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
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
,
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
and
bluegrass.
The festival is well known for promoting more sustainable environmental practices such as offering eco-friendly transportation, use of
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
,
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
,
compost
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
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.
-
Organization
As part of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, 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
solar energy
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar power to generate electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating), and solar architecture. It is an essenti ...
and
sustainable fuel.
In addition, groups of volunteer
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
and
compost
Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
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](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Possessed_by_Paul_James_-_Pickathon_2014.jpg)
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".
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
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Annual events in Oregon
Music festivals in Oregon
1998 establishments in Oregon