“When you look at the audience, they are smiling, clapping, cheering, laughing — that is the best medicine for the soul that you can get,” says Jerril Nilson, the co-founder of the Eugene BRiGHT Parade.
Nilson is all about parading and marching with a kindred spirit. She says even a piece of paper can turn into a hat you can wear to the parade — everyone can be part of it.
This year marks the third annual Eugene BRiGHT Parade on the evening of Sept. 27. It’s time to start preparing to be involved and participate in this once-a-year shining evening in downtown Eugene. The parade welcomes families, artists, musicians and more from all over Eugene and Springfield.
Many businesses that are on the parade route are excited for the parade with possible additional foot traffic while some shared a concern regarding the access to the businesses by regular customers.
The parade starts on 8th Avenue and Pearl Street near where Eugene Saturday Market takes place, then goes west on 8th Avenue, turns south on Lincoln Street, takes 11th Avenue, then goes down Pearl Street to complete the route — marching in a big circle in the heart of Eugene.
The event wraps up with an after party at the Farmers Market Pavilion.
Restaurants, cafes, markets and other businesses line the route. Last year, the parade drew a crowd of 4,000 with 28 parade entries, exceeding what Nilson and co-founder Jenette Kime expected. They think it will grow more this year, and are planning ways to make it an even better night for the community.
The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, a local performing arts and educational venue, says they had a negative experience last year. It had a 715-seat sold-out show on the parade night, and The Shedd says that guests struggled to find parking, on top of noise issues.
Ginevra Ralph, director of Cultural & Community Services at The Shedd, says that Saturday night is one of the busiest nights for many businesses, and she is concerned about this year’s event. Ralph says that she supports strengthening the Eugene community as their mission is to be “where people find and nurture community through discovery, creation and celebration.”
Nilson and Kime have been talking about ways to manage transportation and parking with the city as well as businesses. One of the proposals for the 2026 parade is to change the route to the new riverfront area, connecting it to Fifth Street Public Market.
On the other hand, many businesses are excited about the parade. “It was great to see people on the streets,” says Jess Gladis, a barista at Dark Pine Coffee. She was working during the parade last year, and had more people coming in for a drink.
Mark Feuerborn, the co-owner of Community Cup Coffee, was part of the parade planning committee last year, and had other employees volunteering for it. He says he considers extending business hours for the parade and serving coffee and sandwiches so that people can keep the energy going. “I think many people stopped coming downtown because they don’t think it’s safe,” Feuerborn says, and he thinks the parade can bring people back to downtown.
Other businesses such as Eugene Asian Market, Bo & Vine Burger and Spice N Steam say they plan on keeping the business open while employees look forward to going out and seeing the parade come by.
Organizers say there are four ways to participate in this parade: be the art, volunteer, be a sponsor and be there as an audience. Application for parade entries is open with an early bird deadline of August 29. Categories include animal units, musical entries and unique non-motorized vehicles. Once the application is approved, then your organization, business or school is ready to prepare to shine. All entries must be human-powered or electric-powered — not powered by petroleum.
The planning committee decided on “Shine Together” as the theme considering the current state of the country. “We are all in bright lights in one form or another, but if we shine together, we are going to get through it,” Nilson says.
The Eugene BRiGHT Parade is 7:15 pm, Sept. 27. The parade and after party are free to attend. To participate in the parade, submit an application before August 29 for earlybird entry fees. The last day to submit an application is Sept. 8. Find out more at EugeneBrightParade.com and take a survey, open through July 30, to give insights and feedback about the parade.