It’s First Friday!

Downtown Eugene is full of art tonight as First Friday ArtWalk has galleries open and showing their wares from 5:30 to 8 pm Friday, April 7. For a primer to all the fun, start at Farmers Market Pavilion, 85 E 8th Avenue, where you can pick up a free ArtWalk guide.

A couple highlights:

Karin Clarke Gallery, 760 Willamette Street, has an opening reception during the ArtWalk for Myth/Reality, the gallery’s largest exhibit yet of work by the late Oregon artist Rick Bartow, with paintings, pastel drawings, prints, and sculpture from the estate. Jordan Schnitzer Museum Curator Danielle Knapp will talk about Bartow’s work at 6 pm.

Across the street at White Lotus, 767 Willamette, see Contemplate, a show of new paintings by Eugene painter Jon Jay Cruson; the acrylic paintings are highly abstracted and imagined landscapes from his travels in eastern Oregon and Washington. A reception is 1 to 3 pm Saturday, April 8.

New Zone Gallery, 110 E. 11th Avenue, is offering three shows that will be open for business during the ArtWalk and running through April. They include Just Imagine, paintings by Gene Carey that embrace the idea of “slow art”; Getting Out of My Own Way, stitched cloth art by Mischelle Pennoyer; and Realms of Form, Feeling and Fantasy, photos and multimedia work by Barbora Bakalarova.

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.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

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!