By Emily Hoard • Staff Writer • 

Granary District hosts music festival again

The third annual Walnut City Music Festival set to run 4 to midnight Saturday, Aug. 15, in the Granary District, will feature six bands this year.

Event organizer Ossie Bladine, editor at the News-Register, said he launched the festival to bring more live music to McMinnville.

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“There’s so much musical talent in the region,” he said. “I see the potential of McMinnville as a good stop for musicians.”

Many touring bands stop in Portland and Seattle, but McMinnville offers a different experience.

“I’ve heard a lot of those concert tours seem to be the same, night-in and night-out,” Bladine said. “McMinnville offers a different place and a different crowd.”

The Granary District’s industrial lot is nothing like the typical Portland or Seattle venue, he said.

While living in Vancouver, Washington, where he served as editor of the Vancouver Voice, Bladine put on CouvFest NW. When he moved back to McMinnville, he found the Granary District provided the perfect opportunity for a similar music festival.

This year, the district is inviting members of the community to help create a new amphitheater the morning of the event. “It gives the music festival a nice stage and serves as a kickoff for the festival the same day,” Bladine said.

The festival will feature a mix of Americana, reggae, folk and alternative rock. Santa Cruz resident Billy Manzik will lead off at 4 p.m., followed by Ships to Roam, World’s Finest and Dogheart.

The headliner, Have Gun, Will Travel, out of Bradenton, Florida, will take the stage at 9:30 p.m.

Currently on tour, the Florida group is booked in Ashland on Aug. 14 and Seattle on Aug. 16. Bladine said it was fortuitous to get the band right in the middle.

It will be the festival’s first band from outside the Pacific Northwest. Ships to Roam is a well-known local group and all the rest of this year’s performers are from the Portland area.

Dad Works Hard will provide a coda, performing at an after-party in the Grain Station Brew Works, slated to run 10:35 to midnight.

Bladine hopes the event will grow into a two-day festival in the future. “The sky’s the limit for the music festival here,” he said.

During the event, the Grain Station, McMinnville Rotary Club and other vendors plan to offer food and beverages.

The 10 and under set will be admitted at no charge. For everyone else, tickets run $10 in advance and $15 at the gate.

Tickets are available at the News-Register, Vortex and Grain Station Brew Works. They may also be purchased online at mcwalnuts.com.

Gates will open at 3 on the day of the event.

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