If you live in this town, you either love or hate OCF. During the three days that the fair operates (and to some degree the days before and after for set up and take down as well), our town swells from about 2500 to 45,000, which are mostly what we lovingly refer to as "dirty hippies." This is not really a pejorative, everyone at the fair is very very dirty as the fair takes place in a wooded area with a natural dirt path. It's gorgeous and quite dirt-y.
If you thought hippies were from the 70's think again. Hippies are alive and well in the Mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon. We have hippies of every age. We have old hippies (the originals) who are mostly doing very well for themselves with craft businesses such as stained glass, wood working, moccasin making, or metal forging. Some are computer programmers or teachers or whatnot. You can tell the old hippies by their Chacos/Birkenstocks/Keens and Hawaiian print shirts. Most old hippies grew up, more or less, had families, and the have a sort of homecoming each year at OCF where they get reacquainted with their inner hippie.
At the other end of the spectrum you have young hippies. These can be quite pleasant peace loving, nature oriented individuals who smile a lot and smell like sweat and patchouli oil (I wish I had a scratch and sniff on m blog) or they can be obnoxious and rude. But for the most part, I find them to be eccentric, silly, at times flamboyant individuals. I really think they are a breed their own (to borrow a phrase) and there is really nowhere else where I can think of where you will see what you see at OCF.
I love people watching, and for three plus days each July I get all the most interesting specimens passing almost literally by my front door. I don't attend the fair every year, but when I do, it's the cat's meow. It's the ADD people watcher's Disneyland. My head spins around so fast surfing the data superhighway of awesome that I can get dizzy...which requires I sit down and enjoy a Ruby Nipple, of course.
And you know, I seriously mean no disrespect. These folks, young and old, proudly let their freak flags fly. It's almost as if there is an unmentioned competition to see who can bring the most shock-value. And I'm not talking about the clothing-optional crowd. They are mostly just livin' free. It's the costumes. I love the costumes. There is pretty much a constant ocean of fairies of every age and variety and floating on the fairy waves are pirates, Robin Hoods, cats, devils, trees, mannequins, and toad stools. There are stilt walkers and dragon parades and mud people.
Apparently there is also a whole other underground event at OCF. One you don't hear about as a fair guest. This aforementioned freak-a-paloosa is actually the tame version, I am told. The standard schlub thinks the fair itself is the main event but he would be mistaken. I have long overheard of the evening festivities that begin at fair closing. As was overheard yesterday, the day crowd is "pretty mainstream" compared to the evening crowd of fair staff and booth operators. But I wouldn't really know about that.
Anyway we had a wonderful time at the fair this year. We like to get momentous, or just something really cool. I never know what that will be, which adds to the mystique. This year John and I got this dinner bell. :) I'd been wanting one for years. And it works! I ring it and the kids come running. Yeah!
And Quinn got this cool mask.
Connor drug us the length of the fair THREE TIMES looking for that one perfect thing he was sure he saw but could never find again. Jonah found some cool rocks and almost got some leather elf ears but then didn't....and maybe regretted that later.
We didn't get these....
though they are clearly amazing.
Quinn tried hula-hooping (she was amazing)
And we both tried belly dancing (Quinn, again, amazing. Me, not so much)...I'll spare you the picture of that. We heard a catchy song about a friendly little cat, ate amazing food, walked 'till our feet nearly fell off. And went home to collapse on the couch and slip into our fair induced comas.
....still no Utilikilt. There's always next year.....
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