The Pickathon Music Festival (commonly called Pickathon or Pickathon Festival) is an annual three-day music festival located just outside

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

on Pendarvis Farm. Occurring nearly every August since 1999, the festival has hosted a wide variety of artists from genres including

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and bluegrass. The festival is well known for promoting more sustainable environmental practices such as offering eco-friendly transportation, use of

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ing, and the elimination of plastic tableware. Pickathon also offers camping and food options on site. Unlike many other successful music festivals, Pickathon has no corporate sponsors and caps ticket sales.
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Organization

As part of the

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, the company received between $150,000 and $350,000 in federally-backed small business loans as part of the

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Donald Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES A ...

. The company stated this would allow the retention of three jobs.

Environmental sustainability

Over the years, Pickathon has gained notability for promoting sustainable practices. It offers eco-friendly transportation and encourages biking to the festival. In 2011, it successfully eliminated all plastic tableware, the first large U.S. festival to do so. Patrons are expected to bring tableware from home or purchase/borrow from a vendor. Pickathon also uses its own

and sustainable fuel. In addition, groups of volunteer

and

ing teams work throughout the festival. Pickathon has promised to keep working towards more sustainable options for the future.

History

1999-2004

Possessed by Paul James - Pickathon 2014

Pickathon started in 1999 as a fundraiser for the FM radio station,

KBOO KBOO is a non-profit organization, listener-funded FM Community radio station broadcasting from Portland, Oregon. The station's mission is to serve groups in its listening area who are underrepresented on other local radio stations and to provi ...

. The first venue was Horning's Hideout, a private park in

North Plains, Oregon North Plains is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, off U.S. 26 on the northwest outskirts of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 3,441 at the 2020 census. History Pioneer settlers first arrived in the North Plai ...

. The first Pickathon only managed to host around 90 people, including performers. Attendance stayed relatively low until 2004 with attendance around the low hundreds. Pickathon's founder, Zale Schoenborn, suggested it took "a miracle for the festival to survive through those rough first years". Avett Brothers, Pickathon 2006

2005

In 2005, Horning's Hideout backed out two months before the 7th annual event was scheduled. Festival organisers found a replacement property in

Woodburn, Oregon Woodburn is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated in 1889, the community had been platted in 1871 after the arrival of the railroad. The city is located in the northern end of the Willamette Valley between Portland and ...

. This was the first year with both running water and electricity.

2006

In 2006, Pickathon relocated once again to Pendarvis Farms in

Happy Valley, Oregon Happy Valley is a suburban city in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. Happy Valley is near the northwest edge of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States approximately 10 miles to the southeast of downtown Portland, Oregon. The population was ...

. which is still the festival ground.

2011

In an effort to become more environmentally friendly, Pickathon eliminated all plastic tableware.

2019

On August 8, two

arborist An arborist, tree surgeon, or (less commonly) arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants in dend ...

s and workers of GuildWorks died when a boom lift, which was set on an incline, toppled over during the takedown of the festival. According to a statement released by the

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

Sheriff's Office, the workers were ascending the lift when the incident occurred. In February 2020, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued $31,000 in fines to Pickathon LLC and GuildWorks LLC for failing to follow safety precautions. A memorial fund was created for both of the victim's families.

2020 - 2021

Pickathon was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the

References

{{Reflist Annual events in Oregon Music festivals in Oregon 1998 establishments in Oregon