Mother Earth News Fair

When you think of living more sustainably, do clucking chickens, pucker-inducing pickles, or muddy feet sloshing in a pit of building clay come to mind?

They’re just a few of the things attendees can experience at the Mother Earth News Fair June 6-7 at the Linn County Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road E. The Fair runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Fairgoers can participate in several activities throughout the weekend, including:

Live Poultry Processing: Organic farmer Joel Salatin and Featherman Equipment’s David Schafer will show how to harvest chickens humanely, safely and efficiently, regardless of the number of birds to be processed. 9:30 – 11 a.m. Sunday only

Do-It-Yourself Pickling Station: The Fermenters Club will guide fairgoers through the steps involved in making their own batch of fermented vegetables to take home. The club provides the jar and all ingredients.

Building with Mud and Straw: The Natural Cottage Project will teach attendees how to mix building clay and straw with their feet and sculpt a miniature earthen house by hand.

Planting in Small Spaces: Nichols Garden Nursery will plant containers of vegetables and discuss the varieties suitable for small-space gardening.

Spinning 101: Dianne Wright from Wandering Pines Ranch will provide a brief history of spinning, and spins on either a drop spindle or a wheel.

Kids Building a Mini Wind Turbine: Kids can build their own mini wind turbine and measure the voltage it generates, with help from the Renewable Energy Technology Program at Columbia Gorge Community College.

Making Seed Balls: Attendees can hone their seed ball-making technique with Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and take home seed balls for guerrilla gardening. 10 a.m. daily

In addition, the Fair will offer more than 150 hands-on workshops on organic gardening, cooking and food preservation, renewable energy, homesteading, small-scale livestock, green building, natural health, green transportation, and related topics. Local and national experts will lead the sessions.

Attendees can also find children’s activities; country skills; vendor and livestock demonstrations; more than 300 vendors; and local and organic food options.

Weekend passes cost $15 in advance and $25 at the gate. Children 17 and under get in free. To purchase advance passes, go to MotherEarthNewsFair.com or call toll-free 800-234-3368.

Mother Earth News Fair sponsors include Bio-Kinetics, Bob’s Red Mill, Botanical Interests, Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, Coconut Bliss, Grainmaker, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Klean Kanteen, Lifetime Cookware, Modesto Milling, OutBack Power, Pacific Yurts, Premier 1 Supplies, Purina, Scratch and Peck, Star Seed, Territorial Seed, Theo Chocolate and Yanmar America.