I have a soft spot in my heart for Eugene, Oregon. It’s not only because my son and his family live there but because this gem of the Pacific Northwest, known as the World’s Greatest City for the Arts and Outdoors, offers just about any activity your heart might desire.
I arrived in the summer of ’08 following the Grammy Award-winning Oregon Bach Festival. There were 50 events over a l7-day period. Eugene’s normal population of 153,000 usually increases during the festival, and hotel rooms become scarce.
Music for Everyone
However, there’s plenty more music in the air, often heard at the world-class Hult Center for the Performing Arts. Boasting seven resident companies comprising ballet, opera, and symphony, the Hult also imports major performing companies and artists, such as Zubin Mehta and touring companies of Broadway shows such as “Cats,” which appear in the impressive Silva Concert Hall of this unique, contemporary building.
A smaller theater within accommodates such presentations as Willamette (pronounced will-AH-met) Repertory Theatre productions, doing reprisals of major New York productions, including “Doubt,” recently made into a major motion picture.
During the fine summer weather, major popular artists such as Taj Mahal and Kenny Loggins appear in the outdoor, 4,000-seat Cuthbert Amphitheater. An extra ticket (courtesy of Billie Moser, Marketing and Public Relations Director of the Hult) enabled me to grab a ride to the Cuthbert with a newly met Eugene resident to see Melissa Etheridge. The pop/folk diva had audience members literally dancing in the aisles in this homier version of the Hollywood Bowl.
Art for Everyone
One of my favorite spots is the elegant Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, listed in the National Register for Historic Places and located on the University of Oregon campus. (Eugene’s college town status arguably helps account for the energy and excitement that the town exudes). The Schnitzer was built in 1932 originally to house the Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art with its spectacular Chinese, Japanese, Korean art and artifacts.
The Throne Room features works from Imperial China. However, the collection was later expanded to include major 19th century and contemporary artists, from Paul Cezanne to Joseph Stella. According to Debbie Williamson-Smith, the museum’s media department representative who gave me a personal guided tour, items displayed represent only the tip of the iceberg, as many notable works are in storage. Two contemporary shows I saw were “Edward Burtynsky: The China Series” (fascinating photos) and “Faster, Higher, Farther: The History of Track-and-Field.” The inviting café and courtyard put a cap on the visit.
Eugene offers many excellent contemporary venues, one being the Karin Clarke Gallery on Willamette Street. Anyone can join the free, monthly gallery-hopping First Friday Art Walk. Contact Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) for information.
Food, Glorious Northwest Food
But aren’t we getting hungry after all that culture? I’ve always maintained that food in the Pacific Northwest tastes fresher and brighter, and there are loads of excellent dining spots to suit every pocketbook.
Numerous nearby farms, where you can buy everything from produce to meats, facilitates the practice of many Eugene eateries (including those mentioned below) to serve locally produced foodstuffs. Most also offer vegetarian and vegan meals in addition to standard menus.
Reasonably priced Café Yumm!, with four locations, serves nourishing (many tofu) dishes. Of a similar bent is the Keystone Café, noted for its breakfasts. Glenwood Restaurant—with two locations, one on the University of Oregon campus, is another comfortable spot using locally produced ingredients. The upscale Marche Restaurant, an excellent eatery in the Fifth Street Public Market, prides itself on following suit.
Downtown, Adam’s Place accents seasonal, organic Northwest cuisine. Café Soriah combines elegant with casual in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes, from meats to vegetarian and vegan. The modest Anatolia on Willamette Street offers reasonably priced Greek and Indian food. A new French bistro, Ratatouille, is recommended by Lynne Fessenden, executive director of the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition.
Farm Fresh
If you have cooking facilities, visit the Saturday Farmers’ Markets (also held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8th and Oak, downtown Eugene.) My pleasant room at the Timbers Motel contained a small refrigerator and microwave. This motel is presided over by genial manager, opera buff Joe Bailey.
Or you can buy fruit and eat it on the go. My family bought a couple of boxes of ripe blueberries as well as scrumptious baby artichokes and cucumbers to augment dinner that evening—delicious North Pacific salmon.
In regard to housing, hotels range from the upscale Hilton, located very near the Hult, to numerous motels and Bed & Breakfasts of varying price ranges.
Open-Air Craft Festival
Roving musicians serenade, and a stage facilitates informal musical performances, with visitors welcome to participate. (My musician son, Randall, got into the act by playing some weird sort of percussion instrument—a gourd?)
And you can always eat! Tables and chairs front numerous food booths, offering delectable ethnic taste treats: Japanese sushi, Mexican tamales, Thai noodles, fish and chips, and more.
Skinner Butte Park
Of Eugene’s many spacious parks, we had time only for Skinner Butte Park, featuring a replica of the cabin of Eugene Skinner, for whom the city was named, and a terrific playground for my two grandchildren.
There are many more things to see and do. There are sports events as well as running, boating, golf, and biking by the Willamette River … but my allotted space is played out. Go see Eugene, Oregon, for yourself!
Diana Barth generally writes about theater and the arts for The Epoch Times and other publications. However, she enjoys traveling and writing about her experiences and discoveries.
