Photos and Review by Tom Roth

If music festivals are characterized by their ambiance of overcrowding, enormous pre-fabricated stages, and mountains of garbage, then Pickathon is not a music festival. No surprise then, that the term is only sparingly applied to the annual congregation fittingly held in Oregon’s Happy Valley. Instead of being forced to impersonate Olympic gymnasts to navigate crowds, fans at Pickathon can breezily stretch out to enjoy the open-air tunes. Noticeably absent are intimidating security guards and the forbidding chasm between fans and stage. Enforcing the separation is a feel-it-don’t-see-it sense of contract between docile concertgoers and trusting volunteers. The festival’s capacity of 5,000 seems to be a happy misestimation of the sprawling 80-acres offered by benevolent hosts, Pendarvis Farm. Stretching deep into the woods, the grounds are home to colonies of happy campers, groups which are made from every conceivable demographic: old ones, young ones, babies, teens, tweens, hipsters, and mountain-men, bearded and unbearded alike.

Most noticeably, the Pickathon experience is branded by cutting-edge sustainability. Looking for that overflowing trash bin, topped by a precariously teetering half-eaten pile of cold French fries atop a greasy paper plate? You won’t find it here. Instead, Pickathoners are given the option of bringing their own dining sets or buying them at the festival. For those who choose to dispense with their souvenir utensil/plate combo, returns are accepted at the end of the festival in exchange for a 50% refund of the purchase price. Pickathon 2012 expanded on this revolutionary scheme by including the ubiquitous metal cups seen in our photos. However, purchasing one of the steel vessels was only necessary for beer drinkers. Judging by the prevalence of said cups, the program was a sudsy success.

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