Fair Thee Well

Family.

Nothing is more exhausting and rewarding than the week-long extravaganza of music, light, love, art, and general mayhem that we call the Oregon Country Fair. Its a party, an arts and music festival, and a gathering of happy people looking for a few days to be and do entirely as they please. The fair is one of the few places I know of in which people wear their inner children on the outside, where strangers smile and hug, and generosity rules the day. It is a throwback for sure, to simpler times when food was cooked by scratch, goods were made by hand, and music was made by real people playing actual instruments. But it's a good throwback. While there has been much debate this year about the direction of the fair, its rules on amplification (very little), late night partying (do it, but keep in acoustic) and environmental impact (can you say site archaeologist?), the reality is that there is something important about preserving the old-school mentality. There are plenty of festivals for electronica and all night parties. It is, in fact, the direction in which things, hip, important-type things are going, its just not the Country Fair thing. It's nice to hear world music and see bands and other acts be given the chance to perform to a wide and diverse audience they normally wouldn't get exposure to. Someday, when the novelty of our electronics wears off, we might be glad we preserved a place to celebrate the crafts, arts, and traditions of a pre 21st century time. Love is free and analog, spread it around.

When Ninkasi Rules The World

Domination.

Since 2006 a little upstart brewery in Eugene, Oregon has been leading a quiet revolution. Ninkasi Brewing led the charge of locally owned and sourced breweries in the Pacific Northwest and has proven that community-minded business can flourish even in hard times. They emerged out the the cacophony of the craft beer bubble, more than 75 craft breweries have opened in Oregon in the last half-decade, and most are struggling to find a piece of the market. In contrast, Ninkasi is brewing more than 95,000 barrels of beer each year and is a recognizable fixture in bars and restaurants throughout the western United States. They are the champions, and through no small effort. Jamie, the distribution guru is everywhere. You go to the tasting room in Eugene on a Friday night, he's there, go to the Country Fair, he's sitting outside your tent with friends, head up to Bellingham for a show, there he is again, working his own event, but with time to stop by and catch the gig. Nikos, though a little less visible, has shown himself to be a savvy and ambitious businessman, figuring out how to grow a business in one of the toughest economies in the nation. And, they have also been at the forefront of revitalizing the ailing Whiteaker neighborhood they call home, providing local jobs and supporting local events. They are consistent supporters of local charitable events and their tasting room and promotional concerts serve as needed and welcome opportunity for local musicians, performers, and visual artists. And Nikos and Jamie, the owners of Ninkasi, are exactly the kind of guys you want to see succeed. They are friendly and easy going and genuinely care about the community in which they live. It gives me hope for the rise of the of the American small business. And, they brew some freaking good beer. Cheers, guys.

Ninkasi:

http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/

Picture:

http://grizzlygrowler.com/2010/04/21/craft-beer-as-art-a-visual-thirst-maker-from-ninkasi-brewing-company/

How Hippies Make Their Money

Faire.

Every year since 1969 tens of thousands of people have collected in the woods outside Eugene, Oregon for the annual summer festival called simply, the Oregon Country Fair.  Long before the 21st century American Tribal Revival marked by large-scale festival events such as Burning Man and the prevalence of days-long music festivals like Coachella and Bannaroo the Oregon Country Fair was bringing together an incredible array of music, performance, theatrics, arts, and crafts.  After more than forty years the fair has proven it's ability to survive growing pains and shift with changing times, or even generations, without losing the heart of what it is, a backwoods festival run by hippies who just want to be left alone with their inner children for a few days out of the year.  And oh yeah, they want to make some money too.  

For as much as there is that is good about the fair, it is important to realize that it is a business first and foremost.  There are booths that make a substantial amount of their annual income in the three days of the fair, and there is good reason that change is so slow in coming; you have to wait your turn to get a booth at the fair, and time is the only currency that works.  I have mixed feelings about the commerce of the fair, not that it is any better or worse than any other event, but that it sells itself as so.  There is an air of hippie elitism that at one time may have been appropriate but now just reeks of snobbery and pretension.  The truth is, there is no way to scale back an event such as the Oregon Country Fair, so the only real thing to do is let it grow too big and cumbersome and commercial and played out, and it will mellow itself out in the end.  In the meantime, would you like to purchase a hand made ceramic coffee mug for twenty bucks?

Like what you are reading?  Then support the Kickstarter for my book Girl Gone Wild- On Being a Woman in the Wilderness.  Thanks!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1731666363/girl-gone-wild-a-guide-to-being-a-woman-outside?ref=city

Photograph Courtesy of:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/truen/4845275801/