March 5 – Coast Guard City designation ceremony at Old Mill Even Center 10 am
March 6 – Coast Guard Auxilliary 2pm at Garibaldi Library
March 7 – Pat Patterson Day @Garibaldi Maritime Museum – 1st annual “enlisted person of the year” ceremony at 10 am; Movie showing “The Finest Hour – The IMpossible Rescue” at 1 pm
March 8 – Historic US Coast Guard Boathouse Open for tours 2 to 5 pm
March 9 & 10 – Lions Club Annual Crab Races @Old Mill Event Center
See full schedule of events below.
Garibaldi will officially accept the Coast Guard City designation March 5, 2024 at 10 a.m. at the Old Mill Event Center, 210 3rd Street, Garibaldi, Oregon.
There are 1256 Coast Guard stations in the United States and Garibaldi will become the 34th city to receive this prestigious designation. Three other cities on the Oregon coast have also earned this great honor: Newport (2005), Astoria (2010), and Florence (2017).
At the ceremony, Rear Admiral Charles E. Fosse, USCG will present Garibaldi Mayor Katie Findling with a proclamation recognizing the City of Garibaldi and the community for their support of local Coast Guard members and their families. The Admiral is the Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, headquartered in Seattle, Washington. He is responsible for all Coast Guard operations throughout the Pacific Northwest which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and 125 nautical miles of the international border with Canada. We expect an impressive presence of Coast Guard members, as well as local, county, state, and federal officials in attendance.
The Coast Guard City Program recognizes communities that support local Coast Guard members and their families through a broad range of activities, programs, and actions. As an example, the City of Garibaldi presented a Pat Patterson Day proclamation on March 7, 2022 to honor Mr. Patterson, one of the few remaining WWII Coast Guard veterans who served his entire duty in Garibaldi. The community came together for a Coast Guard Appreciation Day in August 2022 with lots of family activities and a special competition between the Garibaldi Fire Department and the Coast Guard, live music, and a special tribute to a recently passed Coast Guard retiree. Garibaldi also has a Coast Guard exhibit at our Garibaldi Maritime Museum, a U.S. Coast Guard Historic Boathouse where people come every year for Coast Guard history, and significant educational opportunities for students. Coast Guard cities are required to renew their designation every 5 years by demonstrating their ongoing support.
“We are very proud of this acknowledgement from the U.S. Coast Guard that our city and it’s residents have demonstrated their commitment to continue building our relationship with our Coast Guard members and their families, and we hope you will join us in our celebration,” said Laurie Wandell, Garibaldi Cultural Heritage Initiative, who was instrumental in Garibaldi receiving this Coast Guard city designation.
