Linn County officials are considering locating a base for a Renaissance fair as a way to pay for operation of a new 175-acre county park. The county already has borrowed from its road fund to pay the landowner the $1.25 million for the property west of Seven Mile lane and south of Highway 34.

During the summer, the county park would serve as the site of a Renaissance faire operated by Royal Faires Inc. The company operates two Renaissance-themed amusement parks; one in North Carolina and the other in Arizona. The Carolina fair (www.royalfaires.com/

carolina) is described as "a medieval amusement park, a 10-stage theater, a 20-acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast."

Royal came to Linn County with a similar plan for a faire at the defunct Washington County Fairgrounds bogged down.

Royal representatives liked that the Linn site is a stone's throw from Highway 34's exchange with Interstate 5. They envision a permanent site that includes a replica of an English village, jousting and entertainment area and of course food booths, plus a lot of parking.

But that doesn't mean that Linn County should fast-track this proposal without assurances that we have something that actually looks like a real park - an inviting green oasis with plenty of trees and fields - in case the faire has a less-than-fair reception here.

The park/faire idea is appealing because it's being sold as something that won't cost Linn County taxpayers any general fund revenue; some of the revenue from the faire would do that. But let's remember that the public's taste for specialized entertainment waxes and wanes.

We already have some established Renaissance faires in Oregon: The Oregon Country Fair in Veneta turns 38 when it convenes July 13, and - for the past 12 years - we've also seen the growth of the Shrewsbury Renaissance Faire in Kings Valley, which takes place Sept. 8 and 9 this year (www.shrewfaire.com).

Leslie Engle, who founded the Shrewsbury faire 12 years ago, was gracious Wednesday about what another "ren faire" this close to Shrewsbury could mean: "It's good news for the artists and crafts people," she said, but she noted that the Royal Faires offer a different experience from the "living history" Elizabethan-era theme available at Shrewsbury.

And let's not forget that we already see our county fairs and the state fair struggling every year to make ends meet. So the question becomes: Just how many Renaissance-themed faires, all held during various dates in the summer, survive in a 75-mile radius?

The county is wise to proceed with its park plan as a way to preserve open, green space. But officials should keep in mind that this property needs to be a viable park, regardless of what other features it has. After all, although the Albany Timber Carnival is now defunct, it is prized by one columnist as as a "90-acre green oasis" adjacent to the Linn County Fair and Expo Center.

Linn County already knows how to multi-task its attractions. We encourage officials to think of this new acquisition as a county park first, and a faire site second.