Oregon Country Fair

Oregon Country Fair was held outside Eugene Oregon about two weeks ago. I've heard about it every year since I came to Oregon 11 years ago, but have never actually been. The stories that I've heard over the years are immense, the images that have been shared seemed unbelieveable, and the range of possibilities beyond understanding.

For many years I've wanted to attend Country Fair, and this year I finally had the opportunity. It was sold for so many years as "a Hippie Fair. Lots of naked bodies, Lots of drugs, lots of crafts". Interesting combination. I had in my head the idea that if I did not see a naked man painted with glitter paint wearing butterfly wings, I was seriously missing out.
Do not adjust the color of your screen. I srewed with the color of this photo because...well...it was just screaming for it. I imagine this is a little bit of what some of those who may have been on acid may have seen at Country Fair. Never having tried it before, I can only assume based on what others have related. What I quickly found when we arrived at country fair is that there is absolutely no need for any variety of mind altering substances of any variety to appropriately enjoy the freedom and downright craziness of this fair. I'm certain there were at least a few people in altered states, but I felt so in awe of every image it is hard to imagine missing even the tiniest bit of it by not being fully there.

Country fair has been held for 38 years, I think a good number of years in it's current location in the woods. Booths are built into trees and vendors who are selling various crafts: Pottery, metal work, batik & tiedye, glass, etc stay above their booths on a second floor at night, sell on the ground level in the day. There are paths that lead you in a figure 8 around the fair and wind in and out of various music stages and stands where you can buy almost any type of food you can imagine. It's not only the vendors who are selling things artists and creative types- the people to come to the fair are artistic in their own ways.
I love to shoot photos, but I quickly realized I could not do justice to the people at Country fair. Mostly I wanted to catch people as they existed among the crowds, but the crowd was so thick and so dense with men and women wearing the most amazing costumes and body art that it was impossible to appropriately capture the atmosphere.
Giant Chessboards and outdoor libraries were as expected as men on stilts and mostly naked women painted silver from head to toe. There were at least 3 women who were quite pregnant with their beautiful pregnant bellies out for the world to see, all of them painted with extraordinary designs. The most creative one was a woman wearing a bikini top and a skirt, and on her very pregnant belly someone had painted the baby that was inside, full scale, in the position he was likely in. It was an incredible work of art. It's the same image that if I saw in downtown portland I might turn my nose up at and think "why would they do that?" but at country Fair, it was not only fully appropriate, but practically expected.There were lots of butterfly wings, and I even saw a pair on a man, but he was still wearing pants, and no glitter paint. I did see a man painted as the devil, but again- had I seen that in downtown Portland I think I would have thought "ugh- why would that guy dress like that? how creepy"- but at Country fair, I thought, "oh yeah, dude makes a good devil. Wonder what he'll dress as next year?" Loved the man in the argyle socks & the Tutu. How many men can pull of argyle socks AND a tutu?
Some people were interacting with the crowd, some were moving with the crowd, some might just as well have been in the woods by themselves. This woman was facing a man and they were twirling these objects on strings- hers had beads and left tracks like fire as she spun them. I think had they been on Mt hood with no audience their dress and their twirling would have been exactly the same. We were more background noise to them than an audience.
As much as we try to bring nature into our indoor lives, I appreciate the idea that someone would try to bring the indoors to our outdoor lives. In college I had a sketchbook class with an amazingly creative professor. At the end of our semester we had a picnic on the lawn at school, where she brought out a picnic blanket and an 8 candle silver candelabra. That is one of the first things I thought of when I saw this disco ball in the woods- a Candelabra on a picnic blanket, a disco ball in the woods. Don't bring nature indoors to meet you, bring what you like outdoors to enjoy it in Nature.
Who could resist a photo of this guy? Check him out, the one with the grey dreds who is getting his photo taken by the woman in the straw hat & summer dress. He had briefly stopped dancing to the music, but I'm pretty sure he's been high since 1974.
This had to have been one of the most unique costumes of the entire fair. While most people were wearing elaborate costumes, half naked and painted all over, wearing only bras and butterfly wings, or just decked out in tie dye and shorts, this guy was dressed as an FBI agent...3 piece suit, briefcase and earpiece. Very very clever.
This is the closest I got on the "naked" part of my goal: Naked man painted with glitter paint wearing butterfly wings. I saw painted men, I saw a man wearing butterfly wings, and then this guy- unfortunately I was trying for a photo on the sly so I only managed to get half of him.
Dude's just funny. Again, where but country fair can a man get away with wearing a skirted womens bathing suit, a pink swim cap and a dragon floatie?

I hope to go back to Country fair again in the next few years. It was an eye opening experience, and a feast for the eyes. You can't imagine the feeling to be surrounded by so much creativity. It really and truly leaves you speechless.