About Town by Joyce Coulson

For the past nine months, I have been posting on our La Grande Main Street blog spotlighting our partners and upcoming events.  I now am going to be rambling around La Grande shopping, dining, and talking with people along the way and sharing my experiences on the blog.  My first ramble on Saturday June 25th took me to the La Grande Farmer’s Market and then on to the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival.
​
Last Saturday was really the first day of summer—blue skies, perfect temperature, and a very light breeze.  As I headed down to the Farmer’s Market, my spirits were high and I was really impressed.  What a perfect setting! Much produce was on offer (I did get my salad fixings), the tamale folks were there, and the craft people were out in force.  The banjo duo, Beako (named after a crow’s beak, because crows are creative, intelligent, and work for scratch) was perfection.  It was absolutely delightful seeing folks taking in all the Farmer’s Market has to offer and that really started my day off well.

Then onto the Eastern Oregon Beer Festival.  This much-anticipated event, put on by LGMSD with the help of sponsors, a group of enthusiastic volunteers, and vendors, definitely lived up to its reputation.  Again, it was just wonderful seeing people just enjoying themselves sampling the wares of a stellar group of breweries, accompanied by delicious food proffered by Becky’s Burger Wagon, Dochos, and Taco Feliz with dessert by Kettle Corn ‘N More.  Throughout the day, Wicked Mary provided covers of songs with a multigenerational appeal.  To close out the day, Wasteland Kings entertained the happy crowd with their singular upbeat repertoire.  My favorite part of our Beer Festival though was people watching.  I spent most of my day holding down the fort at the LGMSD table, which was the ideal place to observe the crowd.  As I sold raffle tickets for the original Nintendo donated by Clank-Tronix, I met some really delightful people who had great memories about the prize that they shared with me.  The Taster’s Choice award, voted on by festival attendees, was awarded to 1188 Brewing of John Day. What a great crowd!  It’s been a long time since I have seen so many people in one place having a genuinely good time--people from all walks of life and spanning generations.  There will be a photo album from both of these fun events posted with the next blog

What a fantastic start to the summer!  Next week, I will be visiting two new stores opening in Downtown La Grande—Savage Serpents and Bout Time Boutique.