It is exactly seven days until the gate opens at Zumwalt Campground for the Oregon Country Fair. That bubbly giddy excitement that started in your belly and is now possessing your whole body? Yeah, got that too! As we get ready for the big day, here’s a little reading so you’re fully prepared for a smooth camp entry experience. Before we go on, you need to PRINT YOUR TICKET. If you haven’t, go do it now. This blog post will wait for you. Ticket printed? Great! Lets talk. where do i park?First thing to remember is that there is no designated staging area for waiting to get into Zumwalt Campground. We used to do that, but it didn’t work out. So we’re back to doing it like we did 25 year ago when ZCG started. To build your skills and grace at staging for camp check out Zen and the Art of Staging. how will check in work?The ticketing and check in process changed dramatically for the better last year. Here’s to an ever more speedy and smooth entry process this year! For details read the unhumorously titled: Zumwalt Check In. where do i camp at Zumwalt?Where indeed! It is an important question and one that must be made quickly once your are banded. Many of you try to camp in the same place every year. Will you get your spot? First time? Where you camp in the park will strongly influence your experience. Sage advice from veteran campers awaits you at Land Rush ! what it this Zumwalt thing anyway?I’m glad you asked! You can learn all about Zumwalt campground on our community website. We also have a Zumwaltopedia chock full of information to help you get the most out of your camping experience. Ok. Did you really print your ticket? It’s alright, if you’re reading this you still have some time. Yes, they can scan it off your phone, but you know it’s hard, especially with the afternoon sun glaring down. Do the volunteers, other campers, and yourself a favor and print your tickets to make the whole process more smooth. It’s also a good idea to have a digital backup just in case your printed ticket flies out the car window and is lost forever. Make your own Fair magic happen. keep on truckn'That’s it brothers and sisters. Those of you coming from afar, like British Columbia, Arkansas, and Texas, are already on the road. Have a safe and joyful journey. I'll see you at home.
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with Megan ClarkWe all love being at Zumwalt Park. This year we have a special opportunity to deepen our relationship with our home away from home. Megan Clark is a descendent of the Ellmakers and is a elder of the Fair. She will be visiting the park and will be telling stories about the history of the land that is Zumwalt Park and the people who have lived there. Her personal connection the place brings the past alive as she describes how things were and how they changed to become the place we see today. With the damage to the legendary oak that marks the heart of Zumwalt Park, this is a unique opportunity to reflect on the past as we build the future. join us!When: Thursday, July 6th at 6:00 pm (Just before Samba Ja)
Where: Meet at the Ellmaker Oak (Grandmother Oak) See Megan Clark’s history of Zumwalt Park on the FoZP website. ZCG checkin overviewGot your tickets for Zumwalt? Great! You have made it through the first step in the camp check in process. As you well know, Zumwalt Campground tickets are now “print your own” through Lane County Parks. The next step in the process will happen when we finally make it home to the park. It was just a year ago when we were introduced to the new check in system, and for some of us this will be the first year. A refresher is in order. The biggest take home for this year and going forward is to print your ticket. Your printed ticket has a bar code on it and that one feature is leveraged to streamline the check in process. Unfortunately, the hand scanners used for check in have a hard time reading the codes on the screen of a smartphone, especially with the high glare of afternoon sun. Why is quick scanning important you ask? Because happy campers, we never get out of our vehicles during check in now. Instead we go through the steps as we drive in which is much more fast. We don't want to slow the process down, right? The biggest take home for this year and going forward is to print your ticket. The first checkpoint will be verifying that each eligible person in the vehicle has a ticket (kiddos under 10 years are free). This initial check as we enter the park is a good time to get all the tickets in the vehicle in reach of the driver to make thing go as smoothly as possible. Next will be to fill out our 3”x5” cards (the camp is required to do this). You will get cards for each adult in your vehicle, and as you slowly move forward, you fill out the information. At some point later they will get the completed cards from you. The next checkpoint will be the parking lot where tickets will be checked and issues resolved. Vehicles with non-ticket holders will be routed into the “troubleshooting lane.” The “lane” refers to how the parking lot will be configured. While will enter the park single file, the parking lot will be divided into four lanes: three regular check in lanes and one for those who have ticketing issues to get sorted out. A person will take and scan your tickets using a hand scanner or app on a smartphone. If you’ve been to concerts, you know that scanners can read a ticket bar code off your phone, but it doesn’t work real well. It’s essential that you bring a hard copy of your ticket. Just in case Cosmo the dog (don't bring your critter to Fair) eats your ticket, make your own Fair magic and put a backup PDF on your phone, but don’t rely on that digital copy. If all methods of verification fail, camp staff will have a master list of all ticket sales, so there will be an organic way to verify that you’ve purchased your ticket. The system worked really well last year. Nevertheless, it will be hot with exhaust fumes in the air...be patient with the volunteers checking you in. Once tickets are done you will move on to the banding checkpoint and that will occur in your vehicle as well. With sparkly new Zumwalt armbands you will be directed out into the camp to find your spot. That’s it! If the gods of technology will smile on us, check in this year will be more smooth than last. Like all new human endeavors, there will be problems. Remember that you are coming home. Keep your heart open and before you know it there will be fresh Zumwalt grass under your feet. See you there! REMINDER: There is no designated staging for Zumwalt Campground. For more information go here. Eugene Weekly - June 8th, 2017 - by Bob Keefer It was 50 years ago today — well, more or less — that my generation found itself.
Rock ’n’ roll turned grand and pretentious that year, 1967, when Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play with a real live symphony orchestra. Here in Eugene, KLCC went on the air for the first time, and the Oregon Country Fair was two years away from being born. Across the ocean, Vietnam was purring along like a macabre lawnmower. That was the year of the Summer of Love. I was 15. My friends and I sat on the beach in Los Angeles smoking dope and... Fair time is quickly approaching and it’s time to get the skinny out on how things will go at Zumwalt Campground. The unofficial Zumwalt Campground website has been updated with information for 2017. What happens at Zumwalt Campground during Fair weekend will surely be the groovy and sublime experience of every year, but surprises are in store as the event celebrates 25 years. Hopefully we’ll hear more about that as we get closer to Fair.
Last year the event organizers implemented two significant changes that are being continued. The first is that they did away with having campers line up before the gates opened for Zumwalt Park. This actually was a return to the practice in the early days of Zumwalt Campground, but now there seems to be more attention on where Zumwalt campers are hanging out before the designated time. For more details on staging and waiting to get into Zumwalt Campground check out the unofficial site here. Last year Zumwalt Campground completely revamped the ticketing and check in process with great results that are being repeated and refined this year. Zumwalt campers purchase ticket through Lane County Parks (Still on sale as of June 1st?) and have their documents scanned and are banded without ever leaving their vehicles. For more information about tickets and the check in process check out the unofficial website. Last bit to share is that there is that the Zumwaltopedia is chock full of great information available to help campers know what to expect and have an awesome time. |
Author: El Scorcho (not his real name)Been camping for Fair at Zumwalt since 1994 and still haven't seen it all. Why else have a blog for something that lasts three days, once a year? I am not an employee of the City of Veneta and have no affiliation with the Oregon Country Fair. Well, I go to Fair and I do volunteer stuff at camp, but that in no way makes this website and blog official. Consume with caution! Archives
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