Oregon Coast TODAY

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but here’s an exception: the power lines on the west end of Bay Boulevard, on Newport’s Historic Bayfront. We don’t miss them at all. Since they were sent underground, as part of the massive sewer and water replacement project, the Bayfront’s sky is bigger, the street seems wider and the nautical murals are more striking than ever. Capturing this transformation in a photograph was beyond my skills, however – the sensation of erasure is difficult to express. You just have to see it for yourself, at this Friday’s Bayfront Grand Re-opening Party. Bring a donation for Food Share, walk the grand piazza and toast those missing power lines with a tall Rogue root beer. Ribbon cutting at 4 p.m., party at Abbey St. Pier until 6 p.m. See story, pages 4 and 5.

Well, butter my muffin – it’s June Dairy Parade time again? They say that 2010 will be “Butter Than the Rest” of the 52 festivals that went before. I Can’t Believe It’s Not. This is an event with plenty of tradition, from the YMCA Milk Run to the Royal Rosarians’ visit, plus the children’s parade and the big march down Main Street. The cream of the cowboy crop will be there, too, for the Tillamook County Rodeo. There will be events to churn through all weekend long. See story, page 10.

Martha, Connee and Helvetia, meet Jen, Lara and Erin. The first three ladies were the talented Boswell Sisters, who were one of the hottest harmony groups of the 1930s. The last three are the Stolen Sweets, a modern-day vocal trio coming to the Yachats Commons on Saturday, June 26. The latters are inspired by the formers, but they truly have their own sweet sound. 7 p.m., W. Fourth St. and Hwy. 101, $20, sold at Raindogs and Toad Hall in Yachats, Waldport Video and Groove Music in Waldport, and Red Lotus Music in Newport. To learn more, call 541-961-4258. For more, see story, page 21.

Now that school’s out, and the crowds are back on the coast, things are getting busy. You may even suspect you’ve discovered the secret to perpetual motion. If so, just stop — I mean, who needs to defy gravity? — to enjoy a little Summer Night’s Jazz on Saturday. This event is presented by Perpetua Jazz in cooperation with the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts, as a benefit for Jazz at Newport. This favorite local ensemble (just finishing their new album “Stranger Than Fiction”) will share the stage with singer/songwriter Halie Loren, laying her velvet vocals over music by Matt Treder on keyboards and Mark “Mo” Schneider on bass. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 26, at the Newport Performing Arts Center, 777 W. Olive St. To reserve your tickets, call 541-265-ARTS.

You’re invited to a rockin’ fire festival in Rockaway this weekend. P.S. It’s not Burning Man. But there will be a hunka hunka burnin’ love, when Elvis impersonator Rod Shaver takes the stage on Saturday night. Also on the program: “Cher” (Heather Strutnik of Portland), and locals Anne, Bill and Greg Swain, Lynda Bennett, Bruce Kelly, Maggie Patrick, Roland Kipling, Rose Lewis, Will Cooley, Karen Fanning, Denise Percell, Alena Ferguson-Sheldon and Mike Brown. There will also be a craft fair on Saturday and Sunday, and a pancake breakfast on Sunday, all to benefit the Rockaway Beach Volunteer Fire Department. Doors to the Saturday night concert open at 5 p.m., music at 5:30 p.m., $10 in advance, $12 at the door, 503-355-2291.