The Oregon Country Fair is known for its out-of-the-box performances and a culture of magic. There’s over 17 stages and hundreds of artisans selling handmade goods and trinkets as well as non-stop entertainment on the paths, giving that dusty, glittery Fair ambiance to fairgoers walking the Eight.
The Rose City Circus — a Portland-based, non-traditional circus — will perform a special, one-of-a-kind show for its eighth year at the Fair, full of aerial stunts, a 10-foot-tall unicycle and many more one-of-a-kind tricks. All of the acts will be performed alongside Three for Silver, a Portland-born band who can’t be tied down to a genre and are known for fusing a variety of styles to curate their original sound.
The Rose City Circus recently performed the halftime act for game six of the NBA finals and just got back after performing a month overseas, eager to demonstrate their unique, nine-act show at Fair.
Jon Dutch, founder of Rose City Circus and 17-year Oregon Country Fair performer says, “There’s going to be a lot of really deep heart and soul within our show, and we get that because it’s the reflection of the crowd that we’re surrounded with.”
He adds, “It feels like in this crazy world going around right now, there’s something just really beautiful and special about the kind of community that’s been built at Oregon Country Fair.”
“When we do it, it is one of those things where we are doing it for the love of the crowd. It’s one of my favorite crowds.”
Rose City Circus performs 5:30 to 6:30 pm Friday, July 11, 4 pm to 5 pm Saturday, July 12, and 2:30 pm to 3:30 Sunday, July 13, on WC Fields Stage.
The Haute Trash Fashion Show is an interactive runway performance that calls on crowd members to model one-of-a-kind pieces, displaying the beauty in sustainability and looking anything but trashy. For over 20 years, Haute Trash has performed at Fair, calling on crowd members to strut their stuff.
With around 12 fashion designers, the nonprofit aims to use sustainable fashion as a performance piece to encourage users to put their trash to use. Each outfit aligns with a story performed by the designer describing where the trash came from, what the outfit is made of and how it connects to the bigger picture. Each designer goes by a pseudo-name that complements their work as well.
After modeling in a show herself, Kathi Griffis was inspired to become a seamstress for Haute Trash and later the executive director. She describes Haute Trash as very “tongue in cheek,” while simultaneously educational.
“We feel like when we come to Country Fair. We’re kind of preaching to the choir because these are hip people that know things about recycling and such,” Griffis says.
She says, “It’s one of our favorite gigs, simply because it’s just so casual and free form. You know, it’s just like, whoever happens to show up at 10:30 and gets in an outfit, then that’s who’s gonna be in the show.”
Haute Trash performs from 11 to 11:30 am Friday, July 11 through Sunday July 13 on Stage Left.
Bring your favorite drum and join George Sadak’s Groove Corner where he will be teaching drum techniques and explaining the history behind a variety of percussion styles ranging from Egyptian to Palestinian drumming.
Sadak started drumming at around six years old in Alexandria, Egypt, beginning with versions of a classic drum kit. After moving to the states at 16, Sadak fell in love with playing the tabla and broadened his stylistic repertoire that he now passes down to his students.
“There’s three schools of drumming we can talk about. At least we know what it is and can identify it, and we can study those better when we have someone to translate for us,” Sadak says. “I don’t have all the techniques in the world, but I can at least be your translator.”
In 2008, Sadak attended and performed at Fair for the first time after running into a friend who needed one more percussionist. He says, “It’s the magic of the fair that got me there at the right time.”
Get groovy with George Sadak 11:30 am to 11:45 am, Friday, July 11 through Sunday, July 13, on the Caravan Stage. He will also be performing with The Bedouin Spice Orchestra for The Caravan Stage Belly Dancing show Friday, 1 pm to 3 pm and 5:30 pm to 7 pm, and from 1 pm to 3 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm Saturday and Sunday.
Eric Braman, author and spoken word poet, is performing alongside dancer Madeleine Sisson to share some bite-sized poetry for people to cherish and carry with them throughout the fair. Braman first performed at Fair in 2017 alongside other poets for a bigger performance, but they are taking to the stage solo for the first time.
Braman began writing poetry as early as middle school, before they knew they were even a poet, and started performing spoken word around 10 years ago. Their poetry often centers around masculinity, mental health, queer possibility and honoring ancestry in a romantic tone that challenges listeners to look through a lens of what Braman calls “micro-moment observation.”
Performing alongside Sisson for the first time, the show will display mostly improvisational movements that add emotional dimension to the spoken word.
Braman says, “It takes a really special dancer to understand how to let yourself fall into movement that isn’t just like interpretive dance, but is really adding and in conversation with the poetry.” They say, “A lot of it is like listening to each other creating rhythms, and letting the rhythms of the poetry really drive the performance.”
Eric Braman and Madeleine Sisson perform 12:30 pm to 1:15 pm Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, at the Spirit Tower.
In addition to the stages, each day on the path there will be performers providing ambiance. Find We Are Belov3d — also known as the goddess oracle Emma and known, too, for her measured interactions with anti-drag queen protesters at the Sparrow and Serpent (then Old Nick’s) pub in 2023, admire the frolic puppets of Coyote Rising Giant Puppets and the magic of Peachi the Dragon Parade. There will be drums, dancing, fiddles, circuses and more for three sunny magical days.