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We've been holding a collective breath, waiting for this time of year. Yes, the sun is here to stay. Yes, you should unpack the shorts and sundresses. Yes, it's OK to unfurl those winter-pale arms and legs for the first burn/tan of the season. Go ahead, get ready to make your grand entrance at any of the summer events we've included here, whether it's a free moonlit concert in the park, a spot in a local protest, a stroll through the county fair or a trek out to your favorite music festival. It's time for change. Bury the soup and stew recipes. Grill everything! Ditch the flannel shirts. Reveal shoulder blades! Lock up the dining room. Pack a picnic! Listen to live music! Speak in exclamation points! Pour yourself something cold and sparkly and heave a sigh of contentment — summer's here! —Bobbie Willis
Legends
and Lore Used to be you could hop on your bike, cruise across the Ferry Street Bridge, alight upon a nice patch of grass in Alton Baker Park's verdant fields, reach into your backpack, pull out your blanket, your six-pack of Corona, your pocket knife, your lime, and watch the moon rise as you listened to tunes floating over from Cuthbert Amphitheatre — for free. Then one year, the city, which owns the Cuthbert, wised up. Suddenly, freeloaders — on bike, foot or rollerblade — were confronted with loud orange fences blocking the within-earshot acreage, forcing them to buy a ticket to Cuthbert shows (except those who floated along the Millrace into the backstage area by raft or canoe). At the same time, inside the amphitheatre, the "no outside food/no outside drink rule" was instituted, forcing said mooches to buy onsite vendor vittles.
Remember the brouhaha over baby bottles? And the ensuing rules: OK with the Evenflo and Evian, but only if the water bottle seal was unbroken. Backpacks got checked. Confiscated were that pocket knife and illegal lime. Today's airline security could take a lesson. "Would you please mention that rule lasted for only one show?" Reverie interruptus. That's Karm Hagedorn, events manager for the city's Cultural Services Division, which oversees the Hult and Cuthbert. "I still have people call and ask about bringing food in," she says. In fact, yes, you can bring your homemade pasta salad — as long as it's not in glass — along with your Carmen's and Toby's. No homebrews though — only alcohol purchased on site is allowed. (Outside alcohol has never been allowed in Cuthbert Amphitheatre or anywhere in Alton Baker Park.) And backpacks will still get checked, so you still have to leave your wine coolers and those pocketknives at home, along with steak knives, butcher knives and box cutters.
But the security process for checking your contraband cutlery will be much faster and smoother this summer than in the past, thanks to a year-long effort by Hult staff to "enhance the Cuthbert experience" by making everything about the venue more "patron-friendly." "After last year and during last season when looking at the way crowds lined up and entered and the way we managed crowds and the facility, we thought about new ways to make things more efficient," says Mark Loigman, director of operations for the city of Eugene Cultural Services Division. All of the changes instituted are meant to "keep folks happy and having a good time," he says.
The New Cuthbert First, it's going to be easier to find the place. Three large directional signs have been erected to get audiences into Cuthbert from the Autzen side on Centennial Blvd.
Once in, patrons will find two parking changes. It will be easier to park, but it will also cost. More staff will be in place to help direct people to parking spaces in the Alton Baker Park lot and across the street at Autzen Stadium. Staff will collect the $5 entrance fee (mandated by the city, not the Hult) as soon as motorists turn onto Leo Harris Pkwy. For those who wish to avoid that fee, the bicycle parking will be expanded. OK, so you've found the place, you've paid to park, and you're walking in, schlepping your cooler, your blanket, your lawn chairs, your videocamera, your kids. You've got a long haul over the bridge to the venue and your arms are already tired. Good news: A new horde of volunteers will now greet you as you go. If your chairs don't conform to size, you'll be told right away, before you haul them all the way to the gate (6-inch legs or shorter). You'll be asked then and there to return your videocamera to your car. (No recording equipment allowed.) You'll be directed where to go for the box office and entrance gates. That box office has been moved much closer to most of the parking areas. Before, according to Loigman, it was "lost in the crowd," but it will now be "within the line of sight where folks walk over from the Autzen area." Next, a huge change: Instead of two entrance gates, there will be eight. The process of moving through security will be four times as fast, as well as more fun. "One of the issues we discovered last year was that folks wanted our security staff to be friendlier," says Loigman. This year, they've been trained to "ask nicely" to inspect bags for alcohol and weapons. "Things will be very mellow," says Loigman. "We expect a terrific crowd."
Putting on a Show Of course, there wouldn't be any expectation of crowds if there was nothing worth seeing, as has been the case before. While it's a beautiful setting for shows from the audience's perspective, the Cuthbert has a few strikes against it from a promoter's perspective. In the late '90s, promoters Double T and Showman both pulled out, leaving Eugeneans with a dearth of outdoor acts. The promoters pointed to three problems. First, the venue is small, holding only 4,500 people. Multiply that by what can be reasonably charged per ticket, and it's not enough to pay many bands' fees. Second, Eugene audiences are notoriously weird about buying concert tickets. While shows such as Santana (now too big to play the venue) were consistent sellouts, others couldn't break even. Third, because the Hult/Cuthbert stageworkers are union (I.A.T.S.E.), they dare to earn a living wage, which makes the cost of using the venue prohibitive to some promoters. Those were the reasons given back in 1997, and "all of those things are still true," says Hagedorn. But this year, thanks to House of Blues's Tim McGrath, who booked five of the seven shows currently committed to perform, the lineup exceeds anything in recent memory: Moody Blues, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, Keb Mo' and Steve Earle, Tori Amos and James Taylor (sold out). In addition, OFAM will present Sunny Side of the Street with Rita Moreno, and the Hult produces the affordable Drummers of West Africa. The reason more acts are booked at the 'Bert this year is because the House of Bluesmeister is also working with another venue in Seattle, the Concerts at Marymoor Park, and that combined with the Cuthbert gives the bands two play dates instead of one, making their deal more attractive. But another hopeful glimmer, says McGrath, is that there "seems to be a robustness in the Northwest market this summer." As for Eugene, McGrath calls it "a viable market" and says "business is strong." Case in point: James Taylor sold out in two days. "We all kind of looked at each other" when that happened, he says. As for the traditional reasons of promoters not booking at Cuthbert, McGrath waves them aside. "If we had any real issues with anything, we wouldn't be working with them." He adds, "I intend to work with them next year, too. We love doing shows there."
The Season June
12 July
21 July
22 July
27 Aug.
16 Sept.
24 Sept
30
The Rules: No glass, no weapons, no alcohol. No chairs with taller than 6-inch legs, no camera or recording equipment. No cans.
Summer
Action Fun can be so decadent, so bourgeois. But it doesn't have to be. This is, after all, one of the most progressive and politically organized cities in the nation. There's a full slate of activities statewide this summer to turn your lazy, empty summer days into a time of cause and purpose.
This summer marks the launch of Cascadia Summer, a concerted effort by many local organizations to step up activism, involvement and mobilization. This campaign is an alliance of groups with a wide spectrum of skills and tactics, including the Cascadia Forest Alliance, Cascadia Forest Defenders (Eugene), Forest Action Network, Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project, Mazama Forest Defense, Northwest Ecosystem Survey Team, Klamath-Salmon Action Network, Cascadia Defense Network, Shuksan Direct Action, and Olympia and Springfield Earth First!. Events for summer start with a June 14 International Day of Action for Jeff "Free" Luers. Despite the moniker, Free is currently serving a 22-year sentence for his role in the 2001 Romania SUV fires. Though simultaneous events will occur in various locations, Eugene will hold the biggest rally, boasting speakers and a solidarity parade to draw attention to Free and his ever-lengthening stay as a political prisoner. That ought to get the protest juices flowing as things kick in to high gear for summer solstice. Friday, June 20, John Henry's will host the Solstice Benefit for Cascadia Summer. The cost of the show is a sliding scale of $7 and up, and features performances by The Ovulators, The Shudders, Tom Hienl, Danny Dolinger and the Fabulous ThunderCraig. Next up is the Magical Activism Weekend at the Canceled Eagle Timber Sale in Estacada, June 20-22. Organized by the Northwest Pagan Cluster and Seattle Earth First!, the event aims to unite earth activists with pagans, defined as those who want to use magical tools for positive change. Each group will share specific tools for protest, including blockading, tree-sitting, grounding, meditation and awareness. June 22-28, Greenpeace and the National Forest Protection Alliance will sponsor "Endangered Forests, Endangered Freedoms," a weeklong forest activist and campaigner training program. Participants will learn tactics needed to effectively protest deforestation, while also taking in the gorgeous scenery of western Montana. Similar in spirit and purpose is the Action Training Camp, which will commence July 18-20 near Portland. The World Trade Organization returns to the U.S. June 23-25 with its Agribusiness Ministerial in Sacramento. Cascadia Summer and numerous other organized groups will meet to protest the WTO's push for genetically modified tree farms and the development of biotechnology in general. This is going to be huge; if you can go to only of these events this summer, make it this one — history just may repeat itself. Activists have long antagonized Umpqua Bank because its largest accounts are timber interests, and its board of directors includes many barons of the timber industry, notably the owner of Roseburg Forest Products — an aggressive logger of old-growth forests. If you don't like that little tidbit of information, then leave July 17 free for the Statewide Day of Action against Umpqua Bank. Eugene is arguably as well-known for its superior bicycling as it is for its activism. Now you can combine the two while fighting for the future of forests by joining the Trek for Trees, an Aug. 2 pledge bike ride. Aiming to raise funds and awareness for forest defense, the ride goes from Eugene to the Willamette National Forest with a return trip on August 3. For more information about Cascadia Summer events, visit www.cascadiasummer.org,or you can also contact locals Jim Flynn and Leeanne Siart with Eugene's Cascadia Forest Defenders at 684-8977.
Training Days
Over this past Memorial Day weekend, more than 100 people gathered in southern Oregon for the Northwest Regional Rendezvous, a workshop and training experience for those preparing to face a heated summer of defense in the Pacific Northwest. The weekend was full of workshops, skills shares and strategy sessions, including climbing and ropes; natural medicine and birth control; backwoods skills; global justice; coalition building; prison support; Siskiyou geobiology; wilderness/city medic; non-violence and more, all amidst the extraordinary mountains of the Klamath-Siskiyou. Spindle, a local activist, describes her experience at the Rendezvous as "excellent and really well organized." "I felt like there were all these people coming together to help the forests," she says. Leeanne Siart, with Cascadia Forest Defenders, also attended the Rendezvous. She says, "It was an opportunity for activists and citizens to come together and focus on how to confront the ongoing assault on our forests." For more information on training activities, visit www.cascadiasummer.org — Bobbie Willis
McKenzie
River Trail
The federally designated Wild and Scenic stretch of the McKenzie River, like the Wild and Scenic Rogue River in southern Oregon, is world renowned for its whitewater. And like the Rogue, if you don't want to do the river in a raft or kayak, you can walk or bike along a National Recreation Trail, one of over 800 trails throughout the country recognized by Congress for their outstanding scenic and recreational features. If there were just one place I could recommend to out-of-towners as a quintessential Lane County experience, it'd be the McKenzie River Trail. The entire trail is about 26 miles in length. I'll cover the lower half — from Paradise Campground to Trail Bridge Reservoir — in this column. The upper half will have to wait for another time. Directions: Drive Highway 126 east from Springfield for about 50 miles. The lower (downriver) trailhead begins a little more than a mile east of McKenzie Bridge. But the parking lot for this trailhead is under construction, and the trail just parallels the highway anyway. So drive about three miles east of McKenzie Bridge and take a left into Paradise Campground and follow the signs for the trailhead. The best thing about this hike is you don't even have to drive. LTD buses will take you and your bike all the way to McKenzie Bridge. The bus leaves Eugene Station at 8:30 am on weekends and 8:20 am on weekdays. From the Paradise trailhead it's about 10 miles to Trail
Bridge Reservoir, a hike that gains 600 feet in elevation. But don't
worry if you don't make it the whole way, some of the best scenery is
just upriver from Paradise. The first couple miles of trail wind through
an absolutely spectacular old-growth forest of 600-year-old Douglas
firs, with a few short uphill climbs that offer dramatic views of the
McKenzie's vivid blue and green waters. A little more than two miles
from the trailhead, the trail briefly follows a gravel road, part of
the Belknap Springs After Belknap, the trail follows the side of the highway briefly before ducking back into the forest. In about a mile and a half you wind back up to the highway, and cross the McKenzie on a paved bridge. The rest of the trail follows the west bank of the river — the side opposite the highway — through more beautiful forest. In just about three miles, you'll cross another paved road. If you look behind you, a short riverside path to the left leads to Deer Creek Springs, a small rock-lined hot springs right next to the bank. It's a great way to ease tired muscles, except when the river's up and the springs are flooded. From Deer Creek Springs, it's another three miles to the reservoir. If you make it that far, it'll be almost a 20-mile round trip hike, so consider a shuttle. Or better yet, bring a mountain bike. The McKenzie River Trail is a classic western Oregon bike track, suitable for beginning or intermediate riders. Not to give anything away about the upper section of the trail, but a lot of bikers will leave a shuttle car at Paradise, drive to the upper trailhead at Clear Lake and bike the entire 26 miles downhill. The trail between Clear Lake and Trail Bridge will take you past a crystal clear lake, jagged lava fields, a series of stunning waterfalls, and a narrow canyon where the McKenzie River disappears into a subterranean passage to emerge in a turquoise cataract ... But that's another column.
On to Summertime Concert Listings...
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Sigh
... Summer!
