Finders Keepers starts on October 15th. For opening weekend, our Float Fairies will hide an additional 100 floats on the beach. If you find one…you keep it!
Finders Keepers is one of Lincoln City’s defining events where you can find treasures on our seven mile stretch of beach from Roads End to Siletz Bay. Ever year from mid-October through Memorial Day we drop nearly 3,000 handcrafted glass floats made by local artisans for you to find and keep!
GLASS FLOATS ON THE BEACH
OCTOBER 15, 2016 – MAY 29, 2017
Let the hunt begin! Each year from mid-October to Memorial Day, discover glass treasures in Lincoln City. Our army of Float Fairies covertly hit our seven miles of public beach hiding handcrafted glass floats along their way, from Roads End on the north to Siletz Bay on the south.
While we put out over 3,000 floats each year, official floats, which are numbered, are placed reflected by the year – so 2,016 numbered floats were placed in 2016, 2,017 in 2017, etc…. You find it, you keep it!
HOW TO FIND GLASS FLOATS
THE BASIC RULES OF THE HUNT
- Floats can be found above the high tide line and below the beach embankment
- Floats are placed on the beach during daylight hours only.
- Floats are hidden throughout the day, not just at one time.
- Floats are out there every day rain or shine. On rare occasions weather and ocean conditions can create unsafe situations, official notice of any cancellations will be made on our social media channels and website.
When you find an official numbered float, give us a call at 800-452-2151, text FLOATS to 24587, visit our registration page or stop by the Visitor Information Center to register your treasure. You’ll receive a Certificate of Authenticity and information about the artist who crafted your float.
Don’t forget to share a photo on our Facebook, Instagram (LincolnCityOR) orTwitter (@LincolnCityOR) pages and use #FindersKeepersLC.
A FEW TIPS AND WORDS OF ADVICE
- We use the term “hide” loosely, we want our treasures to be found!
- Start your hunt at public beach access points.
- During special drops we place other kinds of glass art, look for sand dollars, sea stars, shells, crars and coins too
- Our Float Fairies hide floats at random times and locations…not even we know.
- If you find an official numbered float, the registration number is located on or near the “button” on the underside.
- Unnumbered floats and glass art pieces cannot be registered.
Bring everyone to the coast to experience the fun of float hunting. Start a new family tradition!
SPECIAL GLASS DROPS
In addition to the numbered floats, we place extra pieces of glass art on the beaches for holidays and special occasions. Special drops can include a combination of glass floats, sand dollars, crabs, sea stars, shells or coins.
Check out the special drop schedule for the 2016-2017 season.
TRASH FOR TREASURES & GLASS FLOAT DRAWINGS
Special drawings are held monthly at the Visitor Center for glass floats. Bring a bag of beach trash to the Visitor Center at 540 NE Hwy 101, and fill out an entry form to win a glass float as part of Trash for Treasures. People with disabilities who prefer not to beachcomb are also eligible to enter and win a monthly float drawing.
THE 2017 GLASS ARTISTS
FLOATS
Alder House Glassblowing: Treasure Collupy, Lincoln City, OR
The Edge Art Gallery: Ryan Bledsoe and Amanda Williams, Newport, OR
Fernhill Glass: Claude Kurtz, Astoria, OR
Flanigans Glass Gallery: Brett Flanigan, Lincoln City, OR
Gathering Glass Studio: Keith Gabor, Ashland, OR
Glass Oasis: Paris Birdwell, Otis, OR
Glass Quest: Mark and Marcus Ellinger, Stanwood, WA
Jennifer Sears Glass Art Studio: Kelly Howard, Jon Meyers, Daniel Millen, and James Benson, Lincoln City, OR
Oregon Coast Glassworks: William Murphy, Newport, OR
GLASS ART
Jennifer Sears Glass Art Studio: Kelly Howard, Jon Meyers, Daniel Millen, and James Benson, Lincoln City, OR
Mor Art: Dan Watts and Maurice Martinez, Lincoln City, OR
Glass Confusion: Marcia Glenn, Lincoln City, OR
HISTORY OF FINDERS KEEPERS
In days gone by, visitors searching Oregon’s beaches often found treasures from the east: blown glass floats in intriguing shades of green and blue. Used by Japanese fishing crews to float their nets, these spheres were as small as two inches or as large as two feet. They were hoarded, polished and adored, the ultimate find for a dedicated beachcomber.
Now that fishing vessels around the world use buoyant plastic, a blown glass float is a rare find – except on the beaches of Lincoln City!
The Finders Keepers project began in 1997, when a local artist first thought of glass floats as an intriguing way to launch the new millennium. Lincoln City sponsored the project, hosting the inaugural season in 1999-2000. Tourists came from around the country to search for their own brilliantly-colored, signed and numbered glass float.
For Lincoln City the Millennium Float project was a perfect combination of art and the outdoors. Those who came in search of a float often found their way to area galleries where unnumbered floats were available for sale, along with a dizzying array of fine art glass from around the world.
