Huh. The Oregon Country Fair. It’s hard to even write about it. It’s honestly too much. It will probably take me a while to process all of it and even figure out what I think well enough to write it down. Right now it’s a set of emotions, feelings that don’t seem to fit well into words. The fair was a deep philosophical experience for me, but at the moment my brain seems to be stuck at a more prosaic level. So let’s get the basics out of the way and leave the philosophy until the next blog entry. Big thanks to David for telling me about it, various Oregon folks for talking me into it, and of course Emily for being my fair buddy!
Ten Things I Loved About the Oregon Country Fair
These are not necessarily my ten favorite things about the fair period, but ten things that I loved, that sum up the fair as well as anything can for me right now.
1. Reusable Forks - So, at the OCF, they don’t use plastic forks or spoons. Every food vendor gives out real metal forks. At first this was very confusing. How can that possibly work? Well, here’s how: at every garbage stop, there were four bins - one for landfill (marked with a sad red triangle), one for recycling, one for compost, and a final bin for the forks. Volunteers would then come around and pick up these forks and take them to a central washing station which would then redistribute them. Sounds like a lot of work doesn’t it? Good thing…
2. Volunteering at the OCF Is an Honor - At most festivals of this type, the festival heads have to put up a fight to get people to come and volunteer. Usually some sort of free pass is implied. But at the OCF, that is stood on its ear. Volunteering at the OCF is an honor, and a really tough gig to get into. Volunteers and staff are treated royally, and have special privileges, like being able to stay after 7 pm, when the “real fair” apparently begins, with special staff-only midnight shows and other fun.
3. Kids Allowed - One of the absolute best parts about the OCF was the kids. Something I’ve always found off about SF is that the are never any children (or old people for that matter) around, as if the circle of life got stuck at about age 29. And having attended other festivals like Lightning in a Bottle, there’s always an element that comes out once the alcohol starts to kick in, an unsavory side to the freedom agenda. For many reasons - but not the least of them the presence of full families, and the absence of alcohol - that never seemed to happen at OCF. And having kids around was just really fun. They have such a positive energy. I was raised to believe that the “hippie parenting style” was too permissive, that kids would turn into privileged hellions. There was absolutely no evidence to support that conclusion. Both sides of us at the campground had families with awesome, mature and actually really interesting kids, ages about 7-17. And all the kids at the fair were honestly and truly well behaved. I did not see a single screaming match or even a crying baby the whole weekend. Which brings me to…
3. Everyone is So Incredibly, Genuinely Happy - I mean, it almost got a bit odd. Where is the angry couple fighting with each other over where they left the car? Where is the husband upset that the wife is walking too slow? Where’s that one drunk guy that creeps everybody out? The privileged teenager? The annoyed customer? I don’t know. They weren’t there. I’ve never seen such an agreeable bunch of people, for three straight days. It was a model for how society could work.
4. The Grounds - The physical grounds of the OCF are incredibly gorgeous. They get to leave the buildings there year-round, which helps a lot. Most of the stands are two-level because the grounds do flood in the winter, and they leave belongings upstairs, which becomes the camp ground for a lot of the staff. The fairgrounds are heavily wooded and shaded, and fun little hobbit-style paths have been built to get people around. Although Saturday afternoon got to feeling a bit crowded, most of the three days felt calm and fluid, but still intimate. There was no fighting with 90 degree sun and wide open fields; even the concert venues were awesome little nooks.
5. The Food - It’s really good. Like, really good. Not every last thing of course, but out of maybe 10 meals, I’d say 6 were amazing, 2 were good, and only 2 were mediocre. We had an amazing tofu burrito, A delicious indian Thali, some amazing mochas.
6. No Shilling - There was certainly a lot of stuff for sale, and a lot of booths, but nobody was in your face about buying things, and the booths were very respectful. All the wares were on display but set back off the trails, and nobody was ever accosting you with samples, or propositioning you, or anything.
7. Ninjas - NANDA. They’re ninjas. They did a ninja show. It was…the best thing. Just the best. Apparently they tour around the U.S. doing festivals, and if you ever get a chance to see them, you must go. Hilarious, intensely talented. I was reminded once again that to be truly funny, you first have to be at the top of your craft, and they absolutely were at the top of their craft. Their caveman/jacket/Matrix act was one of the absolute best things I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen 7 Cirque shows.
8. Environmental Music - The “featured acts” that we saw were definitely good, and as advertised, but what really impressed me was that around every corner, somebody was playing music or doing something to entertain you. We saw kids playing full size pianos on carts, a marching band (actually two different ones), guys dressed as trees for no good reason, people on stilts, etc., etc. The design of the grounds meant that you would walk from one soundscape into another seamlessly, and it felt like there was just always something going on, but in a fairly spontaneous and natural way.
9. Honest-to-God Hippies - Yes, the flower children are alive and well, and although they were outnumbered 10 to 1, there was still a pretty serious collection of some pretty serious hippies. Tie dye was unironically in full force, dancing in non-dancing situations was entirely acceptable, and the moon was most definitely in the seventh house.
10. It’s Not Even All That Expensive - You can go to the whole thing for about $50, all three days. Camping for all four days will set you back another $60. Lightning in a Bottle was well over $200. Burning Man is even more.
I haven’t even mentioned Jason Webley, or Swami Beyondananda, or the awesome woman at our camp who tried to force feed us, or the free Ukelele lessons (which actually taught me how to play the Ukelele, at least as a beginner) or the Kirtan (perhaps the best I’ve ever heard), or the Ritz (full nude coed wet and dry sauna, with hot showers and live music), or the Library, or the fact that the standard greeting for the whole three days is “Happy Fair!”, or the free health care tent, or…etc. etc.
Because I do believe in balance, and even though the OCF was, for me, an incredibly amazing thing, I will mention:
Three Things That Are Not As Awesome About the Oregon Country Fair
1. It’s Not Cheap Inside - Yes, getting in is cheap, but once you’re inside, there’s nothing counterculture about the prices for food and stuff. I wouldn’t say I felt I was being gouged, because the food was quite good, but it also was a bit pricy to eat there all 3 days. And, in particular, the stuff for sale felt a bit over-priced at times - but to be fair (ha ha), it was almost all hand-made and top quality stuff, so you get what you pay for.
2. Caucasian Invasion - It’s all white people. There were no blacks. There were no Hispanics. There were not even any - and this is especially odd - any Asian people. I don’t mean there weren’t very many - I mean I could probably count on two hands the number of people I remember seeing all weekend from any minority group. At no time did I ever feel that anyone was doing this on purpose - I’m sure minorities are absolutely welcome - but I guess Oregon, and the hippie movement, is just a caucasian thing. I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that, but coming from such a multiethnic place as SF, it felt a bit odd.
3. Mosquitos - From about 7:30 to 9ish, it kind of sucked to be outside. We hid in our tents, and that basically worked. But it definitely was an issue.
I have no idea what the next few years will have in store for me, but if I’m anywhere near Oregon, I’m definitely coming back some day! An incredible experience.
