The Mount Angel Volksfest is like the kleine bruder of the town's significantly more expansive…read moreOktoberfest: a quick winter fix to hold us over on beer and sausages until autumn rolls around again. Contained entirely within the village's massive Festhalle, you'll find a handful of local vendors purveying local products, including wines, clothing, hats, foodstuffs and souvenirs. Left of the entrance, you'll find der kindercorner, where volunteers offer (free!) balloon animals and face painting for the littles, who have no idea why all the grown-ups are singing, dancing, and drinking all day long. Beers, wine and cider are available from multiple vendors right of the entrance, many of them local, including a Benedictine brew crafted by the monks of Mount Angel Abbey, just outside the town proper. Music and entertainment is provided by various local, semi-local, and internationally renowned polka bands; if you've attended even one Oktoberfest in your life, you've know what you're in for, and you've likely heard all of the songs before, likely multiple times per visit. For some, the repetition gets old; I like to call it "tradition", and just roll with it. After a few beers, your appreciation for these threadbare tunes will increase, I assure you. Zigga zagga, zigga zagga, oi Oi OI! Ein prosit! It may not be the real McCoy, but it's not meant to be: the Mount Angel Volksfest is a tiny morsel meant to whet the appetite for the glorious revels to come later in the year. For a town that prides itself on its heritage like Mount Angel, the locals rarely need a reason to break out the beer and sausages. September cannot come soon enough! But until then, strap on some lederhosen, dust off that dirndl, chow down on some of the best wurst around, and raise a glass with a cheer and a smile! Winter (and COVID?) is almost over! That's more than enough reason to celebrate! Prost! Admission is $10 for adult attendees, free for under 21s. Tokens for beverages are $1/each, with beers, ciders and wines running between 6-8 tokens. Food must be purchased separately with cash or card, and an ATM is available just inside the doors, and includes an array of sausages, pretzels, potato salad, sauerkraut, and many other Oktoberfest staples, although there didn't appear to be any schnitzel, which ought to be illegal!

Neither the best fest, nor the worst fest. It is somewhere in between…read more The 4th annual Wurstfest was held February 17 - 18 and would be a nice introduction to Mt. Angel, but certainly not a substitute for attending Oktoberfest in September. It is really a way to attract visitors to this small hamlet in the Willamette Valley during the off season. The most fascinating part for me is that it is billed as a "Mt. Angel Celebration of German Sausage," and yet my favorite sausage place in town, Mt. Angel Sausage Co., was not a vendor. I am sure there is an interesting back story there... The festival was held in the new Mt. Angel Community Center, Festhalle. Since everything was in one spot, it was easy to find the festival on Highway 214 and free parking was a snap. This is very different from Oktoberfest which pretty much takes over the entire town and has dozens of venues. Admission was $10 for adults and children were free. When you entered, you were able to select a nice wine glass, beer glass or stein as a souvenir. The vendors were an interesting mix of local businesses and smaller residential vendors that traveled to the event. My favorites were the Urban German, St. Josef's Winery and the mustard sold by the sisters from the neighboring Benedictine Monastery. But compared to the spectacle of Oktoberfest, this was an elegant, modest affair. Lots of folks dressed up in their German finery and you could purchase your own lederhosen, dirndls and hats. It was a happy festival, filled with music and a few dancers, but having been a visitor to Oktoberfest, it struck me as a pleasant footnote. Certainly not a main attraction.

OMGoodness this place is humongous! 5 acres of museums and attraction's filled with historic…read morememorabilia and culture from Oregons history and Americas farmland. The miniature replica trains where the hit of course. Affordable prices for families. Parking was donations of $5 towards a new restroom facility and Entrance fees were $10. Looking forward to next year's festival.

This place is now called Powerland Heritage Park and is a collection of small museums of all kinds…read morein one place! John Deere, Model Railroads, vintage camping trailers, steam engines. They specialize in living history. They also hosted the NW Civil War Reenactment over the 4th of July weekend which is what brought us to visit the only pictures we took). I was amazed at what a great place this is and how much there is to see. Free parking is very easy. There was a lot of walking but they also have small trolleys that take people place to place and bleachers for watching demonstrations. Plenty of options for food, clean bathrooms. Admission varies depending on the events being held(and there is a variety!) Very easy access off I-5. I plan to visit again.

Had a great time at Bauman's Harvest Festival! I was impressed how well the even was organized. The…read moreevent was fun for both adults and children. The staff was all friendly and helpful. I especially loved the apple tasting, apple cider donuts and the corn maze. The pricing structure was a little confusing I payed the higher price for activities I could not participate in I.e kiddie rides. It would have been helpful when I paid that that would have been explained to me. All and all I enjoyed my visit and hope to go back next year.

They close at 5p... didn't know that. Bought tickets at 4:30p and didn't tell us they closed in 30…read moreminutes. Everything closes right at 5p. No discounted tickets for coming close to closing time. Not able to get refunded tickets. Why sell tickets until 4:30p if you close at 5?!?!?! $30 per person. It's so busy and packed here you can't even do one thing in 30 minutes. As we were leaving we say One sign that says the hours on the side of one building. Crazy. They just want your money.

Adorable brewfest. My first one of this season. I am a big brewfest attender but have not been to…read moreany this year - mostly interest level/age with just dealing. So my friends talked this one up - and I got a free ride there and took an Uber home. Complaints- -the kids there a bit lame. I think cool for a parent to be able to have them with - but not really fun for kids or the the adults. -the volunteer pouring Deception Beer was wearing a Boneyard Beer shirt. -stand in line get your beer and then move the hell on, lingering right near the line-up just confuses people that really are ready to go up the counter and order. Are you in line or? Excellent access and people watching. Nice amount of breweries represented - I enjoyed plenty of tastes of different brews. The price was $20 ahead of time with a small service charge for 10 tickets and a sampler glass. They had some decent food offerings - I didn't explore any, though. I liked that you could just approach a line get a beer and move on out. The music was solid. I was there between 3:30pm - 6:00pm and the band was just the right amount of light rock. I coincedentally saw this same performer yesterday at Hops on Tap in Tigard. Steve. Small, local, quaint brewfest. Well executed. Easy to order safe ride home.

The Wilsonville Brewfest last Saturday was a lot of fun. It's located up in the Villebois area…read morewhere a lot of people are able to walk from home to the fest. The organizers have mostly smaller local breweries like Coin Toss and Vanguard to help showcase the little guys in the burbs. Music was really nice too. This is way better than the bigger brewfests that attract riffraff. You get good beer and a pleasant atmosphere. Definitely worth checking out next year!

If micro brews and BBQ is what you want, then this is the place in September. Three days and…read moreeves of fun. The music is fairly good, but really loud, and they take a lot of breaks. I think they should screen the bands before the event. wine is alo available, but it's cash or credit.

I've gone every year since this started. To me and others I have talked to, the quality is on a…read moredecline. First off, the beers. The beers and cider that they serve are your run of the mill brews that you can find at any grocery store, with just a few local breweries on tap. Oregon has so many wonderful microbreweries, those need to be the focus. Not Sam Adams and Angry Orchard. And $3 for 5oz, just save your money. Not worth it. And the food. It's a Brews and BBQS. Of the 6 food vendors, only 2 were BBQ. The rest were the typical fair food. Fried food and beer don't mix well! My first year I went, there were maybe 5 or 6 BBQ vendors. I don't know if I'll give this another chance next year. We regularly go to the local growler tap station in town so this event was a flop.

I've been involved in a few organizations that put on successful event's and I'm perplexed at the…read moreUFO FESTs management. They consistently deliver the top tier speakers of the field, often people you would believe unobtainable, and these speakers ALWAYS deliver! Nothing feels rushed, the speakers are a comfortable walk from the downtown festivities that are entertaining and fun without feeling like a cheap money grab. Nothing about this fest lends any atmosphere of fundraising or profiteering strictly focusing on enjoyment. Last but not least, the volunteers. Everyone I interacted with was knowledgeable, helpful, and just plain genuinely pleasant to talk too. Where they found this many nice people I have no idea. Our 3rd year attending. I give McMinnamins UFO Fest a solid 10! 100% worth the trip!

Poor rating due exclusively because of a hugely disappointing Friday night presentation spoiled by…read moreone speaker, Jeremy Corbell. There were 3 speakers, one of whom was highly respected George Knapp, no problem with him or Dylan Borland, a whistleblower. But Corbell monopolized the conversation, overrode the other two constantly and it was painful to listen to. He spoke in circles, was repetitive, and gave us a steady barrage of acronyms, nothing at all noteworthy. A lot of bluster, F bombs and zero meaningful details about UAPs or ET. One hour in, bored people began to leave, after that a mass exodus. The director of the festival hopefully will take note of that.

Curse? What curse? I…read moreguess folks in Louisiana don't like being challenged for crawfish supremacy. My family has been going to this festival for years and it is the biggest event in Tualatin. 2010 marks the 60th year of the festival, which makes it the nation's oldest. On Friday night, admission is free and the festival is held in the Tualatin Commons around the lake. The Tualatin Riverkeepers [1] were renting boats, so it was quite funny to see this quiet man made lake filled with canoes and kayaks for the night. Great music (sadly no Zydeco), lots of dancing and food booths. Mostly local restaurants, but My Brother's Crawfish comes every year. I was a little annoyed that you had to buy festival food tickets and couldn't pay vendors directly. On Saturday, they charge admission and the festival expands to Tualatin Community Park. The day is filled with parades, a 5k fun run, dog show and crawfish eating contests. So if you don't have plans today, and aren't afraid of an old voodoo high priestess, get yourself to Tualatin. [1] Full disclosure - Mr. K is one of their volunteers.

Just a note, no Crawfish Festival for Summer 2022 (covid killed off 2020 and 2021) but also the…read morewhole concept is getting trash binned. The City of Tualatin announced no further Crawfish Festivals. see their link at the City of Tualatin. https://www.tualatinoregon.gov/recreation/city-bids-fond-farewell-tualatin-crawfish-festival

This Farm Stand off of Stafford road opened one day ago. It's right on the edge of the farming…read morebelt of Wilsonville. It's a wonderful place offering in-season fruits and vegetables from the surrounding farming community. King's Farm to Table will soon have a variety of vegetables from their own garden. They also have a selection of preserves, honey, and handmade soaps. This place is like a small farmer's market...except they're open 6 days a week.

I stopped in here accidentally and boy am I glad I did!!! This place is SO cute. All sorts of fun…read moregifts, produce, wines, flowers. The lady that was working was so sweet and showed me around the place since it was my first time. Darling! I purchased romaine and radishes and they were absolutely delicious. I'll definitely be back!!