By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON
This weekend, Ocean Shores enjoys its yearly transformation into “Seahawks City,” or maybe it’s “12s Town,” or simply the seaside scene of “Blue & Green by the Beach,” with the fourth annual Seahawks Fan Fest.
Based at the Ocean Shores Convention Center, the event takes over the entire peninsula with entertainment and activities from a kickoff tailgate party at Oyhut Bay Thursday to a pre-season game watching party and charity auction at Quinault Beach Resort & Casino Saturday.
Over 30 Seahawks alumni, family members and superfans will be in town to participate in a variety of activities including a golf tournament, mini golf, 5K run/walk, scavenger hunt, go-karts, bumper cars, bowling, charity fund-raising meals, the “Grand Parade” and a group picture to follow.
The weekend also features a kid zone, live music with the Back Burner Band and Pontiac Alley, Seattle radio personalities, DJs, the double-decker portable party known as the “Beast Bus,” line dancing performances by the Boot Boogie Babes, Galway Bay’s beer garden, and more than 70 vendors offering almost every kind of Seahawks merchandise imaginable.
The event grew out of a simple gathering of a few hundred Hawks fans on the beach at the Damon Road approach in August, 2014. The next year saw at least 5,000 attend the first Fan Fest at the Convention Center.
By the end of last year’s event, which drew an estimated 20,000 plus, it was clear to organizers that the Ocean Shores Fan Fest had outgrown the ability of a fan-based club to produce what had become an increasingly complex undertaking.
Last fall, a couple of fans in the Olympia area who happen to own and operate events and promotions companies, offered to get involved. Ultimately, Dan Lang and his DLS Media joined forces with Michael Goff’s Arsenal Promotions to create a non-profit company, Five Star Events, to facilitate continuing one of the original visions for Fan Fest, that it benefits various charities.
“I used to do music, concerts in the park, promoting entertainment and bands in Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia. Michael works with several current players and Fdoes special promotions with businesses,” Lang explained. “Friends of ours ran the event the last three years. Because it got to be too much for them, they were going to let it go. We are affiliated with them and we did not want to see it dissolve. When we heard this, we really wanted to be a part and keep it happening. We stepped up and they passed the baton to us.”
Lang said the event was in danger in May when QBRC reduced their sponsorship. The Ocean Shores City Council first turned down Five Star’s request for $10,000 in lodging tax funds that are earmarked for tourism promotion, then reversed itself and approved the funding at its May 29 meeting.
That hurdle behind them, Lang commented, “We’re really excited to get other people involved in the event. A ton of extra promotional things have gone into this that haven’t had in past. I think this is going to set a new bar for events in Ocean Shores.”
As the event’s primary beneficiary, Lang and Goff have chosen the Washington chapter of Sheep Dog Impact Assistance, a national non-profit organization of more than 5,000 members that, according to its website, “exists to engage, assist and empower the men and women who make up our nation’s military, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and EMS professions – society’s protectors, our ‘Sheep Dogs.’”
A spaghetti dinner from 5-8 p.m. Friday at the Convention Center will benefit Grays Harbor Teen Homeless Backpack, which distributes food-filled backpacks to local elementary, middle and high schools. A pancake breakfast from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday is Sponsored by the Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce with proceeds to benefit North Beach High School Cheerleading and TADD (Teens Against Destructive Decisions), and Green Lantern Lunches.
More information online at www.fanfestoceanshores.com.
Fan Fest schedule
Thursday, August 16
4-8 p.m.: Tailgate Kickoff Party at Oyhut Bay with live music by Blues Remedy, 6-8 p.m. (Free)
Friday, August 17
Convention Center:
10 a.m.: Galway Bay Outdoor Beer Garden open
12 Noon: Vendors and Kidzone open
12 Noon-10 p.m.: The Beast Bus with Landmark DJ in Convention Center front parking lot
5-8 p.m.: Spaghetti Dinner, proceeds benefit Grays Harbor Teen Homeless Backpack
6-10 p.m.: Blue Friday Party
Around town:
10-11 a.m.: Coffee with the Mamas @12th Woman Javahhh in IGA parking lot (Free)
1-3 p.m.: Mini Golf with Guests at Pacific Paradise Family Fun
3-4:30 p.m.: Go Karts & Bumper Cars with Matt Case, Larry Lomax and “Slick Hawk” at Play Time Family Fun
9 p.m.: Blue Friday Pub Crawl, presented by Ride the Waves Tours
Saturday August 18
Convention Center:
9 a.m.: Vendors and Kidzone open
9 a.m.: Scavenger Hunt, hosted by Shilo Inn, starting line at The Beast Bus
10 a.m.: Galway Bay Outdoor Beer Garden open
10:30 a.m.: Flag Raising Ceremony
11 a.m. -12 Noon: The Back Burner Band on Main Stage
1:30 p.m.: Group Photo after Parade
1:30- 8 p.m.: The Beast Bus/ Landmark DJ
2-3 p.m.: Pontiac Alley on Main Stage
3:15 p.m.: Boot Boogie Babes Dance Line at Beast Bus
3:30-5 p.m.: The Back Burner Band on Main Stage
5:15 p.m.: Boot Boogie Babes at Beast Bus
8 p.m.: Convention Center and parking lot close
Around town:
9-10 a.m.: Coffee with the Mamas at @12th Woman Javahhh in IGA parking lot (Free)
8-10 a.m.: VIP Golf Tournament at Ocean Shores Golf Club; scramble start with special guests, hosted by Chambers Bay head golf pro Brent Zepp
8 a.m.: Sharky’s 5k Run/Walk, start and finish line at Sharky’s
12:30-1:30 p.m.: Fan Fest Grand Parade, on Pt. Brown Ave. and Chance a La Mer Blvd.
3-5 p.m.: Bowling with the Mamas at Ocean Shores Bowl, hosted by the Dungeness SeaHawkers
Quinault Beach Resort & Casino:
6-7 p.m.: VIP Meet & Greet with Special Guests
7-10 p.m.: Seahawks Preseason Game — TV Viewing Event, Seahawks vs LA Chargers, with Special Guests. Auction to benefit Sheep Dog Impact Assistance.
Sunday, August 19
Convention Center:
8:30-11:30 a.m.: Pancake Breakfast, sponsored by Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce to benefit North Beach HS Cheerleading and TADD (Teens Against Destructive Decisions) and Green Lantern Lunches.
9 a.m.: DJ/ Music with Tom Ferguson KOSW 91.3 FM
9 a.m.: Vendors and Kidzone open
10-11 a.m.: Chapel Service, Christian faith-based service with music by Dan Lang & Velvet Matthews, message by Lorin Sandretzky (“BIG LO”)
3 p.m.: Event closes
Special guests
Alumni Players: Darrell Jackson, Joe Tafoya, Hillary Butler, Charlie McShane, Asst. Coach Dana LeDuc, Norm Johnson, Roy Lewis, Alex Bannister, Alonzo Mitz, Sammy Green, Randall Morris, Nate Boyer.
Special Guests: Mama (Mae) Milloy, Mama Kelly Britt- McCracken, Mama Lynch, Calvin and Gina Prosise, Matt Case, Larry Lomax, Mike Brown, and Matt Mikolas – AKA “Slick Hawk.”
Super Fans: Mama Blue, The Seahawks Rooster, Big Lo, Mr. and Mrs. Seahawk, Painted Hawk, Hawk in the Hat, Shannon Love and Sea-Squatch.
