Vortex I

infobox music festival
music_festival_name = Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life


caption =
location = Milo McIver State Park near Estacada, Oregon
years_active = 1970
founders = People's Army Jamboree and Oregon governor Tom McCall
dates = August 28 – September 3, 1970
genre = Various
website = "(none)"

Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life, more commonly known as just Vortex I, was a week-long rock festival sponsored by the U.S. state of Oregon, and held in 1970 in Clackamas County near Portland. Held in order to prevent violent protests during a planned Richard Nixon appearance in the statecite web
url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/theoregonian/2683660204/
title=Vortex |accessdate=2008-07-26
author="The Oregonian"
work=The Oregonian |publisher=Flickr
quote=Oregon's 1970 Vortex gathering near Estacada may have been the only government-sponsored festival of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll in U.S. history. About 100,000 people attended the week-long event, remembered by some for its spirit of community. Police and the National Guard were on hand for Vortex, but they were told to look the other way as revelers broke loose during Oregon's version of Woodstock. Although the event had that gathering-of-tribes feel, it also drew some non-counter culture Vortex "tourists." The festival was held in order to alleviate potential demonstrations during a proposed visit by then President Richard Nixon.] , it remains the only state-sponsored rock festival in United States history.

Background

In 1970, then-President Richard Nixon scheduled an appearance at an American Legion convention in Portland, Oregon, in order to promote the continuation of the Vietnam War. A coalition of Portland-based anti-Vietnam War groups, called the People's Army Jamboree, planned a series of demonstrations and other anti-war activities, to be held at the same time as the convention. Law enforcement at all levels, expecting massive numbers of protesters on both sides, were concerned about large-scale violence—an FBI report estimated a potential crowd of 25,000 Legionnaires and 50,000 anti-war protestors, and suggested that the result could be worse than the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.fact|date=July 2008 In order to keep the peace, Oregon governor Tom McCall made an agreement with representatives of local anti-war factions to permit a rock festival to be held in a state park at the same time as Nixon's scheduled visit. McCall has been heard to remark that by making this agreement—less than three months before the upcoming November vote, in which he was running for re-election—he had "committed political suicide."

The event

The festival was held from August 28 through September 3, at the same time as the American Legion convention. About 100,000 people attended the event, held at Milo McIver State Park, near the city of Estacada. Admission was free of charge, so the gates to the event were not monitored (and an accurate attendance figure is not available). On the busiest day of the festival, a line of automobiles ran 18 miles from the park gates to southeast Portland.fact|date=July 2008

Per agreement with the governor, the police and the Oregon National Guard largely ignored non-violent offenses such as drug use and public nudity, both of which were present at the festival. The festival was often called "The Governor's Pot Party" by many Oregonians.fact|date=July 2008

The music at the festival was primarily performed by local acts. The media reported that many prominent national acts of the time would appear, including Santana, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, but none did. This did little to dampen the enthusiasm of attendees.

Aftermath

Though no doubt aided by a last-minute cancellation by Nixon, the event had its desired affect. Both the American Legion convention and the anti-war activities of the Jamboree were carried out without any major incident. The concert was considered by many to be an excellent means of preventing violence. Far from committing political suicide, McCall won re-election that November, defeating opponent Robert W. Straub handily.

McCall later told Studs Terkel: "It was the damnedest confrontation you'll ever see. We took a park, 20 miles south of Portland, and turned it into an overnight bivouac and disco party.…There was a lot of pot smoking and skinny dipping but nobody was killed." [cite journal|title=Post Cards from the Past: 1970s—Your Day Off|journal=Portland Monthly|date=September 2007|pages=96]

References

Specific references:General references:
#cite book | first = Matt | last = Love | title = The Far Out Story of Vortex I | publisher = Nestucca Spit Press | date = 2004 | id = ISBN 0-9744364-1-0
#cite web | first = John | last = Kirkland | title = News: Off the Shelf: Winter 2005 | publisher = PSU Magazine | date = January 19, 2005 | url = http://www.pdx.edu/magazine/news/4416/ | accessdate = 2007-04-12
#cite web | title = Oregon Heritage News | publisher = Oregon State Library | date = 2004-10-27 | url = http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/pipermail/heritage/2004-October/000283.html | accessdate = 2007-04-12

External links

* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/theoregonian/tags/vortex/ Archival photos of Vortex] from the Flickr account for "The Oregonian" newspaper