Oregon Country Fair: revisited
I’ve been writing about my great anticipation for the Oregon Country Fair for some time on the rose city journal and this weekend, it finally arrived. In days of yore, the fair was a much-anticipated event. And it was exciting to go back again, for the first time in years. As always, the fair is like two separate events: a daytime fair for the public, and a midnight show for friends of the fair.
Highlights of the post-sweep show included a naked woman who stepped out on stage to do a reverse strip and a burlesque show done by two women on trapezes. Highlights during the day included phenomenal falafel and plenty of people-watching. But like everything around us, the Oregon Country Fair has changed over time. Some visitors felt the changes were subtle but noticeable, and others (like me) felt they were huge, sweeping changes that manifestly changed the fair’s footprint.
With the rose city journal in mind, I had some very good, very involved conversations with vendors, volunteers and visitors who have been coming to the fair for many years. One attendee (a tax protester who only comes down from the mountain for the annual event) was at the very first Oregon Country Fair and has been back every year since.
A few things that I noticed about the country fair this year:
The fair has expanded a great deal, with a lot more space to walk around in. This is nice, but it also adds to the more commercial aspect that the fair has today. In addition to the current expansion, the fair’s management team continues to look for more new ground to break, in their efforts to continue to expand the fair.
There were a lot less people waving their freak flags at this year’s Oregon Country Fair. Sure, the strumpeting flamingos were there and the parade went by one time, but overall, well, it could have been a renaissance faire in Ohio for all of the freak-festing that didn’t go on. Having said that, I was wearing a t-shirt and Capri pants so I can hardly complain. There were some women, young and old, who were topless, but they were few and far between.
There’s some sort of tension between vendors and Oregon Country Fair volunteers. I don’t know if I completely understand the root cause, even though it was explained to me more than once. But it seems like there’s some kind of misunderstanding that’s gotten a bit out of hand. Which seems silly, but then I’m not in the middle of it. The fair could probably benefit by using some mediation or finding some champions on either side to come together and determine how they can work out their problems.
There was far less dust than in previous years. This was due in no small part to vendors, who used watering cans to keep their walkways dampened.
The Oregon Country Fair has become somewhat homogenized and more than a little bureaucratic, explained the tax protester. Yet, he also pointed out something important: where else could you have this big of a gathering, where nothing bad ever happens? And that’s true. I told him about the many Midwestern Oktoberfests I’ve attended, and how they often seemed to end in muggings or fights. He told me that’s because they are based on drinking beer, where the faire finds its roots in a more peace-seeking variety of herbs. He might be right.
The Oregon Country Fair has had to change and adapt to the world around it for a number of reasons. The local police and the farmers on surrounding land were fed up with the “dirty hippies” that the fair engendered, and demanded a change. Being asked if I had drugs or alcohol on me was one of many changes the fair has made to capitulate. Seeing two officers when I first drove in to the fairgrounds was another surprise.
For the Oregon Country Fair to continue to thrive, it has to remain reflective of the counterculture that still exists in Eugene. But for that to happen, the world would have to stop. I completed a survey, part of the Fair’s attempt to capture the vision that visitors have for the annual event. I’m hopeful that they’ll contact me and ask me for my opinion.
A last thought from the Merlin-like vendor who told me the most about his Oregon Country Fair experiences, 40 years ago and today:
“It’s like a hot tub. Get in there with your best friend and it’s seventh heaven, man. Get in there with two best friends and it’s ninth heaven. Let everybody in and it starts to stink.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Highlights of the post-sweep show included a naked woman who stepped out on stage to do a reverse strip and a burlesque show done by two women on trapezes. Highlights during the day included phenomenal falafel and plenty of people-watching. But like everything around us, the Oregon Country Fair has changed over time. Some visitors felt the changes were subtle but noticeable, and others (like me) felt they were huge, sweeping changes that manifestly changed the fair’s footprint.
With the rose city journal in mind, I had some very good, very involved conversations with vendors, volunteers and visitors who have been coming to the fair for many years. One attendee (a tax protester who only comes down from the mountain for the annual event) was at the very first Oregon Country Fair and has been back every year since.
A few things that I noticed about the country fair this year:
The fair has expanded a great deal, with a lot more space to walk around in. This is nice, but it also adds to the more commercial aspect that the fair has today. In addition to the current expansion, the fair’s management team continues to look for more new ground to break, in their efforts to continue to expand the fair.
There were a lot less people waving their freak flags at this year’s Oregon Country Fair. Sure, the strumpeting flamingos were there and the parade went by one time, but overall, well, it could have been a renaissance faire in Ohio for all of the freak-festing that didn’t go on. Having said that, I was wearing a t-shirt and Capri pants so I can hardly complain. There were some women, young and old, who were topless, but they were few and far between.
There’s some sort of tension between vendors and Oregon Country Fair volunteers. I don’t know if I completely understand the root cause, even though it was explained to me more than once. But it seems like there’s some kind of misunderstanding that’s gotten a bit out of hand. Which seems silly, but then I’m not in the middle of it. The fair could probably benefit by using some mediation or finding some champions on either side to come together and determine how they can work out their problems.
There was far less dust than in previous years. This was due in no small part to vendors, who used watering cans to keep their walkways dampened.
The Oregon Country Fair has become somewhat homogenized and more than a little bureaucratic, explained the tax protester. Yet, he also pointed out something important: where else could you have this big of a gathering, where nothing bad ever happens? And that’s true. I told him about the many Midwestern Oktoberfests I’ve attended, and how they often seemed to end in muggings or fights. He told me that’s because they are based on drinking beer, where the faire finds its roots in a more peace-seeking variety of herbs. He might be right.
The Oregon Country Fair has had to change and adapt to the world around it for a number of reasons. The local police and the farmers on surrounding land were fed up with the “dirty hippies” that the fair engendered, and demanded a change. Being asked if I had drugs or alcohol on me was one of many changes the fair has made to capitulate. Seeing two officers when I first drove in to the fairgrounds was another surprise.
For the Oregon Country Fair to continue to thrive, it has to remain reflective of the counterculture that still exists in Eugene. But for that to happen, the world would have to stop. I completed a survey, part of the Fair’s attempt to capture the vision that visitors have for the annual event. I’m hopeful that they’ll contact me and ask me for my opinion.
A last thought from the Merlin-like vendor who told me the most about his Oregon Country Fair experiences, 40 years ago and today:
“It’s like a hot tub. Get in there with your best friend and it’s seventh heaven, man. Get in there with two best friends and it’s ninth heaven. Let everybody in and it starts to stink.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The Oregon Country Fair
July 10-12, 2009
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