Oregon Country Fair

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Oregon Country Fair


A stiltwalker costumed as an
Ent at the 2007 fair
Begins Second Friday in July
Ends The following Sunday
Location Veneta, Oregon
First occurrence 1969
Last occurrence


The Oregon Country Fair (OCF) is an annual three-day fair in Veneta, Oregon, United States. The site is about 15 miles (24 km) west of Eugene, with an attendance of approximately 45,000.[1] OCF begins on the Friday of the second weekend in July. The Fair began as a barter and craft fair in 1969 to raise funds for an alternative school and has been held every year since.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The Oregon Country Fair has over a dozen stages and venues featuring acts throughout the day. Musical acts incorporate many styles, including folk, rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, latin rhythms, slam poetry/spoken word, and others. Despite the fair's name, country music does not feature prominently in it. Participants can bring hand drums and join the Drum Tower, a drum circle that begins on Thursday morning and some years continues nonstop until the Fair closes. The Fair is also a popular place for jugglers and daredevil acts, and a gathering place for marching bands, stiltwalkers, musicians and other traveling entertainers. All tickets sold to the public are sold in advance at TicketsWest outlets and other retail centers throughout the Northwest. All tickets must be purchased off-site; no tickets will be sold at the fair site at any time.[2] Public transportation is added in order to park and ride between Eugene and the OCF grounds non-stop throughout the days of the Fair.

The Fair is a family event with face painting, puppet shows, and music for children. Women with bare breasts, often colorfully painted, are a common sight.[3] Everything from utilikilts to little more than dried mud is worn. No alcohol is allowed and smoking is limited to designated areas. The fair has its own water and communications systems, recycling service, emergency medical team, traffic control, and security team.

The banks of the Long Tom River decorated for the fair, as seen from the "eight" (the main path through the fair).

The Fair is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization governed by an elected board of directors with six full-time year-round employees and thousands of volunteer staff. Volunteers sometimes are wait-listed for years before an annual vacancy occurs on their sponsoring staff crew. It is an example of how "alternative" values such as cooperation, artistic creativity, naturalism, environmental awareness, localism, and concern for the welfare of the world can be integrated. It is a nurturing and inspiring experience of humanity and creativity working at its best. All crafts sold must be hand-made and food sold by food vendors must be prepared on site. All food utensils and materials must be compostable, recyclable, or reusable. For example, plastic utensils have been replaced with metal ones.

[edit] Legal challenges

In 1997, then-Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad and sheriff Jan Clements sent a letter to the fair board of directors threatening to raid the fair and seize the land based on the assertion that the fair was "permissive" towards marijuana smoking.[4] In response to the letter, the OCF board and staff publicly declared the Fair a drug and alcohol free event, which is enforced before, during, and after the fair by the internal, external, and pre-post volunteer security crews. Both Harcleroad and Clements have since stepped down from those posts. [5][6] The OCF organization now maintains close ties with the Eugene area community and supports many charitable causes through its private foundations.

Because of the extra strain placed upon area roads and the local community surrounding the event during the three-day festival, festival organizers work with public transit authorities, local law enforcement and state and federal officials. Undercover officers are on site[citation needed] and while personal drug use is still often seen as a part of the event's cultural heritage, it is no longer rampantly public as it once was.

[edit] Criticism and culture

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This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (July 2009)

The Oregon Country Fair is strongly linked to other cultural institutions in the Eugene, Oregon community. Many 1960s-era counterculture icons including Ken Kesey, the Grateful Dead, and modern anarchist advocate John Zerzan either lived or made the Eugene-Springfield area their home. The University of Oregon is also a local factor, bringing many liberal arts students to a campus environment long known for political and social activism.

As a result, the Oregon Country Fair attracts many individuals both interested in the counterculture history of the region as well as many individuals who simply enjoy going to outdoor fairs, and vendors who profit from the large crowds that attend the event with disposable income.

Saturday Market is another has an open-air arts and crafts fair that is held every Saturday from mid-April to mid-November in downtown Eugene, with a focus on handcrafted goods and services as well as street food vendors. Many of the vendors who work at Saturday Market also sell their wares at the Oregon Country Fair.

As a result, the Oregon Country Fair has many vendors and businessmen who attend as part of a festival sales circuit. Young men and women often wander through the event holding trays of tchotchkes and jewelry for sale, but the fair has been criticized by attendees[who?] as devolving rapidly into a "Hippie Shopping Mall", with the profits from vendors and tickets alike going to valid causes.[clarification needed]

[edit] Philanthropy

Fairgoers and Fair workers and the OCF organization alike contribute to non-profit groups through the Jill Heiman Vision Fund, granting funds to tax-exempt organizations in Lane County. Donations are provided to projects and programs related to improving the environment and fostering sustainability.

The OCF Board has created The Bill Wooten Endowment Fund to assist arts, environmental, and social justice projects. The Board of Directors also offers donations to various groups and activities that share our values of living artfully and authentically on the earth.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Oregon Country Fair FAQs". Oregon Country Fair. http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/faqs.php. Retrieved on 2008-07-11. 
  2. ^ "Ticket Information". Oregon Country Fair. http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/tickets.php. Retrieved on 2009-06-22. 
  3. ^ C/O Hiking & Soaking in the Western U.S. & Canada - CommunityWalk
  4. ^ "The 33rd Annual Oregon Country Fair". July 11, 2002. http://www2.eugeneweekly.com/2002/07_11_02/coverstory.html. Retrieved on 2008-07-11. 
  5. ^ "Harcleroad won't seek re-election". June 12, 2007. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-164903671.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-22. 
  6. ^ "Lane County Sheriff Department Memorandum". December 8, 2004. http://www.co.lane.or.us/bcc_info/Meeting_Info/2004/OrderText/12-15/W10c.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-06-22. 
  7. ^ "OCF Philanthropy". http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/philanthropy.php. Retrieved on 2009-06-22. 

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 44°3′20.48″N 123°22′22.51″W / 44.0556889°N 123.3729194°W / 44.0556889; -123.3729194

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Country_Fair"
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