Senormac
08-05-2006, 07:19 PM
Well, I hope none of you mind me doing a thread on an event that was here in Oregon bout a month ago.....called the McMinnville UFO festival. It seems, back in 1950 something, that some farmer dude saw (allegedly) a UFO over his fields and actually took a pic. The thing looks like those pics of the Loch Ness Monster or Sasquatch......kinda all blurry and stuff. Never-the-less he became somewhat of a celebrity around these parts and with the help of McMenamins brew pubs....... the event has blossomed into a great attraction and event for the city of McMinnville, nothing that a few good micro brews can't accomplish eh? Their renovated Hotel Oregon has become the headquarters for the whole event. Also, the Evergreen Aviation Museum is in McMinnville, which is somehow related to UFO's I guess. Anyways, it can't hurt
Hotel Oregon UFO festival (http://www.thegrandlodge.com/index.php?loc=7&id=647)
Evergreen Aviation Museum. Home of the Spruce Goose (http://www.sprucegoose.org/aircraft_artifacts/exhibits.html)
Heres the official McMenimans Hotel Oregon T-shirt with UFO design and detail shot.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5617.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5616.jpg
The Hotel Oregon is a four story, old brick building that has been completely refurbished by McMenimans brew pubs. Its a great place to go for a meal, a beer, or a weekend getaway. They have a rooftop bar that is really nice in the summer and early fall. You actually sit at tables that are on the roof overlooking the whole area. Its a really cool place to eat or drink. The T-shirt design is a Flying Saucer hovering over the top of the rooftop bar at Hotel Oregon.
So anyways, every year McMinnville has a UFO festival....(in honor of the farmer dude I suppose) and people from everywhere come to participate. And one of the events is a big parade that goes down main street. People are encouraged to dress up like aliens.....and be in the parade. They have prizes for best costumes and also pick a King and Queen for the parade who get to ride (instead of walk) in some old classic car waving to the crowds.
So, my wife who is super into costuming and creating doll clothes for her BJD doll heard about it and got the idea to come up with an alien costume for her and her friend and their dolls and enter the parade. So, she designed some doll costumes and then made matching costumes for her and her friend and signed up to be in the parade. We got there a little early......but the aliens were already massing. Star wars was well represented......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5281.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5283.jpg
This group played weird musical instuments as they marched.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5277.jpg
Even Marilyn and Elvis were there.....I guess some folks think they were really aliens.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5286.jpg
Kids participated......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/dscn5289.jpg
And whatever this woman was supposed to be......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5291.jpg
Ok, so my wife and her friend and I arrive and "they" have their costumes on....and their dolls are all dressed and they have their little homemade flying saucer that they are planning to pull behind them as they walk in the parade with the dolls hanging out of some portholes waving.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5273.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5274.jpg
And the judges came by to judge the parade entrants. They went around to all the parade participants and checked out their costumes to see what the parade was gonna look like.....and they came and looked at my wife and her friend.....then went on to the next peoples........Heres the girls and a group who was near us........
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5271.jpg
So, we are just sitting around chatting, waiting for the actual parade to get going. People have lined the streets of downtown McMinnville, sitting in their lawn chairs or on the curb or standing, and the judges come up to us again and say......................
THEY HAVE PICKED MY WIFE AND HER FRIEND TO BE THE QUEENS OF THE PARADE !!!!! WOW !!! We were shocked........they just wanted to be involved but they got the HONORS !! So, they took them up to the front and put em in this red convertable Karman Ghia.....(heh heh....theres an alien car for ya) while I put the "flying saucer back in the trunk of the car. :smirk: They gave them a very nice gift bag with all kinds of alien toys and doo-dads, a nice bottle of wine from a local vineyard and a gift certificate for McMenimans which we used for our meal at the Rooftop bar. It was really fun. The people were crackin up at " the queens costumes" especially the heads and the lips. It was sooo funny to see everyone laughing and pointing.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5285.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5284.jpg
The King was this Klingon guy who must have spoke fluent Klingon cuz he would shout at the people these aweful gutteral wordages.....and then smile and say something like...." that means, hello, have a good day"....! It was a crack up........He didn't ride cuz his car wasn't a convertable.......and nobody could see his costume....so he opted to walk in front of the car which was a really neat old black 30's or 40's car.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5306.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5316.jpg
And thats my story......heres a couple of other pics. Notice the guys with the black hammers for heads.....thats the McMenimans group and their flagship beer ....HAMMERHEAD....(its delish) The group on stilts was awesome. They came down from Portland and had a wonderful band. Probably a group of 30 or so....."The March 4th Marching Band"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5345.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5335.jpg
And of course........me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5275-1.jpg
Hotel Oregon UFO festival (http://www.thegrandlodge.com/index.php?loc=7&id=647)
Evergreen Aviation Museum. Home of the Spruce Goose (http://www.sprucegoose.org/aircraft_artifacts/exhibits.html)
Heres the official McMenimans Hotel Oregon T-shirt with UFO design and detail shot.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5617.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5616.jpg
The Hotel Oregon is a four story, old brick building that has been completely refurbished by McMenimans brew pubs. Its a great place to go for a meal, a beer, or a weekend getaway. They have a rooftop bar that is really nice in the summer and early fall. You actually sit at tables that are on the roof overlooking the whole area. Its a really cool place to eat or drink. The T-shirt design is a Flying Saucer hovering over the top of the rooftop bar at Hotel Oregon.
So anyways, every year McMinnville has a UFO festival....(in honor of the farmer dude I suppose) and people from everywhere come to participate. And one of the events is a big parade that goes down main street. People are encouraged to dress up like aliens.....and be in the parade. They have prizes for best costumes and also pick a King and Queen for the parade who get to ride (instead of walk) in some old classic car waving to the crowds.
So, my wife who is super into costuming and creating doll clothes for her BJD doll heard about it and got the idea to come up with an alien costume for her and her friend and their dolls and enter the parade. So, she designed some doll costumes and then made matching costumes for her and her friend and signed up to be in the parade. We got there a little early......but the aliens were already massing. Star wars was well represented......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5281.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5283.jpg
This group played weird musical instuments as they marched.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5277.jpg
Even Marilyn and Elvis were there.....I guess some folks think they were really aliens.....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5286.jpg
Kids participated......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/dscn5289.jpg
And whatever this woman was supposed to be......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5291.jpg
Ok, so my wife and her friend and I arrive and "they" have their costumes on....and their dolls are all dressed and they have their little homemade flying saucer that they are planning to pull behind them as they walk in the parade with the dolls hanging out of some portholes waving.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5273.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5274.jpg
And the judges came by to judge the parade entrants. They went around to all the parade participants and checked out their costumes to see what the parade was gonna look like.....and they came and looked at my wife and her friend.....then went on to the next peoples........Heres the girls and a group who was near us........
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5271.jpg
So, we are just sitting around chatting, waiting for the actual parade to get going. People have lined the streets of downtown McMinnville, sitting in their lawn chairs or on the curb or standing, and the judges come up to us again and say......................
THEY HAVE PICKED MY WIFE AND HER FRIEND TO BE THE QUEENS OF THE PARADE !!!!! WOW !!! We were shocked........they just wanted to be involved but they got the HONORS !! So, they took them up to the front and put em in this red convertable Karman Ghia.....(heh heh....theres an alien car for ya) while I put the "flying saucer back in the trunk of the car. :smirk: They gave them a very nice gift bag with all kinds of alien toys and doo-dads, a nice bottle of wine from a local vineyard and a gift certificate for McMenimans which we used for our meal at the Rooftop bar. It was really fun. The people were crackin up at " the queens costumes" especially the heads and the lips. It was sooo funny to see everyone laughing and pointing.......
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5285.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5284.jpg
The King was this Klingon guy who must have spoke fluent Klingon cuz he would shout at the people these aweful gutteral wordages.....and then smile and say something like...." that means, hello, have a good day"....! It was a crack up........He didn't ride cuz his car wasn't a convertable.......and nobody could see his costume....so he opted to walk in front of the car which was a really neat old black 30's or 40's car.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5306.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5316.jpg
And thats my story......heres a couple of other pics. Notice the guys with the black hammers for heads.....thats the McMenimans group and their flagship beer ....HAMMERHEAD....(its delish) The group on stilts was awesome. They came down from Portland and had a wonderful band. Probably a group of 30 or so....."The March 4th Marching Band"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5345.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5335.jpg
And of course........me.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Senormac/DSCN5275-1.jpg