Harnessing A Town’s Passion to Create Sustainability

La Grande, Oregon is a small rural town of 13,000 people, nestled in the Grande Ronde Valley. Most people in the town are farmers, livestock ranchers, and of course, beer enthusiasts. Upon my arrival two and a half months ago, many of the remarks I heard involved the common notion that everyone works for themselves, and people are unwilling to work together for the greater good. How can that create a sustainable town for the coming years? With a university up the hill, and the railroad line close to downtown, this small town should be able to create some connections that will help it grow in the future.

Another common notion that I heard floating around during my short time here, is that many people have been talking with each other about holding an Eastern Oregon Beer Festival. My initial thoughts: Why hasn’t this happened yet? Who is going to do this if we don’t? Holy Cow… a beer festival in Eastern Oregon! How long would it take for something like this to create stability in this town?

So of course, La Grande Main Street Downtown decided to take the initiative to begin the planning process. The organization committee met to discuss whether this was a feasible attempt. And yes, it was a go! About a month after creating the Beer Fest subcommittee, we are now seeing a new form of diversity in the group, and we can see the passion that people have for this. All it took, was one organization to stand up and take the initiative to start the process.

At our latest meeting, we had an equal amount of old faces, along with new ones. The recruiting process has been simple… word of mouth travels far. Since people in this town are already passionate about beer, and by creating an avenue for these people, we are receiving higher levels of participation than any of our past events. Our hope for this event is to gain profits that can sustain a coordinator role here in the La Grande Main Street Downtown office, in addition to filling our downtown property, like the old Ale House. If we hold a major festival here in this town, businesses will come, and the town will prosper. So everyone, keep a look out for the First Annual Eastern Oregon Beer Festival! It’s going to be a good one.

About the Author:  Saira Siddiqui received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Design with Minors in Studio Art and English from the University at Buffalo, New York.  As a student, Saira held internships with the Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy and the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning.  Saira applied to the RARE AmeriCorps Program – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments in hopes of gaining hands-on experience in the community development field while making positive changes in the community she serves.  Her RARE placement is with La Grande Main Street Downtown.