Donald Daze Hazelnut Festival

The Pacific Northwest is a unique region with special conditions for growing hazelnuts, also known as filberts. The mild, moist climate and the perfect soil quality designate Oregon as “hazelnut country.” For the first time since 2018, join the community for Donald Daze, the ultimate hazelnut celebration with a parade, classic car show, local vendors, food, live music and plenty of fun activities guaranteed to delight the entire family!

Like many things, the Donald Daze Annual Hazelnut Festival paused during the pandemic, but now it’s back and better than ever! Festival Chairperson Connie Lindsay has been part of the Donald Downtown Beautification Committee for seven years and is excited to be part of reviving this incredible community event. “We’re proud to be celebrating the harvest of hazelnuts,” says Connie, “as well as other farming in the area, since we are sitting in the heart of our region’s agriculture.” Donald is home to one of Oregon’s largest hazelnut processing plants.

This year’s festivities are scheduled for Saturday, July 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The party, sponsored by Propane Northwest, will kick off with the Hazelnut Parade, a giant community procession through downtown Donald. “We have some awesome entries this year,” Connie shares, “including a lot of agricultural equipment floats, military vehicles, classic cars and even a few classic tractors.” The festival’s highlight, the classic car show, sponsored this year by GK Machine, will feature a lineup of stunning vehicles parked downtown off Main Street all day.

Donald Daze is all about family fun! Sponsored by North Marion Recycling, the Family Fun Zone will be located near Little Donald Park and will feature a balloon artist, professional bubble magic, carnival games and more. There’s even an ax-throwing booth for the kids with plastic axes. “We wanted this to be a very family-friendly event,” says Connie. The town of Donald is home to a popular skatepark, and they’ve invited a group of skating experts to come and perform an exciting demonstration of skateboard tricks. They’ll also be giving lessons, so bring the kids and their skateboards to learn the basics of skating in a skate bowl. All skill levels are welcome!

With a marvelous lineup of vendors, the festival is also a great place to appreciate local artists and makers. Exhibitor booths will be stationed downtown, including pottery, Native American artwork and more. Food vendors will be serving fun snacks like cotton candy and ice cream. And a celebration would only be complete with music in the air! The city is closing down Williams Street, and Donald Tavern is hosting an outdoor beer garden with live entertainment, including a DJ and a live band.

The celebration of local agriculture isn’t possible without its amazing volunteers. “I love working with the volunteers and the sponsors because you can see how much they love Donald,” says Connie. “It’s been great to see this festival be so well received by the local community.”

The Donald Daze Hazelnut Festival will be located on Main Street in Donald, between Butteville Road and Williams Street. For more information, visit www.donalddaze.com.