Category: Oregon City Festival of the Arts

By Lynda Orzen, 2024 OCFOTA Coordinator

I would like to begin this article with a huge thank you to all the volunteers that donated their time setting up on Friday and taking care of the artists for the weekend. Friday morning, the volunteers were eagerly awaiting Party Factory to deliver table, chairs, umbrellas and signs to begin distributing around the site. When the artists began to arrive, volunteers shifted gears to begin assisting artists with set up.

Two very important volunteers during the festival were Kerry Edwards and Kristen Iseri. They didn’t allow me to fall this year!

Kerry Edwards, volunteer coordinator for the festival, had all assignments laid out for volunteers long before their arrival. It is a real science to know how many people are needed for X amount of tasks. There were no tasks big or small overlooked by volunteers. Kerry has been taking on this responsibility for many years and will be retiring. I’ve loved working with Kerry all these years! She will be missed.

Kristen Iseri, assistant coordinator this year, was a real trooper during the weekend. Kristen will be taking my place in 2025 as coordinator. There were no jobs too big or small or yucky, like emptying the garbage cans. I know the position is going into very good hands. Kristen is very detail oriented. She kept our meeting notes and kept us on track during meetings. Kristen will need a lot of support from membership for the 2025 event.

Eric Brown did an amazing job setting up the musical guests for the weekend. This year both stages were active-main stage and garden stage. The garden stage offered acoustic and garden music with harpist Heather Andrews. The main stage had the crowds rocking out for the weekend.

There are two people behind the scenes that play a huge part in this event Ingrid Aubry our graphic designer and Yelena Shabrova our internet wrangler. Need to thank those volunteers that helped to get the word out on Facebook and the internet. Jeanne Kelly-Brown set the festival up with a nice assortment of food and drink carts. Vona Adams Lawrence and Diana Strom took on the task of jurying the artists into the show-not an easy job!

Can’t forget the awesome job Cathy Rowe did for the silent auction this year. She had all the silent auction items ready for bidding before the festival event started! Cathy was able to receive a grant from Clackamas County to purchase new display boards for events. They gave the auction a very professional look!

The 2024 Festival was my very last! I was surprised and humbled on Sunday morning when I was called up on stage by Lea Mc Whorter. She presented me with a Thank you card signed by the artists and included a gift card for my favorite store, Joann Fabrics. I purchased fabric for the windows of my new house. It was very touching receiving a thank you from the artists. I’ve known a few of the artists from my very first shows over 20 years ago!

I’ve loved working with the artists/friends over the years and enjoy organizing the events. In the past several years it has been more difficult getting volunteers to come forward and take the lead or volunteer for a committee position. I know not all artists have the time to volunteer but there are small jobs that can be accomplished. Kristen is going to need a lot of help in 2025 to keep the festival going. This is the ONLY arts festival in Oregon City and we can’t let it die! This was our 8th year for the festival, let’s see it live another 10 years!

COVID couldn’t stop us this year and neither could the weather! This year’s Festival of the Arts was a huge success for artists and visitors alike. The festival saw an estimated 2500 attendees. Trieste made sure to speak with all the artists on Sunday right before breakdown. She wanted to thank each one of them for attending and inquired about sales. 99% of the artists claimed it to be a very successful event financially. About half a dozen said it was the best show they had ever attended.

Trieste thanked all the volunteers that helped with this year’s event. It really takes a community of artists to present a large event. There is a lot of planning to take place behind the scenes. Planning for an event of this size takes at least a year to organize. We were thrilled to be able to open this year despite Covid restrictions and the heat. Even with the heat both days, record numbers of visitors came through both days. The strategically placed misters helped keep everyone cooler! Noticed a lot of larger art pieces leaving with our guests.

Thanks to some of the volunteers: Jeanne Cardana and Gary who volunteered for most of the day Saturday, Cheri Bosserman for lending us misters that literally saved lives throughout the weekend. Lynda Orzen who volunteered all three days, Sue Woodworth who not only managed the performers but had a booth, and Jeanne Kelly Brown also had a booth. Committee members this year were truly phenomenal – Kerry Edwards and Rochelle Rau managed the volunteers and kept the ball rolling throughout the weekend. Melody Bush, our social media point person who truly was a huge reason for our success, Cheri who kept us on budget and managed the finances, Lynda Orzen for her experience and volunteerism, Ingrid Aubry for the flyers, postcards, ads, and programs. Cathy Rowe ran the first virtual silent auction which turned out to be a huge success. Yelena – who was called on non-stop for online application help, announcements, and website. Last but not the least was Trieste family of 7 members and most importantly her husband Roger who helped her every step of the way.

This is Trieste’s last year as President and won’t be organizing the 2022 event. There will be a manual available on “How To” and quite a few members with years of experience. The more these events take place, the easier it gets through the years. We know an army of volunteers will step forward to create the 2022 Oregon City Festival of the Arts! The Festival has become a signature arts event in Oregon City! Let’s keep it growing!

—
Lynda Orzen