Oregon Country Fair turns 40
VENETA, Ore. - Norma Sax pilots the golf cart down a narrow forested lane, wooden structures rising from the grass like a forest village amidst the din of hammers and saws.
"Anybody near the kayak guy?" she calls into her radio.
Sax isn't looking for a tee time: The Oregon Country Fair volunteer has lent her energy to the "party with a purpose" for over three decades.
"This is the most creative, artistic, intelligent, loving, open group of people I've ever known," Sax says, "and I want to be more like that."
All that sawing, hammering and setting up going on near the Long Tom River west of Eugene can mean only one thing: Time for the Oregon Country Fair, which celebrates 40 years of art, music and community this year.
"We are basically reflecting on the past," said Marcus Hinz, the fair's new executive director. "Reflecting and revisiting the original values of the fair, how it all started."
The fair started in 1969, the year of Woodstock, the Age of Aquarius and men walking on the moon.
What began as a barter and craft fair to raise money for an alternative school has grown, four decades later, into a medley of crafts, food, dance and music.
"It's the creation of community, the giving of permission to be creative," said Doug Green, the fair's assistant manager.
The fair is also the result of hard work by about 4,000 volunteers who make it happen, Green said.
The three-day party opens Friday. All tickets must be purchased off-site.
Attendance is capped at 18,000 people for the fair each day.
People headed to the fair are encouraged to take Lane Transit District shuttles to beat the traffic jams.
