What is the Oregon Country Fair and what can visitors expect?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the Oregon Country Fair (OCF), exploring what visitors can expect in terms of atmosphere, activities, and personal experiences. Participants share their memories and plans related to the fair, as well as details about associated events like the Kinetic Sculpture Race.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes the OCF as a large gathering with a hippie atmosphere, featuring craft and food booths along a figure-8 path, and notes the absence of electricity and mainstream beverages.
  • Another participant expresses enthusiasm about attending the fair next year, suggesting it aligns with their interests.
  • There are mentions of past experiences with open drug sales and nudity at the fair, with some participants questioning how much has changed over the years.
  • Several participants discuss plans to attend the fair and express excitement about the possibility of a gathering at the event.
  • Questions arise regarding the specific dates for the next year's fair, with one participant providing the information that it occurs on the second weekend in July.
  • Participants share details about the Kinetic Sculpture Race, including schedules and personal plans to participate or spectate, with discussions about specific boats and their designs.
  • There is a light-hearted exchange about the challenges of navigating the river race and the logistics of bringing personal boats.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express excitement about attending the OCF and share personal anecdotes, but there is no consensus on the current state of the fair regarding past practices like drug sales and nudity. The discussion about the Kinetic Sculpture Race also reveals varying levels of familiarity and interest among participants.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference past experiences and changes over time, indicating a lack of clarity about current regulations and practices at the fair. There are also unresolved questions about the specifics of the Kinetic Sculpture Race schedule and events.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals planning to attend the Oregon Country Fair or those curious about its history and cultural significance, as well as participants in related events like the Kinetic Sculpture Race.

  • #31
OmCheeto said:
My vacation may be cut unreasonably short. My backup at work was due to have her baby on July 21st. I received a phone call this morning that they have induced labor.
Y'know, it's one thing to naturally go into labor early, but to actually be INDUCED early, at the inconvenience of one's coworkers...pfft! That's just wrong.

I subsequently flushed my cell phone down the toilet and have disconnected my land line.
Sounds like the best approach. You don't need cell phones to enjoy hanging with the hippie-dippies.
 
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  • #32
Moonbear said:
Y'know, it's one thing to naturally go into labor early, but to actually be INDUCED early, at the inconvenience of one's coworkers...pfft! That's just wrong.

Well, you know what Tsu said:

Tsu said:
Poop occurs. :biggrin:

But the garbage man has been by, so it's time to load the tent and mandolin into the truck and get:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cSICoacOT60&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cSICoacOT60&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
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  • #33
We will be leaving for the fair within the hour... I hope not much longer then that!
 
  • #34
I can almost hear Integral's cries of "Are we there yet"?
 
  • #35
th_countryfair099.jpg


click on the image to get a photobucket Slideshow of some of my ocf pics
 
  • #36
Oh that looks like so much fun...a crowd of hippy-dippy folks with properly aligned chakras, all smelling of ylang-ylang and patchouli. Next year, I hope!

But I think I'll skip the vegetarian hot dogs .
 
  • #37
I'm making it for Sunday. Our hippy friend Breezy got my dad and I tickets, I assume because her son is playing on Sunday, she was able to get them for free or discount or something.
 
  • #38
Such a colorful event, and a great collection of people. The country fairs here seem to involve more pigs and apple pies.
 
  • #39
hypatia said:
Such a colorful event, and a great collection of people. The country fairs here seem to involve more pigs and apple pies.

That is at the County fairs, along with the carnival and hawkers, the Oregon Country Fair is just different, perhaps it could be described as a mixture of a Renaissance fair and Mardi Gr as. I was last there about 20yrs ago, I felt that there had been some shift in the atmosphere. Now there is a bit of sexuality in the costumes, nudity is not necessarily sexual, but artful covering is.

Some of the pics I did not get are telling, there was a pair of fat 50+ ladies wearing only paint and nipple rings above the waist. like a train wreck, you didn't want to watch, but it was hard not to.
 
  • #40
lisab said:
But I think I'll skip the vegetarian hot dogs .

I had similar thoughts about organic vegan ice cream bars. :rolleyes: If they called them ice pops or some such, I might not have given it a second thought, but how do you make ice cream without cream? Vegans are such strange creatures; I think they need more meat to get their brains working better when they try to name foods.
 
  • #41
Yeah, those vegi hot dogs did not appeal to me for anything other then a pic. The worst part was that they had all the toppings, sauerkraut, chili etc just like you would find on a real hot dog cart... All they were missing was the hot dogs!
 
  • #42
Drats! I missed everyone again.

Integral, you took nearly all the same pictures I did.

Though I was surprised I didn't see the Kurtzman statues in your gallery:
"[URL
ocf_2009_www.todjikurtzman.com.jpg
[/URL]
Photographs really can't capture their magic.

I bought my third kaleidoscope. I keep giving them away as presents:

ocf_2009_kaleidoscope.jpg


If you zoom into the image and look carefully, you will see people. It's kind of a telescope-kaleidoscope-thingy. I would love to see someone write a screen saver based on the optics of these things.

I only bought 4 lbs of fudge, so if anyone wants any... I know I promised Tsu some last year, but it was all dried up and crusty by September. Right now it's the consistency of butter, and down to about 3 lbs.

I found tons of goats milk soap and bought 3 flavors. I also got 7 flavors of olive oil soap. I've never tried it before.

Oh. And apparently owner of this viola case still doesn't like Bush:

ocf_2009_bush_still_sucks.jpg


And I'll leave it to you to figure out what the first two words are on the sticker above that one. :blushing:
 
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  • #43
Damn was it rainy or what yesterday?

Did you check out the Ruins of Ooah, Om? They were this sweet band, had a drummer, harmonica player, and a didgeridoo player who ran his through effects, it was pretty cool.
 
  • #44
lisab said:
all smelling of ylang-ylang and patchouli.

And pot.
 
  • #45
binzing said:
Damn was it rainy or what yesterday?

Did you check out the Ruins of Ooah, Om? They were this sweet band, had a drummer, harmonica player, and a didgeridoo player who ran his through effects, it was pretty cool.

Didn't go yesterday. No one posted that they were going until after I'd gone. There's no internet nor cell phone service where we camp. But yes, it was quite tricky taking down the tent in a monsoon rain storm.

I don't know if I heard the Ruins of Ooah. I mostly ate and shopped and ate and shopped and listened to random bands around the fair. Did you listen to the solo guy with the convex steel drum thing that sounded like a dulcimer? He played it with his hands. Like the rest of the crowd, I could not believe the quality of the sound and music coming from the device.

Integral said:
That is at the County fairs, along with the carnival and hawkers, the Oregon Country Fair is just different, perhaps it could be described as a mixture of a Renaissance fair and Mardi Gr as. I was last there about 20yrs ago, I felt that there had been some shift in the atmosphere. Now there is a bit of sexuality in the costumes, nudity is not necessarily sexual, but artful covering is.
I have to agree. I first went 20 years ago, but unlike you, I've gone every year since. The gang that first dragged me to the fair that first year were all dancing and having a great time at the main stage, when all of a sudden, as if on some cosmic cue, they all shed all of their clothes. I was like, "Ewe. Who wants to see a bunch of 50 year olds with their clothes off." But no one around seemed to bat an eye, so I did the same, and danced the day away.
Some of the pics I did not get are telling, there was a pair of fat 50+ ladies wearing only paint and nipple rings above the waist. like a train wreck, you didn't want to watch, but it was hard not to.

My friend asked me if I'd seen the bearded young lady. I told her I had. She said she was embarrassed that she had stared at her. I had also stared at her, and gave my analysis as to why we do that. Our minds seem to look for clues as to what something should be. And this young lady was so ambiguous as to be totally indeterminate. Is it a dude with boobs? Is it a lady with a beard? I think we decided that until we work up the nerve to ask her, we'll never know.

binzing said:
And pot.

Um. That's what they cook the artichokes in, um, a pot. A smelly pot. Yah, that's it. It was a stinky old pot full of artichokes that you smelled... :rolleyes:
 
  • #46
OmCheeto said:
Did you listen to the solo guy with the convex steel drum thing that sounded like a dulcimer? He played it with his hands. Like the rest of the crowd, I could not believe the quality of the sound and music coming from the device.

I only went yesterday, so no, but that sounds like a hang drum. Was it one of these?

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TQXn5ba0aT8&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TQXn5ba0aT8&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
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  • #47
binzing said:
I only went yesterday, so no, but that sounds like a hang drum. Was it one of these?

Yup. But it sounded more like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oLl2eBGZlF0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oLl2eBGZlF0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
 
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  • #48
OmCheeto said:
Yup. But it sounded more like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oLl2eBGZlF0&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oLl2eBGZlF0&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Those are so cool, but way expensive and hard to get.
 
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