Culture: Page 210

Sacred Images

Religion and art come together in beautification of Whiteaker church

Culture
Daniel Balter

Standing beneath the oculus of the church dome with lazy afternoon sunlight filtering through its circular opening, artist Daniel Balter points to a 6-foot-tall figure he sketched in charcoal on the walls the night before. It’s archangel Michael, complete with flowing robes, wings and halo.  Balter motions to the room and the iconostasis — a red-and-gold wall adorned with saints that traditionally separates a church’s nave from its sanctuary. It was in this room, he tells me, that he used to see punk bands play. Continue reading →

Get Whit It

Bands galore at the Block Party

Culture
Dick Dägger and the C Monsters

The real G-spot of the block party isn’t just at the G-Spot stage, but rather among all those dwellings lining the Whiteaker streets that host shows featuring everything from screamo country to good ol’ garage rock. Folks attending these renegade shows can be a bit rough around the edges, including the man with a tattooed head who told me last year that I have “crazy eyes.” But, in between the aerial ballet and the art auction, stop by one of the block party’s nine stages for tunes ranging from a marimba orchestra to EDM.    Continue reading →

The Bums Will Always Lose

The Whiteaker’s historic Shamrock House tells the story of the taming of Eugene’s wildest neighborhood

Culture

At one end, the blue-and-white Tacovore calavera grins down upon tattooed neo-yuppies lined up to swill cocktails and scarf quasi-Mexican style grub. Follow the acrid scent of fermenting mash north to where the brilliant Ninkasi marquee lights up the sidewalk. Late-model cars stamped with Lexus and Mercedes logos pepper the side streets along the way. On a Saturday evening, Eugeneans from all corners of the city crisscross the northern stretch of Blair Boulevard, comparing lengthy waiting lists at boutique restaurants. Continue reading →

Cheers, Bitches!

The exponential growth of the Whiteaker Block Party

Culture
Whiteaker Block Party stalwarts

The Whiteaker Block Party will not be televised. As an annual expression of the contested soul of the Whit, the block party is a shot in the arm for the communal side of neighborhood living, in all its sloppy, carnal, artistic glory. It’s at the Whiteaker Block Party that seething, sweaty mobs — gawkers and gackers, locals and carpetbaggers, heps and asshats — coalesce in celebration of the creativity that springs up when a once-and-former slum becomes home to a ragtag coalition of beautiful losers. Continue reading →

Time to Play

NW Adventure Dogs provides more than your average dog-walking

Culture
Briana Kemp

Billy the Jack Russell terrier mix bounds fearlessly over a stream bank and into the water, plunging after a stick and bringing it back to the feet of Briana Kemp, who tosses the stick back into the water. Elsewhere, Norwich terrier mix Penny has her nose to the ground, sniffing out all there is to sniff.  Terrier mixes Mouser, Frankie and Buffy fill out this pack of five, four of them rescue dogs, as they roam the landscape of Buford Park. They’re all out adventuring instead of sitting at home with nothing to do.  Continue reading →

A Woof in the Park

EW’s canine reporters sniff out Lane County’s dog parks

Culture

Lane County dog owners have plenty of off-leash dog park options when it comes to letting their pooches run free.  And who better to explore our many dog park choices than my trusty canine interns: Huckleberry, a teddy bear-Ewok hybrid from the shelter, and Togo, an Alaskan husky with legs like stilts. In the long shadow of Woodward and Bernstein, we three set off to investigate just what makes each local dog park special for our four-footed friends:   Continue reading →

Portland’s Pussycat Paradise

An afternoon at Portland’s Purringtons Cat Lounge, the Northwest’s first cat cafe

Culture
Butch

Cats are winning. As I write this, my cat, Elsie, slinks around my legs, looking up at me, knowingly. Cats have always known they were winners; it just took society, with a helpful boop from the internet, some time to catch up. Dogs, however, in all their earnest, loyal, slopping glory, have long ruled the hearts of the majority, from “man’s best friend” to Old Yeller. For millennia, dogs have stood by as our companions, our families, our heroes. Continue reading →