Art Oysters And Brews In Toledo

Toledo’s Arts, Oysters and Brews festival is coming back to Main Street with more vendors, family activities and a bigger budget, organizers told the Toledo City Council at its recent meeting.

The two-day street festival will close a section of Main Street and run until 5 p.m. each day. Music and food trucks will be set up in the city parking lot with a kids zone across the street in a dedicated family area.

Stacey Keating appeared on behalf of the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County who reported to the council the organizers have put together a multi-channel marketing campaign to draw visitors to downtown Toledo.

“For marketing for this event, we have a press release that was sent to 15 media outlets,” Keating said. Other outreach includes:

• A display ad in the July issue of Oregon Coast Today• Event posters distributed around the region• Radio spots on “The Otter,” and KSURF • Social media promotion through partner organizations• and Large banners at city entrances.

Food, drink and vendors

On the food and beverage side, organizers say the “oysters and brews” label is being backed by local restaurants and brewers. Charlie at the Timbers is handling the oysters and brews portion of the event. Additional offerings include:

• Fish and Stars• Other local food and drink vendors, including at least one brewer• Cobblestone Pizza, which is offering $2 off large pizzas during the event

The festival will host 18 vendors this year, up from 11 last year. That list includes three nonprofits and 15 artists.

The vendor registration deadline is July 27. The Toledo Library will staff a booth in the kids zone on Saturday.

Budget and sponsorships

Katie said the event is backed by a combination of city support and private sponsorship.

“GP agreed to sponsor the kids community mural,” she told the council. “They are giving us $2,000, which includes artist time, supplies, and then two new canopies because the old ones weren’t holding up super well last year.”

Organizers are now turning their focus to volunteers to help staff welcome booths, support vendors and provide basic first aid and information. “The Toledo Chamber has generously offered a $10 tip percentage to folks for volunteering,”

The festival will feature two welcome booths this year — one at the top of the event area, where organizers are especially hoping to place volunteers, and a second operated by the Chamber at the lower end of the street.

Councilors were encouraged to take shifts at the welcome booth, both to help the event and to meet residents and visitors. “We love it if you guys wanted to volunteer for it,” Keating told them. Organizers expect attendance to grow this year and plan to use “clickers” at both entrances to track how many people come through the festival footprint.

More information on volunteer sign-ups and vendor registration is expected to be posted by the city and the Toledo Chamber.