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Just a few weeks back on a hot Friday morning, I stood in a field with outgoing Oregon Country Fair general manager Charlie Ruff and his replacement, Tom Gannon, the three of us surveying the “New Area,” a 6-acre expanse that opens this year as a brand new part of the Fair’s general stomping grounds. Continue reading
“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
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
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
“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
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
We hear that the Oregon Country Fair new movement arts program will feature performances and workshops on a dedicated stage, the spiffy new Dance Pavilion, during the weekend (July 10-12) of the OCF. Look for Salseros Dance Company, the Connexus dance collective, Track Town Swing Club, Danceability and more. A full schedule is available at oregoncountryfair.org. Continue reading
Asif Kapadia’s new documentary, Amy, does what nothing else could when Amy Winehouse was here, and so famous — not the Rolling Stone interviews, the profiles, the photos, and definitely not the tabloids, the gossip, the cruel jokes. It turns Winehouse back into a person, letting her history speak for itself while quietly painting a damning picture of celebrity culture, particularly when that culture turns its gaze on young women. Continue reading
Chicago art-rock and post-hardcore act Shellac is hitting the road for its second tour in support of 2014’s phenomenal Dude Incredible. A supergroup comprised of members of Big Black, Mission of Burma, Rapeman and more, the power trio is helmed by revered underground godfather and producer Steve Albini. You might be vaguely familiar with Albini’s body of work, having produced records for Slint, Nirvana, Mogwai, Jawbreaker, Page & Plant and Joanna Newsom, to name a few. Continue reading
Based in the Northeast, prog-rock dance band Dopapod are making a name in the jam band scene. This summer, the band embarks on its first West Coast tour. “I’m really excited to spend a lot of time in the Northwest this time of year,” Dopapod keyboardist and vocalist Eli Winderman tells EW. Continue reading