RVer Explores Americana Potpourri at da Vinci Days (Part 2)

Most RVers probably know that Corvallis, Oregon is home to the Oregon State Beavers and this year they celebrated the 15th annual da Vinci Days Festival. Yesterday I introduced you to the famous kinetic vehicles and today I want to show you the many other faucets of this wonderful Americana festival. Jake Dunkin has been playing a Didgeridoo for five years now and demonstrates his skills in this video.

Approaching the event I saw this nice sculpture and snapped a picture from the rear. Now, I was imagining that this was a lady carrying a baby, or a bag of groceries or a basket of flowers. Much to my delight and surprise, I discovered this: Part of the da Vinci Days Festival is the display of art related to technology. Many sculptures adorned the street leading up to the campus grounds. RVers may take away some ideas for one of their favorite pastimes, bicycling, with this fuzzy entry. I’m not sure why, but I enjoyed this sculpture, "the Neck Tire" – that’s the great thing about art, it affects everyone differently. Some folks hate it while others find it refreshing. Maybe I liked it because I don't have to wear ties anymore!The festival is full of entertainment and I especially enjoyed the Maharimbas who provided the Sunday afternoon entertainment. The kids loved this group and after this number were dancing in front of the stage.

I should mention that RV’s were present right in the middle of the campus grounds. Seems they come in handy for events like this. Many exhibits captured my attention like solar panel demonstrations, solar cooking and environmentally friendly landscaping sculpture. There was a huge center designed to entertain and educate children. The kids were having a blast and stayed in the enclosed Children’s Village for hours on end. Also present were many street performers including jugglers, fire dancers, stilt walkers and more. The Bistro dinning area had more food vendors and a better selection than the Redmond RV Rally. This is a great festival for families and friends, so make it a point to visit next year. Discover more about this great event at the da Vinci Days website : da Vinci Days Festival

Check out this video of Yashara Lund trying out a kinetic machine at the art gallery show of Pete Beeman's “Simple Machines, anti-functional sculptures that work, but not with a purpose.”

I’m only able to scratch the surface of all the cool things that happen at the da Vinci Days Festival. Hopefully I’ve sparked your interest enough to drop by and enjoy it next year. Reporting live from Oregon – Jim Twamley