Archaeology Park

at the Oregon Country Fair
July 10-12, 2020

Each year, I am part of the Archaeology Park booth at the Oregon Country Fair in Veneta, OR.
We are a group of ancestral skills teachers who join together for the weekend to demonstrate a variety of skills, offer short workshops in some of them and sell our crafts and books.

The physical Oregon Country Fair could not happen his year due to Covid-19 restrictions; so they came up with an online alternative called “Fair in the Clouds”, which was comprised of several different parts. A digital map put visitors in touch with each booth’s website, several “stages” of both live and recorded entertainment streamed through the weekend and there was a “portal” which let you enter a digital world and walk or fly through the fair to visit virtual booths, chat with other “avatars” that you might bump into, watch entertainment on a number of stages, etc….

All in all, although it was not the same physical experience that we look forward to each year, it still gave a chance to connect a bit, enjoy some entertainment and a sense that the fair did happen after all. The creativity, adaptability and time invested to make it all come together at the last minute was very evident.

At Ark Park, we were able to get together a very simplistic “virtual booth”, where we had two educational videos streaming for passer’s by to watch.

Streaming Videos

At our “virtual” booth for passer’s by to enjoy.

The Oregon Country Fair is an annual three-day festival offering the finest in entertainment, hand-made crafts, delectable food and information sharing.
The Fair takes place in Veneta, Oregon, about 15 miles west of Eugene, in a wooded setting with our own water and communication systems, security team, recycling service and much, much more.

In 2019, the Oregon Country Fair celebrated its 50th Anniversary.