OREGON COUNTRY FAIR 2012
A Walk to Remember
NEW LOOP DEBUTS AT OREGON COUNTRY FAIR
BY STACEY M. HOLLIS
T
fairgoers have a feel for the new feature — they’ll send the
loop on its “naming voyage.” In the interim, Fair staff is
referring to it as “New Kids Way.”
So where, exactly, is this new-fangled loop? “This will
be immediately evident,” Ruff says, “because it’s right
inside our bus admissions [area].” When arriving fairgoers
step off the free shuttle bus, he explains, “just past that is the
… departure into this new loop segment, taking people into
the woods where they haven’t really had access to before.”
If you choose not to follow the loop back to admissions,
“it’ll dump you out on the other side of the Gypsy Caravan
stage,” Ruff says.
More highlights along the loop include performances by
local Native American storyteller Pony Gilbert, as well
as a history booth, a “galleria philanthropia” and
he Oregon Country Fair is debuting a new
addition: This year revelers can stroll along on
the maiden voyage of a new loop that veers off
through an as-yet-virginal section of the forested
fairgrounds. “It’s taken a huge amount of work
to put in the new loop,” OCF General Manager
Charlie Ruff says. “We’ve been looking at areas
to develop new paths for many years.”
In addition to alleviating congestion as visitors make
their way through the Fair’s labyrinthine network of trails
to areas such as the Upper River Loop and Wooten Way,
the loop promises to carry a special appeal for the younger
crowd. “We’re always looking for ways to improve the
Fair experience for kids,” Ruff explains. He says there will
be great activities for youngsters, “which gives parents a
‘
We’re always looking for ways to
improve the fair experience for kids.
—CHARLIE RUFF
VOTED # 1
20
’
a giant teepee offering what Ruff
says is a “handy resting place”
for anyone desiring a moment to
mellow out and chill with their kids.
Another new development at this
year’s Oregon Country Fair might just
go down in history: a portrait booth. This
booth offers fairgoers a means of memorializing
their Fair getup (or perhaps get-down). By having your
chance to see a show or have a little time for themselves.”
The loop provides a child care station. “It actually doubles
our capacity to do child care,” Ruff says. In the past, some
folks were sent away due to the threat of overburdening
existing child care facilities and staff. The new loop will
have additional emergency exit capacity as well, Ruff adds
— never a bad idea when it comes to large, active crowds.
For now, the loop lacks an offi cial title. In fact, Ruff
says, next year — after this year’s introduction, and once
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photo taken, you automatically become part of the OCF
offi cial archives — not to mention getting to pick up a free,
4-by-6-inch print at a later date. Partnering with OCF on
this project is local photographer Erin Dougherty Williams.
And this isn’t all you’ll come across during your ambles
through the new loop. “There will certainly be a lot more art
and surprises in that area,” Ruff promises, though he says
he’s saving some secrets for guests to explore and discover
themselves.
To view an online map of the Oregon Country Fair (yet
to be updated with the new loop, but effective nonetheless),
visit oregoncountryfair.org ew
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