Vortex I

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Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life, more commonly known as just Vortex I, was a rock festival sponsored by the state of Oregon, and held in 1970 in Clackamas County, Oregon. Held in order to prevent violent protests during a planned Richard Nixon appearance in the state, it remains the only state-sponsored rock festival in United States history.

Contents 1 Background 2 The event 3 Aftermath 4 References

[edit] Background

In 1970, then-President Richard Nixon scheduled an appearance at an American Legion convention in Portland, Oregon, in order to promote a 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. 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."

[edit] The event

The festival was held from August 28 through September 3, at the same time as the American Legion convention. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people attended the event 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.

Per agreement with the governor, the police presence at the festival was limited; in particular, the police 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.

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.

[edit] 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 ad skinny dipping but nobody was killed."^[1]

[edit] References

This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

1. Love, Matt (2004). The Far Out Story of Vortex I. Nestucca Spit Press. ISBN 0-9744364-1-0. 
2. Kirkland, John (January 19, 2005). News: Off the Shelf: Winter 2005. PSU Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
3. Oregon Heritage News. Oregon State Library (2004-10-27). Retrieved on 2007-04-12.