Where am I going: Blackbird Public Arts installations; materials later to the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers

Stepping out of the Galaxy Barn, you enter the Courtyard—the open-air social plaza where the party spills out under the sky, anchored by a central fire pit, a bar, and an outdoor screen broadcasting the action from inside the barns.

This year, that plaza becomes a habitat. Two massive water lilies rise from the blacktop, built from layered lumber and stacked petal by petal into full bloom. By day they read as raw wood and geometry, monumental forms that invite you to sit and linger. By night, they ignite—light pours through the slats, a DJ drops in from inside one flower, and the other opens its arms to anyone who wants to dance. A habitat built for the night.

When the festival ends, the Courtyard’s story keeps going. The lumber gets repurposed into public art at local farms and festivals, then worked down and donated to the Guild of Oregon Woodworkers for skill-building classes—from a festival dance floor, to a public art piece, to the hands of the next generation of woodworkers.

Designed by: Matt Thomas & Chris Cardoza
Built by: Blackbird Public Arts
Downstream partner: Guild of Oregon Woodworkers, Blackbird Public Arts