The biannual ASUO Street Faire is one of the most anticipated events of the school year. It caters to every type of student by providing food from all over the world and products for every interest. It is home to dozens of booths, many of which house stories of their own that the average student would never consider. Here, we’ll take a more in-depth look at six different booths, many of which don’t end just because the Faire does.
A Tiny Forest
One of the most interesting booths at the fair looks more like a miniature forest than anything. But this forest is for sale.
Scott inherited his bonsai tree business from my family, who has been raising and selling bonsai trees for generations. He has personally been growing them for over 20 years. Scott, who lives in Sacramento, Calif., has transported all his trees up by car to the ASUO Street Faire since 2001.
One tree takes about three years for Scott to raise, and with proper care, the trees can last for many more years.
“It is very calm, very peaceful. It’s a green energy,” Scott said. “You treat it like a regular tree.
The 20th Century Midwife
My curiosity is aroused when passing the Eugene Homebirth Midwives booth. After just 10 minutes chatting with midwife Carla Reich, I found myself convinced as to the advantages of homebirth.
Reich has been working for the last year and a half at a waterbirthing center in Eugene. Reich will be taking her exam to become a Certified Professional Midwife later this year.
Midwives are trained to be independent homebirth practitioners, meaning that they can professionally assist in birth that take place at the mother’s home rather than at the hospital.
“We’re here to send out a message that there are such things as midwives, and we don’t belong in the 17th century,” said Reich.
According to Reich, 80 percent of the babies born into the world every day are born into the hands of midwives.
“Women feel safer in their own homes. It makes you feel less pain when you’re less afraid. We associate hospitals with sickness and surgery and death.
“You come into the hospital and your identity is stripped from you. The hospital gives you its clothes, puts a tag on you, puts a monitor on your baby, sticks a scalp electrode in your baby’s scalp, puts a drip in you, connects you to all their cables. It subsumes @@?@@you into the machine.
“I became a midwife because I think that we need to change that trend. We need to look at why 36 percent of births in American end in cesarean section. That’s not an appropriate level of intervention for an industrialized country,” explained Reich.
Uganda in Eugene
Oregon for Africa, one of the few nonprofit booths at the faire, was striking in both its colors and array of handmade products. Jessie Owor (pronounced o•WAR•ee), who oversaw the booth, is an American woman with emotional ties to Uganda. In Africa, Owor educates teens about HIV, reproductive issues and respect for women. The jewelry, fabrics and art she sells were made by those same teenagers and transported from Uganda.
“When I went to Uganda, it just touched my life. The people are loving and warm, and I just felt a spark when I went there. To see how people are living and trying to survive. I wanted to try and promote their products,” said Owor.
Owor spend three months in Uganda last year. She got back at the end of January. She and her husband, who is originally from Africa, started Oregon for Africa after their trip.
Proceeds from her sales go toward helping the Ugandan teenagers’ living and education. “Education is freedom,” stressed Owor.
Soap with a Twist
There’s something strange about the soap sold at Kathy Wasil’s booth. “Wooly Soap” is soap wrapped in wool from Wasil’s sheep that she has cleaned, dyed, carded and felted.
“It’s like a loofa scrubby,” said Wasil. “It’s good for exfoliating skin, and it keeps your soap lasting longer. A bar of soap can last four months or more.”
Aside from lasting longer and exfoliating, wooly soap does not leave soap reside in your shower or soap dish.
“Wool is anti-bacterial, so it won’t mold or mildew.”
Wasil’s friend, who makes much of her soap organically, creates interesting scents ranging from cherry to black licorice.
Each soap is handmade, and the process of felting the wool onto a bar taken about 20 minutes each.
Wasil has been to four ASUO Street Faires, and she said that students love her products because they’re interesting and affordable. She keeps a sample of her competitor’s soap on her table, price tag marked, to prove how her soap is indeed a bargain.
Wasil is featured in two art galleries: In Color in Cottage Grove and Imagine Art Gallery in Eugene.
“I’m not an artist. I can’t paint a picture worth beans. But I can sit and fiddle with my wooly soap,” said Wasil.
The Bluebird Station
Wendi Dudley’s booth was an explosion of color, which was to be expected — it’s called the Bluebird Station. Dudley sells an array of tie-dye merchandise and handmade hats. Her hats take 20 minutes to three hours to crochet. Dudley’s grandmother taught her to crochet when she was eight. Now, she can make of one her signature snow hats almost without looking.
Dudley has been at the Street Faire for a little over a year, but has been selling at the Saturday Market and Holiday Market since she was 17. She gets better business, however, at the Street Faire, and for one simple reason: Duck hats.
The Eclectic Cupcake
Ian and Tyler manned one of the most delicious-looking booths that resided at the Faire, and it’s only after closer inspection that you realize that their products are vegan.
The Divine Cupcake is an organic cafe on West 11th Ave, known for, you guessed it: cupcakes. It’s been serving the Eugene populace for five years, but has only had the storefront for one.
“I don’t like cupcakes,” said Tyler. “But I like these cupcakes. I’m not just saying that. These are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had. It’s just goodness all the way around.” The cupcakes contain no dairy and no eggs, and some contain no gluten.
“You shouldn’t notice that they’re vegan because they taste so good,” said Ian.
The Divine Cupcake caters not just to the vegan crowd, but also the lactose intolerant.