The Oregon Country Fair...

…is whimsical, magical, colorful, heart-opening, quirky, fun, and friendly.

Yesterday was my first time. My friend Jay gave me a ticket. He’s been involved in the fair for over thirty years, was head of the Ambient Art Crew for most of that time. Now he’s got emeritus status and the best campsite. To get to it, you pass through corridors created with tapestries winding through old trees thick with understory. I got to the fair at 7:30 in the morning, two-and-a-half hours before the other 10,000 or so arrived by car, bus, scooter, or horse, every single one dressed for merry-making.

Country Fair owns the land it sits on west of Eugene. 500 acres along the Long Tom River. For one weekend a year it comes alive with creativity and imagination. It’s a giant network of crisscrossing wooded paths, gnarly treehouses, booths filled with crafts to buy and food to eat, hobbit-like retreats with polka dot pillows and velvety furniture when you need to rest, all worn and comfy. There’s live music everywhere, mostly ambient, small gatherings of people playing guitar, singing with strangers, unrehearsed, with maybe a Celtic harp, a clarinet or a marimba. It’s an enormous operation with an underlying feel of possibility and kindness. 30,000 people will have shown up this past weekend, along with 20,000 volunteers doing all manner of big and small jobs. It’s a joyful, open-hearted gathering, and boy, did I need that. Don’t we all.

Before the crowds, a few volunteers taking a rest. The pianist was exceptional. If you can, find a pianist, have them play, and lie down underneath with a big, squishy pillow.

…later, also before the crowds, this is Berand doing his once-a-day tuning. Success is in the details…This spot is called Piano Palace

This is the adult library. That’s Jay talking with Mary the Librarian. There’s a children’s library behind the books you see. It’s hidden so the kids can hide too. They know where it is.

This was earlier when Mary the Librarian was being taken (along with boxes of books) to the library. The piano was being played by someone else as the vehicle moved along, ultimately delivering the piano to a spot I never discovered.

This is a memorial for anyone to place a photograph of someone they’ve lost. Jay told me a truck load of flowers is delivered every summer to beautify locations around the fair.

one of hundreds of pieces of art , some permanent, some just for this season.

this is the kind of scene you see everywhere you look.

A miniature world for little kids. Jay’s husband made the wooden doors that open up to this scene. The whole thing’s about 18-inches tall, so those stairs in there are less than 1/2-inch each. Magic everywhere and for all sizes. Big and Small.

Another installation that will come down this week. Made for this year only.

Parades like this one travel through the crowd regularly throughout the day…Worth watching if you want to smile:

And Mary the Librarian being delivered early in the day…

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