'Loyalty & Liberty'
Newport readies for
Loyalty Day celebration
[Updated April 30, 2008]
Full Loyalty Days Events Schedule, Below
Is the city of Newport loyal to crab? Most certainly, so it is befitting that the annual Newport Loyalty Day celebration began as a celebration of crustaceans, back in 1938. To promote the Dungeness, the city gave away halves by the thousands on May 1, the same day that Communist Party workers took to the streets in the Soviet Union. Newport’s version was jokingly called Red Crab Day.
After World War II, however, the “reds” and their May Day rallies hardly seemed amusing and, fortunately for local fishermen, the crab was too expensive to give away. Instead, local businesses chose to promote patriotism and love of country by adopting the new Loyalty Day, invented by Veterans of Foreign Wars chapters on the east coast as a counter to May Day demonstrations.
Every year since 1956, veterans, students, families and soldiers have gathered in the first weekend in May to reaffirm their loyalty to the U.S. of A. The 2008 Newport Loyalty Day and Sea Fair Festival begins on Thursday, May 1, and lasts through the weekend, including an installation of the “Field of Honor,” the annual grand parade and fun run, U.S. Coast Guard station tours, carnival and more.
‘Legacy of Liberty’
The theme of this year’s event was inspired by the address delivered by President George W. Bush on Loyalty Day 2007.
“America was founded by patriots who risked their lives to bring freedom to our nation. Today, our citizens are grateful for our Founding Fathers and confident in the principles that lead us forward. On Loyalty Day, we celebrate the blessings of freedom and remember our responsibility to continue our legacy of liberty,” Bush said.
To honor the “Legacy of Liberty,” the Newport Loyalty Day and Sea Fair Festival committee asked the Veterans of Oregon to install its Field of Honor. Each flag placed in this traveling memorial has flown over the U.S. Capitol building, and many have been sponsored by the families of Oregon veterans. This Field of Honor installation will consist of 500 flags flown in a grassy field at Hwy. 101 and Abbey Street, dedicated in a sunset ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 1. It will remain in place through Sunday, May 4.
Local veterans, and their friends and families, will be gathering on Friday evening for a Newport tradition: the candlelight memorial reading at Don Davis Park, the oceanfront park at the west end of Olive Street, next to the Performing Arts Center. Starting at 9 p.m., volunteers will be reading the names of the 1,000 Oregonians who died in the Vietnam War.
The Veterans of Oregon will also be conducting an Honorable Service Medal ceremony, which has developed as a way for the public to say “thank you” to those who served in the armed forces, both at home and abroad. Each veteran who takes part will receive an engraved medal from the group during the ceremony, which is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
For information on either event, call Tony Molina at 541-444-2828.
Cruisin’ down Coast Highway
The “Legacy of Liberty” theme extends to the 52nd annual parade, which will begin at noon at NE 20th St. and march south down Coast Hwy. (Hwy. 101), through the central business district toward the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Representatives from the 13 chapters of the Oregon Vietnam Veterans will march, with special spots reserved for those who served in Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and their families. The Grand Marshals are a group of highly-decorated veterans (at press time, there were 23) who will be driven in shiny chariots courtesy of the Bay City Cruisers and the Oregon Coast Corvette Club.
Other guests of honor include the Newport Loyalty Day Senior Court: Katie Giles, Reanne Meier and Karissa Pierce. Organizers are expecting at least 60 entries, including several bands and a color guard, as well as the usual collection of community groups, clowns and Shriners.
Those who are in the marching mood but don’t want to enter the parade can sign up for the Coast Hills Running Club’s 2 Mile Fun Run/Walk. Participants report to the Sports Therapy Wellness Center (next to Les Schwab near the Yaquina Bay Bridge), register and take a shuttle to the starting line next to Wal-Mart (the last shuttle leaves at 11:30 a.m.). They run, jog or walk down a traffic-free Hwy. 101 starting at 11:45 a.m., and finish in time to watch the parade that will follow them.
If parade floats inspire you to see a few boats, you’re in luck. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter “Fir,” a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender, is scheduled to travel from its home port, Astoria, for the weekend. This Juniper Class tender maintains buoys from Coos Bay to Seattle, providing essential aids for navigation for commercial and private traffic. The crew will be hosting an open house at its dock at the Port of Newport (off Bay Boulevard) on Saturday, May 3, from 1 to 4 p.m.
The historic U.S. Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay, at the west end of Bay Boulevard) and its vessels will also be open for inspection. Their open house is set for 2 to 5 p.m., and they plan a motor lifeboat demonstration in the bay from 4 to 5 p.m. All this, plus two classic car show ‘n shines — both in parking lots on Hwy. 101 — and four days of carnival rides and games at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds, courtesy of Davis Family Shows.
For more information, head to www.loyaltydays.com.
52nd Annual Newport
Loyalty Day & Sea Fair Festival
May 1st through 4th 2008
Thursday, May 1
All Day Ship Arrivals at Yaquina Bay
4 p.m Midnight Davis shows Carnival: Lincoln County Fairgrounds
6:30 p.m. Field of Honor – Family Members Post Flags Sunset ceremony – Hwy 101 & S.E. Abby Street.
Friday, May 2
Noon to Midnight Davis Shows Carnival: Lincoln County Fairgrounds
7:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. Queen’s Coronation – Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W Olive Street
9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Vietnam Veterans Chapter #411 – Don Davis Park, across the street from the Performing Arts Center.Reading of the names of Oregon veterans who lost their lives in Vietnam.
Saturday, May 3
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oregon Coast Corvettes: “Catch the Wave” Show and Shine at Gold Motors.
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bay City Cruisers: “Show and Shine” PUD Parking Lot.
Noon Fun Run, Coast Hills Running Club Begins at Pacific Plaza – To register, call 541-265-3506.
Noon to Midnight Davis Shows Carnival: Lincoln County Fairgrounds.
Noon to 2 p.m. Loyalty Day Parade – Hwy 101
1 to 4 p.m. USC Cutter FIR - Open House
2 to 5 p.m. U.S. Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay – Open House
3:30 p.m. Honorable Service Medal Presentation – Newport Armory – All veterans are welcome
4 to 5 p.m. U.S. Coast Guard Station Yaquina Bay- Motor life boat demonstration.
8:30 p.m. Mr. Bill’s Trivia – Rogue Ale Public House, special prizes with military I.D.
Sunday, May 4
Noon to Midnight Davis Shows Carnival: Lincoln County Fairgrounds
TBA Rogue Brewery: “ This is War, A Soldiers Story”
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