Courtyard

Pickathon's Grand Arena — the only stage big enough to hold the whole community at once. For 2026, Scott Edwards Architecture's designed a stage and experience that will go downstream in multiple areas. After the festival, the parts will head to P:ear Mentor’s new flower market, seating for the Oasis Day Center and materials for the Q-side Skatepark as well as providing hands-on training for Building to Scale nonprofit students.

The Woods' dark, mysterious sister. Led by the PSU School of Architecture, this ridge sleeps by day and wakes after sundown into a glowing, avant-garde wonderland of massive student-built structures. This year's net-woven Diversion Design carries a global purpose: through maritime-recycling nonprofit Net Your Problem, the nets that form the venue will be shipped to Ukraine to catch drones and shield villages — going from catching fish, to gathering Pickathon, to saving lives.

The stage that defined Pickathon. Descend a steep trail into a deep, natural bowl ringed by towering Douglas Firs beneath a living canopy of Big Leaf Maples. Total shade makes the Woods the only outdoor stage running morning to late night — cool and dappled by day, bioluminescent and electric by night. The Woods stage is the ultimate example of sustainability in building materials. Each year architect Mark Lakeman uses downed and dead wood from the winter to rebuild Pickathon’s forest cathedral.

A shaded sanctuary wrapped in mystic Douglas Firs, where the architecture weaves through the trees until the line between nature and stage dissolves. In 2026 the Grove took on a new mystery: massive objects in states of disrepair, discovered in the surrounding woods. After the festival, all of the materials used in this stage found a new home with the Girls Build nonprofit.

Perched on the forest edge above the Paddock, defined by towering firs and the farm's iconic windmill. A hillside lounge where art, beer and music mix under the canopy — from literary readings and morning coffee to punk rock and afternoon DJs. This year's Windmill benefited two multiple partners. Sabin CDC received various 'kits of parts' that will build picnic tables, share libraries, a greenhouse and planter boxes. The Waterside Renewal Foundation will be the final home for the vendor booths built by local high school students. Lastly, Menucha Retreat will utilize the DJ structures for outdoor community spaces on their property.

The Town Square of the festival — 20+ Oregon food vendors, craft merchants, a specialty bar, and immersive art that comes alive at night. At its center, 'Mountains of Sound' returns: a circular timber pavilion of 120 radiating frames inspired by Wizard Island at Crater Lake, designed by West of West with structural engineers Holmes. Shade and seating by day; a DJ-in-the-crowd dance floor after dark. The materials for this amazing installation went to the Alliance Charter School for future projects.

Step out of the Galaxy Barn into the festival's open-air social plaza. Anchored by immersive art on the dance floor and a central fire pit, with an outdoor screen broadcasting the action from inside the barns. Grab a drink at the bar and watch the party spill out under the sky. The Courtyard installation will benefit the Blackbird Public Arts nonprofit in their mission to foster construction education through building functional structures.

The sweaty, beating heart of Pickathon history. Inside this century-old barn the barrier between band and crowd disappears — psych-rock, punk and soul you feel in your chest. The stage backdrop is redesigned every year, but the high-intensity spirit never changes.

The literal front door to Pendarvis Farm and the hub for ride share, Eco-Shuttle and bike-in arrivals — where you trade your ticket for a wristband and step into the magic. This year's welcoming structures (story poles, archways, busking stage, ticketing pavilion) by Bora Architecture & Dream Big City are built to become part of a community skate and arts space afterward.

A natural hallway of old-growth apple trees guiding you from the Farmhouse toward the Lucky Barn and Galaxy Courtyard. This is where decompression begins — the outside world fades beneath the boughs, lined this year with archways and story poles bound for the same downstream journey as the Farmhouse.

Pickathon's wellness home in the forest — a quiet pocket of the farm to rest, heal and reconnect. The 2026 theme 'Coming Home' journeys through Oregon's bioregions, from Willamette Valley farmstead to Mt. Hood forest, High Desert and Coast. Sound baths, yoga, Qi Gong, cedar showers, massage, and a sober-friendly space with Mindful Recovery groups. Its lumber goes on to support Alliance Charter Academy.

An enclosed, air-conditioned rustic hall that has hosted recording sessions for legends like The Decemberists — seated-only and built for listening. In 2026 the neighborhood around it becomes 'Kaleidoscope City,' Holst Architecture's modular Micro Shading Modules that link, split and multiply like living cells. Designed for 100% re-use, the shade covers relocate afterward to Parrott Creek's 80-acre campus as multiple outdoor Cultural Ecology spaces for clients

A full kids' festival tucked safely in the woods above Cherry Hill, transformed for 2026 into Captain Coyote's Frog Bog with sets, play structures and art by Cedarwood Waldorf School and Pickathon artists. All-day family stage curated by Red Yarn, plus yoga, music classes, wilderness adventures, crafts and a Sunday Puppet Parade. Kids 12 & under free with a ticketed adult; teens 13-17 half price.

Your first stop driving in — drive-through ticketing check-in and a streamlined gear drop-off, then a 1-mile walk through the woods or a shuttle to the Farmhouse. This year, two wooden 'Long Porch' pavilions (by Big-Marks and DRAWINGS, built by Schommer and Sons) greet travelers at the arrival and departure points — a facade without a building, an entry to an open horizon.

The grassy expanse connecting the Paddock, Windmill and Grove — Pickathon's 'Central Park.' Large-scale sculpture that responds to the landscape, impromptu hacky-sack games and families sprawled on blankets. The visual breathing room that ties the festival together.

One of Pickathon's most beloved traditions — five exclusive seated dinners, brunches and happy hours (just 100 guests each) pairing acclaimed chefs with performing artists over a shared meal and intimate performance. Requires a separate Curation ticket plus a festival pass.

The backstage cantina and hangout spot. This year students from Sabin-Schellenberg Technical Professional Center designed the seating and lighting in this area providing a special hands-on learning experience while the construction classes benefited from lumber donations after the festival. The remainder of the materials went to the PSU Iteck Center and PSU Oak Savanna to assist in the building of the outdoor indigenous classroom.

The center of the universe for staff and volunteers designed by TVA. All of the lumber from this build went to Sabin-Schellenberg Technical Professional Center construction classes.