At 9:30 on Saturday morning, November 7, House of Orange Gallery opens with coffee. Five artists will be working in the room: Greg Scott, Susan Walker, Dianne Aoki, Tamara Goldsmith and Kristie Mooney. They demonstrate until 1:00 p.m., so you can watch the pieces take shape in person. Saturday morning at House of Orange is a good preview of the whole weekend.
The 39th Stormy Weather Arts Festival runs Friday through Sunday, a week from tomorrow. The Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce lists more than 50 events. Read the full schedule and you'll see that most of it is about how art gets made. There are live demonstrations, hands-on workshops, a watercolorist painting live in a downtown shop and a glass piece revealed on Sunday morning. The finished-work receptions mostly happen in the late afternoon. If you live here, you can plan around that pattern: spend mornings watching or making art, afternoons at gallery receptions and evenings at the two concerts.
Why November has an arts festival at all
According to the Chamber's history page, it started in 1987 to bring some activity to town in the shoulder season. Local galleries and businesses took part, and a quick-draw auction raised money for the Chamber. That start explains why the program still feels like an open studio more than a sales event. Artists turn up and work, and the town comes out to watch on a weekend when the rain and wind are usually the main story.
This year's poster artist and Artist of the Year is Ronni Harris. The Chamber describes her "Quilted Paintings" as a mix of painting, quilting, stitching and embellishment, mostly of North Coast subjects. She is holding a public meet-and-greet at the Chamber Information Center from noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Last year's honoree is also back. The Cannon Beach Gazette's coverage of the 38th festival named Greg Scott as Artist of the Year. That festival took place November 7 to 9, 2025. This year he is one of the artists unveiling new work at House of Orange on Friday and demonstrating there on Saturday morning.
Friday, November 6: start with someone working
Friday starts early. At House of Orange, Tamara Goldsmith of Magic Hour Glass gives a stained-glass demonstration from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. During the same hours, Lorrie Vogel teaches a ticketed workshop, "Atmospheric Landscapes in Cold Wax & Oil," at Steidel Community Hall. DragonFire Gallery opens at 10:00 a.m. with work by Bev Jozwiak in watercolor and acrylics and Michael Orwick in oils, along with Joanne Shellan. Archimedes Gallery runs its opening, featuring Faunwood and Dorotheé Vantorre, from noon to 7:00 p.m. That long window makes it easy to fit in around everything else.
In the afternoon the program shifts to receptions, and several overlap:
- 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.: Artist reception at Icefire Glassworks, the hot shop and glass gallery at 116 E Gower St.
- 4:00 p.m.: House of Orange unveils new work by Sara Fine, Tamara Goldsmith, Lorrie Vogel and Greg Scott. Saffron Fields Winery pours tastings until 6:30, and C.J. Wollin & The Wild Tides play from 4:30 to 6:30.
- 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.: White Bird Gallery opens a new mixed-media exhibition that includes book art, sculpture, collage, glass and photography. DragonFire holds its own artist reception in the same two hours, with live music from Portland musician John Silliman Dodge.
- 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.: An evening art event at The Ocean Lodge.
At 7:00 p.m., Cannon Beach Community Church hosts "Beachwalks: Solo Piano Concert and Photoshow." It's free and pairs David Robinson at the piano with images by Thomas Robinson. After an afternoon of standing at receptions, an hour in a pew is a calm way to finish the first night.
Saturday, November 7: make something yourself
On Friday you mostly watch. Saturday is the day the festival puts the materials in your hands. Three ticketed workshops run at the same time on Saturday morning, so you'll have to pick one:
| Workshop | Instructor | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your Wild Relatives: Gyotaku & Nature Painting | Duncan Berry | Steidel Community Hall | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
| Painting with Fabric: Fabric Collage | Becky DeVries-Wong | Cannon Beach History Center | 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
| Coastal Impressions: Painting & Wine | Trijsten Leach | The Wine Shack | 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. |
Gyotaku is the Japanese method of printing directly from a fish. It may be the most Cannon Beach thing on the whole schedule. Registration for every workshop goes through the Chamber's ticketing page, which also sells concert tickets.
If you'd rather watch than paint, there's plenty of that on Saturday too. The House of Orange demonstrations described at the top run until 1:00 p.m. DragonFire hosts artist demonstrations from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with the artists answering questions as they go. From noon to 4:00 p.m., Seasons Sparks paints watercolors live at Salty Raven. Salty Raven has moved, so use its current address, 179 E 1st Ave, Suite 105. At White Bird Gallery, Valerie Savarie gives a book-carving demonstration from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., turning vintage books into wall sculptures. Local guitarist Wes Wahrmund plays from 2:30 to 4:30, and the gallery's festival reception runs from 5:00 to 7:00. The Cannon Beach Arts Association's annual miniatures show, "Microcosm," also holds its 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. opening reception at Cannon Beach Gallery during the festival. Every piece measures about 6 by 6 inches or smaller, and the show stays up through December 20, so you can see it after the weekend too.
Over the weekend, festival buskers play at three downtown spots: Sandpiper Square, Coaster Theatre Square and The Landing. The schedule lists these acts:
- Chris Kenji Beer Duo
- Jersey Jon & Maui Mike
- Winn Alexander
- Dead End Duo
- Bruce Thomas Smith
- RJ Marx Trio
- Carr Family Trio
- Lauren Sheehan & Pete Krebs
- Rouge Trio
- Uncle Mary
- Mercury Coast
- Jon Broderick & Jay Speakman
- Deek Surf & the Groove Diggers
Late afternoon brings another round of receptions. Heidi Balmaceda performs at House of Orange from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., and the gallery's dessert reception follows from 4:00 to 6:00. Shearwater Studio & Gallery holds its artist reception from 4:00 to 6:00. DragonFire's reception, from 4:00 to 6:30, comes with appetizers from Jonathan Hoffman, wine, and guitar from Portland composer Jason Okamoto.
Saturday ends with the Spotlight Concert, "Scott, Bailey & Ross: A Trio of Americana Songwriters," at 7:30 p.m. at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse. Doors open at 7:00, and general admission is $29. The concert and the workshops are the parts of the weekend you'll want to book ahead. Nearly everything else happens in galleries you can simply walk into.
Sunday, November 8: see what got finished
Sunday is when the work started earlier in the weekend gets shown. At Icefire Glassworks, "The Reveal" runs from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Two more workshops run in the morning. Valerie Savarie teaches "The Final Cut: Intro to Altered Book Art" at the Cannon Beach History Center from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dianne Aoki leads a Haystack Rock painting workshop at Steidel Community Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The festival guide and House of Orange give it slightly different titles, but both begin with "Monolith."
From there, the weekend winds down slowly:
- DragonFire is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with artist demonstrations from 11:00 to 1:30 and coffee, tea and light bites.
- House of Orange hosts a stained-glass trunk show and closes at 3:00 p.m.
- The Shearwater Tea Party runs from noon to 3:00 p.m., and Shearwater Studio & Gallery and Archimedes Gallery both hold closing receptions.
If you have kids with you, festival headquarters at the Chamber of Commerce Information Center runs a drop-in sand-art station for all ages. It's open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The best way to see the whole lineup is the Chamber's 2026 festival guide, which has the day-by-day schedule. It names nine partner galleries: Bronze Coast Gallery, Cannon Beach Gallery and the Cannon Beach Arts Association, DragonFire Gallery, Firefly Gallery, House of Orange Gallery, Images of the West, Jeffrey Hull Gallery, Shearwater Gallery and White Bird Gallery. The guide lists more than these nine, though. Icefire, Archimedes, Salty Raven and The Ocean Lodge all have events too.
Watching Dianne Aoki paint Haystack Rock, or Duncan Berry print a fish, can get you thinking about the light in your own house and where you'd set up a work table. I've spent a lot of time on renovations, and I love talking about how a Cannon Beach home could make room for a studio, a workshop or simply a better window. If you'd like to talk that through, Todd Braden is happy to help. Let's Connect.
