The Oregon Country Fair, noted for fostering the Flying Karamazov Brothers and nudism, for creative smoking materials, and for being very laid back, is held each July in Veneta, Oregon along the Long Tom River (The Oregon Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of the Useful, the Curious, and the Arcane, by Richard H Engeman).
But the very first Oregon Country Fair took place on November 1 and 2, 1969 in Eugene.
The Oregon Country Fair had its beginnings as a “Renaissance Faire,” a neighborhood fund-raising event for the Children’s Community School, held in Eugene on November 1 and 2, 1969. With the slogan “Come in costume,” the fair featured booths for the sale of crafts and artwork, musicians, and food; the theme reflected the then-growing counterculture movement.
The first fair featured 35 booths and drew 3000 fairgoers (The Sunday Oregonian, 18 October 1970). Known as the Oregon Renaissance Faire until the mid-70s, the fair soon acquired the permanent site near Veneta (The Oregonian, 24 June 1976).
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