2020 EUG Parade/Pet Promenade

Anyone for a parade? It may seem an odd time for the virtual 2020 EUG Parade/Pet Promenade, originally scheduled for September, but COVID and thick wildfire smoke be damned, organizers remained hard at work for the fourth annual parade, now set for Oct. 4. “It would speak to the resilience of the community,” says Jerril Nilson, a volunteer and one of three SLUG queens on the organizing committee along with Jenette Kime and Leigh Anne Jasheway. Typically, the parade partners with Eugene’s Sunday Streets program, but COVID has currently wiped that out. The current EUG Parade/Pet Promenade started in 2017, and Jasheway notes it’s not the first time the parade has been called to help relieve the stress all of us have felt with life. She recalls the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and that year’s parade happening days later. “It would be a more somber, patriotic parade,” Jasheway says of the 2001 event. “It was different. People said they needed to get out of the house.” We still do, but until COVID flattens, we’ll take the virtual parade.

The 2020 EUG Parade/Pet Promenade (“Bounce Forward”) starts 11 am Sunday, Oct. 4, and can be found at EUG Parade on YouTube.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!