Festival of the forest

Come Celebrate
Autumn on Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood Festival of the Forest

For generations, the colorful season of autumn has inspired travelers to visit Mt. Hood National Forest. The breezy mountain air heightens their senses. Spectacular displays of foliage abound, and they enjoy some of the best weather of the year for hiking. They treat their palate to seasonal northwest bounty (such as wild mushrooms, salmon and huckleberries) and stay in mountain lodging that refreshes the body and spirit.

Very simply, it is the time and the place to celebrate the passing of summer into autumn.

You are invited to come celebrate autumn with us at the Mt. Hood Festival of the Forest on Saturday and Sunday, September 16 and 17. Join us at the Wildwood Recreation Area which is about 13 miles east of Sandy, Oregon, on US Highway 26.

LET THE FESTIVAL BEGIN!

Set in a woodland glade, the festival starts at 8:00 a.m. each morning with the Hoodland Seniors famous huckleberry pancake breakfast. Here you get a stack of pancakes rich with wild huckleberries, a signature pick from the region. There's also plenty of sausage, juice and coffee or tea.

MEET THE FOREST

Fortified with a good breakfast, festival-goers can then enjoy activities that are at the heart of the event: an array of Mt. Hood National Forest activities. The featured Passport to the Forest Pavilion has numerous stations to engage you in better understanding the national forest's trees, plants, birds, amphibians, animals, and more. New this year is a pavilion all about becoming a Junior Ranger by doing program work at the pavilion, after which the Junior Ranger materials will be mailed to your home.

The Passport Pavilion and other forest interpretive booths are developed and staffed by the USDA Forest Service, staff of the Mt. Hood National Forest and their various partners, all of whom love having the opportunity to share their knowledge with you.

BUILD A BIRDHOUSE

Once your Passport is full of stamps from the stations you have visited, you can build a bird house. Later, your birdhouse will be put to use for nesting research and you will be able to look online to see what feathered family has inhabited your birdhouse!

HAVE A BITE TO EAT

By now, you may find you are hungry.or need that second cup or coffee. Not to worry.a variety of food booths will be serving teriyaki chicken, caeser salads, cheeseburgers, bbq pork sandwiches, free popcorn and more. And for dessert you'll find Oregon strawberry shortcake, elephant ears, cheesecake, ice cream and more.

RELAX AT THE BEER GARDEN

For those that enjoy a cold brew with their lunch, the festival features a beer garden which opens at noon and serves until 6:00 p.m. each day.

CATCH THE MUSIC!

Music will fill the air, starting each day at noon. The festival showcases a variety of uplifting styles including jazz, blues, bluegrass, country, acoustic, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT

It isn't just the music that will please.you'll enjoy country line dancers, tribal dancers, a didgeridoo player and much more.

Feel free to bring along your lawn chairs or blankets for the event .we want you to enjoy the festival in comfort. Your hand-stamp gets you in for the entire weekend.

All these performances are presented by the Patrons of the Festival Music.a diverse group of individuals, organizations and companies that give generously each year so that the festival and woodlands resound with music.

THIS YEAR'S MUSIC LINE-UP INCLUDES:

SATURDAY

12:00       The Laugh, folk
1:00       Red Wing, bluegrass
2:00       John Bunzow, Americana
3:00       Cee Cee James, blues
4:00       Arts Contest Winners Announced
5:00       New Iberians, Cajun/zydeco(pictured)

SUNDAY

12:00       Shoehorn, tap dance & music
1:00       River City Cloggers, dance
2:00       Bob Voll & Too Loose Trio classic rock performance, sponsored by The Resort at The Mountain
3:00       Blue Lightning, rhythm & blues
4:00       Bobby Torres, Latin jazz(pictured right)
5:00       Big Monti, rhythm & blues(pictured left)

And special appearances of Earthdance, tribal dance troupe

EXPLORE THE ARTS

The festival features numerous booths of judged artisans who display their creations for purchase. The array is dazzling.woodworking, metal-smithing, jewelry, fiber arts, pottery, garden art, photos, paintings, and watercolors, among other art forms. Many of the artists demonstrate their craft during the festival. With the holidays just a matter of weeks away, you can get ahead of the shopping rush by purchasing gifts at the festival.

LET THE CONTEST BEGIN

In the Arts Contest, you will see entries from juniors, young adults, and adults in six categories of art.all of which celebrate some aspect of Mt. Hood or the Mt. Hood National Forest. There are cash prizes for the top 3 winners in each age group for each category. Art contest entries are being accepted until September 15th. Applications are available online at www.mthood.info/forestfest.

The festival art contest is presented by Alan Dyck, a wildlife biologist for the Mt. Hood National Forest and an accomplished photographer (his photos accompany this article).

MORE TO EXPLORE

There are booths to browse.including huckleberry jams/jellies and honey.or a booth where you can gather regional information for your next trip to the mountain (check out the lodging packages!). And don't miss picking up the flyer on Mt. Hood's Wine and Art Festival that takes place November 11 & 12 at The Resort at The Mountain.

STAY A WHILE

As the first day of the festival comes to a close, we hope you will linger in the region to enjoy an evening meal. There are more than 20 restaurants nearby featuring everything from the casual family atmosphere to fine dining.

We would love to have you stay the night in one of our region's lodging.whether it is a restored historic log cabin, a vacation home, a condo, RV resort or at our premier resort, The Resort at The Mountain.

Information on lodging and dining packages for the weekend is available by calling the Mt. Hood Information Center at 888.622.4822, or visit http://www.mthoodmagazine.com/lodging

SEE YOU AT THE MOUNTAIN!

Join us Saturday and Sunday, September 26-27, 2006, at Wildwood Recreation Area, about 13 miles east of Sandy, Oregon. $5/car Festival entry fee.good for the weekend. ($1/per entry fee will be donated to the Welches School Libraries)

roduced by Welches Productions, LLC - Tony DeMicoli, Manager in partnership with music patrons, businesses and organizations on Mt. Hood. Funded in part by grants from The Villages of Mt. Hood Tourism Marketing Alliance and Clackamas County Tourism Development Council for Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory

September/October 2006

All photos by Alan Dyke, Close Encounters Photo www.closeencountersphoto.com

Your hosts..The Villages of Mt. Hood - Alder Creek, Brightwood, Wemme, Welches, Zigzag and Rhododendron, along US Hwy 26, starting 9 miles east of Sandy, Oregon.

« Back to this issue...