Oregon Country Fair

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Oregon Country Fair
OCFEnt.JPG
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

The Oregon Country Fair (OCF) is an annual three-day fair held in Veneta, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, the site is about 15 miles (24 km) west of Eugene along the Long Tom River. Annual attendance is approximately 45,000,[1] and the fair has around 350 booths each year.[2] The event is known as an outgrowth of the counter-culture movement, including an emphasis on using environmentally friendly practices during the fair.[2][3] OCF begins on the Friday of the second weekend in July.

Contents

[edit] History

The first fair was held in Eugene on November 1 and November 2, 1969, and had as a tag-line, "come in costume".[4] The fair began as a barter and craft fair to raise funds for an alternative school, the Children's Community School.[4] About 1972 the event moved to its current location in Veneta along the Long Tom River.[4][5] In August 1972, the OCF site was used for the first of what was supposed to be a series of concerts held every ten years by the Grateful Dead. Known as "Field Trips", that first concert was held as a benefit for the Springfield Creamery, which is owned by members of Ken Kesey's family.[6]

Until 1977, the fair was known as the Oregon Renaissance Faire.[7] A second Grateful Dead concert was held in August 1982, but the 1992 concert was canceled because of Jerry Garcia's health.

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.[8] 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.[9][10]

[edit] Entertainment

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. Participants can bring hand drums and join the continuous drum circle at the Drum Tower. The fair also features jugglers and daredevil acts, marching bands, stiltwalkers, vaudeville, and other traveling entertainers.

[edit] Tickets and transportation

 This section contains information which may be of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter.
Please help improve this article by clarifying or removing superfluous information. (December 2009)

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.[11] Public transportation is added in order to park and ride between Eugene and the OCF grounds non-stop throughout the days of the fair.

[edit] Culture and infrastructure

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 family event with face painting, puppet shows, and music for children. Full nudity is not allowed during public hours in public areas—genitals must be covered at these times.[12] 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 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. 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.[citation needed]

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.

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.

[edit] History of the land

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The fair site was previously a gathering place for the Kalapuya tribe of Native Americans. The natural and archaeological integrity of the 11,000-year-old meeting site is carefully preserved.

Much of the fair site is a wetland and the Long Tom River floods much of the fair property each winter.[13]

[edit] Venues and educational areas

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There are several stages dedicated to music throughout the fair, including the Main Stage. Other entertainment venues include several spoken word stages, the Gypsy Caravan stage dedicated to Middle Eastern dance and music, a youth stage, and two vaudeville/circus stages.

The Kids Loop is a children's play area, Monkey Palace is a pavilion dedicated to the performance and teaching of juggling, Energy Park is an area with displays and demonstrations on alternative energy, alternative transportation, organic agriculture and recycling,[14] and Community Village has booths from non-profit organizations dedicated to education, information access, plants and gardening, including a display by the Oregon State University/Lane County Extension Master Gardeners,[15] and other forms of progressive social change.

Archaeology Park ("Ark Park") is the home of the fair's archaeology crew, and includes replica cedar houses like those used by Pacific Northwest Native American tribes, displays of artifacts and photos of archaeological digs from the fair site, and hands-on demonstrations of flintknapping, firemaking, basket weaving and other Native American skills.[16]

[edit] Philanthropy

The OCF organization maintains close ties with the Eugene-area community and supports many other nonprofit organizations through its philanthropic programs.

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 its values of living artfully and authentically on the earth.[17]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Oregon Country Fair FAQs". Oregon Country Fair. http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/faqs.php. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
  2. ^ a b Morris, Mark (2007). Moon Oregon (7 ed.). Avalon Travel. p. 209. ISBN 9781566919302. http://books.google.com/books?id=-xEA_1nkxcAC&lpg=PT209&dq=%22Oregon%20Country%20Fair%22%20-inpublisher%3Aicon&as_brr=0&pg=PT209#v=onepage&q=%22Oregon%20Country%20Fair%22%20-inpublisher:icon&f=false. 
  3. ^ Schultz, Patricia (2007). 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die. Workman Publishing. p. 883. ISBN 9780761136910. http://books.google.com/books?id=SCq3kk_aHoUC&lpg=RA1-PA883&dq=%22Oregon%20Country%20Fair%22%20-inpublisher%3Aicon&as_brr=0&pg=RA1-PA883#v=onepage&q=%22Oregon%20Country%20Fair%22%20-inpublisher:icon&f=false. 
  4. ^ a b c Engeman, Richard H. (2009). The Oregon Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of the Useful, the Curious, and the Arcane. Timber Press. pp. 283. ISBN 9780881928990. http://books.google.com/books?id=2F30A_WRuPEC&lpg=PT283&dq=%22Oregon%20Country%20Fair%22%20-inpublisher%3Aicon&as_brr=0&pg=PT283#v=onepage&q=%22Oregon%20Country%20Fair%22%20-inpublisher:icon&f=false. 
  5. ^ Salvia, Vanessa (July 6, 2006). "The 38th Annual Oregon Country Fair: Fantastic Fair Folk". Eugene Weekly. http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/07/06/coverstory.html. Retrieved 15 December 2009. 
  6. ^ http://www.nancysyogurt.com/our_creamery/history.php
  7. ^ Baker, Dean (June 16, 1977). "Annual Gathering Gets New Name". Register-Guard. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19770616&id=cLITAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mdkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6484,4185793. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
  8. ^ "The 33rd Annual Oregon Country Fair". July 11, 2002. http://www2.eugeneweekly.com/2002/07_11_02/coverstory.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11. 
  9. ^ "Harcleroad won't seek re-election". June 12, 2007. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-164903671.html. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  10. ^ "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 2009-06-22. 
  11. ^ "Ticket Information". Oregon Country Fair. http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/tickets.php. Retrieved 2009-06-22. 
  12. ^ "20. Nudity". Oregon Country Fair Guidelines. Oregon Country Fair. 2009. p. 6. http://www.oregoncountryfair.net/Pages/2009Guidelinesweb.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-08. 
  13. ^ Mantia, Patty (April 8, 1983). "Highway to slice into country fair meadow". The Register-Guard. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zXQRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UeIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6021,1744540&dq=oregon-country-fair&hl=en. Retrieved 2009-12-11. 
  14. ^ http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/educational_opportunities.php
  15. ^ http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/sites/default/files/images/gg207.pdf
  16. ^ http://www.npr.org/about/nextgen/internedition/sum08/oregon.html
  17. ^ "OCF Philanthropy". http://www.oregoncountryfair.org/philanthropy.php. Retrieved 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

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