By Sean Avery
Columbia Gorge News
THE DALLES — The Columbia Gorge’s largest city, commonly cited as a robust agricultural hub above all, is rarely acknowledged as a creative destination by outsiders. But for residents Marcus Swift and Rian Beach, founders of the nonprofit, all-volunteer event organizer The Dalles Overground (TDO), its vibrant creative foundation represents a community hungry for broadened cultural programming and further artistic avenues.
Since its inception in 2024, TDO has championed its cardinal mission: to bring original arts and culture to The Dalles and facilitate, promote, and encourage community, diversity and inclusiveness through artistic platforms.
“It’s not about replacing or competing,” Swift said. “There is an existing foundation, a good music scene here. We saw it as an opportunity to add to that and provide more options — different and unique options.”
An attorney by day, Swift describes himself as “deeply committed” to The Dalles, where he also serves on the board of the North Wasco County Parks and Recreation District, the Urban Renewal Agency and the Federal Street Plaza Ad Hoc Committee, among others.
“I think The Dalles deserves nice things, and can be whatever it wants to be,” Swift said. “That’s part of what drew me to this, along with my love of music and culture.”
Beach has over 20 years of experience organizing music events, including house shows and pop-up shows, and later the Jackalope Jamboree — a three-day Americana music festival in downtown Pendleton, founded in 2019. He additionally serves as the Trial Court Administrator for Oregon’s 7th Judicial District.
“I’ve always wanted to do a community nonprofit that was creative-related,” Beach said. “That’s why Marcus and I joined up together.”
Swift and Beach are the President and Vice President of TDO’s Board of Directors, a diverse array of Wasco County-based professionals with proven experience in marketing, business development and event management. Together, the board has constructed numerous family-friendly, low-cost community events from the ground up, hosting film screenings and nationally recognized musical acts.
Through partnerships with key actors like the Performing Arts Initiative, the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center, Wasco Cultural Trust, Chenowith Elementary, singer Margo Cilker and the Grenada Theater, TDO has architected a foundation of its own, paving the way for its grandest event to date: a three-day community festival called The Hoot (March 6-8).
Designed for all ages and offered free to the public, The Hoot will bring together critically acclaimed artists, emerging regional talents, and local youth performers across intimate venues within easy walking distance of one another.
“There’s so much out there, why not showcase it all?” Swift said, remarking on the festival’s deliberately versatile lineup — a testament to TDO’s inclusive origins. “If we can have a year two, then it’s just going to get larger.”
“The Dalles shouldn’t sell itself short; there are a lot of artists that pass through on the interstate,” Beach added. “There’s an opportunity to bring bigger names in, while building the existing music scene and developing local talent, especially youth.”
Beyond the stages, festival-goers can enjoy “Coffee with the Songwriters” on Saturday and Sunday morning, a community fun run, and “Beer & Yoga.”
Thus far, TDO’s community feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, drawing support from locals who have long awaited the city hosting more events like The Hoot, both as an exciting source of leisure and entertainment and as an attractive economic benefit. Per Swift, TDO was recently mentioned at the Urban Renewal Agency meeting as an example of something that could help revitalize downtown.
The Hoot’s two headlining acts, Robert Francis and The Vandoliers, have accumulated over 419 registrations, with many coming from over 100 miles away.
“People are not only going to see our community for the first time, but also go to our downtown businesses and spend money,” Swift said. “We can both attract new visitors while also being a great experience for locals who are looking for other options.”
After the dust settles and The Hoot’s final act concludes, TDO hopes all festival goers feel there weren’t many barriers to attending their event. “We want them to walk away with a feeling of excitement that we can do these things in our community,” Swift said.
Moving forward, TDO will continue to evolve — there’s a somewhat uncertain funding landscape in event organization — but its mission will remain the same.Â
“We want to be a part of the fabric of this community,” Swift said. “We want to be the organization that’s known for bringing vibrant and unique things to our downtown core.”
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For more information on TDO and its first annual The Dalles Hoot, visit www.tdoverground.org.
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