Live music, food booths and artisan wares available at weekend fair
The Oregon Country Fair is touted as a celebration of art, music, earth and family that aims to transport attendees into a fairy-like village in the forest near Veneta, about 15 miles west of Eugene. For the first time, the fair will feature all female-fronted bands on the main stage. On numerous other stages, performances range from spoken word to belly dancing to poetry to tightrope walkers to rock ‘n’ roll. There are more than 85 food booths and carts, and more than 700 artisans will be selling their wares. The fair runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, this Friday through Sunday. For Friday and Saturday, adult tickets are $45, seniors 65+ are $40 and children 12 and younger have free admission. On Sunday, ticket prices drop by five dollars. (Miranda Cyr/Eugene Register-Guard)
Crater Lake roads are gradually emerging from their winter slumber
Warming conditions are making snow removal easier on roads in and out of Crater Lake National Park, paving the way for the summer tourism season. The North Entrance Road opened late last week and another portion of East Rim Drive is now open. (Lee Juillerat/Rogue Valley Times)
A historic ferry that partially sank in Astoria is at the center of a financial feud
Oregon state officials are seeking more than $800,000 from a person’s estate to pay for cleanup costs related to a ferry that sank in Astoria last year. The historic ferry called Tourist No. 2 partially sank at a floating dock last summer. The state had to clean more than 500 gallons of diesel fuel from the Columbia River. A man named Christian Lint disputed his ownership of the ferry — though the title was under his name. Lint was killed after he was struck by a semi truck the month after the ferry sank. The state has sent a notice of creditor’s claim to his estate. (Nicole Bales/The Astorian)
Bend secures $25 million in state and federal funds for a new pedestrian bridge
The city of Bend has landed millions of dollars in grants to help build Hawthorne Overcrossing, a bike and pedestrian bridge over U.S. Highway 97. The bridge will connect the east and west sides of the city, and local officials hope the bridge will attract businesses and people to Bend’s central district and downtown. (Anna Kaminski/Bend Bulletin)
Learning about the sacrifice of the salmon — and math and science
Culture and science became one during the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission’s recent annual Salmon Camp. The camp is an opportunity for middle school students from the Nez Perce Tribe, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation, the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation to learn about their culture and about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Umatilla Tribes hosted this year’s camp June 25-30 at the Bar M Ranch in the Blue Mountains east of Adams. Hosting the camp rotates among the four tribes. (Evan Remmerfield/East Oregonian)