By LYDIA PLAHN/for The Herald — Mark your calendars for July 29 and 30 when the 27th annual Blackberry Jam Festival will take place at Rolling Rock Park in Lowell.
The event will run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The festival, which has been around since the late ‘80s, began as a music festival and has evolved to include a horseshoe tournament, craft vendors, activities for the kids, a 3 vs 3 basketball tournament and a winery booth.
Due to lack of volunteers and planning difficulties, the festival will be without a couple of popular events; the fishing derby and car show, but will still stage a parade, coins in the hay, greased pole climb and live music. It will also add a cornhole tournament at noon on Saturday, July 29. Interested participants can pre-register for the event on the Scoreholio app. There will be a $20 registration fee.
McKenzie Crest Wines will be a new part of the jam this year. The company will have a booth and will have created a new blackberry wine spritzer available to festival goers. In addition to the winery, the Jam will have at least 35 craft vendors and seven food Vendors.
Anyone interested in being a part of the parade on Saturday morning should sign up as soon as possible. They can do this by contacting Lonna Bennet at 541-937-2312 or by e-mail at [email protected].
The festival is always in need of more volunteers and anyone interested can reach out to the Lowell City Hall for more information. Festival officials are also looking for volunteers for next year’s festival who can help plan and run events.
“We are really excited that we were able to put the festival on this year, and we can’t wait to see everybody come out,” Meesa Anders, the chair of the Blackberry Jam Committee, says.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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