One of the West Coast’s pre-eminent and longest running counterculture festivals has been upended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Oregon Country Fair, held each summer outside Eugene for five decades, is all but certain not to happen this year, Executive Director Wally Bomgaars said in a letter published this week.
Bomgaars stopped short of calling off the fair completely, but discouraged participants from remaining hopeful.
“As many already realize, the gathering in July will probably not be happening, at least in any way that resembles what we are familiar with,” he wrote on the organization’s website. “While we are not yet ready to officially and fully cancel the July gathering, we can advise that you hold off from making any plans or commitments for it.”
The announcement comes two weeks after the nonprofit’s board of directors said it had postponed ticket sales, booth registration, contracting and booking entertainers, moves that would have already made an event of its size hard to salvage in its entirety.
Colorful, quirky and imbued with a boundless spirit, the festival first emerged in 1969 as a renaissance fair where participants donned period garb and artisans sold handcrafted wares.
Held every summer since, the fair eventually morphed into a kind of hippie homecoming that draws tens of thousands to the woods near Veneta during the second weekend in July to enjoy performances, parades and unbridled self-expression.
Ken Kesey, the celebrated author, Oregonian and Pied Piper of the psychedelic era, once proclaimed that “magic” permeated the festival. A classic 1972 Grateful Dead concert drew thousands and was later featured in the documentary “Sunshine Daydream.”
The fair celebrated its 50th anniversary last summer.
While other large gatherings, such as Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock desert or the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, pulled the plug on their events weeks before, Oregon County Fair organizers have remained reluctant to do so.
Many artisans earn a livelihood at the three-day extravaganza. For others, it’s a gathering of friends, family and community that serves as the centerpiece of their year. It’s also big business — attendance was almost 60,000 last year.
“We understand and appreciate the time, love, creativity, and dedication all of you have for the Fair and for each other. For many, it is a touchstone for what is good, what can be, and what is best,” Bomgaars wrote.
“Help us all remember that Oregon Country Fair is not just three days every July, but a year-round way to live in the world with each one of us anchoring a valuable place in it.”
Compounding the dilemma is that the Oregon County Fair has for years operated under a non-conforming land use permit in Lane County that could be jeopardized in the future if it doesn’t hold its annual event this year.
The site owned by the organization is more than 400 acres, and its annual use does not adhere to current zoning rules enacted after the fair began.
County officials are currently drafting an ordinance that would extend such permits, said Devon Ashbridge, a Lane County spokeswoman.
-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632
Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com
Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh
This article was originally published by The Oregonian/OregonLive, one of more than a dozen news organizations throughout the state sharing their coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak to help inform Oregonians about this evolving health issue.
