Super fun! Loved browsing through all the food options and flea market stuff. The shows they had…read morewere super fun too

Time for another annual trip to the Junction City Scandinavian Festival! This year the crowds of…read morevisitors all seem in good spirits. Many people wearing various styles of lederhosen, others dressed as vikings, Oompa music fills the air along with the cooking aromas from Elephant Ears, Meat Pies, aebleskivers and brats! Ice cream and various cold drinks are also available. There are the usual array of vendors selling t-shirts, jewelry, handmade crafts, and the food! There is also plenty of entertainment to be had. There is an area for performing dancers doing traditional folk song and dance as well as a Maypole waiting to be decorated. I found a vendor for a company called 'Just Rum' who had a unique and very old recipe for the manufacture of rum. Utilizing these old recipes this company based in Sandy Oregon had come up with several award winning rums with varying alcohol levels. After a very entertaining and informative tasting session, I just had to purchase a bottle of Blackberry Rum! This is some potent stuff and seems to work best as a mixer, although there is one with a very high alcohol content made for sipping. Moving along to the Viking Village section I came across a vendor I had met last year. A leather belt maker. He does the whole process starting with a hide. Tanning the leather, cutting and tooling the designs, staining and preserving, it's just good quality craftsmanship. I purchased a belt from him and it's still in such good shape that I decided the cost was worth it to pick another style from him. He will also be at the Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel. Having secured my purchase of another belt, we escaped the heat for a bit by going into the crafts building where some of the more delicate items are on display. One of the real eye catching items is lampshades made out of wood! These shades are carved so thinly that light actually penetrates the wood casting a fantastic incandescent sepia tone of light. Time for some eats now, so we moved along and found an assortment or caramel apples with nuts, chocolate, M&Ms... you name it. We were also very happy to find some outstanding corn on the cob and some Danish Sausage Dogs with a very authentic European style casing that actually gave a crisp snap as you bite into the sausage. Thank You Junction City for another successful Scandinavian Festival. I just might come back before this four day event ends!

I absolutely love the Newport Seafood and Wine Fest! Its basically the only thing exciting going…read moreon here on the Coast in the winter, and its one hell of a fun party and some damn good people watching!! It CAN be tedious and energy-sucking though, so there are some tips to properly enjoying this super fun festival! Here's my recommendations: 1) Come on Thursday! Its locals night, and there are half as many people in the tents as on the weekend...its a low-key, chill night, where you can peruse the vendors, get some great food, chat with friends, and of course taste/drink some awesome wines! Thursday is a fun night with a good vibe. 2) Volunteer! This year I volunteered (with the Chamber of Commerce), it was SO much fun! I worked for 4 hours on Saturday morning, and because of this got free entry into the festival...ITS SO WORTH IT! The price to get in is fairly steep, so if you can get that waived, its more money to spend on food, wine, and other fun things inside! 3) If you go on Saturday, take it for what it is...this is the most crowded day by far, so if you don't like crowds, probably best to skip Saturday...but it IS the most fun day for people watching...crazy costumes, middle-aged drunk people, broken glasses...you never know what you might see! It is all in good fun though, and people are in good spirits so even though you do have to shove through the crowds sometimes, everyone is cool and understands! 4) Save up for it...I end up saving up for this festival because (at least for the past 2 years) I always spend a lot of money! Its inevitable, the food, the tastings, the glasses, the bottles, not to mention the awesome crafts, jewelry, paintings, art, t-shirts, stickers, etc that most of the vendors offer...its a fun time to splurge! So if you go into it knowing you are going to spend some cash, its a great place to stock up on good wine and awesome artwork! I just really love this festival, its such a fun event that comes to Newport every year, and I love the socializing as well as getting to try all the great Oregon wines! This last year my favorite wineries were Honeywood Winery, Crater Lake Cellars, Buddha Kat Winery, and of course Naked Winery. My favorite food vendors were Clearwater for their crab mac-and-cheese, the Crepe place, and the puff-pastry place with their crab-stuffed puff pastry! My favorite merchant vendors were Migration (they have amazing t-shirts!), Merch&Marine (great name!), and Oak Creek Collection, where my friend and I both got some awesome Oregon wall art! This festival is just a really fun event and I definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a good time!

Absolute scam. $32 for a ticket to get in the door to what basically amounts to an overcrowded…read moreSaturday market. You have to pay for every drink, every piece of food, and even your glass. Your entry fee gives you nothing but access to vendors who will sell you their goods every other day of the week without a $32 fee. We were expecting a few drink tokens or at least some glass for the price of admission but we were mistaken. $32 to walk through the door. The vendors were good. Friendly and happy to pour drinks. For upwards of $10 per glass. Food wasn't bad either. Our complaint, unanimous in a group of six professional people, is that you have to pay a bunch of money to get in, and you get nothing for that entrance fee. We will not be going back.

Northwest Paella Fest is the best!…read more Picture this: twenty or so groups of people in front of giant, flat pans (the paellera). These pans are bubbling, filled with saffron-laden Bomba rice. This one of vegetarian, that one has chicken, chorizo and shrimp. Next door is pork, mussels and green beans. It's kind of heady just being here. And it is great fun. There's just something about the combination of piles of delicious Spanish food, the vibe all around and everyone having a blast. It is a great experience and totally unique.

The cooler Fall weather wasted no time arriving in the Willamette Valley. A little online search…read moreand I discovered what my weekend had in store for me. I love Corvallis, as it feels much like the College neighborhood I moved from in Indianapolis, and it feels much more progressive than its surrounding areas. My mini & I made the trip from Salem and found side street parking a few blocks from the free event. It was overcast with drizzle in the forecast but that didn't deter us. Having arrived around lunch time, we decided to do a quick loop and hit the food trucks. There were several nice options to choose from benefitting the community. We landed on splitting a chicken quesadilla and a cheesesteak and both got flavored lemonades care of Benton County Democrats for Constitutions in High Schools. The area was set up with a hand washing station and plenty of picnic tables and trash cans. Afterwards we hit the many rows of vendors and were blown away by the diversity of quality art and hand made jewelry, crafts and foods. We especially enjoyed the 6 pack of variety baklava from Damascus treats and must've sampled 50 flavored balsamic vinegars and dipping oils from Mama Celia's Gourmet Foods before narrowing down our selection and taking home five. I have very little wall space left in my home, so I gravitated to the artist greeting cards and ended up with quite the collection. The snarky magnets from Tongue and Beak has us crying and will make nice gifts. We were unable to see everything in one day, but its was nice to know its a two day festival. I'll definitely plan to make this an annual event and allow myself more time next year!

Amazing atmosphere! And it's free?!? What a great event to have in Corvallis. Artists from all over…read morethe Pacific Northwest are featured. There are food trucks, life music, and plenty to see and do.

Just that the faire was there!!!it's a great place to be. The day before I was terminated from a…read morejob for being positive for THC and coming to the faire the next day helped sooo much to remember it's ok to be yourself!!!!

I grew up in Eugene, but never went to the OCF until a decade or so after I moved away. It's been…read morearound since the 60s or something (long before I was born), but when I was younger I think it was held in a different location before it moved out to its current location in Veneta. It started as a fundraiser for an alternative school but it's now a 503(c). It's always held the first full weekend in July. Once upon a time, it was a drug filled revelry from what I understand, but they've made it significantly more family friendly over the years. Don't get me wrong--you'll still come across a topless woman or walk through a cloud of pot smoke--but it's not as bad as it once was. And as far as unique experiences go, you'd be hard pressed to find another much like this. It was fun but getting a ticket is a little annoying. You can't purchase tickets there; they must be purchased off-site in advance. I guess it's probably great for crowd control or something--though I don't know that they actually limit the number of tickets--but I don't always remember to plan ahead. Oh well, I guess I'd rather they manage the crowd if that's what it's for. Head over to the parking lot of VRC to pick up your ticket and you can also catch the shuttle there too when the fair rolls around. It's great that they have a shuttle since parking around the place is honestly impossible I think. Unless you're camping, perhaps. There's a lot happening at the Fair, so for those who are quickly overstimulated you should be aware. You'll see stilt walkers wandering around. There's planned and/or impromptu parades that weave through the place. There are troubadours and small ensembles that may pop up, or individuals with a band on their back! You may find a juggler or a few wandering. There's activities for children, like puppet shows or face painting. Alcohol is not allowed on the premises, although there are areas where folks can smoke. There are tons of vendors. It's like the Saturday Market on steroids. There was a booth selling the most beautiful masks; capes and wings; art of various mediums... lots of treasures. There are also a nice variety of food vendors. When I went there was a booth that had beignets and they tasted like they came from New Orleans. There was music of various genres; activities both spontaneous and planned. A booth where you could create your own affirmation. The Oregon Country Fair is truly unlike any sort of fair or festival I've ever been to. I was mad at myself for not having visited sometime when I was growing up and living there permanently instead of waiting until 10 years after I'd moved out of state. But I will return with my little one in tow to enjoy this wacky experience all over again.

The Eugene Celebration is our town's "Farewell to Summer Party," and it, like many small-town…read morefestivals, has changed a lot over the years. The official party weekend is scheduled now at the end of August, but before Labor Day, and is a Friday - Sunday affair. Although the festivities used to stretch farther and wider (to Good Times on the north end, and W.O.W. Hall on the west end), nowadays the partiers are confined to the heart of the downtown blocks, with three - five large-ish stages scattered throughout. Saturday morning of the fest is kicked off with my favorite Eugene event, The Celebration Parade! Here you will see so many things, rich and strange, that even the most through-and through south valley-ites have missed! The parade is capped off with the first public venture of our S.L.U.G. Queen (who was crowned some two weeks earlier at an early August pageant). The parade is free but to get "in," one must purchase a pass. These are $15 for the whole weekend, $8 for Sundays, and some unknown amount for singleton admit on the other days. The music scene is pretty tight for our little town. I've seen the Cherry Poppin' Daddies (of course), Fishbone, They Might be Giants, Blitzen Trapper, Lyrics Born, Misty River, Pinback... All with little to no crowds. The music has stayed strong over the years, but what is waning is all of the local color inside the festival gates. There used to be so many ... oddities... throughout the festival gates, and that is what I really miss. Even the firedancers were absent this year! -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S78m7O7UOQw I'm still a fan though. I mean, what other small town do you know of that puts on a festival so uniquely its own? It's supported entirely off of donations and volunteers and has been getting us to party since 1983! Locals, let's get downtown next year!

I'm giving it three stars for years past…read more This year 1 star. For some reason, there were no Market Place vendors. I have come to Eugene Celebration for maybe three years and I loved the little shops. The shops were a great place to by local gifts and wares. They had plenty of massage, kids, and local exhibitor booths. My friends and I decided to go to the Saturday Marketplace for a few shops, which was nice. The Saturday of the Eugene Celebration is usually busy, but it was dead. I felt bad for the other patrons. I was disappointed. The music we witnessed was okay. Beers were delish. Oakshire, Hop Valley, Ninkasi. Also, they usually have a DISCO BALL cart at night and that was not there, either. Food had some good options. My friend loved her: Cart De Frisco. An old college treat - she claims. Love the Celebration normally, but this year was a bust.

RIP to such a beautiful gathering place. Hope that one day Eugene will get the same artistic and…read morebeautiful environment you provided.

Nice venue, set up for great music, seemingly…read more Bluegrass, however, requires a soft touch on the sound end... Especially with two GREAT guitarists and a string bass. Dropped in last night and made it for about 30 before I couldn't take anymore. FIRST: The soundman mixed the monitors with the HOUSE MUSIC on... and that was all she wrote. I got up close to the stage (out of range of the mains) while the first act -- dadweed -- was playing, and the monitors were, indeed, louder than the mains. And the BASS... Gawd. Ian is an insane player & his bass solos were the only ones that stood out between all three players. The bass solos. The vocals and songs were great over the roar of the bass... The crowd dug it. A bluegrass mix with two guitars is a delicate thing... The point is to be able to hear both guitars and what they're doing, including the whoever's playing rhythm at that moment.

I love this fair and never miss it. Albany is so lucky to have such amazing event twice a year…read morethat I come from out of state to attend like so many others. This fair has so many talented people whom openly share their gifts with the local community. Not only does it have almost 100 Venders with its exclusive one of a kind offerings. But the RaSani Fair also has speakers with 3 stages changing every hour. I really enjoyed the special star guest Sarah Lemons known from her show on the travel channel. I always find the best gifts for myself and others at this fair while also learning about healing , growing, and being part of a heart centered community.

When it comes to the unknown, sometimes I can be a little skeptical. Psychics, mediums, and tarot…read morecards fall into that category. But on the spur of the moment, I decided to check out this festival, held in October at the Linn County Expo Center. It is a 'Body Mind Spirit Holistic Fair' and has a little something for everyone interested in matters of the mind and heart. In addition to those listed above, there were also masseuses, clairvoyants, artists, iridologists, and even crystals and tie-died clothing. Of the 3 people I consulted with, all 3 had spot-on feedback for me. It was almost scary. I didn't volunteer anything. Yet these insightful women were able to tell me things about myself that I rarely tell anyone. I was quite impressed. And a little overwhelmed, I must confess. Sandi Buchanan (Radiant Journeys). She is a medium I went to see in one of the special classes offered during the event. Enlightening. Shay Garrison. She does 'Aura Readings', where she takes your picture with a special camera that shows your aura and explains what it means. Very cool. Cheri Pang-Burghardt. Another medium who really impressed me. And an extremely sweet and sensitive person. And I opted for a massage, too. Why not! Andrea McCullough of Sacred Tempos has magic hands. This was just the kind of event I needed and I'm so happy I attended that day. It really was an eye-opener for me.

This was a fun festival and a great excuse to come to Eugene. I wasn't sure what to expect, except…read morelots of mushrooms, and this Festival certainly delivered. I would definitely recommend getting here before the festival starts, because parking was tricky even though we got there in the first hour that it opened. It was also raining, so I imagine that it's even more crowded when it's sunny. There's some fun mushroom food vendors, and a few places to get mushroom soup. You can get mushrooms on other things, although I recommend getting the food early because the lines do get long. There are also food options that don't include mushrooms, so if you're not much of a mushroom fan, there's something for you too. There's a few vendors here too so you can buy some trinkets or accessories if needed, some with mushrooms and some not. You could spend an hour or several here depending on how long you wanted to stay, if you want to do the mushroom walks, and if you want to listen to music. The Hall of mushrooms was lots of fun too, and I never realized just how many varieties there were. I liked how they're mushroom experts that we could ask questions too If you have a membership I highly recommend coming here, but even for the non-member ticket price it's not too bad.

OK, so it can be crowded. I get that. It can be difficult to SLOWLY wander through the giant barn…read moreand look at the amazing array of wild fungus that volunteers collect, identify, and set up for display. Is it worth it? Well, the answer isn't yes, it's HELL YES!!!! This is a fundraiser for the arobretum. The arboretum is awesome too. Go often. You'll love it. The scarecrow contest is always a hoot. There's a bunch of booths from non-profits that you can support. There's a mushroom identification booth so you can have someone look at what you're not sure about. There's a booth with common edible mushrooms and their look-alikes so you can get better at identification. There's books, posters, and T-shirts available for purchase, all of which support the arboretum. Oh. Yeah. There's that mushroom soup. Oh. My. Goodness. You must get it. The price tag looks high, but it's also a fundraiser. It's made by Holy Cow, and they only make this soup one day of the year. Go get yours. You won't regret it. William O. Sullivan is always there selling his awesome books. Local artists have mushroom related art for sale. There's mushroom growing kits from some local companies. What's not to love? There's live music. There's guided nature hikes. There's even a hay ride if you're in to that kind of thing. I will see you there next year.

Adorable tiny lavender festival! Well thought out and put together, the vendors were awesome, staff…read moreis knowledgeable and friendly and the price for u pick was excellent. Beautiful setting and the live music was a perfect touch. I've been to the big ones up in Sequim and I'll tell you, I didn't miss them. No giant crowds, ample parking, and pretty by the river. Their products are wonderful too so anytime you see that label, know it's good stuff.

Went with my friends and had an amazing time!! Live music, a couple samples, amazing workers!! Very…read morereasonable prices and right next to the river! They had so many local businesses too and just such great products!! For sure coming back next year!! A really cool festival and a great experience