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Days named parade grand marshals
For more than 20 years, 2009 Cranberry Festival parade grand marshals Kirk and Elizabeth Day have encouraged commerce and the arts in Bandon.
œWe have always felt that Bandon was a very special community, with a rich history, a wonderfully close long-term resident population that attracts many socially active and artistic individuals," said Elizabeth.
According to Elizabeth, she and Kirk fell in love with the Oregon coast in the 1970s. Three days after completing their undergraduate work at the University of Southern California, they headed north to visit family and drove south down the coast from Cannon Beach. It wasn't until after their postgraduate studies, Elizabeth in accounting and Kirk in the fine arts, that the couple moved to Bandon in 1981.
From 1984 to 1990, the Days owned the Northwest Collectors Gallery of Glass and Fine Art. The gallery hosted works by national and international artists as well as local artists. Kirk's own passion is for glass art. He started working with stained glass, but graduated to fusing glass.
œI've always been interested in light and the way it changes the look of things like colored glass," Kirk explained.
Kirk says he likes the spontaneity of fusing glass. Different colors and shapes of compatible glass are layered, then fired in a kiln. The resulting flat fused glass can then be reheated and shaped using a mold. The process is simple and accessible to artists of all ages, and Kirk and Elizabeth have sponsored many award winning young glass artists through local 4-H club membership. Kirk prefers circular bowl shapes and his work is currently on display at Second Street Gallery in Old Town.
The Days present business ventures include On the Edge Vacation Rentals and Bandon's Harbortown Events Center, which opened this year. Kirk says the Old Town location is appealing, and Elizabeth hopes the space can be used in conjunction with the newly remodeled Community Center to support bigger scale conventions in Bandon.
Kirk and Elizabeth have participated in social service through the Lions Club, supporting local art and historical societies, Bandon Chamber of Commerce and Old Town Merchants Association and the Bandon school district. The Day's three daughters, Caryssa, Alexis and Shauna all graduated from Bandon High School. Caryssa was just married to fellow BHS graduate Cory Clausen. Alexis Day is a former Cranberry Queen.
Chamber of Commerce and Cranberry Festival Committee member Don Whitmer says Kirk and Elizabeth deserve the honor of parade grand marshal.
œThey've been so prominent in the community with everything from the schools to the theater and they've been generous with the use of their space for the chamber," said Whitmer. œWe look for people who have given to the community, and they've given a lot."
The couple has collected photographs and video footage of Cranberry Festival parades for 20 years. Their daughters all appeared in cranberry parades, riding horses or representing various organizations and extracurricular activities.
œWe've worked on many floats," said Elizabeth.
When asked how they felt about the invitation to serve as 2009 Grand Marshals, Kirk said he was shocked and flattered.
In a written summary of their lives in Bandon, Elizabeth tried to identify what sets Bandon apart in their shared life experience. She decided it must be the people, noting, œFrom contractors and managers who have become lifelong friends, to the artists we have met, to others with whom we have shared the sports and achievements of our children, to the wonderful local family with whom we have just joined through the marriage of our children, it's been the unique individuals who have memorably shaped our experience in Bandon."
