Super fun! Loved browsing through all the food options and flea market stuff. The shows they had…read morewere super fun too

Time for another annual trip to the Junction City Scandinavian Festival! This year the crowds of…read morevisitors all seem in good spirits. Many people wearing various styles of lederhosen, others dressed as vikings, Oompa music fills the air along with the cooking aromas from Elephant Ears, Meat Pies, aebleskivers and brats! Ice cream and various cold drinks are also available. There are the usual array of vendors selling t-shirts, jewelry, handmade crafts, and the food! There is also plenty of entertainment to be had. There is an area for performing dancers doing traditional folk song and dance as well as a Maypole waiting to be decorated. I found a vendor for a company called 'Just Rum' who had a unique and very old recipe for the manufacture of rum. Utilizing these old recipes this company based in Sandy Oregon had come up with several award winning rums with varying alcohol levels. After a very entertaining and informative tasting session, I just had to purchase a bottle of Blackberry Rum! This is some potent stuff and seems to work best as a mixer, although there is one with a very high alcohol content made for sipping. Moving along to the Viking Village section I came across a vendor I had met last year. A leather belt maker. He does the whole process starting with a hide. Tanning the leather, cutting and tooling the designs, staining and preserving, it's just good quality craftsmanship. I purchased a belt from him and it's still in such good shape that I decided the cost was worth it to pick another style from him. He will also be at the Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel. Having secured my purchase of another belt, we escaped the heat for a bit by going into the crafts building where some of the more delicate items are on display. One of the real eye catching items is lampshades made out of wood! These shades are carved so thinly that light actually penetrates the wood casting a fantastic incandescent sepia tone of light. Time for some eats now, so we moved along and found an assortment or caramel apples with nuts, chocolate, M&Ms... you name it. We were also very happy to find some outstanding corn on the cob and some Danish Sausage Dogs with a very authentic European style casing that actually gave a crisp snap as you bite into the sausage. Thank You Junction City for another successful Scandinavian Festival. I just might come back before this four day event ends!

Orchestra Next is a pretty killer organization. They collaborate with lots of other cool Eugene…read moreorganizations, including the Eugene Ballet. They have a new(ish) recording studio in the Midtown Arts Center. A creative and innovative organization that provides opportunities for pre-professionals!

Amazing museum that encompasses cultural history of Oregon, impact of climate change on Oregon, how…read moreplate tectonics formed the state of Oregon... The current exhibit on the history of Chinese immigrants in Oregon is absolutely amazing. Exhibits are relatable, easy to understand and make a connection to for ages late elementary and older. Spent almost two hours here; well worth the $7 general admission fee

Coming from Washington, D.C., I'm used to big, world class museums with free admission. This museum…read moreis small and cost $6, but it's worth a visit nonetheless. The museum itself is on one level that wraps around, but the exhibits tell a unique story. A few notable stops is the world's oldest shoes on display. The exhibit about the Chinese immigrant community is an important stop. There's a gift shop in the front and clean restrooms. Staff are very helpful and passionate.

Though it doesn't attract the big international crowd like the Bach Festival, the OFAM, held…read moreannually in August, is probably my favorite music festival in Eugene. Every year they pick a theme, generally related to the American Songbook, with lots of Jazz. They then organize performances by different bands, orchestras and singers at the Shedd. My favorite years wee Cole Port, Irving Berlin, and this year's Hooray for Hollywood! with performances from Casablanca and The Music Man.

The University of Oregon has a great theatre program and turns out some really well done…read moreperformances in the recently renovated Miller Theatre Complex, easily accessible from E. 11th Avenue, just between Kincaid and Franklin Blvd. I'm surprised that more people, UO students included, don't know about the UT. I have seen several shows there and have enjoyed the variety of titles and styles of plays performed, the wonderful talent of the student actors, creative talents of the set designers and costumers, and skill of the lighting and sound technicians. The Robinson Theatre offers a traditional theatre with great seats and great visibility and sound. The smaller Hope Theatre is a flexible-space venue whose setup changes with each show, and can be configured in a variety of ways which creates a unique theatre experience for patrons. The spacious lobby offers leather couches and ottomans, displays to peruse at intermission, affordable concessions, and several accessible restrooms. This season, UO students can get free tickets to any UT show! Why wasn't this around when I was in school? Tickets can be bought at the door, or (recommended) ahead of time online or at the EMU box office 541-346-4363. More information about the season can be found online at http://pages.uoregon.edu/theatre/

Looked up things to do on Eugene Weekly. The Very Little…read moreTheater had a matinee of Jekyll and Hyde. It was fantastic. The cast was amazing. Singing was top notch. We couldn't believe we were in a little place in Eugene. Will be checking out this little place each time we visit our daughter at University of Oregon.

Had a fantastic time.The play was good.The Lobby was fantastic.Will be back.Can't wait for the next…read moreplay is.

First- check out their website for free days. It's only $5 but that's a barrier for some & they…read morehave monthly first Friday as well as other days free. Second. This museum is excellent -& I admit, I've been misrepresenting it. Pre Covid I went to a show and was deeply underwhelmed.This past weekend while visiting, I ran into an acquaintance and we both commented "did they change something? Wasn't this kind of a meh experience before?" Maybe they got the bigger Schnitzer collection out? New curators? I don't know what happened but it was GREAT. New works are top notch Japanese & Korean collections are small but stellar Contemporary & modern North American artists very broad and high quality choices. Single user bathroom on the second floor also a big winner as is the elevator and the tiny but compelling gift shop. Kudos all around (Wish the cute cafe would open back up. Fingers still crossed)

Very small but diverse collection. One of the galleries was closed, so even smaller…read more Only $5 admission

There are stadiums... and then there are places that feel like they've been stitched into the soul…read moreof a sport. Hayward Field is the latter. I've always had a soft spot for this place. Maybe it's the ghosts of greatness knowing that Steve Prefontaine once tore across this very track with that fearless, front-running style. Maybe it's my love for everything University of Oregon the culture, the pride, the legacy. Or maybe it's just the way this place sits in Eugene like it belongs there, like it's earned its keep. But this visit hit different. We'd been out the night before one of those reckless, laugh-too-hard, probably-made-a-few-bad-decisions kind of nights. I woke up feeling like absolute trash. The kind of morning where your body is negotiating terms just to sit upright. But instead of folding, I dragged myself out to Hayward Field. And I ran. Not pretty. Not fast. Just honest. A few laps turned into more. Sweat started pouring, lungs opened up, and somewhere between the pain and the rhythm, something shifted. It was like the bad decisions from the night before were getting wrung out of me, step by step. A full-on purge. I'll be real there was a moment I thought I might throw up right there on sacred ground. But then the endorphins hit. And just like that I was back. Energy. Clarity. Fire. I went from wanting to crawl back into bed to feeling like I could take on the whole day. "Let's go fly," I said. "Let's go do something." That's what this place does it resets you. It brought me back to the last time I was here for the Eugene Marathon. That race... man. Grinding up hills, coasting through valleys, pushing through every doubt you've got and then finally coming back into Hayward Field. You hear your name, see your time, get that medal placed around your neck... it's more than a finish line. It's a moment you carry with you. This place is known as TrackTown, USA for a reason. It's hosted Olympic Trials, world-class competitions, and some of the best athletes to ever lace up a pair of running shoes. But beyond all the accolades, records, and history... it's personal. Because yeah I love the wild nights, the stories, the chaos. But places like this remind you of something just as important: take care of yourself. Move your body. Earn your breath. Even if you made a few bad calls the night before. So if you're in Eugene don't just drive by. Walk it. Run it. Feel it. You might show up feeling broken... and leave feeling like the king of the world.

Visiting Hayward Field for my nephew's track meet, I walked away impressed. The design of the field…read moreis impressive and there's much for the eyes to see. Walk along the outside of the field to see 155+ country flags of everyone who competed at a senior level meet at the field starting with the U.S.