news
briefs
String Cheese Incident
at Horning’s Hideout
FIGHTING FOR
THE HIDEOUT
Some of the Northwest’s biggest concert
promoters are desperately scrambling to re-
book huge shows. A small business owner is
bracing for a slew of potential lawsuits. And
Washington County’s three commissioners
are sticking to the hardline in their refusal to
hear a Measure 37 claim early — the one so-
lution that could keep Horning’s Hideout, a
popular outdoor concert venue south of
Portland, open for the rest of the summer.
On July 6, a Washington County land-use
hearings officers released a 34-page ruling
rejecting a formal application from Bob
Horning and his mother, Jane Horning, to
hold outdoor concerts at the 158-acre
Horning’s Hideout near North Plains.
Earlier this year, land-use officers notified
the Hornings that they would need to file for
formal land-use approval to hold the concerts
they’ve been putting on since 1999, when a
bunch of Bob Horning’s friends got together
and threw an impromptu event. Over the
years the concerts have grown in size and
popularity, due in part to the beauty of the set-
ting. Horning’s Hideout is set in a serene val-
ley with wooded hills, wide open green
spaces, lots of room to lounge on the grass
and spots to pitch tents. This year’s line-up
included the Northwest Reggae Fest, the 7th
Annual Pickathon and the Shakedown,
which have all been relocated (see
www.horningshideout.com).
While government officials say they’re
just following the rules, evidence supports a
different motivation. It all started when
neighbors Carolee and Jay Tyson circulated a
letter urging people to sign a “petition of ob-
jection.” The letter contains numerous allega-
tions including the statement, “Not all, but
the majority of the people that attend these
events are dread-locked, tie-dyed hippies
looking to ‘expand their consciousness’ for
the weekend on a steady diet of drugs and al-
cohol.”
Angela Owens, one of the co-founders of
the Northwest Reggae Fest, which features
mostly black performers, thinks the reason
the county is cracking down on Horning is
more about the people who attend the con-
certs than noise, traffic and the other con-
cerns raised by both the neighbors and the
code enforcement officers. “Maybe it really
just comes down to racism,” Owens said.
“Maybe that lady looked at Bob (Horning’s)
website and saw the dreadlocks and the ban-
ners and just freaked out.”
The Hornings are hoping they’ll be able to
hold one more event at the venue this sum-
mer, the String Cheese Incident’s Annual
Festival, by applying for a permit under the
Oregon Mass Gathering Act, a state law gov-
erning events with attendance of 3,000 or
more people.
Bob Horning has also filed a Measure 37
claim, which would supercede the county’s
ruling. But two of the Washington County
commissioners are on record stating they
would not vote to hear the Hornings’ claim
ahead of schedule, even though the waiver
request will likely be approved in the fall. So
far, Washington County has approved all
Measure 37 waivers that have come before
them rather than settle with landowners for
economic damages.
In the meantime Bob Horning is bracing
for the worst. “I think they’re trying to shut
me down,” he said. “You will always get a
few people at a concert doing drugs. But this
neighbor seems to be on a crusade. When I
first read the letter that was circulated, I
wanted to sue her for defamation. But while
this is ongoing, I have no recourse.”
Buried in legal fees, Horning has put out a
plea to supporters to help by donating
through a secure PayPal online link on their
website. “That was really hard for me to do,”
he said. “But it’s (money) going to be another
deciding factor as to whether we’re going to
open next year.” — Melissa Bearns
HEMPFEST
HAPPENS
The Emerald Empire HempFest over-
came numerous obstacles to pull off an event
July 15-16 at Washington-Jefferson Park that
organizers describe as a “physical success”
but a “financial disaster.” Preliminary ac-
counting shows an operating budget of
$6,000 for the educational hemp “trade
show” and celebration, but revenues of only
about $1,500, says Dan Koozer of the
Hempfest.
“We will be continuing to try
raising funds,” says Koozer. “I
need to bang on doors myself,
but with the permit process, try-
ing to find insurance and
everything else I haven’t had
time.”
Koozer says the group applied
for a city permit for the event two
months early, but could have used more
time. “And for the first time we had diffi-
culties getting insurance,” trying several
companies before getting a timely response
and an acceptable bid of $750.
“The event itself was excellent,” says
Koozer. “There were no ‘incidents,’everyone
was happy; vendors, park personnel and the
EPD. We had to agree to a ‘zero tolerance’
policy towards drugs and marijuana, includ-
ing medicinal marijuana.”
Koozer says the crowd was small
Saturday and even smaller Sunday. He
blames the low attendance on the group’s in-
ability to advertise before they had the permit
and “uncertainty as to whether we could pull
it off.”
“The event was a success in that we
showed that we can conduct an event that
isn’t a ‘danger to the community,’” he says.
“The police stayed completely out of the
way,” other than to keep the nearby bike
lanes cleared of parked cars.
The first music act Saturday was “death
rock” that sent some people running, and
even vendors threatened to leave. “Nasty
stuff,” says Koozer. “Not the kind of music
for a peace, love and nature type of event.”
But the rest of the entertainment went well,
and a sizeable number of neighborhood vol-
unteers showed up and “worked their butts
off.” — Ted Taylor
JOHN HENRY’S
CONSOLIDATES
As of July 1, local music club John
Henry’s has one less owner. Brothers and
owners Keith and Mark Martin bought out
their partner, James Caroll, for exclusive
ownership rights of the venue. Caroll
and the Martin brothers had been
partners since the new location on
West Broadway opened in May of
2002.
Keith Martin says that John
Henry’s, known for its bar and
local music scene, will continue to
operate as before, with no major
changes in the works. “Its business
as usual,” Martin says. “There will be
some small changes, we would like to see
more early shows as well as more benefit
shows, and we’re going to keep diversify-
ing.”
JULY 21, 2005 7