where camping and hiking are favorite
pastimes.
Red Octopus Theatre hosts an annual Original Scripts Workshop that
entices playwrights from throughout the United States to develop new
plays. Porthole Players, Ltd. produces two musicals and Summer stock.
Patterns, a teen theatre troupe, and Matinee Theatre for Seniors. Three
dance companies assure that Newport is "on its toes." Dance! And All That
Jazz!, Oregon Coast Ballet Company and Pacific Dance Ensemble have both
performance and teaching branches.
The Bay Music Association has two branches - Yaquina Chamber
Orchestra, presenting a winter series of concerts with guest artists, and
the Ernest Bloch Music Festival at Newport. This annual July event honors
one of the 20th Century's greatest composers, who spent the final
twenty-five years of his life in Newport. The Festival features a
Composer's Symposium, the only event of its kind west of the Rockies.
Community bands and choral groups, including an award winning chapter of
Sweet Adeline's also provide terrific local entertainment.
The best in foreign and art films are seen at the Newport Performing Arts
Center in the annual International Winter Series and June's week-long Film
Festival, sponsored by Oregon Media Art Resources. Hundreds of visual and
fine craft artists are represented in the galleries of Newport. The
Newport Visual Arts Center, with its public access photography lab,
studios and gallery, is the hub for the many workshops, classes and
exhibitions offered by the Yaquina Arts Association, Turnaround Artists'
Co-Operative, the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts and many independent
artists.
Newport is home to the renowned children's writer Richard Kennedy. Local
poets, novelists and non-fiction writers produce a variety of regular
publications, including "Inkfish" and the "Comic News."
For an educational adventure and an opportunity to learn more about the
wonderful marine life of the Newport area, residents and visitors alike
enjoy walking through the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Hatfield Marine
Science Center, participating in one of the many marine discovery
adventures or visiting the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. Yaquina
Head offers nature trails, tide-pools (fully accessible to the
handicapped) and an excellent shore-side viewpoint for whale watching.
 Newport area history:
As early as 1856, Yaquina Bay was visited by the sailing vessel Calumet,
laden with supplies for Lieutenant Phil Sheridan and the nearby military
garrison. When the Yaquina Bay oyster beds were discovered in 1862, great
profits were made by exporting the delicacy to San Francisco and
elsewhere. Yaquina Bay was opened to white settlement in 1864. Resorts
soon followed, paving the way for Newport's incorporation in 1882 and
establishing the community as a premier tourist destination along the
Oregon Coast. Newport's subsequent development centered around three
distinct areas: The Bayfront, Nye Beach and the Highway 101 Corridor.
 Nye Beach is located on the ocean's edge with lighthouses defining its
north and south ends, Nye Beach was once a separate, smaller community
removed from the Bayfront. When Newport began to outgrow the Bayfront in
the 1890's, a wood plank road was constructed connecting the two. In the
early 1900's, this area was the number one tourist attraction on the coast
- salt water taffy stores, concessions, agate shops and penny arcades all
thrived on Nye Beach. It was also the home of many well known rooming
houses and resorts. When Herbert Hoover's stepfather, Dr. Henry J.
Minthorn, built a large "sanatorium" in the area, tourists flocked in
large numbers to soak in heated sea water or bask in the sun on the
glass-enclosed veranda.
Much of the ambiance, the cottages and resorts which attracted the
summer people to Nye Beach many years ago remain. |
