Eugene Weekly

According to Nick West, Eugene Pride’s president and event coordinator, “Pride shouldn’t only be accessible to organizations with big pocketbooks.” He says 2026 Eugene Pride Festival gave out more than 50 discounted or free spaces to smaller vendors. The festival is bigger than ever with q***r choirs, comedians, more than 250 vendors, including nonprofits and community organizations, local businesses, artists and crafters and more than 20 food vendors.

Pride begins 9 am Saturday, June 27, with a downtown rally in Kesey Square featuring speakers from the community. After the rally, participants will march to the Lane Events Center, where the festival runs from 11 am to 7 pm.

Read more in Eugene Weekly’s Pride issue!

All Are Welcome According to Nick West, Eugene Pride’s president and event coordinator, “Pride shouldn’t only be accessible to organizations with big pocketbooks.” He says 2026 Eugene Pride Festival gave out more…

Spending time in nature regulates the nervous system, according to Qing Li, the world’s leading forest medicine expert. For transgender individuals, who face higher rates of mental distress, outdoor experiences can be healing, but there’s often barriers they need addressed. LGBTQIA+ community members can find resources to connect with nature at Eugene Pride June 27 at Lane Events Center.

“The trees don’t care what gender you are,” says Marlie Yasuhara, development and outreach director for local trans resource nonprofit TransPonder. “Our relationship with nature can be a reminder that we have purpose in the world.

Read more in Eugene Weekly’s Pride issue!

Q***ring the Outdoors Spending time in nature regulates the nervous system, according to Qing Li, the world’s leading forest medicine expert. For transgender individuals, who face higher rates of mental distress…

I just read a piece I wrote over six months ago, and it could have been written yesterday. What worries me most is that someone may read it six months from now and feel exactly the same. It was about the stagnation of social movements and the failure to mount any meaningful resistance to the social deconstruction being carried out by this newest surge of our very own tyrannical regime.

I am stuck in a moment, in a feeling. Standing at a fork in the road.

Read more from Eugene Weekly opinion columnist Ayisha Elliott — Black Girl From Eugene.

A Fork in the Road I just read a piece I wrote over six months ago, and it could have been written yesterday. What worries me most is that someone may read it six months from now and feel exactly the same.

Birds of a feather flock together, and when Amy Sherman founded Lane County Q***r Birders, she hoped birdwatching could help LGBTQIA+ people and their allies do the same.

For Sherman, birding isn’t about expensive binoculars, rare species checklists or knowing every bird call in the forest. It’s about paying attention and living intentionally.

“If you are noticing birds, you are a birder,” she says.

Read more in Eugene Weekly’s Pride issue

Birding With Pride Birds of a feather flock together, and when Amy Sherman founded Lane County Q***r Birders, she hoped birdwatching could help LGBTQIA+ people and their allies do the same. For Sherman…

The American Crown Circus & Circo Osorio comes to Eugene for the first time Thursday, June 18, to Monday, June 22 at Oregon Horse Center. A variety of thrilling acts, including acrobats, clowns, jugglers, trapeze artists and motorcycle stunt artists, will perform under the circus’s signature white and purple big top tent at the Oregon Horse Center. The circus features a special act, the Kpop Warriors, who sing, dance and perform tricks. ” Acts can be entertaining for both children and adults — from clowns and Kpop Warriors, to high-flying trapeze artists performing hair-raising stunts and motorcyclists going 50 miles per hour on the “Wheel of Death.” The American Crown Circus’s atmosphere captures the nostalgia and excitement reminiscent of one’s first time at the circus. Tickets start at $22.50 for adults and $10 for children.

Read more in Eugene Weekly’s What’s Happening Calendar!

The Circus is Coming to Town The American Crown Circus & Circo Osorio comes to Eugene for the first time Thursday, June 18, to Monday, June 22. A variety of thrilling acts, including acrobats, clowns, jugglers…

Faculty say the University of Oregon is closing the the Department of Earth Sciences office in Cascade Hall, a space they describe as a hub where undergraduate and graduate students meet with advisors, build community and manage internal administrative tasks with ease.

The office is being closed in line with a “shared services” model across the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) that some describe as impersonal and filled with unnecessary corporate bureaucracy.

Faculty, like Earth Sciences professor Marli Miller say the closure will erode the department’s sense of community and ability to support students. She says the shared services model is causing the loss of “institutional knowledge,” as staff members who’ve been working within one specific department for years are being moved into roles where they work with several departments at once, or they’ve left entirely. The university says the program is meant to “sustain and strengthen administrative support across all departments.”

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Read more in this week’s print edition or online on EugeneWeekly.com.

https://eugeneweekly.com/2026/06/18/community-to-corporate/

Celebrate Black culture and commemorate Juneteenth with two free events Friday, June 19: The 2026 Juneteenth Gathering 3 pm to 8 pm at the Farmers Market Pavilion and Plaza, and the annual Rhythm and Resilience Juneteenth Celebration noon to 6 pm at Riverfront Park. With numerous community organizations, a space dedicated to honoring elders, talented performers and a kids’ zone, anyone can enjoy the 2026 Juneteenth Gathering. Local food vendors will serve Haitian cuisine, Cajun dishes and Southern soul food. The Rhythm and Resilience Juneteenth Celebration, meanwhile, is centered around music, dance and joy. Along with a performance by event headliners Xcape Dance Company, the event features an opening gospel set from Bethel Temple Faith Ministries, all-day music from DJ Smuve, line dancing and Afro-Cuban drumming and dance.

Read more in Eugene Weekly’s What’s Happening Calendar!

Honor and Celebrate Juneteenth at Two Eugene Events Celebrate Black culture and commemorate Juneteenth at the2026 Juneteenth Gathering and the annual Rhythm and Resilience Juneteenth Celebration. The 2026 Juneteenth Gathering at the Farmers Market…

This weekend Cottage Theatre’s production of Sunday in the Park with George performs its final shows.

The theater’s ambitious adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 Broadway hit is a joy to watch, with inspiring performances from the two leads, a striking multimedia presentation, and a strong ensemble that brings Georges Seurat’s “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” to life in front of your eyes

Tickets are available for the final run of shows Thursday, June 18, Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20 all at 7:30 pm.

Read more online in this week’s EW extra!

Color and Light It’s always fascinating when you get to witness a small local group put on its adaptation of a Broadway staple. Many shows struggle to capture the boundless visions of Broadway greats. Cottage Theatre’…

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane!
It’s Pride! From q***r outdoor pursuits to Eugene’s annual Pride fest, celebrate all that is LGBTQIA+

June is Pride month, and we uplift all that is LGBTQIA+ in Lane County — from q***r birding to breaking down the social barriers trans folk face getting out into the wild.

And of course we have a preview of this year’s Eugene Pride Fest!

Read it all in Eugene Weekly’s annual Pride issue.

Out now! Pick up our pride issue at your nearest red box!