Advertisement
McMenamins and Friends of Historic Forest Grove present History Pub
Ballad Town USA: The Barbershop Music Capital of the West
Presented by Elle Griego
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Grand Lodge Theater
7pm/ Doors 6pm
$5
All ages
Featuring a live performance by the Sasquatch 5 barbershop quartet!
The Gay Nineties festival was held annually in Forest Grove from 1947 until the 1990s and was centered around nostalgia for the 1890s era. The festival featured a parade, historical costumes, and the Original All-Northwest Barbershop Ballad Contest, which was broadcast nationally over radio and television. Forest Grove earned the nickname “Ballad Town USA,” but over the years, this era of local history has fallen into relative obscurity. Historian Elle Griego gives insight into why the 1890s were all the rage in postwar America, and how the small town of Forest Grove became the barbershop music capital of the West. Featuring a live performance by the Sasquatch 5 barbershop quartet!
Elle Griego is a student at Pacific University majoring in history and French. She works as an assistant in the Pacific University Archives and volunteers with the Friends of Historic Forest Grove. Elle recently completed a project to scan and describe over 150 historic images of the Gay Nineties Festival for the Washington County Heritage website and has authored several papers on this unique history.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
McMenamins Grand Lodge, 3505 Pacific Ave,Forest Grove,OR,United States
Tickets
