More than 20 employees joined in the annual Bandon Cranberry Festival Parade, either riding on the hospital’s float or walking alongside. Three four-legged companions from Furry Friends Therapy Dogs also walked with the float and a fun time was had by all.
This year’s festival didn’t have a specific theme so Jason Cook, SCHHC Plant Operations Manager, with help from other staff members, decorated the float to celebrate the hospital’s 25th anniversary. The current hospital building was dedicated on Sept. 9, 1999, so the theme for the parade float was “party like it’s 1999.” Cranberry vines and red balloons, along with 25th anniversary banners, hats and noise makers completed the look. A playlist of songs from 1999 kept the group moving to the music as the float traveled through the parade. Southern Coos Health District Board member Pam Hansen and SCHHC Clinic Provider Dr. Paul Preslar also rode on the float.
SCHHC Registration Supervisor Kianna Brookshier also participated in the parade, driving the truck hauling the Langlois Volunteer Fire Department float. Kianna works full-time at the hospital at the main lobby registration desk, but also serves as a volunteer firefighter for the Langlois Fire Department, alongside her mother and father, who is the fire chief.
The hospital participates in the parade every year and helps sponsor the popular festival, which is in its 78th year. Did you know that Bandon has been a cranberry production center since the 1890s? Bandon’s mild climate and sandy soil are ideal for growing cranberries. More than 80 growers harvest about 2,700 acres in Coos and Curry counties, producing about 95 percent of Oregon’s cranberries and 5 percent of the national crop.
Cranberry harvest is in the fall, when the usually dry bogs are flooded with water and the cranberries are beaten off the vines, causing them to float to the top, where they are gathered and loaded onto trucks using specialized equipment. Cranberries can be sold as fresh berries, frozen, or used to make cranberry products like cranberry juice, cranberry wine, cranberry sauce, cranberry apple chutney, and cranberry barbecue sauce. Due to the warm fall days that allow the cranberries to remain on the vines longer, Bandon cranberries are prized for their bright red color and are most often used to make juice. Ocean Spray is the largest
The states that grow the most cranberries are Wisconsin and Massachusetts, but Bandon is proud to be called the “Cranberry Capital of Oregon.”
The Bandon Cranberry Festival offers three event-filled days and draws thousands of locals and visitors each year.
Enjoy these photos of the Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center Cranberry Festival Parade float.
