Fair Time Again
OCF is back
It’s that time of year again: the smell of fresh cut grass in the breeze, children flying kites and playing in the park for summer … Continue reading
OCF Archive
On Loan From Mother Nature
Prepping the Fair brings a community together
Imagine a ghost town. The skeletons of buildings, stripped of their roofs and siding, are overgrown with trees and vines. Light shining through the rafters … Continue reading
Alt-Fair
Staying in town during the Oregon Country Fair
Crowds, dust and scorching temperatures aren’t for everyone. So if you’re like me and want to avoid gaggles of people at the Oregon Country Fair, … Continue reading
The Circus is in Town
Circus acts from jugglers to acrobats come to the fair
Everyone loves a circus. Acrobats, contortionists, clowns — the whole shebang. And now that the folks at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus … Continue reading
Country Cross-over
Familiar face, fresh choices and missed musical opportunities at OCF
I’m going to take a sec and highjack this piece on 2017’s OCF music lineup to complain that Lane County — and Eugene specifically — … Continue reading
Ah Oregon Country Fair
It's that time again; OCF is back
It ain’t just for hippies and trippers no more. In fact, it hasn’t been an exclusively extended drug orgy for a long time (see “Notes of a Fair Virgin” for a hilarious meditation by a non-Fair goer), if it ever was. Continue reading
You Should Be Dancing
New pavilion invites Fair-goers to take off their shoes and shake it up
As you’re cruising around the loops at the Oregon Country Fair, be sure to stop by the new Dance Pavilion, featuring movement performances and workshops for all. “The dance space is for the exploration of dance and the movement arts,” says volunteer site coordinator Shawn Kahl. The Dance Pavilion stage and an adjacent outdoor studio, the “WorkIt Shop,” have concurrent but separate programming throughout the weekend. Both areas welcome and encourage participation. Continue reading
Oregon Country Fair in Photos
Photos from this year's OCF
The endless parade of the Oregon Country Fair An ambient performer To start a fire Continue reading
Variety, the Spice of Life
OCF Lineup Keeps Vintage Performance Arts Alive
Like sunburns and fannypacks, vaudeville-style comedy and variety shows are a part of the Oregon Country Fair experience. In fact, OCF devotes entire stages to all sorts of popular entertainment from the age of daguerreotypes like tap dancing, puppetry and poetry readings. Fair favorite Artis the Spoonman performs four times this year, kicking off 1:30 pm Friday, July 8, at the Daredevil Vaudeville Palace. Artis heads over to the Kesey Stage at 3:15 pm Sunday, July 10. See oregoncountryfair.org for a full list of Artis’ performances. Continue reading
It’s All About the Ice
A discussion with OCF's new general manager Tom Gannon
Looking back over his first year as general manager (GM) for the Oregon Country Fair, Tom Gannon says the thing that’s surprised him the most is “how incredibly important ice is.” It might sound strange, but realize that the frosty lemonade you’re enjoying, or that tasty burrito with extra sour cream, or your gluten-free hemp seed salad with extra hemp seeds, were all made off the grid. No one operating a food booth has a fridge to plug in — there are no plugs. Continue reading