Culture: Page 230

Pretty (Tough) in Pink

Eugene equestrian goes big

Culture
Karianne Boyce-Llockhart

Equestrian competitions are one of the few sports in which men and women compete on equal ground. Rider Karianne Boyce-Lockhart has been beating men and women alike, jumping her horses Hopscotch and Ferro DC over huge grand prix fences around the Northwest, California and Canada. A Eugene native, she won two grand prix competitions in a row in July and she came in sixth at a World Cup qualifier in June, jumping some fences over 5 feet tall. At a little more than 5 feet herself, she says when she’s on foot her eyes are level with some of the fences she rides her horses over. Continue reading →

Animal House

An afternoon with artist Jud Turner and his pet family

Culture

Standing in Jud Turner’s kitchen, a gaggle of cats gobbling snacks at our feet, we hear a faint ting-a-ling coming from the basement. “I think he just rang his bell,” Turner says, straining to hear. “He has a bell that he rings when he wants to go outside or wants to know what’s up.” Turner disappears down the stairs. “What’s up, piggy?” I hear him say. He’s answered with some contented snorting. Continue reading →

Reggie Watts spotted in Veneta

Culture

The remarkable performer Reggie Watts was reportedly spotted at the Oregon County Fair last weekend, quietly doing his thing along the path. In case you don't know who he is or what he looks like, here's his TED talk from a couple of years ago that got nearly 2.8 million views. Continue reading →

A Cup Full of Surprises

Sports
A street painting of Brazil’s flag with the word ‘Hexa’ (‘Sixth’) representing Brazilian aspirations to win its sixth World Cup title in 2014. Such aspirations disappeared much faster than will the paint. Photo: Killian Doherty

A Copa das surpresas (“the [World] Cup of surprises”) was a phrase I remember hearing several times during the first weeks of the 2014 World Cup. Holland had crushed the 2010 World Cup champion, Spain, 5-1. Germany beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, 4-0. Costa Rica went undefeated in its first three games to become the leader of one of the most difficult groups of the cup. Top-ranked teams like Spain, Italy, Portugal and England didn’t even make it to the round of 16. Continue reading →

Bright Lights, Big Country

Yona Appletree and Light At Play look to the future of OCF

Culture
Yona Appletree with light at play dome

As a child, Yona Appletree spent his summers at the Oregon Country Fair, helping his mother sell tie-dyed clothes — and he continued to do so as he matured, manning his mother’s booth until 2010. Appletree grew up at the Fair, watching it slowly change. Now, as a computer programmer specializing in interactive art, he wants to help the OCF evolve. “My earliest memories of the Fair are from about 1992,” Appletree says. “I was about 6 or 7 at the time; it was a little rougher, not in a bad way, but a little wilder.” Continue reading →

Rejuvenate the Land

How OCF overcame this year’s swathe of obstacles

Culture

Crashing branches, trees snapped in half, debris-littered roads — the ice storm that swept across Lane County in February left the streets a twiggy mess that took weeks, even months, to address. The Oregon Country Fair site in Veneta bore its share of the damage, with the back half of the main camp kitchen totaled and three booths taken out by trees. Add to that a flood and a fire that damaged OCF’s iconic dragon-shaped entryway, and the Fair faced a much bigger challenge than usual when shaping up the grounds for July. Continue reading →