It’s About Time – March 2016

As the vernal equinox passes this month, the spring waves of wildflower blooms increase in breadth and vigor. Like the waves crashing on the beach, they are in constant motion yet precisely defined at any instant. Unlike the waves of the ocean, waves of blooming are so slow the human eye cannot detect any motion. Every flower has a slow but steady dance that one must visualize mentally to appreciate its blossoming. This is what makes time-lapse movies of flowers opening so appealing; they give the impression of inexorable actions being speeded up, constantly moving. Continue reading 

Word Crazy

March in Eugene is filled with events for writers and readers

Author Jacquelyn Mitchard

The third annual Wordcrafters Conference returns to Eugene this week. Wordcrafters aims to provide “writers and readers opportunities to strengthen their craft, deepen their connection with literature and share their knowledge with each other and with future generations.”  The conference features two days of workshops and on Friday, March 4, bestselling author of Two If by Sea, Jacquelyn Mitchard, speaks at 7 pm in the UO Baker Center downtown, 975 High Street; FREE, wordcraftersineugene.org. Continue reading 

Spring is in the air, and dance offerings are starting to bloom

MEDGE presents belly dancer Razia Star

Spring is in the air, and dance offerings are starting to bloom, beginning with “In the Studio” with DanceAbility, an inspiring demonstration from their Everybody Can Dance teen program. Celebrate with local teens across a full spectrum of abilities and disabilities as they enjoy the art of dancing together. Guest professional dance artists led by DanceAbility teacher Jana Meszaros will also show an inspiring choreographed mixed-abilities piece with dancer Kelcie Laube. Continue reading 

Drama at the Movies

If this were a movie, it might be a complicated and acrimonious courtroom drama called A Tale of Two Theaters, in which a pair of once-united independent movie houses splits over irreconcilable differences, becoming two separate cinemas run by different ownership. Continue reading 

Pell Yeah!

Inspired by the possibilities of lucid dreaming

Pell

Jared Pellerin grew up in New Orleans but was displaced in high school when Hurricane Katrina hit. Forced to abandon all of his possessions and take with him only his resilience and the influence of New Orleans’ music culture, Pellerin relocated with his family to Jackson, Mississippi.  “Heard it’s the darkest before the dawn, the calmest before the storm” Pellerin intones on his 2014 debut album, Floating While Dreaming.  Continue reading 

Splash Splash

Water polo gives kids a space to compete and play

Kaden Lipkin, 17, reaches across the foldout table and bro-handshakes his teammate Michael Russell, 18, in the middle of expressing nothing but appreciation for being a part of the water polo club. “I love you guys,” Lipkin says, perfectly summing up the energy at Echo Hollow Pool, which hosts Eugene City Water Polo — a grassroots club geared towards the 18-and-under crowd that wants to kick some ass and be a part of a team. Continue reading 

Ghosts of the Dead

University Theatre's Scorched examines the plight of war refugees

University Theatre's Scorched examines the plight of war refugees

Written in 2003, Scorched is by Lebanese-Canadian writer Wajdi Mouawad. Opening Thursday, March 3, University of Oregon theater arts instructor Michael Najjar directs the play at University Theatre.  “Scorched is about a pair of twins who attend the reading of their mother’s will,” Najjar explains. “They are charged by their mother to find their father and brother they never knew they had.” If the siblings don’t follow this request, they are not allowed to bury their mother properly.  Continue reading