I've been envious, and more than a little irritated, at Corvallis since I learned that Trader Joe's chose to open a store there rather than in much larger Salem.
"What does Corvallis have that Salem doesn't?" I'd wonder. And quickly answer, "Major university. More highly educated people. A progressive, creative vibe."
Still, I hadn't spent much time in Corvallis recently. So to get a look at a town that Trader Joe's loves more than Salem, I said "sure" when Laurel suggested we go to the 2009 Fall Festival in Corvallis' central park.
Comparing it to the Salem Art Festival, I found the atmosphere hipper, cooler, more creative, and less up-tight.
As soon as we parked and walked a few blocks to the festival, I had an opportunity to try out the zoom on my camera when we passed by the music stage. An attractive beginning to what ended up being a very pleasant couple of hours.
We couldn't quite see these garden sculptures fitting into our yard. Maybe if we had a vegetable garden...
I think this art form was called Crow Dancing. It had a Tai Chi'ish feel to it, partly because of the yin-yang black-white outfits.
The crows fought at times.
The posture of the woman in black definitely looks like Tai Chi -- "snake creeps down." It's difficult to go that low. I was impressed.
Some of the food options were considerably healthier and tastier than what the Salem Art Festival offers, thanks to Nearly Normal's cuisine. I loved my falafel. Sitting down to eat it, I was struck by the difference in the length of the lines of people waiting for a fruit smoothie (short) and ice cream (long).
The Amazing Vend-a-Matic was fun to watch. Quirky and creative. I'm not exactly sure what people got for their $2 -- except entertainment from a black-gloved hand that snaked out of a slot in the box (plus a postcard).
I always enjoy Corvallis. Our son lives there and my husband works there; so it's been our main town for a long time. I missed the fall festival due to too many other things so thanks for giving me a taste of it.
Posted by: Rain | October 02, 2009 at 03:22 PM
Nearly Normals is a wonderful restaurant, and completely vegetarias! I love it!
Yes, Corvallis is hipper than Salem, but would it kill Trader Joe's to put a store somewhere closer to us? I think having a Trader joes in the Salem/Keizer area (read Keizer Station) would make the area cooler and hipper. And, maybe we'd get musicians like the one pictured above. That would be nice!
Posted by: Eric | October 14, 2009 at 02:23 PM
Glad you made it down for the festival, sorry we missed you. Although it is easier to naviagate through with two people rather than four.This year I went alone as Paul was OOT. Trader Joe's has their sign up now in a new little section of shops, TJ Maxx, Michael's etc. It will be so nice to have someplace other than the co-op to get those things that you just can't find anymore. Kelly(and Paul) new email
Posted by: kelly Wilson | December 31, 2009 at 03:56 PM
kelly, nice to hear from you. We're seriously envious of your Trader Joes' nearness. There's something cosmically wrong with Portland having a bunch of stores, Eugene having one, and now Corvalllis. Um, what's missing on the I-5 corridor, Trader Joes management? Hint: the city's name starts with an "S" and it's the STATE CAPITAL!!!
Posted by: Blogger Brian | January 03, 2010 at 08:40 PM
Thanks for the nice impromptu review of last year's festival. Hope you can make it down again this year!
Cynthia
Posted by: Cynthia Spencer | July 29, 2010 at 04:55 PM