REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Fun in North Plains does, in reality, stink

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Fun in North Plains does, in reality, stink

Published 9:56 am Monday, August 10, 2026

Please excuse me if my breath nonetheless stinks.

The wildfire smoke subsided, the summer season warmth was cranked and I spent my Saturday afternoon becoming a member of the North Plains group at its annual Elephant Garlic Festival.

From watching kids race into the road for sweet alongside the parade path to staring awestruck as a neighborhood mascot made its look, the competition offered all of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes that ought to associate with the premier, at the very least in my view, elephant garlic competition of our era.

Watching the group collect to get pleasure from one another’s firm and the competition’s implicit quirks had me reminiscing on the slice of life that small-town occasions afford. The native leaders (and hopefuls) waving to their constituents from the parade route, households gathering to take photographs with the mascot of the hour, {couples} indulging in snacks and the sensation of group within the air — and there with them I received to reminisce on my early profession protecting small cities in southern Oregon.

Who couldn’t fall in love with the mascot of the hour? I’ve seen photographs of Stinkee from our previous protection, however seeing the anthropomorphized elephant combined with a bulb of garlic was a special emotional expertise altogether.

It felt like a star sighting. I’m a sucker for a tasteful mascot — and Stinkee takes that actually. The bulbous pachyderm couldn’t make it quite a lot of steps into the competition earlier than a crowd fashioned round to take photographs, and I can’t blame them. I received’t go into element about what number of photographs I took of Stinkee that didn’t make it into this report.

Inside the seller market, every kind of garlic-related gadgets had been on the market, along with the wares one sometimes finds at farmers markets and artisan festivals. But it was the food and drinks choices that I had actually come right here for.

I used to be instructed by my Hillsboro-native colleague that indulging in a scoop of garlic ice cream on the competition was a should. While he implored me to get it with caramel on prime, I knew I needed to try this artisan delicacy au naturel: Just me, a spoon and a scoop of savory, flavor-of-the-day ice cream.

Bite one: My mind couldn’t compute. Why is that this candy deal with not totally candy? Bite two: I may begin to really feel the garlicky tang on the again of my tongue. Bite three: I get it now. I received the total expertise of savory bits of garlic melded with the vanilla summer season staple. Bite 4: That’s in all probability sufficient of that for me. Thanks, although, and definitely well worth the attempt.

What I used to be not anticipating was the garlic-flavored beer. As I stood in line to fortunately help the North Plains Knights of Pythias with my beverage choice, I questioned if the garlic ice cream had blown out my palate sufficient that I might not get the total expertise of garlic beer.

Nope.

It was beer that tasted like garlic; there was no hiding behind the hops. It appeared to get extra garlicky as my plastic cup slowly drained, however I wouldn’t name {that a} dangerous factor. Would I drink multiple on a sizzling afternoon? Probably not. But as soon as once more, actually well worth the attempt.

I don’t suppose I converse for myself once I say it was good to reconvene with of us after the smoky and sizzling summer season the final week or so has afforded Washington County residents. And, in case you’ve learn the News-Times these days, I believe it’s honest to say North Plains residents wanted a little bit of enjoyable and normalcy amid native governance points which have been something however.

I began my profession on the Grants Pass Daily Courier in southern Oregon, which additionally had its personal set of native points on the time. Covering group festivals like this was a daily reality of my life and served as a very good reminder that there’s loads of good occurring outdoors metropolis halls, even when these inside the partitions can’t at all times get alongside.

Now that I’m the editor of some papers within the Portland metro, I’ve fewer alternatives to cowl these occasions. But attending to relive my small-town journalism reporting and see a group collect was a deal with, above and past the garlic.

Once I declared myself off obligation, I made a decision I did, in reality, want my very own photograph with Stinkee. But alas, that cute behemoth was nowhere to be discovered (although hopefully was someplace cooling off).

Oh properly; there’s at all times subsequent yr!

Lauren Bishop is the editor of the News-Times, The Times, The Newberg Graphic and the Columbia County Spotlight.