Lori Tobias

Lori Tobias is a journalist of many years, and was a staff writer for The Oregonian for more than a decade, and a columnist and features writer for the Rocky Mountain News. Her memoir “Storm Beat – A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast” was published in 2020 by Oregon State University press. She is also the author of the novel Wander, winner of the 2017 Nancy Pearl Book Award for literary fiction and a finalist for the 2017 International Book Awards for new fiction. She lives on the Oregon Coast with her husband Chan and Rescue pups Gus and Lily.

Sea fever: Big Blue Film Festival brings 34 films about the ocean to Newport

The Jan. 24-25 festival aims to raise awareness about challenges facing the ocean while fostering hope in viewers.

With everything from bluegrass stars Della Mae to instrumental workshops, the Florence Winter Music Festival promises to be a hootenanny

Ticketed events are nearly sold out, but the festival, which starts Thursday, also includes workshops and free jam sessions.

Woven, stitched, and recycled: Fiber Fest brings fabric art to the Newport Visual Arts Center    

The show opens Saturday in four galleries and includes quilts, Siletz basketry, weavings, and wearable art, as well as classes.

Painter Shirl Ireland: From the Adirondacks to Nehalem’s NCRD Gallery, by way of Yellowstone

The recent arrival to the North Coast has her first Oregon show, “Ode to Mother Nature,” at the gallery through Dec. 31.

Happy theater holidays on the Oregon Coast

Theaters in Nehalem, Cannon Beach, and Newport welcome the season (and audiences) with some timely onstage comedy, family-friendly nostalgia, and a live radio-style "Wonderful Life."

Newport’s Pacific Maritime Heritage Center chronicles history of Black sailors

"Take Me to the Water," on display through Jan. 12, includes panels on Oregonians Louis Southworth and Alvin McCleary.

Kids Make Theatre: In Astoria, teaching the performing arts, igniting a passion

Since April 2023, the Liberty Theatre’s low-cost program has brought theater, dance – and self-confidence – to North Coast kids.

Latimer Quilt & Textile Center: A little-known hive of fiber-arts activity near Tillamook

Housed in an old schoolhouse containing looms, a library, a gallery, and gift shop, the center is one of 10 working fiber arts museums in the United States.

Elakha Alliance’s art auction raises funds to bring sea otters back to Oregon Coast

Online bidding starts Monday for work by two dozen artists, including a Lee Kersh ukulele, culminating in a Sept. 28 event in Newport.

Oregon Mural Trail reaches Lincoln City with new painting commemorating kite festival

The 26-by-62-foot work along U.S. 101 brings to 10 the murals designed to bring artwork to life in rural locations around the state.

At 93, Newport artist Ed Cameron prepares for his first solo show, at the Yaquina River Museum of Art

The author, musician, actor, as well as artist, has been sketching since he was inspired by “Terry and the Pirates” as a child.

Hoffman Center for the Arts: Manzanita’s cultural heart celebrates 20 years, looks to future expansion

Saturday’s anniversary party will include fun ranging from horticultural-themed bingo to magnet poetry, from life drawing to historical presentations.

Sitka Center for Art and Ecology will expand youth art program this fall to serve nine Oregon Coast school districts

Sitka's success has inspired a new dance program in the Knappa School District to be taught by Astoria Arts and Movement Center instructors.

Sculptors M.J. Anderson and Christopher Belluschi prepare for Hoffman Center for the Arts Artist Studio Tour

Belluschi found a mentor in Anderson, an acclaimed artist who divides her time between Carrara, Italy, and Nehalem on the Oregon Coast. The two are among more than a dozen artists participating in the July 20 tour.

Stuffed to the gunwales, Astoria’s Columbia River Maritime Museum prepares to launch $30 million expansion

The museum’s plans to nearly double in size will increase exhibits and add classroom space to serve maritime enthusiasts, children, and researchers alike.

Marine weaver: Newport artist Rebecca Hooper turns commercial fishing line into functional and decorative art

What began with doormats made from discarded maritime gear has grown to include baskets, wall art, and jellyfish. A fiber arts show at the Lincoln City Cultural Center features her Gypsea Weaver work.

Floats ahoy: Gems from a rare collection go up for sale

More than 70 glass Japanese fishing floats collected by the late James L. Watson will be sold to benefit the North Lincoln County Historical Museum.

Newport Visual Arts Center celebrates work of emerging Indigenous creators Chantele Rilatos, Isabella Saavedra, Leonard D. Harmon, Leland Butler, and Booker Bartow

The four-gallery show opens June 1 and includes photography, videography, installation, painting, and basketry.

Astoria Arts and Movement Center: Historic Odd Fellows Building becomes a center for dance and community

More than 90,000 votes helped the nonprofit gain funds to restore the long-neglected building, where the majestic ballroom now hosts classes ranging from ballet to Zumba.

PNW Community Coral Reef Project uses soft sculpture to share hard truths about endangered ecosystem

The installation by Christina Harkness and Shanna Smith Suttner opens March 22 at the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem, before returning to Lincoln City in August.

Heart of Cartm’s Trash Bash Art Festival in Nehalem makes recycling fun — and fashionable

Entries are open for May’s “Rising from the Trashes” event, which includes an art gallery, fashion show, and storytelling – all spotlighting trash.

Sylvia Beach Hotel: Books and beds in Newport’s Nye Beach neighborhood

On March 14, tours and an open house will celebrate the 37th anniversary of the hotel that lifelong friends Goody Cable and Sally Ford took from flophouse to world famous.

North Lincoln County Historical Museum contains multitudes, from pioneers to Pixieland

The quirky museum includes what may be the largest glass fishing float collection in the Northwest and an exhibit about a 1930s celebration of redheads.

‘Au Naturel’ show of nudes returns to Astoria’s Royal Nebeker gallery with a twist and a tribute

The exhibition’s first iteration since the pandemic opens Feb. 1 as an invitational event and honors Henk Pander, the Northwest art giant who died last year.

Arnold Pander on his father, Henk Pander: “The connective tissue is storytelling”

The father and son artists share gallery space in the “Au Naturel” show of nude art opening Feb. 1 in Astoria’s Royal Nebeker Art Gallery.

Sharon ‘Shay’ Knorr: ‘Storytelling can change the world’

In upcoming workshops in Cannon Beach and Astoria, the self-described "story doula" will help participants hone personal tales of their hero's journey.

‘Telephone Game’ calls on artists to interpret another’s work

A photograph begets a mosaic begets quilted fiber art in an iterative exhibit at the Lincoln City Cultural Center.

Siletz Bay Music Festival concert to honor conductor Yaacov “Yaki” Bergman

Two February performances of "My Words Are My Sword" will celebrate Black History Month and the memory of the long-time festival conductor, who died in September.

‘Moving Image Show’ parades Newport’s history across windows of Pacific Maritime Heritage Center

The 12-minute show, free and visible from the Bayfront, brings to life images of Native Americans, loggers, fishing fleets, and farmers.

Tom Webb, former director of Newport Visual Arts Center, dies at 58

Webb's colleagues remember him as a passionate and creative supporter of the arts.