By TIM HIRSCH

of the Sun

Picture this scene. The rain’s coming down. Winter’s chill has set in. And your planned weekend of fun at the beach is now soggy and wet. No, that doesn’t mean you and your kids have to resign yourselves to playing on your phone while the storm rages on. Not with the antidote to the inclement weather waiting for you in downtown Pacific City.

Enter South Tillamook County’s newest retail establishment, Fiddlesticks, a small toy store located in the Shops at the Village right across from Cold Water Coffee. The brainchild of Lucky Beach Boutique owner Nancy Ford, the store may be small in size, but it’s big on promises of afternoons filled with imagination and joy.

Inside the store, which is just a few doors down from Lucky Beach Boutique, you’ll find a wide selection of games, books, stuffed animals, and toys for all ages. One wall hosts games like Pickeball, cribbage, and card games like Old Maid, another is home to paints and other crafts, and a third showcases a variety of stuffed animals and other toys. And there’s much more to come — including bikes for kids, scooters, and building-focused toys, too.

“It’s been cute to watch the kids come in and their little eyes are all lit up,” Ford says about the initial reaction to the shop that, as of press time, had only been open about one week. “It’s fun. I want kids to come in and feel the playfulness of it and the imagination.”

She says part of her goal is to give kids a different opportunity other than yet another hour of screen time.

“My vision for Fiddlesticks is similar to what it’s been for Lucky Beach Boutique — a place for you to go in and find joy, a place of happiness,” Ford told the Sun. “Pacific City is a place where you can find your peace and joy, and I just want to be a part of their vacation, their memories of Pacific City. I want to (offer) things that keep them away from the computer (and plug them into) games that are more about imagination and using their motor skills.”

She also wants to provide a place where locals can find something new each time they visit, as she plans to add new stock and rotate some of the old out on a regular basis.

Though there’s a lot already to choose from, Ford has many more avenues she’d like to travel in her efforts to make the store both a valued shopping experience and a resource for the community. Part of those plans include developing a relationship with the school district so she can offer coloring and essay contests, and, possibly, a day for kids to come over to the shop and be CEO for the day. She said she’d also like to host a contest where kids can draw why Pacific City or the Nestucca Valley is important to them.

Another feature to watch for will be a mural that will run along all four walls. Partially because she has a heart for those kids with special needs, one of her thoughts with the mural is to give kids having issues while in the shop something to focus on.

“I’m a mother of four so I know what it’s like,” she says. “I want to help the mom have a space where she can relax and enjoy herself.”

While the shop is open every day now, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Ford is planning on making a bigger splash next month to introduce all she’s offering the playtime loving crowd of Pacific City. On Thursday, Jan. 4, she is planning on a grand opening. While it will run all day, she also plans to keep the store open an extra two hours, 5-7 p.m., when customers can nibble and sip on refreshments and will have a chance at door prizes and more.

For more information about Fiddlesticks, call 301-904-7217 or visit the store in the Shops at the Village, 34950 Brooten Rd., Pacific City.

CURRENT ISSUE