Tackling for flower baskets

The Corvallis Fall Festival returns to town this weekend, the last of the big town parties for a while. There will be wine tasting, performances by a wide range of musicians, a teen film festival, activities for kids, food booths, tons of artistic goodies for sale, and a street dance featuring local Led Zeppelin cover band Stairway Denied. Good clean fun, entirely free, until you realize you simply must have that copper birdbath at once.

For me, it's all about the flower baskets. One of my favorite things about Corvallis is that the downtown streets are decorated with these glorious flower baskets all summer. It's one of those little touches that doesn't serve any purpose other than to make the town a wee bit prettier. Stand on any corner downtown and take a picture of the courthouse or quaint historic storefront, and you're bound to end up with this wild basket of flowers somewhere in the picture (like the rather poor shot below from 2004 or so).

On the first day of the Fall Festival, those flower baskets are sold on a first come, first served basis, to raise funds for the following year's flower baskets. I have tried three times in the past to make it downtown in time to buy one of these babies, but they are always sold out before I get there. I have been chided for not arriving earlier, but it's like a clearance sale at Macy's... you've got to be there early and willing to wrestle.

This year, I'm ready. Get out of my way, Granny... I'm bringing my wallet and a baseball bat.

If you feel like rumbling, meet me at the corner of 6th and Madison downtown. The festival opens at 10 a.m. The baskets will probably be sold by 11. May the best flower junkie win.