Hidden glass float schedule released for 2023 in Lincoln City

Jun 26, 2023

A glass float is hidden on a beach in Lincoln City, part of the Finders Keepers program that “drops” floats on the central Oregon coast beaches daily.Courtesy of Explore Lincoln City

Still hunting for a hidden glass float on Oregon coast beaches? There are a few days in particular this year you should mark on your calendar.

A colorful glass float is hidden every day somewhere on a beach around Lincoln City, part of a program called Finders Keepers, run by local tourism organization Explore Lincoln City, but odds of finding one are much better on “special drop” days, when dozens or even hundreds of floats are hidden at once.

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Explore Lincoln City has released its calendar of 16 special drop events over 2023, which start on Jan. 7 and run through Dec. 17.

The special events are often centered around big events and holidays, or are geared toward specific themes like antique Japanese floats or black-and-red floats for the Portland Trail Blazers. This year there will be at least one drop every month except July and August.

Glass floats are placed by secretive “float fairies” who leave them in visible locations between the high tide line and the beach embankment. Explore Lincoln City said the floats are meant to be found easily by whoever is lucky enough to stumble upon them first.

Each float comes with instructions on how to register it online or by phone, a process that helps Explore Lincoln City know that each float is successfully found. Once you register your float, the organization will send you a certificate of authenticity and information about the artist who made the float.

The best advice on finding one is to not actually go looking, but to simply enjoy the scenery and allow a float to come to you, the organization said – not unlike finding anything else on the beach, be it a whole sand dollar or a big agate.

Glass floats were traditionally used by fishermen, particularly in Japan, to keep their nets floating in the water. Air inside the glass orbs would keep them buoyant, a feature that also allowed them to drift thousands of miles across the ocean, where many wound up on beaches along the Pacific coast.

Since glass floats are no longer used in fishing, finding them on Oregon beaches is a rarity today. In the late 1990s, a group of Lincoln City artists decided to make their own glass floats to place on the beaches, an idea that would become Finders Keepers. The first event was held in 1999 as a way to ring in the new millennium, and soon became a hit with tourists and locals alike.

Here’s the Finders Keepers “special drop” schedule for 2023:

Jan. 7-8 – Opening Weekend: 100 floats

Feb. 11-18 – Antique week: 100 Japanese antique floats

Feb. 12-14 – Valentine’s Day: 50 Red/pink/white floats

March 18-April 16 – Spring break: 200 floats

April 21-23 – Earth Day: 50 Earth Day floats

May 12-14 – Mother’s Day: 50 floats

May 27-29 – Memorial Day: 50 Red/white/blue floats

June 17-18 – Father’s Day: 50 floats

June 23-24 – Casino Anniversary: 28 floats

June 24-25 – Summer Kite: 10 floats

Sept. 2-4 – College Ball: 20 Green/yellow and 20 Orange/black floats

Sept.TBD – Celebration of Honor: 50 Red/white/blue floats

Sept. 23-24 – Fall Kite: 10 floats

Oct. 28-31 – Halloween: 50 Glow-in-the-Dark floats

Nov. 23-26 – Thanksgiving drop: 50 floats (Dates subject to change due to king tides)

Dec. 16-17 – Basketball: 50 red/black floats (Dates subject to change due to king tides)

— Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; [email protected]; @HaleJamesB

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