Oregon Country Fair celebrates 67 years of magic, expecting 15,000 daily visitors
Oregon Country Fair celebrates 67 years of magic, expecting 15,000 daily visitors
Deep within the forest in Veneta, a whimsical-mystical campground holds Oregon’s most magical fair.
The Oregon Country Fair is entering its 67th year and it’s expecting around 15,000 visitors each day it is open.
With countless vendors, there is something for everyone at the Oregon Country Fair.
35 years in, vendor Jen Delyth says the fair is like a sanctuary for her artwork, which reflects her Celtic culture.
"I was the first booth on this path when we arrived in that ‘67 Mustang. This was all brambles and they said, ‘pick a spot,’ and when I picked that spot, 35 years later this was opened up and I am right at the head of it, so it's very magical,” Delyth says.
That magical feeling goes beyond just vendors; volunteer Thomas Gannon’s father ran the fair in 2015 and 2016.
“It really shaped a lot of who I am, I'd say,” Gannon says. “It really boosts everything about me and just kinda shapes myself every year.”
The three-day fair is expected to bring in thousands of visitors. While some of them may be new, many will be returning guests.
That includes longtime vendors like Peter Jay Huiras, who's dedication to the fair now reaches 14 years.
“We are all here because, through peace and love and music, we are going to have peace on Earth,” Huiras says.
The fair has expanded this year to make room for the 500 performances across 17 stages, and an expected influx of people.
"This is, in a way, an example of the great gathering of the Ceilidh art,” explains Delyth. “The music, the dancing, the people coming together - and the Oregon Country Fair is just a wonderful Ceilidh, American style."
The fair is this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Lane Transit District will be providing shuttles from LTD’s Valley River Center park-and-ride for those who have bought tickets.
Fairgoers without a ticket will not be allowed on the bus.
The service begins each day at 10 a.m. and last departing bus from Eugene to the fair is at 5:30 p.m.
