Culture of Yachats

The Yachats Music Festival brings 20 to 30 of the world's major classical musicians for four concerts throughout a weekend in July. The Yachats event is the summer festival for Four Seasons Arts, an organization that presents annual recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center. This music festival has graced Yachats annually since 1981.

Each October, Yachats is the site of the Yachats Village Mushroom Festival. Some of the world's leading experts in mycology provide exhibits, give talks, and guide forest walks. There is also a culinary mushroom-growing workshop. Restaurants in Yachats participate in a Fungi Feast with wild mushroom cuisine. Mushroom-inspired art and music can be found at a number of venues around the town.

During the first weekend of November, the city hosts the Yachats Celtic Music Festival, with performances at several venues, including the auditorium of the Yachats Commons. Many of the world's finest Celtic musicians perform there, traveling from Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and various regions of the U.S. to participate. Workshops are held for teaching dances and the playing of instruments such as the bodhran and the tin whistle.

At the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, the visitor center hosts Whale Watching Weeks in winter and in spring. About 400 gray whales feed along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia in the summer. Generally, whales are in the Cape Perpetua area from July through mid-November. These whales can be seen close to shore while feeding. The visitor center also sponsors a Tidepool Discovery Days program each summer and provides guided tidepool walks. The Heceta Head Lighthouse, located 13 miles (21 km) south of Yachats,