Recap of the Fair on Saturday

Photo by Stefan Freelan

I spent the weekend at the Oregon Country Fair. I drove down with Brad and Nadine and Sylvia on Friday night. We got caught in very awful traffic and stopped for an indifferent meal (much to Nadine’s chagrin because the beloved taqueria in Woodburn had evidently changed hands to a much less competent crew). After many trials and tribulations, we finally made it to Eugene to stay at a condo of a friend of Lucy’s. We even managed to see Lucy briefly.

After a solid night’s rest, we made our way to the fair. Of course, my pass wasn’t there. This year Mark had made it possible for me to go with a pass from Du Caniveaux, but the people at the gate had given my pass to a teen so only the teen pass was left in the envelope and, well, there’s no one on God’s green earth who will mistake me for a teen. However, I hung out for a while at the entertainment booth while several phone calls were made and eventually a pass appeared.

Then I walked to the Craft’s Lot and wended my way to the back of Stage Left and slipped through the gate. And there it was, the fair as I know it, a bunch of tents and folding chairs and people in strange and colorful costumes, and lots of familiar faces.

I’m allotted a small amount of energy each day and I had already used it up getting to the fair, negotiating the pass, and walking to our camp, but I had expected that. I got lots of hugs and everyone told me how marvelous I looked, which is always nice to hear, especially since I had such a rough year. At the last fair, I was only there for a day, reeling from the shock of diagnosis. This time, I was an old hand at medical indignities and setbacks and a damned sight more relaxed, just glad to have pulled through.

Andrine and Howard had set up the Enormous Tent for David before he got there. It’s something that I bought a couple of years ago for the Red Ukelele show to store myself and lots of props, instruments, and costumes. David now loves it because he can store his tuba and its case.

Joey Pipia kept walking by me without any acknowledgement until he finally asked me the time and suddenly realized that it was me in front of him. It was interesting to see people on the path who I knew well who looked right through me. Sometimes such anonymity was a blessing, though. There were a couple of people I didn’t need to talk to that would have accosted me if I still had long red hair.

Jasper wrote the show this year so of course I went to see it and it was great. He pulled it together at the last moment despite all our trepidations. Fortunately, he is quite talented so he can indulge in Last Minute Productions. And he had quite a few acts cancel at the last moment, so he had to back and fill quite a bit. However, the show was a hit. It was funny and well attended.

I stayed back in the Stage Left camping area for the most part that day, making a few forays for food. I went to the seafood both because Howard told me that Wendel was there. Wendel was a member of a juggling club that Gregg and I had many years ago in Port Townsend. Gavi and his daughter were toddlers then. Now they are about to graduate from college. Wendel gave me a plate of food, which Howard and I shared. Then we got some food for Jasper and wandered back to Stage Left. Jasper was pretty happy to get fed at that point. He was wired and tired from the responsibility of the show. I know the feeling having been in that position a few times myself. It was great to do the handoff to the next generation. Gavi wrote a lot of the music as well.

Gavi hadn’t slept in days. He spent his nights up at Du Caniveaux camp playing music. He was looking grubby, exhausted, and happy. It was nice to have my little family together again, although I don’t know if there was ever a moment when we all sat down together.

Jasper’s girlfriend Sarah seemed to fit right in. She danced in the show, she made costumes, and she had an apron with balloons from which she made erotic balloon sculptures. She looked pretty happy.

The glockenspiel sections was notably absent from the band. Jana played a tiny bit in the show, but didn’t march. Peggy blew out her knee before the fair so she didn’t march. And I was certainly in no position to play so I didn’t even bring my instrument. I felt sort of guilty being there without a job, the first time since Gavi’s birth that I haven’t worked, either by marching in the band or by producing a show.

I spent the afternoon show in the tent, not quite napping. The weather was very forgiving this year. Usually it’s pretty hot, especially in the afternoon, but this year clouds would blow in whenever it threatened to get uncomfortably hot and a breeze would whip up and it would be blessedly cool again. I kept thinking it was going to start raining, but it never did.