Disneyland has always succeeded in creating a world where fantasy is inherently mixed with reality. Castles and life-sized cartoon characters bring smiles to children as adults can’t help but feel nostalgic about Peter Pan-sized dreams. Underneath the amusement park grounds, though, are elaborate tunnels funded by a corporation that has money
behind its motives.
Underneath the dreamworld of the Oregon Country Fair is just dirt backed by a philanthropic group genuinely seeking a healthier planet.
This is a fundamental difference that matters.
Both places evoke the same feeling of wonder and celebration, but the Oregon Country
Fair is a unique experience that can’t be seen anywhere else except Veneta, Oregon, for three days this weekend.
The event, originally called the Oregon Renaissance Fair, was started in the late ’60s as a way to raise money for alternative schools. The focus of providing a platform to raise funds for those in need is still very present and powerful as the nonprofit
counterculture festival celebrates its 41st fair this year.
Over the past decade, the fair has donated more than $350,000 to charitable foundations, while allowing the barter and craft format to help support local crafters and food growers.
The fair’s other primary focus — being environmentally sustainable — is something that echoes the fair’s alternative roots. Country Fair participants are strongly urged to use the bus system or carpool to get out to the fairgrounds. The campgrounds that host the annual fair have a series of rules that must be followed while the fair itself is strongly environmentally regulated. For a fair that sees so much foot traffic, it does very little to disrupt the surrounding environment.
With all ventures of the fair pointing to serious contributions to the community and environment, most people leave the fair without recognizing how much they are helping. Instead, they depart with only one feeling toward their time spent: pure enjoyment.
The Country Fair achieves this enjoyment through a natural blend of music, food and crafts. Eighteen stages feature music, comedy, poetry and any other form of performance possible. Fair-goers can relax in the warm Oregon summer and take in some of the best offerings of local artists.
The art, of course, doesn’t stop at performance, as food venders and crafters feature their hard work in booths that line all avenues. Still abiding to the environmentally friendly perspective, food vendors sell food that is locally grown.
Though all of this may sound like a normal festival, it’s the face and body paint, mixed with crazy statues and elaborate costumes that define the fair’s one-of-a-kind experience. Walking anywhere, it feels like a day in the life of Alice as she explored Wonderland.
Nothing ever really feels off, though, as people dressed in elaborate costumes sing, dance and entertain. Their counterculture revolution seems completely natural inside the fairgrounds.
Once all of the general public has left for home or gone back to their campsites, the celebration continues as volunteers and entertainers alike join together playing music and sharing stories.
The whole experience is almost impossible to describe and can really be understood only through experience. If you have the time, make a trip out to the Oregon Country Fair this weekend, where time slows down as traditions and sustainable living unfold in a counterculture dreamworld.

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