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For the 32nd year in a row, Lane County is gearing up to gay it up at Alton Baker Park with the annual Eugene-Springfield LGBT Pride Festival. The all-day affair starts at noon and features a good gaggle of local acts, including Coyote Grace, Lauren Joiner and Spin Cycle, and the whole thing is hosted by downtown celebs Daphne Storm and Trai La Trash (who have hosted events of many different varieties all over town). Continue reading
Last weekend, Kat and I attended the annual salmon bake at the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) in McMinnville, urban heart of the north Willamette Valley wine country. This remarkable annual event (2013 marked the 27th version) in wine culture draws participants from nearly all the regions of the world where pinot noir is cultivated and vinified —Austria, Australia, New Zealand, Canada (!), Germany, California and, of course, France (Burgundy) and Oregon. Continue reading
This must be nature’s designation of the Year of the Nut. Filbert trees all around town have an abundance of swelling husks. When growing close to the curb, nuts are being knocked off their branches by passing trucks and smashed on the street by subsequent traffic. Squirrels and crows leap out onto the street to snatch up the soft, as yet unripe, meat of the seed inside, what we call a nut. Walnuts are also showing a major crop, especially the Turkish walnuts, in abandoned orchards and back yards. Continue reading
On the first Saturday of each August, Eugeneans gather to celebrate the spirit of the Whiteaker, Eugene’s funkiest neighborhood. The Whiteaker Neighborhood itself is a whir of activity; as one of Eugene’s few mixed-use areas, it melds microbreweries, restaurants, artist communities, young folks, old folks and family life. Block Party exemplifies the beauty — be it messy or harmonious — of all that verve. Continue reading
When many residents of the Whiteaker are sound asleep recovering from Block Party, volunteers will gather Sunday, Aug. 4, to clean up after the event. “We try to have the neighborhood look cleaner than it did before the party,” says Zoe Gadsby, the event coordinator. “It’s really hard to get volunteers the next day.” The work of the volunteers at the Block Party cleanup points to an even bigger community effort: picking up needles. Continue reading
Before books and magazines, newspapers and scrolls, e-readers, tablets, tabloids and texts, the spoken word reigned supreme. The oral tradition still exists in many forms, in almost all cultures, so it’s only fitting that our seven-year tradition, the Whiteaker Block Party, should collide with one so formidable. Continue reading
Like any good block party, the Whiteaker Block Party has much to satisfy the aural senses — perhaps too much for one person to make sense of, and thus here are some (stage) handy picks to check out on this wet, hot American summer day and night. But be a good community member and check out all the stages — Blair Alley, Slash and Burn, Hostel, Uncle Brad’s Secret Stage, Territorial — and get to know your neighbors. G-spot Stage Continue reading
Like most things in the Whit, the neighborhood style stands out from the common threads running through the rest of the city. The same can be said for the Whiteaker Block Party Fashion show. In years past, spectators have been privy to a no-holds-barred runway spectacle where parasols, antelope horns, corsets, guns (as accessories) and, of course, last year’s now notorious feather headdresses can all be de rigueur. Continue reading
Block Party might be a blast for Eugeneans, but it’s even more exciting for the Whiteaker’s small local businesses. “This is our best sales day of the year!” a checker at Red Barn Natural Grocery said at midnight last year, the store still abuzz after its usual closing time. Continue reading
A week of 90-degree days is enough to make anyone break out short sleeves, but we hairless humans have it easy. Imagine, if you will, a world where the only escape from scorching summer temperatures is a full-body shave. This reality exists, and your cat lives it every time the heat bears down. Thankfully, Beth Swanzy, owner of Amazon Park Professional Pet Grooming, has your kitty’s back, and she makes the job look easy. Continue reading