Best Geeky Mayor Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon As someone who owns Star Wars Jedi robes, I feel qualified to hand this award out. Springfield is lucky to have a mayor who not only rocks Star Trek uniforms but also wonders on Twitter about the governmental structure of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. A few…
1. Books With Pictures 99 W. Broadway C, 541-485-1048. Books-with-Pictures-Eugene.Myshopify.com. 2. Radar Toys 3061 W. 11th Ave., 541-515-6459. RadarToys.com. 3. Nostalgia Collectibles 1280 Charnelton St., 541-484-9202. NostalgiaCollectiblesEugene.com. Opening their doors two weeks before the pandemic shutdown in spring of 2020 was not ideal, but Books With Pictures — Eugene Weekly’s 2021 Best Comic book store…
1. Alton Baker Park 100 Day Island Rd., 541-682-4800. Eugene-Or.Gov/AltonBakerPark. 2. Mount Pisgah 34901 Frank Parrish Rd., 541-747-3817. MountPisgahArboretum.org. 3. Spencer Butte Part of Eugene’s Ridgeline Trail system.
1. CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) 341 E. 12th Ave., 541-342-8255. WhiteBirdClinic.org/Cahoots. 2. White Bird Clinic 341 E. 12th Ave., 541- 342-8255. WhiteBirdClinic.org. 3. FOOD For Lane County 770 Bailey Hill Rd., 541-343-2822. FoodforLaneCounty.org.
1. Paul Biondi GiftedChildMusic.com. 2. Don Latarski DonLatarski.com. 3. Idit Shner IditShner.com. “So I was watching them rehearse, and the guy playing the sax, he picks up an alto, and the song was ‘Watermelon Man.’ And I was ready to start a religion around the guy,” saxophone player Paul Biondi says over the phone when…
1. High Step Society HighStepSociety.com. 2. Fortune’s Folly FortunesFollyBand.com. 3. TIE Laundry LaundryTheBand.com. 3. TIE Satin Love Orchestra SatinLove.com.
1. Nelson’s Taqueria 394 Blair Blvd., 541-844-8404. Nelsons-Taqueria.Business.Site. 2. Tacovore 530 Blair Blvd., 541-735-3518. TacovorePNW.com. 3. El Buen Sabor 650 Blair Blvd., 541-653-2517. ElBuenSabor.Us. Fellow transplants from California, let’s stop saying there’s no good Mexican food in Eugene. Don’t believe it? Head over to Blair. First, grab a Nelson burrito at Nelson’s Taqueria, which is…
1. Cowfish 62 W. Broadway, 541-683-6319. CowfishClub.com. 2. Old Nick’s Pub 211 Washington St., 541-844-1280. OldNicksPub.com. 3. Sam Bond’s Garage 407 Blair Blvd., 541-431-6603. SamBonds.com. Eugene’s best bar, Cowfish, has maintained a consistent schedule: dance parties seven nights a week for the last 11 years on West Broadway. On their way to the dance floor,…
1. St. Vincent de Paul Thrift store and organization headquarters at 2890 Chad Dr., 541-687-5820. Fifteen retail outlets in western Oregon include several thrift stores and a used-car lot in Eugene. SVDP.us. 2. Buffalo Exchange 131 E. 5th Ave., 541-687-2805. BuffaloExchange.com. 3. SARA’s Treasures 871 River Rd., 541-607-8892. SARAsTreasures.org.
1. BNF Kombucha & Jun 2495 Prairie Rd., Unit A, 541-653-9816. BNFKombucha.com. 2. Brew Dr. Kombucha 41 W. Broadway, 541-654-4284. BrewDrKombucha.com. 3. Elevate 541-359-5278. ElevateKombucha.com.
1. Yardy Eugene 263 Mill St., YardyEugene.com. 2. Tavern on Main 338 Main Street, Springfield, 458-201-7936. TavernOnMainSpfd.com. 3. Forrester’s Bar and Grill 1190 City View, 458-201-7044. ForrestersGrill.com. Located at Coldfire Brewing, Yardy Eugene’s bright yellow food truck stands out. For three months, Yardy Eugene has been dishing out West Indian-inspired dishes with a Pacific Northwest…
1. Killer Burger 50 W. Broadway, 541-636-4731. KillerBurger.com. 2. Cornucopia 295 W. 17th Ave., 541-485-2300; 207 E. 5th Ave. Ste. 109, 541-485-2676; 521 Main St., Springfield, 541-485-2879. CornucopiaEugene.com. 3. Little Big Burger 1404 Orchard St., 541-357-4771. LittleBigBurgers.com. During high school, I worked at an American Graffiti-like drive-in as a carhop (and later as a cook),…
1. Kris Stapleton Going Green Eugene, 439 W. 1st Ave., 541-735-3521. Find on Leafly.com. 2. Katy Cote Higher Ground, 1158 High St. Ste. 103, 541-393-6892. HigherGroundOregon.com. 3. Kellianne Firnsin Higher Ground, 324 E. 12th Ave. No. 2, 541-393-6892. Find on Leafly.com. We were gonna have a best budtender category… but then we got high. Yep, we…
1. Cuthbert Amphitheater 2300 Leo Harris Pkwy, 541-762-8099. TheCuthbert.com. 2. WOW Hall (Community Center for the Performing Arts) 291 W. 8th Ave., 541-687-2746. WOWHall.org. 3. Hult Center for the Performing Arts 1 Eugene Ctr., 541-682-5000. HultCenter.org.
1. Vero Espresso 205 E. 14th Ave., 541-654-0504. VeroEspressoHouse.com. 2. Wandering Goat 268 Madison St., 541-344-5161. WanderingGoat.com. 3. Farmers Union Coffee Roasters 152 W. 5th Ave.; 2757 Friendly St., FarmersUnionCoffee.com Are you looking to drink coffee at home, just not in your home? Vero Espresso House, with its butter-yellow paneling, bay windows and quaint wraparound…
1. Ben Saunders University of Oregon. 2. Brian Haimbach Lane Community College. 3. TIE: Andre Sirois University of Oregon. 3. TIE: Jerry Rosiek University of Oregon. What does 16th to 17th century poetry have in common with comic books? To the average reader, maybe not much. But to Ben Saunders, English professor at the University…
1. Down to Earth 1855 W. 2nd Ave., 541-485-5418. DownToEarthEugene.com. 2. Gray’s Garden Center 233 W. 5th Ave., 541-780-6073. EugeneGearTraders.com 3. Jerry’s Home Improvement 2600 Hwy. 99 N, 541-689-1911; 2525 Olympic St., Springfield, 541-736-7000. BetterHeadForJerrys.com.
1. Seth Milstein Find on Facebook. 2. TIE Leigh Anne Jasheway AccidentalComedic.com. 2. TIE Mike Leamons Find on Facebook. 3. Jen Jay Find on Facebook. Comedy keeps the 2021 Best Comedian Seth Milstein sane. It also drives him crazy, he says, “but usually in a good way.” In addition to doing comedy around the Pacific…
1. Bon Mi 153 E. Broadway, 541-505-9349. 849 E. 13th Ave. 541-650-6129. BonMiEugene.com. 2. Pho The Good Times 2729 Shadow View Dr., 541-357-4971. PhoGT.com. 3. Tam’s Place Vietnamese Cuisine 2777 Friendly St., 541-214-0562. Find on Facebook.
1. Henry Houston Eugene Weekly, EugeneWeekly.com 2. Will Kennedy Eugene Weekly 3. Camilla Mortensen Eugene Weekly Henry Houston says this past year has “felt like drinking out of a fire hose.” In other words, 2021 has felt like an extra kick of chaos amid the already nonstop whirlwind that is journalism. If Houston’s experience having…
1. CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) 341 E. 12th Ave., 541-342-8255. WhiteBirdClinic.org/Cahoots. 2. White Bird Clinic 341 E. 12th Ave., 541- 342-8255. WhiteBirdClinic.org. 3. Eugene Mission 1542 W. 1st Ave., 541-344-3251. EugeneMission.org. CAHOOTS, the serious program with the tongue-in-cheek name, has been around since 1989 but it sprung to the nation’s attention…
1. Sarah Northrop Sartakespics.com. 2. Athena Delene Delene.co. 3.Destiny Brock Facebook.com/DBrockPhotography Sarah Northrop heard her first music show from under a pair of protective headphones at the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues when she was three years old. Her mother worked in the L.A. music industry, resulting in her attendance at that particular show, and her…
1. Chris MoodyCargoCollective.com/ChrisMoody/CV-Contact. 2. Ila Rose IlaRoseArt.com. 3. Shanna Trumbly ShannaTrumbly.com. Chris Moody is clearly a man of many dimensions. He likes to draw and paint, though he’s primarily a photographer. (And he was also voted Best drag queen in this year’s competition.) “Life is art,” Moody said in a quick phone interview after the…
1. St. Mary Roman Catholic Church 1062 Charnelton St., 541-342-1139. StMaryEugene.com. 2. Unitarian Universalist Church of Eugene 1685 W. 13th Ave., 541- 686-2775. UUEugene.org. 3. Temple Beth Israel 1175 E. 29th Ave., 541-485-7218. TBIEugene.org. A Lutheran reporter reaches for his phone to call a Catholic priest and inform him that his parish has won “Best…
1. Jon Smith aka “Supa J” at The Drake 77 W. Broadway, Facebook.com/theDrakeBar. 2. DJ Stoggrd (Tre Stewart) Find on Soundcloud. 3. Spoc 3PO at Cowfish 62 W. Broadway, CowfishClub.com.
1. Candy Whoreholla Instagram.com/Candy_Whoreholla. 2. Karress Ann Slaughter (Cornel Hardiman) Facebook.com/GlamazonsEugene. 3. Slutashia Facebook.com/Slutashia. “It was in the very beginning of the pandemic I thought to myself, ‘I wonder how many drag queens are going to come out of this pandemic?’” Candy Whoreholla, or Eugene local Chris Moody, says. “Then I thought, ‘You know what?…
1. Jason Bickle Cowfish, 62 W. Broadway, 541-683-6319. CowfishClub.com. 2. Jean Woest Old Nick’s, 211 Washington St., 541-844-1280. OldNicksPub.com. 3. Melanie Bickley Cowfish, 62 W. Broadway, 541-431-6603. CowfishClub.com.
1. Tina Rex Amethyst Hair Studio, 1631 Oak St., 541-520-2268. Facebook.com/AmethystHairsSudio541. 2. Amanda Nicole 4247 Loft, 390 Lincoln St. Ste. 220, 541-515-6477. 4247Loft.com. 3. Alex Garibay Blessing Hair Design and Barbershop, 315 E. 13th Ave., 541-337-2096. AlexBarbering.com.
1. Greenhill Humane Society 88530 Green Hill Rd., 541-689-1503. Green-Hill.org. 2. Northwest Dog Project NorthWestDogProject.org. 3. Lucky Paws Dog Rescue 2053 Laura St. Springfield, 541-246-8070. LuckyPawsSite.org.