Culture: Page 211

Portland’s Pussycat Paradise

An afternoon at Portland’s Purringtons Cat Lounge, the Northwest’s first cat cafe

Culture
Butch

Cats are winning. As I write this, my cat, Elsie, slinks around my legs, looking up at me, knowingly. Cats have always known they were winners; it just took society, with a helpful boop from the internet, some time to catch up. Dogs, however, in all their earnest, loyal, slopping glory, have long ruled the hearts of the majority, from “man’s best friend” to Old Yeller. For millennia, dogs have stood by as our companions, our families, our heroes. Continue reading →

Whirled Pies taking over restaurant section of Cozmic

Chow

Pizza lovers, rejoice! Local pizza shop Whirled Pies is now operating the restaurant portion of popular venue Cozmic at 199 W. 8th Ave. Don't worry, though — you can still catch all your favorite shows and events at the venue, because all but the restaurant has remained the same. "We're still having very frequent shows through Cozmic Presents," Whirled Pies co-owner Laurel Bui explains. "We're definitely using it as a venue and we've kept the same promotor and website." Continue reading →

Bacon of the Sea!

Chow

This just in from Oregon State University: Seaweed that tastes like bacon.  According to an OSU press release:  Oregon State University researchers have patented a new strain of a succulent red marine algae called dulse that grows extraordinarily quickly, is packed full of protein and has an unusual trait when it is cooked. This seaweed tastes like bacon. Continue reading →

The Kids Are Alright

Childcare options at the Fair

Culture

“Childcare has been a part of the Oregon Country Fair for 37 years,” co-coordinator Johnny Whiddon says. “Parents need a break, kids need a break. We try to provide a Fair experience, tailored to the little guys.”  Children who are potty-trained, up to age 12 or 13, can come to one of two childcare locations for two hours at a time, to enjoy live music, face painting, entertainment, acrobatics, arts and crafts, quiet activities like board games and chess and good ol’ story time.  Continue reading →

My waffle, my liege

Off the Waffle joins the Fair’s food family

Culture

You’ve bought a ticket to the Oregon Country Fair and chances are high that at some point during the three-day odyssey, you will develop the munchies, suddenly needing a place to satiate this supernatural hunger. But with the fair hosting more than 50 food vendors — including the addition of new vendors to its roster for the first time in many years — how ever will you decide where to pig out? Continue reading →

Flown the Coop

Bird Woman, disillusioned, skips out on Fair this year

Culture

Shirley Musgrove is a costume designer and puppeteer, most known for her elaborate Oregon Country Fair costumes, which include a unicorn and fiery phoenix. One year, she dressed as a wolf and made people howl if they wanted a photo with her.  Musgrove first attended Fair in 1978 as a merchant with The Great Hooey Man, a puppeteer she met in her hometown of Spokane. She sold puppets and performed puppet shows for her first four years at the Fair, before spending time in New York to work with Muppeteer Jim Henson. Continue reading →

Diamond in the Ruff

Outgoing general manager Charlie Ruff reflects on the past, present and future of OCF

Culture
Charlie Ruff

“The thing I love most about the Fair,” says Charlie Ruff, Oregon Country Fair’s outgoing general manager “is that, at its best, as a community, people can come and be themselves — they can express themselves in an environment as free from judgment as you’ll find.”  Ruff steps down later this summer after 12 years on staff, the last seven of which he served as GM. He will remain, for the time being, a Fair volunteer. Ruff's replacement is Tom Gannon, a longtime Seattle resident who recently relocated to the area. Continue reading →

Peach Pit Jams

Culture

Walking down the trodden dirt path of the Oregon Country Fair can be intimidating at first. To your left, there’s a beeswax candle merchant; to your right is a group of leather-clad didgeridoo players. Straight ahead, on a wooden stage in a meadow, a jam band that may or not be the Grateful Dead reincarnated plays. The Fair offers a ton of great live music from which to chose, and here are a few acts you won't want to miss.    TAARKA Continue reading →