July 2015 • FREE
Summertime Fun Time
by Rick Rogers We are so fortunate to live in the Willamette Valley where, for the most part, winters are not too cold and summer seems just about right (most of the time). When we consider our position on the map compared to the rest of the country, we are real “weather wimps” and I wouldn’t have it any other way. With summer upon us there is something to see and do just about any time of the week. First of all, on the Fourth of July get ready for an evening of entertainment and spectacular fireworks at Lebanon’s Star Spangled Celebration at Cheadle Lake Park and the Red, White and Blue Riverfront Festival in downtown Corvallis. You can contact the chamber of commerce in each city for more information. Music lovers will love July. Albany hosts the free Thursday night River Rhythms Concert Series at Monteith Park in downtown Albany, as well as the new Monday night concert series in July. See the full page back cover of this issue of High Points for the lineup. Lebanon has a great lineup of entertainment for their Tuesday night concert series at Ralston Park at the corner of Park and Maple. Entertainers include the Willamette Valley concert Band on July 7, Barbara Cecil on July 14, Misplaced Tropics on July 21 and Cloey on July28. Concerts start at 6PM. Movie lovers will not want to miss the popular free Movies at Monteith series shown on the big outdoor screen at Monteith Park in downtown Albany on Friday nights in July and early August. Check out the large half-page ad in this issue of High Points for a complete rundown of movies and other activities sponsored by the Albany Downtown Association. You also want to get ready for even more fun and entertainment at our big local county fairs coming in July including the Linn, Benton and Marion County Fairs. Take a look at the other article on this High Points front page for a listing. These are just a few of the great mid-valley events that are coming up during July. As I said at the beginning of this article, summer is filled with things to see and do here and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
It’s family fun time at the Linn County Fair.
Fun at the Fair For entertaining fun for the whole family nothing tops the Linn County Fair held at the Fair and Expo Center in Albany July 15th through the 18th. It promises to be four days of events you’ll fondly remember for the rest of the year. There is a main stage lineup that would make any fair proud including performances by Credence Clearwater Revisited on Wednesday, Dennis DeYoung and the music of Styx on Thursday, Jena Kramer on Friday and country music superstar Clay Walker on Saturday. Reserve seat tickets are available for each concert for an extra fee with all of the concerts starting at 8:30PM. Besides the “big name” entertainers there are plenty of other activities for fairgoers with plenty to see and do. On the grounds there will be a wide array of food vendors with all types of tasty treats. Inside you will find commercial exhibits and all types of fair entries vying for ribbons in many different skills and categories. Outside, you can visit Family Land where you will find all kinds of great family oriented entertainers, racing pigs, peddle tractor races, petting zoo animals and much more.
In another building you won’t want to miss “Walk on the Wild Side” where you can get up close with all kinds of exotic animals. In the area building, you can attend great rodeo style events such as barrel racing on Thursday, a “Bull Bash” on Friday and “Wild N’ Wooly” on Saturday. Of course there are also a wide-variety of carnival rides offering thrills and fun. Fair admission tickets are $7 for adults. $5 for seniors and 12 and under are free. Parking is $5. Wednesday is Military Day, free for all military members with ID. Thursday is Senior Day with all Senior Citizens admitted free all day. Friday is Family Day and Saturday is Samaritan Health Day. Advance and concert reserve seating tickets are available at the Fair and Expo office, as well as season passes. Tickets can also be obtained online at: www.lcfairexpo.com. Other great mid-valley county fairs this summer include the Marion County Fair at the State Fairgrounds in Salem July 9-12, the Lane County Fair in Eugene July 22-26, the Benton County Fair in Corvallis July 29-August 1 and the Polk County Fair in Rickreall August 6-8. See you at the fair!
Fair food is always a part of the fun.
Fair judges check out entries at last year’s fair.
by Rick Rogers