The Magic of Giving Freely: Celebrating 25 Years of Finders Keepers in Lincoln City

A Coastal Tradition That Captures the Imagination

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Finders Keepers in Lincoln City, a beloved coastal tradition that has enchanted visitors and locals alike for a quarter of a century. Since 1999, thousands of hand‑blown glass floats—each one a tiny work of art—have been hidden along the seven miles of beach, waiting to be discovered by anyone lucky enough to cross their path.

What makes Finders Keepers so special isn’t just the beauty of the floats themselves. It’s the spirit behind them: the idea that a gift can appear in your life without warning, without expectation, and without needing anything in return. It’s a reminder that magic still exists in the everyday, especially along the Oregon Coast where the land, sea, and sky seem to conspire in small miracles.

The Day I Found My Float

In May, I experienced that magic.

I wasn’t searching for anything in particular that day—just walking the shoreline, breathing in the salt air, letting the rhythm of the waves settle my nervous system. And then I saw it: a glimmer of color tucked in the shadow of a log. A glass float, adorned with purple and teal swirls, waiting for me like a message from the universe.

Holding it in my hands, I felt a rush of gratitude. Not just for the object itself, but for the intention behind it. Someone had created this treasure, someone else had placed it on the beach, and neither of them would ever know who found it. It was a gift given freely, simply for the joy of giving.

That moment stayed with me.

Inspired to Give Back to the Shoreline

The float awakened something in me—a desire to participate in this cycle of generosity, to offer something back to the coastline that has held so much of my healing and creativity.

So I began crafting small pieces of jewelry from agates I found on the beach. Each one is shaped by the ocean, polished by time, and infused with the quiet wisdom of the land. I leave them tucked along the shoreline: on driftwood, beside tide pools, nestled in the sand where someone might stumble upon them the way I stumbled upon my float.

I don’t leave a name. I don’t wait to see who finds them. The beauty is in the letting go.

The Gift of Giving Without Expectation

There is something profoundly healing about giving freely. It softens the heart. It reminds us that abundance isn’t measured by what we keep, but by what we’re willing to release. When we offer something without expecting anything in return, we participate in a kind of spiritual reciprocity—an exchange with the land, with the community, with the unseen forces that weave our lives together.

Finders Keepers embodies this spirit, and now, in my own small way, so do the agate treasures I leave behind.

As Lincoln City celebrates 25 years of this magical tradition, I’m reminded that the Oregon Coast is full of invitations to connect, to create, and to give. Sometimes the smallest gifts—whether a glass float or a simple agate necklace—carry the greatest meaning.

And the real treasure isn’t the object itself.It’s the moment of discovery, the spark of joy, the reminder that we are part of something generous and special.