Wine and Seafood Festival

Bandon’s annual Wine and Seafood Festival happens every Memorial Day weekend at the Community Center in City Park off 11th Street West in Bandon. The event is free and includes live music, horse-drawn buggy rides, arts-and-crafts booths, and wine-tasting. Contact the chamber of commerce (541/347-9619) for details.

Sandcastle Contest

The same weekend, competitors in the Sandcastle Contest create amazing sculptures out of sand, water, and imagination. This takes place on the beach off Beach Loop Drive at Seabird Lane. Construction starts at 9 a.m.; judging is at 1 p.m.

Fourth of July

A fish fry, kayak and driftboat races, a parade, and a classic car and motorcycle show are highlights of Bandon’s Fourth of July celebration; at dusk, fireworks are launched across the Coquille to burst above the river.

Cranberry Festival

The biggest weekend of the year for Bandonians comes the second weekend in September, when the Cranberry Festival (541/347-9616) brings everyone together in Old Town for a parade, a crafts fair, tours of a cranberry farm, and the Bandon High Cranberry Bowl—in which the local footballers take on traditional rival Coquille High.

Festival of Lights

During the late November–early January holiday season, the merchants of Old Town and anglers deck their stores and boats with twinkling lights in the traditional Festival of Lights. Particularly striking is the Coquille River Lighthouse, lit up across the water like a Christmas tree.