Monday, July 11, 2011

Down the Rabbit Hole


Wonderland is alive and well and exists in the form of the Oregon Country Fair. Please understand, this is no ordinary country fair with folks selling apple pies and growing gigantic zucchinis and raising enormous pigs. Nope...not even close.

This fair is like entering a parallel universe where giants and other mythical creatures roam freely throughout the magical woods. There are artisans galore happily offering their wares including pottery, jewelry, candles, soaps, and artwork of all kinds. Food of every kind will permeate your senses...a veritable smorgasbord of delight. A menu for every palate: vegan, vegetarian, carnivore and those with a heavy sweet tooth...it's all there for you to partake and indulge and decadently devour!

It is not at all unusual to be greeted by a parade of colorful characters and musicians at every bend along your journey through this dreamlike world. I can't even tell you all the sights and sounds I saw when I visited the fair this weekend, but I will tell you it I was on sensory overload.

I didn't know where to look first--the Cirque du Soleil type of folks seemed to be everywhere...there were magic shows, musical concerts, puppets, vaudeville, street performers and anything and everything you can think of to delight your senses. Very scantily-clad men and women with their bodies painted in delightful colors and flowers and it seemed like the '60's were alive and well and happening in Eugene Oregon.

The hippies were everywhere because here, at the fair, everyone is coming from a place of peace and love. There are the die-hard hippies...holdovers from Woodstock...the ones that partied with Jerry and the Dead...there are the new hippies, the teen hippies, the baby hippies and even the hippie wannabes...because let's face it...at this fair, everyone wants to be a hippie.

The port-o'-potty I used (which of course they refer to as "The Honey Bucket") reeked of weed and patchouli...not a bad combination when you have to pee outside. Frankly, I was delighted not to smell piss and shit!

I enjoyed myself immensely... a big thanks to the D-man for taking me down there and tuning me in, turning me on, and letting me drop out...if only for a day. Today, I emerge from the Rabbit Hole...but I wouldn't mind staying down there a little longer. Oh well...there's always next year. Oregon is cool!

Peace & Love Everybody!
 These are not my feet!

3 comments:

MikkeB said...

Wow! Your description of the fair made it appear like A LOT of fun. Glad you got to go and have a good time, you closet hippie, you.

James said...

That sounds AWESOME! And right up your alley Deb! Were you wearing patchouli? Somehow it wouldn't surprise me to know you were, you bohemian, you! Peace and love to you too, darlin'!

John Horne said...

I remember hippies! In the late 60s and early 70s when I was busy growing up in New Mexico, there were occasional hippies around town. Some were in my school. I was part of the cowboy, gun-rack in the window of the pickup crowd, while my brother was a wannabe hippie. He liked Cat Stevens, I liked Merle Haggard.
I remember the Rainbows and the stir they created. Then something happened and the hippies disappeared, or so it seemed. I always wondered where they went. Were they like the elephants in the old Tarzan movies and they went to a secret graveyard? Did they cut their hair and become Televangelists? Then one day when I was in Portland, I thought I saw a flash of a gray pony-tail, then I caught a glimpse of a "I Miss Jerry" bumper sticker and I knew I had found the old-hippies. They were here in the Northwest, with a touch of gray for sure, but still around. Faint sounds of Janis Joplin can be heard in the breeze, and faded tie-dyed t-shirts are seen under leather jackets. At last, the mystery was solved.