The organizers of Pickathon, the annual music fest that takes place every summer at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, revealed a new logo for the 2020 installment of the event and dropped some juicy information about what is in store for attendees this year.
No, that doesn’t mean any news about who is playing Pickathon this time around. Details for that will start arriving next week on February 25. Rather than drop the whole lineup in our laps at once, they will be unveiling the names of artists, and some information about additional programming, twice a week via their newsletter and in dribs and drabs through their social media accounts.
The main story is that, as the press release states, the festival “will look and feel completely different.” There will apparently be a new stage setup that will allow the music to “roll across the grounds” as day turns into night with the intent of awakening “different stages and moods.” What that will look like in action is anybody’s guess at this point, but they certainly have our attention now.
The release also says that they are expanding their programming “well beyond the music on each stage.” That includes a wellness program that will bring teachers and artists to build on the themes of “improving public health” and feature a quiet space for meditation and reflection. Beyond that, much of the programming will stay the same with comedy, poetry, stuff for the kids, and their regular roster of DJs spinning vinyl between sets at the various stages. Oh, and they’re opening up more RV and car camping tickets for folks this Saturday.
This was the perfect time to get this announcement out and drum up some more excitement about the fest as recent news concerning Pickathon was not positive. Last week, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration handed down $31,000 in fines to Pickathon and Guildworks, the company that provides the fabric installations at the fest, for safety violations that resulted in the deaths of two workers last August.
In a statement released after the news broke, Pickathon’s founder and festival director Zale Schoenborn said, “In 2020, we are challenging ourselves to completely redesign and rethink the festival with safety even more at the forefront in an effort to create a whole new Pickathon experience.”
We have a request in to sit down with Schoenborn to talk about what happened at the fest last year, what is in store for 2020, and Pickathon’s future. Stay tuned.