Arts & Culture

Oregon State University will hold a 3-day festival during the August 21st solar eclipse.  They’ll be providing limited lodging in their dorms for visitors.

Over seventy artists, musicians, and dancers will explore the theme of “Marginalized Voices,” in the Platform Festival at the EMU on the UO Campus on Saturday evening, May 6th. Brad Garner and Amanda Baca speak with KLCC’s Eric Alan about the meaning of the theme, and how those creative voices will speak to it during the free festival. 

  This is KLCC.  I’m Connie Bennett, Director of Eugene Public Library, with a book review of "On Trails” by Robert Moor.

A major sporting event built on skates, padding, pageantry, and lots of attitude rolls into Eugene this weekend.  Nearly three dozen teams are competing in the “Big O” Roller Derby Tournament that begins Friday.  KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.  

  Out at UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, local artist LaVonne Tarbox-Crone has received an Award of Excellence at the big watercolor show called “Pour It On!”

Eugene residents can participate in citizen-led neighborhood walking tours this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They’re inspired by Jane Jacobs, a writer who has influenced modern city planning around livable neighborhoods.

After a recent surge of criticism, a Native American-style totem pole will not be installed at the Oregon Country Fair.  The Fair Board made its decision Monday night. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis speaks with KLCC’s Eric Alan about the role of the arts in the community, including why art is vital within education, and where the boundaries of social commentary should be within public art.  Mayor Vinis guest hosts Lane Arts Council’s First Friday Art Walk on May 5th.

After more than a year of searching, the Eugene Symphony has announced its new music director and conductor.  KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

A couple entrepreneurs in Eugene say they have a great protein source that uses a mere fraction of the land and water that cattle use.  So if you’re adventurous and open to what some might consider a creepy, crawly, dining experience…you too can help the environment while enjoying a nutritious – albeit six-legged -- entrée.  KLCC’s Brian Bull serves it up. 

The band Las Cafeteras blends elements of traditional Son Jarocho Afro-Mexican folk music with the roots of East Los Angeles streets, in a socially conscious and highly danceable way. They’ve just released a new album called Tastes Like L.A., Before performing at the WOW Hall in Eugene on Thursday, April 20th, they came by the KLCC studios for songs and celebration, in a set hosted by Eric Alan. 

“Long Live The Grateful Dead”!  The sentiment is still kept alive by Deadheads through shared music and memories.  As a member of the band’s extended family in the 1980’s and ‘90’s, Susana Millman had an insider’s access to take pictures.  Her recently released book is called “Alive with the Dead or A Fly on the Wall with a Camera”.

Ira Glass has been a master storyteller for over twenty years, as host and creator of This American Life. In an in-depth interview with KLCC’s Eric Alan, he shares his thoughts on what makes for a compelling story, including examples ranging from the power of unstoppable delusions to what it’s like to discover that your mother is secretly running guns into Africa.

                                    Show: Viz City

Subject: Margaret Prentice and “Wetlands”

Eleanor Roosevelt: Across a Barrier of Fear is a one-woman play by Sharon Whitney, featuring Jane VanBoskirk.

Author Garth Stein has inspired millions with his book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, about a dog obsessed with car racing and believing he’ll be reincarnated in human form. The book is the focus of this year’s Newport Reads program. Garth Stein will appear at the Newport Performing Arts Center on April 19th, and at the Downtown Eugene Public Library on April 22nd. He speaks with KLCC’s Eric Alan. 

A couple entrepreneurs in Eugene say they have a great protein source that uses a mere fraction of the land and water that cattle use.  So if you’re adventurous and open to what some might consider a creepy, crawly, dining experience…you too can help the environment while enjoying a nutritious – albeit six-legged -- entrée.  KLCC’s Brian Bull serves it up. 

My Last Continent is a novel by Midge Raymond—a love story stretching from Antarctica to Eugene, where the book’s protagonist Deb Gardner lives and teaches.

A door is kicked open.  A shot rings out.  A body falls. Saying it isn’t enough if you’re doing radio theater…you need a convincing sound to sell the action.  Jonathan Ward knows that.  He’s a foley artist for Fred Craft’s Radio Redux, which is performing “War of the Worlds” this weekend.  KLCC’s Brian Bull visited Ward during a rehearsal, and has this audio postcard.  

This is KLCC. I'm Connie Bennett, Director of Eugene Public Library, with a book review of "Thunder Boy Jr." by Sherman Alexie, with illustrations by Yuyi Morales.  

The late Jon Sutton was a renowned Eugene composer and musician, whose creative talents extended into tapestries, silk-screen printing, oil and watercolor—even furniture design and photography of the Korean War. His legacy is being celebrated with a concert on April 7th by Eugene Vocal Arts and Eugene Concert

Frank Gosar and Off-Center Ceramics

Show: Viz City

Subject: Frank Gosar and Off-Center Ceramics. His website is http://www.offcenter.biz/

Date of Interview: Thursday, March 23, 2017

Date of Broadcast: Wed. April 5, 2017

Script: Sandy Brown Jensen

Sound: Terry Way

Eugene Ballet will present the world premiere of their original ballet of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen on April 8th and 9th at the Hult Center.

Guilt, anger, revenge. Riotous hilarity, mortal enemies, Falstaff bigger than life, Prince Hal in a hoody. Yes, it’s “Henry IV, Part One” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s intimate Thomas Theatre, to be followed in the summer by “Part Two.”

As directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, Shakespeare’s great history play, peppered with surprises, is staged in the round and set in modern times. We can almost reach out and touch the actors, and the actors certainly touch us with their electrifying emotions.

Author Henry Alley’s new book is The Dahlia Field, which collects fourteen short stories exploring the complex and nuanced lives of gay male characters. 

The Slants, an Asian-American band from Portland, were blocked from trademarking their name because it was deemed racially disparaging. The case reached the US Supreme Court in January, and awaits resolution. The Slants are touring behind their new EP, The Band Who Must Not Be Named, and will appear in Eugene at the Black Forest on Saturday, April 1st.

President Trump is weighing deep cuts in his budget plan, including all funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).  A major theater group in Oregon fears that could affect children’s access to one of history’s greatest playwrights. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports.

An Oregon man is this year’s world elk calling champion.  And as KLCC’s Brian Bull reports, this distinct talent runs in the family. 

If you wake up each morning worried about the world, relief is available at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. “Shakespeare in Love,” a stage adaptation of the award-winning 1998 film, will dazzle you with raucous wit, inspired bedlam, pleasing music and sumptuous costumes.