From the traditional to the innovative, Eugene has several different options all over the city for residents to celebrate this Fourth of July holiday.
Events unique to Eugene, such as a road race, and those more traditional, including a fireworks show following a baseball game and a symphony concert, are all planned to help people celebrate the nation’s birth.
So, for those who want to celebrate America’s independence with a little independence of their own, here is a selection of what’s happening around Eugene Wednesday.
If you want to start the holiday in classic Eugene style, you can enter the 28th annual Butte to Butte road race. The 10-kilometer race begins at 43rd and Donald at 8 a.m. and finishes at Skinner Butte Park. Until July 3, entry fees are $16 with a T-shirt and $10 without. On the morning of the race, prices go up to $20 and $14.
Organizer Cathie Twomey-Bellamy said she expects about 2,800 runners this year, which is about the same as previous races. Although Twomey-Bellamy said the run is “more of a family event,” she added that the field always has elite runners, and so the race is fun to watch.
For a more relaxing event, the Active 20/30 Club of Eugene has organized the city’s 55th annual Fourth of July celebration, starting at 4 p.m. at Alton Baker Park. Usually held at Autzen Stadium, this year’s concert and fireworks show is being held at Alton Baker because of the of Autzen expansion project.
“We do the best show in Lane County,” organizer John Lawrence said.
Lawrence said beer gardens will be open from 4 to 10 p.m., and children’s activities will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. The Revelatory and Voodoo Chili will play back-to-back concerts, and the fireworks are slated to begin at dusk. All proceeds from the event go to children’s charities.
For baseball fans, or for those who enjoy big fireworks shows, the Eugene Emeralds game against the Yakima Bears, starting at 6:35 p.m., is the place to be.
“Twenty minutes after the game concludes, we let everybody onto the field and begin the fireworks,” Emeralds spokesman Brian Rogers said. “It’s a forty-five minute show crammed into twenty minutes. We’re firing things off left and right. It’s a spectacular show.”
For a romantic and free view of the fireworks show, you can bring blankets and a flashlight to the soccer fields behind South Eugene High School, which can be accessed via Patterson Street.
If you’re a music fan, the Eugene Symphonic Band will be holding a free concert at Washburn Park at 6:30 p.m.
“We have twelve concerts in all, and this begins the series,” Director Orval Etter said. “We’re moving back to the old pre-Depression tradition of weekly band concerts in the park. That’s something we lost in the thirties.”