The 37th Oregon Country Fair starts this Friday, promising more music, art, dancing and parades than ever before. This year the fair presents live music on 14 stages, including classical, folk, hip-hop and jazz performances, as well as 700 artisan booths and delectable organic food to satisfy every palette.
Located on a 280-acre wooded area in Veneta, the Oregon Country Fair has been a Eugene highlight since its founding in 1969. Even after 37 years, the fair has remained a nonprofit organization and has never had a corporate sponsor. Each year the fair raises between $40,000 and $50,000, which is given away each year to youth and basic needs programs through the Jill Heiman Vision Fund and the Oregon Country Fair Endowment.
“What we try to do is bring a whole variety of new experiences down here for people because that’s really what we’re about,” Oregon Country Fair general manager Leslie Scott said. “Creating experiences outside of daily life that inspire people’s participation and creativity.”
Visitors can frolic over to the fair this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 7, 8, and 9,11:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fair will feature more performances than ever before, as well as a variety of activities, including theater improv, ecology games and new types of public art projects to participate in, Scott said. Roaming minstrels, dancing fairies and masked vaudevillians will all grace this year’s fair, according to a press release.
Fridays at the fair tend to be more about the shopping opportunities and being there on opening day while Saturday has more energy and “feels like a big party.” Sundays have traditionally appealed more to families, Scott said.
Back in the summer of 1969, a group of people from Eugene decided to throw a party that celebrated “all things lovely, peaceful, artful, and musical,” according to a press release. Eventually the party got so big it was forced to find a new location out in the country and the result is the Oregon Country Fair’s permanent location in Veneta.
“Everything depends on the people who come. It’s not about being a spectator, it’s about being a full participant,” Scott said. “It’s about who you are and what kind of world you want to create, how we want to live together. It’s a whole city.”
Tickets for the Oregon Country Fair must be purchased in advance through TicketsWest (ticketswest.rdln.com or 1-800-992-8499) and at all TicketsWest outlets on the West Coast. 3-day passes are $40, admission on Friday and Sunday is $14; Saturday’s is $16. Visitors are encouraged to carpool and can purchase a parking pass through TicketsWest for $4.50.
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