OCF 2025

July 17, 2025 by albertkaufman

Oregon Country Fair 2025 – a Review

Hey there, I’m back from another Oregon Country Fair (OCF). My head is still a little scrambled, and it’s been 3 days since my return from the fields and forests of Veneta, Oregon. This year was another hot one – daytime temps were in the high 80s, and then for the 3 days of the Fair, temps climbed into the 90s. This ends up having an effect on Fairgoers and those who volunteer for the Fair. Right before this year’s OCF a new documentary about the event came out. It’s about an hour long and does a great job of showing off various aspects of the Fair. Enjoy.

About those volunteers, there are thousands of them. That’s something notable about this event that’s different than anything I’ve attended before. The amount of people and people-hours that are poured into this event is quite incredible and makes for a giant family of people who work together to create Fair Magic. Most events have a ratio of volunteers (or paid staff) of about 10 or 20 attendees for every ticketed customer. In the OCF case, it’s much closer to 1 to 3 – a very low ratio (if you know the exact figure on this, please let me know). I volunteered as a musician this year, playing for kids at Sesame Street and Wally’s Way stages.

This episode brought to you by the inexpensive construction headphones I schlep everywhere to help me sleep during loud music and other noise at festivals like this one. And while I’m here, these headphones are part of a 11 life tips series that you can sign up for here. For some great background music while reading this – try out Fair TV – which is streaming the shows from the main stage as I type this – 7.17.25.

So, besides the great food, wonderful music, interesting spoken word, an incredible 1st annual Friday night burlesque show (go in 2026!), and interesting crafts, there are things that are not obvious. Oh yeah, the costumes, people on stilts, marching bands, cute kids, and all sorts of serendipity – there are a few things I want to talk about that are not obvious unless you’ve been coming a while.

Networking.

I am lucky to get to Fair a few days before the official event begins. This meant the Wednesday before Fair for me this year. This led to wandering the 8 and connecting with many craft vendors and other volunteers before the event opens. Some of these relationships have been going on for years. I see you booth L12, Wileyware! As someone who helps small businesses with email marketing, my conversations are sometimes about how to help the crafters market their wares – both at the Fair and beyond.

Wileyware

I got into a conversation with Skeeter Duke, who’s been coming to the Fair since close to the beginning. He talked to me about the intention of the Fair at the start was for people to come together and network. Figure out how to create a new society together. How to take the ideals that were being discussed in the late 60s and spread them through the community and work, and build together. I’m going to keep learning about this intention (there were newsletters back then, and many elders from the time still carry on this effort today). There’s so much to say about this. And I think this part of the Fair is a little obscured by the pageantry part.

For example, the Fair features 2 big areas devoted to organizations doing interesting environmental activist work that create all sorts of opportunities for education, but also networking. These are Energy Park and Community Village. I think most people and the booths themselves are missing a big opportunity that I hope to elevate here. We tend to approach the booths at Fairs as consumers – these people behind the table or wall have something to offer us. Maybe it’s a blintz or knish. Maybe it’s tie-dyed socks or a beautiful guitar or earrings. But maybe it’s wisdom. Maybe it’s an internship for someone you know. It goes deeper than that. Here’s an example.

While I was sitting in the Ritz** (an incredible collection of saunas and showers – one of the main reasons I go to the Fair, actually), which is also a great place for networking (or catching up with friends, or group singing in the sauna). Anyway, I look up and see the smokestack puffing smoke. The Ritz burns a lot of wood each year at the Fair, and that smoke is spewed into the air and breathed by fairgoers. I’d been thinking, as I’m learning about woodsmoke, how do we electrify the Ritz? The saunas could be running on electricity and sparring fairgoers (and the region) a little bit less woodsmoke in the air. I ended up in a long conversation by someone who’d been on the OCF board in the past and she mentioned Peach Power – an effort to bring more solar panels to Fair. Well, without that conversation I wouldn’t have been able to then have a different conversation with someone from Energy Trust in Energy Park about the same topic.

I work on a few livability issues. Getting Rid of Gas-powered leaf blowers; dark skies Oregon (esp. how to slow the spread of too bring LED lighting); Keeping Trees Standing; and reducing woodsmoke. Mostly, I’m focused on Portland, but everyone could benefit from the work I’m doing. So, when I’m face to face with someone who is part of an NGO where these issues are related, I see the person on the other side of the table as an ally. This relationship is possible with anyone at any time – but at Fair, things are labeled better 🙂 ie, the booth dedicated to seed swapping in Energy Park is a great place to talk about saving the pollinators. Seeing my longtime kinda guru, Sharanam – we got into a conversation about setting up a show for him in Portland.

Then, there’s lots of sharing back. Letting people in on Fair secrets – or, what I like to call, showing people the door. Not everyone knows that there are a wide variety of ways to participate in the Fair. You can jury in and become a vendor; volunteer to be part of a crew; but it’s also possible to be an SO (significant other/guest of) an elder (that’s how I got my camping pass this year after many years with various booths and crews). This is something that I want to dedicate some time to in the future – figuring out how to get people to Fair who will have a life-changing experience there. People who might not even know the place exists, but who will benefit from being a part of the Fair Family (which is pretty much everyone).

Fair Information

You can get information about the Fair from the Info Booths located around the Fairgrounds (also known as the 8). But there are a ton of other ways – there are a slew of private and public Facebook groups, for instance. For instance, if you’re tired of my spiel and want more pictures, try out the OCF Unofficial group.

And the information is everywhere – from the banter of the performers (which contains many positive messages) to the Peach Pit, which is the printed guide to the Fair – there’s lots to learn about. There’s even a code of conduct! And general guidelines.

I will probably have more to say about the networking topic I started on above. My learning about how that informed early Fairs, and my own current approach to networking in the small business world, seems to be pushing me into an area I’m not familiar with. Going to places we’ve never been before!

The hot temps and dust at this year’s Fair were a reminder to me about how fragile our society is. We march our way through, but it’s challenging. I walked around the Fair most of the time with a wet towel on my head that I had to keep wetting. I’m 64, and I noticed aging for myself and others more than in previous fairs. I got lucky and had dinner with a couple of people who’d been to the very first fair and most of them since that time! 52? 53? I saw more alter-abled transport and more strollers this year than in years past. Watching kids at the Fair is fun – and it’s also fun to see someone in their 80s oohing and ahhhing like they were kids.

I appreciate the deep connections many of you have with each other. I realized this year, more than in previous years, that those who live in Eugene or thereabouts seem a lot more connected than those of us who travel farther to reach the shores of the Long Tom. This year felt more “local” to me. But I also realize that repeat visits and my many loose ties with a wide variety of Fair people do ground me.

Ah, Fair. Thank you. Thank you for connecting me with many of my friends. Thanks for the chance to share time with people who knew my friends who have passed away – Ben Bochner and Amira. Thanks for the chance to gather in a very safe place and find magic. Fair is not perfect, but Fair is Fair!

Until we meet again, Albert Kaufman, 7.17.25

This year’s Resource List!

PS – your comments are welcome! I am always open to feedback.

PPS – here’s my write-up from last year, and that links to previous years. I may do a Resource List for this year in a bit. Joining my email list is a great way to hear when I’ve written something new.

PPS – my friend, Bruce Bartlett had this to say about the Ritz (which turns 50 next year):

“I agree that the Ritz is otherworldly in its effect on people. I have been transformed in there several times. Each time (5) a new level of tension has relented, both somatically and psycho emotionally.

Doing something you (almost always) do in private now openly and relaxed is a powerful ritualistic tool that can dissolve shame. When the internal tension, that is so often held excruciatingly tight in a person who is troubled by their body or their beliefs about it, is finally allowed to release itself, the person enters into a free, open communal space with music and laughter in the background in a way that feels almost surreal at first. I recall the first moment my shower turned off so the splash of the spraying water on me ended. I opened my eyes and started taking in the world around me. The relaxation, conviviality, and acceptance I witnessed filled (informed?) a part of me that had always wanted that sensual environment to exist. Warm fires make for warm conversations. The toning in the saunas still echoes in my mind.

We have created a portal into a profound body-positive world. The fair itself is a towering testimony to the glorious beauty of the body, in a kaleidoscopic, wild, outlandish statement of joy. This celebration in the Ritz of our innate beings with our unique bodies manifests the world as it should be.

Deep appreciation for its builders and keepers. May many be blessed in the portal.”

Thank you, festival culture, for making me who I am.

Philly Folk Festival
Burning Man
Oregon Country Fair
Vancouver Folk Festival
Beloved
Mariposa Folk Festival
Hartford Folk Festival
Middletown Folk Festival
Folklife Festival
Garlic Festival
Singing Alive
Cascadia Songrise
String Summit
World Domination Summit (3)
Neurodiversion 2025

I’m probably missing a few 🙂

And to my Mom and Dad, who pushed me in this direction from the very start

Filed Under: OCF Tagged With: art, dance, festivals, friends, highlights, kibbitzing, magic, music, OCF, Oregon Country Fair, ritz, saunas, see you at the fair, The Ritz

Beloved 2018

August 22, 2018 by albertkaufman

Beloved 2018

This was Beloved Festival‘s 11th magical year. If you know me at all, you know that 11s are a big part of my life. From my newsletter (The Eleven) to my birthday (the 11th of May) – 11’s are key. You may have also seen me raise my hand when the question “who’s here for the first time?” gets asked. That’s another story (beginner’s mind…). So, one thing for me that was fun about Beloved this year is that I’ve been there since the beginning and I also try to approach things as if I’m there for the first time. I was scheming to make a t-shirt with the Beloved logo on one side with the year 11 on it and on the other side the slogan Beloved Virgin (1st year!), but never got around Tuit. Speaking of t-shirts, some of the stage crew wore black t-shirts this year with the word Belivid in bold white letters on them. Striking and potent.

My friend Matthew Burns did an interview with me on the last day of the festival this year. If photography is your thing – Carlton Ward took a great collection of photos this year – check them out (any photos that are published here are from him!). And, Maggie Jane Cech did these beauties!

As I mentioned, I’ve been attending the Beloved Festival for many years. Each year is different – depending on the site; weather; who I’m camping with; relationship status (I’m single and looking!); who else shows up each year; how easy it is to get in and out of the festival; and 100 other factors. That’s also partly why it’s useful to have a beginner’s mind – ie, not expecting that the experience will mirror past experiences saves you from the frustration you might feel when something has changed. And Beloved Festival always changes as we continue to change, too. My first year going I was 46 and now I’m 57 – ha, my life has significantly changed through that time, of course. The way Beloved has changed is a little bit structural – the layout of the festival – but the main change this year felt like an invitation or encouragement by the festival organizers for us all to challenge ourselves to go deeper.

Beloved Festival is full of seekers. People who are passionate about their craft – whether it’s yoga; eating healthy food; personal growth; healthy relationships; learning about and practicing consent culture; music; dance and many other passions are well represented. My sense this year was that there was a question in the air: “Are we doing enough personally and as a group to change the world?” Sub-questions around this are: are we doing enough to end racism? Is this event doing enough to be inclusive (the attendees are mostly white, and probably middle class, though class issues are not usually raised at the festival). How can we take the amazing lessons we learn at Beloved and bring them into our lives; our relationships and into the world? This is something I was chewing on a lot at Beloved this year – beyond just digesting my experience – how can we take this event and all that it teaches us out into the world? I know not everyone in the world can attend Beloved – most won’t get a chance to even attend something similar and even if they did, they would probably only take away a relatively small amount of the wisdom that is shared there. For years I’ve imagined a video testimonial/interview booth for people to share their insights during the festival. We’re brought to such a peak state and that would be good to share – I believe it would be a positive influence on the world. This year we were asked to look at our shit – both internal and our actual poop 🙂

These composting toilets were quite incredible (I believe the compost is left on-site and used to fertilize the property where this event is held. The troughs between the private toilets were for men. Perhaps in future, there will be herinals for women (like the ones at Oregon Country Faire 🙂

Then, there’s the Beloved Festival by night. One change that I was quite happy about was the return of video mapping of the stage. There was just a light dusting of that this year, but it’s quite lovely to behold. See Carlton’s pictures for more of that imagery. Beloved at night is quite special. There is one main stage and most people are either dancing; having food or wandering to and from their campsites. This makes it a great place to drop in with people and for years I’ve been talking about the festival being my annual men’s workshop. Ie, there’s nowhere to go that’s not in the center of things – so, when you meet someone it’s easy to settle into a longer, deeper conversation.

There is so much incredible intention put into this festival. Everything possible is thought of. In the first few years, some of the systems didn’t work so well, but now just about everything works beautifully. I’ll include some improvement areas down below, but here I just want to say HUGE kudos to the staff and many many artists who make Beloved such an incredibly beautiful place to inhabit for a few days. Just about everywhere you look artists like Nature and his crew came early to manifest beautiful interpretations of nature using the natural art materials found nearby. Making installations like this:

I’ve written about my visits to the Beloved Festival in the past. (that’s a link to my 2010 write-up if you’re curious about the changes over the years 🙂 This year felt a lot deeper to me than in years past, but that might also be partly where I’m at right now in my own life. Here are a few major highlights from this year.

Mornings in the woods with campmates => Sharanam Anandama => Solsara practice daily. That’s quite a combo and I’ve been trying to make it happen on every Beloved day for years. Usually I get to 2/3’s. But this year I was able to catch a little of both each day. Solsara happens in Portland and Eugene regularly – a great, accessible personal growth practice (featuring Carrie and Larry!)
Sara Tone and friends and how they called in the directions and opened and closed the festival. This felt like the most profound opening and closing ceremonies I can remember. People seemed more focused and attentive than I can remember them – and Sara Tone and Michael Meade both shared few but profound wisdom with all of us – setting the tone for the festival ahead. The magic of facing towards the mountains in each direction – Tahoma, Wy’East, Shasta, and Fuji (with a deviation to focus on Pele on the Big Island this year which was new…) were powerful! We also sing together “medicine for the mountain” and Sara Tone calls out all of the native tribes that were or are based in each area before we sing – it’s very profound and powerful. If I can find a video of this, I would be glad to share it, here.
Seeing the master guitarist and songwriter, Peter Rowan on the Tree stage was a big highlight for me. Peter’s been such a big part of my life over the years – performing on Old and In the Way and in so many other arrangements that his voice resonates deep in my soul
Seeing old friends. This year had a special aspect to it for me – I feel like a lot of people I hadn’t seen in 2-3 years decided to return and visit again. That was special as I also notice that many in my tribe that used to camp together have stopped attending festivals more and more – so, it’s hard to have that posse feeling when that happens. I also enjoyed making some new friends – Patty and Mike from Connecticut – who flew across the country to attend their first Beloved! (get in touch, ya’all!).
Whoever started the creation of the vulnerable signs and parade (vulnerability rally) – that was a beautiful effort and reminds me of something that happened at WDS this year. I’m referring to this talk by Yes, Yes, Marsha.
The music – so much great world music. I’m not sure how long this will stay up, but here’s this year’s line-up. I don’t usually attend festivals on who’s playing – I’m generally pretty happy with organizers’ choices and this year felt like an incredible offering. Angélique Kidjo playing Talking Heads Remain in Light? Over the top fun! Ayla Nereo? Wonderful!
Sound: generally better over the years and this year was probably the easiest on my ears. That said, it’s often still way too loud – Blackalicious, for instance, was too loud for human consumption. Please – it never needs to be that loud. My friend suggests walking out into the audience with a decibel meter and seeing what the levels are. Thanks.
Most of the lighting at Beloved is glorious. And, there are bright lights that come out towards the audience at the Purple dome – I wish those would be turned off or turned down, or out of audience’s eyes. Also, the blaring headlight bright lights that shined out onto the audience from the main stage – I don’t like those at all. They are jarring and I don’t like the trend of the way these are being used at festivals.
The art: particularly the natural installations I mentioned above – but also all the lighting and fabrics and thought put into making the festival grounds beautiful, festive and sacred. The alters on either side of the main stage were breathtaking and a great reminder of how to mix the divine with a festival.
More photos by Melissa Robin, and Andrew Paul
th Beloved! – Spotify Playlist of this year’s artists!

Alter to the left of mainstage

I’ll probably add to the list of highlights as I think of them. Here are a few improvements I’d like to make for Beloved Festival’s 12th year. The festival already does so much right it’s hard to even consider posing some suggestions, but after 20 years as a software tester, I think it’s part of my DNA to share bugs with the hope that developers will improve the software 🙂

The new composting toilets are world-class. I’m not sure where to put more of them, but a couple more either where they are currently, or one more bank behind medical wouldn’t hurt. Also, Herinals like at OCF would be a nice addition.
I arrived on Thursday for early entry and spent about an hour on a hillside slowly moving towards a parking spot. I’m not sure what the solution is, but I’ve had easier entries in the past. I was parking and camping in the Far Mosque area (hard parking) and if there had been a couple more traffic people I believe I would have been parked quicker. There seemed to be an issue with people coming out while people were coming in, plus only one person was moderating a long line-up of cars. Anyway, not sure about the solution here, but imagine it can be improved.
Having the Purple Star Dome where it was made workshops there hard to follow due to the sound from the main stage. Again, not sure where the best location would be.
I missed the Grove stage (sound healing) altogether this year – having that so far from the main area .. hmmm. How about @ the Gazebo?

I’ll add to this list as I think of things, but the improvements for the Beloved Festival are probably well-known by the organizers and are nothing like the ones I’ve written up for Strummit. Overall, this year’s Beloved Festival is something I’m still chewing on and digesting. I still haven’t taken my wristlet off which is usually a sign to me that something was remarkable 🙂 In fact, Beloved is the one festival which I see people leaving their wristlets on for a year or more – which tells you something. Early Bird tickets usually go on sale for Beloved in the Spring – join their email list and perhaps we’ll share a dance there next year! Also, there’s a somewhat active FB group if you’d like to hear about other events and connect with other Beloveds throughout the year.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your feedback/comments to me, or below.

Albert Kaufman

PS – did I mention I found a new place to dance (face altered by Maitrea)? Oh, and I skipped the word LOVE. Love is a big part of this festival – add in love. Loved the food. Loved the rain (fresh air). Loved the people I camped with. Loved the ride to the festival. Loved the ride home. Love thinking about Beloved. That.

PPS – The Economist weighed in this year.