NEWBERG, Ore. — The Newberg Old Fashioned Festival will celebrate one last year at Renne Field before construction begins on a resurfacing project slated for 2025. This year’s festival runs July 24–27.
Dubbed “Newberg’s Family Reunion,” the event is in its 44th year under its current name and marks the 104th year since it began as the Berrian Festival—a local counter to Portland’s Rose Festival. The annual celebration highlights local culture, businesses, and community traditions.
“Whenever you go to the festival, you’re going to see someone you know,” said Bob Woodruff, president of the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival. “Whether you’ve been in town your whole life or just a couple of months, you spend a little time down there and you’re going to see someone you know. There’s that feeling of local connection that inspired us to designate the family reunion theme.”
The festival will feature familiar favorites: a carnival, a children’s parade, the grand parade, live music at the main stage, cultural stage performances, a Rotary pancake breakfast, the Cruise-In car show, and the signature fireworks display on Saturday night.
“Nothing’s really changed, and that’s part of our brand,” Woodruff said. “It’s right there in the name—there is an old-fashioned feeling to coming here and feeling like it could be the same festival you came to 20 years ago. We like that about it.”
The 2025 Grand Parade will be led by Grand Marshal Brian Love, owner of Krohn’s Appliance and a longtime local volunteer. Love helps organize the Old Fashioned Festival, the St. Paul Rodeo, Newberg Scroll Christmas decorations, and the annual Krohn’s Diaper Drive. He also volunteers as a firefighter for Idanha/Detroit Lake and was named Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Hometown Human of the Year in 2023.
“He’s truly Mr. Newberg,” Woodruff said. “It was a unanimous decision. The hardest part was getting him to accept the nomination, as he’s declined in the past.”
The parade begins at 10 a.m. and follows its traditional route: starting at Edwards Elementary, heading west along 2nd Street to Main Street, south to 3rd Street, east to Blaine Street, and south to end at Renne Field.
The festival’s future at Renne Field is uncertain. The Chehalem Park and Recreation District announced plans to convert the grass field to artificial turf beginning in fall 2025. Woodruff said the committee has postponed any relocation decisions until after this year’s event.
“We’re exploring options, but we know that after this year, we won’t be able to have fireworks there,” he said. “It’s the only thing I’m losing sleep over—how are we going to adapt to that change? We don’t know the answer yet.”
Presale carnival wristbands are available for $35 at Nap’s Thriftway and Krohn’s Appliance. Sales are cash only and end Thursday, July 24. Wristbands at the carnival will be $45.
Meet the 2025 Royal Court
The 2025 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Royal Court includes local students who bring leadership, pride, and a deep sense of tradition to this year’s event.
2025 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Queen Annie Williamson 
2025 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Princess Addyson Stewart 
2025 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Princess Kalia Scharfenberger 
2025 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Junior Princess Klara Renhard 
2025 Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Junior Princess June Adovnik
This year’s queen, Annie Williamson, is a junior at Newberg High School and a lifelong Newberg resident. A varsity cheerleader, she plans to join the school’s theater program in the coming year. She has attended the festival every year since childhood and said serving on the court is a dream come true.
“I know I am going to cherish these memories of representing Newberg forever,” Williamson said.
Joining her on the Royal Court are princesses Addyson Stewart and Kalia Scharfenberger.
Stewart, 16, is a student leader and varsity athlete at Newberg High with a passion for science and the ocean. A certified scuba diver since age 9, she is now studying marine biology and following in the footsteps of her great-grandmother, a 1943 Rose Festival Princess.
Scharfenberger, also a Newberg High student, is a fifth-generation Newberg resident active in volleyball and church-based community service. She plans to pursue a career in pediatric dental hygiene and will begin dental assisting studies this fall at Willamette Career Academy.
The Junior Court features June Adovnik and Klara Renhard, two young residents proud to represent Newberg.
Adovnik, 11, is a lifelong resident who enjoys performing, volunteering at the library, and attending church camp. She said she’s excited to take part in the parade and spend time with friends and neighbors during the festival.
Renhard, 10, attends Edwards Elementary and participates in the school’s dual-language Spanish program. She’s active in cheer, softball, basketball, and music, and hopes her time as a junior princess inspires others to join the tradition.
View the full festival schedule at the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival website.
Disclosure: Brian Love is the owner of Krohn’s Appliance, a Newsberg advertiser.
