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QuickTake:
Curious what a day at the summer festival will cost you? I documented every purchase during my first visit to the fair for a snapshot of what attendees can expect to spend.
A first-timer at the Oregon Country Fair, I approached the fairgrounds near Veneta on Saturday, July 11, with a simple question: How much will this cost?
Beyond the colorful costumes and communal showers, the whimsical annual three-day festival has been a marketplace for artisans and vendors since its founding in 1969. Tens of thousands of attendees browse hundreds of booths each year, where everything from handcrafted jewelry to pottery to frozen bananas are for sale.
And like just about everything else these days, the price tags reflect the rising cost of ingredients, material and labor.
For a new fairgoer like me, that meant balancing curiosity with a budget. So I tracked every dollar I spent to see what it takes to spend a day at one of Oregon’s most beloved summer festivals.
Pre-fair
My one-day ticket cost $60. For attire, I borrowed a friend’s dress and wore a pair of flip-flops — a free, though admittedly simple, outfit. Though I went back and forth over transportation, I ultimately opted to take the free LTD shuttle to the fair and forgo the $15 fee to park my car.
Spent so far: $60 (But if you want to look more fabulous — and don’t have a closet full of hippie garb — you might drop more here.)
At the fair
4 p.m.: I get to the fair (a bit later than I was hoping) and realize, against the advice of my own colleague, that I had forgotten to get cash for the event, which often lacks the cell service for mobile or card transactions. I brave a 15-minute line to use one of four ATMs and withdraw $80 for my day of purchases.
Standing in the afternoon sun and gawking at the spectacle — costumed creatures on stilts, drum circles, treehouse-like wood structures — I quickly grow parched. A bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of booths and people, I forget about the empty water bottle I brought and buy a honey lemonade at the Knish Bliss booth for $5. The tart 16 ounce cup makes for refreshing sippage as I follow crowds deeper into the woods.
Boo for forgetting about my water bottle. I’d soon notice that $4, not $5, appears to be this year’s going rate for lemonade at the fair, making this a slightly more pricey option.
Spent so far: $65.
4:30 p.m.: I meet Maria Lewis, a first-time vendor at the fair who is selling $20 handmade silver rings. She’s been working at other fairs for 14 years, and explains to me that she recently bumped up the price of her rings by $5 because of the rising price of silver — a foot of her 20-gauge “bread and butter” wire, once $1, is now $4 to $5.
She says she’s noticed a recent shift in customers’ appetite for spending.
“I feel like it’s been weird with Temu and Shein around,” she said, referring to the fast fashion giants. “I’ve noticed sometimes people look and they’re like, ‘Oh, you want 60 bucks for that? Sheesh!’”
But it’s not everyone. During our conversation, a customer stopped and bought a $45 bracelet.
5 p.m.: My stomach is growling. I’m feeling experimental, so I stop at B Heavenly, a vegan and gluten-free spot where just three things are on the menu. I order the tempeh tacos for $16 — two corn tortillas with tempeh, cumin bell pepper sauce, cilantro lime coleslaw and tasty toppings. They’re hot, fresh and filling.
Comparing the cost of this meal to other taco plates I’ve enjoyed in Eugene, these were tasty, but not a bargain.
Spent so far: $81.
5:30 p.m.: As a pretzel lover, I couldn’t resist a nearby Lovin’ Oven stand selling hot pretzel bites. For $5, I got a fry boat filled with tater-tot-shaped salted pretzels, and dropped an extra $1 on a side of dijon for dipping.
These pretzel bites felt like one of the better food deals I saw at the fair. It made me start thinking about the variety of things at the fair one could walk away with for $5: a cold drink, a carved stone, the list goes on.
Spent so far: $87.
6 p.m.: One of my main goals for the day was getting my face painted. I had fond memories of walking through the Northwest Folklife festival in Seattle, where I grew up, with rainbows painted across my cheeks. Completely lost at this point, I stop at Glamarama, a shaded stand tucked in the back of one forested nook that offers face paint and hair braiding.
There, I meet Rianna Piatt, one of several apron-clad face-painters working the booth. As she starts painting my face with a blue and white floral design for $20 ($15 for kids), she tells me she’s been going to the fair for 11 years, and working it for 10.
Her booth sets the prices and pays for the costs of being there up-front, but all of the face painters are responsible for bringing their own materials. Everyone at the booth uses the same brand of paint (the professional-grade Kryolan Aqua Color) — and has been since the booth’s origin in the 1970s, she said.
The paints are “pretty spendy,” Piatt said. As such, belly or breast paintings, with more coverage, begin at $28 and go up to $40. (Piatt said she noticed another booth charging $45.)
“I think you just kind of see what other people are charging and charge the same, and then we all follow that rate,” she said.
Piatt said she’s generally noticed prices going up at the fair, especially food.
“I wouldn’t say it’s that affordable,” Piatt said. “You can find some deals. You got to kind of look out for them.”
If I knew I had spent over $100 at this point, I might have skipped my last stop. But the $20 face paint was worth it.
Spent so far: $107.
6:30 p.m.: I leave Piatt’s booth, blue and white flowers painted above my brow with gold accents and pearl stickers. It dawns on me that my day is soon ending — the fair ends every day at 7 p.m. — and I make one last stop, to a little booth selling pottery. I buy a trinket, a tiny vase fridge magnet for the world’s smallest bouquet, for $10.
Total spent: $117
Considering how much one might spend on a splurge dinner, my total spending didn’t feel over the top for such an immersive experience. With the right prep, the fair is a place where a ticket alone is enough to fill up a day — no other purchases needed. But avoiding unnecessary purchases and finding deals does require some work for a first-time fairgoer.
