Wes nice report.I would've to have made it but my traveling days are finished.
I just can'ttravel anymore. We need you young people to carry on.Tony
On Sunday, August 16, 2015 11:38 AM, Wes Wada <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi VFB,
We are all recuperating from several days of working at and enjoying the IFFF
Fair in Bend, Oregon. The Fair ran Mon.-Sat., with most of the public
activities happening Thurs.-Sat. Over 80 volunteers from two local fly clubs
helped make the event happen, and overall, people seemed very pleased with the
turnout and events.
It was enjoyable to see fly tyers that were not just the folks we usually see
at the NW Fly Tyers Expo in Albany, OR each March. That probably goes both
ways, since the Fair this year had a much stronger representation of tyers from
the Pacific NW than normal. The annual Fair is usually held in Livingston MT,
but this was the 50th Anniversary celebration of IFFF, which was founded in
Eugene, Oregon.
Bend is way too busy right now with all sorts of tourism related activities
going on, so busy busy, lots of traffic. Events for the Fair were scattered
around town, and especially trying to find a place to park at the Mill District
was more than a challenge. The Fair had a shuttle making the rounds.
We were talking about how people from back East were getting a real taste of
the wild, woolly West, as there are 26 major forest and range fires going on in
Oregon, Washington and northern California. There was a major one 60 miles
north of here, that started during the Fair, and exploded from 5,000 acres to
47,000 acres in three days, and is still roaring and not near containment.
That blocked one of the major highways from Bend to Portland, so people were
being attentive, as a number of folks had to travel to Portland for their
airline connections back home. Thankfully, the prevailing winds kept the heavy
smoke out of the Bend area.
I had a lot of fun meeting and talking to people I only knew by email. I
chatted with J Balmer of VFB for a couple of hours over a cold brew at a
riverside cafe, and we found we had a number of interests in common. Did not
know that J was a professional musician in addition to his IT and business
talents. Chatted a bit with Peggy Bremer at her tying table during the fare,
and this is a person with a pleasant smile on all the time, very sweet. She
had a beautiful display of all the Atlantic Salmon flies she has been working
on.
Finally, I connected with Misa Ishimura, the spouse of the late Mark Romero of
VFB. I had corresponded with Mark and Misa over a pretty long period, so it
was so nice to see Misa in person for the first time. Chatted with her several
times and got a Tenkara casting lesson from her. Misa was very busy, as she
was demo tying, had an author's book signing, and was featured speaker in one
of the programs. Misa is lots of fun, enjoys life, and just lights up the room
with enthusiasm.
Tony Spezio will be interested to know that I connected with Patty Lueken from
Arkansas, and Tony is regarded in glowing terms, as we all know.
There was a larger than normal number of Japanese tyers participating, some
from Japan, and I enjoyed sitting in on their sessions. Always nice to see a
much different take on things.
In a similar vein, there were a couple of featured tyers from Iceland.
Of all the older tyers, I enjoyed sitting in with Bob Jacklin of Livingston,
MT, the most. He was demoing a cool ant pattern.
The last day, I talked an hour with Bill Black, owner of Spirit River
(headquartered in Glide, Oregon). Bill has been a good friend and supporter,
and we had a productive conversation.
In all, an enjoyable experience right in the middle of Dog Days fishing, so
time well-spent. And best of all, this one came to our town, so we didn't have
to travel.
Wes WadaBend, Oregon
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