For four decades enthusiasts and visitors have gathered in Ocean Shores in celebration of beachcombing and glass float collecting. This will be Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo founder Alan Rammer’s last in an organizational capacity.

“I started exploring the opportunity to do this in 1983. So I was 32, and the first one came off when I was 35, and we missed one year during COVID. But I’ve been involved in some, I’ve chaired 11 of the 40 and I’m going to be 75 in a few months and it feels right. People ask me, ‘are you mad? Are you upset?’ I said, ‘no.’ There comes a time when it’s time to exit and I want to exit on high. I will be involved, as I’ve told the board, I will most likely be a speaker.”

Rammer says he has been an avid beachcomber most of his life and has been involved in such activities in several locations throughout the United States. A beachcombers festival in Oregon inspired him to bring the idea to Grays Harbor.

“I was the publicity chair for the Seaside Beachcombers Festival (in Oregon) from 1974 to 1981. Their festival folded that year for lack of volunteers. So I was living in Westport and I thought, ‘how can I bring something like this to Washington?’ This would be really cool. So I approached several groups in the South Beach area. None of them were interested,” Rammer said. “Eventually the Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce, what was then called the North Beach Chamber of Commerce, to serve the North Beach communities, said, ‘We like the idea. Would you chair it?’ And I said, ‘yes, I’d be interested in chairing it.’”

Formerly known as Beachcombers Fun Fair, the 40th Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo will include the release of hundreds of authentic Japanese glass fishing floats with “Expo26” etched into the glass during the weeks leading up to and including the Expo. The float release kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day.

“Float Wranglers” and “Float Fairies” will release floats into the open sea and surf, and on local beaches through Sunday, March 8. Beachcombers are also encouraged to pick up trash along the way while searching for their glass float treasures.

More than 1,400 people attended last year’s event. Dozens of people posted pictures of themselves with their float finds to the Expo’s Facebook page in hopes of winning one of seven large glass floats. Entrants could increase their chances of winning the contest by entering in person at the Expo. Of the nearly 1,000 floats released, 450 were returned for entry into the contest.

“The purpose of the event is to promote our central Washington coast in the shoulder season and to show families what there is to do here in the ‘horrible’ winter season. There is so much to do here, beachcombing, kite flying, clamming, bird watching,” Rammer said. “How can we bring all these people together in one spot to learn about what the coast has to offer in the middle of winter? So we have, and I wanted it to be family oriented.”

This year’s Expo will be held at the Ocean Shores Convention Center March 7–8.

Glass fishing floats are highly sought after treasures on the Washington coast and have a long, colorful history. According to Oregon’s Ocean Beaches Glassblowing’s website, “The first mention of the manufacture of glass fishing floats was in the production registry of Norway’s Hadeland Glassverk in 1841. The first evidence of their use by fishermen was also in Norway around that same time — being used with fishing nets as well as fishing line and hooks. In the Pacific, Japan’s fishing fleet started using glass floats around 1910, and glass replaced most other materials used for floats by the 1940s. Today, though, the use of glass in fishing floats has been replaced by materials like plastic, aluminum and Styrofoam.”

According to an article published through Beachcombing magazine in 2023, “The Northwestern Glass Company, established in 1932 in Seattle, made hand-blown floats for the fishing industry. These floats were sold to fishing companies in North America, Russia, and around the world.”

Rammer, who worked at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for 36 years, says that festivalgoers can expect much of what they’re used to and some new features and elements as well.

“We’ll have the Museum of the North Beach, the Coastal Interpretive Center, the Westport South Beach Historical Society, the Grays Harbor Rock Club. So they’ll be demonstrating things going on there. And we’re also going to have a display of the 40 years of our history that will be in the lobby. So there will be a photo montage of looking back over the last 40 years,” Rammer said. “We thought to bring everyone together for our 40th anniversary, we’re going to have a dessert social. There’ll be cake and coffee and people can meet the vendors, a casual atmosphere, the public can come back as long as they have their wristband. So it’s free, there’s no charge for the dessert social.”

Rammer added that special custom glass floats and medallions will be for sale as well.

The Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo is just one of a handful of such events in the United States. Lincoln City, Oregon, holds a year-round event known as Finders Keepers. According to ExploreLincolnCity.com, “The 2026 season returns to the heart of what makes the experience unforgettable: the simple joy of stumbling upon something beautiful on the beach. Throughout the year, more than 3,000 artisan-made floats will be placed along Lincoln City’s seven miles of shoreline.”

On the East Coast, people have been finding their way to Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island since 2012 in search of hand-blown glass orbs hidden all over the island. Jekyll Island on the east coast of Georgia hosts a similar event called Island Treasures throughout January and February.

Guest speakers at the Expo will include John Anderson, Cascadia Research, Mary Beth Beuke, John Weldon, and of course, Alan Rammer.

Rammer says that it’s critical to learn how to connect to the place in which you live.

“It’s very important for people to understand if you’re not connected and you don’t understand your sense of place, you’re not going to protect that which you’re not connected to. When I worked at Fish and Wildlife, one of my biggest tasks was establishing a sense of place so that people could understand what’s in their own backyard because you’re not going to vote for taxes to protect it and or take care of it of yourself if you don’t understand how connected you are to it,” Rammer said. “And one of the things I stressed during my 36 years was that we are part of an intricate web, and you can put us at the center of the web. Put us as a spider in the middle of the web. As the outer edges fray and come free, they’re eventually going to work to the middle of the web. So you may not care about the trees, you may not care about your water quality, you may not care about clamming and crabbing, but if those go away, those are pieces of the web. And if we don’t take care of that, which is in our backyard, it’s eventually going to get to us.”

The 2026 Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo

Where: Floats are released onto the beaches in and around the greater Ocean Shores area. Open to the public.

When: Saturday, Feb. 14 through Sunday, March 8. Floats are released every day. The Expo will be held at the Ocean Shores Convention Center. Doors open on Saturday, March 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, March 8 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $3 per person, $5 per couple, and children under 12 are free.

What: Hundreds of authentic Japanese glass fishing floats with “EXPO26” etched into the glass to be released. Glass fishing floats still occasionally wash ashore on West Coast beaches after many years at sea, but it’s a rare occurrence.

Why: This float release activity is part of the Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo.

How: “Float fairies” and “float wranglers” regularly distribute antique glass fishing floats onto the beach, water and fringe dune areas in the greater Ocean Shores area during the float release period. Crab boats release floats outside the surf if the winds, tides and currents are cooperating.

Contest to win large prize floats: First, find a float from the float release that’s been etched with “EXPO26.” Only beachcomb one float per person. Once you’ve found a float, you can enter the contest by posting a photo of your float find on the Facebook group Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo with the hashtag #EXPO26. You can increase your chances of winning by entering the contest in-person by bringing your float to the Beachcombers and Glass Float Expo The contest ends at 3 p.m. sharp on Sunday, March 8.