Record attendance.
Perfect weather.
An outstanding talent lineup including one of the top names in country music today.
The 11th Oregon Jamboree in 12 years is history but won’t soon be forgotten by more than 9,000 country music fans who traveled to Sweet Home from throughout the Pacific Northwest to hear Alan Jackson, Gary Allan, Trick Pony, Phil Vasser, Ronnie Milsap, and the Rockin’ Roadhouse Tour featuring Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence and Mark Chesnutt.
Perhaps Mark and Dee Dee Huff of American Falls, Idaho best summed up the weekend.
“We come here as a family,” Mark explained. “Dee Dee’s dad is from Sweet Home (Dennis Morrell) and lives in Creswell. All of her family comes to the Jamboree and it’s a reunion of sorts.”
This was the Huff’s third year and they plan to return in 2004.
“It’s quality entertainment every year,” Huff said. “We liked Trick Pony a lot but Ronnie Milsap is a true professional. Phil Vasser also had a high energy show.”
In American Falls, Mark Huff own an auto detailing business and his wife teaches third grade–“I have the best job in the world,” she says without doubt.
Their five-year-old son, Parker, said the reunion is fun for his two sisters and the “tons of kids” from his extended family at their reunion.
“I like camping!” he said as his father used a wet napkin to swipe a thick layer of ketchup from his face.
LaPonte happy
Although he had been on his feet nearly constantly for three days, Jamboree director Peter LaPonte was very pleased with his fifth event.
“It turned out even better than we had hoped for,” LaPonte said, trying to eat his lunch. “The temperature was down 20 degrees from a week ago and there was a light cloud cover all weekend. It was perfect weather. It was a gift.”
LaPonte said that when the thermometer rises into the 90s or above, crowd control issues flare and sales go down.
“People will drink a little more water, but beer and food sales drop considerably,” he said. “This year, though, we’ll break records in terms of b beer sales. It was better than ever. We’ll see some expenses go up too, but that’s to be expected.”
LaPonte said security was increased this year in anticipation of increased attendance on Friday evening. “I’m saying we had more than 9,000 paid on Friday, plus more than 400 volunteers,” LaPonte said. “I was still surprised by the number of people who wanted to buy tickets at the last minute.”
Wednesday morning’s power outage in the 1300 block of Main didn’t help the Jamboree any, LaPonte said.
The blown transformer put down the Jamboree’s phone and computer systems.
“It happened on one of our most critical days,” LaPonte said. “It puts the entire schedule off. Fortunately, Pacific Power and CenturyTel were great and were right on top of it in a hurry. We had power back in less than four hours.”
Friday, the Jamboree team learned they didn’t have enough power to work the huge video screens needed for Alan Jackson’s show.
“There were a couple tense hours, but we worked it out,” he said.
LaPonte said Jamboree patrons have been unhappy with the sound system in previous years, so the management staff put together a request for proposals and spent three to four months scouting for a new sound team.
“We let our former sound providers go and this year is much better,” LaPonte said. “The quality of the sound is excellent. We’re using state-of-the-art equipment…but, change can be dangerous.”
LaPonte said the Jamboree’s demographics are shifting to a more family-focus.
“We’re seeing more and more kids, more families,” he said. “They’re having fun. The face painting and balloon animals have gone over very well. Those are the types of things you don’t have if the budget is really tight. They also change the vibes of the event. It generates throughout the whole festival.”
LaPonte said the secret of a successful festival is a variety of talent that appeals to a broad cross section of the audience.
“You won’t please everyone, but a variety of acts give people the feeling of getting their money’s worth,” LaPonte said. “It’s a discovery experience.”
LaPonte said next year’s Jamboree will be July 30 and 31 and August 1.
“We plan a year in advance and we work with about six other festivals in terms of securing talent. It has to make sense for an artist to be able to get from Point A to Point B efficiently.”
Signing Alan Jackson was a big coup for the Jamboree, LaPonte said.
“We made the offer in August and then we had to wait and wait and wait,” LaPonte said. “Other top names kept signing contracts but we held out for Alan. Then, on Christmas Eve, the talent buyer called and said we had Joe Nichols…and he was opening for Alan Jackson. It was the best Christmas present I could have asked for. Then, I had to wait two weeks to tell anyone because of the Christmas holiday and everyone in Nashville was gone. We had to wait to sign the contract before we could say anything.”
Jackson chose Sweet Home over five other venues in the Pacific Northwest, including the Rose Garden and a new amphitheater in Washington.
“He said he wanted to try Sweet Home because it would be different,” LaPonte said. “That didn’t make the Rose Garden manager happy at all. In fact, he said we stole his show.”
Incidents few
Although the population of Sweet Home doubled for the weekend, incidents involving law enforcement and security inside the Jamboree were minimal, Police Chief Bob Burford said.
“We had 9,000 people and three police officers with time on their hands,” Chief Burford said. “A lot has to be said for the security volunteers and the patrons were great. Every the people with whom we had problems were very polite and non confrontational.”
Sergeant Richard Avery of Elite Security echoed Chief Burford’s sentiments.
“This is our 11th year and my third year,” Sgt. Avery said. “It’s been wonderful, the smoothest and most uneventful so far. Friday was the largest crowd I’ve seen here and it was still smooth. There were no problems.”
Rob Poirier, who celebrated his 40th birthday at the event, said his Jamboree security team had very few incidents to deal with. He is the group’s supervisor and Penny Leland is the security team’s director.
“Considering the crowd we had, it was an absolutely wonderful event,” Poirier said. “Some people got upset about seating or about people standing in front of them but that’s because people have different ideas about what an outdoor festival should be like. We try to create a compromise among the audience.
Poirier said the Jamboree’s security team numbered 140 this year, up from other years.
Local EMTs transported three persons to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital on Friday but the remainder of the weekend was spent dealing with bee stings and sun burn.
“We mostly gave out band aids,” Emmert said. “We had a couple vendors who burned their hands working. That’s about it.”
JoAnn Albert and Paul Ingram said the information booth was busy mostly with lost and found items ranging from a Hot Wheels police car (returned to a very happy youngster) to an expensive gold bracelet (also returned to an extremely happy adult. Several cellular phones were also sent home with their proper owners.
Complaints fielded by the team? “About the only complaint was that Trick Pony was awfully loud on Saturday night,” Ingram said.
Jan McDonald of Thriftway catered the menu for the volunteers and stars.
“It went well,” McDonald said. “We tried to provide a good variety and some vegetarian dishes. We like to keep it simple, things like fried chicken. Friday, we had chicken fried steak with potatoes and gravy because that is Alan Jackson’s favorite meal.”
McDonald and her staff were up and around by 3:30 a.m. to get breakfast rolling.
“We got out of here at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday,” she said. “Sunday, things are compressed, so we’re out of here earlier.”
Sell, sell, sell…
Merchandise sales were hot, Gail Gregory said.
“Most things have really been selling well,” Gregory said. “We sold out of shirts except small and XX large. Travel mugs sold out and lap blankets were popular. Artist’s merchandise has also sold very well.”
Clean team leaders Bill and Judy Markert said Friday night’s crowd added to the pile of trash to be picked up but said the 11 member team was done by 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We found a few cell phones and a ruby and diamond ring,” Judy said of items picked up by the team. “I think people are becoming more conscientious, there aren’t as many slobs.”
Mary Koch said her crew of front gate volunteers had smooth sailing.
“It was awesome,” Koch said. “We have the best crew in the place.”
Koch said a couple boys tried to get into the Jamboree using a camping pass.
“We banded people while they waited in line,” Koch said. “The entry went very smoothly. They let people in a few at a time instead of a big wave.”
Mel Wagner said ticket sales for the 2004 event topped $30,000 on Friday alone.
“I won’t be surprised if we top last year’s pre-sales,” Wagner said.
Eat, drink and be merry
Miguel and Tina Lopez were staffing one of the school’s soda stands as they have for nine years.
“I think sales were better this year,” Miguel said.
Ed Spencer sneaked away from the Safeway to help cook curly fries and jo jos at the Rotary Club food booth.
“I haven’t been here long but it’s been very busy,” Spencer said.
By late Sunday afternoon, the club was out of curly fries and substituted jo jos.
Rebecca Wolthuis was all smiles at the Lick-a-Scoop ice cream booth.
“Sales have been very good,” Wolthuis said. “Friday was the big day.”
Top sellers: wild blackberry and cookie dough.
“It’s our fourth year and yes, we’re happy,” she said.
A few booths away, Shawn Kent’s cotton candy and iced drinks booth reported sales were down a little from last year but he plans to return in 2004.
Across the way the Kiwanis Club booth volunteers were working at a fast pace, serving up hot dogs and corn dogs, a deep-fried blooming onion and a new specialty, a deep-fried twinkie.
“You freeze a twinkie and then deep fry it,” Pastor Dick Hill said, taking time away from hawking ice cold bottled water. “The outside cooks like a corn dog and the inside stays frozen. It’s out of this world.”
Linn Gagner said the hospitality area went without a hitch.
“It’s always great,” Gagner said. “People are always happy here. The crew is fantastic, too.”
Correen Melcher’s beer garden team was swamped much of the weekend, en route to a record year.
“We sold lots of beer Friday and Saturday,” Jim Melcher said. “We should be well on our way to 200 kegs through Sunday. We had a good crowd and very few problems. We sold 150 kegs in two days. Our record before was 110 kegs in three days.”
Good entertainment
Patrons of all ages were pleased with the Jamboree.
Loraine Gordineer of Springfield was using a small electric fan and spray bottle to beat Sunday afternoon’s heat.
“I like Ronnie Milsap the best,” Gordineer said. “I liked them all, though. He’s a miracle person.”
Mary Spencer of Roseburg was also attending her second Jamboree and was taking a break sitting near the information booth.
“I enjoy all of the music,” Spencer said. “The main problem is having to walk so far. They need a little trolley or a golf cart. I volunteer at Mercy Hospital in Roseburg and they have a golf cart to help people get around.”
T. Bubba Bechtol served as the Jamboree’s comedic emcee and reminded people of the value of volunteers to such an event.
“Festivals across the country are closing down because they can’t afford to pay people to do what the volunteers do,” Bechtol said. “I’ve not seen been to any festival in the country this year with a lineup as good as this one.”
He added, “It’s been three days of hard work but I have loved it. I’ve made some good friends here.”
This year’s Jamboree was extra special for Kelly Wodtli and her sister Brandi Cates. They are cousins to entertainer Gary Allan and were escorted back stage where they had a private tour of his new bus and a screening of his new video that premiered over the weekend on CMT.
Allan is originally from Salton Sea, Calif. but is moving to Nashville, Tenn.
“We’re biased,” Wodtli said, “but we think he did a great job. The crowd seemed very big on Saturday, too. Ronnie Milsap was great.”