For nearly four decades, the last weekend in July saw this tiny Lake County community of fewer than 300 residents welcome thousands of visitors for the annual Paisley Mosquito Festival. After this summer, those days may be over.
“We’re just not getting the turnout that we used to for vendors and people,” says long-time resident Amy Davis. She worries that this year’s event might be the last.
The Mosquito Festival began in 1984 as a community fundraiser for vector control to help eradicate the local mosquito population. Residents Larry and Bev Hill came up with the idea after a particularly bad mosquito outbreak.
FILE - In this image from 2007, a person rides a horse through Paisley, Ore. while a dog follows. The small town hosts an annual Mosquito Festival.
Courtesy of the Fremont-Winema National Forest
But with fewer volunteers to run the event and dwindling attendance, Davis says the city first planned to cancel the festival in 2020. That’s when Davis and a few others took over the planning and coordination of the event. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, followed by a devastating fire season, forcing the festival’s definite cancellation for that year.
It returned in 2021, but with lingering COVID restrictions the events didn’t attract many people.
Plus, getting to Paisley can be a trek.
Oregon’s Outback
The town is isolated. Paisley sits 130 miles south of Bend and 45 miles west of Lakeview along Highway 31, designated by the Oregon Department of Transportation as the Oregon Outback Scenic Byway. The region is an arid, high desert with an elevation well above 4,000 feet, making it hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Stunning rock formations, hot springs and seasonal lakes stretch across the vast open landscape.
By the 1870s, the region attracted hardy white settlers looking for open ranch land.
One of Paisley’s few businesses, the Pioneer Saloon, recently celebrated its 140th anniversary, making it one of the oldest continually operating taverns in the state.
The town of Paisley incorporated in 1911 and the population has hovered near 300 residents ever since.
The town of Paisley in Lake County, Oregon, in 1912.
Courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society, #ba012961
Ancient origins
Archeological evidence shows that people occupied the area for thousands of years. The famous Paisley Caves, just five miles from town, reveal human activity dating back at least 14,000 years, making it one of North America’s oldest and most significant archeological sites.
More recently, the area was a seasonal settlement for the Northern Paiute and Klamath Tribes who gathered here to harvest the abundant natural resources of the Chewaucan Marsh and River.
Together with other surrounding marshes and irrigation ditches, the region is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Beginning of a tradition
According to local journalist Toni Bailie of the “Community Breeze,” Paisley held its first Mosquito Festival in August of 1984 to help the city raise funds for mosquito control, which had been paid out of a local levy.
For years, the popular festival attracted thousands of visitors to the rodeo, parade, BBQ and pancake breakfast. The first years included the crowning of a “Ms. Quito.”
The festival’s unique name garnered national attention, prompting the city to proudly embrace its notoriety as the “home of the Mosquito Festival.”
According to an Oregon Public Broadcasting “Front Street Weekly” report from 1987, those early festivals raised enough money for essential equipment, including a truck, a fogger and chemicals, and several bug zappers to combat the relentless mosquito swarms.
The festival no longer provides the main funding for vector control. However, it still contributes some money to the cause. Mosquitoes are a continual problem.
Weather permitting, the city tries to spray twice a week during peak mosquito outbreaks.
A future in doubt
According to Davis, online interest in the event remains, but the actual number of visitors has significantly declined. After fighting a cancer diagnosis, she says it’s time for her to step down. “This year, we just haven’t had many people that want to help.”
The city of Paisley decided 2023 would be the last year, though Davis said other groups may want to keep it going.
FILE - For decades, local residents have taken part in Mosquito Festival events, like the traditional parade.
Courtesy of Amy Davis
The festival and rodeo run for three days, beginning Friday, July 28 through Sunday, July 30.
The Paisley Rodeo Club traditionally holds events over the weekend, but it operates as a separate entity. Regardless of the future of Paisley’s Mosquito Festival, the rodeo will continue.
Oregon Experience behind the scenes
In 2014, an Oregon Experience crew spent several days near Paisley exploring local caves with members of the Klamath Tribes, the Bureau of Land Management, and archaeologists from the University of Oregon.
Courtesy of Randy Layton / OPB
An Oregon Experience crew spent several days in Paisley in 2014 for the documentary “Luther Cressman: Quest for First People.” One of the highlights included spending time with Dr. Dennis Jenkins, who directs the Paisley Caves Archaeological Research Project, at the caves where the University of Oregon field school recovered some of the oldest human remains in North America.