Visitors can expect lots of music and family activities at the nonprofit fundraiser
By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news
Live music, dancing and family fun will be happening Sunday at The Crest Fest at Willow-Witt Ranch.
“Get ready for a day filled with live music, food, kids’ activities, farm animal visits, face painting, contra dancing and fun!” say organizers, who note proceeds will support The Crest at Willow-Witt’s mission to “cultivate the integral connection between humans and the natural world.”
Activities at the nonprofit fundraiser will run from 2 to 6 p.m. at Willow-Witt, 658 Shale City Road, Ashland. Admission is $25 for adults and $10 for youth under age 18. The ranch is about 5 miles as the crow flies east of Ashland, cuddled in a basin on the east side of Grizzly Peak. It’s about 14 driving miles and 28 minutes away.
The featured musical act will be Ben Rich & The PDX Hustle. Other performers will include The Blueberry Blossoms, Victoria Lawton-Diez, and the Creekside Strings Contra Dance Band.
A variety of family activities are planned, including: 1:40 p.m., Turtle Pond Walk; 2:15, Blueberry Blossoms (music for kids); 2:30, Turtle Pond Walk; 3 – Rachel Buklad and the Creekside Strings with Contra dancing, and face painting; 4 – Victoria Lawton; 4:45, Ben Rich and the PDX Hustle.
The Willow-Witt Ranch spans 445 acres and offers recreational activities for people of all ages. Visitors are encouraged to visit the home, either on their own or with a ranch team member. A Wetland Interpretive Trail Map outlines a self-guided 2-1/2-mile loop trail with numbered informational signs. Also offered are staff-guided goat hikes, birding and “citizen science” featuring birds and native plants.
Programs like single-day field trips, virtual field trips and an outdoor school are offered during the school year while summer offers nature day camps.
“The mission of The Crest,” according to managers, “is to cultivate the integral connection between people and nature. We learn from nature the interdependence of humans and the air, soil, food, forest, and water upon which we all depend and the earth to which we all return.”
For more information, visit the website at thecrestatwillowwitt.org, where tickets for the Fest can be purchased, or email info@thecrestatwillowwitt.org. Tickets are also available at the Music Coop or at the ranch on Sunday.
To reach Willow-Witt from Interstate 5, take exit 14, Highway 66. Drive east 1 mile, turn left on Dead Indian Memorial Road and continue 6.6 mile. Turn left on Shale City Road, a paved Bureau of Land Management road, just after a large powerline crosses Dead Indian Memorial Road. Shale City Road is a loop marked by: “Grizzly Peak Trail,” a sign for the Willow Witt Farm Store, and nine mailboxes. Follow Shale City Road 3.2 miles, which cross two cattle guards, and a well-graveled road with a “Grizzly Peak Trailhead” sign. Continue on Shale City Road 50 yards then and turn right at the signed driveway. Continue ¾-mile to the farm. Watch for the “Family Forest” and “Watershed Friendly Steward” signs at our entry gate. If the electric gate is closed, the keypad will have instructions for opening.
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net.
